After completing the trial run, we used the Towngate to return to the royal capital of Laxtia.

"Kid--no, Ray. You're good at what you do.
Thank you, Mr. Bazelfr. The Black Claymore is a fine piece of work, too. It's a bit of a spooky mess.
Yeah, yeah. I'm sure he's happy to have a master at work.
....?
[Gikekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke]

　I returned to Bazelph's workshop while exchanging such comments as, "Actually, I asked Bazelph to make the sword for me, not just for Ray.

As a matter of fact, I asked Bazelfr to have a sword custom made for Ray, but it wasn't the only thing he made for me.
'Really?　Don't tell me you have armor too!
Well, I've created a masterpiece that surpasses even the Black Claymore. I'm very proud of it.
'Wow!　It's a pleasure, Magnus!　I can't wait to see it, Mr. Bazelph!

　With a delighted Ray in tow, Bazelph and I walked to the back of the workshop.
　We stood in front of a set of armor on display there.

　It was designed with only a breastplate, a cage and shin guards, which did not impair Ray's mobility, but protected him in key areas.
　The beautiful white and silver color is due to the use of Ancient Alavana Refined Mithril as a material. It promises to give the wearer a great deal more magic resistance than mere mithril armor.

Wow!　Decent!

　Ray's eyes immediately lit up when he saw it.

'And it's beautiful and cool!
I'm glad to hear that you like it. You don't mind if I touch it?
'Thank you, Mr. Bazelph!　Wow!　Wow!　Brand new. Shiny. You mean it's silver because it's also made of mithril?　But it's gold in places--
Hmm. It's all about the Orihalcon.
Orichalcong!

　Ray exclaimed in admiration.
　You don't know how rare it is," he said, "because no one else knows how rare it is.
　We just found it aboard Demon Sea Lord Varrak's ship.

If I had more skill, I could have made you all Orihalcon armor. Forgive me, Rey.
What do you mean by that?　It's already too extravagant!
''To begin with, the blacksmiths who can handle the Orichalcon themselves are of the dimension of whether there are five of them in this great country (Luxta).

　Bazelfr was humble, but he was also improving his skills, and I'm also bringing in rare materials, so it wouldn't be a dream to make a total orichalcon armor someday.

''Can I try to equip it!
Of course. That's what I've got in mind.
Or rather, let's see you put it on.
Thank you so much!

　Ray was delighted and equipped with a set.
　He stood proudly and showed us how he stood.
　A moment later--

[Dazed and dazed, dazed and dazed, dazed and dazed]

'I heard some strange noises!
Yeah, that's interesting.
Oh, I see. It's supposed to be like that.
'Why are you two observing it calmly!　You're not surprised!
That's what makes Black Claymore so creepy and funny.
I have an idea that this guy is up to something.
Are you saying that this armor is cursed too?
Hahaha, you finally noticed.
Give me a break, Ray. You're getting weird.
'Oooh, you two are laughing at each other because you're strangers!　Oh, I can't take it off! I can't take this armor off! Help me!
You're the one who's mastered the Black Claymore. Use the Cleansing Armor, and you'll be able to take it off.
Yeah. Calm down.

　Bazelph and I warmly watched the boy as he panicked.

　　　　◇◆◆◆◆.

　The new armor I made for Ray is a one-of-a-kind piece of armor based on the ancient Alabana Refined Mithril and Orihalcon, with the Soul of the Shogun's Demon Sea used as a synthetic material.
　That's right, one and only one in the world without any price tag.
If we were to classify it according to the strategy book, it would be an SSS.

Shall we call it the Barrackmail?

　Bazelph carved the armor that Ray had taken off.

　Meanwhile, that Ray was somewhat unfaithful.

'So you're going to test this armour too?　I'll go anywhere. You're gonna get burned by this.
No, that won't be necessary. I've already checked it out at Black Claymore.
So, shall we continue on with the hunt for the boss monster at Crow Hill as planned?
No, that's not necessary either.

　I slowly shook my head.

'What?　So, what about the Level Up plan then?
There's actually an extremely easy way to raise the number in 2(-) 8(-). I've decided to use it.
'If you have something that awesome, why didn't you use it in the first place!
You have to kill the bosses, gain experience, level up, train your stats and skills. But that's not enough to truly make a person strong.
I mean, sure...

　He must be ruminating on the fight so far.
　Ray became distant-eyed and nodded.

The plan was to defeat the level 20 boss monsters living in the vicinity of Crow Hill and raise the level of you and I to 25. At the same time, I planned for you to learn how to fight these increasingly disgusting boss monsters.
But we won't need to...?
'Yes. I was convinced of that after seeing the way you fought the Fire Drake. In fact, I was prepared to step in to help out at any time, though. It was as if it was useless. Even against a boss monster in the level 20s, you fought with dignity and defeated it without a hitch. You had good sense after all, Ray. You're a good swallower and can think for yourself.
No, not really...

　Ray was seriously embarrassed, and I had a smile on my face.

'Anyway, I decided that I no longer needed to mope around Crow Hill.
'Wow, okay. Then let's get it up to 28 in one fell swoop!
Yeah, that's the spirit. That's the spirit.

　We thanked Bazelfr again and left the workshop.
　We got on board the Narsai and left the capital of Laxtia.
　We headed for our destination village.
"We could reach the village in no time if we took the Narsai.

"It's a rustic village. It reminds me of my birthplace.
I see. It's called a no-co-co village.

　I can't help but be moved by the emotion in my voice as I answer.
　It is because this village is a memorable place for me too.

　It's because it's the beginning of my own journey to defeat the Demon King.

"Magnus. What do you want to do here?
"Train and raid a level 27 boss monster called Destrent.
What?　Train the boss monster!　Overfishing!
You're an easy man to deal with, even for 27.　First, put him to sleep with Sleep II, and then finish him off with a customized Thunder III. Even I was only level 23 when I did this, and with the Demon Sealord's Gold Coin, there's still time for me to get it up to your level. In fact, I can't wait for three days for one new one to grow. No, we have the Town Gate and the Narsai, so we can do something else in the meantime.
'No, I'm not surprised about that...'
Don't be surprised yet.　This one's drop item is pretty good too.
'Oh my God!　Let's do it anyway!　You just have to do it!



　Ray and I began working together to cultivate and randomly harvest destrents.
　Soon I was at level 28 Martial Artist and Ray was at level 28 Warrior of Light.
　We also fed him various fruits from the Destrent, which boosted Ray's overall stats by an additional 50 points.
　Thus, we were ready to head to the Citadel of Kilomitsu.
　It's the frontline of the Grand Duchy of Luxun, which has withstood and surpassed the invasion of the Demon Lord.