I had to abruptly halt my plan to showcase Nickel's consciousness.
Trauler showed more interest in Galakshur than my sudden actions.
He came very close to me and examined Galakshur's blade intently.
"Where did this sword come from?"
"I received it from someone."
"May I examine it closely?"
I hadn't intended to take out the sword for this purpose, but I handed Galakshur to Trauler without resistance.
We could prove Nickel's consciousness later.
And, there's a chance he might discover the second unsealing method I'm not aware of.
"It's amazing. A beautiful sword."
He checked the balance and sharpness of Galakshur for quite some time and marveled at it.
He especially praised the shining blade, almost too brilliant for the eyes.
"It's truly an amazing sword. It possesses practicality and artistic value. You got this for free?"
"At first, it didn't have this appearance. It was just an ordinary and worn-out sword."
"What?"
Trauler began inspecting Galakshur more closely after hearing my words.
After a short time, he exclaimed, "Ha! This is unbelievable. Such a level of craftsmanship is impossible in the present era."
"Did you discover something?"
"An unknown force surrounds the sword. And looking at the sword's appearance and engraved patterns..."
Trauler abruptly looked at Moran.
He seemed to want Morne to look at the sword with him.
"Go on. I'm listening."
Morne nodded, and Trauler continued his explanation.
"If you look here, you can see ancient symbols carved into the sword. This suggests it might be a sword from ancient times. I can't say for sure, but given the force surrounding the sword, it might be true. This kind of power is often associated with ancient gods."
"Gods!"
Luna exclaimed.
Having experienced the existence of gods with me, she found the topic very intriguing.
That said, I didn't know that Galakshur was associated with gods; it was a valuable piece of information.
Trauler had expertise in ancient gods and symbols, something I had just learned.
"To reiterate, I can't be certain of my conjecture. I didn't create this sword, and I haven't experienced ancient times. I'm just a humble blacksmith."
"Regardless, in your view, does it seem related to ancient gods?"
"It does. You probably know, but by a stroke of luck, I created the Star Hunter. It was influenced by divine power. Given my experiences, I felt a similar energy from this sword."
The Star Hunter was an exceptional piece of work by Trauler. It was an extraordinary item that I had acquired during the game, known as a Named Item. The previous owner had died, and I wasn't aware of their identity. However, I did know that it had peculiar attributes that didn't quite fit, and it wasn't used often.
Its name matched its reputation; after defeating formidable opponents, its attributes would increase, and it would enhance the user's stats. However, it was a unique item that was more or less impossible in reality.
It was a game, so there was a system for such adjustments, and we naturally made use of it. But I was in the real world. Attributes like reputation weren't visible here.
A higher or lower reputation wasn't something a mere sword could judge.
In the game, I understood that it made sense, but in reality, it was an unthinkable concept. Reputation was a value that could be quantified and used in the game, naturally taking advantage of it. However, in this place, I was in reality.
In reality, reputation was an intangible value.
So the criteria for high and low reputation weren't clear, and the numerical value representing strength also couldn't be considered objective.
Reputation and the opponent's strength didn't correlate, and it wasn't about absorbing power either. The idea of a sword absorbing reputation didn't make sense, but...
'It actually exists, and right before my eyes is the person who created it.'
If this sword had the same capabilities here, Trauler's statement seemed reasonable.
If divine power was involved, it could turn an absurd concept into reality.
As someone who had experienced the near-omnipotence of gods, Trauler's explanation made sense. The ability to absorb reputation might work here too.
"But the difference between this sword and the one I created is that the Star Hunter was influenced by divine power as an accident. This sword was intentionally crafted with divine power."
"An incredible sword. Young man, may I ask who gave you this sword?"
There was no need to hide it. Bart had likely forgotten about the sword anyway.
"I received it from Bart Alben. I heard it was obtained in a dungeon located in the desert."
"Oh."
Morne nodded, wearing an intrigued expression.
Trauler also seemed to understand when Bart's name came up.
"That guy could very well have obtained a sword like this. But he probably didn't recognize its true identity, which is why he gave it to you."
Trauler's speculations were entirely correct. If it had been the previous Galakshur, even Trauler might not have recognized it.
Moreover, without the item window, I wouldn't have known either.
It felt like he was talking about Bart as if he knew him.
Was he famous enough to have encountered him?
"Adrias Cromwell, right? Do you happen to know that this sword is still sealed?"
"Sealed? I had no idea."
I acted like I didn't know even though I did. But it was hard to explain how I knew.
"This sword has undergone a transformation once. It was probably unsealed then, but it still seems to be sealed. Interesting."
Suddenly, Trauler raised his arms and held a hammer while speaking to me.
"Could you lend me the sword for a moment?"
"First, confirm that you'll make equipment for my undead as you promised. Then I'll lend it to you."
Now we could finally get back to the topic of the undead.
In this situation, whether Trauler was aware or not, I could bring up the story about the undead.
In the background, Nickel continued to wield the sword without uttering a word, and Luna, beside him, played around.
"That's a separate matter. But, from what I observed, it seems that the undead have a sense of self. What were you trying to prove?"
"I have a unique constitution. I can handle both a sword and magic."
"Come to think of it, that's true. I was so engrossed in this sword that I didn't even consider it. It's rare for a magician to carry a sword around."
And thus, the conversation shifted back to the undead.
"So, I wanted to show you the spectacle of my undead in combat. It would be almost impossible if they didn't have a sense of self."
Undead followed simple instructions given by their masters. Complex commands were typically understood only by high-ranking undead, while most operated purely on instinct. Undead with a sense of self were rare and usually created by necromancers with extensive knowledge.
But, as a person in their early twenties, making an Aura Master or Wraith was hard to believe. Even if I were fortunate enough to obtain the corpse of an Aura master, most necromancers thought about creating such powerful undead when they had significantly more experience.
'Nickel and I haven't sparred for a while now.'
Back when I first started to learn swordplay, he was beating me up daily.
Anyway, Nickel had reached the Aura Master level.
Sparring with him at full strength would serve as proof that Nickel had a sense of self.
"So, sparring with your own undead... That's quite interesting."
"Hm-hmm... You've been hiding quite a brat, young man."
I seemed to be pretty confident, and Morne realized this.
Morne may have sensed that Nickel was a creation of an Aura Master.
"First, let's check the sword. Can you wait for that?"
"Yes."
So we suddenly had an unexpected break.
From one side, the sound of my Galakshur being hammered:
Thud! Thud!
And from the other side, Nickel's aura show.
Nickel was practicing, deflecting Luna's playful spells while revealing his magical prowess.
Seeing Nickel's skills and magical ability, Morne smiled and said, "Haha, it's indeed an Aura Master. Wasn't it a waste?"
I replied, "I had to use it as I saw fit because I was in a hurry."
"That wasn't a bad choice. Often when people keep powerful creatures or items hidden away, they never end up using them."
While Morne was talking, he was watching Nickel.
This unexpected break gave us time to discuss things a little more informally.
"Morne, so what about how I got the Aura Master level corpse?"
"Don't worry. Asking is not the etiquette."
He didn't have any intention to ask about the undead, so he simply brushed it off with a smile.
"Grandfather."
Luna, who had been playfully teasing Nickel behind Morne, called out to him.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Grandfather, is Death Knight stronger, or is my friend Phantom stronger?"
"Heh heh. Well, of course..."
"We have to fight to find out."
Oh, I couldn't help but blurt out the words.
But there was no need to backtrack on those words, so I remained quiet.
"Hmm. Sweetie, can you guarantee that statement?"
In Morne's partly narrowed eyes, a glint of anticipation flashed.
It seemed that, unexpectedly, my statement had touched Morne's pride.
The problem was that I had quite a bit of pride when it came to Nickel too.
"I misspoke."
As I obediently lowered my head, Morne's expression seemed to show slight disappointment, or was it just my imagination?
However, my words weren't finished yet.
"While the words were a mistake, my opinion remains unchanged: we won't know the result without a fight."
"Interesting."
Simultaneously with Morne's words, a black rift opened, and a Death Knight burst forth.
Clad in black full-body armor and a face-concealing helmet, the Death Knight's presence overwhelmed the surroundings.
"Ooooh!"
For some reason, Luna appeared excited, and Nickel, who had been indulging Luna's playfulness, turned his head to look at the Death Knight.
"This child's name is Ruderon. He's one of the Aura Masters I personally captured."
Seeing Ruderon in person brought a fresh perspective.
I had encountered him several times in the game.
I was quite familiar with him, especially in comparison to other bosses, as I had fought against him countless times in the game.
The reason for this was the never-ending retries due to failed strategies.
'One of the bosses who made me use the most save-load tricks. He was as tough and tricky as that.'
Thanks to that, I had acquired extensive knowledge about the number and unique features of Morne's undead, particularly some of the strongest ones.
Ruderon was the third-strongest Death Knight among them.
If you were to rank all of Morne's undead, he might not be in the top positions, but among the Death Knights, he held the third position.
"How about it? Do you think your Nickel can stand up to my Ruderon even like this?"
"Yes."
I nodded nonchalantly.
Of course, in terms of tier alone, Nickel as Phantom fell far behind.
However, taking into account the absorption of sloth, synchronization with the original sin, and the use of Aura tricks due to special skills, I was confident that Nickel could win.
Thud.
In no time, Nickel had approached.
It seemed he understood all the words we were exchanging, as he was looking at Morne and Ruderon with quite a provocative stance.
"Both are Aura Masters, but it's Phantom's body against Death Knight's body. I don't think it can bridge the gap, no matter how great an Aura Master it is."
If it weren't for the original sin and sloth, I would naturally have thought that Nickel couldn't win.
By this point, I was also curious.
Could the power of Original sin and sloth narrow such a significant physical gap?
"Sweetie, then why don't we make a bet?"
"A bet?"
"Yes. If you're so confident, you must be sure you'll win the bet, right?"
Honestly, I didn't know if I could win.
But if I used the Aura tricks, I might be able to take advantage of his complacency and win.
No matter how strong a Death Knight made with an Aura Master was, its performance couldn't surpass that of an Aura Master.
Besides, it couldn't even compare to an Aura Master since it couldn't use aura tricks in the first place.
However, Nickel could use aura tricks, and he had a history of defeating a strong opponent like the Sword Demon, who was close to an Aura Master.
"Phew."
Nevertheless, I decided to take a step back for now.
There was no need to explicitly mention that he could use aura tricks, right?
'If Nickel were to get damaged, I don't have the materials to repair him. It seems like a significant risk.'
I expressed my reluctance to engage in the bet.
Perhaps due to Morne's friendly demeanor, I unconsciously felt my pride bolstered.
And it seemed Morne interpreted the meaning of my words differently because he burst into a chuckle.
"Hehehe! You really have confidence. Sweetie, your undead is just Phantom, and Ruderon is a Death Knight. Even if Nickel gets damaged during the duel, I'll make sure to repair him. How about that?"
Certainly, if you think about what I said, it may sound like I believe that I can win even if Nickel gets hurt.
Aura tricks, the power of original sin and sloth...
No matter how much I thought about it, the odds seemed in my favor.
Above all, I had faith in Nickel's abilities.
There was a potential loss in showing the use of aura tricks, but depending on the bet's reward, it was worth wagering.
"What shall we bet?"
"Your confidence looks good, and it's not naive overconfidence. As for the bet..."
Morne, who had been thinking for a moment, soon revealed a sinister smile.
"How about a ring?"
A ring? I hadn't even considered that.
"Are you talking about the Assembly Ring?"
"Yes. Even now, you can admit your weakness and withdraw. That ring holds far greater value than you think. If you have it, members of other factions would be eager to make a deal. Don't push yourself too hard."
Ironically, Morne's words, suggesting that I should back down even now, made me smile.
I should have remained composed, but I could feel the excitement building.
In the first place, Nickel's chances of winning were already quite evident, and with the bait of the Assembly Ring...
"It's alright. In that case, I'm even more eager."
"Hehe..."
Nickel, standing by my side, slowly drew his sword.
His quiet, burning determination could be felt even by his owner, me.
"I'll bet the ring."