The Replacement of the Sword Hero

Chapter Six: Dungeon Clearing

I woke up early as usual and did some push ups to pass the time before breakfast. The boost to my strength and endurance provided by my level was no joke. I could crank out a couple of hundred with no sweat. Surprised by this change to my physiology, I decided to go for a run. I left the inn and headed through town to the gates. Once beyond the town walls, I broke into a light jog, gradually increasing my speed as I breezed through the grassy fields. I reached the river in no time at all and washed my face with the cool, clean water. I spotted a fish darting about in the shallows and struck out at it with my sword. I absorbed it and unlocked the Fish Sword. Then for fun, I tried lifting some of the large rocks on the river bank. I was pretty strong before coming to this world. I worked in a fabrication workshop and carried lengths of steel around all day, but my strength then couldn't compare to my strength now. I hefted one of the large rocks above my head with relative ease. It probably weighed more than a ton. I threw it into the river and it sailed several metres through the air before landing with an almighty splash.

I laughed freely at the spray that coated my body. Yeah, this is the life. What's the use in having levels and stats if you can't enjoy simple pleasures like throwing big rocks into bodies of water? I looked through my weapon tree. The Magic Steel Longsword was still the most powerful weapon I had. None of the monsters from the nearby forest had unlocked anything with higher attack power than this. I could see why Ren was disappointed in me now, I'm sure by this point, he'd long since left the starting area and been tracking down stronger monsters and dungeons with hidden loot. I turned to another boulder. It sat there, unassuming. I narrowed my eyes at it, adjusted my stance, raised my sword... And split the boulder with a clean cut. It barely cost me any effort at all. If this is how far I can get with just a regular mass-produced weapon sold in Erhard's shop, imagine how much stronger I could get.

I had some idea of how strong I could get. If my potential was the same as the Shield Hero's then I could probably end up with god-like powers. Feeling refreshed and energised, I ran back to the inn and joined Eclair for another breakfast of bacon and eggs, then we spent the day levelling. We travelled through the forest defeating monsters of all kinds and absorbing their materials. According to Eclair, there was a village called Lafan on the other side of these woods, where we could find a well-known dungeon. It wouldn't offer any particularly challenging monsters, but it would provide a great place to level up. We pressed on and reached the village by noon. Apparently, we had to register with the adventurers guild there first, before we were allowed to enter the dungeon. The village of Lafan was surrounded by a sturdy wall with guard towers at regular intervals. The adventurer's guild building was located just inside the gates and doubled as an inn for people drawn to the village for the dungeon.

The reception desk inside the guild was staffed by an attractive young woman, the kind you'd expect to see as a public face for an enterprise. She was wearing a secretary uniform and even had a name badge, but I had not yet learned to read the written language of Melromarc.
"We'd like to register with this guild please." Said Eclair, leading the introductions.
"Certainly. Guild registration costs ten pieces of silver. You will receive an adventurer's card and a rank tag." Said the receptionist.
I handed over 20 pieces of silver and waited for the registration process.
"Right, you will need to apply a drop of blood to your card in order to activate it, it uses status magic so they are impossible to fake." The receptionist slid two small cards over the desk towards us. I took one of them and turned it over. It was completely blank on the front, and on the back was etched the adventurer's guild logo. I pricked my thumb on the legendary sword and stamped my blood onto the card. Immediately the surface caught ablaze with light, spreading out from the point my thumb made contact. It was the same kind of light as when I observed a slave seal being applied.

As the light spread, blazing across the page, it revealed writing in its wake. Perhaps because it was connected to me via the status magic, I was able to read it just fine.