This is My Quarry!

In the end, Garuda was the one who drew my sword's schematic. I explained the details I wanted to be added while she drew them quickly, her hands moving without stopping.

"There, this should do."

Without showing me the final result, she then passed it to Selen, who quickly smiled and nodded. "If it's this much, then I think I can handle it. Wait a minute."

After that, Selen went around collecting the required materials. Iron, cobalt, chromium, and nickel. After gathering all the materials, Selen placed a hand over them and closed her eyes.

*BRRRRRR!*

And my phone was vibrating wildly as we watched, probably filled with chats that were excitedly waiting for the final weapon.

With a bright flash, the ores on top of the table vanished, leaving only a single blade on the work table.

"Woah!" I couldn't help but stare in admiration at the final product.

A blade with a bluish-white tint, with double straight edges and a pointed tip. A decorative handguard with a metal handle and a round opening at the pommel. It was an exemplary one-handed Western sword!

"This is amazing!" I praised. "Can I touch it?"

Selen nodded her head, smiling, as if proud of her work. "Please. I made it with stainless steel as a base, adding chromium for color and finish, and nickel to increase its tensile strength. This sword should be able to last even when you're cutting metal."

Selen was explaining the sword's properties, but I wasn't focusing on her words. I touched the blade, cold and smooth, before moving down to its handle.

"..."

Although the handle was yet to be fitted with leather to make it more comfortable, it actually fit snugly in my grip. It was as if she measured my hand accurately before making it!

"Amazing... I'm no expert when it comes to blades, but this one's definitely top-notch!"

I tried swinging it several times, and as expected, I didn't feel any incongruence. The balance was perfect. All that's left is to see its sharpness.

Garuda's voice suddenly echoed from behind me: "Here, slice this!"

Along with her voice, she threw a small ore in my direction. It was flying quite fast, but not fast enough for me to miss it.

*SHING!*

With a swift upward swing, I sliced the ore in half. Both sides slipped past my face, barely missing. "...!"

The sharpness is astounding, too!

"I have no complaints. Selen, this is a great sword, so much so that I feel it's too much for a newbie like me!"

I have practically zero experience in swordplay. The most I had was with the dagger, back when I was still serving in the military. This sword might be better given to someone who received a swordsmanship skill or something similar, and not to me.

"It's fine; I remember the materials and the composition, so it's not hard to make another one of that." Selen smiled sweetly, explaining. "But since you want yours to be unique, we need to change the design to make it even simpler."

I tried offering to help them fix the design but was refused. "With your disastrous artistic ability, you'd only make things worse," or so Garuda said flatly.

Even the viewers weren't going easy on me, dissing me further without comforting me.

---

December 31, 2024, 11:59 p.m.

The army, armed with weapons that Selen had made, had been on standby for two hours now. Of course, I was among them, standing at the furthest back in attention.

"Everyone, attention!" Major Lucas, the one with the highest command in this military base, stood on top of a small stage and spoke. "In a few moments, the monster invasion will begin! Behind us are 137,993 friends, families, and civilians! If we fail to defend this place, all their lives will be lost!"

The air around everyone turned vicious, and their focus was honed to the limit after hearing the Major's words. Not a single one of them is willing to let monsters take their families away!

"SOLDIERS! WHAT WILL WE DO WITH THOSE G*DDAMNED MONSTERS?!"

"""KILL!!!"""

A powerful roar, enough to shake the surrounding buildings, almost made my ears bleed. This tension, this welling up of courage deep inside me—I've never felt like this again since I left the military.

*BEEP!*

At that instant, the wristwatches on everyone released a short beep. Of course, it only signified one thing.

"The time has come! SOLDIERS! DEFEND THIS PLACE WITH YOUR LIVES!"

*WOOAAAAAAARRRRRGH!!!*

An intense war cry echoed, enough to let me feel my blood boil. The clocks had struck midnight—the start of the monster invasion!

"...!"

Immediately, I felt the air surrounding us change. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was giving me goosebumps.

Suddenly, one of the scouts manning the watchtower shouted to everyone else. "It appeared as Hvir said! The wolf! One-click north of our camp!"

"Hahaha! We have nothing to fear, as we have someone who possesses information in advance for us!" The major laughed heartily, boosting the confidence of his troops further. "We'll wait here as planned! Don't let a single one of those motherf*ckers enter our territory!"

One kilometer for a giant wolf of over 20 meters would only take half a minute to cover. As I expected, the large wolf with silver, glowing fur, and deep blue eyes approached the camp in one go.

"The enemy is in range! Attack!"

As soon as the wolf came within 100 meters of the base, everyone began to charge forward, letting out another warcry as we did. As the one in the back of the troops, I was, of course, the last to leave the base's gates.

As soon as I got out of the gate, my field of view expanded. The soldiers ran forward without stopping, swarming the giant wolf as if they were ants hounding a pile of sugar.

"...!"

And then, I finally saw it. Selen's weapons actually managed to damage the wolf! With this information, my courage increased as I jumped forward, joining the attack. At the last second, however, I noticed something coming closer from a dark corner to my right.

'Another wolf!'

There were two wolves?! D*mn it, I didn't know about this! Seeing that the entire army was focused on the first wolf, nobody was paying attention to the second. It was running straight for the gate, probably planning to head into the shelter and begin a massacre.

Having no choice, I turned to the second wolf and ran. I gritted my teeth as I held my sword to my side, ready to swing at any moment.

"...!"

The two of us approached each other rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, we were already within each other's reach. "TAKE THIS!"

I swung my sword horizontally, slashing at the wolf's leg. However, with a swift jump to the side, it managed to evade my attack. Just as I was recovering from the motion of my full-power swing, the wolf's mouth appeared before my eyes. It was too late to dodge.

'Ah... I'm gonna die!'

Just as the thought entered my head, I felt something in my mind click into place.

'If I'm going to die anyway, I'll f*cking take you down with me!'

To avoid an instant death, I instead jumped into the wolf's mouth.

*SNAP!* *CRACK!*

Pain assaulted my senses as the wolf's maw bit through my legs. I can't feel them anymore, so I probably lost them already. "DROP DEAD!" But while inside the wolf's mouth, I swung my sword without regard.

Its tongue moved, pushing me further down into its throat while I swung the sword like crazy. Fear had no space in my adrenaline-filled brain!

After a while, I felt the walls around me tighten before suddenly loosening.

*THUD!*

Then, the wolf's body fell sideways. At the same time, a pop-up appeared in my view.

[Congratulations! You have slain a Fenrinne!]

[Computing experience based on your contribution...]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 3!]

"... Heh."

I let out a soft chuckle before all the tension faded from my body. In the tight space I was in, I tried to look down below my waist and realized now why I was feeling lethargic. "D*mn wolf, it bit me in half..."

That was the last thing I saw before my vision faded.