Chapter 57

We took the mermaids and the Kelpi inside while Elanor went back to her goddess with no more drama while I also took my Sword Array back inside as well to replace the swords. And once everyone was settled back in, I took care of the mermaids and the Kelpi by hitting them with the taser and beat stick until their will broke and their eyes glowed with blue light meaning they had been tamed.

With the monsters tamed I tossed them all into my fusion space for tamed monsters where they wouldn't be in the way and I could decide what or if I wanted to fuse anything with them. But with everything calmed down I was thinking about my future grinding with the dungeon mostly blocked off as I couldn't run around Orario for the next while.

So I looked to my quest weapons and the large slab of a greatsword rang out to my senses as I laid a hand on the Dragonslayer greatsword which matched its in-universe dimensions which meant the massive sword was seven feet long, a foot wide and more than an entire inch thick in the middle of the blade.

Meaning that even being at Level 2, this slab of steel weighed more than a few hundred pounds and was unwieldy as fuck to use. But it's a challenge though... [Dragonslayer- Upgrades 2] [Upgrade 1 Kill beast-type monsters.] [Upgrade 2 Quest! Kill an apparition of Guts during his mercenary days. Reward = Skill- Invictus, your will not break no matter what. Shields the user from mind control or illusions.]

A number of my quest weapons/enchanted items would give skills or magic to make them match the thematic origin of the item I based them on... And I knew for a fact that no matter how skilled or how fast I grew with my Falna.

I wasn't on the level of the Zeus and Hera Familia's with their multiple millennia of foundation from being the first Familia unless I could get the blood of the god or goddess to bind some kind of curse to their Familia... But who is to say a god of magic or an evil god couldn't also just break my curse or curse me in turn at the two's insistence? 

But I could stack skills... I could stack the aspects and talent-boosting bullshit that made the best adventurers themselves in their skills that defined themselves and their adventures.

And if I had dozens of bullshit skills boosting my growth, body, magic, and other abilities? That would give me the edge I needed. The edge I needed to not be under the yoke of any Familia.

I gave Tina a look before I took a deep breath as she tilted her head to the side in confusion at my odd look as I looked between her and the large weapon and as though having her own thoughts. She said bluntly. "My skill doesn't work with swords Jake... Just because you want to see me wielding a sword more than twice as tall as I am and weighing five times as much. That won't work."

All the momentum I had for going in to go kill the ghost of Guts died out as I exhaled in exasperation as I looked at her who just raised an eyebrow sassily. "I can't even with you Tina," I said with a smile as I laid a hand on the cold metal of the bandage-wrapped handle and I whispered. "Challenge." 

My vision dulled and then faded away before abruptly returning as the sounds of battle surrounded me and as my eyes turned to normal I realized I was in the middle of a long hall of some kind with large pillars holding up the endless-looking hall.

The sound metal wrapped boots hit my ears and I looked behind myself and saw the myth and legend himself in Guts. This was obviously as my fusion ability told me, in this being before he got the demon armor or any other supernatural enhancements.

But seeing the black-haired large man striding towards me with clear murderous intentions my lips twitched at seeing Guts holding the Dragonslayer with one hand as he swung it around as though to stretch out his arms.

"You got a mind in there? Or are you even sentient?" I asked with a grim smile as I reached into my fusion space to take out my Leviathan Axe.

Hefting the axe I waited as Guts strode towards me, but to my words, there was no answer. No sign of an answer nor the man even acknowledging my words. The quest was clear, I needed to kill this ghost version of Guts and nothing else mattered.

Seeing that I steeled myself knowing that this was the road I chose so in turn I strode towards him and when I reached his range of reach with the massive sword, I allowed him to swing the massive five-hundred-plus pound sword at me.

And in turn, relying on my Falna-enhanced reaction speed I stepped back to let the sword swing by. And then as I stepped forward and to take advantage of the huge windup for the sword I dashed to the side as he rotated his arm to go over his shoulder so her could transition the side swing to become a brutal downwards slam that tried to cut me in half.

'Peak human... Stupidly great strength, but his speed is firmly in the human category.' I thought as I skidded backward as he tried to slam his sword through my chest.

As he tried to impale me with his sword I slammed the side of my axe's long handle into the blade to knock it to the side and then using all my enhanced speed I saw Gut's eyes blur as I sped forward faster than he could retract and pull back his blade I slammed my axe into his side with the icy blade of the Leviathan Axe scoring a deep wound with his ribs audibly crunching.