CHAPTER 9.

Orange Balloon Sword (Mastered)(3/15) : Lv 1 0.00% +2

Energy Level 55/100

Rarity: Very Common

Enchantments: None

Status Enchantments: None

Status Rating

Attack: 18

Magic Attack:5

Defence :0

Magic Defence :0

Speed: 9

SP :0

MP:0g

Stamina: 1

Damage Increase: 25% Against Balloon Type Enemies.

Equip Boosts : Attack +1

Equip Skills: None

Special Ability: None

Yes, there had been something hidden!

His mood plummeted there, just how many more things were hidden that he hadn't even considered, his knowledge of different empowerment methods was supposed to be his ace, if he couldn't make full use of it, then he was in trouble.

He considered the situation and then added more balloon fragments until the counter went from 3 to 4 and then observed the screen again. The difference was obvious.

Orange Balloon Sword (Mastered)(4/15) : Lv 1 0.00% +2

Energy Level 90/100

Rarity: Very Common

Enchantments: None

Status Enchantments: None

Status Rating

Attack: 24

Magic Attack:7

Defence :0

Magic Defence :0

Speed: 9

SP :0

MP:0

Stamina: 1

Damage Increase: 40 % Against Balloon Type Enemies.

Equip Boosts: Attack +3

Equip Skills: None

Special Ability: None

It seemed that using items to boost his weapons could boost basic stats of the weapon and increase the ability to damage different types of enemies, useful but situational and locked to a given weapon. While increasing the other marker allowed for basic equip boosts.

"Sir Hero!" he heard a voice, and his head snapped up, and he saw Malty and Bellamy, both of them holding a dozen monsters in total, in fact, he could see Bellamy's backpack nearly stuffed as well, just how much hunting had they done?!

Wait for a second, he was level three right now! He had been ignoring the notification about EXP gain for a while now, but he hadn't noticed that these two hand been hunting enough for him to level up again.

Bellamy dropped the monster corpses he had been holding onto on the ground carefully, and then removed his backpack and opened it to reveal, Balloon fragments and several herbs. Malty who had been holding onto her small pack and a monster corpse did the same.

"We have gathered the materials you requested Sir Hero, I hope we did alright," she asked, smiling softly.

Adrian moved out of his slight shock," You both did spectacularly. Thank you."

Bellamy said nothing but gave him a deep bow, while Malty's smile widened and said," It is an honour, Sir Adrian. Your thanks is a reward that is more than worth the effort."

She was laying it one thick, wasn't she? What exactly was her analysis of him that she thought such blatant flattery would work on him?

Still, he had to respond to their efforts, after all, no matter how much of a bitch she was, and how inevitable the betrayal there was limited harm in using her, for now, "Then I thank you again, please give me about five minutes before we start again, take a break, I just have a little more testing and then we can truly get started."

She nodded at that and he got back to work, time to test out status enchantments and then after some combat, he would try out the levelling scheme which the original Sword hero had tried.

Things were finally looking up.

"Eleven levels in a day." spoke Bellamy in a bit of a daze," Truly the Legendary Heroes are without equal."

Adrian had to wonder if it was truly that impressive, surely some rich nobles who could pay powerful adventurers would have them party up and then level up just as quickly?

He considered the situation for the moment and then voiced his previous thought. The answer surprised him as did the person who chose to answer.

"Sword hero is not familiar with the annoyance of levelling." said Andrea," It takes new adventurers many weeks to reach level 10, it is considered their first milestone. Eleven in one day? Very, very odd."

For the first time, he could hear some genuine annoyance in her voice, Adrian had to wonder how much she had to struggle to get to her first milestone.

"Indeed Sir Hero, your levelling is truly incredible, and I believe that Miss Andrea has failed to mention that our growth is quite incredible as well." said Bellamy finally breaking out of his daze," I never expected to grow two levels in such an area in a mere day."

Adrian shrugged at that, "You can thank the sword for that." he said," It seems to massively boost exp gain, I'll have to check if I can get the exact magnitude of the boost, if it is a variable number I'll have to make sure to work on optimizing it."

He knew the boost however, +900% was an absurd number to even contemplate, perhaps this was the reason Andrea had joined? After all, even with her being 28 levels above him at the start, she had gained a level as well. Malty who had the lowest level among the three had gone from 17 to 20 in just a day, and while a part of him hated the idea of empowering a woman who would likely go on to become an enemy he could not raise any suspicions just yet.

And where was Malty? Well she was walking right next to him, she spoke, clearly unwilling to let the conversation linger in Bellamy and Andreas hands, "I don't think that our dear Hero realizes just how amazing he is." she said, before holding onto his arm, pushing her breasts against him, "Sir Hero it is normal even for nobles with a lot of help to stop levelling after level 30 simply because of how much time it takes unless they plan to adventure or join the army, your ability is incredible"

Adrian smiled at her, but made a point to push her off his arm, she pouted in response," Interesting, but as I said the ability something the sword provided. But I think you all have a point, we have done very well today, let's celebrate shall we?" he said, "Any inn you can think off where we can get a good meal and a few drinks for say 20 silver?"

That was probably the most honest statement he had made since he was dragged to this world. The day truly had gone quite well, he knew that the levelling would slow from here but to reach level 12 in one day was unexpected, he didn't know how well Motoyasu and Itsuki had done, given their knowledge of farming spots and their larger parties they had probably done even better than him, but he was feeling content with his progress for now, hopefully his methods of enhancements would let him stay competitive despite their greater levels. Naofumi did concern him a little, he would have to find a way to check on him without drawing Malty's attention to him, somehow by luck or something more sinister Naofumi had been spared her malice for the moment, and while couldn't say that he cared or like Naofumi, no one deserved to have someone like her after him.

"I have the perfect place in mind Sir Adrian." asked Malty, "It's a wonderful place and it is a little difficult to get in, but I'm sure I can manage."

"Malty I presume you mean a fairly high-class place?" Adrian asked, "I would prefer a smaller place, I apologize if you were looking forward to going to your suggested place, but something a little simpler would be my preference." he turned towards, Bellamy and Andrea," Any suggestions?"

Bellamy nodded immediately, and enthusiastically mentioned, " Yes sir! There is an inn not far from here, it has food from all around the world. It is a favourite among my friends."

Andrea interrupted his sentence here," It is full of church idiots," she said, "they will go mad with the Sword Hero there. No peace or fun."

"Now see here, Miss Andrea.."

Adrian had to blink in surprise as Bellamy and Andrea began to argue right in front of him. He had not expected this from the super formal Bellamy or the stoic Andrea, it emphasized just how little he knew about these people.

He turned to look towards Malty who was annoyed. "Enough." she commanded, her voice cold," we shall go to an inn of my choosing." Her voice turned sweeter as she spoke to him," Adrian I believe I know a place that you may like, I can lead you there."

"Then let's go, we can sell some of the drop items later and then go to bed."

They started moving but Andrea and Bellamy continued their argument despite Malty's glare. Adrian was a little surprised to find that he was feeling a little relaxed. It was very odd that he would be so calm.

Then he realized just why all this felt so achingly familiar and his helpless rage returned.

Their argument, it reminded him of his siblings, how they mocked and teased each other about every topic under the sun, and then laughed about it later. Adrian tried to ignore the part of him that told him that he would never see them again.

It didn't work.

Malty POV

Malty winced as the carriage jumped again. She caught the Sword Hero's annoyed grimace as well but he said nothing and simply continued his boring conversation with the brat.

They were currently going towards the Black Forest, about half a day's journey from Castle Town, it was normally a restricted area because it was a little dangerous for most adventurers but mainly because it was an area that gave an incredible amount of EXP. Only the most well-connected adventurers would be permitted to go there, Malty had managed to get the pass for the place first with her father's influence, something that the Sword Hero had been suitably grateful for, but the irritating man's insistence that they get there before 8 in the morning and stay there for at least three days without leaving was infuriating, he didn't listen to a single word she said, and worse the brat and the fanatic agreed with him and left her looking like she was the one who was mad because she didn't want to spend three days in a damn dungeon.

Still she had expected the man to be a fool, and she was not very surprised to see that he was one indeed, after all, it would have been easier to have a comfortable journey had he not ordered the driver to make haste, and they would easily be able to journey through the forest even if they left every day and went to the nearby village. But just to be a little faster to get through to the depths of the forest the fool insisted on staying for days.

But this was a sacrifice she was willing to make to ensure that she gained her crown, her throne and her nation. The thought flared her fury even further, even now she couldn't help but clench her fists as she remembered her mother's cold look and Melty's arrogant one when the bitch had declared that Malty was no longer the heir and that Melty was now the heir to all her titles, but now she could feel satisfaction course through her, she had a legendary hero eating out of the palm of her hand, soon enough he would be begging for the slightest scraps she threw at him, a bit of a smile, a show of flesh, and the man would be waiting eagerly to be moulded by her into the tool she desired.

Truly men, even heroes, were nothing more than fools.

The best part was that Melty could never even hope to get a man for herself. Let alone a Hero, she was simply too immature. With a hero serving her she had no doubt that the throne would be hers for the taking, at this, she felt herself smile, and this particular brute seemed to like fighting and tearing into monsters for their blood and guts, making him even easier to use, all she had to do was throw him at monsters, making him stronger and putting him deeper and deeper into her debt.

The carriage which had been rushing along started to slow, she was not the only one who noticed as the Sword hero ended his conversation and looked out the small window, "Is this the place?" he asked.

"Yes Adrian, welcome to the Black Forest, one of the best places to level and encounter a variety of beasts on the planet," she said with a smile.

He just nodded, before starting to get up and gather up his bag and then walked towards the door, Malty suppressed her irritation at his rude behaviour, and moved to follow him. Once she was out of the carriage, she winced at the sudden shock of heat, the carriage had some protection from heat but she had not expected it to be this annoying.

Adrian had gone forward to the front of the carriage and was speaking to the driver who was ecstatic to be able to speak to a Hero, Malty wanted to laugh, that commoner would never be able to realize just how pathetic his dear heroes were. What surprised her was that the carriage started moving after Adrian returned to them.

Malty turned towards him, "Where is that man going? He is supposed to take us back to the castle!"