"What are you calling me out for at this hour? What’s going on?"
"My apologies. But there is something I absolutely had to show you."
"Huh? What is it?"
Late at night, Isaac had summoned Neid to a deserted workshop. He answered the man’s disgruntled question with a tone that barely suppressed his mounting excitement.
Neid frowned at Isaac's cryptic attitude, but his eyes went wide the moment Isaac checked their surroundings and placed an object on the workbench.
"T-this is...!"
"You can see it, can't you? The staggering power hidden within this blade! As expected of a top-tier Magic Item Engineer."
Satisfied with Neid’s reaction, Isaac praised him with a smug, cheerful grin.
At a glance, the sword looked slightly damaged and rather ordinary. However, Neid understood perfectly well that this was no common weapon.
The blade was shrouded in a faint, reddish-black magic power. This was the Demonic Sword—the very weapon that had driven Batz to madness and granted him such terrifying strength.
Indeed, it was Isaac who had snatched the Demonic Sword away from the Security Force.
(This is perfect! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! The ultimate weapon to cement my place as the Solitary Hero!)
He had been monitoring Yugo to investigate the strange feeling he got from the boy, but he never expected to stumble upon such a prize.
Watching Batz fight Yugo and his companions had left Isaac completely captivated. The sword had given a mere commoner enough power to hold his own against two Magic Knight Apprentices. In that moment, Isaac knew he had to have it, no matter what.
A cursed magic item, a Demonic Sword—it was the kind of thing that perfectly fueled his inner chunibyo fantasies.
For a man destined to become a legendary hero, mastering such a cursed weapon would only add more prestige to his name.
Furthermore, if someone like him—who had raised his Twin-sword Proficiency to the maximum rank—wielded a Demonic Sword, he would be truly invincible. The Bull Golem that had given him trouble before, and even the other Reincarnators, would pose no threat at all.
Driven by these thoughts, Isaac had used his Stealth skill to bypass the Security Force, steal the confiscated sword, and bring it here to show Neid.
"...Why are you showing this to me? What do you want?"
"It’s simple. I want you to replicate it. Change its appearance and remodel it into a pair of twin swords for me to use."
Isaac grinned at Neid, whose voice was tight with tension. As the engineer fell silent, Isaac pressed on.
"Don't worry, I know you can do it! You're a brilliant Magic Item Engineer—the most talented one I know. That's why I'm entrusting you with this secret job. As a friend and a partner... you'll do this for me, won't you?"
"...Fine. I get it. If you're going to ask me like that, I can't really say no."
Isaac felt a surge of triumph as Neid gave a resigned sigh and accepted the task.
At the end of the day, these people were just game characters. Even if they knew a job was dangerous, they couldn't refuse a request from someone with a high Affection Level.
Isaac felt truly glad he had taken the time to fulfill Neid's requests and bombard him with gifts. However, a flicker of doubt crossed his mind.
(Is this really okay, though? Could this mess with the game's progression?)
While there were scenarios in Luminous History where the protagonist obtained a Demonic Sword, there were no events to acquire one this early in the story, as far as Isaac knew.
Strictly speaking, the way he had obtained the sword wasn't exactly a "legitimate" method either. But as soon as the thought occurred to him, he brushed it aside.
(It’ll be fine! Besides, Zenon already messed up the game’s flow, so it’s not like it matters now. Call it a secret technique! It’s just an original chart discovered by my own brilliance!)
Secret techniques, glitches, bug utilization—there were many names for it. In the gaming world, there were countless players who exploited loopholes to clear content in unexpected ways.
Hardcore completionists and RTA runners did it all the time. Isao Aritou—the man Isaac had once been—had watched them perform incredible feats of game-breaking strategy many times.
What he was doing was no different. He was simply exploiting a hole in the game’s logic to get ahead. He wasn't doing anything wrong.
Therefore, it was fine. He wasn't to blame. There wasn't a single problem with his plan.
"I'll see what I can do with the materials you gave me. Just give me some time. I’ll forge you the finest pair of twin swords you’ve ever seen."
"I'm counting on you, Neid. You're the best partner I could ask for."
The luck of finding the sword, the Affection Level he had cultivated with Neid, and his own boosted status—everything was falling into place. Isaac felt as though his entire life in this world had been building toward this very moment.
(I really am the one destined to be the protagonist, the man reincarnated to be a hero! The moment these weapons are finished, my heroic saga truly begins!)
Imagining a glorious future where everyone bowed before him, Isaac beamed with a wide, expectant smile.
As the workshop began to echo with the rhythmic clanging of metal, he waited impatiently for his ultimate weapons to be born.