Danmachi: Hephaestus is my Wife

The next day arrived, and I returned to my training. I already had 601 points and needed 1,000 to advance to Rank G. It wouldn't take long.

"It's happening faster than I expected."

But reaching Rank F? That will take much longer.

"Alright, let's start the first sword of the day."

Then, I completed my first sword of the day. A system notification appeared as I finished, and the sword's appearance began to change slowly.

[You forged a Level 1 Refined Sword]

"Oh? My third refined-ranked sword."

However, when the next notification arrived, I felt deeply disappointed.

[The skill "Perfect Cut LV1" has been added to the sword]

I received the same skill of the rare-ranked sword, but this time, it's only level 1—a downgraded version of that skill.

"What are the odds? I was hoping for a different skill."

There are probably thousands of skills in existence.

I started forging my next sword.

And then another...

And then three more...

And two more after that...

In the end, I forged six swords, and only one of them was refined rank.

"This is so frustrating. I have a 20% chance, and yet I get so few refined-rank swords. What a joke."

Frustrated, I threw the sword I had just forged onto the ground and stood up to stretch.

The evening was approaching.

[723/1000]

"I'm earning about 20 points per sword I forge. It doesn't matter the rank; the points remain the same."

I earn points for hammering, polishing, sharpening, and so on...

"It would be interesting to receive a bonus depending on the rank of the sword I forge. Even when I forged a rare-ranked sword, I didn't get a bonus."

Well, the system did help by giving me the "Accelerated Growth" skill. Without it, I'd probably earn 10 points or less per sword.

"Should I forge one more sword?"

Feeling extremely tired, I began forging the next one.

And so, a few days passed…

####

Clank!

Clank!

Clank!

I continued hammering, completely ignoring the points I was earning. I didn't even know how many more I needed to rank up. Honestly, I didn't care anymore. How long have I been working non-stop? Three days?

It might not seem like much, but every day feels exhausting.

"Eryk, don't you think you're overdoing it?" Hephaestus appeared behind me. "It's nighttime. You should rest. How many swords did you manage to forge today?"

"Only five. This is the sixth. I was a bit tired, so I took it easy."

"Five swords is impressive. Did you manage to forge any Level 2 or 3 swords?"

"Nope, just more Level 1 swords."

In three days, I had forged only one refined-ranked sword. I'd made nearly twenty swords, and 99% of them were common.

What is this? The probabilities make no sense! I have a 20% chance of forging a refined sword, but it feels more like 2% or less!

Damn system!

"You don't need to put so much pressure on yourself. You've only been training for a few days. Progress takes time. If you rested more, you'd probably improve faster. Everyone needs rest."

"Thanks for the concern, but I'd rather not."

"..."

"This skill only lets me level up by forging swords. If I want to grow quickly, I have to push myself to the limit."

"I'm starting to think this skill is harmful to you," Hephaestus said, concerned.

"Even if it takes a toll on my health, it's worth it."

"You shouldn't say things like that. Unlike me, you're human."

"Don't worry. Even if working this hard affects my health, it won't ruin my life or kill me."

I quenched the blade, and a new system message appeared.

[You have advanced to Rank G!]

A smile spread across my face.

"Why are you smiling all of a sudden?"

"I did it. I finally did it." I abandoned the unfinished sword and tossed it onto the ground.

"Are you finally going to rest?"

"I finally leveled up. Now my chances of forging Level 2 and 3 swords are higher!"

"Really? But nothing seems different."

"Only I can see that I've leveled up." I sighed in relief. After three days of non-stop work, I can finally rest.

I nearly collapsed, but Hephaestus caught me, holding my shoulders.

"You did well," she said, smiling warmly.

"Thanks. I just want to go to bed now. I don't even have the energy to take a bath."

"You're not sleeping next to me unless you bathe! You're taking a bath!"

"Alright, but you'll have to help me~~"

"Of course, I will. Let's go."

"Oh, and I want to eat something before bed."

"I'll ask Nina to prepare something for you."

####

I went to the training room the following day to check Rank G's probabilities.

"I'll be able to forge refined-ranked swords more often now... right?"

At my command, the probabilities appeared.

[Rank G Probabilities]

[Failure 1% / Common 55% / Refined 33% / Rare 10% / Legendary 1% / Ancestral 0% / Mythic 0%]

Seeing the probabilities, I felt excited.

A 33% chance of forging a refined sword is excellent! Plus, now I have a 10% chance for rare-ranked swords.

Honestly, this is great!

Just one rank-up was enough to improve my probabilities significantly.

But then...

[0/10000]

"10,000 points!?"

The system better provides other ways to earn points because ranking up by forging swords alone is impossible!

####

Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

Next chapters: Chapter 25 - Excited to explore the dungeon. / Chapter 26 - A mission? / Chapter 27 - Forging with Mithril. / Chapter 28 - Bell? / Chapter 29 - You should get a boyfriend. / Chapter 30 - Forging an armor. / Chapter 31 - Hephaestus' help. / Chapter 32 - Possessive.