When it comes to weapons and equipment, melee classes differ from magic classes; they are heavily dependent on their gear.
When everyone’s skill and power levels are roughly equal, gear is what determines the victor. In the heat of a melee exchange, the quality of one’s equipment largely decides their fate.
This was why Samimi traveled everywhere with Niubao.
Since her own magical rituals were already at their peak, the only way to improve further was to seek out god-tier equipment. Otherwise, she might as well have stayed home and raised livestock.
It had been said before that there are differences even among legendary items, and the same logic applied to purple-grade weapons.
The Golden Sword was a knight’s sword custom-made by the Delta Family for the White Knights. The blade was as light as a feather and could cut through steel like it was butter; it was an absolute divine weapon.
Its only flaw was a lack of innate skills. Aside from that, it had no weaknesses and possessed base attributes nearly identical to legendary weapons.
Then there was Niubao’s second blade, the Paladin Blade.
A mass-produced purple-grade weapon forged using the Holy See’s thousand years of experience, it was undoubtedly a fine sword, but it could not compare to the quality of the Golden Sword.
While both were purple-grade, the Golden Sword was clearly superior to the Paladin Blade.
At the very least, until a Mythic weapon appeared, the Golden Sword was more than enough for Niubao to act as a powerhouse in the South.
Nine out of ten adventurers were poor. The remaining one was likely on the verge of death. If they had money, they wouldn’t be adventurers; they would have become knights.
“I am Romantic Blade A-Bing. Please, guide me.”
The swordsman A-Bing could only bite the bullet and step forward. He slowly drew his Moon-reflecting Steel Blade. The moment he gripped the hilt, his entire demeanor calmed significantly. After all, he was a man who lived by the blade; he wouldn’t admit defeat easily, and he certainly wouldn’t retreat, even in the face of death.
“…”
Niubao remained silent. Her hands hung low, lightly brushing the Golden Sword.
Even though her opponent had already taken an aggressive offensive stance, she showed no reaction. Her front was wide open, riddled with dozens of openings.
Among the hundreds of adventurers surrounding them, not a single person spoke. They all watched the battle with wide eyes, wondering what kind of secret technique this motionless stance represented.
One had to understand that Romantic Blade A-Bing was not a crude brawler like Stoneman. His blade was incredibly fast. If one waited until the sword was actually swinging at their face to react, it would be too late.
*Whoosh!* In the blink of an eye, the sound of wind being sliced rang out.
Romantic Blade A-Bing suddenly struck. The crowd saw him turn into a blurry afterimage, followed by a flash of sword light that seemed to come from nowhere.
However, a loud *Clang!* echoed.
His steel blade was snapped in two by the opponent’s sword mid-swing.
Romantic Blade A-Bing collapsed to the ground, his face pale with terror and drenched in sweat. Only half of his sword remained in his hand.
The Ox Nun had predicted the trajectory of his blade perfectly. She had simply lifted the Golden Sword slightly to perfectly shatter his lightning-fast strike.
In that moment, it wasn’t just A-Bing’s sword that was broken; his pride as a swordsman had been shattered as well. He would never be “romantic” again. He crawled away like a stray dog.
A long silence followed…
No one else dared to step forward to challenge the young Ox Nun. To the crowd of adventurers, she looked like a monster—no, something far more terrifying than a monster.
“It seems your guild isn’t a good fit for us. It’s too weak. Let’s go and see if there are any stronger guilds,” Samimi said, finally finding an opportunity to show off her arrogance now that everyone was silent.
While Niubao followed the silent, cool-expert archetype, someone had to speak. As Niubao’s mouthpiece, Samimi fulfilled that role.
Just as expected, the Miworm’s single sentence caused the members of the First Guild to flush red with anger. Their tempers flared, and their fists clenched. But what could they do if they couldn’t win? Might was the ultimate truth!
In the Cathedral, there might still be incompetent fools who acted tough, but even the final boss of the Holy See dungeon was a high-level technological freak.
He was the biggest cheater in history; if Samimi hadn’t been an even bigger cheater, they might not have defeated the Nameless Archbishop.
The world of adventurers was even more straightforward. Who cared if you were number one or number two? They were here specifically to crush the best.
“Goodbye.”
After speaking, Niubao returned the Golden Sword to her void storage. Following the Priestess’s words, she turned around, prepared to leave.
However, they were only pretending to leave. They had gone through so much trouble to sneak in; how could they leave so soon? If they didn’t beat everyone into submission, they wouldn’t dream of leaving.
“Move! Move!”
The next moment, a commotion erupted from within the ranks of the First Guild.
Niubao’s steps suddenly froze. She couldn’t take another step forward because an unparalleled aura was radiating from behind her.
Samimi’s smile also gradually faded. The members of the First Guild parted to create a path, and two women with extremely unique appearances walked forward, instantly becoming the center of attention.
Even Niubao and Samimi were overshadowed; in terms of physical presence, they were completely outmatched by these two.
On the left was a woman with a red mane of hair and a terrifying ogre mask. She was at least 1.9 meters tall, wearing a loose Japanese-style yukata and flip-flops. Her chest was bound with bandages, but even so, they could hardly contain those two large spheres.
The red-haired Ghost woman carried a massive Japanese Odachi and had a red cedar tanto tucked into her waist—the kind typically used by high-ranking officials—with an exaggerated flame pattern carved into the scabbard.
On the right was a woman with short blue hair wearing a maiden mask. She was at most 1.59 meters tall, wearing a dark blue kimono and wooden clogs. Compared to the well-endowed woman beside her, she looked very elegant and conservative. At her waist hung a plain, white-wood katana.
‘Where exactly have I traveled to?’ Samimi wondered. ‘How did two pure-blooded Japanese katana-wielders suddenly appear?’
There was no point in asking. This was a vast Otherworld; the appearance of two katana specialists shouldn’t be surprising.
Not only that, but a single horn grew from the foreheads of both the red-haired and blue-haired women. Holes had been cut in their masks to let the horns poke through. They weren’t normal humans; they were Ghosts.
Looking at these two strange women, Samimi realized something.
She had genuinely walked through the wrong door.
Initially, she had intended to test the strength of the so-called Hero, but now that the powerhouses had appeared, she realized she had walked right to the doorstep of the Twin Heroes.
Wait, the Hero Kun was supposed to be the dueling king of the Third Guild. She had messed up.
“We are the Twin Heroes, Red Ghost and Blue Ghost,” a bystander explained briefly.
‘They’re heroes? They clearly look like ghosts,’ Samimi grumbled internally.
“Otherworlders, this isn’t a place where you can just come and go as you please.” Blue Ghost walked toward the center of the training field with an arrogant stride and issued a challenge to Niubao.
“…”
Niubao looked at Samimi, her eyes asking for guidance.
“Niubao, use your full strength. There is no need to hold back against this opponent, or you will get hurt,” Samimi said solemnly.
Upon hearing this, Niubao’s spirit rose. She straightened her back and turned to face Red Ghost.
“Oh? That’s not the gaze of a regular person. You aren’t human at all. Haha, it seems you’re just like us—a monster!” Red Ghost laughed loudly, picking up a gourd hanging at her waist and taking two large gulps.
Her ghost mask actually had a mechanical hinge; the jaw armor could open to allow her to drink. It was a brilliant design.
Was her arrogant gait earlier just because she was drunk? No wonder she couldn’t stand straight. In this world, the more eccentric someone acted, the stronger they usually were.
In contrast, Niubao stood perfectly straight, like a divine sword that had yet to be unsheathed. She was motionless, like an inanimate object, blending perfectly into the surroundings.
“Heart Like Still Water, Move Like Thunder,” Samimi narrated from the side for Niubao.
Having observed Niubao for several days, she realized the girl had her own system of combat skills. It was as if she were born with the unique skills of the “Great Spring and Wild Penguin” school.
While Samimi couldn’t help Niubao cultivate her power, she could help her come up with cool-sounding names for her moves.
For instance, Niubao had a special way of gathering power where she would suddenly become entirely motionless, entering a state of Fusion with nature before exploding with thunderous power and speed.
‘This state is actually quite similar to the meditation used by us magic-power manipulators. What an incredible cow.’
But the opponent this time was no ordinary foe.
Judging by their non-human forms, these two ghosts were likely the only beings encountered so far whose racial base stats could rival Niubao’s.
Everyone present held their breath. The night wind howled, and the light from the magic streetlamps flickered.
They moved!
Red Ghost tucked her beloved gourd back into her waist and gripped the Odachi with one hand. She swung it with immense force, opening the fight immediately with a Pinwheel Chain Whirlwind Slash.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
She advanced while spinning, shocking everyone. Was this something a human could actually do? Could this even be called a sword technique?
Even the previously invincible Niubao was caught off guard by this massive whirlwind attack. Her “Heart Like Still Water” state was easily broken. Because she couldn’t find an opening to close the distance, she couldn’t initiate a charge, which effectively sealed all of Niubao’s skills.
What was an Ox supposed to do if it couldn’t move? A cow that couldn’t charge was useless!
‘How exactly did Selina become a Hero?’ Samimi analyzed from the sidelines.
The main issue was that the Odachi was simply too long. Niubao was losing because of the difference in attack range. Furthermore, the Odachi was lighter than a knight’s greatsword, and Red Ghost’s attack speed was terrifyingly fast. She used the Odachi as quickly as others used short swords. It defied logic.
As expected, it took a stat-monster to deal with another stat-monster. This time, Niubao had truly met an enemy whose attributes rivaled her own.
*Sniff, sniff.*
Just as Samimi was lost in thought, she suddenly felt someone sniffing her neck.
“Gross! Who’s being so disgusting?” Samimi jumped in surprise. When she turned her head, she found Blue Ghost standing beside her.
Wait, she was a beautiful girl. That was fine then.
It wasn’t just Samimi who hadn’t noticed; the adventurers who had been watching the fight beside her were also startled. It was as if this woman had teleported there; no one had seen her move.
“You smell like a blade,” Blue Ghost said with a smile. “It seems you kill people as often as I do, Priestess.”