kscans

Chapter 920 - Beyond the Hypothesis

“—Haru. I have a favor to ask.”

“What’s up?”

“Can you please do something about your princess pestering me for a new sword every single day?”

“Don’t ask me…”

I was summoned and arrived in an instant. Practically bouncing with excitement, I dashed into the player-centric main district of the Garden of Divine Creation, into a certain room in the safe-area branch of [Mirage Workshop].

It was one half of the personal atelier I frequented. The moment I stepped into the familiar, spartan room—a space that radiated a purely practical, artisan spirit—I was greeted not by the business at hand, but by a complaint.

It was a rare sight indeed: my dedicated magic engineer, Kagura-san, looking utterly exhausted.

She was supposed to be busy climbing the tree day after day, courtesy of an ultra-hyper carry by Ashe and Ui-san, but it seemed she was being worn down by a matter entirely separate from her攻略.

“Why not just make her one? You’re secretly enjoying it, aren’t you?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not the rookie I used to be. If she snaps them left and right now that I have a rank to my name, my body, soul, and reputation would be in tatters.”

“Then your next goal is to create a man-made, indestructible weapon.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

We already have something close to that with the Ruby Rabbit weapons, so it doesn’t seem quite as unrealistic as creating an artificial divine armament like my Sakura… or so her bronze eyes seemed to say. They also added, Enough with the pleasantries, out with it.

Well, I was just as eager to get down to business. Might as well dive right into the main event—and with that, I pulled it out of my inventory.

“Has it been about six months since the last time?”

“Felt short, yet so long.”

“For the record, the fastest anyone has reached the True Theory stage is fourteen months.”

“...Ah, it felt like no time at all, didn’t it?”

Clink. A platinum bangle sounded against the table.

It was pulsing with the faint light that signified it was awaiting evolution, an item temporarily un-equippable. It was none other than my—no, our—Terror Armament, [Hypothesis: An=Ru Galta (Wedge-Armor Singing of the King's Road)].

“Well, in your case, you’ve had your growth accelerated like crazy by a bunch of monstrous veterans. Putting aside the speed of your initial steps… or I guess, your steps as a duo, you’ve at least got an excuse for your current growth rate.”

“An excuse?”

Whether that was meant as a follow-up or something else entirely was debatable, but Kagura-san was no longer looking at me. I was ninety-nine percent sure her words were just idle thoughts, spoken without much consideration.

And that was fine. For now, all I needed was for her to act as my “Weaver of Legends.”

“Sorry I couldn’t get to this right away the day before yesterday.”

“Not at all. We were both in the middle of our own expeditions.”

[An=Ru Galta] had finished accumulating experience just the other day.

Shattering the face of the 84th-floor boss, the [Six-Sworded Asura (Galkamine)], had served as a finishing blow in more ways than one. The timing, however, was likely just a meaningless coincidence.

Starting from the Prologue, through the current Hypothesis, and now to the True Theory—I had expected it to have more than enough experience from the path we’d taken. That’s why its arrival wasn’t much of a surprise… but what came next was impossible to predict.

After all, this thing had a history of making outlandish evolutions, like turning from a greatsword into a bangle.

“Haru.”

“Yeah?”

“This time, it seems there’s only one path… Looks like it has settled, for good.”

“Hah, is that so?”

That’s what made it so interesting. My excitement was boundless.

“Wanna do it now?”

“Of course.”

“Figured. In that case, this time there are two required items.”

It was probably something similar to the evolution materials an Anima might demand when advancing to the next tier. As she spoke, Kagura-san pointed to…

“...You little rascal. If you don’t evolve into something worth this investment, I’ll never forgive you.”

…the special-grade unique custom armaments protecting my hands and feet.

My gauntlets, [An=Di Galta (Divine Wedge Flash-Gauntlets)], and my greaves, [An=Vo Galta (Divine Wedge Flash-Greaves)].

“Hand them over. I’m starting.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you.”

But neither I, the wielder, nor Kagura-san, the creator, hesitated, though wry smiles touched our lips.

And why would we? Because among all the gear I’ve journeyed with since the beginning, none has been a more diligent and faithful honor student, consistently meeting my expectations, than this one.

“—”

On the table lay a single bangle, a pair of gauntlets, and a pair of greaves.

Three armaments, all born from a single origin, were swallowed by the flames of the brilliant [Playful Fire-User], beginning to glow faintly… then strongly… and finally, with a blinding intensity.

And beside them.

A few seconds later, after the heat emanating from the crimson magic engineer caressed my cheek.

What remained on the table was a single… item.

““…””

Neither the Weaver nor the Wielder could find the words. The latter, with his limited knowledge, was to be expected, but even Kagura-san, one of Arcadia’s most veteran players, was in the same boat.

It couldn’t be helped. Even now, including the one the Sword Saint had recently unveiled, only six Terror Armaments were known to exist in this virtual world.

This content was still a massive enigma. Even the renowned former master artisan could do little more than tilt her head in fascinated surprise when something new happened.

And yet… we wouldn’t defer to one another.

The first to inspect a new creation is the job of the artisan who forged it. Thus, after a beat of suspenseful silence, Kagura-san reached for it—

She picked up the item that had transformed from a wide bangle into a delicate bracelet.

In that instant,

“Ha, hahaha…!”

It’s a rule of the virtual world that one can know through touch.

Holding the vessel that had devoured the works of her own hands, the vessel whose path she had guided, she must have understood its existence in its entirety, for she let out a peal of laughter.

Needless to say, the emotion filling my own chest as I watched was clear.

“Haaah… Haru.”

“Hm?”

“You really are… no.”

It was a fanfare of certain victory that soared beyond mere expectation.

“You and I are the best.”

My dedicated magic engineer tended to get openly excited when she crafted a masterpiece, but I couldn’t recall her ever going so far as to declare something like that… at least, not in my memory.

Which naturally meant that to the hand I held out, my heart racing with anticipation…

“Bwa, hahaha…!”

…the moment the Weaver of Legends handed me the item with a triumphant grin brimming with confidence, I had the exact same reaction she did.

“Hah! What is this, it’s hilarious. Is this for real?”

“It is not. It’s absolutely not. I can’t wait to unleash this information on the world.”

Arcadia’s specialty: the instantaneous brain-install.

Even without needing to scrutinize the ridiculous amount of information that had just flashed through my virtual mind, the displayed specs were insane from top to bottom.

Nice. Very nice.

“Which arm do you want it on? Want me to do it for you?”

“The left. That’s its home now.”

There was no reason to refuse her offer, so I handed the item back to Kagura-san. As I did, caught up in the excitement, we instinctively clasped hands in a firm shake, then looked at each other and laughed, as if to say, what are we even doing?

And so, with her own hands, she secured the bracelet to my left wrist.

The previous exchange had been a formal presentation to a client. But this time…

“Here we go.”

“Bring it on.”

…it was a small, celebratory ritual between the Weaver and the Wielder.

◇ Do you accept the body integration of [True Theory: An=Re Galta (Armor Singing of the King's Key)]? ◇

◇ ※This operation is semi-permanent and cannot be undone.※ ◇

There was only one answer.

Yes.

The moment I declared it to the voice of God (the system) echoing in my mind.

“—!”

The bracelet fastened to my wrist—the base item that had become not a Body-Integrated Anima but the virtual world’s first Body-Integrated Terror Armament—dissolved into my avatar.

Its previous form had merely been a standby phase before fusing with its wielder’s body. Having moved beyond hypothesis to its true form, the real identity of our Terror Armament lay ahead.

After the base item vanished, the next change happened to me. My left arm began to glow faintly from fingertips to shoulder as a subtle warmth spread through my entire avatar, my virtual heartbeat quickening its rhythm.

“Calm down. It’s the same phenomenon as with a Body-Integrated Anima. Nothing to worry about.”

“D-Did I look nervous…?”

If anything, I was so overcome with excitement that I hadn’t even been aware of my own state… and in the brief time it took for that lighthearted exchange,

“Oh.”

“See?”

…the ritual came to an unceremonious end. The light faded, and tranquility returned to my body. And thus, of course, what came to my hand was not merely the ordinary.

“Think you can compensate for the missing gloves and boots?”

“Like you even have to ask…”

Her voice was teasing. Kagura-san, more playful than ever, might actually have been more excited than I was.

Well then, consider this my thanks for another job well done.

“Then behold…!”

I theatrically swung my left arm.

Until today—it may not have been for long, but it had served me well in both offense and defense—the gauntlet was gone. The reassuring fit and weight of the bangle, which had become so familiar, was also gone. And the bracelet that had just dissolved was gone, too.

But on the back of my hand.

—There, a faintly glowing crest had appeared, containing everything.

“Become my Armor—”

Activation authorized. Full Armament.

“[True Theory: An=Re Galta]!”

My left arm was merely the vessel. That Terror Armament had made my entire avatar its home, so there was no single point of origin for the transformation.

And yet, the change was over in the blink of an eye.

Like painting a picture with a bold stroke, or a wave swallowing a sandy shore. With a loud yet nimble VWOOSH, it manifested—

—a suit of platinum knight’s armor.

I didn’t need a mirror to know.

Anyone who saw this form, clad head to toe in a power I could feel with aching intensity…

“...Hah. You look just like a human-sized [Angalta, God-Wedge Sword-King].”

…would surely say the exact same thing as my Weaver of Legends.

---

A practical demonstration is imminent.

Consider the Prologue of a Terror Armament to be its infancy. And the next stage, the Hypothesis, its childhood. With that in mind, please look forward to what comes next.