Hungry Soul Great Scythe

My neck was severed, and my skull went rolling across the floor. The scythe that had cut off my head plunged into the floor with the force of the swing.

"Ah, that startled me."

I casually rubbed the area around my severed neck and checked the condition of my brand-new head. I had somehow survived without a care, but that was thanks to the effect of 【Will to Live】: the 【Floating Skull】 that remained when I died had become my replacement head.

Although I was in critical condition, I had at least avoided death. Whew, that was close. I decided to consider myself lucky that I had been able to confirm the effect of 【Will to Live】. Still, having it activate for the first time because my own weapon cut me down was a little underwhelming.

"A-are you all right!? Your head! Your head went flying!"

"I'm fine. Thanks to my Skill. More importantly..."

I turned my eyes toward the scythe embedded in the floor. While Iris and I had looked away, the scythe had undergone a major change in shape. Until then, it had looked brand-new, and aside from its blade and handle being darker than ordinary iron, it had been a normal great scythe.

But what was it like now? Its handle was decorated with what appeared to be a sinister skeletal design, and the blade, which had previously been curved like an ordinary scythe, was now rippling like a wave. It was completely different from before.

"What in the world is going on? Iris, do you know?"

"I don't know... But isn't that what caused it?"

"That?"

The thing Iris pointed one of her tentacles at was my skull, which for some reason had lost its entire upper half. Looking closely, I could see that the skull was still gradually weathering away. Watching my own skull crumble away was probably a very valuable experience.

Setting that aside, the reason my skull was weathering away didn't seem to be simply because it had fallen from my neck. The reason I could say that was because the bone, weathered into something like fine sand, was flowing toward the scythe and being absorbed even though there was no wind. It looked as if the scythe were devouring my bones.

"This is only a guess, but I think that scythe is completed by absorbing the head of the person whose neck it cuts off."

"It becomes complete by killing its owner...? No NPC could ever use it."

If Iris's guess was correct, there was no weapon less suitable for giving to an NPC. They didn't revive after dying. It might be possible with resurrection magic, but unlike players, they couldn't simply respawn at a designated location. A weapon that required its owner's life to complete could hardly have any takers. Unless they possessed a way to avoid instant death like I did, it had to be considered a weapon exclusively for players.

While we were discussing this, my skull completely disappeared and was absorbed into the scythe. Then a black haze reminiscent of my 【Abyssal Aura】 began pouring from the blade. Ugh... This couldn't possibly be...

"...Isn't it cursed?"

"You think so too, Iris?"

Its atmosphere was eerily similar to the weapons that Demon Spirits occasionally left behind. But I couldn't just leave it there. I nervously gripped the handle and pulled the scythe out of the floor. At the same time, the haze pouring from the blade grew even stronger. It was almost as if the scythe were happy. For now, I might as well use 【Appraisal】.

――――――――――

Hungry Soul Great Scythe Quality: Fair Rarity: G (God-class)

A great scythe that has recovered part of its true power. Indestructible. Bound to its owner.

A cursed weapon that devours the souls of those it cuts and defiles their flesh and blood.

Enhancement Materials: Darksteel ×20, Evil Souls ×4

Equipment Effect: 【Dark-Attribute Infusion】

【Soul Drain】

【Tainted Blood】

【Sealed】

【Sealed】

※This weapon is cursed and cannot be purified.

――――――――――

"What...? A curse that can't be purified...?"

I couldn't help letting out a displeased groan. I didn't know what sort of curse had been placed on it, but it was surprising that it couldn't be purified. In fact, I already knew how to remove curses.

All you had to do was soak cursed equipment in the Holy Water sold at temples. The stronger the curse, the more Holy Water you needed and the longer you had to leave the item submerged, but it was a simpler process than I had expected.

Holy Water could also be obtained at the temple in Bardy Perch by exchanging metal household goods for it. Using that Holy Water, Iris purified cursed weapons, turned them back into ingots, and made various weapons and useful tools. Most of the members who used metal weapons had replaced them with Iris's latest creations.

Meanwhile, Shiitake seemed to be experimenting to see if she could do anything with weapons while they were still cursed. I had vaguely sensed it ever since we met, but apparently she had a bit of a mad scientist side to her.

In any case, it was surprising that purification was impossible. A cursed weapon might suit my appearance better, but equipping something while knowing it was cursed was a little frightening, you know?

"Still, Iris went to all that trouble to repair it. Should I equip it?"

Even knowing it was cursed, I didn't want to let a weapon Iris had gone to the trouble of enhancing become nothing more than inventory filler. I didn't know what effect the curse would have, but perhaps its drawbacks would be minor once I tried equipping it. All right, equip!

――――――――――

You have been afflicted with the 'Curse of Forbidden Healing.'

While equipped, you cannot recover through magic or medicine.

The amount recovered through natural regeneration is halved.

――――――――――

Hmm, I really was cursed after all. Apparently, the 'Curse of Forbidden Healing' negatively affected all forms of recovery. Fortunately, I could unequip it, so all I had to do was remove it after battle. Since I was a rear-line fighter who rarely took damage in the first place, it wasn't that harsh a curse for me. It would add a little extra hassle, but that was all.

More importantly, its equipment effects were excellent enough to outweigh the drawback. 【Dark-Attribute Infusion】 remained unchanged, and two effects had been released from their seals. The first, 【Soul Drain】, absorbed the magic power of an opponent damaged by an attack from the scythe. I didn't know how efficient the absorption was, but since it only required dealing 'damage,' it seemed I could drain magic power with Flying Slash as well. Not having to approach the enemy was a great help.

The second, 【Tainted Blood】, randomly inflicted a status ailment when dealing damage. I didn't know the probability of inflicting one, either, but randomness wasn't bad since it made the effect difficult for enemies to counter.

Besides, I had 【Abyssal Aura】, so anyone who approached me would constantly tremble in fear of status ailments. Still, it was unreliable, so I couldn't afford to place too much faith in it.

"H-how did it go?"

"It seems that it only makes recovery more difficult. It's not as if I can never unequip it, so there's no need to worry."

"No, no, isn't being unable to heal pretty dangerous?"

The one who cut in was Shiitake, who could practically be called the other mistress of the workshop by now. When had she come here?

"I saw you two go into this cramped room, you see..."

"Hey, were you watching from the start?"

I was dumbfounded as Shiitake chuckled while scratching the base on the underside of her cap. We weren't doing anything that would have been embarrassing to be seen, nor had we said anything that would have been troublesome to overhear. Still, being told that she had been peeking in the entire time left me feeling a little awkward.

"More importantly, about that scythe. Are you really going to use it?"

"Of course. I wanted to know what a cursed weapon was like, and I've already equipped it, so that warning is a little late."

"I see. Let me know if anything weird happens~"

After saying only that, Shiitake left. What had that been about...?

"Could you try using it for now? Our next expedition is tomorrow, and it would be good to get accustomed to it."

"That's true. I suppose I will. I'll invite someone at random and go test it out."

"Take care."

I left her workshop with Iris seeing me off. First, I would go to the clan house, find someone who was free, and head out into the field with them.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"In that case, we'll focus on providing support."

"Sorry for dragging you into this."

And so, I had made my way into the 'Gale Grasslands.' Accompanying me were Eiji, Shifune, Wool, and the Kanna-and-Raga pair. Kar usually followed me everywhere, but he had been sleeping soundly today, so I left him alone. Besides, if Kar were here in his current state, he might wipe out every enemy before I had any time to test the weapon's performance. This was probably for the best.

The two mounted soldiers wouldn't be joining the battle, either. They were out riding through the grassland on a date, so they weren't in our party.

"Let us know if anything happens. We'll hurry over as quickly as possible."

"Thank you."

"Sorry to trouble you. Likewise, if anything happens, we'll head over at full speed."

With that, the two of them galloped off into the grassland. Their original reason for starting the game had been to ride freely like that. Now that their wish had come true, they looked incredibly lively. Enjoying yourself was a good thing, and the fact that they were playing together like that made it clear that they had a good relationship as a married couple. Interrupting them would be unthinkable. Raga was over there, so I might really get kicked by a horse and respawn!

"Then let us go as well."

"Leave the front line to me."

"Cursed weapons... They're a little scary."

"It's fiiine. It doesn't have any effect that makes you go berserk or anything."

Shifune seemed a little frightened by the idea of me testing a cursed weapon, but Wool calmed her down. Hmm, perhaps it was because the very phrase 'cursed weapon' sounded so dangerous?

"Magic Echo... Hmm, five enemies are approaching from ahead. Stay alert."

As we advanced while using Magic Echo, I sensed the presence of enemies. My companions immediately shifted into battle formation. Now, what would come rushing out?

"Grrrrrrrrr!!!"

"Wind Lioness?"

The Wind Lioness was a fairly common monster in this field. It also appeared as a boss's minion and was reliably strong. However, its level was too low for it to be considered much of a threat.

"Perfect for a test cut. Fall back."

I stepped forward as I said this. Eiji and the others obediently fell back. That was because they believed I could defeat them easily even on my own. As long as they trusted me, I couldn't afford to put on a pathetic performance.

"First, Flying Slash."

"Graaah!?"

As a simple test, I used Flying Slash, a martial skill of 【Scythe Arts】. The dark-attribute flying slash tore into the lead Wind Lioness, which had been charging straight at me.

"G... Grrrr..."

"As expected, my stats aren't enough to kill it instantly. But I seem to have confirmed the effects of 【Soul Drain】 and 【Tainted Blood】."

I grinned when the test cut immediately produced results. When Flying Slash struck its target, my magic power recovered slightly, and a paralysis status ailment icon appeared on the Wind Lioness's status display. This had to mean that 【Soul Drain】 and 【Tainted Blood】 had successfully taken effect.

"Let's keep this up. Short Teleport."

"Gyaa!?"

I used 【Spatial Magic】 to instantly teleport behind the group and cut the one running at the rear. I hadn't used a martial skill this time, but my magic power recovered again as soon as I cut it. However, it wasn't afflicted with a status ailment.

"The effect of 【Soul Drain】 seems stronger when I cut the target directly. Next, I should get a rough idea of how often 【Tainted Blood】 activates."

I continued swinging the great scythe and carried on with my testing. What I learned was that the amount of magic power drained by 【Soul Drain】 was proportional to the damage dealt, while 【Tainted Blood】 was more likely to activate when the target was cut directly by the blade. Well, that was more or less what I had expected.

"Hmm... If I combine it with magic, I could probably defeat a Spartoi one-on-one. But without magic, that's asking too much."

"No, no, if there were a mage who could beat a frontliner around the same level through close combat alone, I'd be horrified."

"...I suppose that's true."

In conclusion, fighting with only the great scythe was reckless. The magic recovered wasn't worth the risk of taking damage. It might have been fine if I were a frontliner specialized in using scythes, but to me, the scythe was merely a weapon for emergencies. It would be better to treat it as an upgrade to my long-range attacks, such as Flying Slash, and use it accordingly.

"This should be enough test cutting."

"Then, shall we go to the 'Black Death Ice Forest' now? We should be able to evolve soon."

"Of course, I don't mind. What about you two?"

"Let's go!"

"I'm going~"

If they were on the verge of evolving, they probably wanted to earn as much experience as possible before the expedition. I wanted experience too, so I was happy to go to the 'Black Death Ice Forest.'

"Then... Hmm? What's wrong, Eiji?"

"Those are Kanna-san and Raga-san, right?"

Just as we were about to head toward the 'Black Death Ice Forest,' Eiji apparently spotted Kanna and Raga running toward us. Had something happened?

"Hey, everyone!"

"What's wrong, Raga? You look like you're in a hurry..."

"We found the entrance to a Random Dungeon! Want to clear it together!?"

We exchanged glances and immediately nodded.