Soon, a few days passed.
During this time, Ying Ping had been completing the daily 'Preparation of the Strongest,' constantly increasing his strength and agility.
He hadn't gone to the Dungeon again.
The reason was simple.
Hestia had gone to Hephaestus, the God of Forging, to acquire a top-tier weapon for Ying Ping.
"Master, my spear skills seem to have improved!"
Kokkoro held the staff spear with both hands, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, but her face was beaming with an excited smile.
Ying Ping nodded in satisfaction, "Good, your movements are much smoother than yesterday."
Just then, at the edge of the horizon.
"You two, I'm back!! Did you miss me—"
Hestia rushed over, flushed, tightly clutching a long, black wooden box.
Her hair was a bit disheveled, and her skirt was stained with some dust; she had clearly run all the way back.
"Lady Goddess!"
Kokkoro greeted her joyfully, "You're finally back!"
Ying Ping put away his training wooden sword, a smile unconsciously curving his lips, "It seems it was forged successfully?"
"Of course!"
Hestia proudly puffed out her chest, carefully placing the wooden box in front of them, "This was personally forged by Hephaestus!"
"She was unwilling at first, but I pestered her for a long, long time~"
Hestia lowered her voice mysteriously, "And, this sword uses incredibly precious materials, and her divine forging technique too!"
Ying Ping's heart trembled.
Divine forging.
That was a technique even Orario's top blacksmiths struggled to achieve, rumored to be only wielded by gods.
Therefore, such a weapon was also worthy of being called a divine weapon, its value probably immeasurable by money.
"Alright, come and see!"
Hestia took a deep breath and solemnly opened the wooden box—
"Clang!"
A cold light flashed, and the pitch-black sword lay quietly on the crimson velvet cloth.
The blade was long and somewhat wide, with a deep, dark color throughout, as if it could absorb the surrounding light.
The sword body was covered with ancient sacred script, the characters faintly glowing with a faint blue light.
The hilt had knuckle-duster-like guards, and a small golden gem was inlaid in the grip, complementing the patterns like a rising sun.
"This is... my sword?"
Ying Ping was instantly captivated. He held his breath and reached out to grasp the hilt.
The moment of contact, a strange resonance emanated from his palm, as if the sword was resonating with the magic within him.
The sacred script on the sword lit up one by one, then quickly faded.
This sword looked very ordinary, but its actual weight was very heavy.
Just picking it up, one could tell it was painstakingly forged for a first-class adventurer.
[Detecting a growth-type divine artifact]
[Name: Hestia's Sword]
[Properties: Indestructible, Infinite Growth, Elemental Affinity]
[Current Weapon Level: LV6 (Can level up with the user)]
Ying Ping lightly swung the longsword, and the blade cut through the air, leaving a brilliant silver-white trail.
"It's perfect, the quality of this sword exceeds my imagination..."
He murmured, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Hestia proudly wiggled her index finger, "This sword was initially forged for a Level 6 first-class adventurer!"
"Hephaestus also said that this sword will continue to grow stronger as you grow..."
Kokkoro curiously leaned closer, her small hand gently touching the blade, "Such a beautiful weapon..."
"Thank you, Hestia."
Ying Ping bowed solemnly to Hestia, "I will absolutely not let down your kindness."
"Oh, why so formal~"
Hestia waved her hand shyly, "We're family!"
She suddenly remembered something and slapped her head, "Oh right, Hephaestus also said that there was an unexpected occurrence during the forging process."
"It can unleash greater power by chanting a spell through 'True Name Release.'"
"As for what the sword's spell is..."
Her face flushed, her eyes darted around, and she stammered awkwardly.
"It wouldn't be something like 'Please, Hestia' or 'Fight for Hestia,' would it?"
Ying Ping said casually.
"Eh? That's it! You, how did you know?!"
Hestia was stunned, not expecting him to guess it right away.
"Does it even need guessing?"
Ying Ping smiled and sheathed the longsword.
The scabbard was also entirely black, with simple patterns outlined in silver thread.
"Master, are you going to name this sword?"
Kokkoro asked expectantly.
Ying Ping gently stroked the blade with his fingers: "It already has a name—it's called 'Hestia's Sword'."
As soon as he finished speaking, the sacred script on the blade suddenly lit up entirely.
A faint blue light flickered in the room for an instant, then returned to calm.
Hestia and Kokkoro exchanged surprised glances.
"Hehehe, Ying Ping-kun, it seems we truly have a telepathic connection. I never thought you'd think of the same thing as me~"
"That's right, as soon as this sword was forged, I took the liberty of naming it that~"
Hestia said with a smile.
"I see, this sword looks as if it has a life of its own..."
Kokkoro exclaimed in admiration.
"With the divine weapon in hand, the era belonging to our Hestia Familia has finally arrived!"
Ying Ping fastened the longsword to his waist, feeling this brand new power.
He seemed to already see countless monsters torn to shreds, and himself standing at the very pinnacle of Orario.
"Let's go, Kokkoro."
Ying Ping walked towards the door, his eyes burning with fighting spirit, "I've been cooped up for days, it's time to go to the Dungeon and test the power of this sword!"
"Yes, Master!"
Kokkoro immediately picked up her staff-spear and trotted to catch up.
"Wait, Ying Ping-kun, Kokkoro-chan, aren't you going to update your status before heading out?"
"Not this time. You get some good rest first, and we'll update together when we get back tonight!"
"I guarantee it will surprise you!"
Hestia stood at the doorway, a relieved smile on her face as she watched their spirited figures.
"Be very careful—"
She waved and shouted, "I'll buy some delicious food and wait for you to come back tonight!"
"Got it!"
Ying Ping waved without looking back, a hint of excited battle intent curving his lips.
In the morning light, two figures, one tall and one short, advanced towards the Babel Tower.
'Hestia's Sword' gleamed with a subtle sharpness under the sunlight... At the entrance of the Babel Tower's Dungeon.
Ying Ping and Kokkoro's figures flashed past, the surrounding adventurers barely catching a glimpse of them, only feeling a gust of wind sweep by.
"Master, you're so fast!"
Kokkoro followed closely behind Ying Ping, her silver hair fluttering in the wind, her ruby-like eyes sparkling with excitement.
Ying Ping's lips curved slightly, his right hand resting on Hestia's Sword at his waist, feeling the steady touch from the hilt.
"Let's break through to the tenth floor in one go today, I want to level up again!"
Before his words finished, his figure had already turned into an afterimage, rushing into the Dungeon entrance.
The two stepped onto the first floor of the Dungeon.
The familiar goblins immediately swarmed them, emitting piercing screeches.
"Too slow."
Ying Ping's Eagle Eye swept over them, and without even drawing his sword, he merely flicked his scabbard—
"Bang!"
Three goblins were struck as if by a giant hammer, instantly flying backward, crashing heavily against the wall and turning into dust.
[Killed Goblins (3/3)]
"H-how powerful!"
Kokkoro exclaimed.
Ying Ping also looked at his hand with some surprise: "The increase in strength these past few days is even more than I imagined..."
The following scene was like a hurricane passing through.
Ying Ping, like an approaching storm, led Kokkoro downwards, and wherever they passed, all monsters turned into dust.
The long-tongued lizards on the third floor?
Too lazy to draw his sword, he simply used the scabbard to smash their tongues and heads open.
The Kobolds on the fourth floor?
Still no need to draw his sword; the scabbard flashed, and over a dozen bodies exploded simultaneously.
As for the Uglies on the fifth floor?
Before they could even unleash their sonic attacks, they were smashed to death by Ying Ping with a scabbard or his fists and feet.
Soon, Ying Ping caught up to his previous progress and arrived at the sixth floor—the territory of shadows.
In the gloomy passage, several War Shadows silently emerged from the shadows, their crimson eye slits locking onto the intruders.
However, their stealth was meaningless before Eagle Eye, and they didn't even have time to launch a sneak attack—
"Swish!"
A dark afterimage flashed, and the air seemed to tear with a sharp, booming sound.
Ying Ping still hadn't drawn his sword, merely executing a horizontal sweep with the scabbard.
"Bang bang bang!!!"
The terrifying force directly caused the bodies of three War Shadows to explode in mid-air, dissipating into black fragments.
"Master is amazing!"
"These monsters can't stop you at all!"
Kokkoro followed behind, barely keeping up with Ying Ping's pace, only able to continuously pick up the dropped magic stones and materials.
Ying Ping stood at the staircase leading from the sixth to the seventh floor, shaking the blood off his sword.
The continuous fighting hadn't made him sweat a single drop; he only felt a slight sense of warming up.
"This sword... it's even handier than I imagined."
Ying Ping muttered to himself, "And I can feel that it's still adapting to my strength and eager to grow even more..."
Kokkoro trotted up, her elven ears twitching excitedly: "Master, shall we head to the seventh floor now? I heard the monsters there are much stronger than the first six floors..."
Ying Ping ruffled her hair: "Of course we are."
He took a deep breath and, with Kokkoro, stepped down the stairs.