*Hephaestus' POV*
'What are all these skills? What is all of this? Why did he suddenly receive all of this?' These were the questions that kept running through my mind as I lay beside Eryk.
After updating his Falna and seeing that new skill, I felt happy and excited.
But after receiving the explanation of the skill, I got scared.
Something like this shouldn't exist.
I've never seen anything like it. I'm a Goddess, yet I've never seen this skill before.
This skill isn't recorded anywhere in this world.
'What happened to Eryk?'
I started thinking about how much he had changed.
His confidence, his willpower, his abilities—everything changed overnight. At this point, I'm starting to doubt whether he's even the same person. 'Should I trust him?' I looked at Eryk's back.
Then, he turned to me, and our eyes met in the darkness.
"What is it? Can't sleep?" Eryk asked.
I didn't know what to say.
What should I ask?
Should I ask if he's really the Eryk I know? Should I ask if he did something he shouldn't have to obtain these skills? And if he really is Eryk, what if he gets upset that I'm doubting him?
What should I say?
"Darling?" As his sweet voice reached my ears, I asked a single question.
"Eryk, can I trust you?"
Eryk answered without hesitation.
"You can trust me. I love you, and I will never deceive you."
His words are... true.
So, I decided to trust him.
####
*Eryk's POV*
I woke up the next morning, and Hephaestus was no longer in bed.
'Eryk, can I trust you?'
Those words echoed in my mind.
"Why did she ask me that? Maybe because of her boyfriend's sudden change? Has she finally started to suspect that I'm a completely different person?"
But how do I fix this?
There's no way.
I don't know exactly what this body's previous personality was like. And now that I've acted this way for so long, there's no turning back to the 'normal.'
"Honestly, it would be impossible for me to copy someone's personality… Everything would be much easier if I had received all of this body's memories. System, is there a way to obtain those memories?"
Unfortunately, the system didn't respond.
"That would make things so much easier…"
I got up and went to the bathroom. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. After that, I remembered the skill I received yesterday, along with the changes in my Falna. I'm much stronger now.
And I can evolve much faster since I can earn Excelia just by forging.
I'm getting more and more excited.
"I need to forge a new sword before heading to the dungeon. If I can't forge a good enough sword, I'll have to use the one with the 'Lightning LV4' skill. I think it should be good enough."
It doesn't have a regeneration skill, and the 'Magic Boost' skill is only LV2, but it should do the job.
I left the room and headed to the dining hall.
When I entered, Nina was waiting for me.
"Good morning, Nina."
"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes. I'm feeling much better than yesterday. I already want to get back to work."
"You're going back to the dungeon!? You almost died in there!"
"That's not it. I'm going back to forging swords. I need a new sword since I lost my main one. I also need new armor. Besides that, I want to try forging other types of weapons as well."
So far, I haven't tried forging a longsword, a dagger, a knife, a spear, or an axe.
I've never attempted to forge any of those.
I want to see if the system helps with forging things other than swords and armor.
'It probably will. It's a blacksmithing system, after all.'
"I'm glad. I was worried you'd get hurt in the dungeon again."
"I'll have to go back there at some point."
"But I hope that by then, you're much stronger and more prepared. I don't want to hear any more stories about you getting hurt. I was so anxious listening to what happened yesterday."
She was in the dining hall when I told Hephaestus about what had happened in the dungeon.
However, she only heard about the fights. I don't want her to find out about the system.
"Don't worry, I'm sure I won't lose a leg again. But I can't promise I won't lose an arm."
"Eryk!"
"I'm kidding."
####
After finishing breakfast, I went to the training room and then to the storage to get the sword with the 'Lightning LV4' skill. I took it out and examined it using the system to refresh my memory of all its abilities.
[ Lightning LV4 ]
[ Magic Enhancement LV2 ]
[ Jump LV2 ]
"I still haven't tested this last skill."
I took the sword out of storage and decided to test the skill.
"But is doing that in here really a good idea?"
Remembering what happened when I tested the 'Lightning' skill inside last time, I gave up on the idea.
"I'll test it later. I think it's better to focus on forging something first. Oh, right, the system mentioned that it had placed some rewards in my inventory. I had completely forgotten about that."
I opened my inventory and was surprised.
"What the hell? So many ores!"
I had already collected a lot of ores, but the number I received after completing the mission was much higher. I had received over 500 ores just for completing the mission!
Of course, that wasn't all.
I also received other items.
A new hammer and a few different materials.
I took the hammer and items out of my inventory and placed them on the table.
"First, the hammer!"
####
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Next chapters: Chapter 67 - New hammer and rings. / Chapter 68 - Giant hammer. / Chapter 69 - Forge me a sword. / Chapter 70 - Discomfort. / Chapter 71 - Who do you think I am? / Chapter 72 - Should I get close to him? / Chapter 73 - I don't have many friends. / Chapter 74 - Preparing to face the boss.