I Became an Illegal Cheat User – Chapter 128

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Ha. Seriously?

‘They’re calling child abuse a trial?’

I couldn’t believe it. I chuckled mirthlessly.

‘Fine, let’s say this bullshit is a trial.’

Then shouldn’t they feel sorry for As?

Shouldn’t they feel guilty about making a seven-year-old child go through a trial?

‘But why are they so self-righteous?’

As if they were doing something noble.

As if it was only natural for the Hero to be a child.

I strongly disliked the sword’s attitude.

‘What should I do?’

I wanted to break the sword right now.

I wanted to melt this piece of junk, which had the audacity to call itself “Sacred,” in a furnace.

But unfortunately, I couldn’t.

Because…

…like a proper holy sword, it had the “Indestructible” option, just like a Rank S item.

That didn’t mean it couldn’t be destroyed.

Astra.

With my favorite Rank S weapon, I could destroy even items with the “Indestructible” option.

Of course, I hadn’t tested it in reality, so I wasn’t entirely sure. But since it was possible in the game, I assumed it was possible in reality as well.

So, I could use this Rank C holy sword, which wasn’t even a minus rank, as a sacrifice for Astra’s Imitation.

But unfortunately…

…I couldn’t feed this annoying holy sword to Astra.

‘Negates Death Fog.’

The purple fog I had seen with Clairvoyance.

The option that seemed to allow entry into the fog that covered most of the northern region.

And the option that had eliminated the Destroy the holy sword choice from my mind.

‘Destroys the Demon King’s Immortality.’

The option that revealed the Demon King’s immortality and provided a means to destroy it. Because of this option, I couldn’t destroy the holy sword.

‘…This is so annoying.’

Not only was it unfortunate that As, this little girl, had become the Hero because of the rules, but this troublesome holy sword, with its disregard for the situation, the conditions, and the child’s state, was infuriating.

I glared at the holy sword, feeling my blood boil.

And then, I sighed and thought,

‘…I don’t like it, but it can’t be helped.’

I had to reason with it.

As I was about to speak…

– Hey, can’t you hear me? Remove your filthy hand from me this instant!

…the holy sword spoke in an arrogant, commanding tone.

Crackle!

And it unleashed an even stronger surge of electricity.

“……”

Ah, this wasn’t going to work.

“Reason with it? Please.”

Seeing the Aegis shields on my fingers turning gray, their absorption gauge almost full, I realized that reasoning with this piece of junk was too merciful.

“Terra.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Take As and move away.”

“Yes, Master.”

Terra curtsied gracefully at my command.

And she took As, who was looking at us with a confused expression, and moved away. Or rather, more than just moving away…

“As, would you like some ice cream?”

“Ice cream? What’s that?”

“It’s a cold, sweet dessert.”

“Gasp…! Sweet! Yes, please!”

“Very well. This way, please.”

…she retrieved an Iron Golem in its vehicle form from my inventory and got inside with As.

As expected of Terra.

She knew exactly what I wanted.

Of course, it was because she could read my mind, since her essence was the System.

Still, I praised her for taking As away from the holy sword, just as I had intended.

As I was having that thought, the holy sword, which had been unleashing electricity as if trying to burn my hand, asked,

– …What are you planning?

Its voice trembled slightly.

It seemed surprised that As had obediently gone with Terra.

I smirked and opened my inventory.

“What am I planning?”

I retrieved Astra, the teacher who would discipline this arrogant holy sword.

“I’m planning on fixing your rotten attitude.”

– What are you…

The holy sword’s voice trailed off, as if it had seen something terrifying.

The electricity that had been filling the damage absorption gauge of my Aegis shields vanished, and the holy sword trembled, as if in vibrate mode.

– W-what is that?!

The arrogance from before was gone, replaced by fear.

It shrieked.

I grinned and said,

“Oh, this? Say hello.”

I moved my hand closer to the holy sword.

The arrowhead of Astra, which had been floating languidly above my palm, turned towards the holy sword, as if it had spotted a delicious meal.

“This is the teacher who will discipline you.”

And as I spoke, the holy sword’s scream echoed in my mind.

– Kyaaaaaaaaa! Get that away from me!

Crackle!

And a surge of electricity, far more powerful than before, erupted.

Poof!

The Aegis shield on my finger, which had been turning gray, its absorption gauge almost full, turned to dust and vanished.

And the next Aegis shield began to rapidly change color.

“Go ahead, resist all you want.”

I have plenty more.

I equipped a new Aegis shield using Transfer and tightened my grip on the holy sword.

– Kyaaa! Kyaaaaa!

The holy sword shrieked.

The more of its blade I pulled out of the ground, the louder its screams and the stronger the electricity became.

I ignored it and continued pulling.

– Don’t pull it out! Don’t pull it out!

No, I will.

– Noooooooo—!!

Seriously, you’re so loud.

Anyone would think I was doing something evil.

I frowned at the screams echoing in my mind and pulled the holy sword out of the ground.

– No! The trial…!!

“No what?”

As expected, this holy sword needed discipline, not conversation. I had to fix its attitude for As’s sake.

– …You! Do you think you’ll get away with this?!

“Yes, I will.”

I’ll live a long and healthy life, don’t you worry.

– Insolent human! God’s wrath will befall you!

“Oh, I’m so scared.”

God’s wrath, huh?

As if the rules, which were practically the System, would do that.

And if the rules had sentience…

…if there really was a god in this world…

…then my actions were justified.

The option embedded in the holy sword:

‘Can impose trials upon the user (Hero).’

Nowhere did it specify the difficulty of the trials.

So, it could impose trials suitable for As, trials appropriate for a child.

Of course, the item description stated that As’s power would increase proportionally to the trial’s difficulty.

But was it really necessary to impose a trial that was beyond her capabilities, a trial she couldn’t even begin to overcome, like pulling this sword out of the ground?

I didn’t think so.

Building strength?

Important.

Increasing the item’s rank?

Also important.

But were they so important that they justified pushing As, the Hero, beyond her limits?

‘Honestly, if I were the holy sword, I would impose trials gradually, within As’s capabilities.’

The rank up gauge could only be filled five times a day, so what was the rush?

‘…Well, choosing a seven-year-old child as the Hero is already outrageous.’

If the rules had sentience, they would be considered an evil god.

So, my actions were justified.

Disciplining the holy sword for the Hero’s sake, as a member of the Hero’s party, was the right thing to do.

– …You’ll trip and fall! You’ll lose all your money! Bad things will happen to you! So, let go of me!

“Oh, really? That would be terrible.”

God’s wrath was so… cute.

I chuckled and held the holy sword upright.

And I reached out towards Astra, its arrowhead pointed at the holy sword as if eager for a meal.

“Astra, open wide.”

Here comes a sacrifice.

– Kyaaaaa! No! No!!

“Yes!”

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– I apologize. I’m truly sorry. I was greedy. I apologize for my insolence. From now on, I’ll impose trials suitable for the Hero, easier trials…

“And…”

– …and I won’t be disrespectful again…

“Good. Behave yourself. Understand?”

– …Yes.

The discipline had been successful.

After dipping the holy sword in and out of Astra a few times, it finally yielded.

Of course, there had been a minor incident where Astra, offended that I had only teased it with a delicious meal after telling it to open wide, had sulked and retreated into my inventory.

Anyway, the holy sword’s attitude had improved significantly. So, it was a good outcome.

“From now on, unless we’re in combat, stay in this form. Understand?”

– …Yes, I understand.

And as a result of the discipline… a new option had been added to the holy sword.

“Wow… Mister. Is this my holy sword?”

“Yes, this is your holy sword.”

“Heehee, it’s so small!”

Form Transformation.

The holy sword, which had been a longsword suitable for an adult, had shrunk to the size of a paring knife, a rather famous one on Earth, having its energy absorbed by Astra each time it was inserted.

It was an unexpected harvest, a survival tactic developed by the holy sword.

– …How did I end up like this… Sob…

The holy sword in As’s hand trembled and whimpered.

“Mister, my holy sword is crying.”

“It’s happy because it’s small now.”

“I see.”

As nodded, seemingly convinced, and licked her soft-serve ice cream.

Then, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Terra, who was sitting beside her.

“Miss, this is so delicious!”

“Is that so? I’m glad you like it.”

Terra smiled faintly and wiped As’s messy mouth with a handkerchief.

As giggled at Terra’s gesture.

Ah, what a heartwarming sight.

I thought, raising my right wrist.

I activated the hologram on my smartwatch and opened the group chat with the main characters.

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[Lee Yu-jin]

– ETA to the royal capital: 3 hours.

– And I’ve picked up the Hero.

[Arthur]

– That’s good news.

– Thanks to you, we don’t have to search for the Hero separately.

[Noah]

– Lee Yu-jin-nim, thank you for your hard work.

[Lee Seo-yeon]

– Yu-jin, contact me when you arrive at the royal capital.

– I’ll come pick you up right away.

[Asuka]

– Yu-jin-ssi! We’re all at the inn where Lee Seo-yeon-ssi is staying! See you there!

[Lee Yu-jin]

– Okay, see you later.

[Asuka]

– Oh, right!

– Yu-jin-ssi, what does the Hero look like?

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What does she look like?

I turned my head at Asuka’s question.

And I looked at the little angel, no, the little Hero, giggling cheerfully. I typed on the hologram keyboard.

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[Lee Yu-jin]

– Incredibly cute.

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There was no other way to describe her.

[T/N: He’s cooked with that message]

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