For two days straight, Rayleigh was accompanied by at least two or more beautiful girls.
Riveria visited once during the day, bringing Alicia and Ais.
Aside from Ais stuffing an apple into his mouth and urging him in her childish voice to recover—her expressionless, doll-like face making it feel a bit eerie....
He was discharged from the hospital by evening.
'Sigh.'
For the first time, he felt that staying in the hospital could be enjoyable.
'Is this the power of beautiful girls? Turning a decay into wonder.'
As soon as he was discharged, Rayleigh ignored the doctor's orders and headed to his workshop.
There, he found a burly, muscular man sitting in front of the door.
Rayleigh blinked, walked over, and gave him a couple of nudges with his foot.
"Ottar? Why are you sleeping in front of my door?"
After being nudged a few times, the Boarman raised his head.
Seeing the person he'd been waiting for, he spoke up. "Eight hundred million Valis. I've prepared it."
He stood up.
The moment he rose, Rayleigh's eyes widened.
The body of the city's strongest was covered in countless wounds. Lacerations... puncture wounds... signs of corrosion...
A chunk of flesh on his left rib was gone, revealing the bone beneath!
'What kind of hell had this guy gone through?'
"You..."
"I only have three hundred million Valis. The rest will be made up with materials. Is that acceptable?" Ottar pulled over a large sack and untied the opening.
Inside were materials dropped only by monsters from the Deep Floors!
While Orario had numerous Familias and Adventurers, fewer than five Familias could reach the Deep Floors. Thus, materials produced from floors below the 40th were priceless. Due to their scarcity and difficulty in acquisition, many of these materials had their own legends outside of Orario.
Yet Ottar brought an entire sack of them.
Recalling his last visit, it hadn't been long at all.
'This guy... Could it be that he's been exploring the Deep Floors alone since then?'
Realizing this, Rayleigh's eyes widened, and a crazed smile spread across his face.
There was no other explanation.
The guy before him was crazier than he was!
And he acted as if it were nothing.
"Hahaha, I'm impressed. You're something else, Ottar." Rayleigh covered his face and laughed.
"This is how it should be."
"Ah, exactly."
"Only madness leads to survival. That's right."
"You're a man worthy of my blade."
"In that case, I'll forge it—a Zanpakuto exclusively for you, Ottar!"
"Be proud, Ottar. Only by unleashing the power of this blade can you be called the strongest!"
Rayleigh felt happy.
For here was a hero capable of unleashing the true power of a Zanpakuto, he felt as if he'd been infected by his passion as he was burning with excitement.
He'd already decided what kind of blade to forge for Ottar.
This blade was the most suitable for him.
If its power were fully unleashed, even the One-Eyed Black Dragon would have to yield!
...
Forging through the night, Rayleigh poured his skill and strength into crafting a powerful Zanpakuto, pushing his abilities to their limit.
The Zanpakuto, infused with Ottar's soul, emitted a subtle Reiatsu on the anvil.
Rayleigh plopped onto the ground, pointing at the blade and isad.
"Call it out, Ottar! This is your Zanpakuto. Its name is—!"
Ottar grasped the sword with his sturdy hand.
"Tenken!"
The moment he held the sword, Ottar felt a new connection form within his soul, like a fragment of his being.
The name of the Zanpakuto surfaced in his mind, compelling him to speak it aloud.
Boom!
A terrifying surge of Reiatsu erupted.
Rayleigh tried to stop it, but he was a step late.
The roof of the forge was blasted away by the violent Reiatsu, turning the workshop into an open-air space.
'My damn roof!'
Rayleigh craned his neck, searching for the roof that had been blown to smithereens.
Realizing his mistake, Ottar felt a wave of embarrassment.
He held Tenken, unsure of what to do.
Only when Rayleigh said, "Two million Valis," did he nod, signaling he wouldn't shirk the debt.
After seeing Ottar off, Rayleigh surveyed the wrecked forge, deciding to pack up and head to the dormitory.
...
At the Familia base, Rayleigh borrowed the forge for the first time in a while.
Because of Ottar, his original plans were delayed.
That was forging a new Zanpakuto.
Although the two swords he wielded were fine for now, to deal with the Evilus, he needed a game-changer!
With his strength, influencing the course of the conflict alone was difficult. The power of a single individual is limited.
But that wasn't a problem.
'If my own strength isn't enough, I'll just use the enemy's.'
The Thanatos Familia.
The ones who hurt Kaguya and Ryuu.
'Soon, I'll give you all a surprise—I wonder if you'll be able to handle it!'
With three Zanpakuto hanging at his waist, Rayleigh worried he might develop a habit of getting lost, so he placed his two familiar swords on the left for easy drawing.
The new sword hung on the right.
Additionally, he used the materials Ottar brought to craft a set of equipment.
A white version of the Shinigami robes.
Maybe calling it the "Hollow White" version would be more fitting.
On the back, he added the black emblem of the Hephaestus Familia.
The outfit looked like fabric but was made of tough silk, offering slash and magic resistance, and it didn't absorb water.
As a Shinigami, not being stylish meant you were halfway to become a loser!
...
The next day.
He repaired Ryuu's Haineko and performed maintenance on Kaguya and Alise's Zanpakuto.
Only Lyra gave him trouble.
"Rayleigh, my sword still shows no reaction. Is it my fault?"
"Lyra, gaining a Zanpakuto's recognition isn't easy. I forged this sword using half of your soul, so it has great potential," Rayleigh comforted the Pallum girl.
So far, all the Zanpakuto he'd forged were based on existing prototypes—the ones he was familiar with.
By shaping these blades, giving them names, and integrating them with their owners' souls, he established a connection.
This allowed the wielders to master them quickly.
But this required a level of compatibility.
When forging Lyra's sword, he gave her two choices: follow the usual process or use half of her soul to forge a sword of unknown potential.
He didn't give this sword a name.
Wanting to see what kind of Zanpakuto Lyra could awaken, the result was that several months passed, yet the blade remained dormant.
But as the creator, it was clear the blade had been completed.
Lyra just hadn't been able to awaken its power.
---------
Read 30 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator