Author note:

I’ve made some numerical adjustments around skill proficiency for the “Throwing” skill in a previous episode.

“Ah… finally, it’s my turn…”

“It felt like it was Haruru’s turn all this time, didn’t it?”

Having mostly grasped the info about armor, we were finally able to move on to the presentation of the weapons Haruru had crafted.

“This named weapon I’ve made is designed with the ‘Throwing’ skill in mind. However, I didn’t plan for it to be used in long-range combat exceeding 50 meters… If I took into account the ridiculous long-range sniping Sukuna sometimes does, the weapon’s specs would plummet.”

“Ah, okay. Well, being able to use it up to 50 meters is already pretty great.”

“Since it’s a throwing weapon, having too short a range would also be problematic, you know…”

In actual combat, the necessary throwing distance would probably be just 20-30 meters at most. Still, the longer the range, the better, right? While I was contemplating this, Haruru took out a case that looked like it was made of duralumin.

“Alright, time for the grand reveal… Introducing the new named weapon, <Juurin Ryouki: Oboro>.” {sigh… tl note}

The weapon Haruru pulled out was, at a glance, disconcertingly simple-looking. For starters, it was small, only about 40 centimeters long. And its appearance was incredibly basic: just a stick, about 3 centimeters thick. Its color was a mixture of platinum and light yellow, resembling moonlight. The color was beautiful in a straightforward way, perfectly embodying the hues of a nocturne.

The only remarkable feature was the four buttons in the middle of the stick. It was clear that pressing them would activate some sort of gimmick.

“So, should I just press this?”

“Yes…”

“Hmm… Whoa!?”

The moment I pressed the top button, the stick transformed in a flash. With a ‘swoosh,’ it extended to about 1.2 meters, and a spear tip appeared at the end. What surprised me was how it extended—instead of pulling out a thinner tube like an extendable baton, the stick itself simply elongated. A butt-spike appeared on the opposite end, clearly identifying it as a short spear.

“A javelin, huh.”

“Exactly… When it comes to throwing weapons, this is the most straightforward, isn’t it?”

The idea is primitive yet effective: throwing a pointed stick to impale your target. The javelin has been around from prehistoric times, even used in athletic competitions. The missile weapon of the same name speaks to its prominence as a thrown weapon worldwide.

However, it’s a weapon long since phased out in history. Unlike slingshots, bows, or firearms, where having more people and weapons yields consistent results, a javelin’s power highly depends on the thrower’s strength. The convenience of arrows or bullets, especially when the target shifted from large beasts to humans, probably hastened the javelin’s decline.

And to be honest, the era of hand-thrown spears in battle has almost been nonexistent in modern times. The effective range of a javelin in the real world is up to 20 meters at best. Even in this world, where you can boost physical abilities with stats, Haruru aimed for a maximum range of 50 meters. Anything beyond that would be just for show. The distance for encountering monsters, barring named ones, is usually just 20-30 meters.

So, that’s the lowdown on this weapon!

“You’re quite well-versed in this, huh…”

“Well-versed? More like these are just my thoughts from practicing to get the hang of it. You know I’m not really into studying, right?”

“True, but in this world, human capabilities are significantly amplified, be it status or arts…”

“Exactly.”

In the real world, human strength has its limits, so we rely on tools. But in this world, as long as you level up, your power seems to have no bounds. That’s why even such antiquated weapons are sufficient here. I mean, we’re fighting with swords and bows, which are hardly used in the real world. Bringing real-world standards into this conversation would be pointless.

“But man, this thing is ridiculously heavy. It feels heavier than the Ouma.”

I cut off the serious discussion and voiced this thought. The weight of a weapon changes in proportion to the required strength value. However, this is generally not a concern if you have adequate strength. But because I’m wearing extremely light armor, the weight of the weapon is more noticeable compared to players in melee roles who are wearing normal armor. While most players have a 7:3 ratio between their weapon and armor, mine is more like 9.8:0.2.

Still, this small rod shouldn’t feel this heavy. Even when I transformed it into a throwing spear, the weight didn’t change. It feels denser, and therefore heavier, when it’s small. I felt the same surge of weight the first time I held the Meteor Impact.

“Well, the required strength value for this is much higher than the Ouma.”

“Let me guess, you used up all the status points right up to the limit, didn’t you? If I hadn’t unequipped the Ouma, I probably couldn’t even lift this. The number of buttons suggests that it has more functions. Should we check its status first?”

Deciding to do so, I project the weapon’s status for both my audience and Rin-chan to see.

Item:[Juurin Ryouki・Oboro]

Rarity: Named・PM

Attribute: Moonlight

Required Strength Value: 920

Required Dexterity: 350

Required Agility: 240

Attack Power: +650(+325)

MP: -200

Intelligence: -150

Durability: 91/91

Named Skill: [Getsurou’s Nocturne]

Classification: [Cutting Weapon][Blunt Weapon][One-Handed Mace][Transformation Mechanism: No4][Sub-Weapon][Auto-Recovery]

In moonlight veiled, the king wolf’s claws and fangs lay hidden; his howls of conquest compose a nocturne in lunar luminescence.

* This equipment won’t get destroyed. If durability runs out, it will go into [Broken] state.

* Named Skills are unique skills that come with the equipment. They are beneficial regardless of the user’s skill slots.

“Wow… that attack power…”

“Hee-hee… It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? This is the basic spec of a Named Weapon made from the material of a Lv.150 Rare Named Monster.”

<Is the required status bugged?>

<Whoa>

<Amazing>

<Wait, isn’t the attack power of Oumar around 350?>

<Crazy>

<First of all, the name is too powerful>

<The weapon description is scary>

<This is a masterpiece crafted by pushing the required values to the limit…>

<Isn’t the durability a little fragile though?>

The first thing that catches my eye is the attack power, which surpasses all weapons I’ve ever had. It’s more than twice as powerful as the Ouma. Though its durability is on the lower side, it still competes well with other sturdy weapons. And not just the strength requirement, but all the required stats are precisely at the limits of my basic status points, even pulling down my magic stats. It’s evident that a lot of thought went into maximizing its capabilities.

“Ah, there are some status effects I’ve never seen before.”

“Subweapon, huh? I remember seeing that in the update notes.”

Unable to contain herself, Rin-chan, who had been quiet for a bit, spoke up while looking at the displayed weapon stats.

“Yeah… As the name suggests, this adds a subweapon attribute to your weapon…”

“A subweapon attribute?”

“Before we get into that, remember that equipment requirement stats are cumulative, right?”

“Yeah, you mean like how you can’t equip a heavy weapon if you’re already wearing heavy armor? I mean, I had to remove my armor earlier to do so.”

“Exactly… The subweapon attribute is designed to partially alleviate that restriction.”

“Haruru, your explanation is tedious. Let me explain.”

Apparently tired of Haruru’s slow speech, Rin-chan took over the explanation.

So, the subweapon attribute allows a weapon to negate its required stats under certain conditions. The conditions are two-fold. First, you need to have acquired the “Subweapon Equip” skill. And second, the wielder’s stats must exceed the weapon’s required stats—essentially, you must be able to equip the weapon as a main weapon in the first place. Only when these two conditions are met can you carry the weapon as a subweapon.

“Ah, well, having knives and iron balls readily available and being able to swap weapons without diving into a menu does seem handy. But obviously, this skill wasn’t designed for wielding throwable weapons.”

Throwable items aren’t usually carried as subweapons. After all, most require only a tiny amount of strength to use. Some don’t even have weight requirements. And considering carry limitations, you can have, at most, 2-5 of them. Wasting a skill slot for such low weight seems too wasteful.

“You catch on quickly… This was implemented due to requests from players with dual-wielding skills.”

“Dual-wielding, huh? I get it. If you have to carry two weapons, the strength requirement would be an issue?”

“Well, originally, the second weapon’s stat requirement was halved. But even then, it wasn’t enough. The most problematic one is probably Shuuya’s ‘Dual Greatswords’ skill.”

“Two greatswords do sound heavy.”

During the Apostle Extermination Battle, Shuuya showed off his Dual Greatswords skill. I didn’t get a good look at it since I was preoccupied, but it seemed like an interesting skill. Generally, weapons follow the rule that smaller, slimmer ones are lighter while bigger, thicker ones are heavier. So dual-wielding rapiers and dual-wielding greatswords are completely different ball games.

“So that’s why a weapon with the subweapon attribute doesn’t have to consider the strength requirement…”

“Huh… There’s got to be some kind of catch to it, right?”

The advantage of dual-wielding is increased attack speed, thus higher damage output. The downside? Both hands are occupied. The primary point of dual-wielding is to increase damage through multiple attacks. The idea that equipping two weapons would double your attack power is just too good to be true.

“If you look at the weapon’s status, you’ll see a number in parentheses, right?”

“Yeah, it’s half the attack power.”

“That’s the limitation Sukuna was asking about. The attack power of any weapon you have as a sub-weapon is halved.”

“I see. You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“Hehe… Don’t sweat it. I just crafted the best weapon, and it turned out to be just right.”

Next to the 650, there’s a number enclosed in parentheses. With an attack power of 325, it’s more than enough, but it ends up being about the same as Ouma. So, if used as a sub-weapon, it scales down its ridiculous stats to a level-100 player-made item. Or, considering it’s race-restricted, maybe level 140?

Anyway, the thoughtful detail Haruru added—making the weapon usable as a sub-weapon—saves us from the irony of not being able to use a weapon because it’s too strong.

“The slicing attribute is because it’s a spear, right? Wait, the pen-stick didn’t have this attribute, did it?”

“Could you please call it a ballpoint pen… The last one was just a blunt weapon with an added blade. This time, it can transform into multiple cutting weapons as well.”

“Ah, right, there were more buttons. So it also has [Transforming Weapon] and [Automatic Retrieval], huh? The abilities are pretty self-explanatory. I mean, it just transformed in my hand, and since it’s a throwing weapon, it comes back automatically, right?”

“Exactly.”

“So, what’s this [No4] about?”

“It has four forms.”

“Is a neutral form included in that?”

“Nope.”

“I see.”

There are four buttons on the stick, meaning each button has a different function.

“Shall we go over the four forms then?”

First form: Mode—Javelin.

I’ve already seen this one; it’s the core concept of this new weapon, designed to leverage my [Throwing] skill. It has a spearhead, so it can serve as a short spear too. But I doubt I’ll be using it for close combat over my gold rod.

Second form: Mode—Double Edge.

Just by the name, it sounds intense. But it’s actually a multi-tool knife that you pull out from the handle. It’s around 40 cm including the handle, which is pretty large for a throwing knife.

It seems to have two roles: it’s a throwing knife and also a simple dagger. With the press of a button, it can switch between a sharp knife for throwing and a survival knife for slashing.

Third form: Mode—Superball.

As the name suggests, it’s another throwing weapon I commonly use: a metal ball. It doesn’t bounce like a rubber ball, though; at best, it ricochets within its limits.

Both this and the knife require a high level of strength—920, to be precise. They’re far heavier than the throwing items I’ve used before, but they’ll be handy against enemies with specific weaknesses.

And the fourth and final form is where Haruru really shows her stuff.

“Mode: Nyoi-bou, huh?”

Nyoi-bou, or the Nyoi Kinko Bou. It’s the famous retractable iron staff wielded by Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. Both ends are neatly fitted with metal rings, so it probably somewhat replicates the staff as described in the original story.

“The original one weighs 8 tons and can stretch from heaven to hell… Obviously, we couldn’t completely replicate that…”

“Yeah, that would be impossible.”

I’m not an expert, but the Nyoi-bou is universally known for its ability to freely stretch and retract. Just as Haruru said, in the story, it’s extremely heavy yet highly portable due to its flexible nature. I think Sun Wukong even carried it in his ear or something like that.

“The maximum length it can stretch to is 5.3 meters, and it can retract down to 30 centimeters… The speed of the stretching is significant, so you’ll need to adjust it instantaneously… But with your reflexes, Sukuna, you should be able to handle it easily…”

“If that’s the extent, then it’s probably manageable. Step back, I want to swing it around a bit.”

Its standard length is 1.6 meters. For a bo-staff used in martial arts, it might feel a bit on the short side, but considering my height, this is the easiest length for me to handle. The time it takes to go from maximum to minimum length is about 0.5 seconds. That means it stretches 10 centimeters every 0.01 second. You’d certainly need exceptional reflexes to manage that.

It seems I can control the stretching with my thoughts too. However, compared to button control, there’s a slight delay, causing it to stretch too far or retract too much. The button’s position is fixed, so it’s not guaranteed that I’ll touch it while swinging the staff around. So, it looks like it’s best to use thought control only for retraction, and button control for stretching.

“… Hmph!”

As a test, I extend it to its maximum length and swing it over my head in a full circle. The sound it makes as it slices through the air is impressive, but the centrifugal force nearly drags me along with it. Something heavy and long like this generates an incredible amount of power.

Just one casual swing tells me everything I need to know. This is going to be one challenging, unruly weapon to master.

“Phew. Looks like I’ll have to practice a lot to master this.”

“Really, is it that heavy?”

“Wanna try holding it?”

“No way, my strength stat is like a tenth of yours. I’d definitely get crushed.”

“Hahaha, true.”

I was about to toss her the staff in its basic form, but she dodged away with surprising speed. Well, Rin-chan is a mage after all. A Human player like her who hasn’t invested a single point in strength couldn’t possibly handle it.

“For now, let’s mark this as ‘needs practice’… Oh, right, I have to check the Named Skill too.”

‘d almost forgotten with all the elements at play, but this is also a Named Weapon crafted using the power of a 《Soul》.

Naturally, it comes with a Named Skill—something that should be the focal point but was nearly overlooked.

《Nocturne of the Moon Wolf》

Named Skill

From the soul of the Moon Wolf, inherit the fierce power of unyielding repulsion.

In the moonlit night, let the symphony of war resound; the veil of darkness has only just descended.

・The power of moonlight-based attacks increases by 30%.

・This equipment repels all attributes except for non-elemental. Each time a repulsion occurs, the equipment’s durability is consumed.

※This skill is always active.

“…Hm?”

“Hmm… Makes sense, it’s going that direction, huh.”

<Is it strong?>

<Looks strong>

<What’s this?>

<Anti-all attributes?!>

<Repels attributes>

<Moonlight attribute gets a boost>

<Is the damage side low-key?>

“Ahh… In this game, there’s a mechanic where attribute attacks can only be nullified by weapons with guard attributes or by using the same or weak attribute… So ‘repels,’ means it probably forcefully nullifies all of those restrictions. That’s my guess.”

“That’s a good understanding… In actual tests, it could nullify up to high-ranking attributes available to players.”

“Haruru tested it? How?”

“There’s no way the creator of a weapon couldn’t test it. There’s a special edit mode for creators to check specs…”

“I see… Anyway, back to the point. So, in short, as long as I’m using this weapon, I can nullify any attribute attack.”

<Isn’t that too strong?>

<too much>

<Looks seriously broken>

<Is this even okay?>

<Durability decreases, it says>

<Armor has attribute resistance too, right? Isn’t this too meta?>

“So, Haruru, how much durability is consumed by repulsion?”

“It ranges from 1 to 3 per hit, up to a maximum of 10 depending on the power nullified…”

“Ugh, that’s quite harsh.”

To sum it up, the skill is incredibly powerful.

How to counter attribute attacks is a major concern for all players. One-handed weapon users can carry a shield in the other hand. Some two-handed weapons, like greatswords, have guard attributes. Or nullify using various attribute arts. These are the standard countermeasures. Unless I activate my [Authority] <Total Resistance> or use my Oni-folk skill <Oni Dance>, I don’t have another way to counter attribute attacks besides dodging.

In this context, this weapon can nullify all attribute attacks at the cost of some durability. It doesn’t require any arts or a shield. It’s purely the weapon’s effect, and it’s undeniably a ridiculous advantage.

Especially shocking is the fact that it can nullify even high-ranking attributes. These usually can only be nullified by same-level attacks of the same attribute or their weak attribute, and they absorb lower-level attributes of the same type.

In other words, this weapon allows me to forcefully break through all attribute resistances and impose the Moonlight attribute unilaterally. [Juurin Ryouki{Trampling Hunting Machine}] is an impressive name, but it might be fitting for this kind of one-sided tyranny.

“First off, I want to give it a test throw.”

“Ooh… sounds good.”

“Let’s go with the Javelin first. This one is suited for hitting large and slow targets.”

Throwing weapons generally have two basic trajectories: either a parabolic arc on a flat plane or throwing them downward from a higher position. Sure, you could also throw upward at an aerial target, but that’s more in the realm of bows or firearms.

However, landing a throw with a javelin in a parabolic arc is surprisingly difficult. It’s almost impossible to hit a moving target. The reason is that a parabolic trajectory takes longer to hit, which gives the target more time to move. The longer the time between the throw and the hit, the lower your accuracy. That’s why guns and supersonic missiles are powerful; their speed is unparalleled.

Also, compared to darts, knives, or iron balls that you can throw with just a flick of the wrist, spears require your whole body to throw, taking up more time. They’re originally designed for saturation attacks, like arrows.

“In WLO, you’ve got Arts that let you throw stuff in a straight line, so you don’t really have to aim in a parabolic arc… But for the sake of coolness, why not do it this way?”

I lock onto a boar about 50 meters away, take a light 10-meter run-up, and leap into the air with all my might.

“Roaring Cannon!”

The javelin, thrown with a twist of my entire body, mercilessly pierces through the boar’s torso and explodes upon hitting the ground. Well, it’s a small explosion. I grab the weapon as it returns to me due to its auto-retrieval effect, twirl it around, and sling it over my shoulder.

“So? Pretty cool, right?”

<Wow!>

<Simply cool!>

<I want to try>

<Cool!>

<I’ve seen that in anime>

<I hate to admit it, but it’s good>

<Whoa! You’re a natural with a weapon you’ve just picked up!>

“It’s better than I expected! The Throwing skill might get popular thanks to you.”

“Hehe, you can praise me some more, you know.”

I’m getting quite a bit of praise. The skill isn’t widespread yet, but if I can increase the number of Throwing skill users, that would be great.

“By the way, how’s the durability?”

“Whoa, it’s down by 10 after just one throw!?”

“The durability consumption for throwing is unmatched.”

“So, it’s at 91 now? It’ll break after 10 throws…”

“Even with the rebound effect, the durability decreases. We need to manage it carefully.”

Named weapons don’t get lost when they break; they can be repaired. But given the weapon’s heavy durability consumption, I’ll need to manage it well, as Rin-chan said.

“So, this is the price of high performance.”

“I can give you some emergency whetstones at a reasonable price.”

“Stingy!”

“Hehehehe…”

In the end, I decided to get about 10 instant-recovery items for durability from Haruru. At 100,000 Iris each, that’s a million Iris spent. You can only buy these from high-level blacksmiths. Sharpening is a business, after all.

Tl note:

Juurin Ryouki: Oboro 《蹂躙猟機じゅうりんりょうきおぼろ

蹂躙 (Jurin): “trample” or “overrun,” often used in the sense of overwhelming force or violence.

猟機 (Ryouki): “hunting machine” or “hunting mechanism.”

Together, 蹂躙猟機 (Jurin Ryouki) could be interpreted as “The Trampling Hunting Mechanism,” which may imply a weapon of overwhelming force specialized in hunting.

朧 (Oboro): hazy, misty, or mystery.

I got an apple I got a pen, unghhhh applepen…

Sorry… cannot hold the urge to make that joke

Tldr it’s [Trampling Hunting Machine: Haze] yeah, there is no way I will use this name…

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