A few hours later ~~~~~~
Zeref, who had been lying unconscious on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.
'Damn… my head hurts like hell.'
When I tried to sit up, a wave of pain coursed through my body. Everything ached and felt slightly off. The last thing I remembered about the trial was that a harp had flown toward me.
I slowly sat upright and checked my body. There were no permanent injuries. Seeing that I was fine, I let out a long sigh of relief.
'Looks like everything went well… and I even awakened my bloodline.'
Thinking about my bloodline, a strange smile crept onto my lips. After receiving the information about it, I was speechless at first.
Instead of "Hidden Hero," it should've been called "Hidden Pervert." My ancestor was truly an outrageous man.
My bloodline belonged to a human who lived over a thousand years ago during the Era of War. Apparently, he traveled the world, building a harem and rescuing women in distress.
His powers and abilities all revolved around that.
Bloodline: Hidden Hero
Description: The bloodline of a man who accomplished countless deeds for the world but was forgotten by history. He hid in the shadows and protected the weak.
Many women fell into his arms due to his irresistible charm. At the time, his harem was a force to be reckoned with.
In despair, he once nearly destroyed the world.
Ability: Adaptor
Rank: F ~ SSS
You can adapt to anything — from a dragon's pressure to a goddess's divine presence.
No curse, charm, or external influence can affect you, as your body will adapt to it.
Ability: Innocent Charm
Rank: S
You will appear more charming or "innocent" in the eyes of those around you.
As long as the person is not your enemy, they will find it easier to trust and accept you.
Even those without senses will find your presence pleasing.
Ability: Contract
Rank: Divine
You can form a contract with any woman who has slept with you.
Once the contract is bound, they will remain loyal and affectionate toward you even beyond death.
Once bonded, they cannot break free — even after death.
Ability: Borrow
Rank: SSS
As long as you've slept with a woman and gained her permission, you can copy and use certain abilities of hers as your own.
There were several other special abilities, but the third one truly terrified me. It was basically a slavery spell placed upon women. No matter what, if a woman had once been with my ancestor and bore that contract, then if her descendants awakened their bloodline, they would feel an irresistible attraction toward me.
This contract removed their free will entirely.
I couldn't help but wonder how much those women must have loved my ancestor to willingly allow such a bond.
'So this explains Queen Mikasa's behavior…'
I shook my head and looked down at my arm, where a small harp tattoo was etched into my skin. Focusing my mana on it, the tattoo glowed — and an exquisite harp materialized before me.
It was a sky-blue harp with violet strings and intricate patterns engraved on its surface.
Magical Artifact: Gyuji, the Harp of Songs
Rank: Supreme Divine (Damaged)
Description: A magical artifact born from the combined will and sacrifice of a man.
A musical instrument that can transform into a weapon at its wielder's will.
An artifact powerful enough to destroy the world.
A relic feared even by the gods themselves.
Reading its description stirred a mix of emotions in my chest. This harp was actually the second reason I chose to become an archer.
Even if someone is powerful, possessing a powerful weapon is always a bonus. Some weapons grow into divine artifacts simply because of the heroes who wielded them.
But because the bow was relatively new as a weapon, there weren't many powerful archers in history. Even Aprilia's bow — though powerful — was a weapon that grew alongside its wielder.
In the original game's storyline, the protagonist rescues Rena and wins Invidia's heart by fighting for her in the Chaos World. As a result, he receives a great reward from that realm. But there was always one line that followed:
"What a shame… he was a swordsman, not an archer. Otherwise, he might have had a chance to obtain the bow that even gods feared."
I had originally planned to enter the Chaos World just to investigate how to obtain that bow, but who would have thought the weapon would turn out to be connected to my bloodline itself?
That bow was wielded by my ancestor, and the harp belonged to one of his women — the woman he loved most.
It seemed that when Goddess Megicula created this world, fragments of her power fell into it. One fragment became a tree, while another became a divine jade. The tree was forged into a bow, and the jade became the harp.
Though bows were originally only used for hunting beasts, my ancestor chose it as his path — and ultimately wielded a bow crafted from the goddess's power itself.
Meanwhile, his beloved wielded the harp as her weapon. Normally, no one should have been able to draw out even a fraction of its power… but there are always exceptions.
During the war a thousand years ago, my ancestor watched the woman he loved most die in battle. Consumed by rage and despair, he sacrificed his soul and did the unthinkable.
People would be shocked if they knew how much power a human could unleash in their final moments of desperation.
He combined the bow and the harp and fired a single arrow that shattered the world itself — a force greater even than Goddess Megicula's own power.
That single arrow almost destroyed the world.
Looking at the harp now, I could tell it would never again unleash that same power. Still, it remained stronger than any other weapon in this world.
But this also presented a new problem — I was 100% sure that I had drawn the attention of several powerful beings. A weapon like this was bound to attract the eyes of the strongest in existence.
'There's nothing I can do about that right now…'
I pushed those concerns to the back of my mind and focused on the present.
Staring at the harp, I issued a mental command. Its sides suddenly expanded, releasing waves of violet mana.
Then, before my eyes, the harp transformed into a magnificent bow.
But just as I marveled at its beauty, a sharp pain stabbed through my head, and the magical artifact Gyuji vanished.