"Gungnir… Gugnir… whatever it's called."
Anathasia casually held a massive double-edged black axe over her head, then twirled it between her fingers before letting its handle slam into the ground, leaving a small crater at her feet.
"It looks heavy, but it's not even that heavy," she added, glancing in my direction.
"Yeah?"
My eyes narrowed slightly as I stared at the axe. A dark aura seeped from it—like some cursed legendary weapon straight out of an RPG. Paired with the writhing tentacles coiling around its handle…
"Gungnir's a spear," I said with a sigh, shaking my head.
"Besides… where'd you even get that thing?"
She looked at the axe embedded beside her, completely towering over her, then turned back to me.
"I made it."
Silence.
My hand rose to my temple as I rubbed it slowly.
"Of course… but what's with the eldritch design?"
"Design choice?" she shrugged, gripping the axe with one hand before swinging it toward a patch of trees a few hundred meters away.
"It can kinda bypass causality and all that…" she added, squinting slightly.
"Like…"
She paused.
"…that."
The trees collapsed instantly, cleanly severed at their bases, leaving only dozens of stumps behind.
For a brief moment, my eyes widened as the trees began to fade out of existence.
Then I looked back at her.
"…Was that necessary?"
She glanced at the stumps left behind by her casual slash, then back at me with a smile.
"For demonstration, yup."
I let out another sigh, running a hand through my hair. Like she said last night—we *did* end up pretending to be adventurers.
Except… without the usual armor or equipment.
And with her carrying that absurdly massive axe she insists on calling Gungnir.
And, because of her—
We both now had silver badges pinned to our chests.
Signifying our ranks.
All thanks to that thing constantly looming behind her.
"Anyway…" I reached out, grabbing the axe from her hands.
?!
"What the—why is it so light?"
Anathasia snickered, folding her arms before raising a finger.
"That's because only Outer Gods can use that weapon," she said.
"Even Demiurges would struggle to touch it. It's made from the remains of totalities stored inside one of my Continuum Swimmers."
She snapped her fingers, shaking her head slightly as her hair swayed.
"So technically, you're holding entire multiverses right now."
"Of course, anything below a Demiurge would instantly die just from touching it."
She smiled, lazily twirling a finger.
"The causality bypass is just a minor feature. With the right wielder—like Lena or one of the Outer Gods—it could create an entire Continuum… or a Demiurge's Image."
"Additionally—"
My free hand shot out, clamping over her mouth while the other still held the axe.
"We're supposed to be gathering herbs."
I glanced at the weapon.
Then back at her.
"…What the hell do we need a Creator-tier weapon for?"
"And why even make something like that if you don't fight?"
Anathasia wiggled out of my grip, gasping slightly as she stepped back. She raised a hand like calling for a timeout before speaking.
"Cause…" she cleared her throat. "It sounds and looks cool."
I stopped completely, my expression flattening further.
"So it's the 'I stopped the timeline because I thought it was cool' thing all over again?"
She froze.
Her hand slowly dropped to her side as her gaze drifted elsewhere.
"Hey… aren't those the herbs we were supposed to gather?" she said, suddenly pointing toward the patch of forest she had casually wiped out earlier.
"…Changing the subject already?"
But before I could say anything else, she had already thrown her arms over her head and started running toward the now flattened forest.
Letting out a long sigh, I dragged a hand down my face before following after her—still carrying the massive axe at my side.
By the time I caught up, she was already crouched down in the former forest, picking herbs like nothing happened.
—
A little later—
For some reason, she had only gathered three.
Holding them in one hand.
The corner of her lips curled upward as she shot me a glance.
"Watch this."
I raised an eyebrow, my gaze settling on the herbs in her hand.
Then—
They started multiplying.
My eyes narrowed slightly. And when I looked back at her—
She had that cat-that-got-the-cream expression on her face.
"Well?" she huffed proudly. "Your wife's impressive, isn't she?"
She spread her arms wide, both hands now full of herbs.
"I'm literally godly!" she declared dramatically.
Her gaze locked onto mine.
"Hear me, oh subject… what is your wish?"
Without a word, I walked over while she still had her arms raised.
I took the herbs from her hands and tied them together with some nylon I had in my pocket.
"This should be enough for that commission…"
Anathasia just stood there.
Frozen.
Her expression slowly going blank as I met her eyes again.
"…At least praise me."
I tilted my head slightly, then gave her a wry smile.
"Yes, yes. Great job, wifey."
Her lips pressed into a thin line as her arms dropped to her sides.
"…Fine. I get it. That was cringe as hell," she muttered, shoulders slumping.
She stepped beside me as I started heading back toward town.
Her hand reached out, then snatched the axe from my grip.
"…Not even one dragon, let alone a goblin appeared,"
I raised an eyebrow, glancing at the looming presence behind her as a dry laugh slipped out.
"Yeah…"
"…with your 'extension' following you around like that, I doubt anything would even dare get close."
We climbed up a hill, the town where we accepted the commission gradually coming into view.
Beside me, Anathasia casually rested the axe over her shoulder.
"We should take a harder commission next time," she murmured, her gaze sweeping across the vast plains surrounding the town.
"Gathering herbs… is boring."
"I'm guessing you mean monster subjugation," I said, glancing at her.
She nodded slightly, still carrying the massive axe like it weighed nothing.
Adventurers passing by couldn't help but stare.
Or more specifically—
At her.
Then again, she was wearing a short red skirt with black ruffles—something that practically screamed nobility.
Not to mention her white hair.
In Aegea, that alone was enough to associate someone with high-ranking nobles… or gods. That's some of the things I noticed, at least.
With a quiet shrug, I kept walking toward the town while she followed beside me, still complaining.
"I need some action. Bring it on, God! I ain't scared of you sending a dragon my way!"
I just shook my head as a few adventurers slowed down, stopping a short distance away and whispering among themselves.
By the time we reached the gates, Anathasia still wasn't done.
"The ranking system in this place sucks," she continued, throwing her hands up in frustration.
"How are you even supposed to rank up? Kill some high-level monster? Yeah right—like that's enough to consistently handle others at the same level."
The axe in her hand vanished mid-gesture. Only to reappear a moment later once she calmed down.
I glanced back at her over my shoulder.
"Girl… this is real life. I think you're starting to forget that."
She pointed at me and quickened her pace until we were side by side.
"That's exactly my point. It is real life."
"Shouldn't a ranking system like this have proper evaluations instead of promoting people just because they got lucky killing a wounded dragon?"
She scoffed, folding her arms as the axe floated idly at her side.
"They killed a weakened dragon. Sure—a dragon is still a dragon."
"But putting them at adamantite rank just because of that one feat?"
Her gaze hardened slightly.
"The moment they get cocky and challenge a real one—thinking it'll go the same way…"
A brief pause.
"They're dead."
"Instantly."
I stared at her for a moment, brows furrowing as I looked ahead.
"In other words…" my voice dropped to a murmur, "they need some kind of attribute exam… or something?"
As we reached the guild hall, she casually pushed the doors open.
"Close."
Heads turned the moment we stepped inside.
Most of them stared at the axe floating beside Anathasia. Some went pale almost instantly, quickly looking away. Even the bulkier adventurers with weapons slung across their backs.
"I was thinking of something stricter," she continued as if nothing was wrong. "A proper practical exam."
The chatter from earlier died down completely as we walked toward the reception counter.
I glanced back.
Everyone avoided looking at us.
And then I noticed it—
Anathasia's 'extension' wasn't even concealed.
It lingered in the air around her, faint but unmistakable.
Like she wasn't even trying to hide it.
"Huh…"
"That makes… a lot of sense…" I muttered under my breath, letting out a quiet sigh as I placed the herbs on the counter along with the commission sheet.
"We'd like to verify the completion of our request."
The receptionist nodded stiffly.
She stamped the paper, then handed over a small bag of coins, her movements hesitant.
She never once met my eyes.
She didn't say a word.
But then again…
There was something standing behind me—
Something that wasn't even anything—
And a massive floating axe resting at her side.