# Chapter 14: My Weapon Can Turn Into a Girl, Holy Shit
Joshua walked toward the nearest greatsword.
It was a sword so massive it defied common sense. Its craftsmanship was not refined—rather, it was somewhat crude. Half of the blade was embedded in the stone floor, yet the exposed portion still stood half as tall as a person. The thick blade bore traces of rust, but the core within remained solid. Its dark silver surface absorbed light, as if shrouded in shadow.
As he approached it, the tattoo on the back of his hand grew so hot it felt like burning flames. Joshua stared at the greatsword, silent, as if contemplating something.
After a moment, he extended his right hand.
Joshua grasped the sword.
*Whoosh—*
In the sealed underground chamber, a sudden wind arose.
Because of this wind, all the rusty, metallic stench that had filled the room was swept away. The weapons embedded in the ground—blades, swords, spears, axes—all trembled slightly, emitting muffled clangs and clatters, as if celebrating, or perhaps lamenting. Amid this symphony of countless weapons humming their praise, Joshua gazed at the greatsword in his hand, pulling it from the stone inch by inch.
Light—light born of arcane power—emerged from the void. Amid the clamor, accompanied by the grating sound of metal against stone, the giant blade's edge gradually left the hard rock, revealing itself before him. The part of the blade buried beneath the earth had not decayed; its sharp edge reflected light, gleaming like a star.
A strange radiance flickered in his eyes. Joshua had already pulled the sword out most of the way, leaving only the very tip still lodged in the ground—by all logic, this should not be happening. Drawing a sword should become easier as it goes, yet now, with only the last bit remaining, it stubbornly refused to be pulled free, as if resisting due to something missing.
"Why do you reject me?"
He spoke in a low voice, questioning the greatsword in his hand as if questioning a person.
**[Imprint your mark.]**
A line of text suddenly flashed before his eyes. Joshua was momentarily startled, but in an instant, he understood through the system's prompt: "Indeed... So that's it!"
Taking a deep breath, Joshua set aside all distractions and quieted his mind. Following a peculiar breathing rhythm, the organs, bones, muscles, and other parts of his body began to tremble. Countless minute forces, born from life itself, converged and flowed through his blood vessels and meridians to his right hand—the hand gripping the sword's hilt.
The flame of battle qi condensed, the power of Origin Steel gathered, and was then infused into this half-old, half-new greatsword, cleansing its interior.
Rust flaked off, scratches disappeared. As the greatsword's blade shimmered with silver radiance, Joshua's imprint was stamped upon it. The last remaining tip of the blade finally left the earth, pulled completely free, bringing with it a trace of dust.
The tide of arcane power boiled because of this! Firefly-like specks of light slowly materialized in the air, then drifted down like falling snow onto the blade. Vast power was effortlessly absorbed, witnessed by Joshua's astonished gaze.
Then, in a blinding burst of intense light that none could look upon directly, the massive sword's hilt, once firmly gripped in his palm, transformed into a slender hand, lightly resting in his grasp. On the pale wrist was a black tattoo—identical to the one on his own wrist, the same ringed serpent greatsword.
"A pleasure to meet you, Master."
A maiden's clear, elegant voice rang out. Joshua looked up to see a petite figure standing before him. She wore a woman's double-breasted formal dress, her silky silver hair flowing in the wind, while strange radiance swirled in her firefly-like green eyes.
She smiled at Joshua, performed a butler's bow, then gently withdrew her right hand and bowed again. "I come in accordance with the bloodline of Radcliffe and the ancient covenant. You must be my contractor. I am the Divine Mechanism, Akrol Steel-Cutting Sword. You may call me Firefly."
Throughout all this, Joshua remained solemn, not uttering a single word. He stared at the girl before him, whose graceful bearing vaguely reminded him of an old steward, his gaze unwavering.
It wasn't that he was stunned by her appearance. In truth, the thoughts churning in his mind were incredibly complex, but if summarized, they could be reduced to roughly this:
"Divine Mechanisms aren't humans turning into weapons, but weapons turning into humans?! I had it completely backwards?!"
Such thoughts naturally couldn't be spoken aloud. The silver-haired girl who called herself Firefly continued speaking. She seemed somewhat delighted, laughing in a voice tinged with an ancient aristocratic tone as she said to Joshua: "I heard your call and guided you here. This is your wish, and also my plea. Now, the covenant is about to be fulfilled!"
"Henceforth, my lord, I shall fight alongside you, forging a path with conviction and shattering obstacles with strength."
No matter how astonished he was, Joshua instinctively knew that this was the most crucial step of the covenant. The power of blood surged within his body. Growing serious, he placed his hand on Firefly's forehead.
"Then let it be declared: the covenant is established!"
Both spoke solemnly in unison, their voices becoming ethereal under the influence of some mysterious force: "In accordance with the ancient covenant, my life rests in your hand, your glory endures through my blade. With blood as our bond, this oath shall never be broken!"
In the void, faint light flickered. Joshua felt an extraordinarily wondrous sensation rising within his body, especially around his right wrist. This was the characteristic of a bloodline covenant. Although Joshua had never signed a covenant with a Divine Mechanism before, he instinctively knew what to do, and his body possessed a strange intuitive sense. If he ever had descendants, they too would inherit this sensitivity toward Divine Mechanisms.
After the covenant was completed, both parties seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Firefly, in particular, appeared very happy, making no attempt to hide it, her face brimming with joy.
But Joshua knew this was merely her outward appearance.
Although Firefly looked to be only fourteen or fifteen, a young girl, as a humanoid form condensed from energy, she was a Divine Mechanism. Even in human form, her combat ability was not weak—at least stronger than many Silver-rank humans.
At that moment, the system's attribute panel naturally popped up.
**[Name: Firefly·Akrol]**
**[Template: Outstanding]**
**[Race: Divine Mechanism - Racial Skill: Divine Mechanization, resonates with bloodline-bound contractor, transforms into weapon]**
**[Level: Lv23·Silver (Challenge Level 16·Silver)]**
**[Attributes: ...]**
**[Size: Small humanoid otherworldly lifeform / Blade length 197 cm]**
**[Health: Full of vitality]**
**[Stamina: Full of vitality]**
**[Transformed Weapon: Akrol Steel-Cutting Sword]**
**[Status: None]**
**[Class: Seventh Generation Anti-Wild God Divine Mechanism / Maid]**
**[Talents: Spirit Body, Sleepless Tireless, No Need for Food or Drink, Energy Affinity]**
**[Skills: Weak Point Breakthrough, Crushing Damage, Part Destruction, Sharpness Enhancement, Decapitation, Cold Light Firefly (Incomplete)]**
**[Equipment: Woman's Double-Breasted Formal Dress]**
**[Divine Mechanization Lv1: Lasts one hour, cooldown twenty-four hours. Transforms into weapon form, providing half of own health and one-fifth of attributes to contractor.]**
**[Born anew through covenant, the ignorant weapon observes the world.]**
*(Attributes, talents, and skills—combat ability is not weak at all. And this is a newborn Divine Mechanism. With proper training, it would surely be even stronger. No wonder the old count regarded them as invaluable aids. It's not just because they can transform into weapons.)*
Joshua thought to himself, knowing that Firefly had only just been born. Even so, in human form, she possessed Silver mid-rank strength. In times of crisis, she could transform into a weapon to amplify her contractor's power. Truly worthy of being the powerful race that had once caused a sensation across the entire Continent of Strife.
And her appearance was this cute. He could only imagine how crazy the appearance-obsessed crowd from back then must have gone!
Joshua knew well the nature of his veteran players—every single one of them was a gentleman or lady at heart. When choosing pets, they didn't pick the strongest but the cutest and most beautiful. Some mages even deliberately delved into otherworld studies and demonology just to summon creatures like fairies or succubi. And these were mages, who had it easier finding good pets. Ordinary warriors were lucky to have a mount, let alone anything else.
He could already imagine the frenzy that would erupt among melee classes when the Divine Mechanism race—powerful, adorable, and almost exclusively warrior-bound—was exposed. In his previous life, Joshua had absolutely no interest in this aspect and never paid attention to any news about it. He spent his days grinding dungeons and bossing. But even so, he had heard quite a bit about Divine Mechanisms, mostly because the girls in his raid team would spam the group chat about them. This alone proved how popular they were.
If Joshua were still in his original world and the fanboys and fangirls in his raid team found out that their cold-faced, black-handed, hard-as-stone, kill-kill-kill, boom-boom-boom raid leader had actually contracted a Divine Mechanism, the entire raid team would definitely explode first.
"My name is Joshua·Van·Radcliffe, your contractor."
Extending his right hand to the silver-haired girl before him, Joshua lowered his head to meet her gaze and issued a serious invitation: "I'd like to talk more, but unfortunately, time is short. Right now, I need to deal with my enemies. What are your thoughts?"
Firefly naturally extended her right hand as well. Her slender hand couldn't fully grasp his, so she simply rested it in the warrior's palm. She met Joshua's eyes, bowed with a light laugh, and said: "To follow my master and slay enemies is my born mission. It is my great honor."
"Very good." Nodding, Joshua turned decisively and walked toward the underground hall. "Then let's set off now."
Without a word, Firefly naturally followed behind him. The two walked out together.
Meanwhile, the consequences of Joshua's direct assault on the city gate were fermenting.
"Useless!" Slamming the table hard, Dania threw a tantrum in the reception hall of the Lord's Mansion. "Fifty heavy-armored spearmen couldn't even hold him off for a few minutes? Routed in one move?!"
Unable to refute this, the messenger could only lower his head, staring at his nose and contemplating his navel, cursing those spearmen as truly useless in his heart while praying that his employer's anger would subside quickly and not be vented on him.
"Silencer, ha! One of the North's strongest mercenaries, and a fellow Silver high-rank only knows how to run away. Can't even provide specific strength information. I wonder what use hiring that man was!"
Another curse escaped his lips. This sturdy, almost fat-looking tall man was now panting heavily, veins bulging on his forehead.
The messenger could only continue lowering his head, sincerely hoping he wouldn't be "disciplined" on the spot.
But Dania had no intention of taking his anger out on the man before him. He appeared furious, but his mind was actually very calm. While still complaining verbally, his thoughts were occupied with other matters.
*(Joshua is this strong? No, his talent has always surpassed my brother's. It seems he fought desperately on the orc battlefield and managed to survive, breaking through under crisis... Even Silencer is no match for him. This means no one on our side can stop him one-on-one.)*
*(Fortunately, that lord is also coming soon. And with so much time having passed, the guards and patrolling knights have gathered. He has no chance for a surprise attack now. But I still need to watch out for possible infiltration and assassination. This is his hometown, after all—there might be secret passages or hidden paths... Silencer is unreliable too. Better be cautious.)*
"Go call those three hired mercenary warriors staying in the back courtyard."
Having made up his mind, Dania frowned and said to the messenger beside him: "Tell them I'll pay extra. I want them to stay closer to protect me!"
"Yes sir!"
Finally able to leave, the messenger stood up quickly as if granted reprieve and ran toward the back courtyard, not seeing the calm look in his employer's eyes behind him.
"The Radcliffe family has always had single heirs. Even if there are other successors, most of them, like me, are sent to the family's ancestral lands in the southern Empire to become merchants."
After the man left, Dania no longer needed to maintain a facade of anger. He furrowed his brow, thinking seriously: "Every generation's head of the family has been Gold-rank. There must be some secret behind this that I don't know... I can look into that later. But the Wilson family is completely untrustworthy. They've had ulterior motives from the start, more worthy of attention than Joshua alone."
With that, he let out a cold laugh, rubbing a large sapphire ring on his thumb.
"Wanting me to be a puppet? How laughable. Don't underestimate a merchant who knows how to make big money."