I, the Weakest Traveler, Start by Taming the gods of the Old World.

"There\'s nothing about a curse here. Are you sure these books even know anything about Excalibur?" he asked, glancing at Merlin, who sat perched on the edge of the table, her gaze locked on him with a playful glint.

"Most of these texts only hold fragments of the truth. No one knows the real origin, aside from the fact that Excalibur was born from the world itself," she replied.

Ha Joon raised an eyebrow. "You told me you could help with the curses."

"And I can," Merlin giggled, her tone teasing. "You doubt me?"

"Well, considering you\'ve tied me up like a prisoner, I can\'t help but question your methods!" Ha Joon snapped, tugging at the chains that bound him to the wall.

"Oh, relax. It\'s just a precaution."

"In case of what?!" he retorted.

Without answering, Merlin waved her hand, and a nearby book floated off the shelf, landing gently in his lap. "Here~ That should help you… a bit, it\'s one of the oldest books I have".

Ha Joon sighed, knowing better than to argue with her. He opened the book, the pages flipping effortlessly to the section he needed.

"Oh, I think I found something," he said after a moment.

"About the curse?" Merlin asked, leaning forward with interest.

"The wielder of Excalibur is granted unparalleled power, but in return, they\'re subjected to certain restrictions. Pleasure is denied, evil intentions are rejected, aging is slowed—forced, ever…."

His face twisted into a grimace. "So, these are the curses Excalibur placed on Artoria? Damn."

Merlin\'s expression remained unbothered. "It\'s not surprising. I\'ve known about this for ages, but I didn\'t think it was quite this… severe. To Artoria, only eight years have passed since she pulled Excalibur, even though it\'s been sixty. And then, on some days, she feels all those years crashing down on her, as if she\'s lived them all."

Ha Joon recalled overhearing Merlin and Artoria discussing the locket her father had given her.

\'So, time dilation?\'

[That seems likely, but more analysis is needed before jumping to conclusions.]

\'We\'ll deal with that later. For now, I need to figure out how to lift these curses.\'

[That\'s beyond your current capabilities.]

[However, there might be another way.]

\'I\'m listening.\'

[Your skill, Book of Eric, allows you to summon legendary weapons. You could summon another Excalibur, and with my help, you could reshape the blade as you see fit.]

Ha Joon\'s eyes widened with realization. "That\'s it!"

Merlin flinched at his sudden outburst. "What? What\'s it?"

"Hey, Merlin, untie me," Ha Joon said, eyes gleaming.

"Why? We\'re not done yet. Are you really planning to leave so soon?" she asked, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Nah, that\'s not it."

With a grin, Ha Joon effortlessly broke free from the chains. "I just figured out a better way to break this curse."

"A… better way?" Merlin\'s curiosity was piqued now, her full attention on him.

"I\'ve never done this before, so I\'m not sure if it\'ll work, but I\'m going to give it a shot."

Ha Joon moved to the center of the room, mana swirling around him. A blue, ancient book materialized before him, its pages glowing with an ethereal light as threads of blue magic wove through the air.

Merlin watched, speechless, captivated by the beauty of the spell.

[I\'ve located Excalibur. You can summon it now.]

Ha Joon\'s grin widened. "Sicck."

He thrust his hand into the shimmering book, his fingers wrapping around the hilt of Excalibur. With a triumphant yell, he pulled the golden blade free from the pages.

The radiant blue light dimmed as Ha Joon swung the sword to his side.

Merlin stood frozen, her face a mix of awe and disbelief. "Ex… Ex… Excalibur?"

"Cool, right? I didn\'t think it would actually work," Ha Joon said, inspecting the sword. "This version doesn\'t have the curse since I specifically summoned one without it, but it doesn\'t have the same qualities as the original Excalibur either. It\'s basically a fake… but I can fix that."

"A fake?" Merlin echoed, still trying to process what she was seeing.

"Yeah, just a knockoff. My skill lets me summon legendary weapons, but they\'re never exactly like the originals. That\'s where this comes in."

[You\'ve gained a new skill: Weapon Assimilation (Master).]

[This skill allows you to appraise weapons and enhance them by adding qualities available in the store.]

"I can add as many attributes as I want to this sword, making it even stronger than the original if I want to," Ha Joon said, his grin widening as he considered the possibilities.

"Just… how many skills do you have exactly, Ha Joon?" Merlin sighed. "It seems like you\'re always having solutions for everything. Makes me wonder what your flow state is."

"Aren\'t you a curious bird? That\'s something for another day. Now shush, let me concentrate."

Ha Joon sat on the ground, his eyes closed as he held out Excalibur.

[Warning: If you intend to make this Excalibur the stronger one, the original holy blade will fight back to regain its title.]

\'Understood. Let\'s just get it over with.\'

[Opening up shop…]

[Fast Strike… (200 EP)

Energy Blast… (400 EP)

Dragon Nova… (800 EP)... etc.]

A single drop of sweat formed at the side of Ha Joon\'s face.

\'Bro, why are they so expensive?\' he muttered.

[You currently have 8000 EP, 8150 before you learned the new skill Weapon Assimilation. I advise spending them wisely.]

\'Yeah, yeah, the things I do for these people… fine, let\'s do this!\'

Merlin, on the other hand, remained where she was, watching as red threads began to network from Ha Joon\'s hand and glued themselves to Excalibur.

She wasn\'t sure what was happening, but the amount of mana leaving his body was more than impossible to believe.

But then…

"Ahhhhh!" Ha Joon screamed.