"Our purpose here?"
Kazen and Lyla stood at the gates of the village, where there were 2 guards on each side as their figures towered, given their height which seemed to reach almost 2 meters. Their spears blocked the entrance as they looked down upon two of them, as one of them had asked them for their purpose.
Kazen and Lyla glanced at one another. Kazen spoke up first, "We want to gain passage to Haslom using the river, and maybe stock up on equipment before depart. Is there a problem?"
The guard nodded, then hesitated for a moment before speaking, "There's no problem...but we do have to tell you beforehand that the price of boarding the ship to travel downstream has increased from 10 silver to 15 now.. We've been receiving complaints that we're unfairly hiking up the prices, but it can't be helped."
Lyla intervened before Kazen could speak, as she asked him, "...Then what's the actual reason for the prices increasing?"
"The creatures in the Demonic Lands have been growing more restless over the past few years...and because of that, the Hunter's Guild has issued a mass recruitment for Hunters, with additional support for them too. Materials from the beasts can be sold for higher, and buying equipment is cheaper for certified Hunters too."
The other guard on the right of the gate then spoke up too, seemingly feeling a little left out, "So there've been a lot more candidates heading to Haslom to try their luck at becoming Hunters since it's more forgiving now but...how many of them can really pass the exam? Do they really think it’s that easy? Half of them are just throwing their lives away!"
Hearing the guard scoff, the left guard glared at him, and quickly responded, "Well...anyway, the point is that you're free to pass. If you want to visit the blacksmith, they're located to the west of town. Now, have a good day."
Both guards withdrew their spears, as Kazen and Lyla nodded in gratitude for the guard's words before they walked into the village.
After they'd left, the left guard glared at the other, as he scolded, "You're really a pea-brained donkey, aren't you?! Did you really have to discourage them like that?! They're obviously heading to Haslom to participate in the Hunter's exam, and you just ran your mouth about how many people fail..."
The right guard yawned as he responded, "You should think about who's the real dimwit here. Didn't you notice they came from within the grasslands rather than tracing the river? Do you think you can really get past D-Ranked Giant Worms if you didn't have skills to back yourself up?"
The left guard finally went silent, as he scratched his head, "I...I guess I was mistaken then. You're smarter than you look, aren't you!"
"Thanks! And it's not that I'm smart, you're just too much of an idiot. It's no wonder you were posted here as a guard."
"But...you're a guard too."
"Shut up."
* * *
As they entered the village from the Northern Gate, they came across the main street, where there were many side alleys with stores inside them. It seemed like the village was divided into sectors, and each sector had one major food market, one weapons shop, and other basic necessities for everyday life.
"To the south right near the river is the Fisherman's Guild branch. If you go east of that for about 3 minutes, you'll reach the harbor, got it? Also, do you want to try one of our red-scaled fishes? They’re practically the specialty of our village!”
After rejecting the merchant, who sent them off with a dissatisfied expression, Lyla and Kazen realized they had a problem.
“We…we don’t have any money!”
Kazen felt bad seeing Lyla gulp down after smelling the food the merchant had to offer. They currently had 5 earth cores for use. Kazen wanted to save as many earth cores as he could, so he decided to sell just one of them.
A single D-Ranked earth core would probably go for about…50 silver?
A thousand silver coins usually meant a single gold coin. Although they were quite a ways off from a gold coin, this would at least be enough to settle their immediate needs.
And so, Kazen decided to sell it off.
“But where are we going to sell it in the first place?”
Lyla brought up the question that was Kazen’s current source of confusion. Although the Liuthians were famously known for their cavalry and spearmanship, they relied on pure blacksmithing without any additional enchantments to make their weapons strong.
Kazen thought what reasons he could use to sell the earth core to the Liuthians, before he smacked his head.
Just because they used weapons without enchantments didn’t mean they wouldn’t want enchantments. If they had access to an enchanter, why wouldn’t they take up their services if offered? In that case, did they really have to sell off the earth core?
And so, Kazen decided on his destination.
“We’ll go to the Blacksmith’s Guild in the west!”
“We don’t have money to buy any swords though…you’re planning to sell-you’re planning to buy a sword then enchant it before selling it, aren’t you?!”
Lyla figured out his intentions, and Kazen made a smug smile, “I’m sure you’d have heard of me, but I really was a famous enchanter in Alethea. Why, just ask anybody here if they’ve heard of an enchanter called Kazen!”
“Yes, yes, you’re amazing aren’t you? I’d like to see those skills of yours in use at least once, so let’s go!”
Lyla dragged his arm and started pulling him. Glancing at Lyla, she seemed excited by simply being around here, and Kazen couldn’t help but be slightly affected by her enthusiasm as he followed her promptly.
As they walked towards the streets, Lyla spoke to him, “You know, you’re still referring to yourself as Kazen. You…I know that you realize that it’s just going to bring problems. So why don’t you refer to yourself as Julius?”
Hearing this immediately dampened his spirits, “I…maybe I just haven’t admitted to myself that the things in the Forsaken Continent really happened. Could you suddenly accept an identity that was thrust upon you without warning?”
“…No, I couldn’t.”
Lyla couldn’t say anything further. She wondered to herself how exactly he would respond when somebody asked his name in the future, since he certainly couldn’t call himself Kazen.
But that was a matter for the near future. As they turned the corner of the street, a giant black building came into view. The entrance was open, and through the entrance they were able to see glowing molten metal, together with several tanned Liuthians hammering away and forging their weapons.
At the side of the main entrance was a sign that said they could pay 5 silver to watch the Liuthian blacksmiths at work, or they could go to the side entrance for purchasing of weapons.
Kazen and Lyla walked towards the side entrance, where there was a smaller door in view about 50 meters from the main entrance.
As both of them entered, the chime of a bell rang. Entering the store, the interior seemed to be at least 30 square meters in area, and there seemed to be a small door on the inner right side of the room which led to a new area as well.
All around them, there seemed to be plenty of weapons being displayed on weapon racks.
The eastern wall seemed to be filled with various types of swords and longswords, as well as great swords. The western wall seemed to be filled with shields and armour sets. In both sides of the room, there were drawers lined up across the entire length of the wall, seemingly holding smaller weaponry like whips and daggers.
And to the northern end, behind the counter…the entire wall seemed to be filled with spears and polearms, and seemed to have been forged to perfection, whether it be in terms of aesthetics or functionality.
“So many weapons! These were all crafted here?! They seem so high-quality too!”
“The Liuthians are known for their excellent blacksmithing after all. And see those spears at the end? You won’t be able to find higher quality spears anywhere else in the southwest of Alethea.”
At that moment, an uproarious laughter echoed through the store, as a slightly plump man of about 1.8 meters tall with tanned skin and short brown hair, together with a beard that matched his hair’s colour emerged from the inner area of the store.
“Both of you lads really do have a keen eye, don’t you!”
The man seemed to be in high spirits, after having heard both of their praises as he smiled and reached the counter.
He laid both his hands on the countertop, “But what do you mean in the southwest, boy? I’m sure we can compete even can compete with the Sunforgers in the Kingdom of Sun if they don’t use their little magic tricks!”
“But enough about that, judging by your reactions, I’m assuming this is your first time coming to the Liuthian Grasslands?”
Kazen and Lyla looked at each other, then nodded. With a gesture from Lyla, Kazen stepped forward, “It really is our first time coming here. We’ve come here to…well, buy weapons.”
And with that, he pointed to the racks on the eastern wall, “Are there any longswords you’re selling that are within 100 silver?”
Hearing that, the blacksmith scratched his head, “Well….there are, but I believe you understand that you’ll only be getting quality equivalent to what you’ve paid.”
“Yes, naturally,” Kazen nodded.
“Then follow me.”
With those words, the blacksmith exited his counter, and walked to the western wall. Just as Kazen thought he’d take out one of the weapons on the racks, he knelt down, and opened the bottom-most drawer instead.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
From the drawer, he took out one of the swords which were wrapped in cloth and unwrapped it, giving it a little twirl before handing it to Kazen.
“Here, you can try this.”
As Kazen took hold of the sword, he felt its weight being just right for him, as he turned around and slashed it once or twice. Its length only paled slightly in comparison to the odachi he’d used in his spar against Richards.
Looking at the surface of the weapon, it seemed to be perfectly forged, and didn’t seem to pale in comparison even when compared to the weapons that were on the rack.
“These are made from…steelfang? I’ve never seen such high-quality weapons made from steelfang before…”
Having been an enchanter for many years, Kazen was familiar with the different kinds of weapons there were to some extent at least.
And he remembered that steelfang were known to be popular in the Liuthian Grasslands amongst beginner Hunters, since the material came directly from the Steelfang Tigers which were situated in the forest across the river.
Since the Steelfang Tigers were relatively easier to hunt, and their fangs were known to be excellent material for forging of weapons, Kazen was able to identify it quickly.
“…You really do know your stuff, boy!”
The blacksmith perked up, as his eyes suddenly shined.
“These are ones I personally forged during my early days! I’ve forged over a thousand swords, but most people who come here keep buying our spears! Do you want to buy it? I can sell it to you for just 70 silvers, and I’ll even throw in a free repair once whenever you come back!”
Seeing the enthusiastic blacksmith who spoke as his brown beard shook, Kazen thought to himself.
70 silvers…
“We don’t have the coins to pay, but would you be willing to sell them for this?”
And with those words, Kazen took out 2 earth cores from a makeshift pouch he made using the Giant Worm’s scales, and threw them up in the air before catching them.
Then, the blacksmith’s beard stopped shaking as his expression dimmed, “And what exactly would we even do with these? We don’t even have our own enchanter! I don’t think I can sell it to you, so off you go.”
Hearing this, Kazen quickly intervened, “Or how about this, I’m an enchanter myself. I’ll enchant one of the weapons here, and if it turns out well, we’ll sell it back for a higher price and get a new sword that isn’t enchanted.”
“Then what if your enchantment fails, and the sword is damaged?”
Kazen thought about it, “Then Lyla here said she’ll work at your counter for a few days. I’m sure having a pretty refreshing lady like her working at a counter would make even more people come here right?”
Lyla kicked his shin, “No way! We just arrived here and you already want me to work?!”
The blacksmith chuckled, “While that’d be a sight to see, what I want is…”
* * *
They were brought to the inside of the shop, where they passed through a corridor. After some distance, the blacksmith opened one of the doors and entered, with the darkness of the unlit room enveloping them. By focusing on the room, they were able to see a pentagram drawn with blue chalk in the center.
“Oh? Old man, I thought you said you didn’t have any enchanters? Then why do you have a soul-enhancement pentagram here?”
The blacksmith scoffed, “You really think you enchanters are the only ones who need this? Blacksmiths who’ve reached a higher tier like our branch guild master need to use these to forge low-level ego weapons too, you know?”
Lyla poked Kazen’s hips, as she asked, “What’s a soul-enhancement pentagram, and an ego weapon? Why do you need the soul-enhancement pentagram to forge ego weapons?”
Kazen massaged on his temple as he tried to think of how to explain it in simple terms, but in the end replied Lyla, “I’ll explain it a little later when we have time. It’s not too complex, but I’d like to avoid wasting the blacksmith’s time since it’ll still take some time to explain. For now…”
Kazen walked up to the center of the pentagram, and sat down. He placed the longsword across his lap, as he took out a single earth core and placed it in front of him.
Lyla wanted to walk forward, but the blacksmith held a hand out in front of her, “Just watch, for now.”
The blacksmith’s eyes looked at Kazen with a gaze filled with curiosity.
Closing his eyes, Kazen started to channel his mana into the pentagram, as it slowly started to glow with a soft blue light, giving the room a mysterious feel. As the light grew stronger, Kazen could feel his soul getting slightly lighter, as he felt the control over his soul grow more concrete as well.
“Now…let’s begin.”
Kazen picked up the earth core with one hand, as he used the other to rest it on the flat surface of the blade beneath him.
And after the oscillation of energy in the pentagram grew to a certain extent, Kazen dived his consciousness into the earth core.
* * *
In the darkness surrounding them, a single golden orb floated, letting off a soft light.
I really do seem to be surrounded by darkness a lot these days…
With casual thoughts in his mind, Kazen’s soul slowly approached the golden orb, as it finely started to trace the surface of the earth core.
As he traced it, information started to flood into his mind through his soul.
The outermost layer of the soul seemed to consist of things that were part of every-day life for the worm, and these activities seemed to have been imprinted deep into every layer of its soul.
Burrowing through the earth, digesting its prey with its highly acidic gastric fluids, hibernating to recover its energy…
As Kazen’s soul filtered out these activities, his soul suddenly jolted slightly, as words suddenly appeared in his soul’s perception again.
----------------------------------------
[Basic Enchantment (Lvl 1) has been unlocked!]
[Scanning through potential enchantment skills…]
[Tunnelling]…[Hibernation]….[Corrosion]...
----------------------------------------
Due to the sudden surprise, the memory of the worm digesting its prey shuddered, as it broke off. A piece of the golden core suddenly cracked, as the broken bits flew off into the void, disappearing out of sight. He had lost the chance to enchant the weapon with [Corrosion].
These words again…this time, I shouldn’t let anything more surprise me.
Kazen steeled his soul, and decided to look through the different words that had appeared in front of him.
After a short moment, a chime rang out, as a new screen appeared before him. This time, Kazen wasn’t surprised, and managed to stay collected.
----------------------------------------
[Potential Enchantments]
----------------------------------------
[Tunnelling]
Effect: Create a tunnel 3 meters in radius and 5 meters deep on an earthen surface. Consumes durability based on how hard the surface is.
Cooldown: 24 hours
Cost: 300 mana
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[Hibernation]
Effect: In exchange for reducing ATK of weapon by 50% for 48 hours, recovers 0.5% of total durability every hour.
Cooldown: 72 hours
Cost: 800 mana
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I can know the exact outcome I will get from the enchantment so easily. This…
Although he was able to achieve the results he wanted even in his previous body, it would have taken him at least slightly longer to decipher the exact effects his enchantment would lead to. This, however…
The more he witnessed the miraculous abilities of the ‘System’, the more his curiosity towards it grew.
Right now, he pondered for a moment, before he decided on the skill he wanted.
I’ll choose [Hibernation].
[You have chosen ‘Hibernation’!]
The part of the core’s surface that held the [Hibernation] skill started to slowly separate from the main core.
Kazen intensified his focus, as he started to feel the strain on his soul.
Normal enchanters would end up destroying the core they used for enchantment after deriving a single skill from it.
However, Kazen…wasn’t a world-renowned Enchanter for nothing.
He slowly released some of his soul energy and wrapped it in a thin layer around the main core, as he slowly stabilized it before its fluctuations intensified and made the core break apart.
At the same time, he slowly drew the part of the core that had separated itself, and drew it into his own soul.
His soul started being filled with a part of the core’s memory. He felt himself hibernating as a worm, recovering from fatal injuries as parts of its body healed itself over a short period of time…
And as his mind saw through those images related to ‘healing’, those memories resonated in his heart…as something sparked within him.
His mind flashed with sudden images, as he suddenly saw a vision.
* * *
He was surrounded by thousands of enemies alone, as he was stained in blood.
Not a single enemy was able to get close, as he cut through his opponents like paper, creating a whirlwind of death around him.
The blood of his enemies matched the colour of their battle gear, as he withstood a sea of blood rushing against him.
Tens, hundreds, and eventually, at least a thousand had died by his hands. And then…a spear of flame suddenly appeared in front of him in a flash, as it cut through his wrist, severing it.
But he did not scream. He immediately channelled his mana, as his green mana started to bubble at his severed wrist, and immediately restored his hand back in a blink of an eye.
And he thought he could continue his fight…until another spear appeared in front of his neck.
And the last sight he had was of him glancing at his body standing upside down…until he realized.
His head had been severed.
* * *
His control over the main core immediately collapsed, as it started to disintegrate. His memory of [Hibernation] was on the verge of dissipating.
NO!
He forcefully pushed his soul to its limits, as he held together the dissipating fragments of [Hibernation].
Then using his will, he controlled the fragments of [Hibernation] that had already dissipated and forcefully fused them back together, as he forcefully drew most of his consciousness back into his physical body. The instant he did so, there were a series of messages that appeared in the vision of his soul.
----------------------------------------
[You have unlocked a ‘hidden piece’! Instant Regeneration has been unlocked!]
[Your current mana attribute is not compatible with ‘Instant Regeneration’]
[Modifying skill to suit current Player’s parameters…]
[…A new skill has been created!]
[The skill, ‘Healing Amplification’ has been unlocked!]
[Due to unlocking a portion of your hidden abilities, the effect of the skill ‘Seed of Potential’ has decreased by 5%.]
----------------------------------------
* * *
His consciousness finally returned to his body, as he immediately channelled the portion of [Hibernation] that his soul currently held through his body with mana as the medium, and injected it into the weapon.
Even in his tired state, he was able to finely distribute the enchantment skill into the weapon without collapsing the internal structure of the sword. However, his face grew visibly paler as time went on.
“…lius, you alright?!”
Even as he heard a woman’s voice call out to him in panic, the weapon started glowing with a faint brown and blue light, and intensified for a moment before it suddenly stopped, before dimming once more.
----------------------------------------
[An excellent enchantment!]
[A piece of your corrupted records has been recovered!]
[Based on your previous records, 'Basic Enchantment (Lvl 1)' has increased to 'Basic Enchantment (Lvl 3)'!]
[Due to the skill 'Seed of Potential', you gain 495% more experience!]
['Basic Enchantment (Lvl 3)' has increased to 'Basic Enchantment (Lvl 4)'!]
----------------------------------------
Now, the weapon on his lap seemed to have the faintest brownish-blue glow to it, as Kazen finally smiled a little.
Finally…looks like I’ve still got it.
And he felt his body tilt to the side, as he heard Lyla’s cry.
“Julius!”
And he collapsed.