Some cultivators look down on those who choose to use weapons, believing that they are weaker than people who fight unarmed and are just trying to increase their strength. However, the cultivators who insist on fighting unarmed are usually the first to die when they encounter a powerful Mana Beast. What’s more there are very few Mana Beasts that can use any form of weapon (at least until they become Immortal Mana Beasts) so weapons provide a large advantage in a fight, both with Mana Beasts and with other cultivators. Of course, it does pay to remember that a weapon is only a force multiplier and becoming reliant on it is something that only a fool would do as you could be caught unarmed if you are unlucky and even the best weapons can be broken in combat with a powerful enemy. Still someone who knows how to use one or more weapons has an advantage over those that don’t so there is no reason that a cultivator shouldn’t learn to use them.
* Excerpt from Telram’s notes on weapons
Telram sighed as he looked over the plains that stretched out in front of him and Jai who was by his side like usual. It had been a couple of months since he had arrived in Yulis Village and now that things had settled down, he had been able to let the others help him out training the students more which allowed him to have some time to himself.
He had spent most of this time repairing the damage to his Mana Core and arm but now that he had managed to completely repair the damage, he had decided to do something a little different than what he had been doing up until now.
During their escape from Palamar Telram had been thinking about how he had damaged his body and had eventually come to the conclusion that he needed a weapon to increase his combat capabilities. He knew that he wasn’t really suited to either a sword like Gerry or a spear like his father, but he did know of a weapon that could work very well with the fighting style that he was trying to develop. At first, he had considered the idea of some sort of Warhammer or maul but then he had remembered an old story from back on earth about a type of Japanese monster called an Oni that was often depicted wielding a studded metal club called a Kanabo. Oni were horned giants that were usually shown as having red, green or blue skin and had massive physical prowess. They also often wore loincloths made of tiger pelts but Telram had decided that mentioning this to Jai would be a bad idea.
The Kanabo that Oni wielded came in several different shapes and sizes but the type that Telram wanted to make was a hexagonally shaped one with studs running down each of the six sides that was almost as long as he was tall. This sort of weapon wasn’t something that was traditionally used by cultivators who predominantly fought either unarmed or with swords. Occasionally they might use spears like Aran did or sometimes bows. However, even Warhammers and axes were pretty uncommon with most cultivators considering them to be primitive weapons unsuitable for people like them. Telram didn’t care much for that sort of attitude so he had done some thinking and had come to the conclusion that he could adapt his Resonance Palm to fighting with a blunt weapon far easier than he could with something like a sword and could hopefully even complete a technique similar to the one that he had used during the escape from Palamar without injuring himself quite as badly if he used a weapon instead of his arm.
Unfortunately creating a Kanabo that was as large as the one that he had in mind would require him to obtain large quantities of metal to create and the two of the three metals that he had in mind were unlike anything that existed back on Earth. The first metal was ordinary steel and would be the primary metal used in making his weapon due to its decent toughness and being easy to obtain. He was however planning on obtaining the ores used to make steel and teaching Dale what he knew of refining techniques so that the steel that they were using was far better than the ordinary steel that Dale usually worked with. Telram had been quite interested in the refining techniques used in ancient japan due to his history as an archaeology student and had a decent idea of how to make the nigh legendary tamahagane that was used to forge katana which seemed to be a good sort of metal to make a weapon used by Japanese monsters, even one as unrefined as a Kanabo.
The second metal that Telram had in mind was a relatively common one as far as these special metals went that was called Star Iron which according to stories that he had heard over the years had originally fallen from the sky years ago bringing a strange form of Mana with it that spread to other pockets of metal which had somehow turned it into Star Iron. This seemed quite unlikely to Telram because Star Iron was found all over Nerrus and the likelihood of so many pockets of metal undergoing the same change because something had fallen from the sky but then again there was a lot about this world that he still didn’t know and chances were getting to the bottom of that particular mystery would be difficult and probably a waste of his time. Star Iron was primarily used to create an alloy with other metals that was then used in the construction of large buildings due to its weight and strength. Star Iron was so heavy that a nugget of unprocessed ore the size of a ping pong ball weighed approximately 2 kgs which was far, far heavier than anything that Telram had heard of back on Earth. It was also almost as hard as diamond but didn’t have the same tendency to shatter under large impacts. The only real reason this metal wasn’t used to make weapons was because of the low numbers of cultivators who used body strengthening techniques. Without having a body strengthening technique that increased your strength even a dagger made of Star Iron was nearly impossible to properly wield. Telram wasn’t planning on making his weapon completely out of Star iron though, mostly because what he had planned would be too heavy for a normal person to wield easily even if it was made out of normal iron. However, he and Dale were planning on trying to make a new alloy that would contain far more Star Iron than the alloy used in building construction which would make it almost impossible for even Telram to wield easily until he increased his cultivation level.
The third metal Telram and Dale were going to try to make the alloy for Telram’s weapon from was called mithril, a name that had surprised Telram when he had first learned about its years ago. However, unlike the true silver that he was more familiar with from things like Lord of the Rings this illusive metal was not almost indestructible. In fact, it was softer than most other metals but was very easy to turn into an alloy. The real reason that this metal was so desirable as far as Telram and other cultivators were concerned it was because it was one of the best materials for conducting both mana and soul energy. As such mithril alloys were often used to make both weapons and armour for cultivators. Even Aran’s spear had a very small amount of mithril mixed into the steel that it had been made out of.
The problem was that this metal was far rarer, on fact most of the known sources were only found in and around Mana Lands. It was even possible to find special forms of mithril in these areas that had a particular affinity for a certain type of Elemental Mana which allowed the metal to conduct that type of Elemental Mana even better than normal mithril but decreasing its ability to conduct other types of Elemental Mana. However, Telram was only looking for normal mithril which was difficult enough to find. In fact, the only source that he had managed to find was in the territory of a vicious breed of Mana Beast known as a Scaled Baboon. Scaled Baboons were among the more intelligent types of Mana Beast and were well known for their physical strength and defensive capabilities. However, their scales were so heavy that they weren’t very agile and Telram knew that he and Jai could easily outrun them if they needed to.
The troop of 10 Scaled Baboons was led by a single Metal Scaled Baboon which was the most common type of Elemental Mana Beast that Scaled Baboons evolved into when they became Elemental Mana Beast but that didn’t mean that it was to be underestimated. The Metal Scaled Baboon was even stronger than Willa and its scales would become harder than steel as its cultivation level increased making it a formidable opponent for most people. Thankfully, from what Telram had been able to determine this Metal Scaled Baboon had become an Elemental Mana Beast fairly recently, so its scales weren’t that much harder than a normal Scaled Baboons were. Still its power and defensive capabilities meant that Telram and Jai would be lucky to take it down if it was by itself. With the other 10 members of its troop fighting by its side attacking them head on would be suicide even for Telram and Jai.
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Which was why they weren’t planning on attacking them directly attacking the baboons. In fact, if Telram thought there was even a slight chance that they could take some of the mithril without the baboons noticing however the Metal Scaled Baboon seemed very interested in the mithril and was probably planning on using it to increase its cultivation speed by eating it. Like a lot of Earth Elemental Beasts, the Metal Scaled Baboon was able to eat certain metals to absorb their properties and eating the mithril would allow the Metal Scaled Baboon to increase its cultivation speed considerably.
“Shit looks like we’re out of time,” Telram growled when he saw the Metal Scaled Baboon walk up to the cliff face that had the vein of mithril in it The Mana Beast was a massive thing that was taller and more powerfully built than Telram was even though it was bent over like baboons usually were. It was also covered in the silvery scales that gave it its name. The beast also had long tusk-like fangs that poked out both sides of its face and sharp claws on the end of its powerful arms that would mess of anyone that was stupid enough to fight it as they both glinted with the same metallic light as its scales.
Jai nodded his agreement as Telram took a small item from the pouch at his waist and cocked his arm back. The item that he was carrying was a Beast Core that had been Inscribed to create a large illusion of a powerful Mana Beast called a Sky Serpent which was far more dangerous than the Metal Scaled Baboon. In fact, Sky Serpents were known for preying on Scaled Baboons and the more powerful ones also hunted Metal Scaled Baboons.
Hurling the Core with as much force he could muster Telram watched as the small gem rocketed through the air towards the unsuspecting baboons to land a few metres away from one of the other members of the troop who was currently sleeping nearby. Immediately the orb flashed with an internal light and a ghostly serpent started to grow from within it silently until it all but filled the sky.
Once the illusion had reached its full size it started to darken until it almost disappeared in the night sky. Surprisingly the Metal Scaled Baboon was too intent on the mithril that it was trying to gouge out of the wall to notice the illusion and the other baboons were asleep which meant that when the illusion opened its mouth and screamed down at the troop making each and every one of them leap into the air in surprise. All of the baboons stared up at the enraged face of the illusory Sky Serpent in horror. The illusion was so large that they all knew that they would stand no chance if it decided to attack them and as soon as they recovered from their surprise they started running away from the phantasmal creature.
Even the Metal Scaled Baboon was running away in shock and as soon as Telram was sure that they were far enough away that he and Jai wouldn’t be spotted he started running towards the cliff where the vein of mithril was. At this point he wasn’t even sure whether the vein was even big enough to provide the amount of mithril ore that they would need to make the special alloy but as he hadn’t found any other sources nearby it wasn’t like he had a lot of choice which was why they were even attempting this dangerous exercise. The illusion that he had inscribed into the Beast Core would last a couple of days and would make it look like the Sky Serpent was building a nest here after a long journey from where it had come from which would hopefully give Telram time to mine a decent amount of mithril.
Or at least that was what he hoped, it was possible that the baboons could become suspicious of the illusion that he had made or the Metal Scaled Baboon could even decide to try and challenge the thing that it thinks is a Sky Serpent if it was desperate enough which would not be good for Telram as he was planning on spending the night out here hidden inside the illusion of the Sky Serpent’s nest. It had actually been really difficult convincing the others to let him have a whole two days off to do this but hopefully it would work out.
Once they were safely hidden by the illusion that they had created Telram took the pack that he was carrying off of his back before turning back towards Jai and removing the large sacks that the tiger was carrying before taking a small pick out of his own pack.
Walking up to the vein of mithril Telram started chipping away at the rock surrounding the ore that he was after he had done this. With Telram’s physical strength each swing of the pick sent shards of rock flying through the air and after a few minutes Telram came to the conclusion that he would be done considerably sooner than he had anticipated. His right arm was still weaker than it had been before he had broken it, but he was still stronger than any human back on Earth was. In fact, this comparative weakness was part of the reason that he had decided to make a weapon. While the damage to his arm had been repaired to the best of his abilities broken bones sometimes didn’t quite heal right after being broken and Telram wasn’t going to risk finding out the hard way that his bones were the same.
Telram was hoping that having a weapon that he could block attacks with as well as use to perform the more powerful attacks that might break his arm again. Of course, having a weapon like this would still increase his combat abilities either way so making one was a no brainer.
While Telram worked away Jai kept an eye out for the baboons or any other Mana Beasts who might decide that attacking what appeared to be a sleeping Sky Serpent. He had put as much distance between him and Telram as possible because of the racket that his friend was making. Jai was pretty sure that they were safe for now, the baboons had long since run so far away that he could no longer see them, and he doubted that there would be any Mana Beasts nearby that were foolish enough to try anything, but they couldn’t be too careful.
Later that night Telram put the pick down, walked back over to the pack that he had brought with him and started to set up camp for the night. He was satisfied with the progress he had made so far and had been excited to see that the mithril vein was even larger than he had hoped which meant that he should be able to use more mithril to make the alloy for his weapon. He had managed to remove most of the rock surrounding the ore and would begin to actually remove the ore itself in the morning. The ore was actually a bit different than Telram had been expecting it actually looked more like a crystal than something like hematite or iron ore did.
Once Telram had finished setting up his sleeping bag he then took out a small metal object that he unfolded. This was a basic portable stove that he had made with some help from Gerry when he was learning to Inscribe items. It was a fairly simple thing with a compartment that held a Core that was Inscribed to absorb Mana from the person using it that it would then convert into heat, three legs and a metal grid on top that functioned as a grill that could be used for cooking or heating water.
Despite how simple it was they had sold like wildfire when Gerry and Telram started making them to sell to cultivators as they only produced heat and not fire or light which meant that they were much safer to use than a campfire and could be used by anyone who could provide Mana to the Core that powered it. This was actually one of the main ways that they had used to obtain the money that they needed for research into Lily’s condition and to prepare for leaving Palamar.
Placing a small pot that he had filled with some soup that his mother had made for him before he left Telram started channelling Mana into the stove and soon the soup was simmering away nicely. Once he had finished his dinner Telram decided to meditate for a while. He had only recently finished repairing his Core, so he hadn’t really had a lot of time to work on increasing his cultivation level, he had done what he could, but he still didn’t have quite enough to form the eighth layer of his Mana Core.
As this area was fairly close to the same Mana Land that Ivy’s parents died in cultivating here was faster than cultivating than if he had been further away and soon Telram started glowing with an internal light due to the sheer speed of his cultivating. Normally someone with Telram’s cultivation level would have difficulties with controlling the mana that they were absorbing but Telram’s soul was more than powerful enough to do so with no negative effects in fact he was currently using his soul to increase the already accelerated rate of cultivation.
In fact, a couple of hours later Telram stopped absorbing mana as he finally had enough mana to form another layer of his Mana Core. Thankfully this went far faster than it had when he had helped his students form their Mana Cores because he was able to use his soul energy to directly create the new layer instead of just guiding his students and making sure that any mistakes that they made could be corrected without them suffering any negative effects. It still took several hours however and by the time he was done he was completely exhausted and decided to turn in for the night a newly minted 8th Layer Core Formation Stage Cultivator.