Chapter 305
Evan D. Sherden, Reinforced Fighting Power (5)
"It's the double-edged dagger that I made last time."
Horta spoke in a voice filled with nostalgia as he held two black daggers in his hands. It was Shine's double-edged daggers.
"At that time, I thought it was the perfect version of the weapon, but now I can see that there's more to it."
"That's because we have the materials from the dragon."
Shine's double-edged dagger, which Horta and Evan had worked on together three years ago, had been attained when he took the Jade Orb from Belois. It was created by reprocessing the scimitar, which was strengthened by drinking blood, and the power of the Devil Rune it absorbed. It was a result of Evan's ability to separate, process, and put the Devil Rune into the weapon completely, so anyone who wasn't resistant to mana couldn't handle it. Shine had to train mana resistance to a level rivaling Evan's to extract the weapon's power.
"The special ability to grow when it takes blood, and the Devil Rune that you devoted to it...everything is perfect, but in fact, we can improve it by modifying the hilt."
"So, you're replacing it with the dragon's bones."
"Yes, that's it. You can do it, right?"
It was changing the hilt while leaving the other parts of the artifact intact. It was rather more difficult than creating a new weapon, but Horta nodded confidently.
"I can do it. With Ella's help, I can do it."
"Okay, I'm asking you. You'll probably have to do a few more similar things this time."
The knights' weapons were about to be replaced. Even if they had growing artifacts, they would expect an increase in capabilities immediately if they were processed with by-products of the dragon. Furthermore, members who didn't have sufficient defense artifacts would be given additional armor using dragon leather and scales.
"The most important thing is magical artifacts. Do you think you can make it? I want to make a proper magic weapon for Belois and Paul."
Of course, dragon bones could be a tremendous magical artifact just by cutting them roughly, but if it were adequately processed, its efficiency would be beyond imagination. Did he even think about commissioning the witches? But Ella, who poked her head up behind Horta, smiled.
"If that's it, leave it to me. I'm specialized in processing bones and making magic weapons."
"Dwarves make magic weapons?"
"There's no weapon a Dwarf can't make, human. There are just weapons I don't want to make."
Evan squinted at Ella's confident declaration. Of course, it would've been easy to believe if an ordinary Dwarf had said this, but...
"Haven't you been talking about creating the strongest blade since before?"
"It was a dark phase of my past, so forget it. Forget it!"
If Evan thought about it more deeply, she might've been more talented in creating something magical in the first place because it was her skills that were at work.
"You can trust me anyway. I know a lot more about magical weapons than any witches. I believe that I have learned the history of Dwarves, who were in charge of producing weapons for the allied forces of the races in the past."
"The Allied Races, yes. Was there such an event?"
Indeed, there was an event for many primitive races who had agreed to work together in the main scenario of Yo-Ma Great War Zero. They had been equipped with weapons by the dwarves.
"...Ella, then do you know anything about the armament?"
"I know. The best blade recipe ever came from that."
Even Evan, who had played the entire Yo-Ma Great War series, didn't know that! Looking at Evan with a puzzled look, Ella had a noncommittal tone.
"Because you didn't tell me. I thought that was an ordinary weapon, after all. Later, I searched the book and found that the knowledge was misrepresented throughout the generations. It was only possible to make the unique armament with the master of the armaments, the Dwarf, and the special mana ritual. After learning that, I could understand why the strongest blade was completed with such skill."
It wasn't a weapon in the first place, but a recipe that was just a preparation for completing one...Evan muttered, dumbfounded by Ella's comment.
"If you knew that, you could've told me..."
"It doesn't mean anything to say it. The unique armament isn't something that this generation can make."
"I know it. But listening to this, it is a bit..."
So far, Evan had only thought of Skin Blade as a cutting skill that could be expressed simply with the aid of combat skills. However, the skill itself was a unique armament source.
'Unique armament....... I'm sure it's too much.'
Numerous other races were now no longer present in the New Era, and many animals and plants that lived only in ancient times, along with mana tools that could only exist in those times, were now extinct or destroyed. Now that they had studied it again, the odds of success in re-establishing their armament weren't high. He wanted to try it, but there were already enough things he was studying.
'When I'm available later, I'll talk to Grandpa Bernard. Later.'
Anyway, what was important now was a magic weapon. Evan shook his head to throw off his forgetfulness and took out an item from his inventory.
"Then, can we make magic weapons with this?"
"You..."
It was the eyeball of the Red Dragon. Ella came up at once, took it, and began to shout.
"How much did you loot?"
"No, I don't know how, but I can do a lot of looting. The dragon's eyes are the best material for making magic weapons, so I tried to take it."
He had wanted to bring both, but as soon as he started to loot one, the dragon's body began to disappear. If Evan had taken meat or bones instead, he could've taken dozens of more kilograms.
"But you did a good job. Dragon's eyeballs are, I swear, the finest material for the magic Orbs."
"Is it for Miss Belois?"
"Well...yes."
Evan nodded frankly at Horta's question, what happened yesterday playing back in his head. Horta chuckled as his cheeks turned red. This middle-aged man's wretched relaxed attitude made Evan even more ashamed!
"It's said that the witch's coming of age is soon. I wanted to give it to her as a gift..."
"Then we'll have to hurry up to make it. Oh, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it casually, so please leave everything to me."
Ella, excited to rub her cheek against the dragon's eyeball, declared so. No matter how much she didn't like to make magic weapons, she would change her mind if she got material like a dragon's eye!
"I can't leave it to you completely."
"Hmm?"
However, Evan firmly declared his intent, looking at Ella's overexcitement. When she tilted her head, Evan shrugged and took a small bead with something engraved on it out. Anyone in this space could feel the mana in it.
"You...that...how did you get it?"
"You think I've been playing around these past years? Of course, it's the result of study."
"Nobody ever thought you were playing around, Master Evan."
From the side, Evan seemed so busy that he didn't think he would have time to breathe, but he had been working on mana! Ella cried out in amazement, but Horta was admiring Evan's work purely.
"It's sealing the mana very neatly with extremely high purity. I don't think the quality of the bead is that great but does the secret lie in its inscription?"
"That's right, Horta. It's the Devil Rune."
"We're able to create something out of nothing."
Evan's bead was the same one used to seal mana, which broke a statue of a demon in the hidden boss' room on the fifth floor of the newly opened Sherden Dungeon. It was possible to create a Devil Rune first without mana and activate it with vivid mana, which meant that Evan's ability could create new weapons with the Devil Rune's power!
"Belois will soon be given her Rune as a witch. A Rune is a perfect weapon that amplifies the unique abilities of the witch race, but at the same time, she isn't good with the Demon race who deal with Devil Rune's power."
"So, you're going to put Devil Rune's power into the magic weapon to stop it. To stop the Devil Runes."
"That's right. Belois' trained as much as Shine, so she'll be fine."
Witches had been afraid of the existence of Devil Rune ever since they confronted two of the Four Heavenly Kings with it, and the best way not to be beaten by Devil Rune was to deal with the Devil Rune on their side. Over the past three years, Ctheasil had been the most hardworking witch; she was eventually forgiven for her past mistakes by her colleagues as a result.
"Belois could use the power of Rune and Devil Rune at the same time to create a stronger force. I believe in her talent."
"You have a unique idea that no one else could think of..."
If they were afraid of dealing with Devil Rune, they would never win. This side should respond the same way. They had to fight fair!
"In the future, I'll be bringing a few more beads with highly pure mana. I'll make a new magic weapon every time, so please take good care of me. We have to get them to witches."
The Sherden Dungeon's reopening featured new hidden bosses, and all of the demon statues were replaced. They would be able to find more than ten mana beads in the future.
"Uh, I have to put mana in the magic weapon I made. It's mana in the finest materials like the eyeballs of a dragon...!"
"You've opened a new chapter of history. You're happy, aren't you?"
"If I get a bad result, I'll curse you for the rest of my life, so be prepared!"
"Hahaha."
Ella, who wanted to create a perfect magic weapon on her own, looked very unhappy that Evan could make a magic weapon with only mana. Evan burst into laughter.
"Your curse won't pierce my curse resistance."
"Human, I'm going to curse you...!"
The terrible ability that Ctheasil created and the demons willingly accepted and spread around the world. The project to fight the Devil Runes...it was the moment when the so-called 'counterattack project' began.