SB: Chapter 267 – A New Weapon (Patreon)

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Pleh! I spat to the side.

I couldn’t get the taste of sulfur out of my mouth. Despite using Clean and rinsing my mouth out with water several times. It was the lingering Mana in the smoke that had interfered with my taste.

Once I had retrieved the sword, escaping was a hassle. The flaming skeletons tried to block my way and I had to endure the heat without weather wards. Ozy also bottomed out on Mana. The final couple of minutes before I had escaped the heat and smoke had been absolutely miserable.

Now everything had a sulfur taste and smell to it. At least we were traveling in style now along the coast. The large chunks of ice off the frozen coast blocked the worst of the waves. It had been a simple matter for Ozy to make an ice boat and for me to create some basic runic propulsion.

While we could have traveled back over the land, I was planning to go along the coast until the waves became too much or we got close enough to a dungeon entrance, there would be less trekking across the endless snow and ice.

It was nice to travel while being able to sit and relax. After everything that had happened at the Soul Forge and before that, I was in no rush to suffer more. I could just lay back and let the runic circle push my ice boat along.

Boris was exercising behind me, along the central axis of the boat, so it wouldn’t rock so much. Which was fine, he wanted to work out and he could, since he had been amazing so far. I wouldn’t take away the one thing he enjoyed even if I had to spend a bit more time on the boat design to ensure its stability from his exercising.

The sword case was under my chair, also on the central axis of the boat. I could have moved it to the side and we would be fine, but no need to create unnecessary risk for no reason.

I sipped a warm cup of juice. I had a couple of bottles of very sweet juice tucked away to celebrate with and I was enjoying one right now while looking at my new blade on the ice stand in front of me.

Weapon1: Vorunhusk Soulforged Blade(T4) (Sharpness-T5, Soul Shred-T5, Durability-T4, Null Strike-T3, Self-Repair-T3)

All the enchantments on it had gone up by a tier, well two tiers after I had broken the initial runic structure, which was insane, especially sharpness which had gone up to Tier 5. Which meant it could easily cut through Tier 5 monsters, level 249 and lower. Each higher tier in enchanting was an exponential increase in difficulty. I almost regretted not having a better weapon that I could have used.

Then there were the two new enchantments on the weapon. The first was a spell skill turned into an active enchantment, Soul Shred. Soul Strike was a Tier 3 skill and Soul Shred was a more powerful and brutal version of such a skill at Tier 5. It made sense since the monster that had been used to soul forge this blade was called Vorunhusk The Soul Shredder and that was its Tier 6 skill.

Null Strike would let the weapon cut through Mana much more easily. Null skills were rare monster skills that nullified opposing Mana. While it was technically possible to learn such a skill, its difficulty lay in the knowledge needed to perform Mana nullification. Having a skill helped one use it instinctively, but any nullification type skill was insanely complicated beyond what its Tier 5 would suggest.

The concept of null skills, made alchemical transference impossible. Also putting such a skill on a weapon, was also nearly impossible, until now. Well, I suppose it might have been done in the past with a ritual. But it wasn’t common knowledge if it had been done before.

I would have to test the blade out a lot in the dungeon to better understand the two new skills it possessed.

The blade itself was dark violet, which I had first mistaken for black, except for the sharp edges which were red, with red like cracks extending back towards the center of the blade. I had considered making an intelligent weapon like the War Mech but realized very quickly that would have been a bad idea. The main ingredient was a super powerful monster. Having one monster, Ozymandius, as part of my team was more than enough.

The bone white handle and hilt were a stunning contrast to the rest of the blade. This was the kind of weapon a legend would commission and use. A top tier legend, with how many skills were a part of the blade.

Five was a crazy number of enchantments, especially with all of them being Tier 3 and higher. I tried to think how to improve it even further, but that would be impossible without another ritual, which would be highly risky. Stacking rituals up on the same object was a good way to get a disaster.

The only reason the blade had survived, was due to the Vorunhusk’s soul being used to shield and empower the weapon itself. The dark violet color was likely due to the monster’s core being shaped and reformed into the blade itself. It was no longer a monster core, but a violet core was still a violet core.

The value of one was priceless, because something like this could be done in a ritual. Even in other crafting fields like potion making, the use of such a core was incalculable. The price of my weapon would be at least 10,000 platinum, if I absolutely had to put a price on it. But realistically it had reached the point that was less about money but who had the strength to keep such a weapon.

Drawing it outside the dungeon would draw a lot of attention due to how unique it looked, which would be a bad idea. While I had some acknowledgement from legends as Elena’s kid, that wouldn’t stop them from taking advantage of me. Like how one of my spatial pouches had been stolen by a shameless legend.

This weapon was far more valuable than a spatial pouch. At least it wasn’t emitting Mana like that cursed blade had been doing.

It was time to check my status at the three month mark since the last check. I didn’t want to do so, since I could tell there was lingering damage left behind by the monster’s Soul Gaze attack. But it was time to see how much damage had been done.

Level: 20

Experience: BLOCKED

Healing: 550/550

Stamina: 750/750

Mana: 850/850

Class: Tier 1, Adult Human(Blue)

Effect: Increased Skill Acquisition(+10%), Increased Learning Speed(+10%), Increased Stat Gain(+10%), Increased Physical Gain(+10%), Increased Mental Gain(+10%)

Vitality: 55 (-1)

Endurance: 75 (+2-1)

Strength: 52 (+2-1)

Agility: 60 (+1-1)

Perception: 48 (-1)

Mind: 189 (+2-1)

Magic: 85 (-1)

Focus: 71 (+1-1)

Free Points: 200

Tier 1(8)(46+): Dancing Skills(100), Stillness(87+7), Veil(70+18), Driving(65+5), Mask(50+17), Obscure(45+17), Deception(15), Coordinated Balance(2)

Tier 2(82)(17+): Mana Sense(100), Danger Sense(100), System Sense(100), Soul Sense(100), Speed Reading(100), Mana Vision(100), Demonic Lore(100), Darkness Vision(100+1), Focused Deflection(99), Focused Dodge(86), Shadow Vision(84+1), Focused Combat Tactics(80+5), Temporal Sense(75+3), Monster Analysis(72+1), Spatial Sense(71+1), Focused Cooking Skills(71+2), Depth Sense(66), Eldarin Lore(66+6), Trap Detection(64+5), Dwarven Lore(57), Focused Throw(54), Sweet Teeth(54), Focused Shield Skills(53), Poison Sense(52), High Vostner Lore(52), Focused Rage(50), Elven Lore(46), Focused Armor(41), Low Vostner Lore(40), Focused Spear Skills(40), Focused Axe Skills(31), Soul Vision(20), Focused Speech(20), Focused Pugilist Skills(18), Focused Whip Skills(15), Focused Bow Skills(13), Focused Dagger Skills(12), Focused Drawing Skills(11), Focused Wrestling Skills(10), Focused Pulse Strike(6), Social Performance(2)

Tier 3(129)(8+): Empowered Will(100), Mana Manipulation(100), Eldarin Runes(100), Empowered Gestures(100+1), Hidden Status(98+3), Light Orb(88), Skill Control(87+2), Ward(84+2), Silent Casting(82), Clean(80+2), Empowered Breathing(74+3), Empowered Running(69), Empowered Writing(65+2), Lightning Resistance(64), Fireball(63), Flame Blade(60), System Control(55+1), Lightning Beam(54), Physical Resistance(52), Empowered Sword Skills(51), Dwarven Runes(47), Status Analysis(47+2), Elven Runes(46), Sleep(46), Soul Strike(44), Empowered Stealth(39+6), Arcane Resistance(37), Low Vostner Runes(35+6), High Vostner Runes(32), Calculus(32), Demonic Runes(32+3), Advanced Geometry(31), Cure(31), Empowered Toughness(31+1), Social Resistance(29), Sonic Resistance(20), Compass Of Desire(18+2), Alchemy(17), Slice(14), Soul Shield(14+1), Demonic Hunter(10), Empowered Thinking(6+3), Empowered Monster Processing Skills(2), Runic Combat(2+1)

Tier 4(44)(1+): Experience Siphon(C), Gnomish Silence(C), Poison Immunity(52), Multi-Casting(45), Soul Immunity(43+3), Vibration Blade(28), Pain Immunity(28+3), Cold Immunity(25+13), Healing Immunity(22+2), Fire Immunity(20+2), Ritualism(18+11), Fear Immunity(2+2), Moving Meditation(1+1)

Tier 5(5): Dominate Soul(4+1)

Equipment

Gloves: Gloves Of Durability(T3) (Durability-T3)

Boots: Boots of Durability(T3) (Durability-T3)

Head: Helmet of Durability(T3) (Durability-T3)

Body: Heavy Armor Of Durability(T3) (Durability-T3)

Ring1: Ring of Warding(T3) (Can use a charged ward skill once)

Ring2: Ring of Force Deflection(T3) (Reduces impact force by a quarter)

Amulet/Bracelet: Sun Amulet of Experience Blocking(T3) (Prevents all experience gain for primary level, channels excess experience into imbuing weapons with fire damage)

Weapon1: Vorunhusk Soulforged Blade(T4) (Sharpness-T5, Soul Shred-T5, Durability-T4, Null Strike-T3, Self-Repair-T3)

Equipment1: Runic Writing Set(T3) (Write Runes T3 and Below)

Equipment2: Monster Processing Set(T3) (Processes Level 150 and Below)

Equipment3: Ring of Remote Awareness(T3) (Allows for remote viewing from companion ring)

Equipment4: Wand of Explosion(T3) (Rechargeable, single use wand with T4 Explosion spell skill)

Equipment5: Sword Case of Containment(T5) (Blocks all Mana leakage and divination from inside)

Winged Serpent

Level: 70/462

Experience: 79,454/179,488

Healing: 1,510/1,510

Stamina: 810/810

Mana: 2,130/2,130

Class: Tier 2, Winged Serpent (Orange)

Effect: Alchemy Skill Growth (+25%), Alchemic Skill Power (+200%)

Vitality: 151 ()

Endurance: 81 ()

Strength: 98 ()

Agility: 130 ()

Perception: 84 ()

Mind: 142 ()

Magic: 213 ()

Focus: 91 ()

Free Points: 0

T1: Spark(10), Veil(15+5)

T2: Alchemic Vision(100), Danger Sense(100), Focused Dodge(49), Health Sense(46), Stamina Sense(44), Heat Vision(22), Shadow Vision(17), Blood Sense(12), Focused Smell(10), Focused Regeneration(8)

T3: Cure(100), Purify(100), Refresh(100), Alchemy(100), Poison Insight(82), Fire Insight (55), Cold Insight(53), Arcane Insight(50), Spatial Insight(41), Soul Insight(37+4), Healing Insight(24), Empowered Bite(28), Empowered Toxic Breath(28), Ward(20), Cold Resistance(20+5), Anatomy Insight(18), Harden Scales(17), Atmospheric Insight(15), Bladed Limb Insight(5), Quake(6), Weapon Insight(2)

T4: Flight(88), Alchemic Bounded Field(87+6), Greater Refresh(44+3), Greater Cure(42), Petrifying Gaze(34), Greater Purify(32), Fear Aura(9), Greater Quake(2)

T5: Dominated Soul(C)

I was right and also relieved the damage hadn’t been worse. I had lost a stat point in each of my stats from the attack. I looked back at my sword and the empty space where the Tier 7 curse skill had been. That was a fair tradeoff. The fact I got off so lightly was already incredible. Asking for more would be impossible. I had done everything I could do.

The fact that I had gotten off so lightly from a single attack was incredibly lucky. I could only shake my head in resigned acceptance. There was no going back and doing things differently. Even if I could, I wouldn’t know what I would change. I had done every preparation I could do. Sometimes things couldn’t be accomplished without a bit of injury.

As long as I didn’t die and the injury wasn’t crippling, I would keep living and getting stronger. It was a minor setback compared to everything I had gained. It was just that I had learned to improve on my combat. Something my mother had hammered into me.

It just came down to weakness and not realizing that one valve would probably stick. I could have made a runic plate to shield me from the Soul Gaze attack. So, there was something I could have done, I knew about the skill, but didn’t think the monster could use it through a wall and how much power it would have.

Something to remember for the future and showed that even if I thought everything through multiple times, I still wasn’t perfect. That pursuit of combat perfection was something my mother had hammered into my head over the year I had spent with her in the dungeon.

There was a light cool breeze that drifted over the deck of the ice ship, the weather wards were holding nicely. I adjusted the tiller slightly to keep us at a certain distance from the ice coast. The rock cliffs by the destroyed Soul Forge had quickly transitioned into ice cliffs.

Looking at the rest of my status, I had gained 396 skill levels. A decent amount, but less than I had hoped. While there had been life and death pressure, most of the time had been spent traversing the Great White Waste and preparing in one way or another. There was no fighting. Still the pressure did level up some of my less used skills.

I was now 23 years old. I didn’t feel old, but I also did at the same time. The recent life and death conflicts had been highly stressful. While I had come out ahead in the end, there had been almost no margin for error. A single mistake would have meant my death.

Looking at my immunity skills I could only shake my head at how slowly they were leveling. It would take a long time to maximize them and turn them into absorption skills. And then I would have to work to maximize those skills and combine them into a Tier 6 super skill. Decades was being highly optimistic in terms of time frame, it was more likely going to be centuries.

Now that the Seraphim Quest had been completed, it was time to plan out my next move. The remaining two curse skills had to be removed. That meant training up my soul skills in the dungeon. I needed to push Soul Strike and Soul Shield up to higher levels. I looked at my blade again.

It was too good. I would have to use worse skills with worse weapons. I would still make sure I knew how my newly forged weapon worked, but I also had weaker weapon skills I needed to maximize.

I had doubted the need for Weapons Mastery, but my mother insisted it was incredibly important for creating more versatile skills, handling weapon wielding monsters, and providing a strong foundation for weapon combat. At a certain point she had explained the sword could only improve so far with what a person could do.

Improving beyond that required adapting to an enemy, which is where Weapons Mastery came into play. One adjusted their sword style to match their opponent’s style and defeat them. Overwhelming power was always useful, but Mana management in the dungeon was incredibly important.

Time to break out the spear in the dungeon and then the other weapon skills. I looked at my amazing blade again. I really didn’t want to use a lesser weapon. After everything my sword and I had been through, it really was my most trusted companion. Now it had become even more powerful, I wanted to use it even more.

Another bad mindset to have, which I could tell, but couldn’t stop having.

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