Chapter 117: Spell Evolution (1/2)
”This is already way better than I expected,” Rakna commented as he inspected the hilt-less blade in front of him.
”{Hm, interesting. This is probably the first time I've seen or heard about someone using Cross Sight for crafting items,}” Higure commented, intrigued. ”{This is a pretty meanish blade you have made too.}”
”True. A Cao Sword, huh?” He spoke. ”I didn't know there was a specific name for this sort of… mishmash,” he uttered and opened one of the compartments of the workbench where many pre-made hilts were stocked. Old Wang had told him he could choose any of those for now before he taught him how to craft them.
He grabbed one made out of a silvery alloy and ensued to heat the blade's tang to red again and forge it to the correct shape before inserting it inside the hilt. He then wedged it to the pommel and completed the sword.
He grabbed it with one hand and performed a few testing swings. He held it straight and squinted as he observed the 80 centimeters long blade. ”Hm, I wonder how this blade even has a somewhat decent balance.”
”{…what a neat thing to say for the one who made it.}”
Rakna shrugged. ”From what I know, I could try to hollow out the surface of the steel to fix it. But I'm not sure how to do it so I'll ask Old Wang later on,” he said and put down the sword. He looked at it thoughtfully and closed one eye. ”I'll call it… Alzero.”
Instantly, the sword's description was updated and he decided to try out what he had made that weapon for in the first place. He lifted his empty hand and closed his eyes. Tendrils of cold energy coiled around his arm and fingers began to tie themselves together as the temperature in the smithy plummeted.
Karna suddenly felt pressured. Not because of the cold that clashed against his very nature but the source of said cold that represented his greater. No flame in existence would ever refuse to bow in front of a star.
Rakna's mind went through every step he performed in the last few hours as the tendrils swirled around each other to form the daunting sword. Once close to completion, the construct produced a muffled whistling noise and released a brief flash of light.
When Rakna opened his eyes at the cold and solid sensation in his grip, he saw himself holding a perfect copy of Alzero with the only differences being the faint blue shade and the mist it released due to the iciness of the object.
He changed his grip so that one side would be parallel to him and his eyes slightly widened when he saw his reflection on the blade. Even the sound and the weight of the blade felt like true steel.
”This is…” He mumbled and cast Appraisal on the sword.
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❮ ◈ ❯
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A perfect copy, and beyond, of the Cao Sword, Alzero. It was made of cold star energy and possesses every perk that the original has. It has no need of mana to sustain itself and will disappear on its own after half a day unless it breaks or the caster dismisses it.
This was only made possible thanks to Rakna Xiorra's first-hand knowledge of how the blade was forged and its effects.
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❮ ◈ ❯
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”That's… better than I thought. In other words, anything that I forge, I could potentially be able to replicate down to its every perk. It unconditionally lasts half-day as well. What about…” He trailed and concentrated on his other hand.
He imitated what he did with Alzero and imagined the steps of forging. This time, he saw with his own eyes as the tendrils of cold energy seemed to knit themselves. This was already different from his usual Star Make. But when the product was finished, he grunted in disappointment.
There was only a regular-looking sword made out of raw energy. He could feel that it was tougher than before, and perhaps was taking less mana to maintain, but that was it. It didn't look 'real' as Alzero did.
Then, with a thought, the two weapons he was holding transformed into the tendrils they had been made with before detaching themselves from each other and dispersing. He looked at the vanishing particles before opening his status to see if something was different.
There was no new spell or skill but something else was there. ”Oh?” It was a sort of progress bar displayed under the Star Make spell. It was about 3% percent filled.
”Alexa,” he called. He didn't need to say it for her to understand what he wanted.
[That is the sign of a spell evolution. Unlike skills or magic, spells cannot be leveled. Though, as you know, they can be altered when the conditions are right. In addition to that, all spells have the potential to evolve into a stronger or unique version. This bar means that you have discovered one of the 'courses' that will end on the evolution of Star Make.]
”I see. So, I guess adding the concept of smithing to Star Make will make it evolve. But I need more than just one mediocre sword for it to happen,” Rakna summarized.
”{How interesting. I look forward to seeing what it evolves into.}”