Chapter 129: Star Hearth (1/2)
The item Rakna chose to forge last was a large kite shield. For the occasion, Old Wang had given him a metal called Red Mithril. It was more expensive than most common materials but lower than regular mithril, even at its lowest grades.
Mithril is known as a metal capable of both frightening flexibility and hardness. It's also not only light but also mana friendly and magic resistant. Red Mithril was a bastardized version of it. It was made of residues during the forging of regular mithril and mixed with a material called blood powder; crystallized elemental blood ground into fine particles.
What this results in is a metal that is not a lot harder than steel but certainly lighter and extremely good as a defense against magic and as a catalyst.
”Red Mithril, just like its regular counterpart, requires mana to be drawn,” Old Wang had told him earlier. ”It also cools down faster so you have to be as fast as possible without losing accuracy and power.”
Rakna grunted and put back the shield inside the forge for Karna to heat it again. After a bit more than half an hour, he had completed the basic shape of the shield. Then, instead of continuing it, he grabbed another tool that resembled an ice pick and began carving into it.
'How many do you think?'
”{Hm, Red Mithril is rather compatible so I'd say… fifteen characters,}” Higure said. ”{With a max of three runes cumulatively. You might be able to crank up these numbers to twenty and four by working on the focal points.}”
'Got it,' he replied and began carving the runic characters he wanted onto the shield. Of course, it was not finished yet so the characters he was drawing now would probably be erased once he proceeded to the next steps of the forging. However, it didn't mean they wouldn't work anymore.
Runic enchantment of an object could be done in mainly two different ways; by simply carving the runes on top of the item or doing it during the manufacturing process. Both methods would have the same results but there was one big distinction. For one of them, the runes would be visible from the outside, for the other, they wouldn't.
This detail simply allows to hide the enchantments. If an enemy were to possess a bit of knowledge in runecraft, they would easily able to decipher what they do in a single glance. However, it does not change the fact that if the part of the item where the runes were carved is damaged, they will stop working.
Once he was done with the first part of the carving, Rakna reduced the number of focal points and added the second portion of the runes. He then proceeded to finish the item. After four days, his instinct had finally begun to help him during forging once he had gotten used to it. In the end, all he had needed was a routine to intuitively know where to hit and how.
After that, he quenched and tempered it before grinding it and sharpening the edges. He also made sure to polish it to make it into a decent reflective surface. One thing he had learned was that a reflection had to reach a certain minimum of clarity for it to become an entrance to Antanasia.
Ultimately, the finished red and silver shield was laying on the table in front of him. Soon enough, he heard a few notifications followed by System windows.
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Blacksmithing has leveled up!
Runecraft has leveled up!
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Star Make has fulfilled conditions for evolution!
Star Make has evolved into Star Hearth!
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Star Hearth (T.10 – 1): The ability to create forms and objects based on the user's imagination or memories. By condensing Star Energy, all sorts of constructs can be made. From the smallest of blades to the most complex and biggest of objects.
The constructs will have nearly no distinction from a real object. If the user tries to replicate an item, the perks will not be unless they're the one who made said item. Furthermore, the more the user understands the object, the less mana it will take.
Star Hearth also allows the user to alter the construct as long as they understand the process to a certain extent. This will cost mana depending on the nature of the alteration.
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Cost: Variable.
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Note: There is no cost for keeping the construct active and it will instead disappear after a full day. However, if the caster wishes for it to last longer, they can decide to inject mana into it. The time added will scale based on the initial cost of the construct. If the same amount of mana used to make it is injected, then it will last for one more day.
This also applies to every sub-spell derived from it. Sub-spells that were made prior to the evolution will be modified accordingly.
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Rakna hummed and extended his harm outward, he pictured a basic sword and in a swirl of cold energy tendrils, it built itself until he could see the glint of Karna's light reflecting on the blade. He then concentrated a bit and the sword became larger until he was holding a longsword instead.
”This is what I do with Dáinsleif whenever I fire it… or when I shot Alzero while berserk,” he said to himself. ”But it feels more natural now…”
”{Can you make things that don't require forging?}” Higure asked curiously.
”I think so,” Rakna replied and dispelled the sword. He cast his spell again and he conjured a bow this time. And, surprisingly, the cold energy molded itself into actual wood before materializing a string that connected both ends of the arc.
Rakna blinked and tried pulling on the string a few times and felt nothing wrong. While he had in fact learned a bit of craftsmanship from Old Wang, mostly woodworking, for handles and such, he knew for sure that, even as talented as he was, he wouldn't be able to make a bow so well with his current proficiency.
”Well, it takes more mana for sure, so that's probably the compensation. It will probably be the same for more complex constructs like Dáinsleif.”
”{What an interesting spell… Star magic truly has unique properties. While it would be possible to make constructs with others, I have no element in mind that could possibly replicate real materials to such a degree. Perhaps expect Creation, Tracing, Image, or Word Magic.}”
”…that's sort of a lot.”
”{Not really, in the grand scale of things. They're special kinds of magic. What you have to know is that your Star Magic is several times more potent than any of those.}”
”I see,” Rakna responded thoughtfully and dispelled both the bow and an arrow he had just tried to conjure. He then looked back at the shield he had made and opened its description.
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