Chapter 266 Back to the Roots (2/2)
”It's a curse,” he lamented. ”How am I expected to live so? Is it a punishment for being too handsome? Too witty? Too charming? Ayy... world is so unkind. So unkind...”
Meanwhile, Hannah was looking over the stats of the 'weapon', quickly realizing that the colors she'd seen were the least of her surprises today. Of all the things this little piece could be, it was a [Soul Weapon]. Disregarding the slightly strange name, she suddenly spoke out against her will, through sheer instinct alone.
”I want it.”
”Eh?” Lino turned around, surprised, and saw her infatuated expression.
”I--I'm sorry,” she quickly came to her senses, giving the rod back to him. ”Of course I don't want it. Don't worry about it.”
”... don't you already have monopoly over the best rod in the world?”
”... yeah, I set you up for that one. My bad.”
”Here,” he merely grinned faintly before throwing it back at her. ”It was high-time I crafted something for you.”
”E-eh? But what about you?!” she questioned quickly.
”While it is nice to have an arsenal of items,” he said. ”The main reason I craft things... is to craft them, not to use them. Besides, you're holding my rod. And every time you hold it, you'll be reminded of my other rod. It's my way of ensuring you never dump me for some other rod.”
”Well, so long as you don't dump me for some other watermelons.” Hannah chuckled faintly, walking over and kissing him.
”Oh, honey. It's so sweet you think you've got watermelons.” Lino grinned faintly as he caressed her hair while she groaned lowly.
”... whatever. I'll be the bigger woman--I dare you to make a joke-- and just say... thank you. And I love you.”
”... I love you too.” Lino said. ”Hey, I just realized something! I just, literally, gave you a piece of my Soul!! If that ain't the most romantic thing you've ever lived through in my life, then I don't know what is!”
”... aaaaand he ruins it.”
”But no, seriously, think about it. You know how many poems out there have one or other iteration of 'I give you my soul, so hold it tenderly' or some shit, but I literally gave you my soul, and you're literally holding it tenderly! We're living out a poem, Hannah! We're living out a fucking poem! Goddamn, I wonder if some jackass in the future will make a story about us, just to show the world how romantic I am. Hmm, I can already see the title: Hero Lino -- and this really cute chick that follows him around. Or-or...” as Lino went on with another one of his long-winded monologues, Hannah smiled gently seeing his excited expression, once again lowering her gaze and going over the rod's stats which still made her shudder from the core of her being.
[Celestial Rod -- <Soul Weapon>]
Level 700(+)
Damage: Strength*20
Magic Damage: Intelligence+Wisdom*40
Special Effect: Four-pronged item
Special Effect: <First Form -- Dragon's Breath> - injecting Qi into the bottom array sends out a cone-shaped breath of fire from the top, dealing Magic Damage*10 to everyone damaged by it, melting any armor beneath Level 900(+)
Special Effect: <Second Form -- Vaulting Heavens> - injecting Qi directly into the rod elongates it upward to 6,000 meters; injecting Will instead of Qi makes it possible to change the elongated shape at will; has penetrative effect; deals 50% of overall damage (Damage+Magic Damage)
Special Effect: <Third Form -- Elemental Darts> - injecting Qi through the conduits manifests corporeal dart(s) that wielder can aim and fire at will; darts attain the element of Qi used to create them and retain all effects of the said element; can fire 200,000 in succession before needing a cooling period; damage is determined by the element in question and wielder's affinity with it
Special Effect: <Fourth Form -- Immortal Shield> -- injecting Qi repeatedly into the rod through all four openings will expand it vertically into a gigantic, half-spherical shield in front of the wielder; the shield's strength is determined by the amount of Qi injected and the shield retains the properties of the element; shield cannot be broken so long as it's supplemented by Qi; requires a considerable recharge time after usage
Special Effect: <Soul Weapon> -- grows alongside the user, but occasionally requires additional refining to cross specific thresholds
Special Effect: <Soul Weapon> -- cannot be destroyed unless the Soul within the weapon is wiped out entirely
Note: A Divine Creation infused with crafter's very essence, giving birth to a Soul; unmatched in prowess of multi-functional weapons, it has the potential to be recorded within the Weaponry Records and permanently leave its trace in the world for all eternity.