Chapter 844 (1/2)

Sam picked up the sword and squinted at it as he held it up to the sun. The rays of sunlight reflected off the glossy blue-grey metal in starburst motes of light. The day was hot and Sam idly wiped away a few beads of sweat and leaned closer to the blade. He brought his eye right to the edge, scanning up and down the length of the weapon.

Grunting in annoyance, Sam took the sword from the crate that it had come in with his brothers and into his personal forge. Donny hurried after him.

“Well? How is it?” Donny asked anxiously.

Sam snorted. “Certainly pretty.”

It was a sword done in the Chinese style, likely the closest thing to a wo dao that Sam had ever seen in person. But the blade was made so that it continued above and below the handle, with a short dagger-like blade forming the bottom. Sam clucked his tongue helplessly at the idea of having a blade on the hilt; more than one idiot would cut off a finger reaching for their blade in the morning.

His forge was simple and austere. There was the firepit, the bellows, the anvil, the quenching tank, and then piles of raw materials and ores. All of it was surrounded by tall windows so light would filter in for Sam to forge under. Immediately, Sam went to the anvil.

He picked up a tiny copper hammer and rested the blade against the anvil. After releasing all of his breath, Sam brought the hammer against the blade.

Ting.

The sound was clear and clean. Frowning slightly, Sam shifted his grip and hit the wo dao blade against with the hammer.

Ting.

“Balance is a bit off. I’d have to check them all, but… it’s likely on purpose. These are a chopping weapon.” Sam offered the sword to Donny. The young man took it, frowning at the blade. “It will tire you out damn fast. But you’ll hit harder for your first three swings.”

“I’m just… surprised.” Donny finally said, turning the sword over in his hand. “You are taking this really well. This is clearly a challenge to Donnyton’s production.”

Sam glared at Donny. Helplessly, Donny raised his hands.

“Alright, alright, all I’m saying is that Zone Seven makes damn good swords. And they connected to New Earth a month ago. What are they gonna do after having their economy connected to ours for a year? They might move in on Donnyton’s weapon production monopoly.” Donny looked solemnly at Sam. “With growth slowing down now that there isn’t a constant flow of refugees anymore-”

“Bah, our swords are better,” Sam said, looking at the details of the Wo Dao in his hand.

Blade of the Republic Lvl 38: A mass produced sword made for the invincible Chinese Army. Proficient in cutting attacks. Folded Metal II. Uniformity I. Spirit of the People III. Strength +25.

Folded Metal II: The complex production process has created a beautiful kaleidoscope of color with its folded metal. Perception and Reaction +15.

Uniformity I: As one of many, will gain additional stats when it is used in a squad that fight will the same style sword. Agility +1 for each nearby weapon with Uniformity I, up to a max of 10.

Spirit of the People III: Each weapon is imbued with the unstoppable spirit of the People, enabling a warrior to continue fighting long after their body would usually run out of strength. Willpower and Endurance +25.

“This is a Level 38 weapon that could give the user 115 stats,” Donny said with a sigh. “We can obviously do better, but we would create higher Level weapons, with better materials to rival this. There isn’t even a material component to these bonuses. If they find themselves a solid supplier-”

“So we are to worry fret ourselves to death because we make higher Level weapons?” Sam shook his head. “Calm down. Do not fear competition. Besides, the Uniformity bonus is the material bonus; it is precisely because they use such lackluster metals that they are able to achieve this.”

Process, Materials, and Image. Those are the three bonuses weapons received, in order. They were the pieces of a larger story that each weapon told. And each of those notes was interconnected with the others on a very spiritual level. It was clear to Sam that these weapons were made to glorify the common good. Which was why the bonuses were able to be so impressive despite the relatively pedestrian workmanship.

“And what if they develop a higher end version of this?” Donny pressed. Sam didn’t even bother to answer. Instead, he walked over to an iron bar and tested the weapon’s edge, cutting brutally into the solid metal. Then he considered the sword.

Sharp, but the weapon would require regular sharpenings. For all of the glorification of the mundane, it could not transcend itself.

And the secret about a weapon transcending itself was exactly what Sam had spent the last two years of his life chasing. Which was why he was unimpressed by these weapons. The story they told was… uninspiring. It wasn’t a path he had taken, but neither was it a revelation.

“They sent us one thousand as a start,” Donny said through gritted teeth with Sam continued to simply tap at the weapon. He gestured to the crates waiting outside. “More will come. Even if they are inferior to our products, they can just flood the market!”

“Do you think most will be willing to switch to using such a style of sword? Skills are very specific.” Sam asked, very disinterested in the answer.

But Donny wasn’t done. “We have more monsters in the countryside than ever. Even though refugees have slowed down, now we have to deal with NCC bandits harassing our caravans. We have had losses in our squads to Raid Bosses, unheard of in the history of Donnyton! Tension is rising now that the Ogre front is-”