Chapter 1688: Prepping the Forge
Pathos said with an unhidden sense of glee.
’Not really, but I get the feeling that it’s probably better for me to get all this done now while there’s a lull and not in the middle of a battle situation like usual.’
=Okay, I have gathered the last of the Necromantic Blacksmithing techniques for the package. Are you ready to start?=
’No, but I have to be.’
<=Good answer.=>
...
"Should we just..."
"Yup."
Sensing that Rianna and Serena were about to have an emotional moment together, Lythero, Jinju Ren, and Olstenna mutually agreed to leave the prison.
Of course, they made sure to blind and mute the prison cells so that the possible sisters could have a moment alone.
There were probably cries of annoyance and disappointment at this denial of a distraction from their circumstances, but the library’s prison cells were quite good when it came to muting people.
Once the trio left the prison, Jinju Ren left to go and find something more interesting to do while Olstenna and Lythero decided to stick together to go and share some drinks.
However, before they could do so, the sound of a PA system being used in the library caught their attention.
[Attention, attention! Would Lythero please kindly report to the Library’s forge. We’re going to address your lack of a sword. I repeat, we’re going to address your lack of a sword.]
"Hell yeah!"
Excited at the news, Lythero immediately ran towards the direction of the library’s forge.
Olstenna was about to go after Lythero to join him in the event, but stopped himself when he realized something important.
"Wait...did he even receive the bits of [Sacred Flame] that he was promised from Serena yet?"
The answer to that question was no, but that wasn’t the point of this meeting.
The forging was happening tomorrow, today was...a touch more mundane.
...How mundane?...
"Okay, so before we actually get to the part where we get you your new sword, we need to address your personal preference. Or rather, what’s your default fighting style."
"What?"
When Lythero entered the forge, he was expecting to see the place lit up and hearing the sound of metal being shaped while bellows roared and anvils sang.
Instead he found himself sitting across a table from Zhen Liu and Axer.
Well, mostly Zhen Liu.
Axer had taken a look at Zhen Liu’s mocked up designs and had this weird look of utter disgust at their amateurish appearances that was mixed with pure fascination at some clever applications he had never thought of before.
"Wait if I could change this section then it wouldn’t just apply to swords, I could...HOLY FUCK!"
In other words, Axer was having a moment and wouldn’t be able to participate in this conversation quite yet.
"I thought you said you were going to address my lack of a sword," Lythero said, repeating what he heard over the PA system. "I thought that meant you’d have already made it. Or at the very least, was in the process of repairing the legacy of my masters."
"Not today," Zhen Liu admitted. "I have yet to receive the [Primordial Hearth Flame] from Serena, so for now, we’re going to address something that I probably should’ve consulted you about awhile ago: what kind of sword do you want this thing to be."
"Pardon?"
Before elaborating further, Zhen Liu used some [Chaos] to unfurl three scrolls depicting three radically different blades that were all made differently.
However, all three shared an unusual ability and an even more unusual component.
"Wait...if I’m reading this right, these swords all make use of that [Entropy] ore. Are you sure? I thought you were going to use it."
"I thought about it," Zhen Liu admitted. "But my fighting style is a bit too random to use such a thing without causing problems. You, on the other hand, are just specialized enough to leverage it’s advantages without noticing the drawbacks."
"...is this the part where you tell me it would’ve exploded in your hands?"
"Rip open a hole in reality, actually."
"..."
"..."
"Why the fuck are you able to say such horrifying things and yet be entirely unphased?"
"Having an arrow shot through your brain does wonders in making one not worry about dire consequences."
"Right..."
With that out of the way, Lythero focused on the fact that this new sword had the apparent ability to transform into any of the seven that belonged to his masters, not just mimic their abilities.
This sounded useful on the surface, but it also meant that he wouldn’t be able to dual wield two of the blades at the same time unless he used it in tandem with his [Astra]. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was still a larger drain on his aether than he would’ve liked.
There was also one other thing about this new sword that made Lythero a little uneasy: the fact that there was a new sword to being with.
"So...why is their an eighth sword? And why do you have three different versions?"
A part of Lythero was hoping that when Zhen Liu figured out whatever he was doing, this new sword would just default into being one of the seven while being able to swap into the other six, like his [Astra].
The presence of an eighth, kind of fucked with his usual fighting style, more so than being forced to use just the one.
"Well that’s simple: this eighth one is supposed to represent you."
"I see...wait, what?"
Before answering Lythero’s question, Zhen Liu snapped his fingers and created several illusions of [Chaos] to better explain himself to the befuddled swordmaster. Some of these illusions included footage of his past battles.
"You have gotten the fighting style of your masters down to a science, and are basically able to use any of their blades as fluidly as you would be able to use your own, right?"
"Yeah...oh, I see where this is going..."
Emphasizing this point, the illusions began to show various moments of Lythero doing just that, overpowering a variety of foes with a dazzling array of abilities.
However, none of these abilities or techniques were something he came up with on his own.
They were all just allusions to their real creators.
"Now, that’s well and good, but you have yet to fully realize your own style of fighting,i.e., something that only you can develop. Hell, your own [Astra] reflects this too. It literally only mimics the blades of your master."
"What? That’s not true!"
"Oh yeah? Summon your [Astra] and prove it."
"Fine!"
Mildly goaded by Zhen Liu’s words, Lythero summoned his [Astra] and tried to have it take on a form that was wholly unique from the [Seven Swords].
He failed miserably.
The [Astra] first manifested as Masters Tortoise’s [Black Iron Slab]. Then, when he tried to change it into something "unique", it simply changed into Master Cobra’s [Devil Fang].
Lythero then proceeded to cycle through the other five swords until finally admitting defeat.
"Okay, I see your point about me lacking my own distinct blade and fighting style, but is that really a bad thing?" Lythero asked in an attempt to lick his wounded pride.
"When you’re trying to get revenge a motherfucker who killed your masters and your game plan is to fight like them? Probably, yeah."
"..."
Lythero wanted to argue, but he honestly couldn’t. It was actually a very good point.
"Anyways, you have been so focused on fighting like your masters that you have been more or less neglecting yourself. If you want to exceed them, then you’re going to need to develop your own swordplay. And a good way to start doing that is to make a sword that’s tailormade to your hands," Zhen Liu said as he gestured to the blueprints before him.
Understanding his friend’s intent now, Lythero took a closer look at the designs.
At a glance, he could make out a broadsword, a rapier, and a bastard sword all with wildly different abilities.
However, he could see that they were more or less supposed to be the "default state" of the sword.
"Now, ideally, I would want you to make the sword yourself but you don’t have the knowledge or skills for that. So all you need to do is to pick one of these and—"
"That’s a terrible way of having someone choose their blade."
"Huh?"
"And here comes the artisan," Zhen Liu said in mock resignation.
Axer had finished looking over the blueprints of these possible swords and had returned to the table, having already memorize the underlying mechanics of what Zhen Liu wanted to do.
"The transformation principle behind the blades are basically sound, so we can apply to anything and everything, but if you want this to be Lythero’s personal sword, then he needs to fucking feel for it himself," Axer declared. "Follow me."