Chapter 4553: Fair Trade (Part 1)

’The new array will also reduce the impact the spell matrix will suffer, easing the absorption process on both ends. Whoever came up with this is a damn genius. The limits of the fake mages and their joint efforts to overcome them have produced something I’d never believed possible.’ Salaark thought.

Orion struck the spell matrix with the full power of the energy vortex again and again, until half the power core disappeared into the metal. Then he switched to a third array before continuing the crafting process.

The new magical formation dispersed even more of the impact’s energy, using it to pull the power core inside the Davross vessel while Orion’s mana pushed it.

He switched to the fourth and last array contained in the Davross-encased white crystals right before the final step. The power core had almost disappeared inside the glaive, and precision, not raw power, would determine the Forgemastery’s success or failure.

The final array confirmed the structural integrity of the spell matrix and created an energy bridge between the power core’s current position and its ideal destination. When the final blow fell, Orion’s mana was channeled along the rails instead of in a random direction, carrying the spell matrix to the heart of the mana circulatory system.

All that remained was to create the mana pathways to seal the power core inside its metal vessel and preserve its energy indefinitely. A task as simple and trivial as closing up a patient at the end of surgery.

Yet Orion performed it like he had done the rest, with a laser-focused mind and surgical precision of his mana’s movements.

"It’s done." Orion checked one last time that no more pathways were necessary before deactivating the magical formations. "Excellent work, guys. It went much better and was easier than I expected."

His face was covered in sweat, and he was a bit short of breath, but Orion was otherwise fine.

"Do you really call this easy?" Morok collapsed on the floor, panting like a bellows. "I thought I was going to die here."

"Morok is being a bit dramatic, but I agree with him." Nalrond wheezed, drenched in his own sweat. "What about a break of an hour or two? Maybe a day?"

"Come on, it wasn’t that hard." Quylla needed a long shower and a nap, but she wasn’t that tired.

"Seriously?" Friya hadn’t broken a sweat. "How can you guys be this weak?"

"Because they aren’t Forgemasters, child, let alone pregnant." Salaark tutted. "The boundless power you feel doesn’t come from you, but from your twins. Without them, you wouldn’t act so cocky."

"Still, you guys are weak." Orion snorted. "I’m almost double your age and did most of the hard work, yet I’m nowhere as exhausted as you are."

"Does he really get that stamina from Forgemastering?" Morok asked, trying to catch his breath.

"No." Salaark replied. "He gets that stamina from years of Forgemastering. Orion’s body has become accustomed to channeling enormous amounts of mana even as a fake mage. Now he’s Awakened. Do the math."

"And Forgemastery it is, then. Time to learn a thing or two about the crafting arts." Nalrond lay with his back on the floor. "First I need to rest, though."

"Don’t worry. We won’t start working on Grimlock until you’ve fully recovered." Orion replied. "By the way, did you notice?"

"Notice wh-" Morok’s eyes widened in understanding. "The screams have stopped!"

"Yeah, but if it’s because Skywarp understood what we were doing or because it resigned to its fate, I can’t tell." Orion took a few practice swings to test the glaive’s perfect balance and the sharpness of its edges. "Can you please bring Jirni here, Overlord Salaark?"

"With pleasure." The Guardian opened a passage straight to the Mansion. "I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sure who gained the most from our trade. I know this is the Ernas legacy, but I’m certain the Kingdom built the academies with a technique similar to yours. Just more powerful."

"No comment." Orion replied as Jirni stepped through the Gate. "It’s done, dear. Please, imprint Skywarp."

Jirni did as bidden, avoiding any useless comment. The moment her mana flowed into the glaive, its entire surface glowed like a small sun. Skywarp absorbed the mana from Jirni’s hand, circulated it across its surface, and returned it to her.

"It’s warm." Jirni said. "Is it normal?"

"Yes and no." Salaark replied. "It’s only normal for a semi-sentient artifact. It’s Skywarp’s way of telling you it missed you."

"Believe it or not, I’ve missed you too." Jirni said, and the mana crystals on the glaive’s surface hummed. "I’m sorry you had to go through this, and I promise you it won’t ever happen again unless it’s absolutely necessary."

The humming ceased, and the gemstones lit up like opened eyes.

"Thank you, dear." Jirni bowed to Orion. "Thank you all. I’ll leave you to your work and go back to doing mine."

As she walked back through the dimensional tunnel, Skywarp slit up into needles that shapeshifted into a necklace, bracelets, and other inconspicuous pieces of jewelry.

"Well, that’s new." Orion scratched his beard.

"What’s new?" Quylla asked. "The needles’ part is standard issue for all of Mom’s weapons."

"Indeed, but the jewels’ part is not." Orion pondered. "I sure didn’t waste precious runes for that."

"It’s nothing much." Salaark shrugged. "You have given Skywarp the ability to shapeshift. Its new power core allows it to bend and alter the original enchantment a bit, and your creation’s semi-sentience does the rest."

"That’s great and all, but I need a bath." Morok said.

"Seconded." Orion sniffed his armpits and didn’t like what he smelled.

Orion repeated the process for Grimlock eight hours later. Nobody had used Invigoration much, and returning to their peak condition required a short nap, but he refused to take unnecessary risks.

Much to everyone’s surprise, all his precautions turned out to be unnecessary. Salaark didn’t need to remove his imprint, and Grimlock accepted the procedure with stoic silence.

Orion’s energy signature never left the spell matrix, and it accepted the new runes and the mana that came from the Mana Spring array without showing any sign of discomfort. The Forgemastery process went faster, easier, and encountered minimal resistance.

The only other significant difference from Skywarp’s reforge was the elemental crystals’ sequence. The new Grimlock had seven elemental gemstones of different colors on either flat side.

The crystals closest to the hilt were bright red, while the ones closest to the tip were bright violet. Their order matched the progression of an Awakened mana core, except the silver of the light element replaced the green, and the black of darkness replaced the cyan.

Two more mana crystals rested at the center of the cross-shaped hilt on either side, forming a perfect straight line with the elemental gemstones.

"This is the Saefel sequence, kids." Orion said. "It’s a jack of all trades but master of none. A weapon bonded to seven elemental crystals in this order can manifest the full prowess of each element, but it can’t produce powerful combined effects."

"Good to know." Morok panted. "This was fun. I could make another one of those easily."

"Glad to hear it." Grimlock already carried his imprint, but Orion still injected a bit of his mana.