Chapter 100: A New Sword

Chris soon arrived at the Valecliff estate. The place was enormous, with numerous houses and facilities spread across its grounds. There were buildings for the servants, accommodation for the guards, training fields, and several workshops. It was practically a small town within the city.

However, Chris didn’t have any intention of exploring the estate. As soon as he entered, he headed straight towards the workshop where the family’s weapons were forged and enchanted.

When he arrived at the entrance, he spotted two old men he would have a hard time forgetting.

One was tall and skinny, with a rather long face and a pair of sharp eyes. That was Gale, the enchanter. The other was short and fat, with a round face and a thick beard. That was Dale, the blacksmith.

Somehow, despite their completely different appearances, the two were twins.

"Lord Chris!"

The moment they spotted him, both men greeted him with excitement and hurried over. They had been expecting his arrival, and neither could hide their enthusiasm.

"You’re finally here! We’ve been waiting for you!" Dale said, rubbing his hands together.

"Come inside, Lord Chris. We have everything ready for you," Gale added, gesturing towards the entrance.

Chris smiled and followed them inside.

The workshop was filled with all kinds of equipment used for forging and enchanting weapons. There were several furnaces along the walls, each burning with a different intensity, while various tools and materials were neatly arranged around the room. The sound of metal being hammered could be heard from another section of the building.

However, the first thing that caught Chris’s attention wasn’t any of the equipment. It was a black sword carefully placed on a table in the middle of the room.

His eyes lit up as he approached it.

The sword was completely black, with no intricate designs or decorations on its surface. Its blade was smooth and simple, while the handle was equally plain. Anyone looking at it might have considered it rather ordinary, but Chris didn’t care about its appearance in the slightest.

He carefully picked it up and examined it.

[Unnamed Sword - Epic - Enchanted.]

[Attack: 160.]

[Enchantment: Recall IV, Burn V.]

[Recall IV: User can recall the weapon to his hand from a distance of 200m.]

[Burn V: Afflicts the target with the Burn status effect, setting them on fire and dealing 25% of the weapon’s Attack as damage per second for 5s.]

Chris’s eyes lit up even more as he read the information.

The sword’s attack power was practically negligible compared to his own strength, but that wasn’t what mattered.

Chris didn’t fully understand how the everything was calculated, but it seemed that the sword’s attack power was added to his Strength attribute. There were also some hidden multipliers involved, but he had never bothered to figure out exactly how they worked.

With an Epic-ranked sword, the results would be much better. More importantly, the weapon would be considerably stronger and more durable, allowing him to channel far more energy into it without worrying about breaking it.

The Burn enchantment was also a nice addition, although it wasn’t particularly useful to him. He could conjure as many fireballs as he wanted, and there were plenty of other ways for him to use fire in combat. Still, extra damage was never a bad thing.

What truly surprised him, however, was the Recall IV enchantment.

Chris turned towards Gale with a smile. "I see I wasn’t wrong about giving you that enchantment to study. Not only did you manage to learn it, but you even improved upon it. Amazing."

Gale immediately puffed out his chest, clearly pleased with the praise. "Naturally! Ever since you gave me that enchantment to study, I have worked tirelessly. I spent countless nights experimenting until I finally came up with this!"

"Splendid." Chris nodded, looking at the sword again. "I’m more than satisfied with this weapon."

He then turned towards Dale. "And you managed to forge an Epic-ranked sword using the few scales I gave you. I’m very satisfied with your work as well."

Dale, however, shook his head with a regretful expression. "You’re giving me too much credit, Lord Chris. I have disappointed you."

Chris raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"The scales you gave me..." Dale sighed. "I’m certain I could have forged a Legendary weapon from them. Their quality was simply excellent. I had everything I needed, but alas, I was unlucky."

Chris almost laughed at his response. "I’m actually quite grateful that it turned out to be an Epic sword. I wouldn’t be able to wield a Legendary weapon anyway."

Dale suddenly froze, as if he had just realized something. A moment later, he slapped his forehead.

"Yes, yes! That’s right! I completely forgot about that!" His regretful expression instantly disappeared, and he started laughing loudly. "So it’s a good thing that it’s Epic! Hahahahahaha!"

Chris shook his head with a smile. These two really were an interesting pair.

"But worry not, Lord Chris!" Dale continued, patting his chest proudly. "This weapon was only a step short of becoming Legendary. Its quality is far better than that of any ordinary Epic sword!"

Chris nodded repeatedly. "I’m very satisfied. Is there somewhere I can test it?"

"Of course!" Gale immediately replied. "Please, follow me. We have a training field prepared for testing weapons."

...

Soon, Chris was standing in one of the training fields within the Valecliff estate. Gale and Dale followed behind him, keeping a reasonable distance as they watched him take out his new sword.

He held it in his hand and examined the blade once more.

There was something he wanted to test, and he was rather eager to find out whether his expectations were correct.

’Please work... Please work...’

Chris extended his arm and focused his fire mana into the sword.

At first, nothing happened. Then, a faint glow appeared around the blade as flames gradually spread across its surface.

His goal was to find out whether he could channel his fire mana into the sword without needing to use Dark Gwenor to protect it. If he could, it would make fighting considerably easier in the future.

Until now, he had to focus part of his Dark Gwenor on protecting his weapon whenever he used powerful attacks. If the sword could withstand his fire mana on its own, he would be able to use Dark Gwenor for something else during battle.

Soon, the entire blade was covered in flames.

Seeing that the sword remained completely unharmed, Chris carefully increased the output.

The flames grew brighter and hotter, gradually condensing around the blade. He stopped several times to examine the weapon, making sure it wasn’t bending or showing any signs of damage before increasing the amount of mana again.

The temperature continued to rise until even the air around the sword began to distort. The heat spread across the training field, forcing Gale and Dale to take several steps backwards.

They had initially been curious about what Chris intended to test, but now they could only stare at the sword in disbelief.

"This..." Chris muttered.

He could feel it clearly. No matter how much fire mana he poured into the blade, the sword remained perfectly stable. It wasn’t bending, deforming, or showing any signs of damage. It was as if the weapon had been made specifically to withstand his fire mana.

"HAHAHAHAHA!"

Chris suddenly burst into laughter, his excitement impossible to contain. "AMAZING! FINALLY!"

He swung the sword vertically.

*WOOOOSH!*

A thick wave of fire shot out from the blade, racing across the training field.

*BOOOOOM!*

The attack struck the ground and exploded on impact, sending dust and debris flying into the air.

When the dust finally settled, a deep cut could be seen across the ground. The entire path was scorched, leaving behind a long blackened line.

Chris’s smile widened.

He could finally use his fire mana with his sword without having to worry about destroying it. But that wasn’t all. He had another idea, and now he wanted to see if it would work as well.

He focused on the fire mana surrounding the blade and began compressing it.

The flames grew smaller as they condensed, becoming denser and more powerful. Once he reached the limit of what he could maintain around the sword, he carefully changed the flow of mana.

Instead of keeping it outside, he began directing it into the blade itself.

The fire mana slowly entered the sword, and Chris paid close attention to every change. The last thing he wanted was to damage his brand-new weapon after only a few minutes of using it.

Fortunately, the sword accepted the energy without any resistance.

The flames gradually disappeared from its surface until the entire amount of mana had been drawn inside. The blade remained completely black, but thin crimson lines appeared across its surface, forming a pattern that resembled dragon scales.

Chris stared at it with a satisfied smile.

He extended his arm and gently lowered the sword, barely applying any force as its tip touched the ground in front of him.

*BOOOOOOOOM!*

An enormous explosion erupted.

It was far stronger than the previous attack, and even Chris hadn’t expected such a result. The ground shook beneath his feet as a massive cloud of dust spread across the training field.

When the dust settled, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

A huge pit had appeared in front of him. The ground within a radius of twenty meters had been completely blown away, leaving nothing behind.

There wasn’t even any scorched earth or scattered debris. It was as if that entire section of the ground had simply been erased from existence.

Gale and Dale stood frozen behind him, their mouths hanging open.

"T-This... Gale, how is this even possible?" Dale finally managed to ask.

"I... I don’t know." Gale shook his head, still staring at the sword. "The enchantments I placed on it couldn’t possibly produce such power. It’s impossible. This must be the result of his own abilities."

"That guy is a complete monster..." Dale muttered.

Gale could only nod in agreement.

Chris, meanwhile, was completely delighted. He retracted his fire mana and carefully touched the blade with his fingers.

It was cool to the touch.

He wasn’t sure whether it was because the weapon had been forged from Azreon’s scales, but the sword seemed to accept his fire mana as naturally as if it had been made specifically for him.

"Excellent! Amazing! Splendid! Fabulous!"

He turned towards the two blacksmiths with a huge smile before walking over to them.

Without warning, he grabbed Dale by the shoulders and lifted him into the air.

"L-L-LORD CHRIS?!"

Dale’s eyes widened as his feet left the ground. Before he could say anything else, Chris pulled him into a tight hug.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

The poor blacksmith struggled to breathe, his eyes bulging as Chris squeezed him with far more strength than he intended.

Chris finally put him down, only to turn towards Gale.

"N-N-NO! LORD—UGH!"

Gale didn’t even have time to finish his sentence before Chris lifted his skinny body and hugged him as well. Compared to Dale, he was skinny, so he had practically nothing to protect him from the strength of Chris’s embrace.

By the time Chris released him, Gale was coughing just as badly as his brother.

Chris was in such a good mood that he didn’t even notice their suffering.

Just then, his phone suddenly rang.

He put Gale down, checked the screen, and answered the call from an unknown number.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Hi, Chris. I need you to visit me. Immediately."

He recognized the familiar voice. It was Amara, the Queen of Dunestia.

Chris raised an eyebrow. "You know what? Fine. Normally, I wouldn’t listen to that commanding tone for another second, but today I’m in quite a good mood."

He hung up before she could respond and turned towards the two blacksmiths.

He waved at them with a smile. "Thank you, Gale and Dale! I’m very pleased with your work. I’ll be sure to reward you next time!"

"Cough... cough... There’s no... cough... need!" Dale tried to respond, but he was still struggling to catch his breath.

Gale was even worse. Being so skinny, he had taken the full force of Chris’s hug, and he couldn’t even manage to get a word out.

Chris simply waved once more before leaving the workshop.