Chapter 117 - 40: [Love, Craftsmanship, and Caster]

Chapter 117: Chapter 40: [Love, Craftsmanship, and Caster]

The Exiles’ wagons were plain but spacious and sturdy, each pulled by a pair of mountain Dwarf Horses. They moved so steadily that, were it not for the soft rattle of the axles and the receding scenery outside the windows, one would barely notice they were moving at all.

These mountain Dwarf Horses hailed from the borderlands where the eastern hills of the Floren Kingdom met the southwestern plains of the Ederic Empire. Jointly bred for their hardiness, they were commonly known as Hili Horses. With their docile temperaments, broad hooves, and immense endurance, they were exceptionally well-suited for hauling heavy loads over long distances and traversing hilly terrain.

The Exiles seemed to have subjected these beasts to some rather bizarre modifications. When passing through the Eastern Supar Empire, they had paid a steep price at an oasis black market to hire a Super Life Alchemist. This alchemist had grafted a small amount of Magical Beast muscle and digestive organs into the ordinary Hili Dwarf Horses, transforming them into covert half-Magical Beast, half-horse chimeras. As a result, the horses possessed far greater strength and could safely consume the Demonized Plants found in the Barren Land, perfectly accommodating the nomadic lifestyle of the Demon Race Exiles.

Inside the wagon, exquisite relief patterns adorned nearly every surface. Small trinkets woven from feathers, leather, and plant fibers hung from the ceiling, while charming, rustic little wood and stone carvings were scattered about. All of these were the casual handiwork of the perpetually restless Demon Race Exiles, crafted to pass the time on the road.

Even when compared to Elves and Dwarves, the Demon Race was an inherently restless people. Possessing exceptional craftsmanship, they existed in a perpetual state of vibrant passion. When lacking a grand war or a monumental architectural endeavor into which they could pour their boundless energy, they managed to quell their inner agitation through a variety of pursuits. Slaughter, research, exploration, and travel served as their active outlets, while music, painting, literature, and games provided them with artistic and recreational solace.

Stripped of any grand enterprise to dedicate themselves to, the Demon Race Exiles channeled their creative fervor into crafting trinkets—small wood carvings and delicate ornaments—as a meager consolation for their unfulfilled ambitions. Occasionally, these little baubles would fetch a decent price in the markets of the habitable zones.

Wearing a small crown woven from wildflower vines, Talia hummed a soft tune as she rested her head against Samael’s shoulder armor.

She had removed the clawed gauntlet from her right hand to wield a small, Exile-crafted knife. Pressing her thumb against the spine of the blade for better control, she whittled away at a scrap of wood left over from the firewood they had gathered at yesterday’s campsite. Slowly, she began carving it into the shape of a little Knight with an oversized head.

The wooden figure was already half-finished. Scarcely the size of her palm, it was a Knight with comically stout proportions. The oversized helmet perfectly mirrored Samael’s, making the carving resemble a miniature, caricature doll of him.

Samael sat slouched in the wagon. To an observer, he appeared to be staring blankly at the wall in front of him, but in reality, he was scrolling through his system UI’s database.

It was a habit of his during his idle hours, hoping to unearth something useful from the vast sea of data. Even though the vast majority of the technology tree entries were locked, he could still scrounge up some valid information through fuzzy logic and targeted searches.

Following the battle with Musa the Hunter, he had claimed Musa’s Witch Gold Scimitar as his spoils. Glancing at the chipped Witch Gold Long Curved Saber resting in the corner of the wagon, Samael inputted "Witch Gold" into the search bar, hoping to find further elaboration.

Unfortunately, the database was incredibly unaccommodating. It didn’t resemble a detailed manual intended for pioneer colonists at all; rather, it read more like a crude repository of programming comments.

Each entry contained only a fragmentary summary. The description for "Witch Gold" still consisted of the same few lines:

[Witch Gold]

[A stable metallographic phase achieved through Spiritual Energy processing and material phase transition. During casting, utilizing thirteen different processing methods yields thirteen distinct phase structures. These can be interconnected to construct complex logic-gate automation components.]

[Possesses exceptional Spiritual Energy conductivity and controllable selective conduction mechanisms. Capable of fabricating intricate, high-precision Spiritual Energy Circuits, including Spiritual Implants and the cores of inorganic Spiritual Constructs. Enables extreme miniaturization of device dimensions. Suitable for high-precision, complex instruments and advanced scientific research equipment.]

[Relatively soft in texture but boasts high material stability. Can be ground to an incredibly sharp cutting edge. After processing, it can serve as a nanowire saw or a disposable cutting head for industrial cutting machines.]

[An intersectional technological product derived from Level 2 Basic Automation, Level 1 Basic Materials Science, and Level 2 Basic Material Phase Transition. Relevant data complete.]

[Prerequisite technologies and equipment missing. Currently uncraftable.]

He thought, "This is an advanced component material... essentially a Spiritual Energy semiconductor forged from pure metal. It’s utterly absurd that Musa-Salamander and the Demon King Sitti Ka behind him didn’t understand its true purpose, instead wasting it to forge the blade of a mere weapon.

"It’s exactly like post-apocalyptic survivors losing their technology, ripping circuit boards out of computers, carving them into arrowheads, and using them to hunt.

"But then again, when I eavesdropped on those surviving Scorpion Warriors in the tavern, they mentioned a ’Witch Gold collar’ capable of controlling slaves. They used it to forcefully enslave the Demon Race Exiles they captured, turning them into Slave Warriors. That sounds suspiciously like a modified Spiritual Implant.

"Demon King Sitti Ka must not be a complete idiot. Perhaps he actually possesses some understanding of Witch Gold’s true function; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to create those slave collars."