The runic circle came to life with red, violet, and pure white mana mixing.

  “Just like that, keep pumping in mana at a steady pace,” Freia said, focusing on her task.

  The three energies began pooling together and slowly coated the blade, causing it to glow with power.

  “And there. You can stop now.”

  Ray and Erith lifted their hands from the parchment and stood up.

  “Did it work?” Erith asked.

  Freia nodded. “All that it needs now is a hilt.”

  Ray stepped forward and lifted the blade, placing it on a nearby workbench. He grabbed a piece of discarded paper on the desk and something to write with and began making another blueprint. It depicted a finely crafted hilt and cross guard with intricate engravings for a spell.

  Freia walked over, observing what Ray was drawing. Her eyes widened. “Are you creating what I think you are?”

  Ray nodded.

  Freia sighed wistfully and walked back to the back room. “Kids and their crazy ideas.”

  Ray worked on the blueprint for almost two hours before finally being happy with its state. He tried to continue refining it to get his new skill to proc, but he could not find any flaws in it. Finally, with a sigh, he grabbed a piece of wood and began carving it into the handle he was imagining.

  It slowly took shape, and he added the channels he would need. Next, he went to the forge and began shaping a simple crossguard he felt would fit well with the weapon. Finally, he crafted a pommel, taking extra time to carve exact lines into it.

  When he finally felt good with everything, he put the sword together with one long breath. He infused the mana needed to activate the runes and created a lesser spark capable of controlling them. They buzzed with a low hum as mana coursed through the channels. After fully activating it, he opened his Artisan panel and used every point he had stored.

  “Quest completed. Rewards allocated.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  You have successfully created a new item.

  Please enter a name for your new creation.

  The weapon hummed with energy as the process finished. Ray took a step back, entering a name. He wiped a line of sweat from his brow and activated Draconic Insight.

  Ashvault

  Grade: Artifact

  Durability: 100/100

  Attributes

  Greater auto repair

  Flame affinity

  Void affinity

  Fire mana amplification

  Fire of Oblivion: Any flames created by this blade will consume their target at a vastly increased rate, with their lost vitality only stoking the fire.

  Spell storage: Store one spell of E grade or lower. The stored spell can be used to perform a Spell Resonance or Battleweave.

  Ray handed the blade to Erith, displaying the screen so that she could see it. Her eyes widened as she kept reading.

  “It's amazing.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  “Remind me never to try talking you out of an upgrade again,” she said, examining every part of the finished weapon. “Can we go test it out?”

  Ray nodded. “We will be heading out, but I promise we will come visit more!” Ray shouted toward the back room.

  Freia popped her head around the corner. “Y'all take care now and make sure you keep that promise.”

  After they said their farewells, he opened a portal back to the forest, only to realize it was the middle of the night. So, he opened a new one, taking them back to camp.

  Ray sat down on the floor of their tent and let out a long sigh. “Sorry, you couldn’t test it out yet.”

  Erith let out a slight laugh and leaned over, kissing him. “No need to apologize.” She sat down beside him, and they watched the stars pass through the flap of their tent for a while before closing it.

  The following day, they awoke early and returned to where the horde was located. They searched the area until they found a leader. With a smile, Erith burst from the trees, charging the creature, which resembled one of the beetle-like creatures, as if a human torso had begun growing out of it.

  She quickly cut it down to size, quickly striking each leg with flames hot enough to melt steel. She ground as she felt the lightness of the long sword in her hand, and with one final motion, she activated the cleave martial art and released the spell stored within the sword.

  “Quest completed. Rewards allocated.”

  Three tornadoes of howling blue flame decimated the landscape, converging on the enormous creature, removing it without a trace. Ray grinned as Erith laughed,? holding her new weapon high.

  “Let’s go find some more!”

  They spent the rest of the day decimating the horde without discrimination, carving deeper into the forest. After three hours of slaughter, a mechanical scream echoed through the air from somewhere in front of them. A metal ball fell like a meteor, smashing into the trees a short distance before them. It split apart, revealing a disgusting-looking creature. It resembled an overgrown slug with far too many eyes and arms in a far too human posture.

  “Hello humans,” the creature said, creeping out of the collapsing metal sphere. “I must request that you leave this area.” It interlaced several pairs of its hands. “Or else.”

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