CHAPTER 432

EDGE OF IMMORTALITY (III)

A dashing light lit up the small room, warming up each one of its corners. A glimmer of golden, holy incandescence showered every inch of the forge, blinding those inside it for a moment. Lino quickly extended his Divine Sense coated in chaotic Will and examined the phenomena – just as he was about to touch the weapon with it, however, he was rejected, blasted back, causing him to cough up a mouthful of blood due to the backlash.

The colors and radiating pressure persisted for nearly half an hour, low hymn-like hum consistently echoing off of the blade that was floating midair inside the room. It slowly began dimming, bit by bit, the light and colors retreating back into the blade, casting a breathtaking, sunrise sheen over its steeled surface and the sharp edge. It levitated for a moment further before gently descending upon the table, lying there in silence right after.

The trio slowly approached as Vy sped over and inspected the item, exclaiming faintly in shock. The sword was just around a meter long, barely two-fingers thick with a slight, persistent dent at the center orbited by two-bladed edges. Patterns lay carved in faint gold across its surface, glowing peculiarly and blending like the flowing river into the wide, rather elaborate guard with a hand-carved motif of endurance and defiance.

The handle was wrapped in tight leather, pleasant to touch, holistically white in the dye. It was large enough to fit a grown man’s hand and then some, cascading down into a spherical pommel with a sharp tip at the very bottom. Primul withdrew slightly back as the pressure exuded from the blade was too much for him, and even though Eggor stayed near the desk, it was clear he was quite uncomfortable.

Lino, however, seemed impervious, a glimmer of greed and excitement flashing through his gaze as his reaching hand began shaking. He suddenly felt a strong grip hold it, glancing sideways where Eggor was staring daggers at him.

“It’s not yours to keep.”

“… I know,” Lino rolled his eyes. “Who do you think I am? Hannah?”

“I’d trust her over you any time of the day.” Eggor replied with a shrug.

“… ouch. Can I inspect it now?”

“… go ahead.”

He picked up the handle, wrapping his fingers around it slowly; it immediately felt less like a sword and more like an extension of his arm, fitting perfectly. He picked it up as the feeling somewhat vanished; it was too light, almost unlike all other weapons he’d used before in his life. He sighed inwardly, somewhat pained that it didn’t fit him all too well; while he could still use it undoubtedly to a decent mastery, he would never be able to completely ‘control’ the weapon, even if he got to keep it.

Taking a deep breath, he vanquished the stray thoughts as he brought the sword toward him, blade up, turning it around and inspecting it from every angle before finally deciding to look at the sword’s stats, expectation beyond measure written all over his face.

[Edge of Immortality – Unique quasi-Origin Tier]

Level: Wielder’s x2 (60,344)

Requirements: 25,000,000/500,000,000/1,000,000,000 Base Vitality, Laws of Endurance/Strength/Immortality

Damage: Wielder’s x40

Elemental Damage: ½ of the ordinary Damage

Void Damage: ½ of Wielder’s

+10,000% to ALL Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Stats

[Impervious]

[Ineffable]

[Eternal]

You shall not die ‘neath my reign

All foes shall kneel ‘neath your blade

Forever shall we remain

+20,000% to ALL Adjacent Stats

[Effervescent]

[Symbiosis]

[Permanence]

You shall shine ‘neath my reign

Breathe souls by the strike of your blade

Forever shall we remain

+800% to Cultivation Speed

Absolute Mastery of Light, Eternity and Immortality while the Edge is equipped

[Special Effect – The Bladed Eternity] – each successful strike steals 1% of the opponent's Vitality, transferring it to the wielder. While holding the Edge, the effect is doubled. For each 1% of stolen Vitality, the recovery rate is increased by 10%. When wielder's Vitality surpasses a hundred million, all effects are tripled.

[Special Effect – Phantoms of Immortality] – each swing of the sword creates phantoms of light that have basic sentience. The wielder can have up to 2,000 out at once. Each phantom will orbit the Wielder and defend them from all attacks while attacking back of their own accord. They cannot be destroyed, and will instead rush the opponent madly when their Vitality drops too low.

[Special Effect – Forever] – In the presence of the Edge, no one but the Wielder is Immortal

[Special Effect – The Silent Reign] – the King of all the Swords, the Edge cannot be defeated; when challenged, it unleashes Fury of the King

[Special Effect – Sagacious Serenity] – the eternal calm permeates the edged light of the blade

[Special Effect – Awaken] – the Edge assumes its true form upon the Wielder’s call. The living and the dead kneel and bend before its might.

Note: I am King’s Blade, Queen’s Sword, Emperor’s Destiny and Empress’ Light. Do not silence me.

Lino stared slack-jawed at the stats that he could not comprehend. No, he was fairly certain they were not meant to be comprehended. They were… too vague, too random to make sense. He sucked in a cold breath, tepid dread shivering his body dry. Eggor noticed his reaction and frowned, glancing at the blade.

“… what’s wrong?” he asked.

“… you’ve… you’ve crafted something insane, old man,” Lino replied, barely stopping himself from stuttering as he shared the stats with Eggor. “This… this isn’t a sword… but a freakin’ weapon of mass destruction…”

“……” Eggor’s eyes turned into saucers as his lips gaped open, causing a rather comical scene, yet Lino couldn’t laugh. After all, the sword they crafted was just a nudge away from the absolute pinnacle of items… Origin-tier items, of which only 3 have existed throughout the history that are confirmed. Even still, [Edge of Immortality] was beyond a simple weapon; its stats, though mind-bending, Lino expected – what he didn’t expect were the vague Special Effects and two random poems he could not make the meaning off, as he was certain they meant far more than what they showcased on the surface.

“Sheesh,” Primul sucked in a cold breath as well when Lino shared the stats. “What the hell…”

“If you hand me that sword kiddo, I’ll give you the anvil.” Vy chimed in from the side.

“Fuck off.” Lino, Eggor and Primul immediately exclaimed in unison, turning around and flipping him in unplanned synchronization.

“… we can’t show this to anyone, Lino,” Eggor suddenly commented. “Rather, I’d prefer it if you could avoid using it… at all. This ain’t the sort of thing the world will sleep on.”

“… I know,” Lino replied, sighing. “What’s even more depressing is that Ally will probably need centuries before even being able to wield it…”

“We’ll craft her another, temporary sword, that isn’t the issue,” Eggor said. “This is, as you said, less of a sword and more of a… well, to be honest, a Defensive Artifact.”

“—that’s right,” Lino nodded. “What do you make of the vague descriptions, though?”

“Oh, that? That’s not strange,” Eggor chuckled. “The higher the tier of the weapon, the vaguer the effects become. It simply expands the usage and the effect itself. Wait, wait, wait – you said Ally won’t be able to use it for centuries… but… but what about you?” Eggor asked with some reservation.

“I fulfill its basic requirements,” Lino replied, frowning slightly. “Though I imagine it’ll take me decades at least to unlock the rest…”

“… y-you… you have 25,000,000 Base Vitality?!!” Eggor suddenly exclaimed in shock. “How?!!”

“—it’s not surprising,” Primul chimed in from the side. “If anything, he’s only now beginning to accelerate his accumulation. By the time I died, my base Vitality was nearing a billion.”

“—so even at your peak you would be unable to wield this completely, huh.” Lino mumbled.

“Very few would have,” Vy said from the side. “From what I recall, Primul was said to have reached one of the highest base Vitalities throughout the history of Empyreans. I imagine only a few would be able to rival him.”

“… oi, oi, fuckin’ hell, stop talking so casually about millions of Vitality!!” Eggor cried out from the side. “Don’t you realize how insane that is?!”

“It’s a rarity,” Primul explained. “And, besides, most of our other stats besides Strength suffer tremendously. Tell him how high your Agility is.”

“… uh, it’s… it’s around 200,000…” Lino mumbled in faint embarrassment.

“And your Wisdom and Intelligence?” Primul added with a grin.

“… shut up,” Lino growled lowly. “Don’t worry about it, old man. Mom’s Vitality is also fairly insane, and she’s not even a Body Cultivator.”

“—y-you’re all…. You’re all just insane,” Eggor sighed deeply, shaking his head. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter. Even if you can wield it, don’t unless absolutely necessary. Even though I was casual about the vague explanations, in truth I don’t really know much about them either. After all, they’ve never been this vague and I was usually able to garner at least the general sense of what exactly they can do. I have absolutely no idea what would happen if you activated them, and the sword’s aura will be easily picked up by those more experienced.”

“Don’t worry, I’m stupid, but not that stupid,” Lino rolled his eyes. “Despite the stats, I’m still more comfortable using the Slayer. Now, if Slayer could evolve to this point… hoi boy, would I abuse the living fuck out of it.”

“—lads, we’re almost at the Eastern Shores,” Vy suddenly said. “What will you tell the others about the sword?”

“…….”

“…..”

“…..”

“Really?” Vy sighed, shaking his head in dismay before whipping out a similarly-sized sword from seemingly nowhere and throwing it at Eggor. “Give that to the girl, and craft me a replica later. No wonder you always listen to your wives. You two are fucking idiots.”