[Yeah. And guess what!]

[What?]

[Ms. Vogt is going to switch to another school so we are going to have a new history teacher tomorrow]

[Ugh finally! Felt like I had multiple debuffs on me every time we had history lessons with her]

[Saaaaame! I mean if you are going to teach something be at least enthusiastic about it]

[If that was the requirement to be a teacher, there would be too less teachers out there]

[Haha! True]

I was texting with Felix as I did usually for every day that passed in real-time. I learned my lesson from last time. Apparently, people don’t like it when you vanish just for some days unnoticed.

But if I said I didn’t miss my best buddy, I’d be straight-up lying. I had more than one day left before I’d be back in school and see him. It has been about 130 or so days since I was training my ability and in that time I got used to creating great [Common] grade weapons even getting as far as making one or two [Uncommon] grade weapons which had [Common] grade potential. That’s why it wasn’t what I was looking for.

I had a couple of designs I made after the dagger one. With my forge bombarded by blueprints with each becoming more sophisticated than the previous one, I took out my latest design. I had made 5 other weapons with which I decided to put into my ‘armoury’ or so I called it.

Since my ability enabled me to store weapons I acknowledged inside my soul, making me a walking armoury filled with artefacts, I thought of increasing this said Armoury. And for this, I drew different blueprints of a spear, pair of daggers, gauntlets, fighting boots, a chest plate with shoulder protectors and a gun

Yes… A gun.

The idea came from my experience when I fought with the old man while using Keyser. I had my left hand free all the time, using it mostly for throwing stones or handling my Will but I felt like I could do better than throwing stones. And so, the idea of making a gun with a holster that loads the bullets automatically while using my Will to trigger an explosion in the chamber.

But today, I’ll be making the spear. A spear that should become [Uncommon] with what I hope to become [Rare] potential. I gathered some materials from the storage of the forge while looking for the forge itself to heat up again. That was until I could already feel someone come into the forge.

"Hey, Laith! What kind of weapon are you doing today?"

"Probably a [Uncommon] grade spear with [Rare] potential… Lae, you came for a spar or…?"

"The snacks, the show and a spar, sir!"

"Snacks and a show coming right… Wait! creating weapons isn’t a show! And get yourself snacks from the drawer. And bring me some too."

"Why don't you get them yourself"

“If you are freeloading, then at least show some respect!”

“BLEE! You are the one to talk, mister freeloader disciple!

Laetisa went towards the drawer while sticking her tongue out. She looked really cute if you put that together with her angelic face. She really was challenging Gina here…

Shaking my head, I tried to pull that thought out of my head. That wasn’t something I should think about now. And besides looks, what was most important was character and Gina can beat this little brat all the time!

“Alright let’s see again what materials I need again for the spear… [Wind Slicing Alloy], [Hickory Wood], [4041 Steel] and some leather fabric… here!”

First, I’d have to mix some [4041 Steel] with the [Wind Slicing Alloy] making it mostly the steel. The alloy as the name suggests is able to reduce wind pressure and thus make the sword move faster than a sword of the same size. I melted the two metals and poured them into a mould to make a bar for the sword.

“How do you know what the right ratio is going to be, Laith?”

“I thought you left for snacks.”

“I’m back with snacks. Here.”

Catching the bag of chips, I looked at it for a bit.

“You know… if you eat too much of those, you’ll get fat.”

“You really are brave.”

“Well, knowing that you can use mana like we use Will and burn those gained calories, I’m not worried that you’d feel so offended like human females. And knowing the ratio usually depends on what type of weapon you’d do with the mixtures that have different properties like reducing wind pressure, negating shock or creating magical effects. Here, even if I want to make a weapon with less wind pressure, I’ll mostly rely on the steel since what I want more is a sturdy weapon and not a weapon that has no wind pressure. I’d go by a 4:1 ratio here. “

And the moment the mould cooled down, I took out the bar and checked it once before I went and tempered it. This meant that I repeatedly heat the metal and then hammer it to make it sturdier. I had electrical machines like a power hammer that helped quicken this process. After I had a smaller but much sturdier bar, I started to shape the bar into what I’d say becomes the spearhead. I had to put extra attention into this since while hammering, I had to use my Will and dug slight veins into the metal for the next step.

Slowly, runes started to form over my body while my eyes shone with a light I’d like to call a weapon’s light. And filled with Will, I waited for exactly five seconds before I heard the same line as always.

“And Laith is now ready for war!”

“And Laith is now ready for war!”

Saying the same line as Lae, I imitated her like every day before.

I and Laetisa got to know each other better as I did with Fe’liu. By sparring regularly. They regularly visited with the excuse to come spar with me which the old man allowed almost all the time. And the more we fought, the more I could see their smiles grow. I think the old man is a bad example and has corrupted these innocent children.

We may now pray for the passing of their innocent selves. Rest in peace, Innocent Laetisa and Innocent Fe’liu.

My hammering stopped while I had some stupid thoughts.

I had now a task to do that I had to do for this spear to become a good spear of the [Uncommon] grade. And that was to engrave runes onto the head.

The same Runes that were covering my body. These runes had meaning and with each one giving different effects on their respective level. And I planned on having every part have one or two runes that would synergise perfectly together. And for the spearhead, my plan was to inscribe a rune that had the [Will Amplification] effect. With this, I could boost the Will on the blade more.

Taking out a chisel and a hammer with some smaller needles at my side, I started to carve the Rune into the spearhead. My concentration was on its limits since one small error and everything I have done would be for nought. This happened to me way too often for me to cry a river. But not now. My fingers, although not as fast as one would think, moved extremely precise.

I put the hot iron into the oil to quench it. Moving it up and down, I was almost finished with the quenching part before I put it between two regulator blocks to cool it evenly. And While the blade can cool down, I thought of starting to work with the socket and butt cap for the spear.

I used [4041 Steel] to make the butt cap and socket for the spear. This was because I didn’t need the whole staff to give the effect of reducing wind pressure. Only the one with the greatest surface.

CLANG

I hammered.

CLANG

And hammered.

CLANG

And hammered.

Before I finished with the two objects. They were still hot so now I could start with an important step I still had to do to the spearhead and that was to engrave it in runes.

For these two, my thought was on the [Impact Absorption] Rune that could absorb a set amount of the impact and release it back with an attack. Of course, this is a broken Rune no matter how you look at it. The only possible downside would be that the absorbed impact is very little and not the whole impact.

CLING CLI-CLI-CLING

“Phew… finished… now time to quench it before letting it cool down on the side so I can start with the shaft of the spear…”

I did the quenching as I did with the head. Putting the butt cap and the socket on an oiled up surface, I was now focusing on the shaft. I used the filing machine on the [Hickory Wood] after roughly cutting it the way I wanted it to. A 180 cm long shaft that should form a long and flexible spear. That was my idea for the spear.

Lastly, I had to inscribe runes on it as well and prepare the leather that will cover those runes. It wasn’t as hard as it was on the hot iron but if I made a mistake, instead of recasting the metal and only have wasted time, here I’d have wasted materials as well since you couldn’t restore the state of wood unless you are a literal god.

The runes for the spear were [High Endurance] that I’d inscribe twice on the shaft with the two parts getting covered by leather straps. But before I could even cover them, I had to do one last task for the preparation of all the runes.

“Okay… where is my mixture?... Ah! Here it is!”

“I have to be honest but this is the only process I find weird for you to do.”

“There is no other option. These runes are part of my ability and only by using this mixture and my blood could I activate these runes permanently.”

This was sadly true. I had to give up my blood and fill the runes with my blood. And depending on the amount of blood with the size of the rune, the effects of the runes would amplify or die out depending on the rune. This was such a drag for me since if I wanted to practice my rune work, I had to use up a lot of blood. Thankfully, Awakened are built different and this makes my regeneration no joke!

Praise The One for being the first awakened and showing us such a path. Oh, wait! If I didn’t awaken in the first place, I’d not have these problems. Well… whatever! Let’s finish the mixture.

I used a special needle the old man gave me and drew out blood from my left arm into a tube. I guess about 100 ml should be enough for the spear.

Pouring the sticky mixture into another bigger tube with the blood I just drew, I was mixing them well together before pouring them into each rune inscription and letting them be Filled with my Will.

I had to stabilise the runes and activate them with my Will which took more concentration than any other process. I didn’t want to repeat from the beginning and now I couldn’t even use the metal again if I failed. Fortunately, I succeeded and made the runes stable with permanent effects, letting these runes shine in gold. They looked extremely cool if I have to say so myself!

Yes! Yes! I did a good job!

I think about 8 hours passed but this was it! It was now time to assemble the spear. First, I glued the leather straps onto the shaft. Then by burning them, I combined the socket and blade together and using a filer, I put combined the shaft with the butt cap and blade.

“Alright… please come to life!”

Lifting my hammer with Will filled with it, I swung it down onto the anvil where the spear was laying. And the moment I hit the same spear with a swing filled with Will, the room lit up in gold. Haha…Hahahahahaha! I did it!

VUUM

The spear started to shine a bit before it dimmed. When I checked the spear out, I couldn't believe my senses for not even a bit.

"This... This potential is [Epic]! How?"

“Really? That’s great!”

“Do you know what this means?”

“Nope!”

“Huuuuh… it means that I can make this spear grow stronger, becoming a weapon of a higher grade than expected.”

“Alright, this is something I can understand! Impressive!”

I did something so huge! Hahaha! I was trembling with excitement when the obvious improvements in my skills showed. And with each improvement, my Armoury would grow with only better weapons.

But now that wasn't important, what was important was to give this spear a name!

With the weapon modifier of [Guided Wind], a name that should fit this modifier perfectly was my only option. And without naming it, I couldn’t get it into my Armoury. I knew that this was my nemesis. My naming skill was never good. It was just horrible. But I came prepared. Since I knew this was going to happen, I just made a list of names possible for weapons. And I didn’t need long before I could find the best name that would suit the spear perfectly.

“Orage”

The spear heard its name and now was floating in front of me. I already knew what was going to happen as this happened before with Keyser. Becoming crystal-like and transparent, Orage was now shooting towards my heart, entering the depths of my soul while making the place comfortable for it to stay. Unlike a certain blade I knew, Orage wasn’t stubborn about staying outside my soul.

Thankfully, I had a scabbard for Keyser. Even if I could call Keyser to me anytime, I’d prefer it to be by my side.

“Amazing show as always, Laith.”

“Oh, Fe’liu! Here for a fight as well?”

“Nope. Just came here to pick up that sleeping sloth over there.”

“Oh, so she fell asleep again. Seriously… she should just go if she was bored.”

Stretching my body, I left the forge with Fe’liu who held Lae in his arms. My muscles felt slightly sour and my mental fatigue was finally hitting me. But if these two won’t come at me to fight, then the only one left would be.

“I see your two sparring partners left. So… ready for your sparring lessons?”

“...yeah…”

“Which weapon should it be this time?”

“This one of course!”

“Alright…”

The old man got into a fighting stance with two daggers that I crafted in his hands. For the times I sparred with the old man, I’d always train with different weapons while fighting against someone with different weapons as well.

“...Show me how your skills have improved!”

With a golden light, I called out Orage and got into a fighting stance with it. A wide smile was now plastered on my face and my eyes showed my enjoyment of this upcoming fight.

“With pleasure!”

2 days until school starts for me again. This time, I was focusing on my last weapon after making the [Uncommon] grade weapons I planned out before. A pair of black daggers with [Rare] potential called “Skia”, gauntlets and weaponised shoes that had [Epic] grade potential called “Guard” and “Step” respectively, a chest plate that has [Rare] potential named “Praesidia” and now it was time for my last weapon blueprint to be brought into real life before I leave for school.

My gun.

I needed a one-handed shooting option so a bow and heavy crossbow were out of the question. Knowing that reloading for every shot will be a pain in the ass as well, I had to design a gun holster or a mechanism that would automatically reload my shots while not wasting too much time as well.

'I'll use a mode changer so I can change between hard metal or just Will. Having a dense ball of Will and another that bursts inside the gun. This means I'll use 2 chambers for my gun, one will house 6 bullets while the other only has one tube with Runes for [Compression] that'll create the Will bullet… '

I looked at my blueprint while sketching the stuff that I had to think about again or putting more detail into certain mechanisms like the switching of the chambers, the triggers’ different functions and so on. And besides that, I drew a rough sketch of a holster for the gun with the lower side being loaded with my ammunition and a spring motion that would load the one chamber with 6 bullets by just pushing the gun back into the holster.

‘The gun's design is of a revolver but the chamber can be spun 180 degrees around so the Will chamber can be loaded. This should happen with the flick of a finger while raising a little trigger with my pinky finger… The materials for all this are here but I’m not sure if I can create the reloading holster I have in mind. It uses springs and lock mechanism but creating such little detail is going to be a drag if not a big challenge. Creating little springs and check mechanisms isn’t something I did before…’

I looked into the notebook the old man gave to me while looking for answers and after finding ways to make my ideas make a reality, I immediately started with my work.

I spent 37 hours inside the forge. I never left even once, making my head burst like a watermelon after getting crushed by millions of rubbers. It hurts! But it is done! From crafting, failing and repeating the little parts to building the gun chamber again and again because the Runes would be damaged after combining the parts to even messing up the little trigger to switch the chambers. Everything failed at least thrice, making my work from a ten-hour work to a 37 long journey.

But after so long, it was worth trying so hard. Because the modifier was of a rank I didn’t expect.

“...Leg… Legen…Legendary… it’s Legendary! Hahahahaaaaha! WHOOOO!”

I was thrilled! The potential of my gun being this good meant only one thing and I did a hell of a good job. I’d be pissed if my gun was of [Rare] potential because of how much time and care this little baby took from me but it was worth every second and every little effort. And I understood one important thing.

Potential does not get affected by strength but by the care given to the weapon and its ability. I can’t craft a [Rare] Weapon at the moment but I can build a weapon that can become a [Rare] grade weapon in the future.

The holster wasn’t anything special and had [Common] potential but I didn’t need anything better from it. It had to do its job and it would be the best ever.

But before I could test out my gun, I had to name it. And with the great modifier [The Last Shot], the revolver looking gun was named…

“Disparo”

And like every other weapon I named before, the revolver was now inside my soul sleeping, waiting for the moment I’d call it out of the Armoury and use it to my heart's content. The holster was strapped to my left thigh and Keyser’s scabbard to my left side. I felt more and more like a fighter with my weapons now ready to be used in combat.

With this, I can switch to any weapon for every situation. Well… I wasn’t that far yet but I’ll one day have my soul filled with every kind of artefact.

“I’ll be a walking Armoury in the future…”

“A very noisy but impressive Armoury, yes.”

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that. You will only give them a heart attack like that.”

“Show me that gun. Looks interesting.”

Giving Disparo to the old man, he inspected it while playing around with it. I could swear that the way he inspected it felt wrong but I stayed silent, not to anger this walking calamity.

“It’s very well made. Sadly, it’s in the wrong hands.”

Tossing the gun back to me, I made the gun disappear back into my soul. What the hell you mean with the wrong hands!

“Sometimes, I really doubt your humanity for always being so mean. People can also get hurt, you know.”

“But all I see is a walking piece of disappointment trying his best to impress his great master. Haaaah… but don’t worry. I’m not disappointed in you.”

“Maybe you should check your eyes because you should only be seeing the disciple of an egoistical old bastard who doesn’t try to impress anyone here.”

“Really? If I brought that little girl here… wouldn’t you try to impress her~?”

“You fucker!”

“Hitting that sweet spot is always so satisfying!”

Stop dodging me, you crazy old fuck! I’ll surely hit you with all my weapons combined! Why are you so flexible!

“Alright, boy! Let’s stop playing around and talk for a second.”

Bastard! I was definitely trying to hit you yet you only see this as playing around? Exactly how strong are you, old fucker?

Slowing down while calling all the weapons back into my soul with Keyser in its scabbard, I slowly took a deep breath. Whatever he will say, most likely will shock me.

"Boy, you won't need the suppression device anymore."

Told you… shock…me?

"Huh? But I thought that I'd need it to disguise myself as well? Weren’t you the one that was telling me that if I didn’t do that, I’d be a walking magnet of attraction?"

I mean it was true that I didn’t need a suppression device since the old man was the reason (at fault) for making me able to suppress it without any thought. But the device also helped with disguising my looks to how I previously looked since my change was too fast for normal time. And my looks changed a lot if I think about myself at the beginning of November and now mid-November.

"That's the thing. The break will happen in 6 weeks. By then, do you think you'll need to hide? Your principal and the Association Director are already supporting you so every type of threat is null.”

"But wouldn't it be annoying to handle the reactions of everyone else? I don't wanna explain myself to people I don't know..."

"This is exactly why I'm telling you this."

"Excuse me?"

What do you mean, that is exactly why? How does explaining how I went from stick arms and legs to someone with the body chiselled by god do anything for me?

"It is clear you have communication problems. That behaviour of social awkwardness. This is something you need to get over before the Break. And even if you can interact with people after some time, you take too long. After only 30-40 days could you talk fluently towards those twins. And in the future, having the luxury of time will be impossible. You’ll need this. Because you won't be able to do everything alone... Noone can…"

I was silent after that last statement. This old man was the one who tortured me for all this time saying it was for me but I know that it was for his own satisfaction. All this time, He looked extremely happy. Even when talking with me without the topic of training in our conversation. There was always a smile on his face.

So why… why is there a sad expression on this old man’s face. The face of the person I thought being sad would be impossible had now anything but a smile.

But this expression didn’t last for long, returning into a smirk. Was this smirk true? Or was this fake? Well… if he wanted to talk about it, he’d already have done so.

"Now that I think about it~ I have 2 surprises for you tomorrow that you'd love very much. Yaaaa~ you'll love it!"

Cold sweat was dripping down on my back. I couldn’t feel my body as my mind was now with the extreme thought of fear. This old man…

'No! Do I have to get tortured again with no hint at all! Fuck! I won't be able to sleep today!'

"Anyway. Go to bed. I'll clean up for now."

Sighing, I walked back to the bigger hut with heavy steps. I’ll be leaving at 4.42 AM to get to school at the perfect time. I just hope that this surprise won’t be anything bad.

I really do hope so…