"Oh, why if it isn't the Young Master of the Edgeworth, Heh, heh, you're here to pick up your sword, I see." Ferald stopped hammering the bright red blade on his anvil as he smiled at Colt and Sera.
"Why would I be in your Smithy otherwise, sir Ferald?" Colt came here months prior and asked for Ferald to craft him a sword. The recipe to the sword, the smelting process, the hammering technique, and the quenching method were all provided by Neun, but only he could create the sword slash Artifact.
The materials were prepared by Butler Go, and the payment was all settled in secret by Shickly. The sword was meant to be tailored to Colt.
Ferald smiled at Colt's disposition and seeing his body and aura, Ferald could feel the massive difference.
"I was afraid that the Young Master would not be able to use the sword properly, but it seems like my fears were unfounded. Follow me, Young Master, I'll show you the masterpiece you wanted me to create."
Colt felt really bothered by his words…Ferald sounded like a weeb straight out of a convention he visited once or twice.
'Is it the level of tessaiga, or something?'
Some artifacts lit up upon contact with Master-class Warriors and above, but those were few in between.
Colt had read about a sword that spews out fire upon the ignition of fire aura and a sword so fine that it creates hundreds of wind blade upon contact.
Colt had not seen such a weapon despite having met a handful of Master-class Warriors. The reason was that Neun refuses to use an artifact. He claimed that using a sword would be bad for the environment.
'If I use an Artifact, I might accidentally cut down a mountain peak or create a clearing without so much as a thought. That's how dangerous our sword art is.'
'That must be a lie, Teacher.'
'Wanna check for yourself?'
'Of course, I believe you.'
These were Neun's words. He was afraid of upsetting the environment; that's why he didn't want to use an artifact; such arrogant words were not doubted by Colt.
He had seen Neun's barbaric and savage way of fighting without a weapon. If Neun actually had an artifact while using Mutation, then a calamity might befall this Continent.
This train of thought made Colt shiver, but it made him think about a particular event, 'What would happen if the war begins? How many would die, and to what extent would the destruction spread?'
The Hellbanes, a Warrior-centric Family, fought up North, and it was said that the Mountains were carved.
The aftermath of a fight with Sorcerers in the Genesis Family territory was large enough to ravage the nearby regions, touching even the cities in the Kingdom's vicinity.
The incomplete spell that Gilbert destroyed was just a taste of what second step Pathfinders could do.
'I'll know what kind of powers they have soon enough.' He had already made the necessary preparations to become an actual cheat.
He had little plot armor, so he had to plan it out and steal as much Mythical Treasure on the Continent to become someone capable of standing up to the enemies.
There was also the fact that dangerous situations just loved to cling to him.
'I…I better not let Sera know about this. She'll talk smack about this for hours if I do.' He was aware of his own stupidity, but not regretting anything was a prevalent and unchanging trait in his life.
He chose to love Mina and moved on without regrets; he decided to become a father and faced the world without looking back, and even struck a deal with the Goddesses and entirely threw himself in a chaotic way of living but never did he cry about it—the last one was a lie, he cried a lot, and it was understandable.
The three of them reached the back garden. There, a single storage shed was built. Without even approaching the storage shed, Colt could feel the layers of formations set up around it.
"Around this storage shed is seven formations that would activate if any form of forced entry was to be taken." Feral brought out a key hanging on his neck and unlocked the lock and kept away the chains, "You're keen on sensing Mana, Young Master Colt, I'm surprised."
"Well, I'm trying to sharpen them; it's good that I'm getting better."
"…that so—are you preparing for some kind of war?"
Colt was taken aback but didn't say anything. Ferald took Colt's silence as a yes and continued talking to himself.
"You know, I was a war veteran when the beastmen fifty years ago and the dwarves were at war with each other, though I was mostly one of the Master Smiths who only hammered steel and repaired our weapons. I once heard that it is of utmost importance to have the keenest of senses that you could slash blindly and still kill an enemy, and duck without knowing why and end up dodging a fatal attack."
"That so? My teacher also said the same thing."
"Did he also say you need the best of weapons?"
"No…he mentioned nothing as such," Colt answered as he witnessed the formations deactivate one by one.
Ferald's laughter entered his ears, "Hah, hah, hah, if that's the case, then you met a good teacher because if you possess the best weapon, then it would be easier for you to kill your ally than kill an enemy. Young Master, do you think you can conquer my masterpiece?"
As the doors of the shed open, a single sword presented itself to Colt. An ominously cold wind went past him as a deep ocean blue sword with a black line going down its middle showed itself to Colt.
For a moment, Colt felt like drowning while he was being dragged to the depths of a trench.
"It seems like it reacted to you; that's a done deal, I supposed. I'm rather disappointed. I thought there would be a fight of dominance."
When an artifact reacts at first sight, that only meant one thing, the artifact already accepted that person as to its owner. It only happened to the most compatible person.
Colt held the sword's handle and carried it. The weapon's weight was over fifty kilograms, but he carried it with ease.
Back on earth, such a sword would be absurd, but here, it was not. Even training swords were heavy, and that's because Warriors with aura prepare themselves for the usage of such artifacts.
Though a majority of them would not even be able to see an Artifact in their lives.
'The weight is new, but it won't be a problem. After a night of swings, I'm going to have a good grasp of it. A month of training should make me fully accustomed to it.?'
With a hum, Colt swung the sword, a shallow cut appeared on the floor, "This is sharp."
"Of course, it is, that sword was forged using a mix of Ocean Essence Stones, Tundra Essence Crystals, Death Lich Heart, Specter Heart and was smelted using Lightning Flame Crystal that weapon cost millions to create and my full unbreaking one-month effort of hammering and another month of sharpening that thing.
"If I was a human, I would have already died ten times over. I even almost lost my fingers creating that thing, but I regret nothing. All that hardship formed this masterpiece, the sharpest sword fit for the greatest warriors who want to conquer the seas and become the deadliest shadow.
"This is my greatest creation, and its name is [Ocean's Black Heart]." Ferald's pride to the sword was unbridled, and with a name so striking and almost cringe-inducing caused Colt's heart to beat wildly.
Then, a thought emerged. Him double wielding the Ocean' Black Heart and the Ocean Sword, Colt imagined an eventual nickname for him, 'Ocean Master...'
Colt's eyes were shining brightly. He kept the sword in a black sheathe that had a blue gem embedded on its surface. He vowed to treasure this sword.
After thanking Ferald, Colt and Sera boarded the waiting carriage.
Ferald saw them off with a smile, saying. "I'll see you soon, Young Master Colt."
Colt nodded his head, knowing that was far from happening. He had already finished the sword, and Ferald had already been paid with, so it would be impossible for them to meet later in the future.
After returning, Colt was greeted by the people. They were intrigued by his excitement, and Colt told the children of his beautiful sword as a means of relieving their boredom and taking their minds off their situation.
To Colt, the children's mental health was a must for them not to stray down a perilous path. So, he happily told them about the sword, just like how he would speak with his daughters.
"Can we see it?" a young infected boy asked, in awe of Colt's story.
Colt would show it to them if he could, but shook his head, "Its mere presence can cut you, young man. An Artifact is not something one should play with."
He said dignifiedly as he casually bragged about the sword in a story.
That night, Colt slept with the sword on his bedside after getting dragged to his newly cleaned room by the two siblings.
"Hehehe, how smooth you are…how gorgeous," Colt mumbled to himself in his sleep.
Fluff froze at his words, and for the sake of staying alive, it went down the bed frame and spoke, "Meow, nya, (He's talking about a new sword.)"
Back on the Edgeworth Manor, Mina heaved a sigh of relief and let go of the knife she held tightly.
Fluff knew that it had just saved the oblivious Colt.
It now understood that it should have told Colt about the tampering Mina did to the room.
But it then shook its head and just hoped that Colt could get to a level where his senses could find such listening devices. It was all for training purposes.
But then again, Fluff didn't want to die, so it went to cover Colt's mouth with the Chick—it's kindness had already run out.