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"Then you should have said so from the beginning, it's unnecessarily startling."
Murakan let go of the grip on Picon's collar. Picon cleared his throat, looking embarrassed.
[Now that I no longer have the old forge, I can't create the flames necessary to forge Bradamante myself. So, I need the power of the Magic Sword Secret Technique.]
"Quit yapping and get it done quickly. Anyway, it's a lie as long as you just open your mouth. Do you know how strong Ozdock was?"
[I can roughly guess from the core, but...]
Picon looked at the core with greedy eyes.
While the glint in his eyes stemmed from the thought of completing Bradamante, an outsider might think Picon had some corrupt desire.
"Again, I didn't know what would have happened if I had trusted you and sent the kids alone. Ugh, thinking about it makes me annoyed all over again."
[Hahaha. Everyone, follow me. Let's finish the task right away!]
Picon sang a little tune as he descended in the basement.
Murakan watched his back and shook his head in exasperation, while Jin shrugged.
"In his human days, he lacked self-respect to the point that he'd just yap away if anyone visited. He's that type of guy. Frankly, I almost preferred that time; he's more peculiar as a god."
"Well, thanks to Mr. Picon, we started looking for Temar's tomb. He's mischievous, but ultimately a good person."
"Heh, it's not thanks to that baldie we started looking for that tomb. It's thanks to Solderet."
Both of them followed Picon to the basement. There was a secret forge that Jin had built in the basement, much larger in scale than the aboveground house.
Their gazes were drawn to the massive anvil in the center. Bradamante was emitting flashes of light on top of it.
After obtaining it during his cadet days, Bradamante had become nothing less than Jin's alter ego.
'I haven't been able to swing it for months. I'm looking forward to it…'
Picon placed the core on top of Bradamante.
Then, as he had mentioned earlier, as if indicating that he didn't need to use it all, he skillfully carved out about 30% of it with a scalpel. The relatively solid core was cut as smoothly as dough.
"Hey, hey, don't even think about keeping that piece."
[Do you think I'm a thief? I don't have that intention. Also, I still don't have the Dragon. Jin, where are you going to use the remaining piece? Are you planning to use it to restore his heart?]
A demonic creature's inner core acts as a potent elixir for dragons. Especially the inner core of demonic creatures like Ozdock, it wasn't entirely impossible to reverse the damage to a dragon's heart.
However, Murakan chuckled.
"You really don't know much to say something like that. Baldie, a mere inner core like that can't do anything for my heart. If it were that simple to fix a heart, I and the kid would have found demonic creatures with inner cores long ago."
[Then?]
"There's a dragon who needs this besides me. I'm going to feed it to him."
Thunder Dragon Caltor, the Dragon Guardian of Yulian.
Jin intended to use the remaining inner core for him.
Tsk.
Picon clicked his tongue as if disappointed. He had a slight hope that if Jin gave him the remaining core, he could create other weapons.
Of course, Picon's desire was limited to the act of "crafting" as a blacksmith, and he had little interest in personal gain from it.
"In the future, as news of demonic creatures with inner cores reaches me, I'll continue to procure inner cores. Whenever you need it urgently, I'll support you, so don't be too disappointed."
When Jin read his mind and spoke, Picon smiled broadly.
[Really?]
"Yes. Now that I know the inner core is used in the blacksmithing, there's a need to create weapons for my companions and my knights."
[Good, good. I guess becoming a god was a good choice. Well then, let's start working.]
Picon said, hiding behind Jin's back.
[Unleash the blue flames on Bradamante!]
"...Here?"
[What's the problem?]
"There won't be any basement left if I unleash my technique here."
[I'll help with that, so don't worry. Just unleash it as soon as possible. Try to converge it into the blade of Bradamante as much as possible. However, if you feel my power interfering, don't push it away.]
"Understood."
Whoosh-!
As he drew in his power, flames surged. Simultaneously, flames colored Jin's pupils and mana and aura flowed through the runic markings engraved on his body.
The energy of a colossal flame, to the point that even Murakan flinched, instantly filled the basement.
No matter how skilled Jin was, he couldn't entirely concentrate such an immense flame onto the small object that was Bradamante.
'With a slight misstep, not only this basement but the surrounding area could also catch fire.'
In a moment of unease, Jin thought so.
Phewww-!
Amidst the blue flames, Picon conjured another "fire."
In the blacksmithing, not only iron and steel were necessary components. Fire was also an essential element, inseparable from the blacksmithing. Thus, the God of Blacksmiths possessed the ability to manipulate flames.
Picon's fire blended into the blue flames, helping Jin guide the flames towards Bradamante more smoothly.
[Hmm, it's still not enough!]
As Picon spoke, a blue flame emerged among the red flames. As Tess materialized, adding her breath, Picon burst into satisfied laughter.
[Yeah, this is it!]
For a considerable time, Jin poured flames until both mana and aura were nearly exhausted.
Jin had already put down his sword and was catching his breath, but the spiraling flames were still directed towards Bradamante. Thanks to the molten inner core, Bradamante was glowing golden.
[Good work. Rest a little, and I'll finish it soon.]
Zing! Suddenly, a dimensional portal opened in front of Picon.
What emerged from it was a hammer much larger than the average weapon.
Picon lifted the massive hammer and began hammering it vigorously.
Clang, crash! The sound of the colossal hammer striking Bradamante resounded and echoed.
Suddenly, Jin felt his strength drain from his body, and fell asleep.
***
September 4th, 1799.
A whole day had passed since the forging began.
"Are you done? It took you the whole day. You said it would take a bit more, and it's another lie, but well... You've done a good job."
Murakan spoke in his usual gruff manner, yet he added the words "well done" almost too softly to hear. Picon's face, who had completed the work, twitched.
Given that he had swung the massive hammer tirelessly without a single moment's rest, it was only natural.
However, despite his worn appearance, Picon's eyes were glistening with a sense of accomplishment.
"Kid, seems like you're quite tired, huh? Falling asleep so suddenly. Was the fight with Ozdock tougher than I thought?"
Jin shook his head.
"I don't think that's it, not sure. Even when I unleashed the flames, I wasn't this tired."
"Maybe you should take some medicine."
Though Jin had suddenly fallen asleep, for now, he wanted to touch the completed Bradamante.
Picon's hand, which offered Bradamante to Jin, trembled noticeably.
[Hoho, it's the finest sword after Barisada....]
As Jin grasped the sword, he could still feel a residual warmth.
And even before he swung it, he could sense the difference. It had become something far beyond what he had used before.
[What do you think?]
"I don't know that swords can change like this."
[The activation phrase is "Open Armor." I've matched the activation phrase with the Multa Rune you possess.]
Open Armor.
Just like with the Multa Rune, as soon as he voiced the activation phrase inwardly, armor immediately formed. The shadow force emitted from Bradamante enveloped his entire body.
Hooong...!
In less than a second, armor formed over his body. It had a sleek design overall, but instead of shining like steel armor, it shimmered with the unique nature of shadow force.
In the armor Bradamante formed, there weren't any seams or gaps.
Despite this, there was no hindrance in moving joints.
Jin couldn't even feel its weight; the armor was a completely flawless, lustrous black. It exuded a presence that could undoubtedly be called the masterpiece made by God of Blacksmiths.
And the cape fluttering grandly was quite impressive.
[I added the cape in consideration of your dignity in the future. Of course, it's not without function... It specializes in repelling magic. Above all, the cape can be detached, making it very useful in situations where you need to protect others. Do you like it?]
"Yes, thank you for your hard work, Mr. Picon."
[Haha, seeing you make such an expression is quite rare. If you also check the offensive capabilities, your mouth might just tear apart.]
As he said, as soon as he infused it with shadow force, Jin raised the corners of his mouth.
'Different...!'
When he infused shadow force into Bradamante compared to before, Jin felt a vastly different sensation. Merely infusing shadow force, it felt like a surge of energy as intense as when he used a sword technique.
[Originally, I couldn't have made the offensive side any better, but your Phoenix. Thanks to Tess's flames, it unknowingly gained a new power. They call it 'Heavy Pressure,' probably, right?]
Amidst the darkened blade, a faint blue aura was circulating.
It was the aura of blue flames. This power contained the essence of the heavy pressure, a result of Tess infusing a portion of the power of Ruler of Flame World permanently into the sword while forging it.
'Ah, so that's why I fell asleep.'
Following the battle with Ozdock and unleashing the flames, it was somewhat strenuous for Jin, of course.
His sudden sleepiness was due to Tess using Jin's mana to interfere with this world to its limits.
It was for the purpose of infusing the Heavy pressure into the sword that his contractor would wield.
Tess hoped that Jin could use this ability, regardless of the situation. Even when his mana was depleted, or perhaps, he couldn't summon Tess for some reason, he still could use the Heavy pressure.
Even though Tess had tremendous authority as a ruler of Flame World. A common blacksmith couldn't do so when creating ordinary weapons.
It was only possible because a God of blacksmiths like Picon was forging the sword, Bradamante.
However, it wasn't without limitations.
'A dimensional portal leading to the Flame World won't open...?'
He had attempted to summon Tess to convey his gratitude, but even after completing the summoning spell, a dimensional portal wouldn't open. Only the blue flames, used to open dimensional portals in the air, flickered.
Instead, could it be due to the power of the blue flames imbued in the sword?
Through Bradamante, Jin could sense Tess's 'will.'
To manifest again in the human world, Tess needed time to recover.