Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Smithing Blessings

The Black Lightning wasn’t just a flash; to the shocking eyes of everyone around, it was an enormous pillar of energy constantly descending downward. At first glance, the two people holding the blade seemed destined to be burnt to ash, a sacrifice for such a creation. But turned out, Bastian and Jack were only slightly frowning the whole time, having the current of energy cleansing their body. Black Lightning Blade, besides its incredible self as a powerful weapon, also granted a reward for its first-time forgers. Its creators would be enhanced as waves of dark energy pierced through their body, clearing and reinforcing the mana pathways, all the while removing any harmful elements on its journey. With that, the accumulating poisons flowing in Jack’s veins were finally dispelled. 

Initially, Jack had wanted to craft the weapon himself to fully attain this incredible effect instead of splitting it like now. Still, this outcome was probably preferable since he wasn’t sure if he had the time to acquire the requisites to be able to craft Black Lightning Blade.

As the sword dabbled in its dark energy, its appearance slowly evolved. The Nethium alloy was refined and sharpened, shifting from end to end, finalizing its form with one side of silvery cutting edge and the other of zigzag lightning curves.

The thunderous pillar of energy eventually faded, leaving behind a dark purple blade.

Bastian and Jack both spent a moment marveling at their work.

“Uh hum,” one of the examiner’s voices sounded, “you can add the finishing touch now, Bastian.”

Bastian blinked his eyes, then, with Jack’s assistance, made his way to the table where he had already prepared the weapon’s grip, pommel, and crossguard. Jack stepped back a bit after a nudge from Bastian. Unlike just a moment ago, the smith’s face was fiery red as he channeled his newfound unspoken vigor to fuel his next acts.

The swordmaker only needed a few minutes to finish it. Then, he went to the middle point between the two scanners and plugged the pointy end of the blade into a piece of soft material on the ground.

“Please, behold and make your judgment.” Bastian politely said.

The scanners started to work to their maximum capacity, projecting light waves around the finished product. From the small holes in the eyes at the corners, a red laser was shot out, straight at the blade.

The comments broke out.

“Even better than Stormbringer!” 

“I can’t get a hold of its attributes and effects.”

“I want to be in its presence!”

“Bastian, I think you and us should have some exchanges after this!”

Bastian leaned one hand on the blade, giving Jack a thumbs up with the other, stretching his lips almost to his ears. Jack smiled back, blinking at the Black Lightning Blade to identify it. Since it was a System item, the given information was even more in-depth.

Black Lightning Blade (Weapon, Archon, Uncommon, Infusible)

+10% Physical Damage.

+60% Lightning Damage.

+15% Move Speed.

+15% Attack Speed.

+5% Lightning Spells Cast Speed.

+5% Lightning Retaliation Chance.

+15% Lightning Resistance.

Special Effects:

        Grants its wielder the ability to channel a special kind of lightning, [Black Lightning]. Required: double the mana used for normal lightning spells.

                [Black Lightning] (magic damage, does not stack): imbue spirit damage with each strike and ignore physical defense.

*Due to an inferior crafting process, effects might be diminished or removed.

There were more penalties than expected, but at least it wasn’t downgraded to Crusader rank. If nothing went wrong, this would be the basis for Bastian’s advancement.

The scanners and verification laser were turned off, and the room went into silence. It seemed the examiners were discussing something behind the scene.

“That should be enough! We take out leave now,” the woman’s voice who had looked down on Bastian at the beginning said. “The official announcement will come in a few days.”

“But, I have to give you an early congratulation, Bastian,” the snorting man sounded. “There will be some scrutiny about your apprentice’s involvement in all of this, but I myself will support a pass. This is indeed a magnificent blade.”

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Bastian’s eyes brightened hearing those words. He reckoned that one examiner must have been an influential person.

The other two gave their salutes, ending the formal session.

Dusk was falling on Oxdale, slowly covering the big shiny new hole on the roof with the veil of night.

Bastian couldn’t keep it together anymore. He immediately rolled to the floor, hugging his newest precious baby sword tightly.

Jack walked toward the old man and calmly asked.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m in dire need of one thing!” Bastian said, his eyes still stuck on the blade.

Jack shook his head in dismay, took out two large mugs, filled them with beer, and brought them to Bastian.

The smith didn’t even bother turning his eyes toward his apprentice. He swung his hand, grabbed the fresh beverage, leaned his head backward, and started gulping it down, all the while not moving his gaze one bit.

Jack also sat down on the floor, directing his eyes toward the smoldering hole above his head. He burst out laughing, raised his mug high, cheering with his master smith, and also chucked it down. The creation of the weapon was a decent enough reward but seeing one-third of the experience progress bar being filled was probably even more satisfying.

 

Later that night, as the food hadn’t yet been brought up to the dinner table, Abraham couldn’t help but grab Jack’s arm and pull him to the side.

“Did you help Bastian craft an Archon item?” The head of the Harper household asked, his eyes brighter than any stars that night.

Jack, caught off guard by his father’s action, nodded in response. News travels fast these days.

“Oh, son!” Abraham exclaimed. “You’ve been causing quite a ruckus in Oxdale, you know that?”

“Can you please sit down for me to clean the table?” Sophie pushed Abraham to the side.

The husband complied, feeling a bit discarded.

“And this is your reward, sweetheart,” Jack’s mother smiled, giving him a loaf of Stefan’s special top-tier-ultra-delicious bread. She herself was also aware of the earlier event’s importance.

Jack warily received his gift, wondering how everyone had figured out everything in such a short amount of time.

“Wow,” Abraham sat himself down and reentered the conversation, “that old swordsmith will soon become one of the most sought-after celebrities. Not only in this town, or the surrounding ones, but maybe the whole kingdom, or even the whole empire. Who knows!”

“Are you serious?” Jack opened his eyes wide.

“You have to understand that being an Archon Artificer means almost standing at the top of the faction’s pyramid. As far as I could tell, going from Archon to Legend is, like, thousands of times harder than the previous ascension. So, a Legend Artificer, as the name suggests, is, well, more or less a legend. Most Archon Artificers in Omnivell gained their rankings through crafting more basic stuff, such as Archon Bomb and Archon Grenade. When it comes to sword-making, Bastian is second to none here; the value and rarity of his most recent product might just be the envy of many. For the Kingdom, an Archon weapon could already be considered a national treasure already. As for the Empire, well, having Bastian directly serving them means less troubling vassals.”

Jack now understood why Bastian was only proficient in the art of sword crafting. It was only a small part of Artificers, but Bastian had already dedicated most of his life to it. The recent result, though, was surely satisfying for him.

“So,” Abraham suddenly had a moment of hesitation, “I was planning on holding a small celebration for the man. What do you think about it?”

Jack could see where his father was heading for. Such an event would serve as an official statement regarding the old smith’s network. The Harper, with their son being the up-and-coming celebrity’s apprentice, would regain some of their much-needed prestige. Bastian had always been a cranky, eccentric, looked-down-upon, old fool without many connections, the connections that would now have to flow through Jack and the Harper. 

As for the Hensley, they would no longer be able to keep Bastian under their monopoly contracts unless they wanted to have some serious backlashes. Bastian was now too big for them to keep under their wings.

“I’ll talk to Bastian,” Jack said, already cringing his face thinking about the persuasion.

“What can I do to help?” Abraham asked with a smile.

“A lot of first-grade alcohol,” Jack said.

Abraham and Sophie’s lips twitched. The three then laughed and enjoyed their delightful dinner.

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