"What? What makes you think I can create a masterpiece?" Lea asked. She had already lost hope of that lately.
"I'm sure of it. You've never seen such strange and unusual objects before." Wain uttered, and the Ring of Damned glowed brightly.
A mechanical cube appeared in his left hand, as well as a blueprint, and the dark cloak that Lea had made earlier, Horrible Cape, appeared in his right.
"See the description of these items." Wain took off his dark blue cloak and handed all the items to Lea.
After a while, Lea nodded, and a fire lit in her eyes, "I don't know where you found these things, but it's amazing. Maybe today, I can actually get past my failure barrier."
"Surely you can start right now?"
"Yes, but I need some time to understand the process written in the blueprint. I'm not a tailor, but my soul fits the conditions for making a unique cape."
Wain nodded.
He and Teresa waited until Lea was ready. Teresa also wanted to see if Lea could create a masterpiece. She wished she had been there the last time it happened.
"Okay, I'm ready." Lea said after ten minutes.
"Good luck." Wain replied briefly.
The next moment Lea closed her eyes, and her aura intensified. An anthropomorphic silhouette appeared above her, and an image of gears appeared in her eyes. She abruptly picked up her hammer, and it was covered in white energy.
Then Wain and Teresa saw something amazing. Lea snapped her finger, and the energy gears in her left eye made several movements. Several white threads flew out of the silhouette above her, wrapped around the objects, and lifted them into the air.
Combining the two cloaks using Phantom Liquid was complicated and had many important points.
Lea had to get it right, and first, she had to open the mechanical cube, which had one drop of Phantom Liquid in it.
The threads headed toward the cube and penetrated it. Then many clicks were heard from the movement of the gears, and gradually the cube was opened. Inside was a white blob with a purple hue. An eerie aura emanated from it, and suddenly...
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
A loud and pitiful cry was heard as if coming from a ghost who had gone through insane agony. The sound went past their ears and straight into their hearts.
"What the hell is that...?" Teresa muttered.
"It's the price of a masterpiece, bloody, horrible, but great." Wain uttered, looking intently at Lea.
The girl was not frightened by this sound. Instead, she gripped her hammer tightly and began to strike at the Horrible Cape.
Her speed was high, and the force of her blows enormous. After Lea created several hundred items and evolved to First Chronicle, her skills increased significantly.
The cloak, which had good protection, was torn into many small pieces in just a few blows. The pieces were lifted into the air by white threads. At that moment, Lea was like a hybrid of a mystical tailor and a magical blacksmith.
Then Lea beat on Wailing Ghost for about a minute. This cloak was First Chronicle and had powerful protection compared to the previous cloak.
Lea did not tear the cloak apart, but she completely destroyed its structure. At this point, the dark blue cloak looked like a frayed piece of cloth.
Click.
Lea snapped her finger once more and the magical gears in her second eye came into motion.
Pieces of Horrible Cape headed toward Wailing Ghost, and at that moment, the cube of Phantom Liquid tilted. A white blob fell on the cape, and a dark purple flame appeared on it.
"That blob is too strange..." Teresa muttered.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
When the flames appeared, Lea began to speed up. She was hitting the cloak with the hammer with tremendous speed.
Teresa could hardly see her movements. A wave of energy emanated from each of her blows. It was a beautiful and fantastic sight.
'Something's wrong.' Wain wondered, 'She's speeding up and putting more power into her punch every second, but the flames aren't fading, and the cloaks aren't combining into one. On the contrary, the flames are getting stronger and stronger. It looks like creating this cloak for Lea will be a real challenge.'
Wain was not wrong. After a few minutes, the purple flames became big enough to reach Lea. The girl's skin began to turn red, and if this continued, she would get serious burns.
'What are those flames! Lea exclaimed to herself. She encountered materials that resisted her hammer for the first time and even tried to fight back.
'The heat from this flame is very painful, but it doesn't compare to what I feel every time I take the hammer in my hands, and my hopes are shattered into tiny shards!' Lea exclaimed and clenched her teeth in anger.
She began to strike with renewed vigor, and her aura gradually changed. The energy cogs in her eyes began to crack, and there were more of them with each beat.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
Lea's actions caused the entire workshop to shake. It was comparable to a faint earthquake. Wain and Teresa could feel the shaking under their feet and look at the dust and wall debris falling from the ceiling.
"When Lea is in this state, it seems to me that with one blow, she can kill a First Chronicle monster..." Teresa muttered.
"Yes, that's the power of people with craft souls. Their full potential is only revealed in moments like this, and it's not the limit, especially for Lea."
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Despite the increased force of the blows, the purple flames did not begin to calm down.
On the contrary, Lea's skin began to burn, and she could hardly contain herself from screaming in pain. When she was almost at her limit, the gears in her eyes collapsed.
Then her eyes glowed white like two bright lanterns, and the silhouette began to merge with her slowly. At this time, the purple flames continued to burn Lea's skin, and she continued to pound furiously on the anvil.
The workshop shook more and more with each blow, and Teresa even found it hard to stand on her feet.
She had to balance herself to keep from falling. Wain stood as if he were an unshakable pillar. In spite of what had happened, he didn't take a step back.
"Wain, we must stop her! At this rate, this flame will burn her!" Teresa shouted.
"Don't you dare, if you interfere with Lea now, you will hurt her a hundred times more than that flame. Just watch her create the best cape on this planet." Wain replied coldly.
When the situation was already critical, and Lea only had a few seconds left before the purple flames consumed her, the silhouette completely merged with her. Her eyes glowed even brighter, and white, energetic gears appeared in them.
They began to move, and then Lea's hammer glowed brightly. She raised the hammer high above her head, holding it firmly with both hands, and brought it down. Despite the pain, her actions were precise and flawless.
Tremble.
When the hammer touched the cloak, there was an energy explosion of phenomenal proportions. A massive pillar of light burst from Lea's body, piercing the heavens. All the inhabitants of Overion and nearby cities saw it.
Those far away were mesmerized by the scene, but those in the western base shuddered.
The ground within dozens of meters shook, and the workshop was destroyed. Teresa bounced aside, dodging the debris, but Wain stayed where he was. Pieces of stone shattered against his body like at steel.
As the cloud of dust settled, Wain and Teresa saw the result of Lea's final blow and dedication.
The girl lay exhausted on the floor, leaning against the anvil. It was covered with many cracks and almost shattered.
Lea's hands were red and burned in places from the purple flames. She was exhausted and could have passed out at any moment.
However, a contented smile was on her face as she held the cloak she had created with her fingertip and saw its description.
Wain walked slowly toward Lea. He leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder and said, "You did well, remember that feeling. It's the price of a masterpiece and its result."
He had not yet seen the description of the cape, but it was obvious that today Lea had created her second masterpiece, which overshadowed anything she had done before.
Wain looked intently at the cloak lying on the anvil. It was long and black, with a picture of a purple, weeping ghost on the back. The edges of the cloak, as well as the sleeves, were white as snow.
From the dark purple collar came three blue threads, like strings. They reached down to the bottom of the cloak. A powerful yet strange, empty aura emanated from it.
Wain took the cloak in his hands and immediately put it on, then read the description.
He felt cold and boundless power. This cloak was the most valuable and powerful thing he had.
The blacksmith's dedication and desire created this true masterpiece. The blacksmith was not afraid of the flames comparable to the fire of the abyss and kept moving forward like an indestructible spirit.
The aura of this cloak inspires terror in weak creatures who do not know what pain, desire, and madness are.
In addition to the blacksmith's desires, this cloak conceals a terrible ghost and the structure of the previous cloak, which was created from hundreds of ghosts that the mad tailor came after.
He hunted them down and, despite their screams, continued to work. Some of that pain and madness remained in this cloak.
This cloak is a concentration of hatred, pain, genius, rejection, madness, and hundreds of lives brought to create this cloak.
Only those whose spirit is unwavering and only those who can move forward no matter what, like the blacksmith who created this cloak, can wear it.
*All stats are increased by 70.
*Resistance against phantom attacks is increased by 30%.
*All damage from all skills and attacks increased by 10%
*Damage against ghost creatures increased by 30%
*Vulnerability to medium level illusions and hypnosis.
*Increased damage from fire and dark attacks by 15%.
*Increased damage from light attacks by 3%.
*Increased damage from attacks with soul attribute by 21%.
*Active skill "Warlike Ghost" created.
*Active skill "Souls Waterfall" created.
-Warlike Ghost.
You can activate the power of the evil spirit lurking in your cloak, and all creatures within a certain radius will want to attack you. They will go insane like berserkers, and their only goal is to tear you apart.
*Strong creatures will not be affected by this skill.
*The psyche and mental state of weak creatures can be seriously disrupted.
-Souls Waterfall.
You can temporarily release hundreds of ghosts and spirits lurking in this cloak using a large amount of energy. Like hellhounds, they will break loose from their chains and burst out of the cloak to unleash a mighty torrent upon your enemies]
"AHAHAHAHAHA, this is crazy, this cape is actually a masterpiece!" Wain exclaimed.
"What's going on here!" Suddenly Isabella walked into the room.
When the workshop collapsed, she immediately headed this way. She was worried that someone might be hurt, and her instincts didn't let her down.
"What...?"
Once inside, she saw a wounded Lea, a shocked Teresa lying on the field, and Wain laughing at the top of his voice. His laughter intensified and grew harsher as if a demon were laughing.
Isabella concentrated and, despite the strange situation, ran up to Lea.
"Oh my God..." Isabella muttered, looking at Lea.
The girl was breathing slowly, and the burns on her arms and body horrified Isabella.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
Wain kept laughing like a madman, and it drove Isabella out of her mind.
"Bastard, how can you laugh when Lea is in such a state!? Are you out of your mind!?"
Whooooooosh.
Suddenly Wain abruptly turned around and grabbed Isabella firmly by the neck. She was shocked and struggled to get out of his grip.
"Shut your mouth. Look at her face. Come on!"
Isabella did as he said, and her eyes widened in shock. Lea could hardly breathe, but she was smiling broadly, and her eyes glittered like the brightest star.
"This girl has created something incredible, putting her own strength, blood, sweat, and flesh into it, and you want me to sit around whining and feeling sorry for her? She's not a victim, she's a winner. It is a triumph, and at this time, one does not weep but solemnly rejoices!"
"You big bastard! All right, I hear you damn well! Let go of me and let me help Lea. You fucking sadist! How could you make her do that to herself?!" Isabella screamed.
Wain grinned and tossed her aside. Isabella didn't say anything, instead, she immediately used her skill and began to treat Lea. She had to hurry up.
...
At that moment, a crack appeared inside his Soul Altar, in a dark castle, on a gray platform.