Ultimate Level 1

Chapter 290

“You want to use my shop to make your own weapon? Why would I give you access to such a thing?”

“First, I would pay to make my own weapon. The materials as well as a fee to use your tools and shop. Second, I would like to learn how you craft weapons and how that is done here.”

Grinning, Max drummed his fingers on the glass counter.

“Last, if I am able to, I will teach you secrets that I know about crafting weapons.”

Romandis leaned against the counter, drawing closer to Max. His yellow eyes were locked on the smooth skin that stood in his shop.

“Tell me, am I going to suffer problems from allowing you in my shop? Your kind is known for causing chaos wherever you go.”

“I promise you,” Max said as he held out his hand, “I will do my best to ensure no harm comes to you or your shop. In fact I would hope that me being here might help you acquire a new door.”

Both bushy eyebrows raised, and the weapon crafter glanced at the glass door behind Max and Aimee.

Romandis moved to one end of the counter and pointed at a pile of leather on a glass chair.

Without waiting, Max moved, pulling his robe off.

“No shirt? Are you not… no never mind. Tell me, what kind of weapons can you make?”

“I have made many different ones from swords, to hammers, staffs, tools, and even a bow.”

“A bow? Such a thing is worthless here. One cannot find the feathers required to make fletching for arrows,” Romandis replied. “Stories of bow users are almost laughed upon. Everything here revolves around a few basic things.”

Leading Max through the shop, he pointed at the forge, which had a small set of coals barely lit.

“Fire is expensive, and coal even more so. I only smelt when it is needed. Metal is… costly. There are many different metals out there, but all the ore comes at great cost, as only those who are Stone Masters are able to harvest and find them. It creates a system where they set the price and distribute it as desired.

“From there, the last part of most weapons is the possibility of imbuing power within the weapon. Those who can do that are known as Enchanters, and only four of renown are in the city. Those who claim to be one are often charlatans, taking money and providing nothing in return. It is known that enchanting can fail and is not guaranteed, but these four have earned the reputation of not failing more than they succeed, so many are willing to entrust them the rare stones they acquire for such a thing.”

Romandis pointed at the axe head he had been working on.

“I was commissioned for something that would be able to take such an enchantment. They provided the material, and all I provide is the work. Not much can be made that way, but it does help me keep my shop running.”

Max nodded as the man continued to talk, pointing out different tables and sections.

Everything was similar in some ways, yet there were a few nuances.

“This here is a carving knife,” Romandis stated as he handed the worn tool to Max. “You must imbue it with your power as you use it to shave the wood from a stonewood branch. It takes most weapon smiths weeks to shape a single staff. The demand and drain is very intense.”

Holding the tool, Max inspected it, seeing that the blade was made of glass, yet it was clear. The handle itself was wrapped in leather, but he was certain the handle was made from the stonewood.

Closing his eyes, Max focused on the blade, trying to reach out and sense how to connect with it. He tried channeling fire, but that did nothing, and even when he used cold or lightning, they, too, seemed to reflect back from the tool.

Laughter came from Romandis, and Max opened his eyes to see the smith staring at him.

“You use magic?”

Nodding, Max saw a few worn teeth appear as the kemonomimi smiled.

“This isn’t a tool that uses magic. It uses your life.”

Tapping his chest twice, Romandis held out his hand and waited for Max to give him the tool.

After holding it, for a moment, a grunt came, and Max watched as the blade changed color, turning blue for a few seconds before losing its glow.

Romandis took a deep breath and sighed.

“Forging weapons here requires one to give their own life. Growing stronger allows you to do more. The problem comes with having to recover.”

Tapping the blade against a glass table, Romandis frowned.

“Many smiths have burned themselves out by not recovering between jobs, and ended up losing a journey that is not meant to be done in a day.”

He gave the tool back to Max and smiled.

“Try to see if you can get it to work. If you can, then you will be able to use the other tools in here. For now, let me go search through my stonewood stores. How big are you wanting this staff?”

Max grinned and held his hand about a foot above his head.

“Just a little taller than me.”

“So not very long,” Romandis joked as he turned and moved toward a doorway at the end of the wall.

As he left, Max sensed Aimee moving toward him.

“Are you certain this is wise? We could buy you a staff!”

Shaking his head, Max grinned at her.

“No. I need to make my own for now,” Max replied with a sigh. “Let’s say I take a weapon from someone else, and it fails during a fight. I could blame them, but even worse, I might die. This way, I’ll know the limits of the weapon and what it can and can’t do.”

Max leaned closer as he spun the tool in his hand.

“Besides, you don’t want to miss out if I’m able to do more.”

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Her scales shifted on the ridge of her snout.

“Do you have any other secrets you want to share with me?”

Shaking his head, he grinned.

“Nope. Just that I enjoy baking and making weapons.”

***

Max sat on the glass chair, holding a piece of stonewood in his hand and the clear knife in the other. He slowly moved it across the wood, listening to Romandis as the smith spoke in a slow and quiet tone.

“Breathe. Think about the tool as an extension of you. It obeys your desires and requires your life to work. Slide it along the wood. Imagine it taking off just a few slivers.”

Max felt the blade catch and jump as it moved down the two-foot section he held.

He could feel the tool in his hand, knew what he wanted, but there was some disconnect between it and him.

Over and over he scraped, listening to the sound, wanting it to change.

“Slow… breathe slower. Feel the tool. It is part of your hand.”

Romandis paused for a moment as Max continued to scrape the glass against the wood.

“Remember what you said about when you crafted a weapon. You felt like it was a part of you. The way it infused you and you felt connected with each strike of the hammer. This is the same. It is a part of you.”

Those images played over and over in his head. Max knew he was smiling, thinking about each weapon he had crafted. The hammer he had made for the young boy, Brian. Those green eyes and red hair and the smile he had when Max handed that tool to him.

A tug came inside his chest.

Like a thread somehow appearing, Max searched for it, not trying to grab and tear it, knowing from casting and crafting how delicate this could sometimes be.

Somehow Romandis seemed to notice the change.

“Yes… feel that connection. Let it grow…”

Max took another breath in slowly, holding it, filling his lungs, and the sensation of that thread seemed to become stronger. It crept along his chest, moving toward his shoulder and down his arm.

Right before it reached his hand, Max started to breathe faster, and his heart started to race. As he did the thread began to retract, moving back toward his chest.

“Slow down! Breathe slow. Relax! Do not force it!”

The smith’s words made him pause, slowing down his breath again and controlling his excited heart. It took about fifteen seconds to stop the retreating thread completely, and finally it began to once more move toward his hand.

As it reached his wrist, Max forced himself to stay calm and remembered that connection to everything he had ever made.

Two more breaths, and the thread entered his hand, wrapping around the hilt. It felt like someone had just kicked him in the chest.

Immediately, the thread expanded, and power flowed from him into the tool.

[ Weapon Crafting Has Evolved ]

[ New Knowledge Gained ]

[ New Weapon Blueprints Acquired ]

Pain came as his mind felt the flooding of information enter his head.

It took a moment to stop seeing stars, even with his eyes closed and the sound of Romandis finally reached him.

“Stop! Stop cutting!”

Max opened his eyes, looking down at the piece of wood he had been holding, dragging the blade across.

The knife glowed like a torch, casting a blue glow much brighter than what it had looked like when Romandis had held it and demonstrated.

Four sections of wood had fallen to the floor, and the blade was almost to where his fingers were, holding the wood.

“Who are you?” the smith asked, his shock not hidden by his tone. “How… how can you have this much power?”

Having not answered, Max stared at the tool, holding it upward and felt his life flowing into it. The pain was gone, and he knew there was so much more he could give, yet Max decided to check just in case.

[ Simple Health Check ]

*****

HP: 16,583/16,700

*****

Max was amazed at how fast he was burning his hit points, yet he knew if he needed to, using regeneration would bring them all back.

I could technically keep this going forever with regeneration…

“You need to lower that amount before you drop dead!” Romandis exclaimed. “Breathe, keep an eye on the blade, and try to reduce how much it pulls from you!”

Nodding, Max began taking deep, slow breaths and let them out, focusing on lessening the life he felt coming from his chest.

Seconds ticked by, and finally the connection began to wane some, the thread shrinking in size and the light of the tool going dim.

Eventually it appeared just as dull as it had when Romandis held it.

Max couldn’t even feel a trickle of life that left him, the amount so little it barely impacted him.

“Now, will it to stop. Cut the connection, and do not just drop the tool, or you won’t like what happens.”

Three breaths later, the blade was clear once more, the connection gone, yet the thread remained near his hand, ready to be used if he needed.

Testing that theory, Max let his life flow into it again, watching the blade glow blue.

After a few more attempts practicing the starting and stopping of the blade being infused with his life, Max cut the flow and set the tool on the table near him.

Romandis was shaking his head, muttering something in a language he couldn’t understand while scratching the fur on his head.

“So, can I make my own weapon now?”

Grunting, a toothy grin came over the smith’s face as he nodded.

“If you’re not careful, I’ll make you do all my work. With the power you have you could finish a month’s worth of orders in a few days!”

Laughing, Max smiled and bent down, picking up the pieces he had cut off the wood he still held.

Each section was sharp, almost like a spear tip.

Gently, he tested hitting it against the table a few times, applying more pressure until Romandis cried out.

“Please don’t break that!”

Max winced as he saw the table had a slight crack in it now.

“I guess I’ll owe you a new one. Sorry about that.”

Turning to look at Aimee, he saw her staring at him, her jaw unhinged.

“Every day you amaze me, Max,” she muttered.

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