"Level 193: Replicating Artifacts" Drake stood at his workshop door, enthusiastically waving farewell to Finn as he departed. Drake had shar
"Level 193: Replicating Artifacts"
Drake stood at his workshop door, enthusiastically waving farewell to Finn as he departed.
Drake had shared the details of the fifty-ninth floor, including the Fallen Sprite fragment and his own gathered intelligence, with Finn.
Naturally, Drake had also received what he desired in return.
The Loki Familia was said to possess the largest library in all of Orario, containing a wealth of information on sacred words.
Finn readily accepted Drake's terms for borrowing the materials; as long as he didn't have to pay in valis, any terms were negotiable.
After multiple extortions by Hephaestus, coupled with the need to prepare for their next expedition, the Loki Familia was completely tapped out.
Loki was reportedly agonizing over how to repay the debts from their last expedition, while Bete, the one responsible for the debt, was working himself to the bone in the Dungeon, earning valis to repay it.
From Finn on down, every single member of the Loki Familia's executive team was struggling financially.
Drake only intended to borrow a few books, so Finn had no reason to refuse. Besides, they were just ordinary research materials, not the kind of precious grimoires that lose their power after a single reading.
With Finn gone, Drake could finally begin researching his newly acquired [Mystery] ability.
Drake finally understood what Hephaestus had meant when she'd said that the sacred words inscribed by gods and those who possessed [Mystery] were different from those written by ordinary individuals.
Gazing at the sacred words etched into the metal plate before him, Drake could clearly sense that they were more than just words; a palpable energy flowed through them.
As for what imbued the words with this energy, Drake had no clue.
However, after conducting several experiments, Drake managed to grasp the effects of [Mystery].
According to the research materials, [Mystery] allowed adventurers to trigger eighteen divine miracles, including the resurrection of the dead; it was undoubtedly a "divine technique."
Of course, with Drake's current Level I [Mystery], triggering such divine miracles was completely impossible.
To Drake's knowledge, only the 〈Sage〉 Fels had achieved such a feat, creating the Philosopher's Stone, capable of granting immortality.
For Drake, the most immediate goal was to upgrade his [Mystery] skill. Even if he couldn't master resurrection, he wanted to at least acquire the ability to preserve souls.
Generally speaking, lower-level [Mystery] needed to be used in conjunction with other abilities.
The Philosopher's Stone and grimoires that Fels had created, using [Mystery] and [Magic Enhancement], served as prime examples.
The Hermes Familia's All-rounder, Asfi Al Andromeda, had also combined [Mystery] with [Alchemy] and [Goldsmithing], creating various items and tools, including high-explosive gunpowder, flying shoes, and a Hades helmet.
For Drake, the most logical application of [Mystery] was in his forging.
Forging combined with divine miracles; the first thing that came to Drake's mind was the mythical artifacts of legend. Therefore, Drake's next goal was to replicate those artifacts using his newfound ability.
"Fal, I'll need your help again!"
Fal emerged from Drake's grimoire, settling down in its usual spot within the workshop and chirping at Drake.
Drake selected a suitable forging hammer and gathered the necessary materials, beginning his replication of the legendary artifacts.
The rhythmic clang of the hammer echoed through Drake's workshop.
Several days flew by. Drake's creations from those days were now displayed on his workbench.
They were a spear with a curved shaft and a short-handled hammer.
Through practical application, Drake had come to understand the limits of his abilities.
Drake's original plan had been to use sacred words to imbue the equipment with extraordinary powers, but in practice, he discovered that he was simply incapable of depicting sacred words with overly exaggerated abilities.
Furthermore, there was a limit to the amount of sacred words that any given piece of equipment could hold, and this limit varied depending on the materials used and Drake's own level of skill in forging.
After several failed attempts, Drake had ultimately managed to create only two items, vastly simplified versions of their originals.
Replicas of the legendary artifacts Gungnir and Mjolnir.
Gungnir, also known as the Spear of Destiny, was the weapon of Odin, the Allfather, in Norse mythology. Legend claimed that Odin had crafted it from a branch of the World Tree, its spearhead adorned with runes.
Its ability was to always hit and pierce its target, a powerful weapon based on causality.
Additionally, this artifact possessed the ability to fulfill any vow made to it, explaining the origin of the tradition of wishing upon shooting stars.
Mjolnir, the Thunder God's hammer, also from Norse mythology, was the weapon of Thor, the god of thunder. It possessed the power to shatter mountains and the ability to automatically return to its wielder's hand.
Drake's replicas, of course, did not possess the power of their originals.
Both items were crafted from Orichalcum, also known as the rare metal Orichalcum, and were both Level 1 equipment with the Unbreakable attribute.
Perhaps due to Drake's relatively low skill level, he could only imbue each piece of equipment with a single, specific effect.
Gungnir's replica, the Sure-Hit Spear, as its name suggested, possessed the ability to always hit its target.
Drake's skill level was insufficient to use a causality-based effect like "sure hit," so he had cleverly used the "lock-on" sacred word to achieve the effect of the spear relentlessly pursuing its target until it struck.
Originally, Drake had intended to add the abilities of "piercing" and "automatic return," but unfortunately, he was unable to do so at this time.
Mjolnir's replica, naturally, did not possess the original's ability to pulverize anything in its path, nor its ability to resurrect the dead; it only retained the ability to return to its wielder after being thrown.
Therefore, Drake named it the Returning Hammer.
Calling this replication a success felt somewhat inadequate, yet calling it a failure didn't quite capture the progress he'd made.
For a moment, Drake wasn't sure whether he should be happy or not. Just then, he heard a voice from outside his workshop.
"Drake, I've come… Ouch!"
Drake smirked. Aside from using some of the Orichalcum he'd recently purchased to create the replicas, he'd also upgraded his workshop door.
An Unbreakable door! He wondered if whoever was outside was prepared for that! And, of course, this upgrade was specifically for the individual currently outside.
Drake walked to the door and opened it, silently observing Tsubaki, who was clutching his toe.
Tsubaki looked up at Drake. "When did you make your door out of Orichalcum? That's incredibly wasteful!"
Drake shrugged. "It wouldn't be wasteful if a certain someone learned to knock properly!"
Tsubaki grumbled under his breath, then followed Drake into the workshop. "I heard you've been holed up in your workshop ever since you leveled up. Did you get some kind of interesting new ability?"
Tsubaki then spotted the Sure-Hit Spear and the Returning Hammer sitting on the workbench.
"So, these are the results of your recent seclusion? They look pretty impressive."
Drake frowned. "Unfortunately, they didn't quite turn out as I'd hoped."
Tsubaki picked up the Sure-Hit Spear and hefted it in his hand. "You won't really know how good a weapon is until you've tested it out. How about we go down to the Dungeon and give them a try?"
Drake glanced at Tsubaki, almost forgetting that this guy had leveled up to Level 5 by simply testing out weapons; such a suggestion wasn't entirely unexpected.
However, Drake had to admit that the idea was tempting. He was also eager to see how the equipment he'd forged using his [Mystery] ability would perform in an actual battle.
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