I'll just assume we have reached another Powerstone goal for extra chapter. You guys are eating my backlogs so fast guys. What a happy occasion, gib me more!
Enjoy the chapter my guys and gals!
Mithril. A rare and precious metal staple to many fantasy worlds. It was described as silvery in appearance but much stronger and lighter than steel.
But in Ortus, Mithril was categorized as good metal at best. Still stronger than any mundane ingots but far weaker compared to the true powerhouse in the metal world.
Throughout Ortus, a lot of places had a high mana concentration. Most of it was only normal attribute mana. When a metal deposit was found in that kind of place, most of the time it would hold healthy chunks of Mithril deposit.
True to Ortus' law of the world, even though Mithril was quite a good conductor for Mana, in the end it was only good when it came to attributeless Mana. It would only be good for people who rely on pure Mana.
But most combatants in Ortus would gain attribute Mana when they became strong enough. Once they reached that level, they would start to seek weapons crafted with metal in tune with their Mana. That led to Mithril being left behind by the strong and only used by the strong or those who were strong enough but haven't unlocked their affinity yet.
When combined, it became metal that had great stock around the continent but with less seeker. Reducing its price and rarity.
Kurobe looked at Ludwig with unfiltered curiosity the moment he finished explaining that to the Kijin. "That makes sense… whatever what you called Mana is, it's the same as magicules. But magicules can't have attributes. It shaped itself to become an attribute."
Just like the Kijin, Rimuru was paying attention to his explanation. But while Kurobe was focusing on the matter regarding smithing, something else caught Rimuru's fancy. "If you don't mind me asking, Lud. You said yourself that your attribute is as rare as it could be. So Metals that resonated with it should be as rare, right? What kind of weapons do you use now? And what about at the beginning of your journey?"
The corner of Ludwig's mouth twirled upwards. Sharp. Probably the question from the Great Sage.
But then a sigh escaped his mouth. If he could, he didn't want to explain it. No, not because it was a great secret he didn't want the world to know, nor because it was key to his ability. It was simply because the young him was simply ignorant and dumb.
But, without explaining it outright would make the matter even more blurry. And he didn't want to think what kind of teasing he would get if he ended up opening it nonetheless.
"That mana resonant thingy, I didn't know until 1 year after I became an adventurer." Ludwig started, voice weak. "My first weapon is this…"
With a wave of his hands, a steel longsword appeared in his hand. It was as plain as it could be. A blade, long enough and sharp enough to cut anything mundane, a guard, and a hilt.
"Made of steel. Reliable enough to kill low-level monsters like Goblin, Gnolls, and some wild animals."
Ludwig swung it once, twice. His eyes turned soft and fogged by nostalgia. It was as light as a feather now. In his current hands, he was confident to be able to take out most of the enemy on his way.
But back then… To the little Ludwig fresh out of the orphanage, it was more of a burden than a weapon. Swinging it once made him feel the weight of the world. Fighting with it felt like jumping head-first into a cataclysm.
He simply had no option back then. Tailor-made weapons were out of his reach, lighter metal demanded more of his almost non-existent money. Even training with it to strengthen his body was not an option. He didn't have spare money to sit idle for months.
But that leap of faith full of uncertainty and fear was what made him like now.
"Controlling my Space and Time attribute mana with this weapon is hard. No, it's almost impossible. Because of that, I accidentally learned how to cast a spell like a Mage, handless and without medium."
Rimuru looked at him, his brows went upwards. He could even feel Kushina and Claire, who were busy helping Claire tearing chunks of Hedwig's food into smaller pieces, stopped. Ears perking to the conversation.
"That thing you do in the kitchen so casually is not something everyone in your world could do?" Rimuru voiced his question.
Ludwig shook his head and chuckled. "Only mages who had natural affinity to Mana and people who have a good enough level of Mana Manipulation could do that. Most melee combatants shouldn't be able to do it."
"Wait wait wait." Rimuru interjected. "What kind of skill does a melee-combatant have then?"
Ludwig angled his head slightly upwards and crossed his arms. "Let's use an example of a swordsman with a normal affinity. Let's say they can use fire attribute mana. The most basic thing they could do is infusing the power of heat into their sword, inflicting burning damage onto their enemy.
"And the most devastating thing they could do? It depends on their imagination and control. The Hero of Ortus is blessed with so many affinities. Fire is one of them. His fire, it's white. A swing of his sword could turn the whole desert into a glass field."
The dimension became quiet except for the hum of the mana. A justified reaction. Even combatants from Ortus would freeze and tremble when they first saw that skill of his.
"He's the only one alrig—" Ludwig stopped talking before he finished the sentence. A certain archmage's face came to his mind. "Well, there's two in Eldara who were blessed with so much affinity. They are outliers. Most people will consider themselves lucky to have two affinities."
Ludwig displaced the steel sword in his hand, storing it into a place only he knew. Right after, another sword appeared on his hand. This time, it was sleeker than the last. The hilt was wrapped by an easy to grip leather. A warthog leather if he remembered correctly.
"This one is my second weapon. Bought it from a peddler from Shenzora. Mainly steel, but there's a mix of Mithril too inside. By the time I have this weapon, I already knew I learned the wrong way. But time and space metal is so rare in Ortus even the big empires are fighting for them. So I have to make do."
Ludwig also gave it a swing. But this time, it packed more power and accuracy.
This Katana was a weapon that helped him consolidate his fighting style. Freezing time here and there, and stabbing his opponent. Attacking through the folding space after blinking away. Or attacking twice in one motion, something he always finds so efficient.
With a will, the sword was gone. Replacing it was a white Katana that looked hazy rather than solid.
To be honest, he used many more weapons after the first Katana. However, most of them were made with Mithril and ingots with properties different from his affinity. So in the end, it was just another tool for stabbing, well to be exact, a tool for stabbing with some added properties.
Poison, corrosion, illusion, curse, you named it. He had all of them somewhere in the Storage Dimension. Going through them one by one would only make the explanation longer unnecessarily. He was sure Kurobe would ask about all the metals he had and their properties later.
"This one…" Ludwig's tone was tinted with pride as he looked at a Katana with a glassy blade and white handle with purple ornaments. "This is a weapon I rely on so much for the past 10 years. Forged with a mixture of Chronosteel and Voidite. Nothing else."
Ludwig let his mana out, the resonance happened immediately. The blade of the sword snapped into solid state, as if it had finally decided to anchor itself into this space and the present.
He felt all the heads around him snapping towards him. Then, he felt a ripple. Turning his head to the side, he saw Cless was looking at him. Her hands stopped moving from feeding the little fox. Even the fox was looking at him.
Well to be honest, Ludwig knew they were not looking at him but at the sword.
"Lud…" She whispered.
Ludwig flashed a knowing smile when he looked at the confusion on the little girl's face. She was someone who could look at the present. And this sword of his…
"Did you see it in another place, Cless?"
Cless lifted her sight to Ludwig, eyes wide open as if asking him about how he knew. But then, she nodded.
Ludwig smiled at her before looking at the others. "This sword is special. One of a kind in Ortus. From studying the sword after it's crafted and its materials. We came to a conclusion.
"Voidite anchors to all possible spaces. Chronosteel anchors to all possible time.
When forged together, the sword doesn't stay a single object, it resonates with every version of itself across timelines.
"What you see here… is just a manifestation of something that exists everywhere."
Everyone snapped shut. Their expressions spoke louder than their words. Except for Kushina. She was just tilting her head to the side, probably in the dark about the meaning of his revelation.
But that's fine. Not everyone should be a thinker. She's fine as she is. Moreover, even when she's like that, she's already strong.
"Now, enough talking about me and my sword." Ludwig said, tone light and shiny. "Kurobe, do you still want the Mithril or you want to look around first?"
Kurobe snapped back to reality, but from his eyes it was obvious he's still shaking. "I-I will look around first. But… Can I ask you some favour?"
"Anything. Except for maybe destroying the world." Ludwig chuckled which was followed by others.
"C-can I see the metal that made your sword? A-and, can you introduce the smith to me?" Kurobe asked.
Ludwig thought about the question. If he simply wanted to look at the Voidite and the Chronosteel, it's not a hard thing to do. He still stored a little bit of them in this dimension.
But introducing his smith friend to him?
It's not impossible. That half minotaur friend of his would surely welcome the opportunity. But he had another idea. An idea he had nurtured for so long. Moreover, a better one if he had to say it himself.
"Say Rimuru…" Ludwig looked at the slime. "Can you house around 2000 demonkin in Tempest? I guarantee they will not create a ruckus. They are hard workers too."
The room stilled once again. Rimuru on the other hand looked at him as if he had grown another set of heads.
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Just to let you know, Pokemon World is finally joining in the latest chapter of the Highest Tier.
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