Basically, being able to manifest the most representative crystallized legend of a Heroic Spirit was like reading the answer before guessing the riddle.
Shane calmed his mind and tried to guide and manifest this Heroic Spirit's Noble Phantasm, just as he had with Arash's crimson longbow.
However, something completely different from last time happened.
No specific weapon appeared.
Instead, there was a wondrous sensation. He felt himself connecting to a "concept."
It wasn't a fixed form, but a prototype of... an "Arsenal"?
Subconsciously, he thought of a "sword."
In the next second, his palm felt heavy. An ancient longsword was already in his grasp.
The blade was slender, less than two feet long. It felt heavy and cold to the touch. Without needing to observe, the sword's data naturally surfaced in Shane's mind.
Sword length 55.7 cm... hilt length 8.4 cm... blade width 4.6 cm...
Material: mainly bronze and tin, with trace amounts of lead and iron...
This familiar feeling was like the sword was actively introducing itself to him.
Shane couldn't help but lift the sword to examine it closely.
The pommel was exquisitely cast in concentric circles, with fine, regular rings visible inside.
The blade was covered in an intersecting pattern of black diamond-shaped dark grids, mysterious and orderly. At the guard, blue glaze was embedded on the front, and green turquoise on the back. The hilt was tightly wrapped with dense silk cord for easy gripping.
A familiar sense of historical weight rushed toward him.
Shane blinked. "This shape, this craftsmanship... Good lord, the Sword of Goujian?"
He didn't know how many times he had seen it in museums and books in his past life; he couldn't be mistaken.
But, although this sword was gorgeous and exquisite, Shane couldn't feel any power fluctuations that a Noble Phantasm should have.
It was as if it were just an exceptionally well-forged mortal sword.
With the reputation of the Sword of Goujian, if it were genuine, it would absolutely qualify to be sublimated into a Noble Phantasm. It couldn't possibly be this ordinary. So, this could only be a fake.
Moreover, Goujian and that sea of raging fire didn't seem to have anything to do with each other no matter how he looked at it.
"Alright, at least I ruled out one wrong option." Shane comforted himself expressionlessly.
Although he knew it was a fake, this lifelike reproduction still made him fond of it. He couldn't help but play with it repeatedly, fulfilling the regret of not being able to touch it with his own hands in his past life.
"Huh."
Just as he was waving it casually, he suddenly noticed something strange.
The texture of the sword in his hand seemed to be undergoing subtle changes according to his will.
With a thought, he plucked a hair and blew it gently against the edge of the blade.
The hair broke silently into two pieces.
"Interesting!" He was instantly intrigued. He concentrated, wanting to see how far this sword could be strengthened.
As his will condensed, the internal structure of the sword reorganized rapidly and arranged itself tightly. In just a few seconds, a faint magical glow flowed along the edge.
He gently brought the sword close to the corner of the wooden table. Before it even touched, a corner of the wood slid off silently, the cross-section smooth as a mirror.
"Sword aura? No, Magic Power burst?" Shane was genuinely surprised now.
This intensity... aside from lacking the specific abilities of a Noble Phantasm, in terms of sharpness and hardness alone, it was infinitely close to the material of a real Noble Phantasm!
Of course, this enhancement came at a cost. Shane could feel his stamina and Magic Power continuously draining to maintain the sword in this state beyond mortal iron.
"But the pressure isn't great." He sensed it briefly and found that with the warm flow in his body, maintaining this output for a whole day wouldn't be a big problem.
"If that's the case..."
Shane closed his eyes thoughtfully. In the next moment, a look of excitement flashed in his eyes, like discovering a new continent.
Immediately after, he clenched his left hand in empty air, and another identical Sword of Goujian appeared abruptly!
"I understand," Shane suddenly realized. "Saber's Noble Phantasm isn't any specific sword, but the authority to open that Arsenal!"
He manifested the Sword of Goujian earlier simply because he had the deepest impression of and was most familiar with this sword.
Having figured out the key, Shane was like a child with a new toy and began to experiment to his heart's content.
Long sabers, lances, halberds, hard bows, soft whips... all kinds of weapons, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, were taken out by him one by one from that invisible treasury, strengthened, and tested.
What surprised him even more was that no matter what weapon it was, the moment it was in his hand, there was a natural sense of familiarity. Although not as profound as when he mastered Arash's longbow, it was far beyond the unfamiliarity of first contact, as if he had practiced with them thousands of times.
It could be said that the application scenarios of this Noble Phantasm were extremely wide, the potential huge, and there was deep room for development.
Although he still couldn't think of which Heroic Spirit this type of Noble Phantasm was related to, Shane was very satisfied.
He couldn't help immersing himself in this wonderful feeling of controlling thousands of weapons until late at night. Only when his physical and mental strength were mostly consumed did he lie back on the bed, still wanting more.
That night, the Heroic Spirit Dream did not appear.
Perhaps because he hadn't slept properly in a bed since traveling here, Shane slept exceptionally well. It wasn't until noon the next day, when the sun shone through the window and made the quilt hot, that he woke up slowly.
Without the harsh whistle of the Tower of Heaven urging him, Shane got up and washed leisurely. Just as he was wiping his face, there was a sudden banging on the door.
He opened the door and saw Erza standing there.
Not having seen her for a night, she had changed into a simple, clean dress. The hem swayed gently with her somewhat anxious pacing, adding a bit more girlish softness than usual.
Shane, well-versed in social interactions, gave a thumbs up and praised sincerely, "It suits you, Erza. You look great."
Erza was stunned at first, her cheeks flushing imperceptibly, then her brows knitted together again, and she said grumpily:
"You're finally awake! I've been here four times. The doorknob was pulled off."
Shane looked down at the piece of wood in her hand, then at the bare keyhole on the door, and couldn't help smiling.
Not lamenting the girl's great strength, but rather that she pulled the doorknob off yet didn't just break the door down to come in.
He didn't know if this counted as following the rules or not...
"Looking for me?" he asked.
"Didn't we agree to go to Fairy Tail together?" Erza frowned even tighter. "I'm ready, just waiting for you."
"..." Shane scratched his head. He was so focused on testing Saber's abilities last night that he completely forgot about this. "I did say that, but... I want to stay here for two more days."
"?" Erza glared, clearly dissatisfied with his delay.
She felt that Shane's current loose, unhurried appearance was completely different from when he was in the Tower of Heaven.
"Since it's a decided matter, it should be completed as soon as possible, no dragging!" She said, reaching out to grab Shane's arm, intending to drag him away by force.
Still impatient...
Shane sidestepped helplessly, knowing she had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained, "Don't rush, Erza. There's something more important than traveling."
He paused, looking at the girl's confused eyes. "Remember the power you exploded with at the end in the Tower of Heaven? I suspect you might be the kind of genius who can self-awaken magic."
"Self-awaken... magic... genius?" Erza was stunned.
This concept was really a bit distant for her, who was a slave just a day ago.
"Exactly." Shane nodded affirmatively. "Instead of rushing to hit the road, we might as well use this time to try and develop the magic that belongs to you. That way, the journey will be safer, and you can become stronger faster."
"Besides," he pointed downstairs, "Grandpa Rob used to be a Mage too, with rich experience.
"Now that we have time, with his help, the efficiency will definitely be amazing. Staying a few more days also allows us to spend more time with him and Millianna. Isn't that great?"
Not just developing Erza's magic; Shane had his own plans too. He wanted to use this stay to see if he could grind out the [Trial: Initiation].
The most difficult part, making a close friend, was already completed. Only the two items of stable and high-quality food and shelter were missing, so naturally, he had to try.