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chapter 406
Sophia, Chloe, and I tried various methods to use the enhancement stones to strengthen my Harmonious Divine Sword.
We tried ways to make sure the enhancement stone wouldn’t slip off the sword, or to bind the sword and the stone together.
There was even talk of trying to cut the enhancement stone with the blade of the Harmonious Divine Sword itself, but if that failed, it would be the same as just destroying the stone, so we didn’t go that far.
“Still, it wasn’t a total loss.”
Because I had been observing the sword and the enhancement stone through meditation, I could roughly guess why the Harmonious Divine Sword wasn’t strengthening.
To put it simply, it was because the sword was already too perfect.
“The Awakener System hasn’t been able to directly affect my body for some time now.”
The system could no longer interfere with me directly. Therefore, instead of giving me abilities outright, it had to help indirectly by providing artifacts or infusing ether.
The same applied to the enhancement stones.
The Harmonious Divine Sword was a weapon custom-made by the Awakener System for me alone. Thanks to my internal energy being absorbed into it and even evolving, no enhancement stone, no matter how powerful, could influence it.
“The proof is that the enhancement stone keeps trying to interact with the sword it’s in contact with, while the sword is trying not to resist and accept the stone’s energy. The problem is my own energy flowing through the sword is pushing the stone’s energy away.”
My internal energy was Harmonious Divine Energy. Its trait was that it could absorb any kind of energy and convert it into my own, yet ironically, it couldn’t absorb the energy of the enhancement stone.
After confirming this, I put the Harmonious Divine Sword into my pocket dimension.
“Are you giving up?”
“Yeah. Even if it works, I don’t think it would properly strengthen.”
That was my answer to Sophia’s question about methods to strengthen the sword.
“Then what do you plan to enhance?”
“…Among the artifacts I have, only two are actually useful…”
The brooch that stops rain and the pocket dimension bracelet.
…Well, “useful” only from the perspective of ordinary people. The bracelet is genuinely useful to me, but the brooch isn’t particularly valuable from my standards.
“Hmm…so the sword I gave you isn’t very useful, huh?”
“……”
“……”
Chloe’s remark made me break into a cold sweat, but just like before, I convinced myself not to enhance the sword she gave me and to leave it as is.
Anyway.
“I recommend enhancing the brooch that blocks the rain,” Sophia said after doing some research.
“Really? Why? Wouldn’t enhancing the pocket dimension be better?”
“Enhancing a pocket dimension usually only increases its internal space. Your pocket dimension is already spacious, isn’t it?”
“Ah…”
So enhancing it would gain me nothing. Even now, despite casually throwing various things in, my pocket dimension wasn’t full. Plus, its internal size expands in real time…
“Still, is enhancing the brooch meaningful? It seems like it would only slightly expand the area where it prevents rain.”
“No. With weather-manipulating artifacts, a single enhancement only increases the effect area, but multiple enhancements can add new effects.”
You’re planning to receive seven more enhancement stones, right?
“So aiming for this part isn’t a bad idea.”
“Hmm…What kind of additional effect?”
“For the brooch that blocks rain… it can summon a thunderstorm with lightning. Of course, there’s no guarantee it will definitely gain this effect.”
…A thunderstorm with lightning? I think I know someone famous with a similar ability…
“You mean Thor, the God of Thunder?”
“Ah, yes. That guy. Could it be that summoning storms was the artifact’s power, not his?”
“No. He’s actually an Electrokinesis user. Summoning storms was done by a guild member under him. Besides, he’s not American, so obtaining enhanced artifacts would be difficult.”
According to this information, the artifact is held by a guild in the US. But…
“The artifact’s power itself is said to rival Thor’s attacks.”
“Hmm…”
That’s promising. Thor is considered the strongest among electricity-related Awakeners. If an artifact alone can replicate that…
“…Alright. Since we’re talking about it, let’s try enhancing it.”
Following Sophia’s advice, I applied the enhancement stone to the brooch that prevents rain.
Vwoooom…
Unlike with the sword, the enhancement stone was absorbed smoothly by the brooch.
“…Is it done?”
“Probably.”
Through meditation, I checked the state of the brooch. The energy contained within had definitely strengthened, but that was it.
If a new ability had been added, the energy inside would have changed in form or pattern, but that wasn’t the case… meaning no new ability appeared.
“Tsk… Well, Sophia said new effects appear only after multiple enhancements, right?”
“Yes. A single enhancement would only increase the effect range.”
Right, seven enhancements left. Of course, I’ll have to wait for Chairman Richard to return to the US and send the enhancement stones for that.
“Shall we head out?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
With enhancements finished, there was no reason to stay in Yeon Mirae’s office, so we went outside. And…
Kyaaaak…!
“(Haha! This reminds me of the wyvern I raised for fun before!)”
“(…Isn’t that illegal? Raising a monster from a dungeon.)”
“(It was before the law was enacted. People tried capturing monsters as pets. They failed because the monsters couldn’t suppress their aggression toward humans.)”
“(…Ah… the trend from about a hundred years ago, right?)”
We could see Chairman Richard’s group playing with Fafnir while having that conversation. All of them had lived at least a hundred years, so it was hard for me to keep up with their talk.
“Still, unlike Chairman Shin Hanji, it seems no one from the Awakener generation has lived since the first Awakeners appeared.”
Many early Awakeners died before proper systems were established. But over the decades, Awakeners who survived after overcoming the challenges often lived for 200 years or more.
“(Was there really such a trend?)”
“(Oh, Artist. Done with your business? Interested in history?)”
Curious, I joined the elders’ conversation. The part about raising companion monsters was especially interesting because it wasn’t even in history books.
“(It wouldn’t appear in textbooks, since it was mostly a trend among wealthy or high-ranking Awakeners.)”
“(Still, it led to research on monster instincts, right?)”
“(The research concluded that black mist made monsters aggressive toward humans.)”
The elders shared their knowledge and opinions based on their experiences.
“(Perhaps monsters have elements in their genes hostile toward humans.)”
“(Genes? Then familiars with the same genes should also be hostile to humans.)”
“(Familiars derive from a mage’s magic, so they don’t share the same genes.)”
“(I think it’s more about brainwashing by black mist than genetics.)”
“(Brainwashing? Some studies suggest otherwise. Human brainwashing can suppress some instincts, but not the hostility toward humans.)”
Soon, the guild corridor turned into a discussion area about why monsters are hostile to humans.
“…We’ll sit this one out.”
“Hahaha… Not interested in that topic…”
I participated because I was curious, but Sophia and Chloe stayed back, finding the topic difficult.
Beep…!
Meanwhile, Fafnir escaped the elders’ grasp and shivered in Alex’s arms, clearly terrified of the elders.
The story that I received enhancement stones in exchange for something spread quickly. For some reason, the details about the guild system I provided didn’t spread, but the info about what I received did.
“Did the Ironblood Guild spread this?”
No, it seemed to spread in both Korea and the US. Reactions were mainly of two types.
One: Giving eight enhancement stones as payment was far too generous.
Even if Chairman Richard didn’t know the value, paying eight stones was excessive. At first, I thought so too.
Two: What could be so valuable that Richard would pay eight enhancement stones for it?
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a “thing,” but people were curious because Richard’s exact gain wasn’t public. Most believed Richard to be rational.
“One of the Ironblood guild members managing my image said it’s better for Chairman Richard to hold a press conference after receiving the remaining seven stones regarding the guild system.”
I nodded, trusting them to handle it better than I could.
Soon after…
“Hello, Artist? I’ve come to deliver enhancement stones and learn swordsmanship from you.”
“…I see.”
Should I admire Richard for using a Grand Spirit as a courier, or see it as normal since he’s sending something as important as enhancement stones? Either way, I received the stones from the Grand Spirit.
