Note (3)
Note (3)
I wiggled the fingers of both hands.
- Sliiiide...
The Sky Wing Feather twined around my wiggling fingers. A translucent, pure white cloth. Not the intact whole, but a piece that had torn away in one large chunk.
'The special product should use this as its base.'
The Sky Wing Feather.
At the time I acquired it, its grade was mid-high. Its functions were shape-shifting, auto-repair, and remote manipulation. Plus defense power based on mana purity.
And now? Its grade easily rivals the highest grade.
Before mana purity even enters the equation, it gorged itself freely on my mana, which had become akin to purity itself, and its caliber soared in leaps and bounds.
It grew by consuming pure mana, and naturally, it was influenced by it. Now the Sky Wing Feather itself carries properties similar to purity.
In other words, this Sky Wing Feather is likewise a supreme-grade material.
'Ordinarily, artifacts are difficult to use as materials...'
An artifact is a substance coalesced by an Innate Talent. Using one as a material is exceedingly difficult.
What about fragments of an artifact, then?
There are cases where an artifact is damaged and fragments fall off, but a fragment that has separated from an Innate Talent is nothing more than scraps.
'I'm not planning to preserve the Innate Talent.'
I might be able to, but I have no intention of deliberately keeping it. I gripped the chunk of wing feather with both hands and kneaded it like clay.
'Use the wing feather's Innate Talent as material. Incorporate only shape-shifting and repair into the armament as semi-permanent functions.'
Nonsense. Anyone with deep aspirations in crafting would give you that answer.
Preposterous talk. Far-fetched nonsense. Utterly absurd.
'I can do it.'
My Mana Affinity isn't a power for making the possible easy; it's a power for making the impossible possible.
All-Rounder is the same.
A power that accelerates growth no matter what field I challenge. All the insights and knowledge I've learned and broadened lent their strength to make the impossible possible.
'Besides, the material is excellent, isn't it?'
The nature of my pure white mana, if one must define it, is purity (純粹).
A color that can blend with any color and harmonize with whatever it mixes with.
The mana of purity can transform into all sorts of properties.
That's one of the reasons the outrageous expansion ability Homogenization is possible.
During the Birth Festival's Opening Ceremony. The Headmaster extracted a large quantity of my mana and absorbed it into the Tower of Growth.
At the time, I didn't know it was perjury, but I realized it while observing the 5th Iteration being summoned during the Tower Entry.
'The 5th Iteration was summoned using my mana as material.'
The fact that it was Lee Ha-yul's mana surely mattered, but pure mana in itself is a supreme material.
'The 10th Iteration was summoned, too, using blood that contained my mana.'
On top of being Lee Ha-yul's blood, the blood infused with my mana was also an excellent material, and together with the artifact's power, the 10th Iteration was summoned.
The wing feather, now roughly kneaded and rounded. No, at this point it was practically dough. I gently pushed mana into the dough.
- Wooooong!
The dough, gulping down the mana, emitted a resonant hum.
I kneaded the pure white, glowing dough with both hands, while inside I directly manipulated the mana to control the dough.
'It wasn't even impossible to begin with.'
The Beacon Fire Sword. It lacks a shape-shifting function, but the mere fact that an armament crafted by following a production method rivals a high-grade artifact is absurd.
But the Beacon Fire Sword exists, and I've even directly observed and felt several Beacon Fire Swords firsthand.
Ancestor Hong Yeon's Beacon Fire Sword, enshrined in the Calamity Flame main house.
The Beacon Fire Sword of Hong Seong-jin, the 14th head of Calamity Flame and Hong Yeon-hwa's grandfather.
The Beacon Fire Sword of Hong Jin-seon, the 15th head of Calamity Flame and Hong Yeon-hwa's birth father.
I've already observed and even touched them three times. From the Ancestor's Beacon Fire Sword, I even received a full blueprint.
'Keep what's worth referencing, discard the rest.'
The part worth referencing is the resonance with the unique ability. Insert Taesan into Calamity Flame's place, then tailor the functions around Taesan.
'Homogenization: Taesan.'
Thud! The Innate Talent within my heart expanded significantly. It changed by meticulously imitating the minutely recorded Innate Talent from the foundation up.
An Innate Talent that governs earth and life-and-death.
The change manifested immediately.
Dominance coiled around me as if I were united with the earth. My physical ability rose wherever I made contact with the ground. My perception of the vitality energy around me soared.
The mana of purity, once brought into that Innate Talent's sphere of influence, was substituted with earth energy.
"Even though you're right in front of me, I couldn't sense any precursor. Right now, you're unmistakably a Manifestor of Taesan, but..."
"......."
The imitation was complete.
Not my own complete Innate Talent, but an Innate Talent that undeniably belongs to Taesan. Before embedding it into the dough, I brought out a different Authority first.
'Authority manifestation: "Knowledge."'
Fwip! A thick tome I'd stored in my mind unfurled in midair. It was a book containing the "blueprint" I'd devised beforehand.
"Ah, that thing showed up again."
The book that fluttered like a butterfly descended upon the dough, then divided into countless lines and characters and melted into it.
- Grrrgle!
The dough churned. It was changing form according to the blueprint it had received.
Guiding that change appropriately with both hands and mana, I slowly trickled the Innate Talent of Taesan into it.
The color of the dough, now swelling unevenly, gradually shifted. An earthen hue, at once light and dark like a clump of soil.
I pulled materials with excellent compatibility with Lee Ji-yeon and her blood from subspace, mixing them into the dough to dissolve one after another.
A variable not anticipated at the blueprint stage. I observed it before a problem could arise.
I honed dozens of divided tips of the Sky Wing Feather to razor sharpness and coated them with mana. I corrected the variable correctly on the spot.
"... Ji-yeon unni, do people normally make armaments in that manner?"
"... The way I know it, definitely not..."
Work that would ordinarily easily take months proceeded in a single moment.
As the work flew by as if time were compressed, the onlookers' faces grew increasingly baffled.
[It's done.]
"Already...?"
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been vacantly watching my work, suddenly flinched. She blinked her eyes, then checked the time on her smartwatch.
"It's been thirty minutes at most..."
[This is just the foundational work. I also intentionally made it quickly, and the rest is for Senior Lee Ji-yeon to imprint slowly.]
When I shook my head and held out the dough, Lee Ji-yeon's expression turned peculiar.
"... This is an armament?"
Earth-colored dough. It looked almost like a slime.
[Yes.]
[Hold it in your hand and channel mana into it, please.]
Lee Ji-yeon, having cautiously accepted the dough, raised her mana. The earth energy that surged from her hand wriggled its way into the dough.
Wooooong! The dough emitted a vibration.
Lee Ji-yeon's eyes rounded. She was probably sensing the faint connection being established with the dough.
[Imprinting it like that is all you need. You should be able to manipulate it with mana now. Put in mana and imagine the form you want.]
"The form I want."
Lee Ji-yeon, still kneading the dough, tightened her grip. The moment her fingers pressed into the dough, it elongated lengthwise.
"Oh."
A large blade attached to the end of a long haft. The shape of the axe Lee Ji-yeon habitually favored.
"The shape-shift is incredibly fast. Using it mid-combat won't be a problem."
[Give it a try.]
[We're in the training hall, so it doesn't matter if the surroundings get damaged.]
At my words, Lee Ji-yeon stood up as if mesmerized. After putting some distance between us, she gripped the haft tightly and pushed in mana.
Whoosh! In an instant, green aura wreathed the axe, and Lee Ji-yeon's eyes went wide.
"This is..."
[Hehe.]
[It's incredibly easy to produce, and it's solid, right?]
[It's because it's tailored to Senior Lee Ji-yeon's mana.]
At the additional explanation, Lee Ji-yeon absently caressed the haft. It wasn't an air of admiration at my explanation. It was the air of sensing a different question, a different sensation.
- Krroom!
A pile of rock shot up, piercing the floor near Lee Ji-yeon.
Crash! The rock transformed into dozens of branching spikes, stabbing in all directions. It didn't stop there. The spikes successively changed direction and continued to lance at the surroundings.
"... Control is so much easier."
At the freely moving rock, Lee Ji-yeon opened her mouth vacantly.
[That's the function it has. It'll assist with Life Force Manipulation and undead control, too.]
I wasn't surprised. It's an auxiliary function for Taesan. It's an intended function, and it was realized as intended.
[It can also serve as a mana reservoir.]
Lee Ji-yeon blinked her eyes, then pushed mana into the axe. Her mana seeped into the axe endlessly.
That's both one of the Beacon Fire Sword's functions and a function of the purification spear. I referenced the spear's storage and release functions.
[For reference, it can hold vitality energy, too. You can draw on it whenever you need it.]
"... What in the world."
At my continuing explanation, Lee Ji-yeon's expression grew flustered.
Then, as if she couldn't believe it, she successively confirmed the armament's functions.
The range and speed of shape-shifting, the strength of the armament itself, the capacity for mana and vitality energy. The auxiliary functions for Taesan...
The more she confirmed each function, the more shock filled Lee Ji-yeon's face, and my shoulders naturally shrugged in pride.
"I-It's absurd. You really made it..."
[?]
[Pardon?]
But then I heard something I couldn't just let slide. Having been reining in my twitching lips, I whipped my head around.
[Senior?]
[When I said I could make it, you said you believed me.]
"Ah."
Lee Ji-yeon, who had been frantically checking the armament's performance, flinched her shoulders. That was not the reaction of someone who had believed at all.
At that reaction, my cheeks puffed up on their own.
[......]
"Ah, ahaha... Well..."
Lee Ji-yeon let out an awkward laugh and released the strength in her hand.
Sliiiide... The axe form crumbled, shifting into a thin sash that wrapped around Lee Ji-yeon like a winged garment.
"... Ah! That's right! This was made using your artifact as material, wasn't it, junior? And it requires absurd abilities like yours too... Wouldn't passing on the production method like the Beacon Fire Sword be impossible?"
A blatant change of subject. But since it was a valid question, I pouted my lips and replied.
[... This was specially made as a gift for Senior Lee Ji-yeon, so that's how it turned out.]
"Ah."
[In reality, the materials are different, and the production method is a little different too. Each one would easily take several months.]
"Ah, aha. I see. Ahaha... That makes sense, they say even the Beacon Fire Sword takes more than a few months..."
[.......]
A blatant and awkward laugh. I didn't respond this time.
Dripping with cold sweat, Lee Ji-yeon stole glances at my lips, which were still stuck out in a sulk.
"... I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Well, it's not that I completely disbelieved you. I just didn't think you'd make it this quickly, in one go."
I'm sorry I couldn't put faith in you.
With the corners of her eyes drooping, Lee Ji-yeon cautiously approached and gently stroked my head.
- Swiiish... swiiish...
[.......]
...Admittedly, I had called it a prototype, not a finished product. It's understandable that Lee Ji-yeon got the wrong idea.
Also, I'd planned to discard it and make a new one right away if any issues arose after I'd crafted it myself...
[Ahem, I'll choose to believe you.]
"Ahaha, thank you for believing me."
Only after my puffed-up cheeks relaxed did Lee Ji-yeon finally let out a faint laugh.
"Ha-yul, so does that mean you'll make mine next time?"
Then it happened. Baek A-rin, who had been marveling at Lee Ji-yeon's armament, pressed my cheek firmly with her finger.
At that, I checked the time on my smartwatch and then verified the others' positions using Observation.
[Hmm... No. Since I have spare time, I'll make it for you right now.]
"It's not urgent, so you don't need to rush yourself to make it quickly. You made that one just now incredibly fast too, didn't you?"
[I genuinely have time to spare, so it's fine. Don't worry.]
I fabricated Baek A-rin's armament through the same process as Lee Ji-yeon's. Baek A-rin crouched down a little distance away and watched the work.
"Hm?"
While the work continued smoothly, Baek A-rin tilted her head.
"That book... there are a lot more of them than for Ji-yeon unni's armament?"
[Ah, Azure Sea needs different functions.]
Countless books descended and soaked into the blue dough. I appropriately guided the information poured into the dough with my hands and mana.
Azure Sea needs different functions.
That wasn't a lie.
'But there's another reason, too.'
Not Azure Sea, but Baek A-rin.
To prepare for contingencies, Baek A-rin needs additional, different functions.
A crimson red book seeped into the blue dough.
