Chapter 22

Translator: True Detective

Chapter 22. Staff of the Crimson Lord (2)

I placed the giant bone on the workbench and sighed deeply.

The [Unbreakable Bone of Blood Demon] placed before my eyes was overwhelming even looking at it again.

"How do I shrink this..."

It wasn't a problem of simply shaving it off.

It means it's not just thick bone, but a material harder than steel reinforced with mana.

Moreover, if I shaved it off recklessly and touched the internal magic circuit, the bone might split with a crack.

"Guide, can't I just saw this?"

I gripped the [Keen Mithril Carving Knife] again.

The guideline floated patterns like complex contour lines on the bone surface.

Red solid lines were wriggling as if the bone was a living creature.

"I shouldn't touch those red lines, right?"

I swallowed dry saliva.

It felt like playing Minesweeper with thousands of mines laid out.

I concentrated all my nerves on the tip of the carving knife.

Thanks to [Grace of the Primeval Maker], my concentration rose to the extreme.

Surrounding noise disappeared, and only the bone, the carving knife, and my breathing sound were heard.

Sparks flew when the carving knife tip touched the bone.

Sparks while carving bone?

But the carving knife with the [Cutting] option activated eventually dug into the bone surface.

—Creak.

The sensation of scraping hard bedrock was transmitted through my wrist.

"Hup!"

I pulled up spirit from my danjeon (lower abdomen) and pushed the carving knife.

With a cracking sound, gray bone fragments on the surface fell off.

Then, subtle milky white flesh was revealed inside.

Along with the Guide's warning, a section where red solid lines curved like snakes appeared.

I turned my wrist smoothly and cut out the bone as if embracing the circuit.

I had to carve not in a straight line but spiraling round and round.

—Scrape. Scrape.

The crude bone lump started to become thinner little by little.

As the rough parts on the surface fell off, the bone shed its original dull gray and began to take on a dazzling white color.

On that white surface, red vein-like magic circuits were clearly revealed.

It was a strange yet beautiful appearance, like red plum blossoms drawn on white porcelain.

But the real difficulty started now.

The head part of the staff.

I had to make a socket to insert the core.

I carefully dug down the upper part of the bone.

It wasn't just digging a hole.

I had to sculpt the bone itself into three sharp hook shapes.

In this process, I encountered the part where the bone's strength was highest.

It felt like carving diamond.

It felt like blisters would form on my palms, but I couldn't stop.

Precision work where not a single miss is tolerated.

I immersed myself, forgetting even to breathe.

Smooth curves were created where the carving knife passed.

The crude bone lump transformed into three sharp and elegant claws.

Inside the claws, I dug minute grooves to open paths for mana to flow.

"Phew... Phew..."

Sweat flowing from my forehead stung my eyes, but I had no time to wipe it.

I held the lower part of the staff and started engraving very minute scale patterns.

It was a design to prevent slipping when held and maximize mana conductivity by widening the area touching the skin.

While carving out hundreds of scales one by one, my eyes felt like popping out.

When I engraved the last scale and blew away the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bone dust.

—Vwoom.

The staff body resonated, making a low vibration sound.

The hideous and giant bone from the beginning was nowhere to be found.

The length was reduced to about 120cm, and the thickness was compressed to a thickness perfect for gripping.

Overall, it was a spirally twisted milky white pillar, and red magic circuits were embedded like blood vessels in between.

The upper part had three sharp bone claws rising as if grasping the empty air, exuding an intimidation as if about to tear something apart any moment.

"Wow... This works."

I lifted the finished body.

As expected of an Epic grade material, the weight was substantial, but because the balance was perfect, it felt hefty rather than heavy.

A sense of unity as if my arm was extended.

It looked like a blunt weapon that would make a whoosh sound if swung, yet simultaneously boasted the figure of a delicate magic tool.

"Good. The body is perfect too."

Now only one thing remained.

Connecting the core and body and finishing with that blood vessel.

I placed the last material, [Tough Blood Vessel of Blood Demon], on the workbench.

Damp and slippery red string.

It looked about 3 meters long, but as soon as it was placed on the floor, it wriggled and coiled arbitrarily.

It felt strange because it looked more like freshly extracted intestines than a living snake.

"Ugh... The texture is really something."

Picking it up with my hand, I felt a cold yet unpleasant warmth.

I was used to hard materials like metal, wood, or bone, but this soft and elastic material was a first.

"Guide, do I just wrap this around?"

I started pushing the blood vessel into the small hole drilled at the bottom of the staff body.

The problem was that this damn blood vessel was too arbitrary.

"Hey! Go in!"

If I try to push it in, it slips through my fingers like a loach.

If I thought I barely matched the hole, it bounced out with a ting! due to elasticity.

For hard materials, I can just suppress with force or carve, but this stretches when force is applied and shrinks when released, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it was too hard to get the hang of it.

"Haa... Haa..."

After a 30-minute struggle, I barely managed to pull the end of the blood vessel out between the claws at the top of the staff.

Now it was time to mount the red core.

I carefully placed the cut core between the three bone claws.

It fit perfectly without error.

But it wasn't fixed.

It was in a state where it would fall out immediately if I swung the staff.

I took a deep breath and split the blood vessel into three strands.

Surprisingly, the torn blood vessel didn't unravel but changed like individual thin blood vessels.

I adhered the first strand to the left side of the core.

Wrapped it around the bone claw while pulling tautly.

My hands sweated.

Because it was slippery, I felt like I would keep dropping it.

"Just a little... just a little more..."

The second strand was successful too.

The core began to be fixed firmly to the bone staff.

White bone, red core, and the dark red blood vessels connecting them formed a bizarre harmony.

Now just connect the last third strand, tie a knot, and inject mana, and it's over.

I hooked the last blood vessel on the crown part of the core and pulled with all my might.

A vwoom vibration was felt from the tautly pulled blood vessel.

Now.

"Let's go!"

The moment I was about to tie the knot and breathe in mana.

—Slip.

My finger slipped minutely due to the mucus of the blood vessel on my hand.

Oh no, I thought.

A mistake of a moment less than 1 second.

But at that moment, the elasticity of the blood vessel acted stronger than my intention.

—Snap!

The last knot was tied leaning about 1mm to the right than I expected.

Simultaneously, the blood vessel contracted rapidly.

"No!!!"

I reached out to try to correct ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it, but it was already late.

The blood vessel dug into the core and hardened firmly.

Without even a moment to correct, intense red light swallowed the workshop.

A huge mana storm arose.

Red mana spewing from the core rode the blood vessels and spread to the entire bone staff.

The white bone staff was dyed red momentarily, then returned to its original color and began to emit a subtle blood-red aura.

—Ding!

I stood blankly holding the finished staff.

It was a flow where a Legendary could have popped.

Because the processing of the core and body was perfect.

That damn slippery blood vessel and the carelessness of the last moment ruined everything.

"Haa..."

A deep sigh came out naturally.

Of course, Unique grade is also tremendous.

But it's like the feeling of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a fisherman who missed a big fish he could have caught.

Leaving the regret behind, I checked the staff's information.

"......"

Seeing the options, my stomach hurt even more.

[Imperfect Bond]

If not for that 1% penalty, it would have been Legendary.

Still, Magic Attack 250 and life steal option.

This was a spec that would make Mages' eyes turn upside down.

"Well... I did well for a first time. I did well."

I tried swinging the staff.

Along with a whoosh sound, a red afterimage remained in the air.

The grip feeling that stuck to my hand was amazing.

Looking at the staff, welcome information greeted me.