When I Became the Archmage of Life, the World Lay at My Feet
[When I ascended to the position of Archmage of Life, I believed the world was beneath my feet.]
[I could amplify the power of life, steal the power of life, and condense the power of life to birth a more evolved being. Truly, I had touched the realm of the gods.]
"Evolution? Crazy."
Vulcan had been tempted to skip the boring self-reflection and read it later, but the flashy wording that followed grabbed his attention. The mage's ability to amplify or diminish the power of life—transcending affinities—was impressive enough, but condensing it to evolve a target? That was downright shocking.
Evolution beyond mere enhancement. If he fully grew as a Life Archmage, didn't that mean he could push not just himself, but others beyond human limits?
"How much could I charge for this shit?"
There were some worrisome side effects mentioned, but Kafus was a bona fide Archmage. Maybe he'd devised a ritual with no drawbacks, or at least minor ones. If so, why not offer the procedure to others for a fee? High-level players dumped astronomical sums for tiny stat boosts. What if one treatment granted evolution-level gains?
Vulcan's eyes glazed over. Unthinkingly, his hand drifted toward the sealed Source of Life.
- Don't pull that crap.
"Ahem, just stretching. Stretching."
Smack! But before he could touch it, Tud's tail whipped his hand away. Vulcan pretended nothing happened, face flushing, and kept reading the diary.
[But the moment I met 'him,' everything I believed in crumbled.]
"'Him'?"
His face twisted at the very next page. If there's something like that, you should've said so earlier—almost fucked up big time. Calming his racing heart, another phrase caught his eye. He was curious what mistake Kafus had made, but who the hell was 'him'?
He flipped the page eagerly.
[I thought I could do anything with the power of life. Even the owners of those special weapons stirring up the world lately would be powerless before the essence and pinnacle of life magic, or so I believed.]
[But when I clashed with the master of Deathnal, I realized my arrogance.]
'Deathnal? Sounds familiar...'
[The sword that wields death. Its power to devour life was truly wondrous. Like a Demon King, it severed life, summoned death, and nullified all my abilities.]
[Even accounting for the matchup, it utterly overwhelmed me, slicing away my hubris along with everything else.]
[To think a mere young swordmaster would deny everything I'd built.]
[I finally understood, down to my bones, why people call this the Age of Divine Swords.]
"Ah! Divine Sword!"
By then, Vulcan finally recalled what Deathnal was. In Gloria Saga's lore, the Age of Divine Swords was centuries ago, when Divine Swords proliferated like crazy.
Divine Swords—peerless artifacts that appeared maybe one or two per few centuries—flooded the world back then. Dozens emerged at once, each capable of reshaping the continent. It was a true age of warring heroes.
Countless heroes wielded them, flaunting their might. Not limited to swords despite the name, battles took wild forms. Heroes of every race and class rose and fell; massive clashes—beyond local skirmishes—reshaped the continent's geography, or so the rumors went.
'A clue to getting Deathnal?'
His heart pounded. A Divine Sword like Deathnal was at least Epic grade. A demonic sword, sure, but famous from the Divine Sword era—plenty would covet it as a Divine Sword.
'Come on, spill more clues.'
Vulcan steadied his excitement and focused on the diary. Strangely, after one hero unified the era, most Divine Swords vanished—save a few. Some said the victor hoarded and sealed them; others, that they'd rusted in unworthy hands; still others, that they slumbered awaiting new masters. Legends swirled of one arising to shake the continent again.
'That's why players go nuts hunting legendary gear... Wait, hold up?'
Recalling old Gloria Saga lore, a odd thought struck him.
'Legendary artifacts?'
Divine Swords—called legendary, rumored divine-made—but no one thought they were truly Myth grade. Just hype; probably Legendary. If real Myths flooded out, the continent wouldn't just be chaotic—it'd be gone.
'Nah, no way.'
Then a more fundamental question hit: How did they all appear suddenly? Gear gets made by someone, right? Who crafted them? Gods from temples? No—gods don't meddle directly. They empowered special holy weapons, not hand out finished products. Some famous Divine Swords tied to gods, but most weren't.
"Lord Tud, that Divine Sword Era—was it...?"
No way, right? Vulcan eyed Tud questioningly.
- What.
But Tud gave no clear answer. Nah, probably not. No way the era stemmed from one craftsman...
- Deathnal? That was a joke piece. Pathetic skill on their part.
"...Pardon?"
The denial shattered instantly as Tud dropped a bombshell, speaking of Deathnal like he knew it intimately.
"How do you know about Deathnal...?"
- Don't know. Hurry up and read so we can go. Still got shit to do?
Tud snapped shut, annoyed at the probing, but context spoke volumes. Vulcan blinked, then grinned. His lips threatened to split wide.
[No. Even after that hollow defeat, I didn't despair. I told myself I'd just let my guard down against an unfamiliar power. I resolved to win next time.]
[But when I stumbled upon the creator of Divine Swords amid my wanderings, my arrogance shattered completely.]
[True birth of life, the power of great creation—it resided in him.]
[Before this legendary craftsman—who forged metal into legends and nurtured the world's discarded into mighty power—my life force felt like nothing.]
[After meeting him, I couldn't face the world. Witnessing him birth new legends left me paralyzed.]
[My mind replayed that creation endlessly.]
[I researched relentlessly to emulate him even slightly, to capture that great creative power once.]
[And finally, I completed the theory.]
[Heaven didn't grant me time to finish, but my heir—see this research to its end in my stead.]
[The new... within the Source of Life...]
The diary cut off unfinished. He'd died mid-entry, scrawling the end. But Vulcan got it all.
"Heh heh heh heh heh!"
Laughter bubbled up uncontrollably. He knew exactly who the 'legendary craftsman' was.
The Divine Sword era—core to Gloria Saga's story—made by Tud? It felt like becoming the protagonist, Cinderella at the ball.
- Quit laughing like a dumbass!
Whack! Tud smacked him, but the leaking grins wouldn't stop.
Now it all clicked. How an Epic-grade Life Archmage crafted a Legendary item: inspiration from Legendary-class Tud, his life's masterpiece over ages. Worthy of Legendary indeed.
"Alright, inspection time. Boom chicka boom~ Boom chicka boom~."
Gently closing the diary, Vulcan eyed the sealed Source of Life.
"Uh... how do I open this? Just smash it?"
Destroy it for the Life Egg—but how? Normal items were easy: repair skill or smash. But the hidden option's name nagged him.
- What do you think? Only way to dismantle ore besides melting?
Tud shrugged it off, toss in the forge. But if it really held an 'egg,' wouldn't melting risk it? He hesitated, but no other way. Same odds of breakage either way—and it was Tud's word. Trust it once.
"Please, please, please... "
Vulcan set up the portable forge from Tud's secret workshop. Weaker than fixed ones, but amplified by fire essence—enough to melt the minerals around the egg.
Prayer was all that remained. Bellows pumping, he prayed to gods he didn't believe in. Please no boiled egg—just a perfect Life Egg.
Whoosh!Roar!!
Flames roared, temperature climbing. He'd loaded premium limestone and coke for max melt, so it quickly heated, starting on the Source.
"It's coming!"
- Not yet. Crank the heat, idiot!
Senos ore began flowing. Vulcan skimmed slag, saving the valuable stuff. Melting on, he checked the egg.
"How thick did they wrap this thing?"
- Dumbass. Look properly. Not just thick.
"Huh? Then..."
- Magic circles etched per layer. Wrong temp per ore, won't melt no matter how hot. Focus!
Kafus's masterpiece had special spells. A mage, but why? Layers of minerals demanded exact melting points—or no dice. Without Tud or Dragon Eye, Vulcan would've waited forever or guessed wrong.
Now he ignored runoff, obsessing over temps. Raising, lowering—like nursing a patient—he wrestled the forge.
"Got it!!"
After endless melting, the true 'egg' emerged intact, undamaged. The perfect Life Egg in Vulcan's hands.
"...Is this for real?"
Item info up the moment he grasped it, Vulcan's lips twisted in a subtle smirk.