The Professor's Lesson and the Cripple's Blade

While I was pondering the possibility of giving the Arm Blade physical force through mana, Yageumsulsa suddenly ordered me to sit down. I immediately plopped onto the sofa with my back straight, but class didn't start right away.

It was time for one full cycle of Yageumsulsa's nagging.

Still, once I got through the first round, she usually stopped chewing me out. That was something to be grateful for, I supposed.

As expected, the news about artifact development went viral worldwide. Countries that had the resources were announcing renewed investment into artifact research and development—something they'd basically given up on. Whether awakened artisans were included in those development teams was unknown, but it seemed like the world was slowly getting better.

Time to get to the main topic, I guess.

Yageumsulsa suddenly uploaded a picture. It showed a small woman extending a rope from her hand. The woman looked like she had a terrible personality.

The rope was the ordinary kind. You know, the beige one made by twisting hemp fibers. It looked pretty sturdy overall, but the end was frayed and split. Professor Eponine seemed to use that thin, split string to connect nodes.

It was just a normal rope. I already knew that everyone's imagery was different… What else was I supposed to notice?

Why twist thin strings to make a rope? Obviously, to withstand stronger—

Huk!

A single thin string couldn't withstand strong force. It would snap immediately. But if you weave the strings together, they could endure several times more power. Yageumsulsa had been trying to teach me that lesson.

'I was trying to grab a smartphone with needle-like fingers.'

Of course that wouldn't work. My entire approach had been wrong from the start.

I quickly summoned my third arm. The split fingers wavered in the air. I focused my mind and twisted them into a single strand. Behold! A bundle of fingers!

I ignored the barrage of shade and stood in front of my smartphone. I reached out and wrapped my hand around it. Now if I slowly lifted it—

'It's lifting!'

Unlike last time when I'd only managed to raise it a tiny bit while shaking, this time it came up effortlessly. It felt like I'd achieved enlightenment. They say a carp living in a small fishbowl won't grow past ten centimeters. But a carp living in a river can grow over a meter long.

Could I lift a war hammer too? If I could swing one around, the possibilities would be endless. Maybe I could even do forging while sitting on the sofa with just my third arm extended. I could swing multiple hammers at once in battle too.

'My heart's racing…'

My third arm gripped the war hammer's handle tightly. Even though it wasn't a real hand, I could feel the weight. I braced my core and lifted the chunk of metal. The war hammer rose into the air, trembling.

'This is heavy…'

My third arm was shaking violently. Thud—! In the end, I dropped the hammer at about knee height. The limit came faster than I expected.

Looked like steady, consistent growth was the real answer after all. Okay, I'll do dumbbell curls with the war hammer every day.

Even though the war hammer deadlift was a failure, the results were significant. I'd grasped the concept of mana physicalization, and I'd learned that even someone like me—who hadn't been awakened for long—could lift a decent amount of weight. A hunter on Go Wonsik's level could probably lift forklift-tier loads.

'At least I won't have to suffer the tragedy of being unable to equip weapons due to stat limits.'

Time to make the real thing properly.

"Suyeon, let's get to work!"

I called out to Ji Suyeon, who had been playing with the crow in the yard.

"Already? I thought you were resting?" "I rested enough." "Aww, rest a little more." "No can do. We still have to make the ring." "Tch." "We really don't get any breaks!"

Ji Suyeon returned to the forge, lips poked out like a duck. Nebra, who had nothing better to do, followed behind her with light, cheerful steps.

"This time we're going to connect the nodes too." "We're starting with the gauntlet, right?" "Yeah."

Choosing the node ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't require much thought. Durability reinforcement, no question. It was to prevent the internal structure from being destroyed.

"The color looks good right now~"

I chose the fresh, vibrant green type that Ji Suyeon had mentioned before. There wouldn't be a barrier covering the whole body, but it should protect the gauntlet well.

"Whoa! It's way faster than before?" "I'm getting used to it." "Boss, at this rate won't you become an armor artisan?" "But it's not that fun. You should learn it and do it instead of me."

I cut and bent the thin steel plate, shaping it into a blunt fist. I made the forearm piece in a similar way. Combined, the length was about fifty centimeters. I'd taken Go Wonsik's height of over 190 centimeters and his long arms into account.

'I never thought I'd be measuring Go Wonsik's body size…'

I felt a little nauseous. But I had to endure it.

"I'll handle the finishing touches. Just bring me the leather." "Okay!"

After connecting the two parts, I attached a slide for the blade and an auxiliary device that would move the blade using mana. Once I added the sheepskin later to prevent the steel from chafing against skin, the forearm guard and gauntlet would be complete.

"It's gonna get sweaty." "That's something you'll have to figure out yourself."

At least I'd added leather padding. Now it was time to make the sword.

"How are you going to make the blade?" "Do you know what a gladius is?" "No…" "Just think of it as the sword used by Roman soldiers."

The gauntlet we'd made was a total of fifty centimeters. No matter how efficiently we used the space, the blade couldn't exceed that length. A normal one-handed sword was around a meter, so this was basically half. Fortunately, even at this short length, there was a weapon that felt satisfying to make.

The sword that symbolized ancient Rome—the gladius. Double-edged and forged for excellent functionality, it was also perfect for thrusting. This should be the design that could extract maximum efficiency even in uncomfortable environments.

"A sword offered to the first warrior! How intentional! Did you include a meaning of respect?" "Respect my ass…"

There was none of that. Tsk.

"How should I handle the nodes for this?" "Same as before. Focus on durability. It'd be annoying if they come back asking for repairs later."

The process of forging the sword wasn't difficult. The shape was simple, and there was no need for fancy techniques. The finished product soon revealed itself.

"Wow, it's really finished!" "Good work." "Caw—! Caw caw!" "Ugh, I hope we don't have any more big projects like this in the future… Right?!" "Yeah. Let's just run the test and then we can finally rest."

I walked out to the yard wearing the gauntlet. Since I'd sized it for Go Wonsik, it felt a bit loose. I tightened the straps as much as possible to secure it to my forearm.

"Hurry up and try it!" "So impatient."

I imagined pushing the mana device and extended my third arm.

Clang—!

The blade shot out with a refreshing sound.

"Ooh! Now pull it back in!"

I was a little nervous. This was the problem that had been tormenting me all this time.

'Hoo…'

I boldly pulled the mana device backward.

Click—!

"It worked!"

Ji Suyeon jumped up and down as she ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠watched the blade return to its proper position. She had every right to be excited after finally being freed from crafting hell.

"Can I try it too?" "Go ahead. It's the same feeling as pushing and pulling the mana device you attached to that wooden stick earlier." "Got it!"

Ji Suyeon took the gauntlet. The huge forearm guard on her slender arm looked extremely unbalanced.

"D-don't laugh!" "I'm not laughing yet?" "Caw caw!" "Even the crow is!"

Ji Suyeon's face turned bright red as she began gathering mana. Soon the blade started moving with a clicking sound.

"Kyat!" "Nice." "You are amazing, girl who scratches the crow's head!"

The crow flapped its wings in exaggerated motions.

"Caw, may I try it too? It looks very fun!" "You too, Cawbook?" "You don't even have arms." "Do you not know that wings are arms? Just place it on the ground."

What was she even planning to do? I set the Arm Blade on the ground as the crow said. Suddenly, black mist spread out with the crow at the center.

"Huh? Where did this mist come from…! Boss, get out of the way!"

The mist was sucked into the Arm Blade.

Click— click click click click click click—

The ownerless weapon was moving all by itself. If I couldn't see that black mist, it would've been pretty scary.

Clickclickclickclick—!

"That's enough…" "Caw caw caw caw—!" "She's definitely laughing at us, right?" "She's absolutely laughing."

Well, this was good enough. Time to go make that guild.

"Vice-leader…" "Manager Park?" "You know Congressman Go Wonsik over there? Things aren't progressing any further on my end." "Sigh, that old man's really being difficult…" "It seems like you'll have to meet him in person. Would that be alright?"

These damn old men were going to drive me crazy.