NOVEL NEXT Ep. 39 Ruby's Swords Part 1
I quickly return to camp clutching the crystal like I'm afraid someone is going to try to steal it. I place it on a rat pelt and gather the new tools I made earlier and start to slowly shape the crystal. First, I get the general shape carved out and remove a lot of the excess material.
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Gemcutting has progressed to level 2!
Gemcutting
Level 2
Int +2
You can make crude gems.
Then I carefully split it down the middle so I have two identical pieces. Next comes the slow process of chipping away the little pieces and smoothing out the shape. I know the hardest part is going to be getting the blade right, I want it sharp but not fragile. As I am planning out every single strike of the chisel I notice all the little pieces and flakes of crystal are still glowing.
I figured that only big pieces would emit light but turns out I am wrong. I might have to play with those pieces later just to see, but for right now I have to focus, these have to be perfect. I finally wise up and stop working long enough to move to the forge room since I'm going to be spending hours chiseling away one flake at a time.
Once in the forge room I focus completely on what I'm doing, taking care that each flake I chip away is exactly the size and shape I want to remove. It is a long and painstaking process, but I put in the time and effort to make it as close to perfect as I can.
*ITEM CREATED*
Sun Crystal Scimitar
Hit +2 Damage +4 Piercing +1
Durability 25/25
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Gemcutting has progressed to level 3!
Gemcutting
Level 3
Int +3
You can make crude gems.
Okay, so the durability is really low. Kind of expected that, but if I can figure out how to enchant it, that should improve. Now for the second one. I set the complete one aside and start repeating the process on the second.
It takes me four hours to complete the second scimitar. I double check every inch of them to make sure I didn't miss any spots and to make sure the balance is identical. Then I sit in my meditation pose with them on my lap and sink into the inner world.
Unlike normal, instead of looking inwards I look at the swords with my inner sight. What I find are dozens of specks of light within each crystal sword. Now I have no idea how enchanting is normally done so I am hoping I can do something similar to how I modify the inside of my body.
So I focus on the specks of light and try to move one, once I am able to move it, I move it to the spot where the blade meets the hilt. Then I move the next one, and the next after that. I keep at it for hours until every speck of light is in the same spot.
As I move the last speck into place they all merge and form a small ball, kind of like a miniature core, which is what I had been hoping for when I started this. Maybe I should have asked Ruby if she knew how enchanting is done, or I could have examined one of the enchanted weapons I already have. But since when do I let common sense stop me once I have an idea?
Since I already started I may as well finish the process and see what happens. So I create a mana channel within the sword to supply it with mana then I create mana veins running throughout the sword. This is much easier than creating them within my body since I can just let the veins follow the crystalline structure.
Once the veins are complete I pull back to take a look, the structure of veins looks like a tree without leaves when I look at it from further back. I decide that it is done for now and wake myself from my meditation.
*DING*
Congratulations! You have acquired the magic skill Enchanting!
Enchanting
Level 1
Int +2 Wis +1 Cha +1
You can enchant items.
Well, whether or not it is the way other mages do it at least I know my way works and it didn't explode in my face. So I stare at the scimitar that is enchanted and use observe on it.
*Magic Item*
Sun Crystal Scimitar
Hit +3 Damage +6 Piercing +2
Durability 50/50
Hm, so a little bit of improvement across the board but still only a minor item. For what I have in mind it is going to have to be much better than that. But before I try the next crazy idea I return to the inner world to repeat the process on the second scimitar. Once I can look at both scimitars and not be able to tell the difference I wake myself from meditation.
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Enchanting has progressed to level 2!
Enchanting
Level 2
Int +4 Wis +2 Cha +2
You can enchant items.
Now comes the fun part, I want to make them fire based instead of light based. I think I can do this by infusing a fire spell into the core of the blade, but I'm just guessing, it very well might just blow up. So to be safe and not endanger the forge I move out into the main cave away from the forge and sit back down.
First, I summon a firebolt but I don't release it, I hold it in my hand and focus on it. It is magically created fire, but it is still just normal fire, so I focus my will on it and try to make it suck in more air. As it does the flame grows bigger and burns hotter in my hand, but that isn't the effect I want, it was just to see if I can alter it.
So now I focus on changing it so instead of just pulling in air it instead just pulls oxygen out of the air. Instantly the flame triples in size and almost burns my face as I am leaning over it. Now the power is closer to what I was looking for but the flame is way out of control, so I focus again and add pressure onto the flame forcing it smaller and smaller without losing any intensity.
I keep at it until it is the size of a marble, and that is when something I wasn't expecting happens. The little marble of condensed fire changes color, it turns to a pure blue and starts burning my hand. Out of instinct I thrust out my hand and shoot the firebolt at the wall.
*DING* *DING*
Congratulations!! You have evolved a skill!!
Firebolt Level 3 has evolved into Blue Firebolt Level 1!
Blue Fire Bolt
Level 1
MP Cost 25
You throw a bolt of blue fire that deals 50 fire damage.
I stare in shock at the wall where a one foot by one foot section is currently flowing down the wall as molten rock. That is way more intense than I expected and I didn't expect my spell to evolve, but I guess I've answered my own question about whether physics can be applied to magic. Now I guess all that is left is to try and see if I can infuse the spell into the sword's core.
I set one sword safely aside and take the other in my left hand, it feels a bit weird since the hilt is too small for my hand but I can manage for now. Then I hold out my left hand with my index finger pointed straight and cast my new firebolt spell, the blue marble sized spell appears just past my index claw and I focus on holding it there. Then I enter the inner world meditation and focus until I can see the core of the sword and the blue firebolt.
I bend all my will power into moving the blue firebolt into the sword and fusing it with the core. There is a blinding flash that knocks me out of my meditation and I find myself lying on my back staring up at the ceiling of the cave. I slowly sit up and look at the sword lying in front of me, where before it was a clear crystal that emits yellow light, it now looks like the scimitar is made of sapphire and little blue flames constantly play up and down the blade.
'Observe!'
*Magic Item*
Blue Fire Crystal Scimitar
Hit +5 Damage +20 Piercing +5
Durability 250/250
'Ha ha ha ha! It worked! It actually worked out how I wanted it to!! This is so awesome!'
Although I don't think I will tell Ruby just how close I probably came to blowing myself up. I quickly check to make sure I have enough mana left and grab the second sword to repeat the process. It works exactly the same way as the first time and the two swords look identical.
*DING*
Congratulations! Skill Enchanting has progressed to level 3!
Enchanting
Level 3
Int +6 Wis +3 Cha +3
You can enchant items.
'Perfect!'
Now for the finishing touches, first I wrap the hilt of each with a strip of leather to give it a better grip, then I make a set of sheathes for the scimitars. Once they are done I sheathe the scimitars and wait a minute to make sure the swords won't burn through the sheathes. Then I tuck both swords behind the forge, out of sight, and return to the cave outside. I reach up and tap the amulet.
"Ruby, are you done sulking yet?"