Chapter 73 Nihil
Just as I said before, the adventurers guild is a global organization in the world of Aeris.
It has its own branches in almost every corner of the world aside from some unruly places.
Therefore, finding one in the Fortress of the Iron Mountains was not that hard either.
Since dungeons would appear without considering the place, there are dungeons appearing in this place as well. And since Dwarves are not a race that is specialized in combat, there are pretty good opportunities to explore.
And that was what I did for the past three days.
Getting into the guild, taking a quest related to the dungeon exploration.
Entering the dungeon and killing monsters.
Returning back and selling the cores and the goods I got from the dungeon.
That was basically my routine for the past few days.
Since the sword I had been using was not my 'Nihil,' I didn't push myself that hard and only used it against enemies that had lower strength than me.
And here we are right now.
In front of the workshop of Dorakorli.
/TING/ /TING/ /TING/
Hearing the sound of metal hitting metal from outside.
This was a common noise entering my ears for the past four days since I had been basically living in this city.
Even around nighttime, there are some workshops that keep working without sleeping.
With my sensitive ears, it was making me a little bit irritated hearing the same voice over and over again.
But, at some point, I got used to it.
Anyway, enough with my rumblings.
With a smile, entering the workshop, I reached inside.
"You are here."
"Yes."
"It is close to being finished. Wait for a while."
"I see. Okay, then."
/TING/ /TING/ /TING/
A hot atmosphere.
A sound of metal hitting metal.
A dwarf with muscles raging all around his body.
A sword is forged under the hands of the dwarf.
A hammer hits the sword.
Smoke rises from the ground.
A fire that doesn't seem to be dying anytime soon.
Dark circles are formed under the eyes of the Dwarf.
A fire ignited in his left eye.
Sparks flew everywhere with every hit of his hammer.
And a sword that has the color of pure darkness with golden engravings on it.
Witnessing the construction of the first weapon that was being made at the hands of the God of Blacksmiths' last descendant was something out of the ordinary.
At some point, I lost myself while observing the scene unfolding before my eyes.
And not long after, a light started shining.
But this time, it was not a bright yellow light but a red light looking all ominous around.
A red light that came from hell.
"Come here and put your blood on the sword now. The spirit is being corrupted by the soul-eater sword."
Signaling me to go there, with sweat all around his body, he started chanting.
A chant to give the blessing of the forge god to the sword.
"Okay."
Immediately shaking myself off, I reached in front of the sword.
'Fuck, it is hot. Like really, really hot.'
Since I am not a dwarf or a person with high heat resistance, my skin was actually burning.
And it hurt.
'But, it can't be helped.'
Slashing my hand with a dagger, I spilled a drop of my blood on the top of the sword.
/FISSSSS/
Albeit, since the sword was too hot, my blood instantly burned, spreading the smell of something being burned.
But, at that moment, the engravings on the sword started shining.
Golden engravings with some unknown characters being written on them.
And, that being not enough, suddenly, another light pillar fell on top of the sword, this time yellow-colored.
"Now grab your sword and stab yourself with it when I signal you."
"Huh?"
"Just do it."
"Okay."
Saying that I grabbed my sword and reversed its direction with its head pointing at my stomach.
"Now!"
/PIERCE/
"Kurghk-"
Blood spurting from my mouth with the pain coming from my stomach, I stabbed myself, the tip of my sword getting out from my back.
And this time, another pillar of light descended into the workshop.
But this time, the target was me.
<Ding! The Spirit Weapon 'Nihil' is bonding with the host.>
<Ding! The bonding is successful.>
<Ding! The Spirit Sword 'Nihil' is added to the bounded elements section.>
<Ding! New weapon skill [Absorption] acquired.>
<Ding! New questline [Feed your spirit sword] generated.>
"Huff, huff, huff, huff…."
With the bunch of system notifications appearing in my head, I started breathing heavily.
"Now, you can get your sword off."
"Grrr…."
Gritting my teeth, I pulled the sword off, withstanding the pain.
"Here."
Extending a potion to me, he looked at the sword in my hand.
/GULP/
Gulping the potion, the wound on my chest healed almost instantly, making me feel at ease.
"Wow. Just what happened."
"The spirit inside your sword and the soul-eater stone were fighting for the dominance of the sword. If we hadn't intervened, the spirit of your sword would have lost the fight."
"I see. Then what was the stab about?"
"Because this sword both has demonic and holy properties, we needed to satisfy the conditions of both swords at the same time. While sacrificing a part of your body, we satisfied the conditions of the demonic part, and with my praying, we satisfied the conditions of the holy part."
"I see. So this sword is now both a holy sword and a demon sword."
"Yes, that is true. We made the impossible. The sword you are holding in your hands now is practically against the laws of this world."
"And it is like that because it is the first sword you have forged with your new skills, isn't it?"
"Indeed, that is the case. This sword is my first and best-finished product in my life, and it will stay like that forever as well."
"Heh."
/SWOOSH/ /SWOOSH/
Swinging the sword to test it, I felt the harmony immediately.
"This sword, it is like it was born to serve me."
"Because it is born to serve you. Wanna test it?"
Saying that Dorakorli brought an axe from the inside.
And swung the axe immediately, imbuing his mana onto his body, using body enhancement.
'Let's see how it goes.'
"Hat!"
/SWOOSH/ /THUD/ /THUD/
Swinging my sword while confronting the axe, I felt no resistance.
"Huh?"
With a surprised exclamation, I raised my head, only to see an axe divided into the two falling to the ground.
"This is your sword. A sword that cuts everything. For the time being, it can cut only these low-level materials, but as your sword gets stronger, its sharpness will increase."
"I see. So that is the case."
"So, now what?"
"What do you mean?"
"You have acquired your sword, so you have fulfilled your goal here. Now, what are you going to do?"
"Hmm…. So you are asking me that, huh? I will start traveling again."
"You will this place."
"Of course. There is nothing left for me to do here anymore."
"I see. Then, how should I pay you?"
"You can use my adventurer bank account for that."
"You are an adventurer?"
"Of course."
"Well, that makes sense. Although I thought you were noble."
"I was."
"Ah…. Sorry."
"Don't worry. I didn't get offended, anyway."
"I see. Out of all this that happened in the past four days, I forgot to ask you."
"Indeed, now it is the time."
"What is your name?"
"Callius."
"Callius, huh? I am Dorakorli Copperhide. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too, partner."
"It is better to call it a slave rather than a partner."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
"Here is the card; you will pay in the adventurer's guild. I grabbed one in case you would ask that."
"Got it."
"Then see you later, partner…."
"I will see you again, master Callius."
'Master Callius, huh? It has been a long time since I last heard this phrase.'
Thinking that, I left the workshop with a smile.
'Let's see how you will make a reputation for yourself, the descendant of the blacksmith god.'
'The pieces are moving. The future is already changed. Let's grab as much as we can until my knowledge of the game becomes useless with those changes.'
With that thought, I put my cloak on, with my sword in its scabbard, and started walking to the guild.
"Now, let's take an escort quest since I will be traveling."
Mumbling like that, I checked the quests and the notifications.
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Questline- Feed your sword
Since you have fused a soul-eater stone with your sword, you need to satisfy the hunger that came with it.
Quest- Feed 2-star monster cores until Nihil evolves
Reward- New sword skill [====] acquired
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'I see. That is basically giving me directions to follow.'
I thought, seeing the quest.
"Status."
Mumbling, a system panel appeared beside me again.
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Name- Callius Augustride ????
Age – 13
Class – The Sorcerer of Beginning, Ruler of Lightning
Knight rank – Two-star
Mage rank – One-star (Sealed)
Attributes – Aether
Traits – [Perfectionist], [Prodigy], [Aesthetic Sense], [Tyrant's Aura], [Ego], [Witcher], [Duelist]
Arts – All-Seeing Eye (1-star) (%64),
Skills – Disguise, Grand Challenge,
Passive Skills- Perfect Body
Weapon Skills- Absorption
Bonded Weapon- Nihil [First stage][%0]
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And just like that, I reached the guild, marking the start of yet another journey….