Chapter 87: Reinforced Steel
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Miss Arden took them to the upper floors of the Dragonforge Emporium and finally asked what kind of weapon and equipment they would like to have made or buy.
Jason gestured to Warden to speak his demands first.
"I need a sturdy spear, a long one that can withstand my destructive power," Warden said. He didn't know if he looked weird when he said "destructive power," but the woman still gave him a head-to-toe studying gaze upon hearing it. Yeah, it was weird and childish.
"At the early iron rank, how much destructive force can you even exert?" she asked.
"Haha, you would be surprised, Miss Arden," Jason said. "My brother got an A- in his attack power."
Miss Arden raised an eyebrow.
"My energies are extremely volatile," Warden explained. "They damage even the weapon I imbue to empower it. A normal sword or spear would not even last a day of practice so far, from what I have tried."
"I guess you have to choose after some experiments to see which one would be better for you," Miss Arden called up a servant and asked him to bring a few different kinds of spears. Then they went to the testing room to determine which spear would be better for him.
"Lest you damage the product," Jason cut in, "it is better to test them in the virtual realm."
There were dozens of virtual utility pods in the testing room, though there was still plenty of space left for traditional testing. Considering how you can fight any monster you like in the virtual world and have an almost realistic, if not entirely realistic experience, most people tended to test in the virtual realm. Considering his situation, Warden was no exception.
With everything prepared, Warden entered the virtual pod. His surroundings shifted to a grass field-like environment. Soon, half a dozen spears appeared next to him, each one different in shape and quality.
"If you are ready, we can send the monsters," Miss Arden's voice rang in his head as soon as he clutched a spear.
He gave them a thumbs-up to send whatever monster they could.
A huge demonic spider, over 8 feet tall and with eight jagged appendages, manifested before him. Its sharp appendages were like blades, enough to cut any common ranker to death. Needless to say, it charged at him at a moment's notice.
Warden enforced his spear with void energy as tendrils of purple smoke emitted out of the weapon. He blocked the blade-like appendage of the monster with the body of the spear and then smacked its head into its body. The spider lost a couple of its footings, but with so many legs, it managed to stay standing.
Not for long, as Warden swung his spear in masterful arcs, plunging it into its head, and right through.
"That one won't last for more than a few days," Miss Arden's voice rang in his head again. "The integrity of the shell is already below 80%. You weren't lying when you said your energy was volatile. Ignore the rest and choose the black one."
The spider monster disappeared, and Warden moved to take the black spear, which was about a foot or two taller than the rest of them. Honestly, the size was ideal for him, though he wasn't sure how long it would last.
The material appeared to be cold iron and other metals refined and forged together to form a reinforced alloy. Just using all his force, Warden was unable to bend it.
Another monster manifested before him. It was a huge gorilla this time, towering over 12 feet, with dirty brown fur, jacked muscles, and a far more savage nature than the spider.
It roared at him, beating its chest, and bolted toward him. Warden dodged its fist using the spear to flip over it. This ape was stronger than the spider. As Warden was about to take advantage from behind, it actually managed to turn in time and swung its fist.
Warden blocked with the spear a couple of times and finally managed to find purchase into its eye. The void energy burst forth from the spear's tip and dug through its skull, killing it almost instantly.
"The shell integrity is 98%," Miss Arden's voice came again. "The Tier-4 reinforced steel seems to be holding better than the previous one as well. Keep at it for some time, and we will see."
More of those gorillas appeared as Warden fought for over five minutes, finally stopped by Miss Arden.
"The shell integrity came down to 80% again," she said, and somehow her voice felt somewhat aggravated. "Your energy isn't just volatile; it's eating through the formation shells."
Warden could only shrug.
"Wait a second, I will send something better."
Warden only had to wait a few seconds as another black spear appeared before him. This one was much bulkier and fancier-looking, shaped like a dragon for no particular reason.
"Tier 7 reinforced steel," Miss Arden informed him. "With the restoration shell installed. Practice with it with your heart's content."
The spear was somewhat bulkier than what Warden would have liked, but he didn't complain and fought with the monsters that appeared for about half an hour. Although he hadn't received the report from Miss Arden, he found the spear was holding all right.
"Shell integrity 93%," Miss Arden informed in a resigned tone.
"I guess this one will do," Warden said. His main criteria for using the spear was to practice with it for now, not go hunting. He had [The Divider] for that, which would be of better use with all its capabilities.
"The script shells won't last you more than a couple of months even if the reinforced steel does, if you were to use it like that regularly," Miss Arden said as he came out of the pod. "Of course, the restoration shell will help keep the areas intact for some time if you get help, but you need to get it fixed every week by some adept runesmith."
"That would not be a problem," Warden said. "I am somewhat of a runesmith myself."