Chapter 174

However, it wasn’t accurate to state that Excalibur could raise its fighting prowess by 900 times. This was because magic power increased in quantity exponentially once a certain line was crossed. Additionally, the reinforced weapon that Merlin made used a highly efficient magic system. Thus, since it knew all of this, Quiet Heaven couldn’t help but exclaim.

“This is extraordinary. Are you going to add magic power regardless of its properties?”

“To be precise, I’m converting the energy into a state of ‘Chaos’ before combining everything. Then, I can convert the chaos energy, which is derived from the collection of chaos, into magic power.”

As Merlin hummed his reply, Quiet Heaven narrowed its eyes. Of course, as an eagle, Quiet Heaven’s eyes were already sharp and narrow.

“In other words, once all the energy is absorbed, melted, and mixed, it becomes a single entity of chaos. However, if you put that energy into an item, won’t the item decay?”

“Oh!”

Merlin made a surprised expression after hearing Quiet Heaven’s words. Merlin was shocked that Quiet Heaven had reached the critical issue so quickly.

“… What’s with that condescending expression?”

“No, it’s just that… I’m surprised you thought of such a poignant question so quickly… I’m sorry. To be honest, up till now, I thought you were an idiot.”

“What?!”

Quiet Heaven couldn’t help but feel slighted since it saw itself as an elite being that strode to become a god through its training in the Dao arts. Rather than simply insulting Quiet Heaven through actions, Merlin had denoted that he perceived Quiet Heaven as an idiot. Yet, Quiet Heaven soon contained its anger as Merlin started explaining.

“As you said, once chaos energy is gathered on an item, everything surrounding it would fall into ruin. It goes without saying, but if that happened, the chaos energy would eventually run wild. Even if there were some control, the situation would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the user.”

“That’s problematic, right?”

Merlin smiled and continued explaining after seeing Quiet Heaven’s focused expression.

“There’s no way I would have made such a system without coming up with a solution, right? This reinforced weapon possesses a few special features. I used these guys as references when thinking of possible methods.”

Having said this, Merlin motioned towards the two spirits floating around him: Younghwi and Shining. They were made by archmage Wicalein, who dreamed of materializing the soul. Both spirits could use physical power and materialize in a physical form for a short period.

“This reinforced weapon, or more specifically, the new Beast Metal I created, contains a spiritual entity that eats any energy. Although its intelligence isn’t high, that isn’t required to carry out many abilities. It can eat and digest any energy given to it according to a preset number of commands. The entity within the reinforced weapon’s Beast Metal contains the concept of ‘failure’ for this exact reason. If the entity can’t eat and swallow the energy presented to it, or if it fails to digest the energy properly, the entity will regurgitate the energy, and the reinforcement level will drop.”

In truth, as soon as a reinforcement failed, all of the energy consumed should’ve been expelled, resetting the item’s reinforcement number. However, Merlin created a complex protection system, which was as dense as a spider’s web, making it so that even if the digestion failed, the repercussions were limited. This was why Merlin created reinforcement numbers.

“What did you name the spiritual being?”

“It’s not that important, but I did name it Salk. It’s quite cute.”

After saying this, Merlin started to twirl the +7 reinforced longsword. Since it had practiced and trained in the Dao arts, Quiet Heaven could hear the primal roars of the being residing within the longsword.

‘… This master of mine is indeed impressive and intimidating.’

Quiet Heaven was witnessing an operational magic system that it had never seen or even considered before. Quiet Heaven had heard of a similar magic system process used by an ancient martial arts sect, but that sect had used living beings as ingredients. Merlin’s approach did away with this sacrificial step; he had created an entirely new, novel approach.

“Now, shall we test out how strong this item is?”

“Is it okay to test it immediately after it was created?”

“It’s completely stable, and I’m not planning on going overboard.”

Then, Merlin moved to a different area within his vast, rank A-Housing space. He soon stood in front of a massive block of ice. It was an area of the lab that Merlin used to test out the performance of his creations.

“Alright. Let’s get started… [Awake].”

After using an ignition word, Merlin awakened the +7 Striking Sword, and the sword began exuding spiritual power as it gently vibrated in his hand. The Striking Sword was a dangerous magic item that could layer seven different spells into a single strike. Without any special movement or preparation, Merlin struck the block of ice with the Striking Sword.

Crunch!

One chunk of the house-sized ice block was completely cut out. It was as if a colossal giant had smacked the block with the force of several tens of tons. Moreover, the ice block didn’t just take physical damage but spiritual damage as well.

“I’m pretty sure most large monsters couldn’t survive that attack.”

“It’s the power and force of seven overlapping spells.”

Merlin quietly put away the +7 reinforced sword into his inventory. Though he had rushed the process, he gathered a lot of useful data. He was confident that he’d be able to make a more efficient and better product on his next attempt.

“You’ll also make a Downgrade panel as well, right?”

“Wow! You’re much smarter than I initially thought!”

“… Have you always thought of me as such a lowly being?”

Seeing Quiet Heaven complain, Merlin smiled.

“I always thought you were just a birdbrain.”

“Kyak!”

“Well, I need to create a Downgrade panel, but I’m going to finish my more pressing tasks first.”

After speaking, Merlin moved to the experimentation lab within his housing card space. There, Aidelin’s gauntlets were gently vibrating while being imbued with magic power from a magic circle.

“He mentioned that he wanted protective features. He’s planning on using defensive martial art moves, so he asked for enchantments that could actively support those skills.”

Merlin opened his Spell Plane and started creating magic circuitry. After laying down the circuitry pathing, Merlin imbued the new pathways with magic power to bring out the effects. While the circuitry was exceptionally efficient and effective, the design wasn’t anything novel, as Merlin had based it on a common model.

“I’d like to make the gauntlets a reinforced item, but unless it’s made of Beast Metal, it won’t be able to contain the chaos energy.”

Although the gauntlets wouldn’t be able to contain the chaos energy, it would be better to say that they couldn’t properly gather chaos energy. Chaos energy wasn’t something that simply formed when chaos was accumulated.

“I’ll incorporate a mid-grade magic stone as well….”

Merlin picked a mid-grade magic stone from his inventory and melted the magic stone before imbuing it into the gauntlets. Although this process was challenging, Merlin pulled it off with ease.

“Hey, master, you bought so many magic stones and cores… are your finances okay?”

“No, of course not. I’ve used up all my gold… I guess I need to start earning some more.”

As he replied, Merlin opened his inventory and started searching for high-rank items. Despite selling most of the drops he got when hunting, Merlin kept everything that was particularly valuable.

“It’s probably best if I don’t sell this, right?”

Merlin lifted a hand cannon, Fiery Rage, as he spoke to himself. The hand cannon was a drop he received after defeating the Class 7 dwarf lieutenant, Tain. Though Tain was a difficult adversary, Merlin had made quick work of him with the fortuitous downpour of rain.

“If I need to sell something, this would probably be the most suitable.”

Merlin took out a staff that looked like a conductor’s stick, and he opened the item’s description window.

[Item: Maestro of the Battlefield

A Rank

Unique

Description: This is a magic item made for large-scale battles. The item contains 10,000 tetra of magic power, so it may be used as a short-range weapon if necessary. Moreover, the item has an emergency magic spell rune that can protect the user as they cast magic; this spell can be operated with the magic power contained within the item.

The item can contain a max of five spells and lowers the required magic power to cast a spell by 50 to 60 percent.

If a user possessed a Rank 3 or higher Destructive Spell capability, then they could use this item if the user is Level 3 or higher.

The item currently contains the spells Blink, Illusion, and Force Field.]

Tier A items, and especially Maestro of the Battlefield, weren’t yet available for most users. Level 1 users could use items at Tier 9, while those at Level 2 were restricted to using Tier 8 items and so on. Hence, users needed a high level to use a similarly high-tier item. So, a Tier 1 item needed a Level 9 user, whereas Tier A required a Level 10 player.

A Level 13 user could use Tier AA items, Level 16 for Tier S items, Level 17 to use Tier SS items, and a Level 20 or higher user could use items at Tier UT.

In DIO’s history, Tier S and Tier AA items rarely appeared, not to mention Tier UT items. The number of Tier-A items that were found could be counted on one hand. The only exception was Arthur’s Tier SS Legendary item, the Dragon Killing Sword – Ascalon, which was the only known Tier SS item to exist.

“I was debating whether I should use this item… but it seems like a waste. If I wanted to use something like it, wouldn’t it make more sense to produce a similar item that could be reinforced and sell this one?”

“Really? Isn’t that item such a cheat, though?”

Quiet Heaven couldn’t help but show its surprise, but Merlin just shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, for a great mage and weapon producer like me, a growth-type weapon would be more fitting. It would be optimal if I received a staff as a Divine Weapon, but unfortunately, my Divine Weapon is a bow, Olympos.”

The discrepancy between what Merlin desired in his Divine Weapon and the actual Divine Weapon was because Merlin and Yongno’s styles differed. Yongno was a mage-fighter who utilized both internal energy and magic power. He limited his magic capabilities because he didn’t want to burden himself with mathematical calculations.

On the other hand, Merlin only used magic, and that was because he couldn’t utilize internal energy. Merlin could operate genuine qi through his level’s innate qualities, but if he wanted to display martial arts, he’d be restricted. After all, Merlin wasn’t Yongno but a part of Yongno.

Anyway, since Yongno’s occupation was designated as a Howling Archer, Merlin wouldn’t be wielding the Divine Master Weapon associated with the occupation, although he could still use the Master Skill. Hence, Merlin sought to acquire a weapon on par with a Divine Master Weapon.

“Outside of this, I can also sell….”

As Merlin murmured, he rummaged through his items and took out a black helmet. It was the drop he acquired after defeating the Death Knight that appeared after sinking the Dead Man’s Ship.

[Item: Ivan’s Darkness Helmet of Regret

Tier 1

Rare

Description: This is a high-rank helmet worn by Death Knight Ivan. It possesses incredible strength and significant amounts of magic power. The helmet contains a defensive rune that reduces physical damage from an outside source.

Special Effects: The wearer is protected from all foreign mental and psychological attacks.

The effects of ‘Spirit Armor’ will operate once all the set pieces are acquired. The set pieces required are Despair, Pain, Hatred, Sadness, and Regret.]

“This won’t be too effective unless I have the entire set. I should search the auction and sales sites for the other pieces.”

Merlin continued to review the other items in his inventory. He didn’t have many that were Rank 1 or more, and the items within those ranks were usually Uncommon. Unless an item was made of special high-rank material or produced with an advanced production process, it was hard to find a Rare item. Items that were rare or better were usually only dropped after defeating a high-level monster.

Whoosh!

At that moment, the magic circle flashed with light as magic power swirled in a complicated pattern before landing on the gauntlets. While Merlin was busy sifting through his inventory, the enchantment procedure had been completed. Quiet Heaven, having observed the entire process, couldn’t help but shout once more.

“Dang! This magic circle is really convenient. What is it made of?”

“Blood.”

“Eh? Who’s blood?”

“A dominion angel’s and a mid-rank demon’s.”

“… Ah!”

Quiet Heaven flinched when he heard Merlin’s low voice. There was only one place where Merlin had met dominion angels and mid-rank demons, and that place held a painful memory for Merlin. However, Merlin soon shook his head and acted as if he was unaffected.

“After grinding the One-Horned Fire Snake’s horn into magic dust and adding it to the magically processed Berserker Blood from a dominion angel, I can produce a substance with a clay-like consistency. Then, by using the same process but with a mid-rank demon’s Darkness Blood, I can create a similar substance and combine it with the other.”

While hearing Merlin’s explanation, Quiet Heaven stared at the 1.5-meter square magic circle, which looked like a metallic plate. Mana flowed within set pathways and swirled around like a whirlpool.

“The funny thing is that the contentious, hostile relationship seems to be ingrained in their blood… the two substances are constantly fighting each other. In that state, I applied heat to harden the material and then squeezed it with a Mithril plate, pushing the surrounding mana. When I repeat this cycle, the purity of the material rises. If I had my way, I’d amplify the mana by mixing the clashing, chaotic properties like when I activate the Howling Spell, but with how incompatible these two substances are, I feel that further mixing would only lead to catastrophe.”

As soon as Merlin examined an object or material, he perfectly grasped its properties. With this talent, Merlin could work with magic materials and produce an ideal result with as little trial and error as possible.

This talent could also be applied in science, but it was of little use in reality. Even if he realized a theory hundreds of years ahead of modern times, the lack of supporting technology was a roadblock. Yet, as a mage, the situation was entirely different.

Unlike scientific knowledge, which was passed on to the next generation and advanced further by civilization, progress in magic was made alone, so it was possible to develop magic ahead of one’s time without possessing enormous wealth or others’ help.

“Alright, done.”

After stabilizing the magic imbued onto the gauntlet, Merlin inspected the item.

[Item: Guardian Divine Gauntlets

Tier 3

Unique

Description: Mithril was processed into thread-like fibers and interwoven to create the gauntlet. Furthermore, the gauntlet has been imbued with high-rank magic spells, so it has become a high-rank magic item. Moreover, the gauntlets possess 3,000 tetra magic power, so if the gauntlet is imbued with magic power or internal energy, the force exerted will be amplified. Thus, the items can be used in short-range combat.

Arken Stone has been melted and added to the gauntlets, so they can be recharged with magic power. If a foreign force is sensed, the gauntlets will automatically operate to protect the wearer.

The gauntlets contain two spells, Force Field and Dispel.]

“Dang, you’re starting to churn out Unique items like it’s nothing.”

“That’s not correct. It’s just that I was working with exceptional material.”

Even though it seemed like the upgraded gauntlet was produced in an instant, Merlin had taken a long time to design the magic system and had laid the foundation with other tasks, which were also quite time-consuming. Hence, in total, Merlin had spent 20 hours creating the two items. Merlin grabbed the Guardian Divine Gauntlets. He decided to reveal the Striking Sword later.

“I’m planning to leave soon; what are you planning to do? Do you want to rest a bit?”

“Let’s go out together. If I stay here any longer, I might lose my mind.”

“You’ve overextended yourself recently.”

“You made me do it!”

As he placed the complaining eagle on his shoulder, Merlin walked out of the housing space. Merlin was wearing, as always, a wide, red-brimmed hat and mage robe, but as he changed his gear, a black wooden staff appeared in his right hand, giving off a strange aura. It was slightly shorter than his stature and had a green jewel at its end.

Aside from the staff, Merlin looked the same as before. However, it only looked that way outwardly; the gear that Merlin wore was buffed to the heavens. His robe was covered with protective barriers, so it could block any attack, and even the staff he held wasn’t ordinary, as it was taken from the fairy tribe’s commander.

[Item: World Tree Branch

Tier AA

Unique

Description: This is a branch from Yggdrasil, the World Tree, the origin of existence, and the fairy species’ hometown. The item resists all hostile auras, and the item’s user will gain 50 wood attribute points.]

Since the branch of the World Tree wasn’t processed into a weapon, it didn’t possess many functions or features. Therefore, Quiet Heaven thought that Merlin would make something from the World Tree’s branch. However, Merlin didn’t do anything else to it; he just affixed a jeweled magic stone atop the staff.