The slender blade gleamed with a beautiful silver radiance.
The hilt, polished from a unicorn's horn, shone a lovely pure white with delicate, graceful threads carved into it.
Wait, a unicorn?
Wasn't that a mythical holy beast?! Wouldn't this be ridiculously expensive!
“Rest assured, this horn was naturally shed and scavenged.”
“Kingdom law forbids hunting unicorns or poaching their horns.”
As Kuntu spoke, she placed the Second Princess—whom Li Xiuman had been longing for—onto a tray and handed it over.
It was a long blade with an overall silver-white tone, unadorned by any ostentatious gems or precious metals.
It was simple and elegant, yet possessed a snow-like purity and sacredness.
It looked like a snow lotus blooming in a place on a snow-capped mountain where no human foot had ever trod.
“The Snow Wolf's Fang was forged into her core, giving her sufficient flexibility.”
“It makes up for the Red Dragon Alloy's lack of ductility.”
Listening to Kuntu, Li Xiuman gently gripped the hilt and lifted the blade from the tray.
A silver gleam flowed from the base of the blade all the way to its tip, giving off a pleasant, soft hum.
“The core of Snow Wolf's Fang also provides her with the power of ice and snow.”
“And the blade crafted from Red Dragon Alloy allows her to switch between the powers of frost and dragon flame.”
As Kuntu continued explaining, Li Xiuman tried taking a test slash.
Pure white frost condensed in the air. Then, reversing his grip on the hilt, he drew it horizontally, and the frost transformed into crimson dragon flame.
Faint dragon roars seemed to echo within the dragon flame.
“Why don't you give her a name?”
Kuntu suggested.
“A name? I get to choose it?”
Li Xiuman looked at the simple silver-white blade and decided to give the Second Princess a feminine name.
“Crystal Orchid.”
[Crystal Orchid - Blade] A white blade crafted by fusing the Snow Wolf God's Fang from a distant land as its core across vast distances with volcano Red Dragon Alloy. Perhaps nestled within the blade lies someone's deep feelings...
[Special Effects] 1. Power of Frost (Harbors the power of frost, imbuing attacks with frost damage)
2. Power of Dragon Flame (Harbors the power of dragon flame, imbuing attacks with dragon flame damage)
3. Blessing of the Snow Realm (Receives a blessing while in icy and snowy environments)
4. Blade Qi (Enables the user to unleash Blade Qi slashes)
5. Freezing Slash (Swings the blade to perform a Freezing Slash; forcefully freezes the target upon impact)
6. Wolf God Summon (Summons the Snow Wolf God at the same level as the wielder. After use, Crystal Orchid falls into a slumber for one week. During slumber, all special effects except Blessing of Sleep are disabled)
7. Red Dragon Summon (Summons a red dragon at the same level as the wielder. After use, Crystal Orchid falls into a slumber for one week. During slumber, all special effects except Blessing of Sleep are disabled)
8. Blessing of Sleep (While Crystal Orchid is slumbering, the wielder gains Strength +5 and Constitution +20)
[Quality] Red
“Red Quality!”
What a total steal!
This was a Red Quality magic tool!
A magic tool of this tier was already capable of leaving behind its own story alongside its wielder in this world.
Through his studying, Li Xiuman had gained a thorough understanding of this world's magic tools. The system's color-coded Quality tiers corresponded exactly to the world's classifications.
White was an ordinary weapon with no special effects.
Green was Magic-grade, meaning it contained mana.
Blue was High-Magic-grade, meaning it contained high levels of mana.
Purple was Masterpiece-grade, representing the pinnacle of craftsmanship—a blacksmith's masterpiece.
Red was Story-grade. A magic tool of this tier was capable of leaving its own story in this world.
Orange was Heroic-grade. Such magic tools usually appeared in heroic epics, equipped by legendary heroes and passed down by word of mouth.
Gold was Legendary-grade. Passed down through generations, these magic tools possessed their own legends and countless stories, with each tale featuring a brave hero holding them to forge an epic.
Rainbow was Divine Tool.
In this world, the pinnacle of a blacksmith's skill usually reached only Masterpiece-grade, or Purple.
Higher-tier magic tools required the blessing of stories and legends.
Take the Glacial Seal Sword, for example—it was Gold Legendary-grade, and bookstores were filled with storybooks about its wielders.
It was a truly famous blade.
“Could it be because its birth carries a story?”
The current wielder of the Glacial Seal Sword had obtained a fang after battling the Snow Wolf God, which he then sent to his beloved along with his deep feelings.
And subsequently, crafted with top-notch craftsmanship, Crystal Orchid was born.
It really was quite a story.
Talk about living off a woman from thousands of miles away!
Damn it, he could absolutely not let too many people know this story, let alone let it be sung in song!
Otherwise, his name would be passed down alongside Crystal Orchid as the classic textbook example of a gigolo.
That was something people would tease him about for a lifetime.
“Crystal Orchid... A very lovely name. She would probably like it very much.”
Kuntu said, looking at the blade.
What kind of atmosphere was this? It felt like a birth mother and father holding a newborn baby and deciding on a name together!
“So, how much is the total?”
He had to face reality eventually, didn't he...
Li Xiuman asked through gritted teeth.
A blade crafted to this level—top-tier in both appearance and strength—definitely wouldn't come cheap.
“Let me tally it up... The materials used were... mithril, unicorn horn, ironwood sap, dragon stone powder...”
“And for the previous Red Dragon Alloy, we used mithril, pure magic steel...”
“Adding them all together, the raw materials cost a total of... 1,768 gold coins.”
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Li Xiuman still sucked in a sharp breath when he took the paper Kuntu had calculated.
It was so bloody expensive!
That unicorn horn—he knew beforehand that it was pricey, but 899 gold coins was absurdly expensive!
That was roughly what an ordinary person would spend in an entire lifetime!
“...Plus lost time fees, labor fees, and equipment usage fees.”
“A total of... 180 gold coins.”
“Wait, isn't that labor fee way too cheap?”
Li Xiuman took a look at the price sheet and realized the labor fee was calculated based on the rates of a regular blacksmith at the Red Dwarf Blacksmith.
And Li Xiuman had already witnessed Kuntu's skill.
Someone who could forge Purple Masterpiece-grade magic tools could never be priced the same as an ordinary blacksmith.
“It's been a long time since I got to practice with such fine materials.”
“Crafting a Story-grade magic tool brought me gains as well, so I won't fleece you on the labor fee.”
“Besides, if Crystal Orchid accompanies you in forging a true heroic epic—or even a legend—”
“then my name as her blacksmith will be sung along with yours.”
Kuntu took a puff from her pipe, waved her hand, and spoke nonchalantly.
Master Bal really was a rare, good person.
“Since it's free, Master Bal, could you also help process these pink-melt talcs?”
“And repair these magic tools?”
“...Labor fees come to a total of two thousand gold coins. Pretend I said nothing earlier.”
“I was just kidding, Master Bal! I'll pay for all of these properly!”
“By the way, if I don't have enough gold coins, can I pay in ores? I have plenty here!”
“...”
Rate on N.U.
