Chương 139

The Vatican smithy was quiet and dusty. Grid stood in front of the cold anvil. He happily shoved the three raw Pavranium ores deep into his inventory. He patted his pockets with a huge grin. Before Grid could ask for the crafting materials, Rudra leaned on his bone staff.

"Hey, Grid," Rudra said.

"What about Isabel's spear? You unsealed it earlier. Is it actually safe to leave it like that?" Grid blinked. He thought back to the system description of the unsealed spear he saw. [It is one of the three divine artifacts of the Rebecca Church. It contains a tremendous divine power that human beings can't afford to handle, placing a heavy burden on the user's mind and body. Since Rebecca's Daughters became short-lived after being unable to cope with the power of this weapon, 5th Pope Franz asked Pagma to seal its power. However, Pagma's Successor emerged during the 13th Pope's reign and was able to discover the true power of the weapon, unsealing it.] Grid frowned.

"No. It's actually really bad. She'll die if she keeps using it." Isabel was waiting near the doorway of the smithy. Grid walked right up to her.

"Give me the spear," Grid said bluntly. Isabel looked confused.

"Why?"

"Because it's going to kill you," Grid told her.

"The power is too heavy for a human. The 5th Pope had it sealed to stop Rebecca's Daughters from dying young. I need to seal it back up." Isabel stared at him. Her eyes widened. She realized Grid wasn't just being greedy about items. He was actually worried about her life. A soft blush spread across her cheeks.

"You... you care about what happens to me?"

"I just don't want you dropping dead after we just saved this place," Grid muttered, looking away. Isabel smiled warmly. She felt deeply touched by his blunt honesty. She handed the white spear over without a fight.

"Thank you, Grid." Grid quickly used his blacksmith skills to seal the weapon's true power again. He handed it back to her and marched over to the anvil.

"Alright, back to business," Grid said. He held his empty hand out to Rudra.

"Give me the materials." Rudra pulled two items from his inventory. He dropped them onto the anvil with a heavy thud. The first was a dark, jagged rock. It was the High-Density Core of a Deep-Sea Golem. The second was a squishy, glowing blue organ. It was the Electric Gland of an Abyssal Eel. Both items originally came from the Bosses of the hidden temples of the Ocean God.

"I got these from a dungeon," Rudra explained casually. Grid crossed his arms. He stared at the weird materials. He was still bitter about giving up a precious skill slot.

"Legendary Blacksmith's Creation," Grid muttered. A blank blueprint appeared in his mind. He started designing the staff. As he drafted the weapon, a petty, evil smile crept onto his face. If Rudra was going to extort a weapon from him, Grid was going to make sure he couldn't even lift it. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He purposely compressed the golem core to make the weight absolutely ridiculous.

He set the stat limits so high that no player could ever equip it. When the system finalized the design, Grid pulled up the blueprint window. He shoved it right in Rudra's face.

"Look at this," Grid laughed.

"Six thousand Strength. Four thousand Agility. It weighs fifteen hundred units! You'll break your back just trying to pick it up!" Rudra looked at the blueprint. He didn't look mad. He just smiled.

"It looks great," Rudra said.

"Make it." Grid frowned. Why wasn't he upset?

"Did you hear me? You can't use this! The conditions are impossible!"

"Just hit the metal, Grid." Grid grumbled. He tossed the materials into the blazing furnace. Instantly, the fire turned bright blue. The electric gland sparked violently. It rejected the dense stone core, shooting lightning bolts across the room. It threatened to blow up the entire forge.

"It won't melt together!" Grid yelled, stepping back from the flying sparks. Mumud stepped forward quietly. The silver-haired mage raised his pale hands. He drew glowing blue magic circles around the furnace. The magic acted like a net, trapping the wild electricity and forcing the currents to stabilize. Rudra didn't just watch. He walked right up to the fire. He used his alchemy skills. He guided the melting stone, forcefully binding the heavy minerals directly into the biological eel gland.

He balanced the warring materials until they fused into a single, pulsing dark alloy. [Your understanding of materials has deepened.] [Intermediate Alchemy has reached Level 8!]"Now!" Rudra called out. Grid stepped in. He grabbed his hammer and started swinging. Clang! Clang! Clang! Grid hammered the glowing metal furiously. He poured all his petty anger into every single strike, shaping the heavy alloy into a long, thick shaft. Hours later, Grid plunged the hot weapon into a barrel of water.

Steam filled the room. Grid pulled the staff out. It was a masterpiece. The staff was pitch-black. Jagged, glowing blue lines of electricity pulsed up and down the shaft. Grid checked the final stats. [Extortion] [Rating: Legendary] [Durability: 1, 200/1, 200 Attack Power: 1, 300~2, 500] - Attack Speed +20% - Lightning Attribute Damage +500 on every hit. - There is a high probability of ignoring 20% of the target's defense. - A paralyzing effect will trigger on a critical hit.

- The skill 'Thunderfall' will be generated. [It is a staff designed by a legendary blacksmith who was forced to make it. The creator was so annoyed that he spitefully named the weapon 'Extortion'. It is absurdly heavy. The angry creator purposely made the conditions of use impossible for any normal human to meet.] [Conditions of Use: Level 400 or higher. More than 6, 000 Strength. More than 4, 000 Agility. Advanced Staff Mastery Level 10 or higher.] [Weight: 1, 500] [Thunderfall] [Active] [Channel the staff's raw electricity into a single, devastating overhead strike. - Deals 300% physical damage and 150% lightning magic damage. - Paralyzes the target for 1. 5 seconds. - Resource Consumption: 80 Staff Energy, 300 Mana. - Skill Cooldown: 5 minutes.] Grid burst out laughing. He named it Extortion just to be spiteful.

"I told you!" Grid mocked. He held the heavy staff with both hands just to keep it from hitting the floor. His knees were shaking from the weight.

"The stats are locked! It's a total failure for you!" He dropped the staff. It hit the stone floor with a massive, echoing thud. Rudra walked over. He didn't complain. He just reached down and grabbed the staff with one hand. Because of his class, he completely ignored all staff conditions. He lifted the massive weapon like it was made of plastic. He gave it a rapid, casual spin. The air crackled loudly with blue electricity. Grid's laughter stopped instantly. Grid stared at Rudra spinning the impossible weapon.

His jaw slowly dropped. His eyes bugged out.

"How...?" Grid choked out.

"It's perfect," Rudra grinned. He rested the crackling staff on his shoulder.

"Thanks for the hard work, Grid. Let's go."