Lone Walk, Preparing For The First Step (3)

Exactly five days after emerging from the underground training hall, I only informed the members via comms that I was out and headed straight for the workshop. Waiting any longer felt like it would drive me crazy with impatience.

As always, the workshop’s distinct smell of leather, metal, and herbs hit my nose, and my wildly beating heart gradually calmed.

My mood steadied and my stride slowed.

“Phew…”

At a steady pace, I approached the spot where the magical furnace was set up.

I let out a long sigh once more and began preparing the materials.

I had ‘high-purity mithril’ in my inventory; this was the process to make ‘high-purity orichalcum’ and ‘high-purity adamantium.’

Because those two metals were expensive and rare, I personally thought increasing their purity was almost wasteful. Creating pure ingots yields much less than half compared to the original bars.

Although it felt wasteful, there was no choice. To rid myself of regret, I threw every adamantium and orichalcum ingot in my inventory into the furnace with the determination to use it all and began refining.

Before I noticed how time had passed, after repeatedly producing only high-purity metal ingots, a mountain of well-refined orichalcum and adamantium had formed beside the furnace.

Only after refining every metal ingot in my inventory did I take out a long, thick rod and place it on the workbench.

The rod glowed pure white and lit the workshop. I placed the ‘material polishing agent’—which occupied most of the long workbench—onto it to make contact.

“Would you like to raise the grade of ‘Crafting Material— [Demi-God]’ by one level using the ‘material polishing agent’?”

“Yes.”

At my affirmative reply, the entire three-meter Fluxum rod emitted a bright light.

It had originally been bright white, but after the light faded, the rod showcased an elegant form, gleaming like transparent glass.

The blunt, long rod sparkled as it reflected the workshop lights. I lifted the newly transformed rod to check its information.

Through magical refinement I raised the purity of the Fluxum that the Creator favored to an incredible level.

Fluxum with increased purity becomes a metal capable of accepting anything.

Reading the item description, I nodded unconsciously in satisfaction.

I lit the magical furnace and activated a magic circle beside it. Heat that could cook flesh radiated from the right furnace, while cold that could freeze flesh pressed from the left circle.

When preparations were complete, I dipped the Fluxum bundle into the heat once and into the cold once for set intervals.

With each repetition, the Fluxum’s length shrank and its thickness thinned.

When the Fluxum that had been over three meters shortened to about one meter, I plunged the now club-sized Fluxum into molten metal made from the prepared mithril, orichalcum, and adamantium.

Unlike previous attempts where orichalcum and adamantium—metals that were hard to mix—had grudgingly alloyed, the orichalcum and adamantium that had violently repelled each other began to be absorbed into the Fluxum along with the mithril in their molten state.

A considerable amount. In terms of weight, the Fluxum club greedily consumed far more molten metal than the Fluxum had weighed before shrinking.

It trembled as if burping after a good meal and actually shortened a bit more.

Meanwhile, I took out a black ‘Ego Stone’ with a strange sheen and injected divine power into it.

When the endlessly hungry Ego Stone could no longer accept divine power and began returning it, I cut off the divine flow and placed the trembling Fluxum club atop it.

Like placing ice cream on a searing iron pipe, the Ego Stone melted away and was absorbed, leaving no trace.

As if nothing had happened, the Ego Stone gone, I overlaid chaos upon my right index finger to form vital force and sliced my left forearm.

I let the dripping blood fall onto the Fluxum club. It vibrated even more violently than when it had absorbed the three high-purity metal ingots and the Ego Stone.

Vrrrr— vrrrr—

With my boosted stamina, my wrists healed in an instant, so I had to cut them four more times before I could spill the required amount of blood.

Despite the increased physical stats, a dizziness I hadn’t felt in a long time hit me.

“Hoo…”

I quietly watched the transparent Fluxum club vibrate more violently and occasionally drift into the air.

After about thirty more minutes of movement, as the Fluxum club slowly stopped vibrating and stabilized, I infused the Talent Orb—Adapt—Dog with divine power and, when it could no longer accept any, placed it atop the Fluxum club in the same manner as the Ego Stone.

I watched anxiously as the Talent Orb likewise melted away like ice cream. I had registered the recipe and, for the first time in the crafting list, a success probability condition was attached.

An ambiguous 50% chance.

It’s literally fifty-fifty, but it’s a probability that leaves no room for complaint if it fails.

I can’t be certain, but it probably took only about five minutes. It felt as slow as fifty hours.

So many materials had gone into it that if it failed, I’d be furious.

“Insane… No! Absolutely not!”

“Never! Try it if you dare! It’ll be war!”

There were definitely ellipses at the start. Do I need to use ‘Let’s have an interview!’ soon? This thing is sly and perpetually playful.

After trials and tribulations, the crafted ‘rod’ was, contrary to its name, under one meter long and very thin. It resembled a three-section baton used by police—slightly longer, transparent, and pretty… a club.

With trembling hands I activated the inspect function and a long item description rose up. It would take a while to read and understand.

Again, a tool with this trait will vanish if the being registered as its ‘owner’ perishes.

“What… what have I done…?”

I stared, dazed, at the club shining like a beautiful glass craft and nearly dropped it.

—Master!

Just as I was gathering myself, a sudden voice made me lose my grip on the Posik-a.

—Eek! How could you slam such a beautiful and delicate woman to the ground like that!

Even though it had slipped from my hand, that buzzing voice sounded distinctly in my ear.

Half-awake and dazed, I didn’t pick the Posik-a up from the floor but stared at it absentmindedly.

—Quick, quick! Please save me from here! Master! Eit!!

It whimpered to itself, then with a cute ‘Eit!’ the Predator slowly leapt into the air.

Like a fledgling baby bird growing used to flight and becoming more adept, it first wobbled awkwardly but its speed gradually increased.

When it rose to about my shoulder height, it not only ascended but also darted around my body, chattering rapidly.

—Master, hello. Nice to meet you.

After chattering about its mood and condition for a while, the Predator straightened the blunt club upright in the air as if to greet me, then folded it at a 90-degree angle.

For some reason that posture reminded me of Naruan and made me feel oddly strange.

—I… I… sob. Master, I don’t have a name.

“You’re not Naruan 2… so let’s call you ‘Tongjang’. It means to pass through and store, so it suits you perfectly.”

—Yes! I like it. Hohoho. I, Tongjang, will be with the Master for life.

I said it jokingly to imply it could store any type of weapon, but the Ego’s voice was so bright it seemed to actually like the name Tongjang.

Now that flight was familiar, it swam through the air and chattered like a bell rolling down a hill; no matter how many times I thought about it, it was a carbon copy of Naruan—excessively cheerful and lively.

While putting the leftover materials back into my inventory, I pulled out the ‘Ager Skull Bow [Unique]’.

—Oh my? Master, are you going to give that to me?

“Huh? I— I suppose so?”

Does that mean that? Not feeding a weapon to the thing—storing it in Tongjang—but giving it as a gift to an Ego that claims to be female… something like that…?

—Oh my! A present right upon meeting. I’m touched! I’ll enjoy it—! Ang!

Expressing even the onomatopoeic ‘ang!’, it slowly devoured the animal-bone-shaped Ager Skull Bow.

One side of the Ager Skull Bow, originally a dull gray, gradually turned transparent.

After about a minute of predation, Tongjang trembled.

‘Confirmed.’

I stood agape at how absurdly the item’s performance had increased compared to the pre-absorption Ager Skull Bow.

While I was astonished by the new stats, a bell-like tinkling voice spoke.

—Oh, Master. If you stare at me like that, I’m embarrassed…“

The performance was great, but Tongjang’s Ego had a weird personality. Why are all the Egos around me like this?

“Oh? Who is this lovely young lady? Master.”

The situation turned into a mess with the arrival of the strangest Ego, Arun 2.

I forced myself to listen to the coquettish Arun 2 and the primly snappy Posik-a ‘Tongjang’ converse as I returned to the mansion.

Before going to the bedroom I met Lee Hyo-ju and explained the new weapon and its name, lamenting my own foolishness.

“So… pfft. This weapon has an Ego, and the Ego’s name is ‘Tongjang’?”

“Yeah… Why are you laughing?”

“Ah, no. Pft, ho, hohoho.”

“…What is it?”

Lee Hyo-ju tried to hold back laughter while denying it, but everyone could tell she wasn’t really denying it.

Under continued questioning she hesitated but still burst into laughter as she explained why, and I was mortified.

“Well, that… Kim Han, then the weapon you’re holding becomes ‘Savings (your) Account’… hohohoho! I-I’m sorry!”

Lee Hyo-ju, who never leaves before me, left the room unable to hold back her laughter with a flushed face.

I stared at the Predator and vowed to call it ‘Predator’ from now on.

‘Battlefield of the Gods’ Year 5, January 23. Savings Kim Han creates ‘Tongjang.’