Chapter 248 – Guidance

After Dream made his little declaration, Vela spoke with doubt.

"...That's a bit more than I expected. I'd like to see where this confidence of yours stems from. After all, our clan has a long history and fantastic crafters, all of whom have built up our clan's foundation over hundreds of years. It won't be easy to just improve on everything. Plus, how much can one man do?"

"Mm. Indeed."

Surprisingly, Dream nodded in agreement. It truly wasn't easy to simply improve on everything a long standing clan had built. After all, this clan even had class 6's. Those people could surely create many varieties of powerful gear. These pieces of gear would be passed down through the generations, maintaining their glory for the lifetime of the clan. 

However, this difficulty only applied to those who had shallow understandings of science and magic. Dream was confident in his ability to build up any nation or clan into a powerhouse. Back on Earth, he had legions of billions of bots, millions of which could match class 4's. His army alone could obliterate the entire Red Eye Clan. He wouldn't even have to lift a finger. 

Of course, Dream wasn't planning on building up such a force for this clan. Something like that would take a long while. As he said, he would improve their gear. He would build armor, weapons, and ships that were better than the ones they had. Through his work, they would be able to take out their opposition. When that was done, he would consider his payment complete. 

"I understand your concern. I'll prove to you my ability when you give me a job. In fact, let's start with you. Mind if I see your weapon?"

"Mine? I suppose..."

Vela thought hesitantly before agreeing, bringing out her weapon. Dream watched as a halberd appeared in her hand. The halberd was about 8 feet long and tipped with a curved gray blade. The shaft was crafted with a variety of fancy black designs, making it look like a beautiful night sky. Of course, Dream looked past this beauty. He only cared about how effective it was. 

"This is my weapon, the Desolate Night Halberd. The flexible shaft is crafted from dark demon ore that was saturated in dense mana within a demon world for thousands of years. The blade was crafted from angelic obsidian. Through the work of a masterful class 6 craftsman, he was able to reconcile the opposite natures of the angelic and demonic ores and bring the two together, creating a surprisingly powerful and cohesive whole that can explode with unrivaled power. I've wielded this weapon for nearly 130 years. It's become one with me after the baptism of thousands of lives."

Vela stroked her weapon lovingly as she explained its characteristics. Meanwhile, Dream listened with an odd face. Dark demon ore? Angelic obsidian? What the hell were those? He wasn't familiar with any of the elements of this world. 

"Do you mind if I analyze it?"

He eventually asked after Vela had her fun with the weapon. She looked at him with an odd face before reluctantly handing the blade over. 

"Don't try anything funny."

"I won't."

Dream reassured her as he took the weapon. Then, his Will seeped out, enveloping the halberd. Before his Will could penetrate the weapon though, it was blocked by the ultra dense mana contained within it.

"Huh. This is more powerful than I expected."

He spoke with surprise. Vela nodded with pride.

"Of course. It was made by a class 6 known for his crafting abilities. I spent a majority of my wealth at the time to get this weapon."

"Right. Well, I guess I'll need a bit more effort. Can we step outside?"

"Outside? Why?"

Hearing his question, Vela tilted her head in confusion. He turned with the weapon in hand, walking toward the door. 

"I don't want to disturb my sister's test. I just need some space."

"Oh. Alright then. Do you need a crafting bench or any of the sort? We have tools for artisans here."

"Tools? No need."

Dream chuckled as he walked outside. Vela followed closely behind. Durack, who had been lingering at the side, also followed. He was interested in seeing Dream's crafting ability. So far, he had only shown ability for combat. 

The three entered the open square where dozens of asuras were walking to and from other areas. Their eyes all fell on Vela though when she appeared. 

Vela watched as Dream stopped in an open area. He looked at the halberd in his hands. The next moment, the halberd levitated and displayed itself before Dream. 

"Here goes nothing."

Dream spoke. With a thought, his gray colored Will seethed from his body. His mortal shell cracked and separated before sinking below into a void. 

His cosmic form was exposed, his entire power affecting the space around him. Vela, who had been standing near him, was shocked by the absolute power that momentarily covered her. Under that power, she felt weak like a little rabbit. 

Dream's Will concentrated on the weapon, his control over the surroundings disappearing. After his Will sunk past the power of the halberd, he got a full view of the weapon's composition.

"Let's see... some silica, oxygen, aluminum. It looks like the blade really is obsidian. As for the shaft, that's built with a titanium alloy. The person who refined and tempered this knew his stuff. The only place he was incompetent was the formation of the blade. I understand it's saturated with extreme mana and flux, but obsidian? I'm surprised this thing hasn't been chipped yet. In fact... This actually has been chipped. You had to get this repaired, huh?"

Dream spoke openly. Hearing his last comment, Vela was a bit embarrassed. The blade really had chipped before, but she didn't think it was so obvious. 

She didn't remain embarrassed for long though. As Dream continued analyzing the weapon, Vela's eyes were locked onto his figure. His body was a window to the universe, and she found herself enraptured by his figure and the feeling of wonder he exuded. It was like his body contained the mysteries of space. 

Dream scanned every inch of the weapon. He looked at its entire atomic structure, understanding how it was made. He then sifted through the enchantments. This weapon was crafted with materials that already had extremely high amounts of flux and mana. After being enchanted, it was made able to display the full power of a class 5. Someone like Vela would have no problem flooding her mana into it, guiding high amounts of power and displaying skills with ease. The enchantments were all made to facilitate this. However, the enchantments were also aimed toward an affinity with fire skills. It seemed like Vela was a fire type fighter. 

Dream had long understood that mana could take on different elemental properties. This was similar to the normal states of matter. Fire was plasma, earth was solids, water was liquids, and air was gases. These elements could be formed with mana. Luna, for instance, enjoyed using ice and water. In the end though, it was all mana. 

Dream never prioritized any element. He used mana in its basic form. There were many though who focused on one element. This was due to their understanding of the element. If one understood fire more, then they would have an easier time creating fire from mana and using such skills. Vela was one of these people, and the enchantments in the weapon helped facilitate this. 

After analyzing both the structure and enchantments, Dream removed his Will. He didn't modify the weapon in any way, only looking at it. His cosmic hand grabbed the shaft, sending it back to Vela who carefully received it. 

"I've understood the structure of the weapon. I'll make one that's compatible with you and we'll see how you like it. This shouldn't take long."

Dream said that and turned back around. The next moment, a chunk of metal was extracted from his inventory. The metal rapidly shaped into an exact copy of the halberd, only this time the entire thing was metallic gray. There was also no differentiation between the shaft and the blade, the two flowing into each other without any seams. It was one single piece of metal, formed by the atom.

Next was the enchantment. This was the difficult part. While the enchantments on Vela's halberd weren't as amazing as Dream's, they were exceptionally powerful, built from the power of a class 6. Naturally, Dream would have to consume a good portion of his energy to match such power. This simply took him dumping energy into the weapon. 

Dream quickly laid down the enchantments, covering every molecule of the halberd and connecting it all as one cohesive unit. It was specialized toward fire mana and would enhance Vela's ability to concentrate her power, easily infusing it into the blade through the shaft. There was also a repair enchantment that could consume the user's power and rebuild the enchantments, maintaining its magical ability. 

Once this was done, Dream went on to dump his energy into the whole weapon. His power filled the enchantments, boosting their strength by dozens of times. Once around 30% of his energy was expended, he cut it off. While this much couldn't match the original halberd, that was made up for by the precision of his enchantments. His enchantments made it so that her power would be enhanced over 70% more than the original despite only having 80% of the sheer power. 

With that, Dream was almost done. The totally gray halberd floated in front of him. During the process of enchantment, Vela couldn't sense anything, and no outward displays were put on. This was because Dream's power was under absolute control. Anything that radiated out was wasted energy, so he naturally couldn't allow such things. 

Dream scanned the halberd, checking its quality before nodding. After that, he pulled out a marble from his inventory. This marble was only as big as a thumbprint, but within it was an extreme fusion reactor. The entire thing glowed with flashing light, looking like a mini-sun. 

Dream pressed this marble into the center of the shaft. The marble sunk into the metal easily before locking itself within, completely sealed inside the shaft. However, this was only the first step of Dream's finishing touch. 

After the marble was embedded inside the shaft, golden lines spread gradually along the surface. These were circuits, and they traveled up the shaft and even onto the blade like blood vessels. The entire weapon was filled with these vessels of power, and once the circuit was complete, the vessels flashed with power before dimming down, returning the weapon to its dull luster. 

"And it's done."

Dream nodded approvingly. He handed the halberd to Vela who had returned her own halberd to her inventory. 

Vela grabbed the halberd. The instant she did, she could feel a bolt of mana shoot through her, connecting to her very soul. The next moment, she could sense the weapon itself, as if it were a limb. 

Dream reverted his form back to his mortal shell, looking at Vela and explaining. 

"This weapon has the same structure as your halberd. It's enchanted to operate using fire mana, your element of choice. It's also enchanted to concentrate your power. With this concentration, you can form strips of dense mana along the blade and point, giving you superior slicing and piercing power. As for the rest of the enchantments, they're focused on repair. You can repair the weapon's enchantments by consuming your own energy, driving the repair process. Lastly, the enchantments connect directly with your soul, able to be controlled with your thoughts even from a distance. This also means that you can prevent your own weapon from being used against you.

At the same time, I've eliminated the material limitations. It's all metal, so it won't chip. And while it will deform under extreme pressure, I've made it so that the material can repair itself. If it's deformed, that marble I inserted will power the circuits inside of the weapon, reforming the halberd until it's back to its original state. Also, that marble can stabilize the material to some extent, giving it greater rigidity or flexibility. This should eliminate all weaknesses of the weapon. Also, the weapon doesn't get harder to use the less power you have. Any amount of power can operate this weapon. The only thing you need to worry about is being able to beat your enemy. The weapon will never be your downfall."

Dream said all this, simply stating all the attributes of the weapon. Vela was lost in thought as she felt the weapon. She truly could feel the weapon with her soul. It connected to her mind, and through this she could sense all the functions of the weapon. She was quick to understand all its functions, but she also couldn't believe what she was sensing. 

After being lost in thought for a while, Vela eventually started to swing her weapon. She performed various movements, the mana on the edge of the blade drawing dangerous arcs in the air that could faintly affect even space. Her mana flowed uninhibited through the weapon, able to be used as if she were sending mana through her body. The enchantments guided her mana to concentrate it. It took no effort on her part to make her mana extremely dense. All she needed to do was give it energy. 

This seamless usage of the weapon shocked her to no end. It felt many times better than the halberd she had used for over a century. It was like this weapon was tailor made just for her. Compared to this weapon, her Desolate Night Halberd was like a congested pole. 

Feeling this though, Vela became conflicted. She had used her Desolate Night Halberd for so long, and it had fought with her in so many battles. But now, a far better weapon had been crafted in a mere few minutes by a stranger. She wanted to stick to her original weapon, but Dream's creation was just too good. There was nothing about her original weapon that was better, aside from the aesthetic. Going into battle, she couldn't in her right mind use her Desolate Night Halberd. That would just hold her back.

Dream watched as Vela stared at the new weapon for a minute or so. She soon reluctantly lifted her head, sighing.

"This is the most amazing weapon I've ever had the pleasure of holding."

"Why thank you. It's all yours. As for naming it or whatnot, that's up to you. And if you really want, I can make it all pretty."

"No, that's fine. Are you sure you're a class 4?"

"Pretty sure."

Dream chuckled hearing Vela's doubt. He knew he was powerful for a class 4. This was especially so after having killed that blue robed class 5. As for what his power would look like after advancement, even he didn't know. 

Vela was quiet as Dream smiled. She wanted to ask how he had casually created such a masterpiece, but she wouldn't even know what questions to ask. She could sense the enchantments, but they were so complex that she couldn't make sense of them. Besides, such things were beyond her expertise. She could only marvel at the baffling creation. 

She eventually just shook her head. She put the weapon into her inventory the next moment, facing Dream.

"Well, it's safe to say that your ability is more than satisfactory. We can provide you with materials, and in exchange you'll build weapons and gear. Honestly though, if you're able to build things like that halberd, then we'll instead be the ones in debt to you. You could easily sell this weapon to a class 6 at a sky high price."

"Don't worry too much about that. Use what I give you to defeat your enemies. After that, you can help me out."

"...Do you even need our help?"

Vela mumbled. If Dream was so capable, couldn't he take himself to the north pole where the branch clan was? If it was by building weapons and selling them, he would be able to become one of the honorary artisans for the Blood Drop Clan. Why did he need them?

Dream shook his head.

"I don't need it. My sister does though. She needs training that I can't give her much of. So I need people, asuras, that can guide her. Until she fights her way into the Blood Drop Clan, you'll be those people."

Dream directly laid out his expectations. He knew what he was going to give these people was overkill. And he truly could make his way to that clan himself. But it wasn't just him here. Melody needed to grow, and he had held her back long enough. He wanted her to fight her way to the top, and this little clan was a good starting point.

Vela heard him and understood what he wanted. Suddenly, she felt a little envious of Melody. She had a brother who was willing to go so far for her, one that was so powerful too. He would be able to open doors that nobody would have the chance to even glimpse at. This right here was only the first of many doors Melody would have opened to her. 

"Alright. We'll assist your sister in any way we can. You have my word."

"Thanks. Now, let's go see where my sister is."

Dream smiled before walking back into the evaluation center. Durack remained in place as the two left. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around Dream's power. His mind was in turmoil.