Chapter 168: The Bleak Wind

Chapter 168: The Bleak Wind

Arwin found himself with a slightly new conundrum. He’d worked hard materials into his work before. It was pretty easy to figure out how to add in a monster tooth to an arrow or a scale to a metal band.

Putting a feather into a giant plate of metal was a slightly less straightforward task. He could always hammer it in, but if he did that, he was pretty sure he’d end up with a few sad scraps of fluff rather than a feather.

It wasn’t like he could ask the feather for its thoughts either. Metal he could speak to. A feather, on the other hand and according to Esmerelda’s own words, was the plainest feather of the plainest dove. It most certainly didn’t have a scrap of magical power that would enable [Stonesinger] to activate.

Ah, screw it. If I can’t hammer the feather itself, maybe I’ll just try to press some metal in over it. It’s the best way to work it in that I can think of without getting mashed feather in the process. This way it’ll only be a bit burnt.

A bit might have been understating quite how much hot metal would cook a feather, but that was the point of experimenting. Arwin set the feather down on the inside of the chestpiece’s front plate, then moved the whole thing off the anvil.

He then set another small piece of black metal down and got to work hammering out until it was square and as thin as he dared make it. Arwin set the main armor piece back onto the anvil and held the edges of the thin piece in the hearth, heating them to a molten yellow.

Biting his lower lip, Arwin lowered the piece over the top of the feather, trying to keep the heated edges away from the feather. He’d made it just large enough to fit the feather in on the less-hot center, though it had still heated from its proximity to the hearth.

The feather hissed as Arwin started hammering away at the edges of the plate. Small curls of [Soul Flame] rose up from Verdant Blaze as he tapped away, doing his absolute best to avoid accidentally cooking his feather.

It soon became apparent that adding a random lump to the armor might have been a good way to avoid damaging the feather too badly, but it was a rather poor move for comfort. Having something that jutted out into your chest wasn’t ideal. Arwin considered the plate for a moment, then let out a huff.

Screw it. The feather needs to become one with the armor, not sit inside it.

Arwin brought Verdant Blaze down right in the center of the plate, ignoring his previous attempts at avoiding the feather. A large blast of [Soul Flame] drove into the armor and he repeated the process, pouring magic from himself and into the armor as he focused his intent on making it as light as possible.

He worked faster now that the feather issue had been handled — though only time would tell if his strategy would actually work. Arwin worked away at the front of the Chestplate, making all the modifications to ensure it would fit Anna whilst combining it with the feather and continuing to pour energy into it.

Once he’d gotten it to the proper shape, Arwin plunged it into his barrel of oil. Flame erupted along the top of the oil as it hissed and bubbled. He waited until the wave of heat had died down before pulling the chestpiece out and setting it down. He still had the pauldrons, backpiece, and segmented abdomen parts to complete.

Fortunately, none of those needed a feather inside them. Arwin got to work making the last of the modifications and pouring magical energy into every part he worked on. Piece by finished piece was stacked up beside the anvil until every single one of them had been finished.

Arwin set about cleaning the scale off them before getting to work making some bolts from the same metal. They got the exact same magical energy treatment and were piled up on the edge of his anvil.

Once the bolts were done, Arwin took a moment to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his brow before gathering some leather and setting about preparing it to line the inside of the chestpiece.

He cut it into large sections and removed strips for the bindings — and then it was time to put everything together. Arwin laid the parts out and heated the heads of the pins before pressing them through the leather and into the armor. Magical energy continued to run from him and into his work, bringing his reserves dangerously low.

Arwin hadn’t been keeping track of how long he’d been working, but judging by how little power he had left, it had been quite some time. Power gathered around the armor and tingled beneath his hands, but Arwin didn’t stop. If the Mesh acknowledged his piece before he was finished, then his efforts would be wasted.

He had to make sure every single bit was completed before he released his work for judgement. Once the main parts of the armor were prepared, Arwin turned his attention to the connecting segments.Ne/w novel chapters are published at novelhall.com

Arwin peered down at the Bleak Wind Chestplate and information swirled forth to form into golden letters in the air before him.

[Bleak Wind Chestplate: Epic Quality]

[Blood Fog]: Forged from the armor of a lineage of killers for a woman who desires to do nothing but heal, this item seeks to fulfill its new owner’s desires in the only way it knows how. The Bleak Wind Chestplate can release Blood Fog at the cost of magical energy. Living beings that inhale Blood Fog that the Bleak Wind Chestplate’s bearer views as opponents will be struck with visions of all those whose deaths the Bleak Wind Chestplate can recall. The fog’s effectiveness depends on the difference in Tiers between the target and this item’s bearer.

[Light as a Feather]: Though decades of blood and death weigh heavy on this armor, its physical form is greatly lightened by the gentle hands of wind bearing it aloft like a feather.

[Forged For One]: This item was forged specifically for Anna. Its abilities will not function for any other users.

[Black Shroud]: This item’s properties are concealed from others once it has been donned.

[The Bleak Wind] (Locked): Whole once more, the Bleak Wind Set will permit its user to dematerialize into a gust of wind at the cost of magical energy.

[Bleak Wind]: This is a set item of [6] pieces. When the entire set is worn, The Bleak Wind will be unlocked.

There was no doubt in Arwin’s mind that the item lived up to its impressive Epic rarity. The final ability of the armor was incredible. An unrestricted movement ability that turned someone into wind was powerful indeed. It wasn’t like a sword could cut wind, so Anna would be functionally untouchable by physical blows as long as she had magical energy.

Unfortunately, that boon wouldn’t come until Arwin managed to get the rest of the set made, but he didn’t mind. The other abilities the item gave were incredible. [Light as a Feather] would have been good enough, but [Blood Fog] and [Black Shroud] made it perfect.

A delighted, weary grin pulled across Arwin’s lips. His eyes slipped over the words once more, catching for a moment on Anna’s name — or rather, the lack of it. She was just Anna in the Mesh’s eyes.

Huh. That’s odd.

Arwin’s mind was too tired to process it any further. The weariness was wrapping around his body like iron chains that pulled him down toward the floor and it was growing harder and harder to resist them. His eyes fluttered, but he fought to keep his balance with the aid of his invisible helper.

“Need to get back to the tavern so Lillia doesn’t get worried,” Arwin muttered under his breath. He turned to the door, but moving proved to be too much for him. He slumped down, his helper lowering him to the ground. For an instant, he caught a glimpse of Lillia’s concerned face above him. “Ah. There you are.”

“Are you okay?” Lillia asked, gripping his shoulders with a deep frown. “Arwin? Answer me.”

“Fine,” Arwin said through a yawn. “Just... tired.”

His eyes fluttered shut. Now that Lillia knew he was fine, he could rest. One last errant thought slipped through his mind before sleep took him.

I reached the next level in my Tier. I wonder if I got anything interesting.