Unforged

Tristan

That night, when Tristan lay down to sleep, his mind kept racing around and around about how he'd nearly been caught in Timetwister's trap. There had to be something he could do about it, he thought, now that he knew it existed.

He slid out of bed and pulled out the pages of notes he'd copied over from the Collection and then from Tempy on the Arc. He pored over the lists of runes and effects, looking for anything that might help.

And eventually he found something.

[Minor Rune: Dispelling Edge] Hone the cutting edge of a weapon, allowing it to slice through magic it comes in contact with, weakening or dispelling the effect.

While technically it was limited by only being able to interact with things it cut, and not even guaranteeing to dispel those effects, it seemed to offset those weaknesses by not having charges or other limits on how many times it could work. It was just always on. At least that was how Tristan read it. Sure, he'd have to hit whatever magic he wanted to dispel, and time magic especially tended to not be very visible, but... The idea had merit. In fact, it might be perfect, and not just for the trap but for all of Timetwister's shields, too.

He was sure that against a higher tier, he'd mostly just weaken the effects, at least at first, but if he was able to keep attacking, that weakening would add up. He could also try to modify the rune a little, if he got ambitious. Thanks to Sophie, he had five [Scroll of Dispel Magic], and the magic contained within wasn't all that different. Or perhaps he could try to infuse one of the scrolls into whatever he eventually put the rune on to strengthen the rune. Could that work? He decided to try it and find out.

There was no time to make something wholly new, and he wasn't sure he had the materials to do that anyway.

I could try adding it to one of my older swords.

Unfortunately, as he went through the list, he realized that most of them already had hit the limit of the magic they could hold. [Hope's Aspiration] barely contained the Brightshield's talisman. His [Oozebane Greatsword] pushed the limits of what a rare sword could be, and upgrading it to epic where it would be able to take more would be a monumental feat that was likely beyond his capabilities until tier 3. The [Sanguine Defender] was already fully enchanted, so that was out, too.

He pulled out his newest creation.

The [Silencing Shortsword] had lots of room for improvement. Part of that could be increasing its length from a shortsword's to at least that of a longsword. It was also only uncommon rarity, and improving that to rare was something Tristan felt he could realistically do. He hoped.

Especially if I made changes to the length, that would be pretty substantial. As long as I don't get anywhere near the first rune, I shouldn't ruin it...

The earlier doubt, of destroying a new and original rune that he hadn't yet created any copies of, returned to him. But if he did it once, he could surely do it again, given enough time. He had faith that he could reproduce the [Minor Rune: Blanketing Silence] if he really had to.

Acknowledging that he'd already made up his mind, there was really no point in wasting more time before getting started. Since he didn't want to bother Sophie, Billy, or any of the patrons of the inn, he went down to the main desk where he knocked lightly on the wooden counter, but neither of his first two attempts succeeded in waking the attendant there.

So he knocked a bit harder, and the attendant finally started.

"Hey, is there anywhere here where I could work uninterrupted? Preferably somewhere I won't bother anyone else with loud noises."

The attendant rubbed his eyes and looked at Tristan suspiciously. "Hi, yes. Will this be for you alone, or will you require... special accommodations? None of our bedrooms--"

"Nothing like that!" Tristan said quickly. "I want to make something. I'm a swordsmith, and smithing is both loud and repetitive. Most people don't like it. I'm just trying to look out for your business as much as me."

The attendant nodded. "I appreciate the consideration. How much space do you think you'll need?"

"Not much. Half the size of the room we're in would work, though I might be able to work in less than that."

"I think I've got a place then," the man said, stretching his arms overhead. "There's a cold cellar built down under the foundation, and there are a fair few enchantments on it to keep it preserved. While they're not really meant for that, at all, it's also surrounded by lots of dirt, which will likely muffle the sounds well enough."

"Sounds good," Tristan said. "Any chance this is included in what we've already paid?"

"As long as you don't disturb what's already down there, we'll overlook any extra charge. But if you break or even damage a single barrel--or gods forbid a bottle!--Not even Plenty would be able to save you from dying of bankruptcy."

"That's more than fair," Tristan said with a bow. Then he followed the attendant down a narrow path to an old-looking door. As soon as it was opened, a draft of frigid air brushed past him.

"It's right down there."

Tristan vaguely remembered hearing stories where people went into basements or underground places like this and terrible things happened to them. He could only imagine how many books there were that he'd never read that warned of these sorts of situations. But he also knew that he needed to craft this sword, and if things went really wrong, he could just use his Permanent Party chat to get Sophie's help.

He thanked the man and began the fairly lengthy descent into the cellar.

"There's a lamp on the right wall once you're all the way down," the attendant called after him, almost as an afterthought.

The indicated lamp provided a decent amount of light, and once Tristan pulled out his [Portable Forge], it was practically daylight in the room. He removed the last chunks of mithril in his crafting storage bag, set everything where he'd want them to be, and in short order got to work.

Adding length to a sword was always a tricky process, one that might compromise the blade's structural integrity if he wasn't careful. However, he was planning to use [Infuse] in addition to adding the new rune, so that should reinforce the weapon's durability if he did it correctly.

First things first, he had to prepare his new materials, and he only had a few final chunks of mithril to deal with... and then a huge, flat piece of metal he'd taken from the Rockmoor Cemetery's final boss--the Horrible Armorsmith.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Well, he thought, I guess I'm using that imposter's craftsmanship after all. I'll be lucky if it's a quarter as good as something my actual father could make, but it's what I've got.

Getting the metal white hot was easy enough, and then he was able to manipulate it, separating half for use now and storing the rest. Tristan still wasn't exactly sure what sort of alloy it was, but it had enough strength that it would work well with both the base sword and the mithril scraps.

Now he just had to attempt to join them all together.

Heating was normally the easiest step by far, but he wasn't starting from scratch here, and he had to make sure that he didn't undo the rune that was already present at the base of the shortsword. He couldn't afford to lose focus. He had a lot to do tonight, and a single slip up could cost him too much time and prevent him from finishing before morning.

He pulled the heated sword from the forge and set it carefully beside the hot mithril-and-mystery-alloy that he'd folded into approximately the right size and shape. Aligning them so that the edges would more or less match up wasn't particularly hard, but he knew that what came next, the first of many rounds of hammering, would be grueling work. He planned to follow that up with an extended imbuing session, which would be a different, but no less tiring, task.

Tristan was able to integrate the two pieces into one whole. As it turned out, he'd had just enough mithril in his supplies to get the blade a bit past the average longsword's length. It would still be smaller than the greatswords he usually used, but way better than the one handed shortsword it had been.

He spent extra time hammering the edges, trying to get them to a perfect cutting thickness. He went over the entire length, one pass at a time, honing and sharpening. He knew this would be the focus of the [Minor Rune: Dispelling Edge], so he did not rush. He wanted it to be as good as he could make it in a single session.

Eventually, he was satisfied with the edge, and running a finger over it even lightly threatened to split his toughened skin.

It was time to add the rune.

He decided to pull mostly from his own internal Source for this, despite how strained it was from the imbuing. He still hadn't built up a ton of enchanting endurance, and this would be good practice. He used [Imbue] primarily, though every once in a while he would go back to [Infuse] to make sure the blade also grew stronger.

It was slow, exhausting work. His fingers were all prickly and hot by the time he got to the last few lines. This rune required much more precision than anything he'd ever made before, but Tristan persevered, knowing that the rune would be worth all the effort if it worked as he hoped.

With sweat falling from his brow, Tristan held his breath and willed the final symbol closed. He knew it worked instantly, as a rush of power swept down his arms, through his fingers, and into the sword, which began to glow faintly from within. It shone out through the lines of the two runes now on its surface. And then the glow intensified, flashing so brightly momentarily that Tristan had to turn away.

When he turned back, the sword had changed. It was now the size of a full greatsword, and its previously white finish had darkened to a matte gray.

He wanted to lean back in awe and enjoy the weapon he and his Core had wrought, but he couldn't even do that, as another rush of energy quickly enveloped him, and he heard his favorite sound in the world: Ding!

Congratulations! You've reached LEVEL 20!
The enchanter Class has reached LEVEL 10!

You have almost reached the third tier milestone, but you must first master all your Classes.

Requirements: Swordsmith 20/20,
Swordsman level 9/10,
Enchanter level 10/10.

You will receive new skills upon tiering up.

He was both super excited and a little bit disappointed at the same time. Of course he'd known it was possible to hit level 20 and not be ready to tier up. He had seen that very thing happen to Drannis during the raid. Though, after what Drannis had admitted, Tristan was clearly much closer to Tier 3 than the dwarf had been, since he was only one level off in Swordsman.

He wondered what skills he would unlock when he hit Tier 3. Of course, first he'd have to take the next step along his Path and upgrade his Class--or would it be his Classes? How exactly would that work? He didn't know.

He'd know the answers soon enough, he figured, once he hit level 10 in Swordsman, and he had a hunch that all he needed to finish that grind was to deal with Timetwister.

That train of thought brought him back to what had earned him this level up in the first place: his newly-upgraded sword. He used [Identify] on it, and he was absolutely shocked by what he saw.

[Bane of Time (unique)]: [Targeted], [Minor Rune: Blanketing Silence], [Minor Rune: Dispelling Edge], Soulbound

A greatsword with tremendous power devoted to one task and precariously balanced by its own transience.

The weapon had somehow become unique. That was something he'd never even considered could happen. It also had an awesome sounding name, if he was being entirely honest. Added to that, and more seriously, he'd also never seen the [Targeted] property before, so he also expanded that immediately.

[Targeted] (Unique) This weapon was purposefully designed for one target, to whom it does 20% increased damage.
Target: Timetwister.

It was strange to see that, once again, his intent was so clearly a part of what he made. There was no denying what this sword was going to be used for. Even the sword itself seemed to know it, and apparently that had made it unique.

Surprisingly, that didn't bother Tristan as much as it might have. Lifting his new greatsword, he knew what this weapon needed to do. He also knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would use the Blanketing Silence rune, and the sword would only last 25 more seconds from that point before it would be 'consumed.'

He didn't feel attached to this sword as a result. It had a purpose. A singular purpose. It felt a bit similar to his [Oozebane Greatsword] in that regard, though that sword wasn't nearly as specialized. It lacked the [Targeted] property, after all, even if Tristan had made it with the {Black Ooze Progenitor} in mind.

This sword, though, went that extra step further. He was struck by just how singular his focus became with the new weapon in his hand. It would serve its purpose beautifully.

Thankfully, it hadn't even taken him all night. As he checked his [Clock] skill, he thought that, maybe if he hurried, he might be able to pull a few hours of sleep before whatever else the fateful day might bring.

With a smile plastered to his face that he just couldn't get to go away, Tristan began to clean up and stow away all his crafting things. Then, sliding the [Bane of Time] into his [Endless Bag of Secure Holding], he marched up the stairs toward the inn proper. The door opened smoothly, but he was still met by the front desk worker, before he'd even gotten back to the main lobby.

"I take from your smile that you were able to accomplish whatever it was you wanted to do?" the man asked.

"I was," Tristan said, still smiling broadly. "Thanks for helping me out with that space."

There was an anxious moment's pause as the man scanned Tristan. "So everything went alright? No... breakages, damages, or the like?"

Tristan chuckled. "Nothing like that at all. You won't even be able to tell I was there."

"Wonderful," the man said, heaving a heavy sigh of relief, though his eyes still wandered back in the direction of the cellar. "Then I hope you won't mind waiting here as I go verify what you've said?"

Tristan didn't, and he even stayed put as the man hurried from the room, returning a few minutes later.

"All looks well. Thank you," the man said, panting slightly, "and enjoy the rest of your stay."

Tristan shook his head as he walked past the man, who was now returning to the other room, though at a much more casual pace.

He must have been worried the whole time I was down there. Well, at least he wasn't asleep on the job then.

As he went up the stairs and drew closer to his room, Tristan tried to move as quietly as he could. It wouldn't do to wake either of the others now. He'd try to wait to show them the fruits of his labor until a more normal time of day.

As he slipped into their rented room, and lay down on the bed, this time Tristan didn't have any difficulty at all falling fast asleep.