Death… And Me

Rean spent a total of 5 days in Majorias City. During this time, he made a new contract with the Janariz Clan that controls the Janariz Weapon Store. Their clan is quite big, so they have branches in quite a few different cities. Rean had chosen this one to make a partnership precisely because of this reason.

Rean wasn't afraid of betrayal since the Zafa Bank was also involved. Janariz Clan would need to be courting Roa- cough, cough, Death if they tried to pull the Zafa Bank's leg. After all, Zafa bank had 30% of all income acquired through Steelworks. It was in moments like this that Rean liked Juri's judgment about signing a contract with them.​​

Rean also spent a lot of his time teaching Folca about the composition of Steel. Folca couldn't help but feel impressed with how Rean worked with such common ores to achieve such a sturdy alloy.

"In my eyes, you are still a kid, so I don't believe that you learned it alone. However, as a blacksmith, I couldn't care less about your origins. What I want to know at the moment is if you know other combinations of alloys that used much better metals."

Rean smiled and passed his Sword to Folca.

"This is a Spiritual Kaz Sword that I made. Of course, although it uses Kaz as primary ore, it is an alloy nonetheless. Also, this is the first Spiritual Equipment I had ever forged. As you can imagine, it can only be considered a Low-Level Spiritual Equipment. I don't have the Spirit Stones necessary to buy High-Level materials since they all need Rank Two Spirit Stones, so this is my limit at the moment."

Folca was taken aback by the Sword. As far as he could see, the Sword didn't look like a normal Spiritual Kaz Sword that much. Sure, it still had the blue color, but it was a lot lighter. Standard Spiritual Kaz Swords would be Marine Blue, but this one was more like a Sky Blue. There was also this white hue over it that Folca couldn't understand where it came from.

"A Low-Level Sword made with a different technique..."

Folca then looked at one of his subordinates right after.

"Bring me a Spiritual Kaz Sword, the best one you can find in the Weapon Store."

"Yes, Chief!"

As a big clan of blacksmiths with branches in several cities of the country, they obviously had Spiritual Kaz Swords and other weapons as well.

The Spiritual Kaz Sword was quickly delivered to Folca, who compared both. Rean's Sword had the same traits as his Steel Swords. It was a lot smoother and sharper. The weight was also completely different, and Rean's Sword was around 30% lighter.

"Won't the lack of weight reduce its power instead?"

Rean pondered a bit before saying.

"Although I can get more attack power if the weight was higher, I would lose too much in speed. This is a Sword I create for the Foundation Establishment Realm. If it was someone at the Core Formation, I would have increased the weight, as you said. That's because their strength can counteract the increase in weight. Still, I believe this is the best weight for Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Besides, the main point is not the weight, but the element gathering ability."

Folca showed a puzzled expression.

"Element Gathering Ability? Is there such a thing?"

Rean nodded.

"Why don't you try to focus your Spiritual Energy on the Sword?"

Folca got curious and immediately gathered his Spiritual Energy on it. Sure enough, Light Element began to rush inside from the surroundings, which made Folca's eyes almost pop out. If not because he was the one using it himself, he would think that the one calling the Light Element was the cultivator, not the weapon.

Any cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm or higher could call forth the Elements they have an affinity with. So there was nothing strange in seeing their weapons shining with the color of the Elements they use. In fact, one could even call other Elements they have a low affinity with. Of course, the result would be several times worse.

However, Folca isn't doing such a thing at all! The Light Element, which is also something that he only saw Rean using in his life, was now entering the Sword by itself. How could he not be shocked by it?

"This!"

Rean smiled before continuing.

"I guess I don't need to tell what the advantages of having a weapon that can call another Element forth are, right?"

Folca nodded absent-mindedly. Cultivators have an affinity with one Element, that much is true. At least, that is the truth in the world they live at the moment. However, that doesn't mean they can't use other elements to increase their attack power. It's just that only those at the Core Formation and above would begin to do that. For example, a Fire Element Affinity Cultivator also using Wind Element to increase the power of his Fire Element.

However, if their weapon can already do it by itself, just how much better would it be? Controlling various elements, especially when you don't have an affinity with them, is anything but easy. This is a kind of weapon that would improve the combat power of any cultivator in the world. Not to mention that it can be used by Foundation Establishment cultivators too! Folca doesn't know if there are Foundation Establishment cultivators out there that can use more than one Element proficiently. Still, if there are, he is sure that they are few and far between. This weapon, however, would allow any of them to do that.

Yet, there was one more thing Folca wished to try out. He passed his Store's Kaz Sword to another guy before saying.

"Let's strike the swords against each other. I want to see what else it can do other than gathering elements."

The other blacksmith nodded, and both sides released their Spiritual Energies in their Swords. Suddenly...

*Swish!*

Rean's Sword cut the Standard Spiritual Kaz Sword right in the middle. One must remember that neither side spared Spiritual Energy to protect their Swords, they both went full attack mode. That's why Rean's Sword could destroy the other one so easily. Still, that was the purpose of the test, to see which one was more resistant.

"Unbelievable. Your alloy alone, even without the Element, is already much better than my Store's Spiritual Kaz Sword. However, the terrifying thing is that the Light Element in the Sword gathered in the edge, increasing the sharpness several times. No, it would be more correct to say that it helped burn through the other Sword. Both the Sharpness and Light Element worked together, which increased the power beyond the alloy limit."

*Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!*

Rean couldn't help but clap his hands in admiration.

"Senior Folca is really an expert blacksmith for sure. You are the first one to really see through the trick behind it."

Folca didn't care about any of the pleasantries.

"What to do you want to teach me this? Any price is negotiable."

Rean took his Sword back before saying.

"Maybe another day."