Nameless King

Zero agreed to give up all her souls so that Lea would have a better chance of creating a true masterpiece. 

She was not sorry to lose all the souls she had collected over the few days of battle because Zero was genuinely grateful to Wain.

'He said we would have been able to get out of that lab on our own that day, but we weren't. The mutants would have seriously wounded us, and the last two monsters in the pods were formidable foes. That black wolf could have turned us to stone, and then we no longer had a chance to survive.' Thought Zero approaching Lea.

Zero reached forward, palm up, and the next moment the palm glowed brightly. Zero mentally moved souls from her inventory into the real world.

Hundreds of white souls and dozens of blue ones flew out of her palm. They swirled around her like bright lanterns capable of illuminating even the darkest road. Then these souls headed toward Lea and hovered above her.

Anyone could transfer their souls to another at will. Wain had already done this once when he gave his souls to Sven. 

After the apocalypse began, many people in Wain's world realized that souls could be transferred, and they tried to rob other people, but it wasn't easy to do. 

The problem was that one person couldn't know how many souls another person had or if they had any at all.

The victim of the attempted robbery could say she had no souls, and the robber couldn't tell if that was true or false. 

Of course, some special abilities and tools allowed you to check if another person had souls, but only a tiny number of people had such equipment.

Some people could give away all their souls on the pain of death, but some people understood that they would hardly be killed for nothing. 

Moreover, many people at the beginning of the apocalypse had no souls, even if they hunted frequently. The reason was that they immediately used those souls to get a lot of Soul Essence.

Only after a while would people retain some souls to use for trade. But, for this to happen, there would have to be powerful organizations in the world that would control areas the size of a city. Trade would quickly develop in such places.

"Ready?" Asked Wain looking at Lea.

"Yes, with these souls, I could definitely create a masterpiece!" Lea said confidently, and her aura began to intensify.

Like the last time, a human-like silhouette appeared above her. Lea's eyes glowed blue, and the energy on her pupils turned into the likeness of gears.

Then Lea picked up the hammer from the table, covered in white energy. Lea might not have used the hammer since she could have created it from energy, but she made that decision to make it more effective.

The tools were also an essential factor that could significantly affect the end result. The hammer in Lea's hand came from the Rare Rating Soul Chest. Gisle decided to give it to Lea.

Lea raised the hammer high and struck Wain's cape and serpent's skin. Simultaneously, hundreds of souls headed for the cape, and it glowed brightly. Wain and Zero even had to close their eyes.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Lea was gradually speeding up. At first, she hit the hammer once per second, but now that value had increased three times. After a minute, Lea was hammering five times per second. Her aura was powerful and ancient, and Wain saw his cape gradually change.

It wasn't some kind of magic. It all looked quite realistic. With each blow Lea took, a part of the serpent's skin broke off, and after hundreds of blows, it became one with the cape.

Under the influence of the energy emanating from Lea, the black cape also underwent changes. The torn pieces of the serpent's skin flew into the air and moved to the right place for a better result.

When Lea decided to reach a certain stage, she threw the cape into the massive furnace behind her. Then she pointed the hammer toward the furnace, and a layer of Lea's energy appeared on it.

The scarlet flame in the furnace turned white. It looked amazing and unique. After a while, Lea pulled Wain's cape out of the furnace and proceeded to hit it with the hammer. The white flame did Lea no harm.

This went on for about an hour. Lea repeated one action after another and kept speeding up. In the last minutes, Zero could not see Lea's movements. Even Wain had to concentrate on avoiding seeing a blurry blur instead of Lea's hand.

As the process came to a close, Lea made a powerful hammer blow. The force of that blow created an energy wave that spread several meters around. Even the forge shook. It was like a light earthquake.

"Done..." Mumbled Lea. In that hour, she had made more than ten thousand hammer blows and expended a lot of energy. 

Lea was tired physically and mentally, but she was content as she made the equipment again after a long time.

Lea looked at Wain's altered cape and took it in her hands. She started to read the description, but the smile on her face changed to tears. She was distraught and was one step away from crying.

"What happened?" Alarmed, Zero asked.

Wain sighed, walked over to Lea, and said, "Don't get upset. You're still too inexperienced, you just need some time for your mastery to grow."

Lea wiped away her tears and said in a whisper, "But...I used so many souls...I tried so hard, and I failed. Why did it happen again...? How much more do I have to endure?"

At that moment, Lea's condition was the worst. The only thing stopping her from crying was the presence of Wain and Zero. She was sure she could create a masterpiece this time.

"Don't take it personally. I've experienced hundreds and even thousands of failures in the same way in my time. Moreover, don't forget that you can either create a failure or a masterpiece because of the specific nature of your soul. In your case, there's no such thing as anything average or otherwise graded." Said Wain and took the cape in his hands.

He was also a little upset that Lea had failed to create a masterpiece, but he didn't blame her. His original goal had been to get his cape to look normal, but now it was equipment with protective properties. Wain had already gotten more than he had initially planned.

[Horrible Cape (Primary Chronicle, Common Rating)

It was a massive cape created by a skilled tailor. It was the work of a true craftsman who created his best work. 

But, an inexperienced blacksmith turned this work of art into a real piece of garbage. Any craftsman who sees this cape would feel disgusted and contempt for the smith who created it.

Hundreds of souls of weak beings were used to make this cape, which was a critical mistake by the foolish smith who was entrusted with those souls. This should not have been done because Black Serpent's skin was used during the creation of the cape.

In life, this monster could control evil spirits, and when combining this monster's skin with hundreds of souls, this ability was partially revived. But, it works to the owner's detriment, not to his benefit.

When someone wears this cape, a dark spirit will try to take over his body. When the dark spirit's aura is active, monsters nearby will act more aggressively and want to attack the wearer.

The only good thing about this cape is that it's not a bad defense. Most monsters below level ten won't be able to damage this cape. But, that is a credit to the black serpent's sturdy leather, not to the blacksmith who created this cape]

'Yeah, that's probably the most insult I've ever received from a person. It is rather unfair when a man tries his best, but in the end, all he gets is a failure and undeserved hate.' Thought Wain.

'Lea, stop crying. This cape is actually quite good." Wain said confidently.

Lea looked at Wain with weeping eyes and said, "What? You don't have to lie to me. There's nothing good about this cape. I used so many souls and rare material, but in the end, all I got was an evil spirit that wants to take over your body!"

"Don't worry about that. This cape has pretty good protection, and an evil spirit isn't really a problem. In fact, it can be put to good use. Moreover, the most important factor to me is style, and this cape looks fucking great." Said Wain and put on his new cape.

The Horrible Cape was quite similar to Wain's previous cape, but it also had some differences.

This cape was long and black and had several straps hanging from the waist. On the front and back of the cape, several stripes looked like the skin of a black snake. Also, the cape's collar was pointed at the end and had serpent's fangs on the corners.

Wain was delighted. Such things were his type. It was stylish but not pretentious. The cape also didn't restrict his movements in any way and allowed him to fight to the best of his ability.

But after a second or two, dark energy started to emanate from the cape. It gradually transformed into a malevolent spirit that gave off a terrifying aura. Just as it was said in the description of the cape, this spirit was trying to take over Wain's body.

When the evil spirit appeared, Zero was about to attack it and help Wain, but he gestured for her to stay put.

"So you're the one who wants to take possession of my body? Well, let's play. AHAHAHA!" Wain said loudly, and he activated one of his titles the next moment.

[You have activated the Title - Mentor Inquisitor]