The ground rumbled as gigantic tree stumps crashed like teors. Explosions and waves of fire raged along the body of the Ironwood Wartreant. Bianca’s screams and her sniper rifle’s unique sound continued to echo without rest.
"Tsk. Got to hurry."
There was nothing Elian wanted to do more than run to his lover and fight alongside her. But if he did, they would both surely die. Against the foe they were facing, their strength was, put simply, inefficient.
And yet, Bianca fought that hopeless battle without fear. All because Elian told her to do so.
Crap, what if I fail? What if we can’t win this?
Due to the effects, Adamant Elian could not fear or worry. However, even using purely logical ans led to the sa outco. If you asked any person, there was no way a spider could take down an elephant. Yet that was the situation he was in now.
His mind raced; the futures it foresaw all were grim. Bianca literally danced on the edge of a knife. A single mistake and she would die. She had no chance to win; everything rode on Elian finding a way to fight. But while he had a plan, he couldn’t put it together.
The volatile mix of tals continued to burn and began to sizzle. Yet, it still refused to join together into an alloy. It was like forcing two magnets together; Elian could keep them next to each other, but he fought so that they did not fly off.
Even with his will, the two liquid snakes he bound began to separate. His breathing ran ragged from exhaustion, and his blood grew hot from frustration. While his body no longer got tired, his ntal strength still had limits.
"ARGH! JUST MIX ALREADY, YOU BASTARDS!"
Even without anger, the realization that Bianca was in danger made Elian impatient. He kept gripping his hands and commanding the tals to bond. Unfortunately, despite his best attempts to do so, they continued to ignite and lt rather than join together.
But as his mind began to spiral into negative thoughts, a single voice made its way into his heart.
"Be still, my love."
It was calm and gentle, full of affection and majesty. Elian’s eyes quickly darted to where Bianca was. She was shooting down what appeared to be leaves and branches trying to trap her. Even in such a dangerous situation, she glanced at Elian and made a gorgeous smile.
"Do not fear, I am here right beside you. Alone we might not be enough, but together we are unstoppable. Focus; I am certain you will find a way to win; I just know it."
The Tyrant Candidate couldn’t help but bite his lip in sha. For all his bravado, he still lacked maturity. Despite Bianca’s high-stakes battle, she still kept tabs on his emotional state. Her ntal voice sounded soft, warm, and full of trust.
There was no doubt, nor was there any trace of worry; only a belief harder than even steel.
I am certain you will find a way to win; I just know it.
How long has it been since soone trusted him that much? He couldn’t help but shudder as gratitude and love crept out of his heart. Much like when he was overwheld with grief, Adamant had a limit in its ability to rein in emotions.
Sigh, I am no match for you.
"Fufu, how could you? I am amazing after all!"the witch chirped with joy. "Are you all right now?"
Yeah, I am. Thank you, Bianca. I love you.
"And I you. Hurry, or this mannerless beanpole will be dead by the ti you arrive."
Elian couldn’t help but chuckle at her comnt. An earth-shattering roar followed her declaration; from the intensity of the war cry, Bianca’s opponent had already lost his patience.
The Tyrant Candidate took a deep breath and gazed at the workshop he created. The ground was black from Golem Lake; snakes of black and ashen fluids stood up like pillars.
To ensure that he did not betray her trust, he resolved to succeed no matter the cost.
"System. Tell how to make a tal alloy in one sentence."
[Request accepted. To make a tal alloy, lt the base tal, add alloying elents, mix thoroughly, then cool the mixture to solidify it into a new material with enhanced properties.]
At the clear instruction, Elian nodded.
"I see. So I have to choose a base tal first; just mixing them together is pointless."
He raised his hand and summoned a Living tal snake. It raced towards his right hand, stuck to it, and grew in size like a ball.
"My tals are already liquid, and they ignite when forced together... how can I lt a liquid? Should I just boil it like soup?"
With nothing else to guide him, Elian quickly ford an onyx Living pot and poured the raw Living tal into it.
"Hmm, what else could I use to burn it? Should I use Cinderglass... ah, my blood!"
Quickly Elian turned his left hand into a blade and cut his abdon open. If he didn’t ’cut’ himself open, his body turned liquid instead. With the incision, his insides remained solid and were sliced apart. From the tal organs bled molten ore.
Enduring the pain, Elian pulled his organs out and squeezed the molten ore from them. His body began to shiver and his vision grew hazy, but...
[Talent: Driven – triggered. Elian Reed will never lose consciousness in the face of an enemy.]
Using his own blood, he began to cook his Living tal in the pot. Within seconds the black tal inside the pot grew hotter and turned orange.
Wiping the molten ore leaking from his mouth and eyes, he summoned the ashen Dominator Variant. It followed his will and jumped toward the hot mixture in the pot.
Hissssss
The ashen Dominator burst into flas, further driving up the temperature. The fires turned blue, green, then eventually black. Afterwards, the flas died, and Elian felt the three liquids in the pot bond together.
[Talent: Forged – Crucible mode activated. The System will assist Elian Reed in creating alloys so long as his own blood is an elent. Once an alloy is created, it shall be stored in mory permanently. Mixing alloys can be done so long as a soulgem is present.]
"..."
Dumbfounded by the ssage, Elian could help but scratched the back of his head in irritation. Who knew that Forged was literally a talent ant to beco a forge? It was idiotic, but he couldn’t help but be glad for his new ability.
"Whatever, get out of the pot."
Elian tried to command the new alloy to jump out of the pot but noticed he could no longer command it. Quickly he raised the pot and created a mold for a sword. He then manually poured the hot alloy into the mold and waited for it to cool.
Steam rose up as the alloy settled in the mold; the orange liquid lost its soft glow and rapidly turned into a brownish violet. When Elian could no longer feel any heat, he commanded the mold to break apart and grabbed the sword.
He swung it a few tis and grew surprised. "This is extrely light! Even lighter than the Dominator Variant!"
Quickly, he created an onyx sword and placed it on a ledge. Elian raised the alloy sword and slashed down with all his strength against the hardest tal he could produce.
However, the odd-colored blade sliced through the onyx-colored test blade as if it were made of paper. With a soft click, the sword made of compressed Living tal separated in two.
"No way!"
Excited, Elian grabbed the alloy sword between his two hands and tried to snap it. But even under his full strength, the blade did not break; hell, it didn’t even bend. When Elian finally stopped, a sharp crack resounded.
Then like clay the brownish violet fractured like an egg shell before breaking exposing a clear silver blade. Like a butterfly exiting its chrysalis the new alloy glead under the light of the sun. Its color looked majestic and reminded Elian of Bianca’s platinum hair.
[Congratulations! You have created a new alloy!]
[Strength: S | Flexibility: A | Elasticity: F | Mana Conductivity: S | Density: Moderate]
[Would you like to na the new alloy?]
Elated by the success of his experint, Elian responded curtly.
"Yes. Call it Valestrian Steel."
[Acknowledged! Valestrian Steel is now recorded.]
"Good. Now make a suit of it."
[Understood. Valestrian Steel recipe ratio: Living tal: 40%, Dominant Variant: 40%, and Blood of the Forged: 20%. Creation beginning...]
Under the system command, an equal number of Living tal and Dominator Variant tals raced toward his body. Then pockets of his skin opened up as molten ore poured out of them like blood.
Surprised, Elian grunted as the tals slamd into his body and began to boil. The imnse heat reminded him of his Job Ascensions, but it was ta compared to his first Forging.
Within seconds he felt a suit of armor cover his entire body. It cooled just as fast and wrapped around his body snugly. He checked out the material using Golem Lake as his eyes and grew impressed.
It was beautiful. A silver sleek suit of armor that looked ceremonial. It would fit his beautiful lover—but not him.
"Remake it. Give it chainsaws. One on each limb. Use this idea as a template."
Elian then thought of what he initially planned to make.
A suit that looked like a shark. Jagged and ferocious, each limb was full of sharp chainsaws. On its back were ten long chainsaws that were attached with tentacle-like limbs.
It was grotesque and terrifying, but it felt like a monster born of chainsaws.
Forged’s Crucible mode answered his call and remade his form. When it finally cooled, Elian smiled as he looked up towards the colossal tree fighting his lover.
"Ti to hunt."
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