ark125x

Hey Ark here, sorry for disappearing for a whole month. The creative juices weren't cooperating as I wanted plus new games like borderlands 3 called my attention. I'm back and I have a few chapters ready to publish. One today and another tomorrow. Thank you for the patience UwU.

Near the village of Wahlburg is a hidden cottage with no living soul near it. I wonder how this counts as a clue according to Clairvoyance? I take a look around the place but nothing seems out of place. The only thing I can figure out is that this cottage seems abandoned. I’m positive that this place is where Clairvoyance is pointing me to in order to find out the truth.

If it weren’t for my high stats in Dexterity, I wouldn’t have noticed that there are traces of footsteps, recent by the looks of it. Footsteps leading in and out of the cottage connect to the village so someone is frequently coming and going from this cottage.

Normally I wouldn’t spare a single glance at this cottage but my skill is telling me that there is something here, I just can’t see it from outside. I open the door of the cottage but the house is empty. Nothing suggests that people live here, not even food or an active fireplace. I’m guessing the people who frequent this house don’t stay and live here but simply visit. This cottage could be a relay point or a rest stop.

I check around but nothing strikes me as interesting. It just looks like a normal cottage in the middle of the forest. I bring up my Map skill in Menu to check for any living signs and there are none around the cottage, but a faint sign below it.

Only one way to check I guess. I take a swing with my fist and the wooden floor is ripped up, revealing dirt and grass. That was a fail.

I kick at another section of the floor and destroy it but only dirt is found. Is it underground? Oh, map shows the layout of the cottage and there’s a part of this first floor that is hidden behind a bookcase. There’s probably a mechanism or switch to move the bookcase but I pry it open with my hands. The bookcase is stuck like it is nailed down but with over 200 strength it serves no obstacle to me.

Behind the bookcase is a narrow stairway made of stone leading to what I assume is the basement I’ve been looking for. It is dark as I venture down, a faint glow leading me on to the center of the room.

In the basement is a metal cage twisting around a large Wyvern. Chains abound holding every limb of the creature hostage. I think I’ve found the child I’ve heard about, only this child seems more grown up than I imagined. A lot more.

Becca 「 So, hey. How’s it going? 」

As you can expect I got a scream full of wind in my face that I shielded myself from with a barrier.

Becca 「 Yeah I kind of expected that. So, let me guess, humans got you captive here? I can get you out. 」

Another roar that I have to block off or suffer damaged eardrums and dragon saliva.

Becca 「 You’re not going to make this easy are you? Listen, I know you can understand me and I know that your dad is out there causing a rampage searching for you. 」

The Wyvern shuts up in bafflement.

「 You know of my father? But how? 」

Becca 「 Yeah he mentioned a child of his. That’s you I’m guessing. 」

「 My father has been dead for decades now. 」

Wait what?

Becca 「 So it’s not your dad? Big scaly Wyvern, a Wyvern Lord, lots of pride? 」

「 My father was the last of the Wyvern Lords to die. There are no more in existence. 」

Becca 「 Is that right? Makes no sense to me, but what the heck. Let’s just get you two together in a room so you can sort this all out. 」

「 Would that I could, but this prison cannot be removed so easily. It drains my strength and magic rendering all efforts useless. Nothing works, magical or not. The metal is of highest quality that not even my flames can melt. 」

It can absorb magic, is heat resistant, and made of sturdy materials. I guess I’ll need something a bit more special. Let’s try something that doesn’t exist in this world, like my psychic skill.

I try using my psychic powers to bend and manipulate the chains and the cage but it doesn’t budge. The material is really tough, that or even psychic energy doesn’t phase it. I need something else, something really out of this world.

Diving into my knowledge of science fiction, I pull out of my head the idea for a sword that is so sharp and thin that it is the width of a single molecule. In theory, all matter is composed of molecules and to cut apart the molecules you need something microscopic in measure. With a super thin sword like that it doesn’t matter what something is made of since I can cut it apart at a molecular level.

I try my crafting skill on some spare chains lying around, using this unknown hard material to compose the blade. Using the crafting skill I hone the metal down and thin it until it reaches a theoretical level that the naked eye cannot see.

With the aid of the skill I can feel that the edge is getting closer to a single molecule’s width, but something is resisting the final step. Maybe my crafting skill isn’t enough to create the sword?

I pour in more mana into the skill to shape the blade as sweat drips down my brow. Nothing is happening and my mana is just escaping from my grasp as I throw it at the blade. It is hard to control the mana at this stage so I try something I just came up with.

I use my psychic skill at the same time as I pour mana into the crafting skill. Using psychic energy from my mind I try to coax the mana to move like I imagine it to. The magic finally listens to me and shaves away at the blade like I imagine until the blade is slightly transparent and lightweight. It is still not of a single molecules width so I need to come up with some other sort of energy, but I’m definitely on the right track.

If magic and psychic energy isn’t enough, how about going to other genres? If I remember, there were a bunch of tv shows and movies that said martial artists had a kind of innate power that could even move mountains, usually known as Qi or Chi. In fact, a certain famous character uses Ki to fire off Kame****has. I create a skill called Qi Powers, but suddenly I receive a notification that Life Aura has merged with Qi Powers to create Mastery of Qi.

I failed to realize it, but Life Aura is similar in concept to Qi, or the life energy that makes up living things. With the new skill, I feel a brand new source of energy surging in my veins from my center. Like an empty vacuum, Qi is sucked into me and filling my muscles with more power. I can see that my stats have all raised by 100 as a side effect of all this Qi energy.

With the aid of the Qi energy, my control over the blade improves as the resistance I felt using magic on it fades away. It is like combining all the powers of magic, psychic, and qi have allowed me to grasp the elements in a new way.

Looks like combining different genres of energy worked out better than I could guess. I bring up the monomolecular blade that I placed in a rough handle to inspect it. The blade is practically see-through and weightless in my hands.

I name the blade at the same time with Vorpal Knife as I analyze it. The Vorpal Knife has a description of,

「 A knife originally made from void meteorite ore, that under the hands of a legendary crafter have transformed into a singular lethal weapon, capable of cutting into all matter and separating apart any object in existence. Only gods do not fear this blade. 」

The attack stat is just an infinity sign so I’m guessing its power is inquantifiable. It mentions void meteorite ore which must be what the sturdy metal is known as. That last line gods not being afraid is eerie but it’s not like I’ll ever run into any gods.