Mithra looked for the "Blazing Man" information. It wasn''t very clear.
This was normal; most information about the Forty-Four Pillars era was vague and incomplete, except for the main narrative.
For example, Anderet, who had seemingly orchestrated Eternal Night while secretly investing in humanity, was so enigmatic that humans weren''t even sure if it was one of the Pillars.
Mithra made a note to investigate the skyfire incident after her societal integration assessment.
Perhaps she might even unlock another "Blazing Man" gift.
Mithra took a bus to the teleportation point and traveled to Sun City.
She regularly checked in with Salomo.
During her studies, she had fused the branch leader''s staff into her hammer after extracting the Eternal Night Crystal.
Another bout of nausea.
Arriving in Sun City, she checked the communication tablet.
She hadn''t expected a reply, but the tablet flickered. There was a message.
Salomo had contacted her. She agreed to meet him at the Sanctuary''s base in Sun City.
It was a rather grand building. This was her first time there. She had assumed the Sanctuary would be more discreet, but it seemed she was mistaken.
Salomo greeted her personally.
"Welcome, Mithra. How are you?"
"Fine."
"I see. I hope everything is going well. The blacksmith has arrived and is waiting inside," Salomo, used to Mithra''s brevity, got straight to the point.
Entering the room, Mithra saw a slender figure, not the "traditional" image of a weaponsmith. But in this world with the versatile Reinforce Body miracle, that wasn''t important.
He wore patched leather clothing and small glasses.
"Hello. Call me Diehl. I''m here because I heard there''s funding available. Let''s have a pleasant collaboration," he said.
His tone was casual. He seemed like a typical "technician."
Mithra shook his hand and turned to Salomo.
Salomo quickly introduced him. "Master Diehl is a weaponsmith from Andemiriya. He''s participated in the creation of three god-killing weapons: the Xyrin Empire''s ''Xyrin Warhammer,'' Ms. Orph''s ''Sisterly Radiance,'' and the Sella Kingdom''s ''Siren''."
Mithra noted the keyword. "Orph has a god-killing weapon?"
"Yes. Her sword. It appears rather plain, but it''s Master Diehl''s masterpiece! Ah, of course, the other two are also exceptional, but Master Diehl only assisted in their creation; he wasn''t the lead blacksmith,"
Mithra paused, trying to remember.
A god-killing weapon had been so close, and she hadn''t even used Night Eyes on it. It had been so unremarkable.
Collecting god-killing weapons wasn''t urgent enough to warrant stealing, especially not from powerful Sanctuary members.
"This little girl just wants to learn more about god-killing weapons, right? I''ll explain everything clearly and concisely," Diehl said, seemingly unconcerned about his earlier achievements.
"No, I''m going to make one myself," Mithra replied casually.
"Yourself...? Huh?" Diehl paused, then realized what she meant. "Make one yourself?!"
He stared at Mithra incredulously. "You want to create a god-killing weapon? Seriously? Where are the materials?"
"Here," Mithra calmly pulled the "Chrysalis" Hand Holding Heart from her pouch.
The moment it appeared, Diehl and Salomo''s expressions turned serious, clearly sensing the Wandering God''s aura.
"Mr. Mithra! You didn''t tell us you were carrying that!" Salomo exclaimed.
"You didn''t ask. Is there a problem?"
"This... this... well... there''s no problem, I suppose..." Salomo stammered, looking at the Wandering God''s remains resting peacefully in Mithra''s hand. His preconceived notions were shattered.
Why wasn''t Mithra affected by the Wandering God''s remains?
Why were the remains so docile, not emitting any aura without restraints?
Diehl also stared at Mithra. "Are you serious?"
"Is there a problem?" Mithra asked, genuinely confused.
After encountering the Stranger, both the Night Hunter''s beast form and the writhing Chrysalis had become surprisingly docile.
She wasn''t carrying them around; she was storing them.
Diehl stood up, adjusting his glasses. "Miss, are you perhaps a hidden master weaponsmith?"
"No, I only have basic knowledge of weapon crafting," Mithra said honestly.
"Then how can you be so confident about creating a god-killing weapon from a Wandering God''s remains?"
"Because, as far as I know, the creation of god-killing weapons is rather arbitrary."
Diehl paused, seemingly pondering this, then looked up. "It seems I''ve been tricked. Salomo, increase my payment after this."
Salomo: "..."
I''m also quite shocked, he thought.
"Put that thing away. It''s disgusting. It''s from the ''Chrysalis'', isn''t it? Even Schumann couldn''t completely eradicate it. It''s rather pathetic that it''s been reduced to this," Diehl said flatly.
After Mithra stored the heart, she followed Diehl to a room prepared by Salomo.
They sat down to compose themselves, mainly Salomo and Diehl.
After Salomo served tea, Diehl tapped the table. "Tell me about your understanding of god-killing weapons."
"For various reasons, under specific and relatively stable conditions, weapons imbued with the power of Wandering Gods through certain methods are created. They have no fixed form, and their appearances vary, but they possess the power to harm Wandering Gods," Mithra explained simply.
"Who taught you this?" Diehl immediately asked.
"Uh, a teacher I met along the way?" Mithra considered keeping Phaselos''s involvement a secret for now.
"Did your teacher live through the Wandering God era?" Diehl asked seriously.
"Maybe even longer ago?" Mithra countered.
"...Alright, I''ll be blunt. Regardless of where you learned this, that knowledge is outdated. To be precise, it''s a rejected theory of god-killing weapons,"
"Oh really?" Mithra said, feigning surprise.
Phaselos, you''re not just old, your knowledge is ancient too, Mithra thought.
"What''s the fundamental theory of miracles?" Diehl asked.
"Miracles have a high price?"
"Exactly. God-killing weapons are also a form of miracle, so they also have a price. Those early god-killing weapons, ''naturally'' born through various coincidences, still retained most of their original miracle essence; they had a strong sense of being ''alive.'' To put it bluntly, those so-called god-killing weapons were just Wandering Gods in a different form, a more refined and manageable form,"
Diehl''s voice was serious. Mithra considered his words and realized he was right.
The Night Hunter Greatsword was the Hunter''s main symbol, the vessel for its revival. Whoever wielded the sword would become its next host.
"What about the newer god-killing weapons?" Mithra asked.
"Stability," Diehl said. "Modern god-killing weapon theory emphasizes minimizing the Wandering God''s influence, to prevent it from affecting the user. They need to be stable and reliable,"
"That makes sense," Mithra nodded.
"To compensate for the reduced power, modern god-killing weapons require meticulous planning and a suitable framework to restrict the unpredictable nature of the Wandering God''s power. This requires high-grade, rare materials. It''s usually not something a single person can easily achieve. Do you understand how outdated and dangerous your methods are?" Diehl asked, looking at Mithra.
Mithra nodded.
"Give up on creating a god-killing weapon. I''ll take these materials. Name your price, and Salomo will pay," Diehl said, taking a sip of tea.
Salomo: ?
"I''ll keep them."
Diehl frowned. "You''re not giving up?"
"I''m confident," Mithra replied.
She had faith in her beast form, her Stranger form, and even Phaselos. They were a dream team.
Diehl scratched his head in frustration and stood up to pace around the room.
After a while, he sat back down, looking at Mithra. "I''ll teach you modern god-killing weapon crafting techniques. Consider it a lesson. Create the weapon here in Sun City. Xyrin''s presence will prevent any accidents. Then show me the finished product. If you can control it, I''ll forge any future weapons for you, free of charge. How does that sound?"
Mithra looked into Diehl''s seemingly apathetic eyes. He seemed genuinely helpful, but also stubborn.
"Fine." Although she didn''t need a blacksmith, Mithra decided to reciprocate his sincerity.
And she wanted to see what Phaselos''s knowledge was lacking.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it