Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

Goran rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment before he replied. “If you need it immediately, I can expedite the refining and forming process. It should take me around two days to complete the sword. If my lord is not in a hurry, then I can make the sword have better balance and also more sophisticated, but it would take me three to five days to complete.”

Alaric furrowed his eyebrows upon hearing this. Goran could usually forge a sword within two days including the smelting process. The fact that a master artisan like him needed a week to make this custom-made sword spoke volumes of its complicated forging process.

“You can take your time, Sir Goran. I am not in a hurry. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to let me know.” Alaric wanted a good quality sword, preferably one at the level of a relic. However, he knew that it wasn’t easy to forge a weapon at that level so he didn’t say anything to avoid placing unnecessary pressure on Goran.

“Actually, there is something that I need your help with, my lord…” Goran mumbled hesitantly.

Looking at his troubled face, Alaric raised an eyebrow. “Go ahead, Sir Goran. As long as it is within my means, then I will do my best to fulfill your request.”

Goran cleared his throat and spoke. “With the materials that my lord has provided, I can forge a relic, but there’s one problem.”

He looked at Alaric with a stern look as he uttered.

“We need a beast soul warrior to engrave an ability on the sword. The more powerful the beast soul warrior, the more powerful the finished product will be.”

Alaric nodded.

This was true and he had read it in a book when he was young.

Beast soul warriors had the ability to engrave their traits into certain weapons. Once successful, the weapon will carry the trait they had engraved.

However, this was very taxing on the beast soul warriors because it would deplete their mana and this would even cause irreversible damage if done incorrectly.

This was the reason why there wasn’t a lot of relic-level equipment.

“Finding a beast soul warrior will be difficult, but I will try my best. In the meantime, please complete the sword first so that by the time I bring a beast soul warrior over, only the engraving process will be needed.”

Goran nodded. “Yes, my lord!”

“Then I shall not disturb you any further.” Alaric left after bidding Goran farewell.

After stepping out of the smithy, he wiped off the sweat on his face with a clean linen towel.

Blacksmiths are really built different, but they should take care of their health too. Constant exposure to such level of heat might cause serious problems.

I should ask Mom to create a public bathhouse here since the nearest one is too far from the smithy…

I will worry about this later. Mom still has many things to do so I should not add more to that.

The most important thing right now is to look for a beast soul warrior.

“Where can I even find a beast soul warrior? Should I visit that old man from the church?” Alaric thought about Bishop Anton.

The old man was a 3-Ringed Beast Soul Master, an expert who had integrated three traits into his soul marks.

If he could get the old man to engrave an ability into his sword, he wondered how powerful it would be.

(Author’s Note: Beast Soul Warriors is the general term, while nth-Ringed Beast Soul Master is the name of the realm.)

I can visit Hershey too and propose marriage.

He had already gotten Nathan’s approval so all that was to formally ask Hershey.

I am coming, Hershey…

***

It was the 20th day of March, in the Year 209 of the Astanian calendar.

On this very day, the capital city of Astania, Codera, was bustling with activity. The sidewalks were filled with tourists and locals. There were also droves of carriages passing by the cobbled roads.

The reason for this surge of traffic was because of the event being hosted by the imperial family.

It was an official match between warriors of the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard!

Normally, an event like this wouldn’t need the imperial family’s presence, but the participants of this match were special. One was ranked 11th in the Astanian Dragon Leaderboard, while the other one was ranked 9th.

These two were some of the most powerful figures in the empire so the imperial family decided to host the match.

Located at the innermost part of Codera was a huge coliseum where the battle between the two top warriors would be held.

Even outside the coliseum, the sonorous shouts of the spectators could already be heard.

The venue was fully packed and everyone was boiling with excitement.

At the center of the coliseum was a platform that was about 200 feet long and 75 feet wide. It was purposefully designed this way to give the fighters enough room to move around during their battles.

At this moment, Lucas Silversword was in the resting area, watching the preliminary matches before his fight.

They even invited Elite Knights to fight in the preliminary rounds.

Lucas chuckled.

This was the fourth preliminary match and his fight was scheduled next. Once this match ends, it would be his turn to step onto the stage!

Suddenly, he saw a servant approaching him.

“My lord, please get ready. The main event is about to begin.”

Hearing this, Lucas nodded. “Alright.”

He then stood up and grabbed his equipment, a round steel shield, and a relic-level broadsword.

Looking at the towering figure in front of him, the servant was intimidated. He felt like he was in the presence of a prehistoric beast!

So this is the Shield of the North, Lucas Silversword!

After recovering from his shock, the servant cleared his throat. “Please follow me, my lord. I will take you to the waiting area.”