Absolute Craft-Chapter 51: Reflections (4)

Chapter 51: Reflections (4)

Blake returned from his short journey to the Winter General’s Echo. He sensed Sol’s presence above him and felt Beatrix’s weary stare. Only then did he truly feel like himself again.

<You have defeated the Ashen> <You have unlocked the Winter Scabbard, The Winter Mantle, and The Winter Sword>

Upon receiving those messages, Blake looked down to see the ice coating the three items thawing and fully unlocking them. Each item looked new and ready to unleash its power.

They were precious items Blake would have loved to wield himself, if not for his preference for a katana. Of course, he had discovered a passion for exploring new battle styles, but the Winter Sword itself was akin to his Pride’s Shackle—it excelled at confronting large groups.

He needed something better suited to one-on-one fights. Parting with this inheritance seemed too difficult, though.

Blake sighed.

Just then, he noticed another system message.

<You have obtained the Winter General’s Blizzard Spirit Inspiration Fragment (Epic)>

At this point, Blake couldn’t hold back his curiosity. He opened the game system and looked into his skills, finding a new one under the Spiritual Blacksmith’s title.

<The Spiritual Inspiration (Legendary)(Passive)—inspire yourself after seeing spirits of others. Each successful observation provides you with an inspiration fragment, which you can melt into your crafts>

Blake’s eyes twinkled. If he understood this skill correctly, it meant each fragment contained at least one skill similar to those he’d been inspired by. He could fuse these fragments with weapons to gain greater power or simply enhance his craft to sell them for more. It promised so much fun and so many new possibilities that his face lit up like Sol’s.

’What are the prerequisites? I need to know that!’ Blake thought.

After rereading the skill’s description a few times, he recalled how Vargar had seen his spirit within the Pride’s Shackle. The essence of Blake’s crafting was to store a piece of himself in his creations. That was the cue to this skill.

’I need to see others’ spirits... their true selves? Or the core of their personalities before drawing out inspiration... It means this prideful spirit of mine can also be extracted from Prideful’s Shackle and transferred to another blade, right?’ Blake thought.

This idea sounded great, but he could confirm its validity only in his smithy.

Picking up the three items and stowing them in his inventory, Blake looked over his shoulder. He told Beatrix they would head home and rest, which meant he’d disappear from this world, and Sol and Beatrix would enter a long slumber. She nodded at him from within his shadow.

<You have left the Eternal Winter Graveyard>

Then, the entire tomb collapsed.

-

Back in real life, Blake left his gaming capsule and headed straight to the shower. He felt rejuvenated, even though he’d spent all his free time in the game world. So many great battles near the end of his dungeon run had invigorated him. He couldn’t think of anything but the thrill he’d felt while facing new challenges. He’d also experienced something remarkable—not many people got to confront a raging blizzard, let alone ride one.

Leaving those thoughts behind, Blake returned to his capsule and closed his eyes, hoping to get enough rest to maintain the same energy at work the next day.

But that was impossible.

Upon seeing his obese boss barking orders at everyone, Blake recalled Silver Dash and his friends. The memories flooded him again, filling his mind.

"Yo, Blake. You alright?" Joel called out.

Blake looked at him in silence, then asked, "Yeah, why?"

"You seemed off recently," Joel replied.

They were currently mopping the floor, so it was inevitable for them to be within earshot of each other. There weren’t many people in the mall yet, so they could speak privately without anyone listening in.

Blake hadn’t expected Joel to care about him. Joel was never very talkative, and Blake didn’t want to be here anyway. Thinking about being friends with him had never really crossed Blake’s mind. It wasn’t as though they shared many interests beyond both being school dropouts. In fact, why had Joel even dropped out?

’It turns out I have something to talk about with him... but I’m worried he’ll discover I’m the Supreme Blade and spread it around,’ Blake thought.

Although he often underestimated how famous he was, Blake knew a small newspaper might relish the gossip and barge into his workplace to write embarrassing articles. It would hurt him and also piss him off.

At least he was used to his current boss. Having to acquaint himself with a new jerk would be vexing.

Still, the recent developments had forced Blake to reconsider his isolation. He realized that being alone hurt him a lot and that meeting new people was key to becoming a better person—he could only improve by being social.

"How are you doing in the game?" Blake asked.

"Haha!" Joel forced a laugh. "My legendary weapon is still hiding from me, but I can see myself improving with each dungeon run! I’m still in the tutorial zone, and I won’t leave until I get a good weapon in my hands!"

Blake couldn’t see that Joel’s repeated defeats were wearing him down. The more Joel fought, the more he realized something wasn’t right. He wasn’t like the other top players he’d met, whose talent and skill overshadowed him time and again. Yet Joel kept picking himself up, convinced that a rare weapon would turn his fortunes around.

Blake unconsciously shattered that notion.

"A good weapon won’t make you a great player," he said.

Joel froze, his face falling. He rested against the mop and looked down, biting his lips. Soon, he lifted his head and managed a weak smile, agreeing with Blake.

He whispered, "I guess so."

The moment Joel truly agreed, Blake felt a pang in his heart. Joel was always positive—sometimes to an annoying degree—finding a bright side even in this dirty, exploitative job. Seeing him so despondent was terrible.

"Come," Blake said.

"Huh?"

"I’ll see if there’s any talent in you."

"Huh?"

Joel’s eyes went wide. Was his coworker possessed? How could he suddenly sound more authoritative than their boss?