Absolute Craft-Chapter 74: White Oni (2)

Chapter 74: White Oni (2)

The doors of Blake’s smithy swung open, revealing a petite figure clad in white. As she stepped inside, she shook off the snow, revealing her identity. Was it a yeti? No—it was Beatrix!

She had returned from the mountain’s spire, completely covered in snow and ice. Her unique steel body was so cold that her movements appeared choppy, as though her framerate had dropped. She needed warmth to thaw out. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Fortunately, Blake’s smithy was both warm and comfortable—though it felt hotter than usual today.

"BLAKE!" her master suddenly shouted his own name, striking a piece of molded steel.

Beside him, Sol rested on his new dragon, watching with bright eyes. "Blake! Eat!"

Hearing Sol’s adorable voice, Beatrix’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been able to speak before, so this was both surprising and disorienting. The way he demanded food from Blake in such a sweet voice only heightened her confusion.

As she drew closer, still uncertain about her own emotions, Sol hopped around on his dragon husk, looking right at her.

"Bubu..." he tried to call her by name, but couldn’t manage it.

Which meant Sol had learned to say "eat" before he could say her name. Beatrix lowered her gaze, the confusion in her heart only growing.

"BLAKE! BLAKE! BLAKE!" Blake kept forging in his distinctive style.

Since Beatrix couldn’t ask what he was doing, she simply glanced at the volcanic mold. It was shaped like a spear. Judging by the steel used, she figured he had taken one of the gatekeepers’ spears, melted it down, recast it, and was now refining it to remove imperfections.

There was more to it, though.

BANG!

After hammering, Blake heated the spear again, then quenched it. He hardened it, ensuring its quality remained top-notch. Next, he ground the spear and hammered the edges until it looked deadly.

When he finished, Blake lifted the spear and narrowed his eyes, studying its polished surface as though looking past his own reflection.

Beatrix, still mute, observed him intently. Something in that unwavering focus caught her attention, though she couldn’t tell if it was his passion or something else.

Then, without warning, Blake pointed the spear’s tip at Sol.

Sol perked up, rolled closer, opened his mouth, and promptly devoured the spear. In a matter of seconds, it vanished into his bottomless stomach. Sol let out a small whimper and rolled back to his cockpit, looking pleased as he settled inside.

"Oh, welcome back," Blake finally said to Beatrix. "I’m going through trial-and-error again—trying to find a concept that triggers my fighting spirit when I face bosses or fight one-on-one. Pride makes me a one-man army, but at first I thought it might connect to the seven deadly sins. Then I realized, why limit myself? If there’s something to conquer, I’ll conquer it."

Unsure of his intentions, Beatrix simply nodded.

Blake sat down and cracked his neck. "I’ve been thinking: maybe since I told Vargar about my pride, it became a spirit fragment. That led to Pride’s Shackle and Pride’s Second Coming Set."

It might have been a spark of inspiration. So far, the only aspect of himself Blake had infused into any weapon was his Pride.

"How’s your training going?" he asked.

Beatrix’s ears perked up, and she nodded in reply. A moment later, she clenched her hands and lowered her head, irritated with herself for still being unable to speak. She felt like a low-grade creation of the Lost King, existing only to follow predetermined movements. Her frustration mounted with every second.

While she stood there, her emotions churning in a way she had never experienced before, Blake walked over and touched her pauldron. It was so cold it glittered like an ice crystal, reflecting the furnace’s flames.

At his touch, a system prompt appeared:

<You have made contact with a material you’re unfamiliar with>

<You have discovered Ice Steel (Epic)>

<You have received a new quest>

<Ice Steel Blizzard Cultivation (Epic)—you’re in an area where Ice Steel can be cultivated and harvested. Gather the clues and cultivate more Ice Steel>

<Reward: The 11th Lost King’s Blizzard Forging Skill>

Excited by the potential reward, Blake pulled the icy Beatrix into a brief embrace. He ran his hand through her blonde hair, thanking her for this opportunity. Thanks to her, he already had enough clues to begin uncovering Ice Steel.

He assumed this development came from his new Legendary blacksmith skill and guessed Ice Steel had formed during Beatrix’s training at the mountain’s peak. That meant the location for cultivating Ice Steel was right above his smithy—and the timing couldn’t be better.

"Tomorrow, we’ll head up there with you," Blake said.

Hearing this plan, Sol locked himself in his cockpit and flew up to the smithy’s ceiling, whimpering excitedly about the upcoming trip, eager to train there, too. Perhaps he’d merge with the mountain!

Blake chuckled and turned to prepare.

Meanwhile, Beatrix remained rooted to the spot. She would normally have slipped into Blake’s shadow by now, but she was too confused to act. How could she feel so many types of confusion in one day?

It reminded her of how she’d reacted when Blake compared her ears to those of an elf. Why had she turned away then?

After all, she was supposed to be the Supreme Archer—servant of the previous Lost King. Yet for the first time in her life, Beatrix found herself doubting her own origin.

’The Supreme Archer shall live on,’ Beatrix thought.

But who was that Supreme Archer, really?

Given how Blake obtained his inspiration fragments, was Beatrix’s soul also a fragment of inspiration that had evolved over hundreds of years? Could her emotions truly have emerged from nothing more than an inspiration fragment? More importantly, what exactly was Spiritual Blacksmithing, and how did it connect to Limitless Enchanting?

What kind of power could grant life to forged beings?

Suddenly, Beatrix experienced a strange notion, one suggesting that the 12th Lost King was far from omnipotent. She found herself looking down on him, until something within her compelled her to calm down and forget it.