Although Charles really wanted Bell to test just how powerful the First Hero's heroic strike could be, thankfully, Bell was level-headed enough not to follow through recklessly.
Nobody knew how strong that attack truly was, but this was Charles' workshop—if something went wrong, it would be his own space that suffered the consequences.
Charles calmed down too, shelving the tempting idea for now.
Wait a minute… had he been influenced by Tsubaki? What kind of unreliable thought was that?
He shivered at the realization and quickly began self-reflecting.
Welf took the Spirit Banner from Bell's hands and examined it carefully. "Charles, you've made another unbelievable item. But I'm guessing this one's not going on the market, right?"
Welf had clearly matured. When he first started forging, he never considered things like cost-efficiency, but now he could see Charles' intent.
The materials used in the Spirit Banner were undeniably extravagant. The shaft was forged from pure Oreichalcum, with no other metals mixed in.
Just calculating the raw material cost would make it unaffordable to most adventurers.
But Charles had no other choice. The current forging materials were ones he had chosen after careful consideration.
Compared to other rituals, summoning rituals were relatively flexible. At the very least, they didn't require rare materials or strict activation conditions.
The most important component was the medium for summoning the heroic spirit—the user themselves.
Still, integrating a ritual into a piece of equipment required materials with sufficient strength and resonance.
Oreichalcum wasn't a natural material, but rather a product of human knowledge and ingenuity.
The metal ingot embodied mortal perseverance, which granted it the "indestructible" trait—and made it worthy of forming the foundation for a summoning ritual that could communicate with human heroic spirits.
As for the banner cloth, in addition to the Cadmus dragonhide, Charles had woven in a large amount of Spiritcloth.
With this magical material—a fragment of divine essence—the Spirit Banner could establish a connection with souls in divine realms and grant them the power to unleash magical attacks.
This artifact had long surpassed the definition of a first-tier item in Orario. Even if he set a sky-high price, it would still be worth every valis.
But the Spirit Banner also chose its wielder. Not just anyone could summon a heroic spirit. Moreover, there was no way to predict which spirit would respond—something many wouldn't accept.
Charles indeed had no intention of selling the banner. Aside from refining his craft, he had created this artifact in preparation for battles to come.
The Ishtar Familia incident had been a wake-up call. Some problems were best resolved early.
He hadn't forgotten that Ishtar wasn't the only one keeping tabs on him—there was still Dionysus.
Charles wanted to create a magic tool that could preserve souls, or even revive the dead. But to do that, he needed to upgrade [Mystery] once again.
Upgrading a Development Ability was extremely difficult, requiring years of research and accumulation.
Although World Magic had now adjusted the flow of time between worlds, Charles had no intention of gambling Igneel's life on whether he could succeed in time.
This wasn't about confidence—it was the one matter where Charles refused to allow even the slightest uncertainty.
Since waiting wasn't an option, Charles had to take a different path. The key to leveling [Mystery] was, simply put, knowledge.
[Mystery] was the ability to manifest divine miracles, and knowledge was humanity's path to divinity.
If this world's knowledge wasn't enough, then he would pursue it in another.
And so, Charles had decided: after he dealt with Enyo, he would depart for another world.
That meant he had to get his affairs in order here first.
"You guys showed up at the perfect time. I'll be leaving Orario for a while soon. I'm leaving the workshop in your care, Welf.
Of course, I'm not asking you to work for free. I've prepared some gifts."
Saying that, Charles pulled a large chest from under the table and opened it in front of them.
The chest was quite large, but it only contained three items.
He picked up a gauntlet and handed it to Welf. "You're a blacksmith too, so I won't bother with ordinary stuff. These are special items I crafted.
This gauntlet is called the Bracer of Sanctuary. Just spread your palm, and it will project a magic shield. Your fighting style is a bit too reckless, Welf. I hope this can protect you."
Welf took the gauntlet without saying a word.
Next, Charles retrieved another peculiar item and placed it into Lili's hands.
"This one's for you, Lili. You're the party's supporter, so I made this gear with that in mind. It's called… 'The Orator.'"
What he handed her was unmistakably a rifle.
Charles explained, "This is a special weapon that uses internal magic circles to fire projectiles. Even regular metal rounds pack a punch when fired. If you use specially crafted bullets, its power can rival that of a magic sword. And it's way more cost-effective.
I'll give you a user manual in a bit. The appendix has blueprints for custom rounds. Once you run out of bullets, you can just find any adventurer with [Smithing] to craft more."
Lili ran her hands over the gun, clearly in love with the weapon. She beamed and said, "This is way too valuable—how could I possibly accept it?!"
Welf smirked and muttered, "If you really feel that way, why don't you give it back to Charles?"
Lili promptly stomped on his foot and snapped, "Mind your own business!"
Then she turned to Charles and asked, "By the way, what does 'The Orator' mean?"
Charles rubbed his chin. "It means… if you press the barrel to someone's forehead, they'll have no choice but to hear you out."
Lili blinked, then gave Welf a strange grin.
"Hey, Lili, what are you thinking? That's dangerous! Don't mess around!"
While the two of them started bickering again, Charles turned to Bell.
"And for you, Bell, I've prepared this."
He handed over a white cloak. "You're the one who worries me the most. The road you've chosen is full of danger—you're bound to move forward covered in wounds.
So I made this Cloak of Restoration. Wrap yourself in it, and it will heal your body. It can also purge curses and poisons. I hope it helps you."
The cloak was modeled after the healing magic of the famed "Battlefield Saint"—Amid.
Like Haruhime, Amid was one of the three so-called "cheat characters" of Orario.
Her magic, "Dia Frater," was the most advanced healing spell in the city. It could heal wounds, restore stamina, cure poison, and dispel curses.
What's more, Amid could split those effects into separate functions, apply them to multiple targets, and sustain them over time.
With Amid on the battlefield, it was almost impossible for her allies to die. That's why the gods had given her the title "Battlefield Saint."
To recreate that magic in equipment form, Charles had personally visited Amid and acquired the ritual formula for "Dia Frater."
He had to fork over half his net worth to secure the agreement.
Even so, replicating Amid's magic in gear wasn't easy.
Charles had used up all his stored unicorn horn, mermaid blood, and Cadmus springwater from the lower levels of the Dungeon to make this cloak.
Even if Bell didn't know exactly how much effort went into these three artifacts, he could still guess their immense value.
"Charles… these are way too precious. We can't possibly accept them!"
Charles shook his head. "Bell, you three are among the few friends I have in this world. These items are the result of my research, but they serve no purpose just sitting in storage.
I'd rather see them used by people I trust."
Hearing Charles say that, Bell couldn't refuse any longer. He stood tall and declared, "Charles! We won't let you down!"
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