Two days later, Aize received the Black Furnace Magic Sword from Claudia.
"You've been waiting a long time, Black Furnace."
In a relatively secluded corner of the Starlight Pavilion Academy, Aize held the pitch-black activation unit of the Black Furnace Magic Sword in his hand. Feeling the surge of excitement emanating from it, he smiled faintly and activated it.
"Clang!"
A crimson light shot out from the red omni-crystal. The omnion particles responded to the sword's power and formed a heavy, massive cross-guard, from which the pure white blade extended.
"Hum!"
Aize raised the Black Furnace Magic Sword high and infused it with starlight energy. Black patterns emerged around the white blade, spiraling and converging into the omni-crystal.
An intense heat immediately condensed on the blade, turning its pure white color black.
Under Aize's control and with the complete cooperation of the Black Furnace Magic Sword, the heat did not radiate outward as it had before. Instead, it remained entirely concentrated on the blade.
"Hmm..."
Holding the now-blackened blade of the Black Furnace Magic Sword, Aize fell silent for a moment and muttered to himself.
"Although it feels like I can wield it quite comfortably like this, the Black Furnace Magic Sword is still too big."
The Black Furnace Magic Sword was essentially a great sword. An ordinary person might not even be able to lift it, and even a typical Starlight Generation fighter would likely struggle to swing such a massive blade with agility, which would impose many limitations in battle.
"Smaller is still better."
As soon as those words left Aize's mouth, the Black Furnace Magic Sword in his hand suddenly began to change.
"Clang!"
The red omni-crystal once again emitted a brilliant crimson light. The omnion particles once more transformed into dark patterns, wrapping around the Black Furnace Magic Sword, spiraling and shifting continuously.
Under this condition, the Black Furnace Magic Sword disassembled.
No, it would be more accurate to say it underwent a reconstruction.
The previously thick and heavy cross-guard, which had been the first part to form, nearly vanished. The broad blade abruptly shrank, and the intense heat was compressed once again.
In just a short while, the towering Black Furnace Magic Sword—which had originally been nearly as tall as a person—became the size of a regular sword. It was no longer massive and heavy, but appeared agile, lightweight, and dangerous.
Seeing this scene, Aize smiled as expected.
"You really can adjust your size freely, Black Furnace."
Possessing ultimate authority over weaponry, Aize could completely control any weapon he held in his hand, mastering its abilities with absolute precision. Not to mention, this weapon had already recognized his authority and become his exclusive armament.
Therefore, from the moment he first grasped the Black Furnace Magic Sword, Aize had known exactly what its capabilities were—and that it could freely change its size like this.
"Not bad. This will be much more convenient and easy to handle."
Aize casually swung the Black Furnace Magic Sword, leaving a trail of distorted heat in the wake of its arc.
"Hum!" "Hum!" "Hum!"…
As Aize continued to swing, he unconsciously began increasing the speed of his strikes. With subtle movements of his body, he unleashed wave after wave of black sword light, the blade of the Black Furnace Magic Sword—charged with intense heat—emitting a deep hum with each swing.
If someone else had been present to witness this scene, they would never have believed it was Aize's first time wielding the Black Furnace Magic Sword.
Fully immersed in the moment, his entire body moved fluidly with the blade, his swordplay so natural and seamless that even a highly skilled swordsman would have mistaken him for a veteran who had fought with the Black Furnace Magic Sword for over a decade.
Anyone who knew that Aize had only just received the Black Furnace Magic Sword today—and had never wielded it before—would find the sight simply unbelievable.
At this moment, there was no sign at all that Aize had never used the Black Furnace Magic Sword in the past.
Even Aize himself felt as if he had been fighting alongside the Black Furnace Magic Sword for many years. The level of synchronization and harmony between him and the weapon far exceeded that of any of its previous users.
*"Man and blade as one"—*the phrase surfaced in Aize's mind.
Unfortunately…
"The starlight energy consumption is just ridiculous."
Aize suddenly stopped without warning, his face slightly pale, and gave a wry smile.
"So this is the price of using the Black Furnace Magic Sword?"
Pure Star Radiance-type armaments were indeed powerful, but every one of them required a price to be paid for their use.
The nature of that price varied depending on the specific armament.
It served both as a side effect—and a threshold.
And the cost of using the Black Furnace Magic Sword… was the consumption of an enormous amount of starlight energy.
And this "enormous" wasn't just a figure of speech.
At the very least, if an ordinary Starlight Generation fighter were to use it, their starlight energy would be completely drained in an instant.
"The original protagonist's starlight energy far surpassed that of others. In terms of sheer quantity, there were probably only two or three characters in the entire book who were explicitly stated to exceed him."
"His ability to gain the recognition of the Black Furnace Magic Sword was largely thanks to that."
"Compared to him, my starlight energy is severely lacking."
Aize's abilities in all areas were average within the Starlight Pavilion Academy—including his starlight energy.
At his level, even if he could use the Black Furnace Magic Sword, it would still drain him dry almost instantly.
If the sword hadn't acknowledged him as its master, it would've mercilessly drained all his starlight energy within two or three seconds—leaving him dried up before he even had the chance to swing it.
The only reason he was currently able to wield it for any length of time was, first, because the Black Furnace Magic Sword was intentionally restraining itself and not excessively draining its wielder's energy, and second, because after becoming bound to him, the sword had been enhanced through Aize's authority—not only increasing its power, but also reducing the cost and side effects of using it.
Even so, given Aize's extremely mediocre starlight capacity, he could likely only use the Black Furnace Magic Sword for a few minutes at most.
And that was with most of its power still sealed.
If Aize tried to unleash the sword's full potential—bringing its output up to maximum—he would probably only be able to release a few attacks before being completely drained.
"In the end, my starlight energy is just too limited."
Aize said helplessly.
Then, suddenly—
"Vmm!"
The Black Furnace Magic Sword trembled, and to Aize's surprise, it began releasing a large amount of omnion particles from its omni-crystal.
"Black Furnace?"
Aize blinked in surprise and called out in confusion.
But the sword did not respond. Instead, the released omnion particles began to gather around Aize's body—and even flowed into him.
Then, Aize was shocked to discover that his starlight energy, and even his physical capabilities, were rapidly increasing.
"This…"
Aize's eyes widened—first in disbelief, then in growing delight.
"The Black Furnace can actually enhance my strength?"
What on earth was going on?
This kind of thing had never happened in the original story!
"Wait a minute."
Suddenly, Aize realized something.
"Starlight Generation individuals were born in the first place due to the influence of omnion particles."
"And the omni-crystal is a high-purity condensation of omnion particles—it's a crystallized form of omnion itself."
"That means, if you use the omnion particles from an omni-crystal to influence the human body, it's possible to stimulate the birth of a Starlight Generation—or even strengthen an existing one!"
Of course, that wasn't something just anyone could casually do.
But because the Black Furnace Magic Sword had acknowledged Aize as its master and become his exclusive weapon, they were now deeply linked as one. Through the authority granted by that bond, the sword could actively release its power to enhance Aize's abilities.
"This really is an unexpected blessing."
Feeling his starlight energy and physical abilities continuously rising, the smile on Aize's face grew wider and wider.
But it didn't last long.
Because soon, he sensed that the Black Furnace Magic Sword's presence was steadily weakening.
"Black Furnace! Stop!"
Aize's expression suddenly changed as he urgently tried to stop the sword.
However, the Black Furnace Magic Sword showed no intention of stopping. On the contrary, it continued releasing a massive amount of omnion particles, causing the glow of the omni-crystal to grow dimmer and dimmer.
It was sacrificing its own power to make Aize stronger.
"Stop!"
Realizing this, Aize immediately took control of the Black Furnace Magic Sword and forcibly cut off the release of omnion particles.
Having full control over the sword—having made it his personal weapon—meant that Aize could override its will and command it by force.
Only then did the red omni-crystal cease its release of omnion particles, its glow gradually fading.