Chapter 58: The Sword of Human Rights - The Light of Ersten
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
At Dural's summons, Rhodes and his party immediately went to the magic workshop.
Dural was holding a longsword, its body a shimmering silver. An invisible aura of mana flowed from the blade, the residual energy from the mana crystal, imbuing the sword with power from the moment it was forged.
He solemnly handed the sword to Rhodes. "In all my hundred years of forging, this holy sword is my greatest masterpiece!"
Eternal Ore and a high-purity mana crystal... the value of those two materials alone was immeasurable. Dural was certain that even in the treasury of the Dwarven Kingdom, you wouldn't find many swords that could compare. And more importantly, there were not many master smiths like him left.
Of course, Rhodes had no idea about Dural's inner monologue. He just took the sword and asked, "Does... it have a name?"
"Not yet. How about you give it one, Mr. Rhodes!"
Rhodes glanced at Serie, about to speak, but then thought better of it, remembering her terrible naming sense.
But Serie didn't care about that. "Just call it the Eternal Holy Sword. After all, it's made from Eternal Ore."
"Didn't you say there's no such thing as eternity in this world?" Rhodes teased.
Serie turned her head away. "You must be misremembering."
Ignoring the elven miss's embarrassment, Rhodes ran a hand along the blade, feeling the flow of mana within it. "Let's call it the Sword of Human Rights - The Light of Ersten," he said softly.
It was the result of their collective efforts. Everyone had played a part in slaying the dragon, and the most crucial materials, the Eternal Ore and the mana crystal, had been found by Somme. If not for the dwarf's preference for axes, Rhodes might have even given the sword to him.
"The Sword of Human Rights... The Light of Ersten?" Norne murmured the name.
Anyone could see that Rhodes was naming the sword after the human nation he had proposed. Was he intending for this sword to be passed down through the generations? No wonder he had insisted on using the Eternal Ore.
"Not a very good name," the elven miss said, still stubborn. She thought his naming skills were no better than her own.
"By the way, did you add the material I asked you for, Mr. Dural?" Rhodes suddenly asked.
"Of course! I don't know what you plan to do with it, but I happened to have a similar ore, and I added it in."
"What did you add?" Serie asked, her curiosity piqued.
"A special ore. Something about 'only those who are worthy may lift this holy sword'?"
"For real?" Serie was surprised. "I've never heard of such an ore."
"Of course you haven't! Because I just made it up!" Rhodes laughed. "It's just a weight-increasing ore. Only by infusing it with mana can you reduce its weight."
Realizing she had been tricked again, Serie's face turned red. If there hadn't been so many people around, she would have surely blasted him with a few light arrows. No, not arrows. Spears. Only then would her anger be appeased.
Eirik came over, his eyes fixed on the holy sword. "Can I... can I touch it?"
"Sure." Rhodes generously handed it over. But as soon as Eirik took it, it nearly slipped from his grasp. It was, as Rhodes had said, surprisingly heavy.
"You have to infuse it with mana to reduce its weight," Rhodes reminded him.
Eirik did as he was told. He felt the mana in his body draining rapidly, and in response, the sword's weight began to decrease. "Never mind, never mind. You can have it back!"
In that short time, he had already lost a tenth of his mana. The sword absorbed it far too quickly. He suspected that Mr. Rhodes had no intention of actually using it in a fight. But what he didn't know was that Rhodes had another trick up his sleeve, a way for even Somme to lift the sword with ease.
"Let me see."
Serie took the sword from Rhodes. The small, slender elf holding the massive two-handed sword was a strange sight.
"Be careful!"
As soon as he said it, she had already lifted it steadily. The holy sword in her hand erupted in a brilliant blue light. In terms of mana, the current Serie was equivalent to 2.5 Rhodeses, or 10 Eiriks. So she was completely unconcerned about the sword's mana-draining effect. "Not bad. Shall we go test its power?"
She handed the sword back to him, and he nodded.
Outside the dwarven town, Dural insisted that a sword of this power had to be tested in an unpopulated area. So the group went to a place a little further away.
Rhodes held the sword high, its tip pointed at the ground in the distance. As he infused it with mana, the light from the blade grew brighter and brighter, until it was as dazzling as the full moon.
"Hmm... infusing it with mana and then releasing it? But there's a hint of a spell in there..." Serie mumbled, her eyes fixed on his every move.
No one else understood what he was doing, but she had an inkling. He was going to use the sword to project his mana like a torrent. A fine idea.
"Slash!"
Having gathered his power, a cerulean blade of light cleaved the earth. Everything in its path was reduced to dust. A chasm, seemingly endless, was carved into the ground, a hundred meters long at least.
As the light and dust faded, a stunned silence fell upon the group.
Eirik's eyes trembled. "That's... that's terrifying!"
Serie nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad." She then pointed to a small mountain in the distance. "Try and see if you can split that mountain in two!"
Rhodes smiled wryly. "I don't have that much mana right now." The brilliant light gradually faded, though a faint glow still lingered on the blade.
Dural stroked his beard excitedly. "Perfect! Only I could have crafted such a perfect holy sword! Can any other dwarf do it!?"
"Pfft—"
His familiar-sounding boast made Rhodes chuckle, but fortunately, Dural was too engrossed in his own masterpiece to notice.
"But your idea was a good one. A new spell?" Serie asked, coming to his side.
"Not really a spell. Just releasing the stored mana."
"What's its storage limit?"
"Lots and lots."
He didn't give her a specific number, but his words gave her a bold idea. She looked at him, and found that he was already looking at her. Their eyes met, and they both knew what the other was thinking. A shared smile, a smile of perfect understanding, bloomed on both their faces.
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