Emiya knew how important equipment was for a warrior. After much thought, he finally decided to give Gepard a hand.
Gepard was not only a captain of the Silvermane Guards, with authority even higher than Cocolia within their ranks, but also a member of the Landau family.
That family held considerable status in Belobog. Selling him a favor was absolutely worth far more than its price.
"Mr. Emiya, do you also dabble in equipment?" Gepard hesitated. The arm-guard meant a great deal to him. Even though it was damaged, he was still unwilling to hand it over lightly.
"That's right. I'm not only good at cooking, I also know a few smelting techniques."
"Alright then… but could you at least let me see your methods first?"
"No problem. It's not some secret matter. And also, from now on, just call me Emiya. I'll call you all by your names as well."
After studying the arm-guard carefully for a moment, Emiya unexpectedly walked to a corner and pulled out a fine piece of geocrystal. Gepard instantly shot to his feet.
"Emiya, where did you get that geocrystal?"
"Oh, that? About a hundred kilometers beyond the mountain ridge, there's a valley where snow wolves gather. We passed through there earlier and dug up some along the way."
Emiya's casual words struck like crashing waves in Gepard's heart.
A hundred kilometers might not sound far, but in these snowy mountains, with the blizzards and rift monsters rampant, even leading a squad himself would be extremely difficult, especially now, during the monster outbreak season.
In fact, from the Silvermane Guards' restricted zone to here was less than a hundred kilometers. Yet it had taken Gepard's squad three whole days to barely make it.
Even though they'd been cautious the whole way, they still encountered at least a hundred or more rift monster attacks.
"The snow wolves you mentioned… are they the huge silver-white ones I know of?" Gepard's voice trembled as he asked.
Snow wolves were mutated beasts, wildlife infected by Stellaron energy. They always roamed in packs. Since they preyed on rift monsters long-term, their teeth and claws were steeped in deadly poison. A single scratch meant certain death.
"Mm, that's right. But the wolf pups were especially cute, totally girl-killers." Recalling their trip to the snow wolf valley, Emiya couldn't help but let out a helpless smile.
At the time, the snow wolves were busy hunting rift monsters. Emiya and Acheron had slipped into a cave, planning to kill a few wolf pups to eat, the meat would be more tender.
But when Acheron saw the fluffy pups, not only could she not bring herself to strike them, she even wanted to catch one or two to raise as pets.
Such animals were far too wild to tame. Emiya truly worried Zoe would get hurt. And besides, they were going to the city. He didn't even need to think about it, of course the city would forbid keeping large wild animals.
It had taken all of Emiya's strength to drag Acheron away. Yet the moment they returned, she roped Vera and Zoe into planning to go back and catch pets together.
Fortunately, they ran into Bronya's group on the way, otherwise, Emiya had no idea how he would've stopped them.
Hearing Emiya actually call snow wolves, creatures on par with rift monsters, "cute," cold sweat poured down Gepard's back like a waterfall.
'Just what kind of extraordinary beings had Bronya run into? They are terrifyingly strong, is it really safe to bring such people into the city?'
Instinctively, he glanced at Bronya, only to find her looking completely calm. For a moment, Gepard even doubted his own senses. 'Could it be that snow wolves really were adorable fluffy pets?'
"Gepard, hey, Gepard!" Emiya called several times. Seeing Gepard frozen and wooden-faced, Emiya nearly couldn't resist hitting him with a soul-awakening palm strike.
"Your arm-guard is badly worn. I can repair and strengthen it, but you'll owe me a favor."
"That's fine. We already owe you so much anyway. A few more debts won't crush me."
"Good. Then let's head outside." Emiya rubbed his hands together, carrying the arm-guard and geocrystal out into the snow.
"Wait, aren't you repairing the arm-guard? There's no forge out here!"
"My hands are the forge." Emiya spread his hands with a bright smile. "It's not exactly a secret, but it's better if you don't go around talking about what you're about to see. It'd be troublesome for me."
"Your hands are the forge? What do you mean? Are your hands mechanical arms?" Gepard pinched Emiya's hand in disbelief.
It was definitely flesh and blood. Could alien technology really mimic reality that perfectly?
"Sigh, just watch quietly. You'll never figure it out by guessing with your head." At the side, Bronya patted Gepard's shoulder. She completely understood his feelings.
"That's right. You'll know once you see it."
After firmly telling them not to let anything interrupt him, Emiya held his breath, calmed his mind, and used magecraft to analyze the arm-guard's structure.
This method was an inspiration that struck Emiya when he witnessed the system create physical Noble Phantasms.
At that time, he wondered, if, when projecting a weapon, he infused it with the corresponding materials, could he grant the physical weapon the powers of a Noble Phantasm?
Through many attempts, Emiya discovered his mana was no longer the same as before. Projection magecraft had also changed.
Reforging Noble Phantasms might really be possible, though achieving it fully would still take a long way to go. But to simply reforge a piece of ordinary equipment, that was now effortless.
After finishing his analysis of the arm-guard's structure, Emiya immediately used projection magecraft to gradually reproduce it with mana.
At the same time, with his other hand, he melted the original arm-guard, channeling every strand of its material into the projected one.
Though the process sounded long, it actually lasted less than a minute. Before the astonished eyes of Gepard and Bronya, the geocrystal arm-guard had already been reforged anew.
"This arm-guard now has an added ability. When you strike another object with it, it will generate a shockwave."
Seeing the two of them still stunned, Emiya chuckled, then led them to a man-tall boulder nearby. He smashed the arm-guard against it with force.
Boom! A terrifying shockwave burst out, blasting the entire boulder into tiny shards. Its power was clear without need for words.
"A miracle, this is truly a miracle! Could it be that you… you are a messenger sent by the Preservation Aeon?"
Gepard had once heard the elders say that the Aeons' messengers were called Executors. Each one possessed powers beyond imagination.
At the lightest, they could transform a nation. At the greatest, they could overturn entire civilizations. The power of an Executor was said to be like a fragment of the Aeon's own might.
"Gepard, listen to me, and you too, Bronya."
Emiya's expression turned serious, his voice stern, "Though it may sound rude, I only believe that man can triumph over heaven. Always praying for the vague, unreachable protection of the Aeons, this is the fate you've ended up with!"
Hearing this, Gepard nearly exploded with anger. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. If the Aeons really cared about them so much, then surely the entire civilization wouldn't have been reduced to just Belobog.
Without doubt, the Aeons' protection existed, otherwise Belobog would already have perished. But to constantly beg the Aeons to grant more power, to carry people out of hardship, that truly was… laughable, weak, and pitiful.
"Emiya, keep those words just between us two. Never say them outside. You must remember this."
"Relax. I'm only saying this because we're friends. I wouldn't bother with others who don't know me." Emiya approvingly patted Gepard's shoulder.
"I'll call this arm-guard Shockwave. I'm glad it's found a worthy master."
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