Abe the Wizard

Chapter 24 Ice Magic Greatsword

Abel removed the decorative parts of the Bai Lian greatsword, leaving only the iron handle, pommel, and guard. The place for embedding the magic stone could only be the guard.

He placed the greatsword's hilt into the furnace and, after a while, used tongs to extract the red-hot sword. Using a perforated mandrel, he carved out a suitable groove on the greatsword. Master Benseth was very pleased with Abel's proficient forging skills.

One of the important reasons why Abel learned forging was to master his own power. Therefore, in his free time, he practiced various forging techniques in the workshop. Each forging technique required different strength, so through this period of practice, Abel mastered these basic skills very solidly.

"Master, I want to create an ice magic greatsword." Due to material constraints, Abel could only choose between fire and ice magic weapons. In his understanding, ice magic weapons could slow down opponents, and when combined with ice magic's damage, he believed that the finished product could become a nightmare for all opponents.

Master Benseth remained silent. He nervously watched as Abel took out the runic pen and dipped it in rune ink, starting to draw runes on the greatsword.

Abel's hand was steady, and years of calligraphy practice made him adept at using this soft-tipped runic pen. Unlike writing with regular ink on paper, using ice-based rune ink on the Bai Lian greatsword was extremely laborious. Abel felt resistance with every movement of the runic pen on the greatsword. This was partly alleviated by the wind wolf hair on the runic pen.

Sweat began to trickle down Abel's forehead. Not only did it require physical effort, but it also consumed a significant amount of mental energy. The drawing had to be done in one go without pauses. Any interruption could lead to uneven ink thickness, resulting in unpredictable consequences during the transfer of magic.

The process of drawing these runic lines on the greatsword with rune ink took nearly three times longer than Abel's usual practice time. However, he eventually succeeded in drawing them perfectly.

Abel took out a blue gem and carefully placed it in the groove, reinforcing it with tools to prevent the gem from moving or falling out due to shaking.

"I'll take a look," Master Benseth asked for the Bai Lian greatsword and carefully inspected it. He said, "You drew the runes even faster than I could. The runic drawings are perfect, and there are no issues with embedding the magic stone. I think we can proceed to the next step."

Seeing Master Benseth's affirmative expression, Abel smiled slightly. The process of drawing the runes had consumed a lot of his energy, so he sat down and rested for nearly an hour before his spirits recovered.

Carefully guiding his mental strength from the edge of the blue gem, which was the ice magic stone according to Master Benseth, Abel slowly explored along the runic lines. A cold force accompanied his mental exploration and flowed along with his mental direction. Abel carefully guided this cold force toward the center of the runes. This process couldn't be rushed; if done too quickly, the cold force would disperse and return to the gem, while moving too slowly would freeze the mental strength.

After several failed attempts, on the fifth try, Abel successfully guided the cold force into the center of the runes. The Bai Lian greatsword suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and Abel seemed to hear the sound of the sword breaking. Almost instinctively, he threw the greatsword and pushed Master Benseth, who was engrossed, behind the massive iron workbench.

With a loud bang, Abel heard the sound of fragments piercing through the air, followed by the clinking of objects being hit. After a while, the noise finally ceased, and everything quieted down.

Abel cautiously peeked out and saw the aftermath of the explosion. The workshop was in disarray, with small holes punched in the walls. Fortunately, the workshop was built of solid stone, and the tools inside were made of refined iron. Other than the large crater on the floor, there was no substantial damage.

Master Benseth also snapped out of the hair-raising scene, and both he and Abel felt a sense of relief after the ordeal.

"What happened?" "Is Master alright?" "Master, are you okay?" "Young master, young master."

A noisy commotion filled the room as people from the smithy rushed in. The loud noise had alarmed everyone.

The horrifying scene in the room left the onlookers gasping in astonishment. What were these two men creating that had such immense power?

"Don't speak, don't ask, everyone out," Master Benseth shouted loudly, driving away the people. Even his apprentice, Gaden, was also shooed out.

"What could be the reason?" Abel was puzzled by this unexpected failure, as he believed he had done an excellent job. However, something went wrong at the last moment, causing the explosion.

Master Benseth carefully examined the runic ink, sniffed it, and touched it with his hands. Finally, he confirmed, "There's nothing wrong with the runic ink. I've been making this runic ink for many years, so it's unlikely to have an issue."

"Then it must have been something wrong during the process," Abel recalled his crafting process and couldn't find any missing steps except for spending three times longer than usual to draw the runes.

Thinking about it, Abel confidently said, "It's possible that the time spent drawing the runes was too long."

"Yes, after such a long time, the properties of the ink at the beginning and the end might have changed due to overexposure. The unstable magic transmission caused the explosion," analyzed Master Benseth. He had spent almost his entire life researching this material, so when Abel suggested the possibility, he immediately thought of the reason for the failure.

"Can we use mental strength to draw the runes? Will that speed up the process?" Master Benseth asked, as he didn't possess mental strength and could only rely on Abel for this aspect.

"It should work, but using mental strength will consume more energy, so I'll need more rest time before the next mental guidance process," Abel replied after considering it for a moment.

Once again, they found another Bai Lian greatsword and drilled a groove. With the experience gained from the first attempt, the second time was faster.

Next was the runic drawing. Abel closed his eyes and emptied his mind, then slowly opened his eyes. At that moment, his eyes were solely focused on the greatsword in front of him, enlarging the details of the sword in his eyes. As the runic pen touched the greatsword and the rune ink, their integration continuously occurred. This fusion was where the resistance lay. The special runic ink for weapons could tightly adhere to the surface of the greatsword, forming a peculiar substance, and due to the guidance of mental strength, the cooperation between Abel's power and the runic pen reached its peak. The speed of drawing was vastly different from before. After about ten minutes, the drawing was successful, and Abel, now exhausted, regained clarity in his mental strength.

After resting for two hours, Abel finally recovered from his exhausted state. The subsequent mental guidance process went smoothly with the experience gained from the previous attempt, with no pauses, and the cold force was successfully guided into the center of the runes.

A flash of light passed over the Bai Lian greatsword, which was not dazzling. The runes on the greatsword began to glow, gradually becoming brighter before eventually fading away from the surface of the greatsword. Apart from the slot at the hilt, the greatsword had returned to its original appearance, and the difference from the original Bai Lian greatsword was no longer visible.

Master Benseth took this Bai Lian greatsword with trembling hands and lightly tapped the blade. A cold glare flashed from the greatsword, and frost formed on the surface of Master Benseth's fingers.

"Master, are you alright?" Abel, seeing the frost on Master Benseth's fingers, couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"Haha," Master Benseth burst into laughter, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes. He murmured, "I never expected that in my lifetime, I would see my disciple create a magic sword. Now I can die in peace."