[‘Here lies one of my masterpieces! A weapon capable of ascending in power alongside its wielder. A weapon… alive.’]

  Alive?

  Luke opened the chest. Inside rested a black orb, its surface constantly shedding coils of dark smoke. He focused on it and invoked [Identify]. The description surfaced at once.

  [Tsukumogami no Me]: A cursed black eye capable of absorbing a weapon and awakening a spirit within it. Once consumed by the eye, the weapon begins to develop a rudimentary soul, shaped entirely by how it was treated by its wielder and by the nature of the one who bears it. If it was handled with care, respect, and purpose, the spirit born will be loyal and cooperative. If it was used with cruelty, neglect, or bloodlust… the spirit will mirror that darkness. The Tsukumogami no Me does not merely create living weapons. It reveals what was always hidden inside them.

  Luke smiled. So that was what Azazel wanted him to find.

  He looked down at his kukris. Cracked blades, like shattered glass. The edges had dulled, the steel worn thin, their lives almost spent. And now… they would live again.

  “What is it, my lord?” Angie asked.

  Charlie watched with the same curiosity.

  Luke lifted the orb. It had weight, yet felt strange in his palm, as if made of smoke trapped inside something viscous and black, solid only by defiance.

  “This might repair my weapons. Maybe even make them better.”

  He let the orb hover using telekinesis and tightened his grip around the kukris.

  Two blades… will it choose only one? Or both?

  He brought one kukri closer. The orb trembled. Gravity seemed to twist around it, the smoke stretching toward the metal. The blade jerked forward, pulled from his hand, and vanished into the black sphere. The kukri had been larger than the orb, yet it slipped inside as if swallowed whole.

  The other blade began to shake in his grip.

  “So you want to go too?”

  He released it. The second kukri was dragged in, consumed by the eye. The smoke faded, and the orb hardened, its surface turning smooth and solid, black as onyx. When Luke picked it up again, the weight had changed. Heavy. Substantial. Alive.

  And now?

  He stood there, listening. Nothing happened at first. Then, faintly, from somewhere deep inside the orb, came the sound of metal striking metal. Hammer against an anvil.

  No way… the weapon is literally being reforged in there?

  He slipped it into his pocket. Storage wouldn’t accept it. Fine. He’d keep it close.

  “That’s it,” he said, turning away from the chest. “Our job here is done.”

  ***

  The day wore on while Luke turned the fortress into a functioning base. Charlie had washed away the dried blood, fresh from a bath and a small dose of Luke’s blood to recover her strength.

  During a few tests they had run, Luke realized Angie’s skill couldn’t be used to restore his HP. It only healed very minor injuries, which meant it wasn’t going to solve their problem of keeping Charlie fed. He would still need to keep making healing potions.

  Sitting on the temple veranda, he watched the ruined village below and stared at the black eye resting on the table. There was no sign his kukris would ever come free from it. He was starting to accept that he might be without weapons for a while.

  I should have invested in at least a spare set of daggers. Something.

  His main weapons were gone. He picked up the eye and thought of Miles.

  “So that’s why he closed the dimension after claiming his treasure. He wants the rest of the weapons for himself.”

  The logic was simple: seal the area, wipe out the competition, and collect the other three. He had probably already awakened his own weapon by now, and understood just how powerful it became. Even Luke, who hadn’t seen his weapon finished yet, found the idea tempting.

  If there were still treasures left to claim, I would have gone hunting for the others immediately. But the last three have already been used. Shame… I could have forged a weapon for Charlie and Angie.

  “Hey, human. Why are you standing there talking to yourself?”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “I’m thinking. You don’t do that?”

  “No.”

  “Yeah, that was obvious,” Artemis muttered.

  On his way back to the treasure chamber, Luke thought about the riddle left behind in the dimension, the one tied to the legacy of the demon-smith. No new notification appeared, which meant the hidden temple didn’t require all the weapons to be found. Or maybe it only reveals itself after mine is finished.

  Dimensional Rift: Temple of the Demon Blacksmith

  Ages ago, a blacksmith from the Spectral Demon tribe reached the pinnacle of his craft within his clan. Before vanishing, he left behind four weapons forged by his own hands, scattered throughout this dimension as minor treasures. Each one serves as a key leading toward the hidden temple where his masterpiece rests.

  But only one deemed worthy may open the temple. To inherit his legacy, one must answer the riddle the master smith left behind:

  “Among the four weapons I created… which one holds my true treasure?”

  Treasures Found: 4/4

  But if every weapon is forged from Tsukumogami no Me, then which one can possibly hold the answer? It feels too random to guess.

  At least the message confirmed one thing about the so-called hidden temple.

  A blacksmith’s temple is his forge, his sacred place. Somewhere out there, a secret forge is concealed, and inside it lies the demon-smith’s true legacy. And if a living weapon with a spirit is already this impressive… then what could that legacy be?

  ***

  They were having dinner at the table inside the temple.

  “Your soup turned out really good, Charlie.”

  “Thank you, Master Luke,” she replied, clearly proud of herself.

  She had just finished serving him while he read. Notes and scribbles covered the table, loose pages filled with Luke’s attempts to deduce the temple’s location.

  When he glanced down, he saw Lulie happily chewing on a chunk of meat. The tiny bat would eat just about anything they gave her, from fruit to insects, but tonight she’d been served a proper plate of meat.

  Franky sat nearby, watching with disinterest. “I don’t want any. Stop trying to offer it.”

  Luke placed a plate of meat on the floor beside him anyway. The young wyvern stared at his portion, then at Lulie’s plate.

  “Why does the winged rat’s meat look bigger than mine?”

  “Because she’s actually useful for something and you aren’t,” Luke replied.

  Lulie glanced at Franky, let out a tiny laugh, and went back to eating.

  “She’s laughing at me, human!”

  “She’s practically a newborn. Are you really letting yourself get provoked by that?”

  Angie sat absorbed in a thick book on forging techniques, turning each page with quiet focus.

  When the dishes were washed, Luke looked toward the table and lifted his hand. The black eye shot toward him, drawn in a sharp telekinetic pull. He smiled. He’d been practicing his [Telekinetic Pull] skill.

  He pointed again, and the scattered papers slid across the surface toward him. As he walked, books and notes drifted after him in a loose orbit.

  “Alright, Jedi. Keep having fun with your goofy little smile,” Artemis muttered.

  “How did you know I was thinking about Jedi?”

  “Please. I know you.”

  Outside, he sat on the temple steps and gazed down at the village below. The Tsukumogami no Me rested beside him. Luke pressed his ear gently to its surface and listened, the faint echo of a forge ringing inside it like distant waves inside a seashell.

  “What is our next step, my lord?” Angie asked as she approached.

  “We figure out this riddle. Right now we’re at a point where there’s nowhere left to go.”

  “Wandering aimlessly through this place makes no sense,” she said. “Not without knowing where to begin looking for the hidden temple.”

  “Once the weapon is finished, maybe it will give us a clue.”

  She walked slowly through the chamber. “I’m going to spend some time studying the books in this place. Who knows… maybe I’ll even become a blacksmith,” she said with a faint laugh.

  The two of them continued wandering as they discussed their theories. Luckily, Angie was sharp and thoughtful, and talking to her often helped him see things from a completely different angle.

  “Master Luke, Master Luke!” Charlie came running down the corridor, practically bursting with excitement.

  “What is it, Charlie? Did something happen?”

  “I-I-I went to choose my new skill!” she blurted, breathless and far too excited. “I did what you told me, to pick it while thinking carefully on my own. So I wanted to choose something that would impress you.”

  She spoke so fast it was almost impossible to keep up.

  “And when I saw the skill I got too excited and clicked it right away and chose it, but then I realized I clicked without thinking, but either way it was the one I was going to pick,” she said in one long rush.

  “It’s all right, Charlie, I understand. But what has you this worked up?”

  “Lulie just got even stronger.”

  She opened her interface and showed him the skill.

  [Vampire Drain (Ancient)]: The Blood Bat can drain blood from enemies. In addition to dealing a small amount of damage, the blood is converted into Blood Energy for the vampire. As long as the vampire remains within range, the Blood Energy is transferred to their Blood Core, allowing them to feed.

  So the little bat can drain blood now. Interesting.

  Lulie fluttered beside Charlie, wings beating eagerly as she flashed her fangs, now sharper than before. Charlie’s familiar could grow stronger through her? Then again, a familiar was still an extension of Charlie’s own power.

  “That’s actually pretty cool, Charlie. But didn’t you say you didn’t like the idea of feeding on other humans?”

  “I only want to feed on your blood, Master Luke. But Lulie can feed on human enemies and even attack them. And she really seems like she wants to attack by draining blood.”

  The tiny bat nodded enthusiastically, baring her little fangs. Lulie flew toward Luke with her teeth exposed, but before she could reach him Angie caught her midair.

  “Little bat, you will not attack Lord Luke,” Angie said calmly.

  Lulie squeaked in protest.

  “She only wanted to taste Master Luke’s blood.”

  “If she does not have Master Luke’s consent, then it is an attack,” Angie replied.

  Luke paused for a moment, thinking. “Sorry, Lulie. If Charlie isn’t going to feed on any other human, then I’m only giving my blood to her as well.”

  https://discord.gg/znGSjCxhkR