Finding out from Arcaelus that there was still one and a half days before time was up, Valyr took in a few deep breaths as he looked at the round metal shield he had placed on the anvil.
In many ways, the shield he had forged during the Trial of Four Rarities would catch the attention of many people, obtaining a pretty penny especially with how everyone was preparing for war in the outside world.
However, considering that he had brought the shield out just to prepare himself for his true motive, the young man let out a long and drawn-out sigh as his mana arms began to move.
"[Breath of Calm]."
Saving the Hammer of Beginnings' ultimate skill for what he planned on doing later, Valyr began to will his arms to dismantle the shield into its constituent parts.
At the same time, he took a look at the list of materials the material cache had to offer, his eyes eventually landing on a few that he felt would harmonize well.
Stoking the flames within the furnace by infusing it with a bit of his mana, it did not take long for him to chuck all of the items he had chosen into it.
Waiting for the items to reach their optimal forging temperature, Valyr then returned his attention to the shield on the anvil, the mana arms having already dismantled the shield into its separate parts.
Moving the parts that did not need to be upgraded to the side, the young man looked at the remaining parts for a bit before deciding to chuck them into the furnace as well.
Though, unlike the other items he had thrown into the furnace earlier, the young man only placed them in the furnace for a while to heat up.
After that, he took them out before using his mana arms to prepare the parts for the upgrade.
"I guess I could upgrade the size of the shield somewhat," muttered the man to himself as he briefly glanced at the furnace.
"Though, if I were to do that, that would reduce the advantage a round shield has over other shields."
"Eh. I'll keep it the same size, then."
Making up his mind on how he would approach his upgrade to the shield, Valyr soon took out the items he had chucked into the furnace, placing them on top of the prepared shield parts.
Hiss!
Hearing a bit of sizzling from the anvil as the items made contact with the shield parts, the young man did not waste any time as he began to incorporate the two together.
With three pairs of arms working in tandem, it only took a few trips to the furnace for the two to form a greater whole.
After that, he placed the entire item into the furnace a few more times, removing the imperfections that had appeared during the combining process.
Once he had made sure that he had removed all of the imperfections he could see, it was only then did he activate [Hunter's Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious Blacksmith's Sight], making sure that there was no dissonance to the elements making up the shield.
Little by little, the upgraded shield came to form, the aura it radiated somewhat surprising Arcaelus amidst his brief glances.
Eventually, by the time the dawn of the fourth day had arrived, the young man had reattached all of the parts together, giving rise to a shield far better than the one he had started with.
Ding!
[You have successfully modified the weapon 'Round Shield of Protection'.]
[Due to the immense modification done, the weapon has gained the ability to tap into a far greater expanse of power it initially couldn't, thus increasing the weapon's rarity to Rare+.]
[A great number of materials have also been added to the weapon, increasing the potential the weapon has for further advancements.]
[Thanks to this change, the name of the weapon has been changed by the blacksmith to 'Gray Fortress'.]
Reading through the notifications he had received after the shield's successful upgrade, Valyr faintly smiled as he began to wave the shield around.
Feeling that the shield had improved in many areas its previous version was lacking in, the smile on Valyr's face grew wider as he identified it with [Superior Analysis].
Ding!
[Gray Fortress] (Level 55)
Rarity: Rare+
Foundation Tier: None
Attack / Defense: 575 - 959
Forge Quality: Exceptional
Originally a shield forged by the blacksmith for swift achievements, it has been given new life, instilled with the purpose of standing for eons.
This… description has been omitted.
<Innate Skill 1: Shield Strike - Allows the user to infuse the shield with mana and move forward at great speeds, dealing damage equivalent to 175% of the user's Attack stat. Has a small chance to stun the enemy. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 2,000 MP.>
<Innate Skill 2: Gray Fortress - Allows the user to infuse the shield with mana, expanding its defense to cover the entirety of the user's front. Increases the user's Defense stat by 25% for 5 minutes. Cooldown: 5 minutes. Cost: 5,000 MP.>
Remarks: May the gray fortress stand forever to protect those you cherish.
"Damn. Two skills in one item," said the young man with slight surprise, ignoring the weapon's remarks as he thought that it might have something to do with the materials he had incorporated.
Eventually thinking that the second skill appeared due to the type of weapon he had upgraded, Valyr returned the shield to his spatial bracelet after letting Arcaelus take a look at it.
Seeing the slight surprise on the man's face as he read through the shield's updated description, the young man then took out the item that held his true motive.
An item that he had begun to neglect after the inception of the matchlock pistol.
"What's that?"
Taking notice of the item Valyr had brought out, Arcaelus went ahead and used his identification skill on it, only to be left at a slight loss for words at the weapon's capabilities.
"This is a new type of weapon I'm developing," replied Valyr as he grinned with pride. "Well, to be more specific, it's the original version of the weapon type I'm developing. I've made a few improvements to it as of late by making a new iteration some time ago."
"In any case, it's time to apply those improvements and take this weapon to greater heights."
