Rise of the Living Forge

Chapter 130: The Left Arm

Arwin stood on an outcropping of rocks in the center of a churning river. Water crashed against the small shore of his island and sprayed up, peppering against his skin. The roar of the water was loud enough to drown out any other noise that may have been there, but there was no need.

Nothing existed beyond the river. An expanse of black stretched out around him, starting right at the edges of the riverbank. It ran as far as the eye could see. Arwin had no idea where the light illuminating him and the flowing river in its faint golden glow was coming from, but there was no sun to be seen.

As it had been with both the bow and his helm, there were no words or direct requests in the vision. But, unlike the others, the exact desires of the greaves felt muted and distant. There wasn’t direct opposition or acceptance of Arwin’s desires in themselves. It was more like the greaves were trying to resist influence of any sort.

The flowing river intensified, soaking Arwin’s clothes through with water. He squinted and held his hands up to protect his face as waves slammed into his small island. They poured over the rocks, carrying with them a deep chill that sought to penetrate to his core.

He stood firm. There wasn’t any argument to be had with the river. It wasn’t looking to be convinced. Arwin suspected it didn’t have enough awareness to truly want one thing or another – it simply didn’t want to be controlled.

The waves slammed into him and the island with increasing intensity. They grew to rise nearly three feet into the air and drove into him like charging bulls, banishing what few dry spots remained on his clothes.

Arwin staggered from the force of the waves. [Scourge] and [Indomitable Bulwark] did nothing for him within the confines of his own mind, but he didn’t care. He didn’t need magic to stand against a small river.

“You can keep trying, but I’m not going anywhere,” Arwin declared. The river’s response was to crash a wave down straight on top of him, filling his mouth with ice-cold water. He sputtered and let out a curse as it nearly knocked him from his feet.

And still he held firm. Even as the ground grew slick and tenuous beneath his feet, Arwin refused to budge an inch. He held his hands out, water rolling down his fingertips and dripping to the ground beneath him, and beckoned to the darkness. “Come on. Is that all you’ve got? I’m not going anywhere if you use pathetic waves like that.”

The waves pulled back and the water started to still, its frothing white caps turning to placid blue as the water level receded. Arwin wiped the water from his face and lowered his hands. The vision hadn’t faded yet, so the fight wasn’t done.

Something formed on the horizon. A patch of dark blue in the sea of black. It approached rapidly, growing in size as it grew nearer. A wave, easily ten feet high and growing. A laugh slipped out of Arwin’s mouth.

He raised his hands once more and faced the wave front on as he squared his stance. The wave grew taller still, white foam churning and bubbling at its top as it loomed above him, still for just a brief instant.

The wave broke. It crashed down on top of Arwin with the force of a falling building. It slammed into his shoulders, trying to drive him to his knees instead of throw him from the rocky platform.

Arwin’s legs trembled and water forced its way into his lungs. He couldn’t tell which way was up, but he could just barely feel the stone beneath his feet. The world had turned into a blur of churning white and endless blue, but he stood strong.

He spoke though his mouth couldn’t form any words in the water. The words he spoke were a challenge heard only by the crashing river enveloping Arwin. It rushed in his ears in response, trying to pull him away from the island.

It failed. The river receded and his head broke free from its depths. Water poured down his face in rivulets. He drew in a ragged breath – and the vision vanished.

Arwin’s eyes snapped open in his makeshift smithy. He was as dry as he’d been before the vision had started. No traces of the river remained, but the greaves resting on the anvil in front of him were positively glittering with the Mesh.

Golden letters bloomed before him as the Mesh finally acknowledged the day’s work.

[Ripple Greaves: Rare Quality] have been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Achievement: [Wake] has been earned.

[Wake] has been consumed.

[Wake] – Awarded for facing a vision and completely overcoming its desires with your own willpower for the first time. Effects: Your item has Awoken and will instantly bond to its first wearer. Its hidden property has been revealed.

Arwin grinned and peered closer at the new piece of armor he’d made, the excitement in his stomach building. That was quite the reward. Rodrick was going to be thrilled – and he might have a pair of pants that would actually survive a fight.

I suppose the bow didn’t count as completely overcoming the vision because it still hasn’t accepted me as master. Speaking of which, I’m stringing it the moment I’m done with these greaves… but right now, I want to see what I’ve made.

Stolen story; please report.

He dismissed the Mesh’s initial messages and examined the newly made greaves. Motes of glowing light fluttered forth like dancing fireflies as they formed into words and revealed the final results of his work.

Ripple Greaves: Rare Quality

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. The echoes of a vast flowing river churn through it and empower their wearer. They will permanently bond to the first person to equip them.

[Flowing Steps]: Move like the flowing river in defense of your allies. Activating this ability causes this item’s wielder to spend magical energy in order to move faster toward other living beings that consider them an ally.

[Crashing Wave] (Locked): Bring down the might of the churning river into a single blow. Use magical energy to draw in moisture from your surroundings before unleashing it in a strike. This ability is more effective when more liquid is present in the nearby environment.

[Ripple Armor]: This is a set item of [2] pieces. When the entire set is worn, [Crashing Wave] will be unlocked.

Arwin dismissed the information and let out a slow breath. He leaned against the anvil as he read over the Ripple Greaves’ stats. The item had turned out brilliantly. It didn’t even have any detrimental stats and the set ability looked quite powerful, though he’d have to see it in action before he could make any decisions.

He stuffed the greaves into the bag that he’d brought the crafting materials to the smithy in, wrapping it up so nobody would see them on accident. The one drawback of not being a Unique item was that it didn’t have a free way to conceal itself.

I can’t quite remember what level in Apprentice we first get the ability to conceal our information. I blazed through all of Apprentice Tier when I was the Hero so quickly that they’re basically all a blur to me. Maybe it was six or seven?

Fortunately, sets concealed themselves. Once he finished it, Rodrick wouldn’t have to worry about keeping it hidden. It would save a lot of trouble to just do that before handing it over. Arwin mentally shifted making a set of plate armor for Rodrick up on his list.

He put the bagged greaves down and extended his hand, summoning the bow to it. The weapon materialized in his grip, the cool surface of the crystal prickling against his palm. Energy crackled within its deep green depths, waiting to be used.

Arwin hesitated for a moment. It was a little concerning that the deadly crystal had this much fight left in it, but the energy didn’t feel the same as what he’d felt in the vision. It was similar, but the crystal had been changed by the Mesh and the forging process.

It still hungered, but its hungers aligned with his. At least, he was pretty sure they did. It was hard to tell if he was just trying to convince himself that the weapon was safe. No matter what, it was his best lead on ways to getting [The Hungering Maw] under control.

I need it to work… but I won’t sacrifice anyone else if this thing is really as dangerous as it used to be. I’ll have to get to know it better before I try using it. That starts by stringing it and seeing if that changes much. I need to measure how long the string has to be so I can tie the knot in the right spots.

Arwin took the rolled up ball of spider silk out and straightened it out before tying it around the bottom arm of the bow securely. He then tied an open knot on the other side of the string and stepped over the bow, bracing it against his left thigh. [Scourge] pulsed through his body as he twisted, bending the bow over himself.

Even with [Scourge], the metal fought valiantly. He didn’t dare push too hard in fears of somehow snapping the bow, but his fears proved unfounded. It held strong while he looped the other end of the string over the top arm and carefully unbent himself.

The bow hummed in his hands as the string drew taut. It had been a little longer than it had needed to be, but all the extra length had vanished and the string now appeared to be perfectly sized.

Did the bow just eat the excess string?

Arwin hoisted it, letting the Mesh filter through the air and identify the weapon to see if anything had changed with the addition of his new bowstring.

Prism’s Reach: Unique Quality

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. With every death it causes, it will grow slightly more powerful. Upon reaching [Unknown] threshold, it will be able to bond with its wielder.

[Power for Power]: Prism’s Reach can only be drawn when infused with magical energy from its Wielder. A portion of the spent energy will be transferred into its shots.

[Corrupted Shot]: Arrows fired by Prism’s Reach will infest their target with crystal upon impact, consuming any uncontested magic whenever possible.

[Immense Hunger]: Prism’s Reach can absorb magical energy from its wielder in exchange for empowering its next shot. The amount of magical energy it draws will increase exponentially with the amount of time it spends drawn. Overfeeding Prism’s Reach may modify its attributes temporarily.

[Strung]: Prism’s Reach has been strung with a spider silk string.

[Unique]: This item has formed a treaty with Arwin Tyrr. It has not acknowledge him as owner, but it will obey his commands until deciding if he is worthy of its service or not. Information about this item may be hidden from others.

[The Left Arm]: This is a set item of [2] pieces. When the entire set is used, a concealed property will be unlocked.

The change was minimal, but the bow had acknowledged the string. That meant, at least as far as he could tell, it was operational. He just needed an arrow to test it with and something to protect his left arm so he didn’t carve it in half if the string slapped into it.

If it’s really properly strung, then I shouldn’t be able to draw it at all without [Scourge].

Arwin gave the string a pull. It didn’t even budge. It was like trying to move a steel bar. He pulled harder, but the result was the same. The string was completely lodged in place. Evidently the Mesh hadn’t been lying about the bow being impossible to draw without magical enhancement.

He removed the string and dismissed the weapon, sending it back to wherever it was that [Arsenal] stored his equipment. At the bare minimum, he was going to need gauntlets before he tried to test the weapon out.

Rodrick’s gear comes first. Making myself an arrow or gauntlets isn’t going to advance my understanding of [The Hungering Maw], and given how often he gets hit, I need to make sure he doesn’t get killed.

Arwin picked up the packaged greaves and tucked them under his arm, summoning the [Soul Flame] from the hearth as he headed out. His work for tonight was done – but he was already looking forward to the sunrise.