THE DIVINE ARMORY

Putting away the chain sickle, Lino still couldn't quite quench his excitement. Ever since he'd learned crafting and began cultivating, he had a dream of stuffing himself with weapons of all sorts and kinds as a way to prepare himself for every situation imaginable. Though the dream kept being delayed, he'd finally gotten around to it.

Picking up the war-hammer, he swung it once or twice to get a feel for it; it was slightly lighter than he antic.i.p.ated, but still in metric tons nonetheless. The war-hammer's surface exuded a peculiar bronze sheen, a rectangular concave in its head stuffed to brim with interlinking arrays to the point that even just a whiff of Qi caused a slight mist to arise from the hammer's surface.

[h.e.l.l's Belittlement - Epic]

Level: 200

Requirements: 6,000 Strength

Damage: 80* the Wearer's Strength

+600% to Destructibility against Armors

-70% to Hand Speed

-60% to Attack Speed

+200% to Terrain Destruction

+800% to Blunt Force of the Impact

Special Effect [Fury] -- if the attack is blocked, wielder can inject Qi into the weapon to repeatedly attack until the defense is broken. Recharge time - 6 minutes.

Special Effect [Law-bender] -- repeated injection of Qi into the weapon causes inner combustion, increasing Attack Speed by 400% for 10 seconds in addition to setting all the weapon touches ablaze

Note: A destruction-oriented war-hammer that is nigh impossible to wield successfully for prolonged periods of time; a Grand Masterpiece that would always find an owner.

Even he himself still had trouble fully accepting the war-hammer's properties; though he indeed did focus almost entirely on destruction, it still seemed to go slightly overboard. The weapon was practically pure perfection for a Body Cultivator as it aims to overwhelm the enemy through pure brutality alone. Chuckling like a madman for a moment and putting the war-hammer away under the envious gazes of Jack and Edward, Lino then picked up the sword -- zanbato.

As thick as a grown man's thigh, the sword was practically a ma.s.sive hump of death. Its bladed parts slightly dulled, it weighed almost as much as the war-hammer, yet was half as c.u.mbersome to wield. Silver sheen permeated its surface with an occasional flicker of cyan, and it fitted Lino's hand perfectly -- as it was specifically designed by him for him.

[Earth-Scorcher - Unique Epic]

Level: 200

Requirements: 6,500 Strength

Damage: 95* the Wearer's Strength

+400% to Charging Momentum of each strike

+200% to Impact Force of each strike

+2000 to Strength

-600 to Agility

-40% to Attack Speed

Special Effect [Blaze] -- each successful strike has a chance to cause a phantom blade with 300% of the Weapon's stats to strike through the same trajectory, setting the surroundings on fire

Special Effect [Berserk] -- sacrifice one's Vitality to the blade awakens it; the wielder receives 300% to ALL his stats; 50% of wielder's damage cannot be blocked; 50% of the damage wielder receives cannot be blocked; Attack Speed restriction temporarily removed -- based entirely on the wielder's const.i.tution; each strike unleashes a barrage of scorching arrays that require [Holy Water] to be put out artificially; there's a slight chance for the wielder to temporarily lose their mind and attack everyone in their surroundings

Special Effect [Bloodied] -- killing anyone at least two Large Realms above the wielder will cause the weapon to consume the victim's Vitality, permanently empowering the weapon as well as the wielder, transferring 10% of the victim's vitality to the wielder

Note: A sword apt for the name 'Sword of Madness', it cannot be swung by anyone other than Body Cultivators; a Continental Creation crafted to bring about the ruin to all those unfortunate enough to encounter it.

Lino sucked in a deep, cold breath as he forcibly calmed himself down. Despite the fact that it was "only" of 'Epic' tier, Lino believed this to be his best creation so far -- even better than the [Northern Frost] he crafted for Felix. After all, one could say that the sword was perfect for Lino, who had a slight tendency of going mildly mad upon the sight of blood.

In addition, during the [Berserk] effect, Lino wagered he could contend against anyone beneath the t.i.tular Void Realm for at least short while -- and he wasn't even Level 200 yet. It wasn't only because of the sword, though; it mainly had to do with his already ridiculous base stats which the sword worked off of. Not a single weapon Lino ever possessed had an option to remove Attack Speed restriction -- except this one. Though he'd never tested the limits of his body, he could vaguely guess it wouldn't be something just anyone could counter.

Stuffing the sword away as well, he then picked up the spear. Lino held it in his hands with a gentle care, his lips curling up into a warm smile. The spear was, after all, his first true weapon, and he had the most experience fighting with it. One thing which disappointed Lino, however, was that the spear was unlike the three other weapons he crafted -- while all three of them weren't all that great in their current states comparatively speaking, all had potential to follow Lino for a long, long time.

The spear, on the other hand, was far, far, far stronger than any other weapon currently in Lino's possession, but he'd eventually grow out of it as it would simply become too weak. Eh, whatever, I can still sell it... it should probably fetch a pretty dangerous price...

[Spear of Salvation - Legendary]

Level: 220

Damage: 660,380-685,335

Durability: 20,000,000 (cannot be Repaired)

+200% to Accuracy while Thrusting

+400% to Thrust Speed

+300% to Thrust Impact

+40% to Attack Speed

-90% Damage when targeting Multiple Ent.i.ties

Special Effect [Judge] -- the Spear marks the target, issuing a challenge; so long as the wielder is attacking the marked target, the latter's Defensive Stats are decreased by 20%

Special Effect [Jury] -- each successful hit against the marked target shaves away at their mental barrier, increasing the chance of inflicting any form of Mental Attack by 5% (stacks infinitely)

Special Effect [Executioner] -- consume the mark as well as all [Jury] stacks from the target to deal ma.s.sive damage in a single thrust that cannot be blocked or evaded by anyone less than three Large Realms above the wielder. Consumed marks increases damage by 600% and each consumed stack by additional 50%, up to 20,000%

Note: An uniquely dueling spear, it can do little but weep against multiple foes, yet is unmatched in a singular battle; a Grand Masterpiece unmatched within its range.

Lino sighed ruefully and shook his head before putting the spear away. If only the Damage wasn't numerical... however, if it wasn't, Lino was fairly certain he'd have been unable to craft it in the first place. After all, all of the three weapons pushed the limits of his body well and beyond anything else he was capable of. If Edward and Jack weren't helping, he was fairly certain he'd at most have been able to craft he sword and the spear -- at least a much worse version of the latter.

Bidding farewell to the stunned Edward, Jack and Sarah -- of whom the former two now despaired that they couldn't show off Lino's new creations during the festival -- Lino headed back to the inn where Felix, Lucky and he were staying at for the time being. Though he'd spent a long time in the smithy -- almost five days -- there were still two until the promised meeting with the Emperor.

With the items in tow he now felt far more confident over the upcoming war. Though he lacked any form of armor, materials didn't exactly fall out of the sky for him, so he had to be patient. He'd long since began designing what he hoped to become a successor to the [Bisected Armor Set], and was in the final proceedings of the last details of the designs.

He located the inn rather quickly and went up the stairs to the fourth floor. Even he felt slight embarra.s.sment over all the contemptuous gazes due to the sheer volume of stench his body emitted. Without bothering to stop, he shuffled the doors open and was welcomed by a rather peculiar sight. Felix jolted from the bed with a screech like a little girl caught experimenting with branches, while Lucky sighed and rolled over after Felix fell, pulling up the blanket over her chest.

"C-can't you knock, Master?!!" Felix exclaimed, scrambling to hide behind the bed.

"Well, I can't," Lino grinned. "But someone's certainly knocking. KNOCKING-UP THAT IS, AMIRITE?! Ha ha ha ha ha..." the expected laughter, however, didn't arrive; Lucky rolled her eyes at him and Felix flushed even in a deeper shade of red. Lino was fairly certain that if he would breathe out onto the lad's cheeks, they would begin bleeding. "Tsk, a tough crowd I see," Lino shrugged, glancing at Lucky. "Why do I have a feeling you'd be a real talent at horseback riding?"

"... and why do I have a feeling you'd win the award for the biggest p.r.i.c.k of the decade by a landslide?" Lucky shot back.

"W-wait, you really think so? Ya.s.ss!!"

"Anyway, how long are you gonna stand there? Do you want to see me naked that badly?"

"I'm never opposed to seeing naked women," Lino shrugged. "But, not today my love, not today. Because of your embarra.s.sment -- no matter how hard you try to hide it -- you failed to notice the absolutely rotten stench in the room."

"What emb--OH MY G.o.d WHAT IS THIS?!!" Lucky gagged as she quickly pinched her nose, an expression of disgust on her face.

"That's my natural aroma, m' lady," Lino grinned as he walked toward the bathroom. "Anyway, you two can go back to b.u.mping heads and holes, I'll just pretend I don't hear anything."

"... GO DIE!!" both Lucky and Felix yelled out as his back faded behind the closed doors. Lino smiled oddly for a moment before shaking his head and taking his clothes off. Looks like she's really smitten, huh?