Reborn as the First Boss, Chapter 37 (Patreon)

Chapter 37 – Enchanting

That caught my attention. “See them go?” I looked to the adventurers. “Are you not planning on returning to Coldpeak now that your quest is done?”

The Paladin, Alyson, stepped forward, and said, “With respect, my Lady, we had intended on that when we first took the job, but, along the way, Owen, here, did one of his divinations, to try and figure out how much danger there would be. He did not foresee any threat of goblins on the road, but one of his divinations pointed him to the west, to Shadescar Barony and the border with Bikar. His ritual wasn’t able to divine what, exactly, was the problem, but it did suggest that there was something that needed looking into in that direction. And we’ve long since learned to trust his divinations.”

“Ah,” I nodded. “A sensible attitude. It does no good to have someone capable of glimpsing the future on your team if you do not listen when they tell you of what they see. Well, the area around Windwater should be peaceful enough, now that the bandits and goblins who had been causing trouble have been put to the sword, but I am afraid I do not know how things are going in Shadescar right now.”

Roland shook his head. “As far as I have heard, there are no major problems in Shadescar, though the old Necropolis of Akkras is a constant source of annoyance. That underground warren of the undead has never been fully cleared, and the foul energies of the place allow the undead to constantly reconstitute their numbers. It may do to check on the cordon set up near the entrance as you head out that way.”

“We’ll make a point of it, guildmaster,” the paladin nodded.

“Excellent,” I smiled, before turning to the priest. “Now, while you’re here, Father Reinhold, I would like your opinion on these items. They’re the loot from the Goblin Hero, and I would like to know what you might make of them, as only the fangs are of any use to me, in their current form.”

The priest chuckled. “Well, as a priest, my first duty is to restore those who have been maimed or wounded by the goblins to their full health. However, I don’t doubt that will be the task of several days, if not a week or more, given the numbers of wounded I saw on my way here. That being the case, I daresay the villagers won’t begrudge me taking some time to see to it that the heroine of the hour can be properly rewarded for her deeds.”

Headwoman Katelyn laughed, and said, “There might be a riot if ye dinna, Father. ‘Sides, we’re still diggin’ out the head of the mine. Baroness, here, had the smart idea to send all the ones not fit to fight into the mines, ‘long with all the livestock and supplies and the like, as well as keepsakes an’ things that we dinna wanna lose, before riggin’ the thing to drop the mountain if’n the goblins got too close. We’re workin’ on gettin’ them out so we can have a proper victory feast tonight.”

Reinhold chuckled. “Can’t argue with that. All right, then.” He took a longer look at the items, and said, “Starting off with this piercing, I don’t think anything can be done with it, except for stripping the magic from it, and adding it to another item. Should be just enough to take a Masterwork item, and make it magical, but only just. However, combining its magic with the magic of the sword, and perhaps that of the necklace? Well, that should be able to enhance a melee weapon quite nicely. I see you use guns, my Lady, but the magic of the blade is aspected too much towards melee to be effective at enhancing your main weapons.”

“That makes sense,” I nodded. “In that case, why don’t you see what you can do with this?” I pulled the [Masterwork Short Sword] from my belt, and drew it from the sheath. “This is a quality blade, better than the bandit I took it from deserved. I do favor the guns, as you noticed, but sometimes guns are not the right tool for the job, so having a good blade helps.”

The priest quickly [Appraise]d the sword, and nodded. “Oh, yes, this will do nicely. Now, I cannot promise what the end result will be. [Disenchant Item] will give me magical essence to use on the blade with [Enchant Item], which will make the sword magical. The [Transfer Enchantment] skill, however, is more guided by the Voice of the World than the Enchanter’s will, so be prepared for anything.”

“I understand. And anything will be better than what those things currently are.”

“All right,” he said, before turning to the piercing. He took a long breath, holding his hand out, over the foul item. “[Disenchant Item].” A blue glow surrounded the piercing for a moment before it dissolved, leaving behind a blue orb, about the size of a pearl. Next, the priest placed the orb upon the short sword, and said, “[Enchant Item],” causing the orb to melt into the blade, which gave off a soft blue glow for a moment, before fading to normal.

The priest [Appraise]d the sword, and nodded. “So far, so good. Now, for the main event.” He placed one hand over the newly magical sword, and another over the massive goblin blade. “[Transfer Enchantment].” As he spoke, the goblin blade glowed a fiery red, and that red energy passed from Reinhold’s hand, through the air to his other hand, and then down into the short sword. As this happened, the goblin blade began dissolving, until nothing was left but a few scraps of dirty leather from the hilt’s wrapping. The short sword, however, glowed a bright red, before the magic faded.

He repeated the process with the necklace, using [Transfer Enchantment] to rip the magic from the morbid creation. Green light caused it to melt into nothingness, before passing into the blade. The blade glowed green for a moment, and then faded to normal.

Pureheart’s Flameblade

Type

One-handed Sword

Rank

Rare

Price

12500 gp

Weight

1 kg

Damage

2.25*STR

Critical

x4

Range

n/a

Damage Type

Piercing

This short sword has been crafted by a blacksmith who knows his craft well. It has been enchanted with the essence of monstrous magics, taken to serve the new wielder well.

+2 DEX per level

Piercing – All attacks by this weapon have a (Wielder’s DEX – Defender’s DEX)% chance of finding gaps in the target’s defenses, ignoring any worn armor or magical protections, but not natural defenses. All critical hits deal x4 damage, instead of x2 damage.

Flameblade – This blade burns with its own fire when held. The flames do not harm the wielder or their equipment, but are otherwise normal flames. All attacks deal extra Fire damage equal to 50% of total damage dealt.

Goblin Bane – This weapon has been infused with magics stolen from goblins, and is now quite adept at slaying them in turn. This weapon deals 2x damage to goblins and their evolutions. Blade glows with light equal to a torch when goblins are near.

Light – Can wield in either hand with little penalty

Finesse – Can use DEX instead of STR for attack and damage, if better.

The priest whistled softly as he [Appraise]d the finished item, and, when he held it out to me, I had to agree with the sentiment. The finished blade was not the room-clearing monster that the goblin’s blade had been, but it was something much better suited to my abilities. Plus, it offered a level-based boost to my DEX, which also improved my defense and how quickly my SP regenerated, as well as making it even better to attack with. And a chance at ignoring armor? That was always useful.

I smiled at the priest as I sheathed the sword and returned it to my belt. “I know you said that the result would be random, but I am quite pleased with how the Voice of the World responded to your skills.” Then, I pulled out my [Polite Argument], and set it on the table next to the fangs. “Now, do you think the fangs will be useful combined with this piece?”

Reinhold looked over my sawed-off shotgun with an [Appraise], and nodded slowly. “Yes, you have a quality item as the base. With the Unique-rarity fangs, this should become something very special. And the strengths of the fangs will not clash with those of the weapon, either. Yes, this could work. If we added some of your blood to the mix, then the end effect should be even more powerful, as the Voice of the World links it to your own strengths.”

“Well, how can I say no to that?” I grinned, and pulled my [Masterwork Dagger] from my boot. “Shall we?”

“Very well. Though I will warn you, just in case, that the effects will be up to the Voice of the World, and once done, this cannot be undone. The fangs will be consumed, and removing the effect from the weapon will destroy it. Do you wish for me to continue?”

I smiled, and nodded, without hesitation. “Yes. The Goblin Hero’s strength should go to infuse one of the weapons that helped bring him down. I think that is the best use of it. My pistol is a scaling item, so I would rather use the fangs on something that is not set to grow with me.”

“Good,” Reinhold nodded. “And, for what it is worth, I agree with your reasoning. Scaling items are rare enough, and messing with their magics can be disastrous. It might even cause their scaling to be broken.”

That said, he turned to the table, and placed the fangs on top of [Polite Argument]. “Your blood, my Lady. A cut on the palm should be enough. Make sure the blood is on both fangs and weapon.”

I cut my palm with the blade, deep enough that the blood flowed readily, and let it fall on the items. Reinhold bade me stop when enough blood had been spilled, and I pulled my hand away. Even as Angelina healed me with a spell, the Priest took a breath, and then said, “[Enhancement].” Fangs and shotgun glowed with a blood-red light, and the fangs appeared to melt into the gun. Then, the gun itself began to change.

The stock turned pure black, as though it was made of ebony, yet it was still wood. The metal turned blood red, and burned with ghostly hellfire. Phantom flames, not the real thing, but it looked awesome all the same. At the end, a demon’s skull appeared, looking as though it was screaming as the twin barrels were caught between its teeth.

Demon’s Due

Type

Shotgun

Rank

Unique - Scaling

Price

15000 gp

Weight

1 kg

Damage

1.5*CHA

Critical

x2

Range

10m

Damage Type

Piercing

This double-barreled shotgun has been modified with a shortened barrel length and reduced stock, turning it into something that could be wielded in one hand, though doing so requires a STR attribute of 40 (80 if firing both barrels) to avoid injury. Because of these modifications, the effective range has been reduced dramatically. It has been further enhanced with the blood of its owner and the fangs of one of her fallen foes, giving it incredible power. It has been soulbound and grows with its owner, gaining new powers every five levels.

Soulbound – This weapon cannot be lost, stolen, or used by anyone except its owner while they live.

Spellgun – Can be used as a Spellshooter by anyone with the Spellshooter class. Firing both barrels costs double MP cost of any Spellshooter abilities.

Indestructible – This weapon cannot be damaged or destroyed by normal means.

Hellfire Blasts – By paying 20 MP per round, the wielder can fire bullets (either slugs or shot) comprised of hellfire, which deal Hellfire damage to the target, rather than the normal damage.

Giantslayer – This weapon does x2 damage to creatures with higher levels than the wielder.

Like a Boss – Deals x2 damage to any creature with a Hero or Boss title.

When firing slug ammunition: Reduce Defense by half.

When firing shot ammunition: Damage all creatures and objects in a cone 10m long and 3m wide.

Double-Barreled: When firing both barrels, damage is doubled.

Reduced Size: Can be used in one hand, including off-hand. Can be dual-wielded. If fired one-handed, wielder takes 500 damage unless they have a STR attribute over 40 (80 if firing both barrels).

I whistled softly as I looked at the new stats that [Appraise] showed me. My [Polite Argument] had been upgraded into an absolute BEAST of a weapon, now that it was [Demon’s Due]. The only problem with this absolute beauty of a gun was that I now had to explain to all these onlookers why a totally not demonic human had something like this pop up when the goblin’s fangs were added to the item.

“My Lady,” Captain Lunet said, stunned. “That is certainly a fine weapon, but why does it…”

“Why does it look like something that would come from the Shadowed Continent?” I sighed, more to give myself time to think than anything. There was a way to spin this, fortunately, hidden in my memories of Mhyrsha. “The truth is that the Purehearts did not always live in these lands. As far as I know, our line once lived on the Shadowed Continent itself. During one of the Demon King’s invasions of the wider world, one of my ancestors saw a chance, and slipped away from the armies. They hid their nature, even from the lover they discovered while on the run, and eventually house Pureheart came to be, from the blood of those who fled the Demon King’s commands.”

That was the ‘official’ history of House Pureheart, at least. As for House Shadowsoul, my demonic lineage, well, the truth was much the same, only my house were infiltrators and spies, for the most part, gathering intelligence on the different lands, and ensuring that they never got strong enough to be a real threat. Not loyal to the Demon Emperor or any of the Demon Kings, but willing to play both sides.

I sighed again, for effect, and looked at the shocked faces in the room. “I will not order you to keep silent about this, but I would hope for your discretion. My line has tried to do our best to distance ourselves from our ancestry, but I don’t doubt there would be those who might jump to conclusions, if they heard this.”

Roland nodded slowly, and said, “I see. The enchantment that boosted your powers so greatly makes more sense, now. There are some enchantments, rare ones, which draw out the power of a person’s ancestry, allowing them to call upon a fraction of their ancestor’s power, at least for a while. They are said to have severe backlash to their use, just as we saw. If anyone starts whispering, I’ll let them know that it was that heritage that allowed us to win the day.”

“Thank you, Roland.”

“It is the least this old man can do, my Lady. You did save us, after all.”