Forge Omnitool

Kantan picked up the power laden bracer with ginger fingertips, feeling the smooth and cool metal that resonated with power. After he held it for a moment, scanning over it with his eyes revealed many small runes formed in layers by the different metals. Just as he was about to spend some more time investigating it, his chi moved through his skin and connected with the artifact. It caught him off guard when his chi moved on its own, but then he remembered that he was not the only one who could control it.

Once his chi had connected with the bracer, it began to melt and drip down his fingers. For a moment he thought he had broken it, and tried to cup his hands to collect the precious metals. Fortunately none of it fell from between his fingers as it instead began to collect and spread from his hand down to his forearm. After the metal congregated on his forearm it once again resumed its bracer form, yet now perfectly fitted to his body. He had never seen a conforming artifact before since they were hard to create and typically didn't serve a purpose.

Most who could afford an artifact that could fit to a different body wanted to keep it for themselves. Having it designed with that capability would provide thiefs incentive, as it was guaranteed to fit them once taken. Only very wealthy artificers could afford to sell artifacts, and adding a self fitting enchantment would remove space for a combat or defensive enchantment. It was typically better to sell to wealthy nobles, who would want personalized items. The few items that could fit a person's form were typically children's artifacts, meant to grow up with them, yet also less powerful because of it.

"I am still not sure what this is, but why make it form fitting? Doesn't that just lower its capability?" Kantan wasn't going to complain about essentially free artifacts, but he at least wanted to understand her thoughts about it.

Veri spoke with a nonchalance that only someone who was exceptionally good at what they did, could do, ���Form fitted items are the first thing that a dungeon learns how to do, otherwise their items would never fit anyone. Essentially I just used the internal space of the bracer to create the form fitting runes, and then the external space for the needed functions."

Kantan wasn't exceptionally gifted or knowledgeable of the world of forging artifacts, but he knew enough general principle to know that wasn't normally achievable. "What is this thing used for anyways?"

Veri had anticipated his lack of knowledge on the artifact, and once he asked his question she flooded their mental bond with information. It wasn't in depth, but the surface level memories flowed much faster than words. Images of the bracer transforming into different configurations flashed through his consciousness rapidly. Various forms were made up by the multicolored metal, as it melted and re solidified into different tools. One form was a hammer with runes of power that gave a sense of unending might, while another was a chisel. He also saw a gauntlet that resisted incredible heat, not even reacting as it was blasted by fire on all sides.

After Veri was done showing him its different forms, she filled in the last gap in, "This is a hand crafted Forge Bracer. It utilizes the form fitting magic to become multiple different tools that you can use for crafting. Each tool configures the runes differently to achieve a different effect."

Kantan nodded in appreciation, but still felt partially confused. "How is this forging tool going to help me refine beasts and demons into fodder for my evolution though?"

Veri responded with a chuckle, "This tool won't help you directly in the consumption or refinement, but there are going to be multiple demons with incredibly high physical resistances. You'll need it to break down some of the harder things like shells for example."

As Kantan thought of the different use cases for the tool, he found it more and more appealing. "Question for you, why don't we get another bracer that can turn into different weapons? If I understand the memories you shared, the hammer can manipulate and suppress chi. Normally it would keep chi from rampaging and damaging the artifact while its being made, but if we struck existing artifacts or people with it their chi flows might be disrupted."

Veri pondered on it a bit, and when Kantan felt out her surface thoughts all he was met with was various different rune forms and structures. He tried to understand the different artifact schematics that she was creating on the fly, but it only left him with a mild headache instead. The clan taught them only the most rudimentary runes, and only how to identify them. On the earlier floors of the dungeon the traps often have runes on the surface, so being able to identify dangerous effects is essential to knowing how to pass certain traps.

After a moment of pondering passed Veri got back to him, "It should be possible, though I typically stayed away from these types of artifacts. The more one size fits all items you give the divers, the less challenge they would need to face. At least there is a limit to the amount they can carry without other aspects of them suffering. If they had to bring 20 tools and weapons, they wouldn't be able to fight. This would allow them to form countless weapons, as long as there is enough material and space for the runes to form the correct sequence."

Her point of view made sense to him, but at the same time he was smiling at the opportunity. "Well, now you can try things from a different perspective. Now you are the diver, and its better to be as prepared as possible, right?"

Veri seemed slightly conflicted, so he continued his attempt at convincing her. "How about this. If another person were to bring a tool like this in, you wouldn't stop them from using it right? You wouldn't penalize them for being prepared for the grueling challenge you give them right? Since you didn't design the dungeon around having a tool like that, I won't use it to clear your dungeon. That way you aren't giving me an unfair advantage, and I can experience your dungeon as it was meant to. How does that sound?"

Once he had brought up the good old fashioned idea of being a diver, and his willingness to not ruin her idea of her dungeon she was on board. "I like that idea. My dungeon might be harsh, but it is fair. As long as your diving in good faith, I don't see whats wrong with giving us better gear for when we are outside of the dungeon. That said, I won't give you emerald tier equipment. It wouldn't be fair to your opponents and you couldn't even power them correctly. You can't really even power these tools with our current strength. If I didn't make a slight alteration, and let them also work off ambient demonic essence they would be expensive desk weights."

As much as he wanted to grumble about out on valuable loot, it wasn't like they would be incapable of making them later. He sent Veri a mental handshake to seal the deal, and then moved onto his next topic. "If I remember correctly, the boss room is next. I don't think it would be a good idea to fight it currently."

Disappointment flooded their bond like an ocean, "Why? We are so close, and I want to see if you can do it! We didn't get to fight it last time because that stupid demon lord interrupted."

Kantan sighed, "The dungeon was not set up for a single person to fight the guardian was it? The trial reduces the difficulty, but we aren't in trial mode are we?" When he waited for an answer, but all he got was sheepish silence. "If im not mistaken, the last dungeon crawl we did wasn't a typical trial either. There is no way that spider would appear naturally in Lyra's dungeon path. She was the most talented student of our class, and she almost died in one hit. That isn't very fair of you to do as a dungeon."

Veri pouted, which was weird because there was no physical representation of it, but it was as if he just knew that she was pouting. "I was just trying to give you a chance to be a hero. You go in, you save the girl, and she falls for you. You were more than enough for it alone, and everyone made it out alive." The pouting intensified, but Kantan could only sigh.

"I haven't had enough time or fights to get used to my strength, and my body has changed with almost every fight we've had. I am bound to make too many mistakes, and I won't have any backup. If a diver couldn't go on, he would leave and use his talisman instead of pushing on until he dies. On top of that, I still haven't refined or made any real food. While im fine now, my body needs proper nutrition and rest."

Now it was Veri's turn to grumble, but she eventually conceded his point. With a quick touch of the misty doorway's frame, they found themselves back in the core room.