Chapter 122 - Fine-Gold Bow

Rynold stared deeply into the ore that they had alloyed together.

It was a lot of information for him to take in. What the story had meant to the Spirit of Fire surely carried great importance and sentiment. And yet, somehow, the Spirit willingly told it to Rynold.

"Anything on your mind, Human?" the Spirit of Fire asked Rynold what he thought of its origins.

Rynold stood silently and stared at the cooling ore. There wasn't much for him to say. Or, rather, there's a lot of things that he'd like to ask but couldn't decide if this was the time to do so.

"Well," Rynold decided to give it a shot, going off with what was on top of his head. "It's certainly not what I expected for you to say. But, truly, it would be out of place for me to say something about your origins."

"Cut the crap," Prominence Alpha snapped at Rynold for being hesitant, "I know you have something to say. For all the times you've been brazen with me, you choose now to act reserved?"

"Alright, alright. If you insist," Rynold nodded and turned around to face the Spirit of Fire. "The way you phrased that story is as if you're blaming yourself for what happened. I'm not some bastard that would give you advice to better justify your feelings. That part is completely up to you."

"But, what I will say is that you're acting a lot more human than you realize," Rynold shook his head in disapproval. "Human beings instinctively blame others when things go wrong, and I am no exception to that. Call it the development of survival instincts.

"As time went on and the age of war slowly phased out, people found ways to give people a sentence far worse than death. Shifting blame to others is an instinctual act to save themselves from those death sentences.

"Those soldiers passed the blame to your Master without hesitation because they want to justify the deaths of their comrades. It was to save themselves from the guilt and agony that they must've experienced."

Rynold gave a balanced point of view, sympathizing with both parties. It was a rather baseless assumption, but logically it made sense.

"I'm not saying all of this to side with dead people. I don't really have the time to do such a luxury," Rynold continued, "All I'm trying to offer is some perspective. You want to keep blaming yourself for that tragedy? Then, by all means, go ahead. I won't stop you. Because, by the end of it all, you're the one who's going to save yourself from your own salvation."

He ended the sentiment rather open-endedly. Rynold knew that there was no point in him giving real advice, not that he had any. For some reason, though, it was as if Rynold was speaking from experience.

Regardless, the Spirit of Fire was speechless. He was truly astounded by the fact that Rynold had spoken without any malice nor concern with his words. It was as if Rynold had treated the Spirit as a being with its own will, as an equal. A living being that is neither a tool nor a weapon.

"Heh," Rynold scoffed and spoke once more, "Besides, I'm sure you're just using me too. As a means to salvage yourself from your sins, perhaps? A means to a better end to save yourself from your suffering? I don't really know. Nor do I care, honestly."

"Whatever reason you have for helping me is a concern that you yourself have to figure out. You do know that I'm not so easily controlled, right? Heh. I do think that it'll be fun, though," Rynold said with a smile on his face.

"Looks like the ore's done."

Rynold tapped the cast, and the ore dropped on the table with a loud ding. Appearance-wise, the ore had semi-dark blue-green streaks that were on a black base. It was as if a child took a colored pencil and drew them on.

"It doesn't look like it alloyed correctly," Rynold murmured underneath his breath.

"It's fine," Prominence Alpha replied, "Get on working on the actual weapon. The alloy should work well enough with whatever it is you plan on doing."

"Alright then," Rynold pulled the [Hammer of the Worthwhile] from his desk, "Let's go."

What soon followed were a bunch of continuous and non-stop working for both Rynold and the Spirit of Fire. The two coordinated with each other on a much closer level than before and conveyed their opinions about the project as both friends and professionals.

Rynold shaped the alloy into the appearance of a short bow while Prominence Alpha masterfully controlled the fire. As much as Rynold wanted to make it significantly larger in size, Rynold couldn't. The amount of ore that they had made was just barely enough for a single product. Anything more would be haphazardly put together.

Soon, the alloy's blue-green streaks were barely visible, only noticeable if one took the time to look at it. At the same time, Rynold had purified the alloy to a certain degree as he shaped it into a short bow.

From there, he pulled out some of the drops from the Mutated Bison to decide on a bowstring. There were a few options available, but Rynold ended up choosing the one that actually made sense. The Bison's tendons.

The Mutated Bison's muscles were extremely tough because of the mutation that it had gone through. If Rynold had attacked normally, he wouldn't even scratch the surface.

Thanks to its mutation, the tendons were also tougher than a normal Bison would have. Using its flexible yet tough properties as a bowstring, the durability would last much longer than it usually should.

From there, Rynold started working on the bowstring. Since it was way too tough, Rynold could barely hammer the thing down into an actual working shape. Luckily, Rynold had the help of an experienced smith, making the process much smoother than it actually needed.

The flames of the Spirit were much more purposeful than Rynold had initially realized. The tendons, which aren't normally flammable, were then easily shaped as soon as Rynold hovered it over the fire. From that point on, it was smooth sailing.

Minutes passed, and Rynold soon produced something rather plain in design.

Truthfully, he wanted to add some experimental twists here and there but, in the end, decided against it. There wasn't much material for him to work with as it is. Failing this one time would mean he won't have the same chance again.

Regardless, Rynold knew he had produced something great. He had a smile on his face that was beaming with anticipation while the system calculated the results. Just simply looking at the bow gave him a satisfied expression.

[Calculation Complete!]

[Name Item.]

'Oh, that's a nice surprise,' Rynold thought. The 'Name Item' window doesn't usually appear unless it was an item that was created by not following a proper recipe. It only ever pops up if the item made was of good quality.

'I got it!'

===

[Severing Decree]

Bow Fine-Gold Weapon

Durability: 986/986

Attack Power +25, Perception +10, Fire Affinity +3%

A Bow that was made using the finest of alloys along with the blessing of a Fire Spirit. There isn't much like anything out there in the world that is blessed with such prominence.

Additional Passive Skill: Pyrokinetic Drawstring

- When this Bow is augmented with the Fire Affinity, Bow Draw Speed is increased by 25%.

Additional Active Skill: Pivoting Shot

- Upon activation, the next arrow that is fired from this bow can pivot up to 90 degrees in any direction. Pivoting angle and timing are determined by the user.

- Cooldown: 135 seconds

===

"What did you do?" Rynold asked the Spirit of Fire after reading the item description. Suffice it to say, Rynold hadn't expected the extra passive from the smithing process. Who knew that involving a Greater Spirit could provide benefits?

"Take it as a gift from me," Prominence Alpha said as he stepped out of the fire underneath the forge. "You and I both know that the young Princess is in need of whatever help she could get."

"Fair enough," Rynold responded as he grabbed the bow from the table.

Lifting it with his hand, Rynold could tell that the bow was of good quality. It wasn't the best, he admitted, but it was better than most bows out there.

The weight distribution isn't too bad, and the grip isn't too rough as well. Rynold could tell that the weapon was sturdy yet light at the same time. Overall, he was satisfied with how it turned out, and it truly wasn't bad for his first try at making a bow.

'Let's just hope that the girl would actually like it,' Rynold thought as he pulled the bowstring back and let go. Rynold had often thought about using a bow but never really got around to trying one out.

That's because his aim was dogshit.