Blake's weapon

The atmosphere suddenly became silent as those words came out of Rutmod's mouth. They didn't know what to say. He had said late friend which means the person had already died so Harold decided to simply offer his condolences.

"I am sorry for your loss. I have also lost a couple of my close friends growing up and I can understand some of your pain."

Rutmod just nodded at that and glanced at the dagger in Blake's hand. Blake looked at Rutmod and asked "If this belonged to your friend then why are you giving it to me? Shouldn't you keep it as a souvenir?"

Rutmod grunted as he heard that and said "Kid everything in this world has a purpose and the purpose of this sword is to cut so that's what it will do as for remembering my friend I have tons of memories of his. I don't need a piece of metal to remind me of him."

The kids were impressed by Rutmod's words. Hearing such words of encouragement made them more determined to become a soul master.

"But you still became sad when you saw these." Blake asked with a confused expression on his face. Before Rutmod could reply Sheila squeezed Blake's ear and said "You don't know when to let go of a topic, do you?"

"Oww Oww, come on aunt Sheila. How is this my fault now?" Blake asked trying to free his ear from Sheila's grip. After a few seconds, Sheila let him go and then turned towards Rutmod "I apologize on behalf of Blake. He is still a kid and doesn't know what to say and when to say it." Sheila also held Blake's head and made his bow in apology.

Blake had also realized his mistake so he didn't make a fuss about it.

"Hehe.. it's alright. That's how kids must be. Well little runt you want to know these daggers' specialty or not?"

Blake's ears perked up as he heard that. For the past half an hour he had been seeing his friends get weapons and the special ability of those weapons. Now it was his chance. "Yes Yes…tell me. Will my daggers heal themselves or will it throw some fire or ice?" Blake asked as he waved his dagger in a slashing motion.

"None" that's the words that came out of Rutmod's mouth which made Blake instantly deflate.

"Kid do you know anything about weapon grade?" Rutmod asked.

Blake didn't know anything about this so he just looked at the walking encyclopedia standing beside him. Simon perked up his spectacles and said "There are 4 known grades of weapons. Bronze, Silver, Gold, and War. Even under them, there is low, medium, and high level. From these, the only ones permitted for junior academies to give students is bronze grade. Even if a family gives their kids anything above that is against the law. War-grade weapons are the rarest and they are even considered national treasures. Their strength cannot be measured as they have no limitations"

"Well, you are right about that kid. But do you know why are children now allowed to use weapons above bronze grade?" Rutmod asked to which Simon shook his head. He just thought that it would be unfair for kids of rich families to have silver-grade weapons while the normal kids will only get a bronze grade. But now Simon thought that his thinking might have been flawed. 'I should have asked mom about this. I just made an assumption and now I can't answer his question.' Simon thought in disappointment.

Seeing Simon feel a little down, Rutmod just patted his shoulder and said "Don't look so down brat. You already know way more than anyone else of your age. The reason is that Bronze grade swords use some mana from the user and then project in into abilities but for the other grades, they consume mana continuously during a fight. Although in very small quantities, this could lead to irreversible damage if it is done by a kid as their soul spirits aren't completely developed. Only a few soul spirits which are strong from the very start can handle it."

Simon and Alan understood what Rutmod wanted to say but Blake and Arya were still a little confused.

"I didn't understand much except that it is harmful to kids to use silver grade or higher weapons unless they pass junior academy. But what does it have to do with these daggers?" Blake asked. He didn't understand what was brought up in the entire lecture regarding weapons.

"That's because your weapon can go up to a medium silver-grade weapon." Rutmod said which left the entire group astonished. Blake gripped the sword tightly. Sheila and Harold both noticed this and they could see that Blake would become disheartened if these daggers are taken from him.

"Why did you take these out then?" Sheila asked. She was a bit angry at Rutmod's behavior but she decided to stay calm. This was like giving candy to a kid and then taking it back at the last moment.

Rutmod smiled and said "Don't worry Blake…I won't take these back. The thing is this dagger is now low bronze grade. The specialty of this weapon is that it can increase its level. The weapons I gave these three are medium-level bronze grade. The more blood your dagger consumes, its level will increase. It can increase to medium-level silver grade. I saw your soul spirit and it is really unique so I believe you won't suffer any backlash or permanent damage if you use a silver-grade weapon."

"I never heard of a weapon that can increase its level. But I have heard of ones that consume the opponents' blood to become strong temporarily." Harold said.

"What does it mean by consuming blood?" Blake asked. He wasn't a maniac to slaughter people for no reason. In fact, he hadn't killed a person in his entire life. Knowing that to promote his weapon he needs to do something like this was horrifying for the kid.

"When you injure an enemy, the carvings that are on these daggers extract some of the blood and that blood enters the core of the dagger along with your mana to enhance the grade of your weapon." Rutmod explained. Blake nodded in understanding looking at the blades and moving his fingers over the carvings.

"Do you like it?" Shiela asked as she tried to guess if Blake was satisfied with his weapon or not.

Blake held the daggers in his hand firmly and said "Yes I do...I think they are perfect for me."

Rutmod also gave a small smile but immediately hid it and said "I must warn you kid...there are some things you need to take care of while using this weapon. Once the core has your mana in it, it belongs to you and is connected to you. Only someone from the same bloodline as you can hold it...if someone total stranger like your aunt or friends pick it up then the dagger will attack the holder."

"Are you saying that he is stuck using this weapon and has can't give it away or anything in the future if he wishes?" Anya asked.

Rutmod gave a deadpan look and said "He is not a knight so the chances of him even thinking about changing weapon is close to 0. Only specialized knight squads carry gold grade weapons and Mages carry weapons as a last resort incase they run out of mana or something. I don't think he will need another weapon and even if he needs, a ritual can be done to sever the bond between him and the dagger's mana core."

"I agree with you about mages using weapons as last resort but since they are now having mages go through weapon training, I guess the day when everyone carries a gold grade weapon isn't far. I hope the ritual isn't too demanding." Harold said to which Rutmod's mood became a little serious as he muttered "What are those idiots thinking throwing such young kids in the fire." Blake and the other kids didn't understand much but the adults did and their mood also soured a little.

Blake looked at Sheila and asked "What's gotten you all so quiet all of a sudden?" Shiela just gave him a pity smile and said "Nothing for now Blake...You have a lot to learn at the academy."

"I think now that the entire process is done...we all should get going." Alan's mother said and the others nodded as well. As the entire group was leaving, Rutmod called out the kids

"BRATS...Most of the arrogant mages in your class will say that using weapon isn't important and just focus on using soul spirits but don't listen to them."

Blake was confused as to why Rutmod who emphasize on that so much but he and the others just nodded and left the building.

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