Chapter 14: Bluminous
It had been about a week since Reiss received Cien's proposal to hunt the Inferno Bear.
During this week, Reiss had not been successful in hunting the monstrous bear. Every day after breakfast, he would venture out about two kilometers from the store area. He didn't want to go too far and risk getting lost and unable to return.
Therefore, Reiss could only wait for his prey to come to him.
A week had passed and there was no sign of the black bear's presence. However, fortunately, even though he did not get his main target, Reiss managed to hunt two Rank 5 monsters within that week.
One was a deer-like monster with big and dangerous horns, and the other was a green and purple lizard that could spray poison from its blue-tongued mouth.
Reiss handed both of his prey over to Cien as payment to be exchanged later for the Fire Glove, after he successfully hunted eight other monsters.
Spending a week in Death Valley with Cien, Reiss began to learn how to defend himself. Unlike before when he walked aimlessly, alone, and panicked, now with many tips from Cien, Reiss was able to be more calm in many situations..
Reiss even thought that living in Death Valley was not as bad as he had predicted. At least that was what he thought until the fifth day he lived in a cave.
On the fifth night, Reiss saw a giant snake with a head as big as a human coming to attack him. Unexpectedly, the area around the store had been protected by a layer of protection, preventing the giant snake from entering.
Hearing the commotion, the Shop Owner came out with a bow and arrow in his hand. He only glanced briefly at the intruder who disturbed his sleep before shooting a flaming arrow at the snake.
The arrow was like a fiery bird that burned everything in its path, then entering the mouth of the snake, and cooking the snake from the inside out.
The giant snake was killed with just one strike from the Shop Owner.
Reiss could only stand there in disbelief, watching it all happen. From the aura emitted by the snake, he knew that the monster was above his own level. And yet, a creature that strong couldn't even withstand a single attack from the Shop Owner.
The Shop Owner's power was mysterious to Reiss. The aura he emitted was weak, but ever since he met the white-haired man, Reiss felt like he could be killed by him at any moment.
Watching what happened that night only solidified Reiss's decision not to mess with Cien.
As for the giant snake itself, the Shop Owner called it the Flower Blood Boa, a Upper Rank 6 monster. Reiss could only dryly laugh at that, knowing that there was no way he could have faced such a creature.
Reiss still had many questions, like the arrow used by Cien. When the Shop Owner shot the arrow, Reiss didn't feel any mana fluctuations around Cien.This indicated that Cien wasn't using his own magic, but a skill embedded in the arrow.
'Another magic weapon.'
That was the conclusion that made Reiss even more amazed. Not only the Fire Glove, but Cien apparently had the ability to make other magical items as well. How many magic items could he make? Reiss was very curious, but he didn't dare to ask. He was afraid he would be silenced.
It was then that Reiss realized that his easy life in Death Valley was only due to the Shop Owner's protection, allowing him to rest and sleep soundly every day.
***
Two days have passed since the Flower Blood Boa attacked the shop.
Night is approaching, and Reiss decides to head back to the shop. He walks back with a sluggish pace, as he still hasn't found Inferno Bear today.
The other Rank 5 monsters are also nowhere to be found. There are some Rank 6 and Rank 7 monsters, but Reiss is too afraid to hunt them down. He only hides in the ground until the monsters leave. The result of today's hunting is only a few wild plants and a Rank 3 rabbit monster for his dinner.
Oh, by the way, Reiss is not wearing his kingdom's armor right now. Why? Because he has exchanged the armor and all his money for food and blankets from Kirana's Shop.
For the first three days, Reiss couldn't find food on his own, so buying was the only thing he could do.
During those three days, Cien taught him the basics of gathering, hunting, hiding, and learning about some plants and poisons.
After three days, Reiss could take care of himself. Therefore, he feels he can stay longer in Death Valley and begins to plan to get the Fire Glove.
On the other hand, Cien no longer needs to worry about hunting. Every day, he keeps himself busy in the workshop and the smith.
He managed to make magic arrows from the Mana Core and tested them on the Flower Blood Boa. He was satisfied with the power of these arrows.
After making the arrows, Cien started working on another project, which is making a spear and a sword.
Cien obtained some new materials in the last week. The materials came from the Blackwood Stag, Blue Tongue Lizard, and of course, Reiss' armor.
The first thing Cien made was a spear. For the blade of the spear, he combined a small part of the armor's iron and the Blue Tongue Lizard's spine. He spent a whole day forging the tip of the spear before finally succeeding.
Then Cien used wood from the Hellteak tree for the shaft of his spear. This tree is commonly found in Death Valley. He had only recently learned the name of the tree from his phone, and he realized that Hellteak was a rare material.
The tree had absorbed miasma from Hela for hundreds of years, making the wood incredibly strong and able to withstand even the sharpest sword attacks. Luckily, Cien was able to cut and shape the wood thanks to the various tools provided by the shop.
As he worked, Cien couldn't help but think back to his past when he was building his shack.
Unable to cut down large trees, he had to settle for smaller ones to construct his shoddy shelter. He felt melancholic, wishing he had access to the saws and other tools in the workshop at that time. Life would have been so much easier.
Once the spear shaft was complete, Cien joined it to the spearhead.
After ensuring that the balance and strength of the weapon were perfect, he soaked it in water mixed with poison and blood from a Blue Tongue Lizard.
Cien boiled the staff in low heat for three days and three nights. Cien boiled the staff over the kiln he had made in the shop's backyard. For the pot itself, he made it by using Hellteak wood.
The wood is slightly fire resistant. It can be seen when Cien tries to burn it with the Fire Glove. Only with fire that has been enhanced with mana as strong as Rank 4 can the wood burn. So for his current job, Cien feels it's enough to just use that wood.
To be honest, Cien wasn't sure about the final step, as this was the first time he felt like he was cooking up a dish instead of making a spear. But he could only follow the steps in the recipe.
For three days, Cien watched over the flames while working on other projects. That is a sword.
As a man, the weapon that Cien definitely wanted to have is a sword. Although he didn't want to use it, because he didn't want to fight in close range. He still wanted to make one. And as his first sword, of course, Cien would make the type of sword that became a dream of many men. A greatsword.
For the materials he would use, Cien used leftover iron from armor, horn from a Blackwood Stag, leftover stone from the shoulder of an Inferno Bear, and finally the spine of an Inferno Bear.
For three days he tried to forge the sword while watching the development of the spear.
Cien still hadn't succeeded in forging the materials for his sword. The melting point of each material was different, so he had to get the coals as hot as he could and figure out the right forging timing.
If he failed, Cien would stop due to exhaustion and have to start over. This time, he finally felt a challenge that almost made him give up. However, after three days, and when he saw his creation spear, a motivation within Cien returned.
He gave the spear the name of Bluminous, a spear with a bluish-brown color shaft that looked pale, with the blade of the spear being light blue like a lake under the blue sky.
When mana flowed through it, the tip of the spear would light up and give a deadly poison if it injured an opponent.
The spear was excellent but was not a magical item. Because there was no Mana Core inside it to use as a battery. To unleash the spear's ability, the user had to use their own mana.
Therefore, Cien could not use Bluminous. Although he possessed the skill My Weapon My Strength, this did not change the fact that Cien was only a person with a Rank 2 ability.
He didn't have enough mana to use the spear effectively. Maybe he could attack once or twice using the full power of Bluminous, but after that, he would run out of mana and become helpless.
It's a pity. Cien could only sigh and store Bluminous in his shop. He hoped that there would be customers who would take notice of it, even though he was not sure he would meet any customer other than Reiss in the near future.
"Maybe you'll be just a decoration for a few years to come," Cien whispered to himself, looking at Bluminous standing on one of the weapon racks in his shop. He gazed at Bluminous warmly, like a father to his own child.
At that moment, his phone suddenly rang, indicating a notification.
Ding!
Cien casually opened his phone and saw that there was a new message on the app. He opened and read the message.
[Event!]
"Huh? An event?"
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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