Ch.65Spoils of War (3)

After activating the magic power embedded in the pendant.

After drawing in a faint and ambiguous magical energy, just enough to trigger the magic.

-Woooong….

Right after a subtle sound resembling mechanical operation was absorbed into the pendant.

The phenomenon that occurred before my eyes due to the activation of magic was truly miraculous, mysterious, and astonishing.

After a small amount of magical energy flowed into the brain concentrate inside the pendant. This object, which contained so much magical power that it momentarily made me think it might be a magical energy storage device, was trying to construct some form using that power.

A body length exceeding 10 meters, comparable to 12 meters. A long, thick tail reminiscent of a siege weight. Six legs capable of properly supporting its massive body, and a head that looked like a mixture of reptiles such as crocodiles and lizards.

Literally, the distinctive massive body that perfectly reflected the form of the basilisk I had previously encountered was in a state somewhere between physical and non-physical, with a black color… in other words, it existed as a “shadow.”

And what I felt through this shadow was the fact that this blurry form was close to a kind of phenomenon created to faithfully serve its original purpose of recreating a phenomenon.

Rather than a real living creature, it was more like a pseudo-summon—after extracting data about the “mutant basilisk” entity that existed in this world from the brain concentrate, it was constructed in the form of a shadow that the pendant’s owner could control.

-Grrrrrr….

‘…This is unexpected.’

Since it was clearly different from what I had anticipated, certainly the effect of this pendant that I could access this time… exceeded the meager idea I had in mind.

Honestly, I had simply thought that it would bestow magic that would give acidic properties to magical energy by utilizing the material’s characteristics, or enhance physical abilities by imbuing it with the basilisk’s mystique.

But the actual result was surprisingly a function that summoned and controlled a being that recreated the form of a mid-tier magical beast, and furthermore, its power.

“How magnificent…!!”

So while I turned my gaze toward the basilisk and stared at it with sparkling eyes.

For some reason, Gretel, who had been wearing a rather pleased expression, soon began to give me a detailed explanation of the pendant’s function.

“Ka, Kamil-nim, as you’ve noticed… that’s a basilisk shadow. It recreates the power of the basilisk we fought….”

“Recreates its power?”

“Yes. O-of course, it doesn’t recreate everything. S-so first of all, it has no special abilities, and its eyes and blood are n-normal…. Its physical abilities are at most about 80% of the original… I think?”

While explaining the specs of this summoned creature, she somehow appeared quite intimidated, and noticing this, I opened my mouth to encourage this genius witch who lacked self-confidence and was timid.

“Miss Gretel, there’s no need to be so afraid. This is already incredibly impressive.”

“B-but I couldn’t recreate everything….”

“Even at this point, it’s already luxurious by mid-tier standards. The basilisk, if you think about it, is a magical beast with strong physical abilities, right?”

“Th-that’s true….”

This wasn’t simply lip service but words that came out sincerely.

In short, I thought that even this incomplete recreation of the basilisk was sufficiently practical.

After all, the basilisk’s true combat power is manifested because its solid physical abilities reinforce it, so even if it’s just a hollow shell without any special abilities, 80% of these physical capabilities is still a powerful tool.

Additionally, the current basilisk is a “shadow” existing between physical and non-physical. Considering the resistance to physical attacks gained through this, its perceived durability would probably be comparable to when it was alive….

In fact, at that level, I thought it would be more than worth its value as a sturdy mid-tier tanker and meat shield.

…Of course, that’s not to say there was nothing to be desired.

“The basilisk form can be maintained for about 30 minutes… and recharging takes roughly 12 hours.”

“12 hours… I guess that’s an unavoidable issue.”

The most notable issues were the short combat duration of 30 minutes and the long magical energy charging time of 12 hours.

This drawback, acquired in exchange for automatic charging by absorbing surrounding magical energy, was actually an unavoidable aspect for maintaining the equipment mechanism.

Moreover, since these 30 minutes must be spent entirely without interruption, followed by 12 hours of charging, time itself becomes a weapon in this situation.

So while I was slightly disappointed, as I was looking with a strange gaze at this weapon that would clearly be of great help to me….

“Th-this isn’t all!”

Gretel, who suddenly said that while looking at me, then handed me something that was tightly wrapped in bandage-like cloth from a corner of the workshop.

“A greatsword…?”

“Y-yes! S-since you lost your sword when you saved me last time….”

Its appearance resembled a zweihander made using bones.

※ ※ ※

‘Phew, phew, phew…. Calm down, just calm down… Gretel!’

Gretel Wolfblood. This powerful but timid witch was trying hard to calm her nervous heart.

Repairing and returning a special weapon that the man she had feelings for had lost because of her.

Although he himself might not have had any particular attachment to that weapon (the zweihander), she, unaware of this fact, had prepared it ambitiously in hopes of winning his heart.

“A greatsword…?”

“Y-yes! S-since you lost your sword when you saved me last time….”

And so, she took out the greatsword she had prepared in advance and began to explain it step by step.

The basic composition of this weapon, specially created by Gretel Wolfblood for Kamil de Alzar, was a dual structure of bone and metal.

She reprocessed the intact parts of the zweihander that Kamil had used before to create the overall frame, and filled the contents with basilisk materials allocated to Gretel Wolfblood.

The main material was, of course, basilisk bone, particularly grinding down the highly durable skull and sternum parts and recombining them through alchemy, ultimately creating a solid bone zweihander with a metal frame.

Also, since this bone weapon was relatively difficult to repair and couldn’t be considered highly durable compared to metal, Gretel added a self-repair function that worked through the blood or flesh of enemies it cut down.

But above all, what truly maximized the performance of this greatsword was the unique special ability activated through the characteristics of the greatsword’s material.

When magical energy flows into the sword, acidic fluid is produced through the acidic fluid gland hidden inside the crossguard, flowing through the internal tubes of the zweihander and naturally coating the blade portion.

Thanks to this, when swinging the sword, the acidic fluid naturally seeping from the blade would melt the enemy’s flesh or armor, meaning that even if it wouldn’t kill them outright, it could certainly aim to decrease and reduce their durability.

Especially in situations where Kamil would draw his greatsword, it would typically be to smash tough opponents that couldn’t be dealt with using the swordsmanship of a smaller blade, so this made sense.

…In fact, while Kamil might sharpen the blade of his zweihander for use, such large sword-type weapons are typically used more for chopping and breaking rather than slicing.

“…That’s all.”

And after Gretel somehow managed to suppress her pounding heart and finish her explanation.

“Amazing, it’s truly a splendid weapon!”

“Wh-whaaaat????”

When Kamil, who was ultimately a warrior, heard the detailed description of the weapon and spoke to Gretel in an excited state, Gretel froze in place at the sudden enthusiastic expression of the person she had feelings for.

Essentially, Gretel Wolfblood’s true nature was shyness and timidity molded into the form of a werewolf.

The wild and violent nature characteristic of werewolves had all been taken by her twin sister Hanna, which was why such rumors circulated in the village.

‘Wh-what should I do? Ah, ahhh… Huh? Uhhh? Tttattaa…?’

Despite being in a situation where she could have created a sufficiently romantic atmosphere, Gretel ended up wasting that good opportunity because she herself was too nervous and froze up.

However, half-dazed at the sight of her beloved person being happy to see her, she had no idea.

‘If she can make something of this quality in this amount of time… I can probably exploit her more?’

This wicked, exploitative employer, Kamil de Alzar, was actually having such terrible and frightening thoughts even while seeing her clingy reaction.