Usually, magic is a precise science.
To cast a spell correctly, the mage needs to finish the entire chant without a single stutter.
But magic also has a chaotic side.
Technically, a spell doesn't need a full chant to activate. If a mage messes up the words or stops halfway, the spell will still trigger, it just activates as a critical failure.
Depending on where the screw-up happens, a failed spell can cause all sorts of nasty side effects.
For example, the mage might just blow themselves up.
Or the magic might lose its targeting system and fire blindly in a random direction.
However, if a mage can intentionally trigger that loss of control and channel the chaotic mind into a weapon designed to absorb it, the failure turns into a massive, unexpected power boost.
Magic is inherently destructive. Its raw potency isn't just decided by the user's willpower.
"Just jacking up the magic's raw power is a rookie move," Noah explained, pacing in front of Aisha.
"Depending on what you want to do, this new greatsword will let you use your Hell Kaos spell in three different ways."
Hearing him talk, Aisha felt like she was listening to a bedtime story.
Changing the fundamental form of a spell? Was that even possible?
Noah grabbed a pen and quickly sketched the silhouette of a massive greatsword on a piece of parchment.
He pointed to the drawing as he explained.
"First, since your spell works by gathering mind into a weapon and firing it like a bullet, the first method is to trap that explosive power inside the sword itself. You sacrifice your long-range attack, but in exchange, every swing you take will hit with the destructive force of a bomb. Your close-quarters combat power will skyrocket."
"W-what..." Aisha stammered.
"Second method: segmented mind storage. I'm designing the blade to have three power stages. You only need to chant a fraction of your spell. It doesn't matter if the magic fails to cast; the whole point is to intentionally fail the spell so the weapon can absorb the raw, misfiring mind."
He tapped the drawing with his pen. "By breaking your long, annoying chant into three short pieces, each piece charges the blade with one-third of the total mind. You don't have to waste time doing a full chant every time you want to fight. You can charge it up on the fly, depending on how bad the situation is."
"Huh?"
Aisha felt a headache coming on.
She wasn't an idiot, but she was definitely not an expert when it came to the nerdy, technical side of magic.
Just trying to follow his logic made her brain hurt!
"Finally, we have the pure power amplification. That part is easy; the sword just changes the physical shape of the mind when you fire it." Noah rubbed his chin, looking at his sketch. "Let me think... Hmm, let's call this greatsword 'Cerberus.' Or 'Hellhound'!"
Seeing Noah get all hyped up over his own idea, Aisha could only offer a weak smile.
He had completely lost her.
The problem was, everything he pitched sounded so incredibly perfect that she couldn't find a single thing to complain about—assuming he wasn't just making it all up.
She had never seen a 'heaven-defying' weapon like that in her life.
The only thing that came close was the legendary "Crozzo's Magic Sword," the one the stories claimed could burn away an entire ocean.
But she always figured that was just a fairy tale. Most people in the world had never even seen an ocean, only small lakes.
Some guy probably just evaporated a pond with a Crozzo sword, and the rumor mill blew it out of proportion over the years.
If a sword could actually vaporize an ocean, the Dungeon wouldn't even be a threat.
You could just burn a hole straight to the bottom floor.
With the blueprints finalized, Noah rolled up his sleeves.
It was time to get to work.
"Mind if I stay and watch?" Aisha asked, leaning against the doorframe.
Nobody ever asked to do that.
Truthfully, forging wasn't some highly guarded state secret. It wasn't like someone could just watch him hammer a piece of iron and suddenly know how to steal his techniques.
It required years of practice and a deep understanding of metallurgy.
If a master smith had the Mystery or Blacksmith development abilities, they could literally shape steel with their bare hands.
Since she was going to use the weapon to save her own life, Noah didn't mind letting her watch the process.
Usually, only adventurers who signed exclusive, lifetime contracts with a blacksmith got this kind of VIP treatment, but Noah didn't really care about the old rules.
...
Two days flew by.
While Noah worked the forge, Aisha got bored and started teasing Haruhime.
Noah couldn't help but notice his resident fox girl was acting way too respectful around the Amazon.
Every once in a while, Haruhime even bowed and called Aisha "Shishou" (Master).
'What the hell could an Amazon adventurer possibly teach a sweet, innocent fox girl?'
'Wait a minute,' Noah thought, his eyes widening.
'She's a high-class prostitute. She better not be corrupting Haruhime!'
Fueled by a sudden, intense wave of protective anxiety, Noah hammered away at the anvil and actually finished "Cerberus" half a day ahead of schedule.
Aisha stared blankly at the massive greatsword resting on the table.
It was over 1.6 meters long.
The hilt was slightly curved, featuring a shallow, elegant pattern that wrapped around the grip and ended at the pommel in the shape of beast fangs biting down on a dark gemstone.
The blade started off perfectly straight, but about thirty centimeters from the tip, it curved sharply.
When the light caught the steel just right, she could see intricate runes etched deep into the metal.
"This is... my weapon," Aisha whispered.
She grabbed the hilt and lifted the massive blade.
Her jaw dropped.
It was so impossibly light, it felt like an extension of her own arm. She could barely even tell she was holding a giant slab of steel!
The weapon felt so perfect in her grip that she didn't want to put it down.
"Give it a practice swing," Noah suggested, stepping back.
Aisha nodded. She squared her shoulders and gave the blade a gentle, horizontal sweep through the air.
Swish!
A light breeze followed the blade.
"Oops," Noah muttered.
Across the room, the thick wooden door of a wall cabinet suddenly split cleanly in two and crashed to the floor.
Aisha froze.
She swore on her life she hadn't put any muscle behind that swing.
Yet, the vortex of compressed air rolling off the edge of the blade was just as sharp as the steel itself.
Noah pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing he messed up.
"Yeah, let's take this to the backyard."
Aisha stared nervously at "Cerberus." Just from that one, lazy swing, she understood the gap in quality.
Compared to this masterpiece, the "test sword" Noah whipped up for her a few days ago was literal garbage.
If the two blades clashed, the test sword would shatter instantly.
Enemy armor, heavy shields, monster scales—none of it would matter against this edge.
"I coated the edge with a custom spinel finish," Noah explained as they walked outside. "The material is so insanely sharp that if you tried to harvest it with your bare hands, it would strip the flesh right off your bones. I fused it directly into the edge of the blade, which is why the air pressure cuts things from a distance."
"Oh, Naruhodo..." Aisha nodded slowly.
'Naruhodo my ass! I don't get it at all,' she thought.
What the hell was spinel? Was it some ultra-rare drop from the deep floors? Why had she never heard of it?
Of course she hadn't.
It was a totally unique, composite material Noah invented.
Using his mastery over his Spell-Weaver, he could force raw metal to take on the traits of organic plants.
If he leveled up a bit more, he could even give the metal living, biological traits—but he needed to hit at least Level 3 to pull that off.
"Let's test the first stage of the charge," Noah said, pointing to a training dummy. "I told you to figure out how to chop your chant into three pieces. You ready?"
"Ah, yeah. I got it."
Aisha nodded, but she looked incredibly nervous.
It wasn't like she'd never failed a spell before.
Back when she was a rookie, she messed up a chant and her magic exploded right in her palm, blowing the flesh off her hand and exposing the bone.
Just thinking about it made her phantom scars itch.
And now, this kid wanted her to intentionally fail a spell.
Even after all his nerdy explanations, forcing a misfire went against every survival instinct she had.
'Whew.'
She blew out a long breath, calming her racing heart.
Aisha started her chant.
"Come, Lord of Barbarity!—Brave warrior, stalwart hero, greedy and violent champion..."
She clamped her mouth shut, cutting the chant off early.
The Falna reacted.
The mind was already mobilized, rushing wildly through her veins and gathering in her hands. The familiar, volatile sensation made her want to throw the sword and run for cover.
'Is it... is it gonna blow?' Staring at her shaking hands, Aisha suddenly felt the chaotic mind get sucked out of her palms and pulled straight into the hilt of the sword.
In the span of a single heartbeat, the wild mind found an outlet.
It funneled perfectly into the blade.
The steel of Cerberus flushed a violent red, and the razor-sharp edge began to shimmer with a dangerous crimson glow.
The gemstone resting in the pommel lit up like a flare.
Noah glanced at the weapon, letting his Truth Seeker skill appraise the sword's new status.
He nodded to himself, satisfied with the data.
He pointed to the same dented Orichalcum training dummy from two days ago.
"Give it a cut."
Aisha didn't hesitate. She squared the glowing red blade and swung hard.
Terrified that the explosive recoil might rip her arms out of their sockets, she held back, only putting about seventy percent of her raw strength into the strike.
Clang!
A crisp, metallic screech echoed across the yard. To Aisha's utter shock, the sword didn't bounce off.
The blade actually bit into the metal.
'It actually went in!'
She quickly pulled back and checked the dummy.
Sure enough, there was a deep, clean gash cut straight into the Orichalcum—the exact same dummy that her full-power magic blast couldn't even scratch a few days ago!
"No way..."
Noah walked over, ran his thumb along the edge of Cerberus, and gave a satisfied nod.
Seeing how calm he was, Aisha realized he knew this was going to happen all along.
He had absolute, unwavering confidence in his own work.
"Not bad," Noah said. "The first stage is stable. Let's try the second-stage charge."
Aisha was fired up now!
Suddenly, all of Noah's crazy, impossible theories felt like reality!
"If you desire the Empress's sash, then prove it! Satisfy me, pierce me, slay me as proof!"
The glowing red blade darkened, turning a deep, rich crimson, like it was bleeding a heavy red mist into the air.
Aisha took a half-step back, using her momentum to spin into a wide, dancer-like pirouette.
She swung Cerberus with everything she had, aiming right for the fresh notch she just made.
The strike buried the blade three inches deeper into the Orichalcum!
It was real!
The raw, explosive power of her magic was perfectly compressed onto the physical edge of the blade!
With a masterpiece like this in her hands, who the hell could stop her?