Chapter 129: Kuromaru, Shirogama, and Zangetsu
Shiro: "Huh...?"
Leest: "..."
The entire room was left thoroughly dazed, completely unable to grasp the subtext of what he was saying.
"What I mean is, this blade has already successfully evolved into a weapon possessing its own independent cognition and free will."
The weapons of the pair had long since been secretly modified by a certain someone. They possessed the intrinsic traits of automatic self-repair, autonomous growth, and absolute near-indestructibility.
Because Leest refused to let the blade leave her side for even a fraction of a millisecond throughout her grinding phase, her soul actively resonated with the katana. The two had forged an unbreakable existential bond over the course of their mutual growth. Consequently, Leest's overall growth was heavily boosted by the properties of this blade, granting her a growth characteristic that safely defied human logic.
Ultimately, Leest had successfully anchored a direct soul connection with the weapon, forcing her latent potential to be developed to its absolute peak.
According to Shirazawa's deductions, Leest's current growth parameters were tracking remarkably close to the efficiency he and Shiro had possessed back when they were still Arachnes. Furthermore, due to the unique symbiosis between Leest and this blade, they could actively channel a mutualistic loop, amplifying each other's returns to achieve a flawless win-win scenario.
At the very least, given Leest's current aptitude, she was fully equipped to scale the absolute highest peak of power this world had to offer. Though compared to an absolute monster like Sophia, a microscopic deficit still remained.
"So that's how it is," Ariel murmured as the pieces clicked together.
The three powerhouses had never originally intended to heavily cultivate Leest. After all, her starting species was that of a Goblin–the absolute weakest tier of monster life–which inherently capped her ceiling at a pitiful level. She lacked the infinite latent potential of her brother Wrath, who possessed a massive starting advantage as a human reincarnation.
Therefore, they had simply intended to let her stack raw base levels to boost her combat ability, rather than wasting valuable time forcing her to build a perfect foundation from infancy like Sophia. Who could have ever anticipated that, through a sequence of pure coincidences, this dark katana would unexpectedly trigger an elite, top-tier training curriculum, aggressively dragging Leest's ultimate ceiling straight to the pinnacle?
"If that's the case, then Leest is officially our brand-new companion moving forward," Ariel celebrated with immense joy.
Compared to those two thoroughly unreliable slackers, Leest's unwavering dedication made her a far more suitable asset to groom into a powerful vanguard for their impending offensive against Potimas. Ariel was already beginning to calculate how to forge the young girl into a flawless executive successor.
As for the first-generation White Room masterpiece, Sophia... Heh. She was exhausted just thinking about it. Let the world burn.
"Congratulations," Shiro offered with a gentle smile. "Keep pushing yourself, Leest."
"Mhm, mhm!" Leest nodded with everything she had, clutching the dark blade tightly against her chest, her face overflowing with absolute bliss. She lifted her small head, locking her gaze onto Shirazawa with extreme earnestness. "Moving forward... can Leest continue to stay right by Master's side?"
She voiced her deepest anticipation, her eyes wide. "Leest wants to stay here and fiercely protect Master!" Her words were incredibly firm and absolute, heavily loaded with pure reverence and reliance toward Shirazawa.
"Of course," Shirazawa chuckled, ruffling her fluffy hair. "Head out to the academy for now. Use that institution to properly adjust your mentality and grind your skill proficiencies. Once you and Sophia reach adulthood, we'll look into pushing your levels further."
Leest complied submissively, her voice soft. "Okay~"
Shirazawa turned his gaze toward Ariel and Shiro, offering an inquiring look.
"You call the shots," Ariel shrugged, completely indifferent.
"It works out perfectly. This way, we'll have a reliable set of eyes keeping a direct watch on Sophia; it saves us a massive amount of stress," Shiro concurred, reaching out to pinch Leest's squishy cheek once more. No matter how she looked at her, the little creature was simply too adorable. *If my own child down the road turns out even a fraction as cute as Leest, that would be wonderful.* She couldn't resist losing herself in a quick daydream of the future, a faint, blissful blush creeping across her cheeks.
Seeing her expression, the corners of Shirazawa's mouth curved slightly. "Then it's officially settled."
"Oh, right. Since the weapon has successfully birthed its own consciousness, make sure you give it a proper name. Doing so will significantly deepen your mutual bond."
"Understood, Master!" Leest nodded firmly, gently caressing the smooth steel of the dark katana, a look of deep concentration settling over her face. "Little Black... Blackie... Hmm, let's go with Kuromaru." After tilting her head and thinking in circles for a long while, she blurted out the name on a sudden whim.
*Vrrr!*
The katana vibrated instantly, letting out a sharp, resonant hum. The soul corridor binding the pair grew exponentially tighter within a fraction of a second, blending their presences together as seamlessly as living flesh and blood.
Finding the process highly entertaining, Shiro promptly designated her gargantuan white scythe as Shirogama–a name that was safely past the threshold of lazy.
"I shall likewise bestow a brand-new name upon you–Zangetsu!"
[LanLi: Never heard.. definitely.]
Shirazawa followed suit immediately, granting a fresh title to his Corrosion Blade. Since the physical silhouette of the weapon shared an uncanny resemblance to the Zanpakuto wielded by Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach (specifically in its Bankai state), he decisively hijacked the name without a single shred of shame. He was likewise an absolute disaster when it came to naming things, completely loathing the effort required to brainstorm. He was even planning to directly copy the combat techniques down the road, fully prepared to shout "Getsuga Tensho" and "Tensa Zangetsu" when unleashing his power.
Shiro and Shirazawa smoothly stored their respective armaments away into their dimensional sub-spaces, before shifting their focus back onto Leest.
The primary catalyst behind this young girl's refusal to ever let Kuromaru leave her grip was her intense, underlying fear of losing her Master's personal weapon. This was a divine item her Master had graciously permitted her to borrow; if she ever misplaced it, she could fundamentally never afford to compensate him.
Furthermore, because she had invested every single one of her available Skill Points exclusively into physical arts and dark magic, she had completely bypassed spatial magic, leaving her entirely devoid of any inventory skills. Lacking a pocket dimension to store her weapon was a massive hassle–she could hardly be expected to wander around campus clutching a massive lethal blade every single day.
"Leest, here's a little gift for you."
Shiro produced a custom magical item she had woven herself, handing it down to the little creature. It was a white cartoon satchel, beautifully embroidered with a tiny spider pattern–it looked incredibly adorable.
"Thank you, Master!"
The exact millisecond Shiro walked her through the activation sequence, Leest successfully funneled Kuromaru straight into the satchel. It was a premium pocket-dimension backpack that linked directly to a pocket reality Shiro had carved out ahead of schedule–effectively the exact equivalent of a storage pouch straight out of a high-fantasy novel.
*Inhale!*
Catching the mechanics of the item, Ariel instantly sucked in a sharp breath of cold air. She immediately deduced the staggering, world-altering economic value hidden behind a magical accessory of this caliber, her jaw dropping.
"Shiro... just how many of these dimensional storage items are you capable of manufacturing on a daily basis?"
"Uh... maybe a hundred?" Shiro scratched her head, offering an uncertain estimate.
This specific item was just something she had casually cobbled together when she felt bored; she had never bothered to track her maximum theoretical output. In terms of raw materials, it required nothing more than basic spider silk, meaning the production cost was functionally zero. Carving out the pocket dimensions merely required throwing out two basic spatial spells, consuming a negligible reservoir of mana.
Back when she helped Shirazawa carve out his personal sub-space, she had invested over a month of continuous engineering to construct an expanse matching the scale of an entire continental landmass. But an item of this miniature caliber required an incredibly microscopic footprint; she could quite literally manufacture them with a flick of her wrist.
"Holy crap! You absolute disaster of a spendthrift woman!" Ariel's eyes widened to maximum circles, her teeth grinding in pure exasperation. "Why on earth did you never bother to inform me that you possessed an item this game-changing earlier?!"
"Eh?" Shiro froze in pure bewilderment. *Is this thing really that big of a deal?*
"You absolute dummy! Do you have even a single shred of a clue regarding just how priceless an item like this is to global logistics?!" Ariel felt an intense urge to weep over her companion's complete lack of common sense, instantly resolving that she was going to ruthlessly exploit her labor moving forward.
"No way!"
"I'm currently running on a remarkably tight schedule to head out on a honeymoon with Aze. We'll handle official business after we return!" Shiro decisively initiated her escape, grabbing Shirazawa by the arm and dragging him along as she vanished in a flash.
"Those two absolute freeloaders!" Ariel stamped her foot with immense fury, causing Leest to quietly execute a few defensive steps backward to ensure she didn't get caught in the blast radius of her anger.
---
The following morning.
Under the direct guidance of her senior upperclassman, Sophia, Leest stepped through the grand archway of the Academy for High Nobility, her tiny heart fluttering with a heavy wave of nervous anticipation.
The main campus was dominated by a gargantuan, ancient architecture that radiated a dense, heavy aura of historical heritage. The bustling sea of students flooding the corridors was charged with an incredibly vibrant, youthful energy that was thoroughly intoxicating.
Leest clutched the edge of Sophia's uniform with a vice-like grip, her cheeks flushing a soft crimson as pure excitement bubbled in her chest. "Wow... look at all these people!"
The surrounding pathways were packed to the brim with teenage boys and girls dressed in sharp, British-style academic uniforms, every single one of them projecting an aura of high-tier elegance and refined pedigree.
Catching sight of the brand-new underclassman being escorted onto the grounds, a wave of intense curiosity instantly washed over the student body. After all, Sophia operated as the absolute, undisputed ice queen of the academy; she routinely refused to grant anyone the time of day, capable of scattering an entire crowd with a single frigid glare.
Yet simultaneously, Sophia's raw aesthetic charm was so completely staggering that she resembled a flawless, glittering pearl. Even though she explicitly ignored every single male suitor who crossed her path, an endless wave of persistent, brainless pests would continually throw themselves at her feet–a variable that only served to maximize Sophia's hatred for the student body.
She despised the female students just as much. *Why on earth are you girls acting just as incredibly starstruck as the guys? I'm not even a dude.*
For the famously unapproachable ice queen to personally escort a completely unfamiliar face to class on a random morning was an anomaly that naturally captured everyone's undivided attention.
"Hey, look over there... who exactly is that?"
---
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