Chapter 436: D160. Engraved Time
She dreamt of the distant past.
That was a history too remote, even predating the concept of history itself,
where nobody knew if they would survive until tomorrow, thus no one was interested in recording the past, since even those who could listen to these traditions might all perish the day after tomorrow.
Therefore, she was the same; rather than looking back on the past, rather than focusing on the future, surviving the present was the sole imperative, needing to exert all strength just to live, with no spare energy to ponder other matters.
Yet even she, harbored longings.
She once yearned for the warriors who protected the village.
With no family of her own, nameless, belonging to no one, she was the weakest, most humble child in the village.
It was because of their protection that a child like her managed to survive amid the mud and mounds of corpses, to grow until now.
Watching the warriors’ backs, she had sworn to become their strength.
But she was wrong.
In the sea of fire, she witnessed the warriors’ screams.
In the ruins, she saw the warriors’ tears.
The warriors were human, just like herself; they screamed in agony, they wailed in sorrow, they were hurt, and they despaired.
One by one, the warriors died, in endless battles, in hopeless expeditions, those once mighty and fearless people shattered, arriving one after another at their demise.
Silently receiving the scroll, the life’s work of the tribe’s Magician who had always cared for her, watching the gravely injured Magician close his eyes in regret, she understood something.
Merely watching was not enough, mere help was insufficient.
Just surviving, barely clinging to life, was far from enough.
Someone must lead them, someone must stand before them, someone must show them the light ahead.
No matter the adversity, no matter the suffering, no matter the despair, one who would never retreat, never lose heart, and could bring hope.
She resolved to be that person.
Opening the unfinished scroll, opening the scroll she was instructed should be destroyed, she was determined.
She, would become a Hero.
→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←
[Forging: Demon Flame Conductor LV67]
Using Magic Power as energy, pushing the pre-fabricated block past the magic structure’s stable critical point into a superconductive state.
Under the burning of massive Magic Power, the structure is partially dissolved. The superconducting material temporarily loses its original Nature, and depending on the environment and input Magic Power, changes into a highly variable Status.
Under the aid of Runes, capturing a specific structural Status and stabilizing the material, completes the Forging.
[Round count: 6 (not required to be consecutive, but each consecutive round provides 10 Bonus)]
Each round uses a Forging Rune, to determine the required Nature D10, incorporating special options into the requirements based on the surroundings and assistants, and then performs a 3D67 Essence Capture attempt. The closer the first two D values, the more suitable; with the third D value + the difference of the first two D values * 100, determining the Magic Power consumption required to solidify that Nature.
The higher the total value, the better the effect.
[With the presence of Forging Runes, there are three Supporting Effect opportunities]
[Supporting Effect]
1. Second Capture, choose one (automatically choose on Extreme Failure or negative effect)
2. Redetermine 3D67
3. Reduce variance within 30
[Requirement Determination One]
1. Suppress Curse
2. Mechanical Mind
3. Steel Will
4. Ice Heart♛
5. Exorcism
6. Devouring Curse
7. Amplified Hex
8. Depraved Power
9. Heart of Determination
10. Critical Success/Extreme Failure
D10=d10(4)=4
[Essence Capture]
3d67=(20)+(14)+(6)=40
→☆→☆→☆→✧←★←★←★←
She grew stronger.
The warriors she once could only chase from afar, whose backs she admired, were now Inches Away.
She began to stand shoulder to shoulder with those she once looked up to, from obscurity to becoming the center of attention.
The glances cast her way evolved from indifference, doubt, and disdain to anticipation, respect, and trust.
But she did not stop there.
She continued to move forward, gradually becoming the person at the forefront of the crowd.
The company around her dwindled, old companions left behind one by one, unable to keep pace; some fell along the way, halting their march forever, and the gazes from behind that watched her turned to reliance, to admiration—to awe.
Eventually, there was no one left in front of her, her once chased aspirations fully Transcended; she reached a point so far that even their gazes could hardly touch.
Alone, she faced the insurmountable chasm before her, staring at the harsh reality no one could overturn.
—No matter how strong she became, no matter how hard she tried, fighting with all her might and risking her life, her strength, Humankind’s strength, remained incapable of defeating that Great Demon of Depravity.
The cries and sobs of the people did not cease, and in the unending war, the approach of death never paused.
She was like the sole kitten in a vast granary, no matter how fiercely she fought, she could not fend off the endless tide of mice.
She realized that the warriors, too, were human, capable of suffering and sorrow, so she resolved to become a Hero.
But ironically, she forgot, that although her body became non-human through countless rituals, her Spirit still possessed the human fragility.