Ghost 7: Illusory Weapon Forging

Thanks to the endless days spent forging weapons as long as MP remained, my Weapon Forging skill reached Level 10.

At the same time, the Weapon Forging skill evolved into a higher-tier skill.

Its name: Illusory Weapon Forging.

As implied by the name, this skill allows the imbuing of special effects onto forged weapons.

However, the effects that can be applied are fixed. At Level 1, I could apply only one effect from a selection of five.

The five effects are: Blessing, Attribute Attack Addition, Status Effect Attack Addition, Automatic Repair, Automatic Restoration.

Blessing increases the wearer’s defense.

It grants resistance to attributes and status effects to a certain degree.

Constantly active, it consumes no MP or SP, but its effect is correspondingly low.

Attribute Attack Additional grants the ability to activate elemental attacks through the weapon, as the name implies.

The element is not constantly active. It is a user-triggered effect requiring MP consumption to activate.

Status Effect Attack Additional provides a nearly identical effect, differing only in that it consumes SP instead.

Auto-Repair restores weapon durability automatically over time.

No MP or SP is consumed.

Subtle, but suited for those who wish to use the same trusted weapon indefinitely.

The final Auto-Recovery effect combines the HP Auto-Recovery and MP Recovery Speed of a skill.

SP does not recover, but conversely, it is not consumed either.

While less effective than a skill, it can overlap with skills, resulting in faster recovery speed due to the combination.

The effect may seem somewhat dull to call fantasy, but its power should not be underestimated.

If increasing attack power is desired, add elemental attack or status effect attack.

To boost defense, apply protection.

For sustained combat or MP conservation through magic, use automatic recovery.

To preserve weapons, apply automatic repair.

Each is simple, thus widely applicable.

But there is a problem.

This special effect application consumes MP.

The strength of the effect depends on the amount of MP spent—higher MP expenditure yields better results.

Crucially, the weapon receiving the special effect also consumes MP during the forging process.

The special effect cannot be applied unless done at the moment of forging.

It is not possible to forge a weapon first, then add the special effect later.

Thus, to apply a special effect, the excess MP from weapon forging must be used—no other method exists.

My MP is limited.

Previously, I could pour all of my MP into weapon forging to create the finest weapon possible.

But now, adding a special effect makes that impossible.

Given my MP is finite, I must choose: lower weapon quality to apply the effect, raise weapon quality and abandon the effect, or accept a diminished effect.

One of these three options is mandatory.

Even though my MP has increased significantly, it is still insufficient to achieve satisfactory results in both quality and special effect.

I had evolved into a Goblin Shaman.

The result of power leveling by the monster summoner, Vurims.

Vurims returned, commanding monsters, and forced me to kill them.

The monster under control cannot counterattack, even when I attack.

And you will be attacked by me until you die.

Using this method, I was able to defeat superior-level monsters safely and increase my level.

Upon reaching level ten and fulfilling the evolution conditions, Buirimus commanded me to evolve into a shaman.

The objective is MP increase.

The shaman had favorable growth in magic-related stats, and MP increase was superior compared to other evolution paths.

There was no alternative but to secure MP for weapon forging—shaman or nothing.

Weapon performance increases with the amount of MP infused during the forging process.

The more MP I have, the better the weapon I can create.

There is no upper limit. Consequently, one must choose between weapon quality and special effects.

I merely craft weapons as ordered.

I do not concern myself with the quality of the weapons they use.

If anything, I would prefer to add a negative effect to the enchantment.

Having evolved into a shaman and increased in level, my combat capability has improved.

My stats have grown. Skills are trained when opportunity arises.

Yet, no chance to escape from the Vylims has come.

I have memorized their words.

This was relatively easy.

My prior experience of learning Goblin language from scratch proved useful. More importantly, while I cannot comprehend the words spoken by the Vylims, I understand their meaning.

From that, I have gradually learned and internalized the language. It did not take long.

Many words remain unclear. I cannot claim perfect mastery.

Yet, at first, I couldn’t even tell whether “Builimus” was a name or “Captain” was the title—so my progress must have been considerable.

Having learned the language, I listened in on their conversations, gathering information.

Perhaps something here could serve as an opening to escape this situation.

What stands out now is that Builimus seems to be in a state of urgency.

Builimus was apparently a general of some standing in a large nation known as the Empire, but he was exiled here after committing a major error.

He seems desperate to achieve some notable feat and return to his homeland as soon as possible.

The reason for his urgency.

The mistake he made previously.

This may not relate directly to escaping our current situation, but it could be a vulnerability in Builimus.

Continue gathering information.