Chapter 298 - CH. 304-305: Enchantment
The three goddesses watched Asahi cutting the dark violet Arachne silk for Maya's robe. Loki, like others, was stunned by his nimble hands.
'Those fingers would be wonderful…'??
Loki's perverted mind took control of her thoughts.
Maya loved the violet, and tried to incorporate it in every one of her dresses. As for her measurements, Asahi knew her curves more than the girl herself. It was only a matter of time before he finished all the cuts for the robe. He only needed to sew them.
(My love sewing with needles… How cute…)
He was going to ask for a machine to help him. But seeing her happy over this, he decided to do it with needles.
(Another picture in my collection…)
While Klyscha murmured how great her collection was, the needle in Asahi's hands dug through the robe and pieced together a marvelous robe.
'How long did it take?'
(One minute and forty seconds.)
'Sweet.'
He appraised the robe with his glasses.
Arachne Robe (Rank B): A robe made of high-quality Arachne Silk.
Effects: Defense +35
'So lacking. How do I add skills?'
Even his cheap daggers had a skill. But an A-Rank and B-Rank equipment had nothing?
(You need to enchant with your mana to add skills to the equipment. It's a little complicated. Let me send a book to your ring.)
Loki snatched the robe from him. With eyes wide, she rubbed the robe before putting it against her cheeks.
"What is this softness…?"
Astraea also touched the robe in curiosity. "It feels the same as my bedsheet."
"You got a bedsheet of this quality?!"
"Asahi gave me…" Astraea gave him a tender smile.
"Gimme!"
The trickster goddess was thoroughly smitten with the silkiness. Sleeping on this would make her nights so much enjoyable!
"Wait until tomorrow. I'll get you a bed too."
"Thanks a bunch. I'll let ya go on a date with Riveria."
Asahi gave a narrow-eyed glare. "Why?"
Loki was overprotective of her Familia's girls, especially the high-ranked ones like Finn and Riveria. Why would she let someone date Riveria? Asahi was perplexed.
Loki covered her face with the robe. "I was jokin'."
Hephaestus sighed and nudged Loki. "Let him work."
"Yeah."
"Well, my work here is done for now. I'm gonna return after learning something new."
"New?" Hephaestus asked, her eyes shining with curiosity. Despite showing no interest, her hunger for entertainment wasn't any less than other deities. After seeing his unique talent in blacksmithing with his Chiaki, she was curious to see what he brought next.
Asahi called Chiaki to his hand and rubbed her head. "You did well. Want some reward?"
A spark went off in her golden eyes as she nodded her head. She pointed at Hephaestus.
"You want her?"
Chiaki nodded again and licked her lips.
"You want to eat her?"
"Un!"
"Chiaki…" Hephaestus called, a look of betrayal on her face. "What did I do?"
Chiaki put her hand over her mouth and snickered.
'She'll overtake Shiori.'
Loki was grinning at Chiaki. "She'll make a fine addition to my Familia. Care to give her?"
"Never in a million years."
(So overprotective… I knew you'd make a fine father.)
'Not fine, I'll be the best father.'
Asahi put his stuff in the ring and took Astraea's hand. "Later."
With a simple word, he teleported to his room in the Stardust Garden. As Astraea left, Asahi plopped his head on Saya's lap and pulled out the book on enchanting. It was a thin book with barely thirty pages of wisdom.
"Someone looks bright today," Saya said as she gently brushed the hair covering his forehead. "Did you seduce a new girl?"
"Jealous?"
She pouted, giving him an adorable glare. "How many do you plan to have?"
"I don't really know… the girls are drawn to me, then I'm drawn to them. It's a constant cycle."
"Whatever. Don't stop paying attention to me and my child."
"As if I'd ever do that."
"Asahi-kun is back," Shiori said, appearing at the door with Nao. "And Saya already seduced him to her lap."
"I did not," Saya said, her face becoming a little red. "He did it. He likes my—"
"Nao!"
Asahi left Saya before she finished and dragged Nao to the bed. Resting on her lap, he watched Nao's face half-blocked by her ample bosom.
"Traitor," Saya grumbled under her breath.
Nao gave an apologetic smile to Saya as she tended to Asahi's hair. Ignoring Saya's curses, he opened the book titled 'Enchantment Arts: Basic.' The author was 'Bored Witch.' Unsurprisingly, it was written in a weird, gibberish language. His E-Rank skill 'Gift of Tongues' allowed him to read it just fine.
He flipped through the pages Essentially while the girls watched him, talking in whispers about Aimi trading dagger techniques with Kaguya in the yard.
Just like that thirty minutes passed by. Asahi closed the book and snuggled close to Nao's belly.
"Learned something new?" Shiori asked as she took the book from him and started flipping through the pages. "Another weird language."
"Enchanting."
Since they looked curious, Asahi explained everything he learned. Essentially, the enchantment was all about utilizing mental energy (Willpower) and mana in tandem to alter the characteristics of an object. The process required immense willpower and mana, so the witch recommended the use of an external power source like magic stones. The higher the quality of enchantment, the more willpower and mana it needed.
"Sounds hard for people with low mana like me," Shiori said before she flashed a wide smile. "It should be a piece of cake for you."
"I'll enchant your katana after testing things."
Seeing her smile, he got up and took a white shirt from his ring. Clutching it in his hands, he closed his eyes. He circulated his mana through the fabric while directing his thought into one point—protection from fire. A burst of fire leaped up from the shirt before it transformed into thin strands and weaved itself through the shirt.
The aftermath was a thin crimson layer above the shirt. Asahi poked the layer, and it dissolved back into the shirt.
[—You learned a new skill 'Enchantment Arts']
[—Enchantment Arts (E-Rank): The user has stepped into the realm of enchanting. Slightly reduces the consumption of mana and mental energy.
That's how he learned yet another art. Still, one thing bothered him. The Craftsman Arts skill was unique-ranked while this one was just E-Rank.
'It was easy though.'
(I told you it's similar to how you brought Chiaki to life. About their ranks… Fundamentally, these two skills are in different leagues. One deals with creation while the other deals with an alteration. Anyone can alter, but a few can create.)
'Sheesh. Klyscha is heavy on lessons today.'
(Umu. I'm just doing my housewife duties.)
'You know when you say things like housewife, I just want to fuck you until you pass out.'
(Then do it! Give me an extra thick creampie today!)
'You asked for it. Don't pass out when that happens.'
(I-I won't.)
Cutting his conversation with Klyscha, he appraised the shirt.
Magic Shirt (Rank D): A normal cotton shirt enchanted with protection magic.
Effects: Defense +5
—Fire Resistance (Passive Skill): Provides greatly increased fire resistance.
—Consume the Flames (Active Skill): When imbued with mana, this item generates a layer of mana that can absorb fire.
'Weak defense but overpowered protection.'
Asahi chuckled at how broken his experimental item came out to be.
"This is broken," Shiori said and passed her katana to Asahi. "Pretty please."
"What kind of skill do you want?"
"Let's see… I want to create a mini storm with a combo. Like how you used your daggers to hit that sick combo."
"Don't you have Baal's abilities for that?"
Shiori pursed her lips. "Creating a storm with a sword is different. That's a woman's romance."
"Shiori… are you chuuni?"
She grinned. "Yes. Your future wife has a chuunibyou complex. What're you gonna do about it?"
"Well, that's cute. I think."
Shiori turned to Saya and stuck out her tongue. "You said he would cringe. No, he did not."
Saya rolled her eyes. "He is too soft."
Asahi chuckled and clutched the katana. He already had the wind element, so all he had to do was concentrate his thoughts into one image—a samurai wiping out an entire battlefield with their storm.
A sudden gust hit his face, and sparks of lightning crackled around the katana.
"Wow…" Shiori held her breath at the sight.
Perhaps it was because of Raijin from Japanese Mythology or her father's tales about a swordsman faster than lightning, Shiori was always excited to see lightning and storm.
"Done."
The katana had drastically changed. The black blade now had dark blue runes, giving it a more mystical look.
Another appraisal gave every information on the new enchantment.
Stormbringer (Rank A): A katana imbued with the power to call storms at will.
Effects: Strength +25, Dexterity +35
—Roaring Tempest (Active Skill): Triggers a combo attack. If successful, it calls forth a storm that lasts until the user runs out of mana.
—Overload (Active Skill): When imbued with mana, this item overloads the user's nerves with electricity, which greatly increases their speed, reaction time, and dexterity.
The second skill seemed like an inferior version of Baal's 5th level skill 'Ride Lightning.'
"That's everything I wanted!"
Shiori seized the katana and rubbed her cheeks against it.
Asahi shook his head and took out Rini's gauntlets. The Rank-A gauntlet needed a worthy skill. Rini had the most destructive power against a single opponent. She sometimes struggled against a large number of enemies. The mobs will only increase moving forward in the dungeon.
Closing his eyes, he gathered his willpower into creating a skill. An ability to convert her strength into a massive shockwave. Blowing everything in her path was Rini's style after all. And another ability to release her berserk emotions. He couldn't always calm her during a fight.
'She might not like it.'
Like others, she was very fond of headpats.
The silver gauntlets released a black, demonic aura. Saya's hands became sweaty. She was very aware of the feeling coming from the gauntlet. After all, her element excelled in that very aspect.
Destruction.
The aura seeped into the gauntlet and dyed it black with its nature. Curved blades protruded from its side, making it even more sinister.
Saeko pushed up her glasses and appraised the gauntlets.
"This is edgy."
This was her only thought after going through the gauntlets' skills and their appearance.
"'I don't have to color it anymore."
Asahi smiled and checked the skills.
Claws of Destruction (Rank A): The gauntlets are crafted from Godsteel with only one thing in mind: Destruction.
Effects: Strength +50
—Superwave (Active Skill): When imbued with mana, the item generates a shockwave. The impact and range of the shockwave depends on the Strength stat of the user.
—Unleash the Beast (Active Skill): Concentrates all the negative emotions into a mighty wave of 'Destruction' element.
"Destruction Element, huh. Sounds like it's made for Rini."
"I'm happy with my wind element," Nao said with a smile.
"Wind is nice," Ray said cheerily as she entered the room. Immediately, her eyes were drawn to the gauntlets in Asahi's hands.
"That's scary… like that skeleton monster."
"Juggernaut?"
She nodded blankly as she sat beside Shiori. Nao patted Ray's head, treating the Siren like her little sister Aiko.
Asahi put away the gauntlets and joined Nao in patting Ray. With their undivided affection, Ray felt like she was melting from the warmth.
"By the way, Ray. I'm free right now. Wanna go out?"
Her golden eyes sparkled innocently. "Yes!"