12. Unique

Harvey swiftly dodged to the side, using his gauntlet to block a downward slam from a Golem's fist. "Hive!" He quickly evaded another Golem charging toward him. "I'm kinda getting a bit overwhelmed here!"

"You spent four years in a labyrinth, didn't you?" Hive swung her sword, releasing stars that sliced open one of the Golems before rushing toward Harvey to lend assistance.

"Just give me a hand!" Harvey witnessed the Golem charging at him crumble into scattered rocks, a sizable star embedded in its body, courtesy of Hive.

"You really sure you wanna take on the faction?" Hive asked, her facial expression skewed as she thought about Harvey's strength.

"Yeah, why?" Harvey asked, oblivious.

"Nothing, just pick up the cores, there should be a blumrose up on that mountain, if you're lucky that is"

Harvey scavenged every downed Golem, stashing golden cores into his storage. As he ascended the towering mountain with Hive, he finally voiced his long-standing question, "I've been curious, why 'Hive'?"

Vaulting over a gap in the mountains, Hive steadied herself before addressing his query. "During my first tournament, there was a beehive near my house. Bees invaded my room, and I lost the game."

"Better that than getting stung, right?"

"I missed out on a thousand dollars that day."

"Nine hundred and eighty more than you needed for calamine lotion," Harvey quipped.

"I regret it but hey, what can I do," Hive jumped across another ledge, "What about you? Why 'Hajun the Condemned."

"Nothing crazy, it's just a combination of my name's, Harvey Jude Laurier, the condemned comes from-"

"You picking the condemned class in Archon Tales and never picking another class since then," Hive coughed when she noticed him staring, "Everyone knows that."

"Sure they do." Harvey laughed softly.

Reaching the summit of the mountain, a peaceful atmosphere embraced them. From that vantage point, they could see the entirety of the landscape. Falusha, nearby cities, and even the labyrinth. "Hey, can I ask you something?" Harvey contemplated, gazing down from the edge of the mountaintop.

"Sure."

"After I get my blades created, regardless of whether it works or not, would you help me eliminate the faction member in Falusha?" He turned to her, locking eyes as she peered into the vast expanse of space.

Without a response or a glance, she maintained her silence, and he, undeterred, kept his gaze fixed on her, anticipating her reply, even if she preferred otherwise. "With the way you're fighting, I doubt anything would change and then there's—"

"Hive," He called out, prompting her to halt her speech.

"..."

"Will you help me?" Harvey asked once more.

"Yes. Now, let's search for the flower," Hive replied, a faint smile developing on Harvey's face as he proceeded to explore the right side of the mountain.

Two hours later, Harvey emerged holding a grey flower with a glass stem. Hive approached him as he got up. "Is this it?" He asked, and her mouth widened in disbelief.

"Yeah... You actually found one." She took it from him and delicately stored it away.

"What can I say, I'm just lucky."

"Now we can leave." Hive stretched and started moving toward the edge of the mountain.

"Yeah, I was going to ask, how exactly do we do that? Going down isn't as easy as coming up." Harvey observed as Hive positioned herself like a runner before sprinting toward the edge of the mountain and leaping off it. "Yeah, let's just jump off the mountain."

Harvey ran toward the edge, jumping off as well. The air was clear, and as he descended, he couldn't help but smile. He opened his mouth, the air pressure widening it, making him look goofy. "Don't forget to pull your parachute!" Hive materialized her sword in her hand, putting it beneath her feet, using it as a hoverboard as she continued her descent.

Parachute?

The landing wasn't the smoothest, but Harvey offered profuse apologies to the man whose house he had accidentally descended headfirst into. "I can't believe you actually jumped off, knowing fully well you can't fly."

"Boost doesn't last forever." Harvey turned around, with his arms crossed, pouting.

"Okay, sorry you big baby."

"Apology denied."

"Smelly adventurer!" Echoed a familiar voice, and as Harvey turned in its direction, he saw his oh-so-favorite NPC.

"Fiera!" Harvey called out, walking towards her. "Where's the boss? I've got what he needed."

"The boss? He hasn't been around for two days." Fiera revealed.

"Really?" Hive chimed in.

"Where did he go?" Harvey asked, staring into the shop.

"He didn't really say... but hold on." Fiera entered the shop, sniffing the air as she ventured toward the back of the shop where Drake had disappeared multiple times during their previous encounter. "Found him!" Fiera exclaimed, and Harvey approached the counter.

"Tch."

Drake approached the desk at a leisurely pace, Fiera walking alongside him and then strolling out of the store. "Where were you?" Harvey inquired.

"Me? Don't... don't worry about that. What can I do for you today?" Drake asked, his voice shaky with a drop of sweat falling down his cheek.

"You sure you're okay?" Hive asked, and Drake turned to her.

"Yes... I'm," He patted his face down mid-sentence. "Fine."

"Can we get started on the blades?" Harvey pulled out the items he had in his storage, and so did Hive, gently dropping the blumrose flower on the desk alongside the Great Night's wing.

"I did tell you how hard these are to make, right? There's only a twenty percent chance it works. You might have better use of these materials if you sell them at the trade center," Drake explained.

Harvey glanced around, Drake's behavior was weird, much weirder than the first time, he was unsettled by something but what? However, he didn't want to ask if he was okay once again. "I'd like the blades made, I'll watch you make them if that helps."

Drake glanced up at Harvey, his eyes cowering. "I'll be fine on my own."

"I'm the customer, I insist." Harvey grabbed the materials off the desk. "Lead the way."

"Okay." Drake began heading into the back, Harvey trailing behind him.

"Are you coming, Hive?" Harvey inquired, but she shook her head.

"I have an errand to run. I'll be back before the weapon is finished," Hive replied before heading for the door. Harvey watched her leave, a lingering sense of unease enveloping him, a feeling he had experienced before.

They walked into a giant room, within it was a singular workmanship bench, on it were multiple imprints of weapons, from daggers to spears and even shields. "Drop your materials on them please." Drake walked toward the side of the room, putting his hand into the air, using his mana to turn off a magic lamp that hung from the ceiling.

"Cool," Harvey muttered quietly.

"Place your hands on the materials, picture what you want to create and imbue your magic into it, I'll do the rest," Drake ordered and Harvey did as he said, putting his hands over the materials and channeling his mana.

During his years in the labyrinth, he had acquired a plethora of knowledge, understanding the true intricacies of magic, mastering the art of releasing mana in its raw form, and gaining and recreating techniques observed from monsters. Only a few aspects of this world remained unclear to him.

"Close your eyes," Drake instructed and Harvey followed his instructions once more.

Electricity crackled, his eyes were shut tight, yet he perceived the radiant blue glow through his eyelids. Typically, all weapons possessed a mana limit, predetermined by the blacksmith who, more often than not, lacked sufficient mana.

This mana limit defined the maximum amount of mana that could be infused into the swords when using a form. The greater the mana channeled, the more potent the elemental power of the form, but the mana limit prevented excess mana from entering the sword. Unique weapons, however, were free from such constraints.

Harvey continued infusing his mana into the swords until Drake's words interrupted him, prompting the opening of his eyes. In amazement, he observed Drake elevate his hands, orchestrating a dance of energy that materialized into two mesmerizing lightning blades.

The room itself seemed to pulse with the electric charge, casting an otherworldly blue glow that painted the surroundings. The cores of the goblins fused with the handle of the blades as runes that added four additional abilities to the weapon.

As the last surge of energy infused into the blades, a brief silence hung in the air. Drake, visibly drained from the task, gulped audibly. The weight of the creation settled in the room, and Harvey could sense the raw power encapsulated within the twin lightning blades Drake had just conjured. "Are you okay?"

"Are you acquainted with her?" Drake inquired, beads of sweat streaming down his face.

"Who? Hive? I've been meaning to ask, but why are you acting so weird, Is there anything wrong?" Harvey inquired.

"She... She-"

"I'm here," Hive interjected, entering the room and locking eyes with Drake.

"Yes... she's here," Drake affirmed.

"How did the weapon come out? Did it work?"

Harvey lifted the daggers from the workbench, hoisting both blades into the air. The blades shimmered in lightning blue, their handles crafted from the Great Night's wing, giving them a leathery feel that was easy to grip. "They turned out quite nicely."

Weapon equipped: [Volt daggers]

Weapon stored: Marsh daggers.

[Three starter forms unlocked]

[Four rune abilities unlocked.]

*Form 1: Thunderclap - Colliding the weapons together generates a field of static electricity, causing damage to anything within range.*

*Form 2: Static Teleport - Tossing the sword allows the user to instantly materialize beside it.*

*Form 3: Voltaic Surf - Movement speed is enhanced in this form, and all attacks receive a speed buff.*

[Runes]

1: Increased Damage 5%

2: Weapon mastery increase 2%

3: Lightning spell buff: 4%

4: Chance to self-heal weapon 3%

"With this... surely I could," Harvey muttered, still looking at the blades.

"So what now?" Hive inquired, and Harvey shifted his focus to her, storing his blades simultaneously.

"I'm going after the faction." Harvey locked eyes with her, his determination evident.

"It's official, you're insane." Hive retorted.