Chapter 122: Damaged Equipment

"Enshrinement as a god," the Sword Saint muttered, his head bowed in silence.

"For humans like you, becoming a god is the best choice, the best outcome," said the Elven elder, Salvador, indifferently. "Don't foolishly attempt to tread the path of epic tales. As a human, you're not qualified. Forcibly pursuing it will only turn you into a pile of bones. Don't waste the life essence replenished by the Eternal Tree of Life."

"Waste? I can offer something of equal value in return, to compensate for your efforts in healing me," the Sword Saint said, lifting his head. He had once slain an ancient red dragon; he wasn't fabulously wealthy, but he was far from poor.

"Compensate our losses?" The Elven elder chuckled. "With what will you compensate?"

"I have sufficient resources in my space ring," the Sword Saint replied, looking at the elder. He was no longer wearing his original drab hemp clothes, but a rough garment woven from plant fibers. His original outfit had been completely replaced.

"Keep those resources for yourself!" the Elven elder said, shaking his head with a hint of sympathy in his eyes, and with a gentle shake of his staff added, "Besides, the Titan has already paid the price for healing you."

A faint spatial fluctuation appeared, and soon, a pile of items materialized in front of the Sword Saint: a tattered grey hemp garment, a pair of ragged boots, a belt broken in half, a deep blue longsword covered in cracks, and a heap of oddly shaped metal fragments.

"What are these?" Upon seeing the heap of "trash" that the Elven elder had teleported in front of him, the Sword Saint's usually indifferent face paused, momentarily taken aback.

"They're all yours, not a piece missing," the elder said, observing the Sword Saint's darkening expression. "When I took you to the heart of the Eternal Tree of Life, I removed your equipment. I couldn't allow you to bring irrelevant things into the Eternal Tree. And when I took them off, they were already like this."

The Sword Saint, Ryan, reached out to pick up the deeply cracked blue longsword, examining it closely. His other hand gently touched the cracks, and Muria noticed his arm tremble slightly; this was his beloved sword.

"Only the inscription array on it is damaged. The blade itself is made of legendary metal and can still be reforged," the Elven elder reassured him.

Empathizing, the elder thought about his own treasured staff. If it were damaged in battle... He couldn't imagine what that would feel like. A staff to a mage is like a second life, and a sword to a Sword Saint is a part of their very essence.

"Yes, the sword is broken, but it can be reforged," Ryan seemed to respond, half to the elder and half to himself.

After speaking, Ryan placed the cracked sword, which looked as if it could crumble into pieces at any moment, on his lap, then picked up the blood-stained, tattered hemp clothes, touching them lightly, his frown deepening.

"Human, if I'm not mistaken, this garment is 'Abraham's Blessing,' right? The relic left by the sage Abraham," said the elder, his eyes revealing a trace of regret.

"Yes, I acquired it from a sage," Ryan affirmed, nodding while holding the bloodied garment.

"A sage's relic!" Muria's eyes widened, staring at the ruined garment in Ryan's hands, unable to believe that such trash could be linked to a sage.

You see, anything related to a sage is a treasure without exception. And this garment, known as "Abraham's Blessing," was specifically noted in Muria's dragon clan's ancestral memories; it was marked as significant.

Because Abraham's Blessing is a legendary defensive suit. Warriors, mages, warlocks, druids... all classes, all races could wear it, with the only requirement being that the wearer be of a good alignment.

For many beings, this requirement is no hindrance at all. This alone made Muria recognize the garment's value, offering defenses that even ordinary legends would struggle to break.

However, Muria was seeing such a legendary treasure in a ruined state for the first time, directly scrapped, and it seemed it was the legendary Titan Asherborne who had damaged it.

"It's really a sage's relic," the elder exclaimed, cursing softly. "How barbaric... to even destroy a sage's relic, do they not understand what this represents?"

Seeing the elder trembling with anger, Muria nodded in agreement, feeling a shared sense of outrage that such a mighty elder from his clan had been too harsh, completely destroying a legendary defensive suit.

"Indeed, too violent and barbaric," Muria agreed sorrowfully, witnessing his first piece of legendary armor in such a ruined state, utterly intolerable.

"What are you complaining about?" Salvador glared at Muria.

"A legendary suit, just gone like that."

"It's your Titans' fine work," said the handsome golden-haired elf irritably.

"Can it still be repaired?" Muria asked wistfully, gazing at the garment in Ryan's hands, feeling heartbroken despite having no personal stake in it.

"It can be repaired."

"Really?"

"Of course," the elder glanced at Muria. "You just need to find the original owner of the garment and have them mend it."

"The original owner?" Muria was startled. "The legendary sage, Abraham!"

"Yes, although it's called 'Abraham's Blessing,' according to the records, this garment was merely an everyday item crafted by the sage. So, finding the sage would make repairing it quite simple."

"Elder, you must be joking," Muria chuckled awkwardly. "The sages have been out of sight for tens of thousands of years. Where would I even start looking? Plus, even if I found one, such a being might not even deign to glance at me."

"They would look at you," Salvador said indifferently. "Even an ant is treated equally by a sage, and you, at least, are much stronger than an ant."

"Uh!" Muria was speechless, choked by the effortlessly dignified elf elder's words.