Supreme Mode

Days after the meeting, Strom appeared before James, disrupting his routine.

"Young man, I have a couple of things for you," he said, placing a sheath and a ring on the table.

"You have forged a very fine sword, but you have forgotten to create a suitable sheath for it. Without it, your sword will only rust and weaken over time. It would be a true tragedy to lose such a good weapon due to such a foolish oversight," Strom said, presenting the sheath.

The sheath was exquisite, with a design that seemed to capture the essence of time. Its smooth, dark surface was adorned with subtle raised patterns that intertwined to form a complex network of curved lines. Upon closer inspection, small hourglass-shaped symbols could be discerned, skillfully concealed among the abstract shapes.

The material of the sheath was soft to the touch, as if made of high-quality leather, but with a subtle gleam that gave it a unique appearance. On the front, there was a discreet clasp that allowed the sheath to be opened and closed securely, keeping the sword protected.

As James held the sheath in his hands, he could feel a strange sensation, as if it were somehow connected to time itself. It was as if the sheath had the ability to preserve and protect not only his sword but also the history and legacy it represented.

The ring was simple yet elegant, with a slender band of silver encircling his finger. At the top of the ring, there was a small inset of a dark crystal that seemed to be in constant motion.

"This sheath has a preservation function. A master friend of mine in enchantments helped me create it for you. The ring, on the other hand, is a spatial ring. If you connect your mana to it, it will allow you to store and retrieve things. As this is a basic ring, its storage space is small, no more than one cubic meter, and the size of what it allows you to store is also limited, probably to things that can fit in your hand or slightly larger," explained Strom.

James was deeply moved by the quality of the gifts he was receiving. He was so overwhelmed that tears almost welled up in his eyes.

"Thank you very much, Master," he repeated over and over again.

"Enough, young man. Try them out and let's see how they work," Strom finally said.

James took his sword and attempted to sheathe it, but he couldn't. The sword seemed to resist the sheath, forcing him to deviate. It was as if James instinctively didn't want his sword to enter it.

"How strange, I don't understand what's happening," said James, scratching his head in front of a puzzled Strom.

He tried the ring, and something similar happened. This time, it seemed to be his own ring rejecting the new addition, and no matter how much he forced or even tried it on his other hand, he couldn't use the new ring.

"Ah, what a nuisance! Why can't I use the gifts from my master?" James exclaimed, frustrated. His face turned almost red with embarrassment, and the outburst seemed to be directed at the sword and the ring.

"I've never seen anything like this, young man. It may have something to do with your class. Perhaps there are some prerequisites or something," pondered Strom, intrigued.

"Now that you mention it, in both cases, I felt a strange reaction. It's clearer with the sheath. I think the sword wants me to apply the same rune to it. As for the ring, I'm not quite sure what I need to do," James said, thinking about the sensation he felt while holding the sword and the sheath.

"I see. Do you need help with that?" Strom asked.

"No, Master. I will work on the designs and try an idea that just occurred to me. I will inform you of the results later," replied James.

Strom bid farewell and returned to his workshop to continue his research.

James gathered all the belongings and headed to his own workshop. He took some time to meditate, although he had the rune he needed to inscribe in mind, he began to contemplate it, drawing it in his mind with the intention of understanding it better.

After hours of meticulous investigation, he noticed the subtle changes, how the patterns created spaces that suggested other patterns, and how they complemented each other. Energy flowed smoothly within the design, and when it encountered an empty path, it seemed to somehow leap to the other end. In the end, the rune had no leaks and functioned perfectly. However, due to these empty spaces and leaps in energy, the rune couldn't unleash its full potential.

The rune that needed to be traced on the sheath was a kind of protection rune for the sword. Both could be infinitely complex, but they were designed in a modular way, allowing James to add details as his skills progressed.

Now that James had more knowledge of the world, especially in runes, he could appreciate the magnitude of the rarity of the rune he had received. It was a rune that, in its full splendor, could surpass even a master rune. But the true wonder was that it allowed the user to progress alongside their ability, integrating more improvements over time—a phenomenon never seen before. Ironically, this type of rune was Strom's master's obsession.

Skell had spent his entire life studying ancient runes and observing their construction patterns. He theorized that the ancestral runes had the property of being built from the ground up, gradually constructing from a simple yet stable foundation. However, this aspect made the progress of these runes much slower, so later blacksmiths began inventing modified and reduced versions that allowed them to train disciples much faster. This eventually led to the loss of the original runes.

James sketched some diagrams on paper and performed the necessary calculations for inscribing the runes on the sheath. After hours of preparation, he gathered the materials and prepared himself to act.

This time, the inscription would be done differently. While a mana conductor like a stylus was generally used to inscribe on a metal piece, it could be any other tool as long as the person felt comfortable with it. But now James would do it with his bare hands, using thin strands of mana to stitch as if he were weaving.

When James began making the first stitches, he quickly felt the difficulty. Calibrating the amount of mana was quite challenging since he couldn't simply pour it steadily like with his hammer. He had to regulate the flows between the input and output of his fingers while maintaining a constant flow of his mana, representing the thread that held the creation together.

From a corner of the workshop, Strom and Riverdale observed James.

"What kind of technique did you teach the boy? I've never seen a blacksmith do that," asked Riverdale in a serious tone.

"They are methods created by Master Skell. That technique is incredibly intricate and has very specific functions. While other blacksmiths may have slightly similar techniques, none are as sophisticated as the one developed by my master," said Strom, somewhat surprised by what they were witnessing. "And I didn't teach him that technique; he learned it from the master's books."

"You're joking, right? Are you saying that the boy mastered a technique from Master Skell in less than a year?" said Riverdale, incredulous.

"Well, it's not fully mastered. The boy's technique is still quite raw, but otherwise, yes, he learned an ancient technique in less than a year," replied Strom.

Riverdale took a deep breath. It felt like they were playing a prank on him, but he knew his friend well, and he wouldn't pull such tricks.

"Now I understand why you're so eager to take your promotion. I've gathered the group, although they're quite upset about your long absence. When will we depart?" asked Strom.

"Once the boy joins the expedition group," replied Strom, taking one last look at James' technique before leaving the workshop with Riverdale.

Meanwhile, James continued with his process, unaware of his surroundings. His concentration was extreme, but the great consumption of mana was starting to take a toll. He developed a throbbing headache that made it increasingly difficult to think.

The work was complete, and his mind longed for rest. His body began to experience small spasms, and his mana rebelled against his commands. However, James looked at his sword and knew he couldn't stop. He was a Supreme-class, and it wasn't enough to have a good sheath, an impressive sheath. It had to be a supreme sheath.

With trembling hands and an increasing migraine, James started editing small details, adding fine patterns to specific parts of the design. It was challenging to see, so he decided to add another thread of mana and inject it into his eyes to enhance his abilities. Of course, if managing two threads of mana was difficult in these conditions, there was no need to mention what it meant to introduce a third.

A tyrannical aura began to envelop James. "It will be supreme or it won't be," he thought as he continued working on the sheath, fighting against his own body and his reflexes for self-preservation. He bled from his eyes, ears, and nose, and even the bones in his hands began to fracture due to the constant pressure. His internal organs suffered from the aggressive circulation of mana.

"It will be worthy of a Supreme. It will be worthy of me," he said with the final touch.

Suddenly, there was a distortion in an area that extended beyond the city. It started to condense and spin, rapidly increasing its rotation and becoming more compact until, with a mini-implosion, the mana in the area began to press tightly around the sheath as its central point.

This phenomenon took the residents by surprise, and the mages, who were much more sensitive to mana changes, were also slightly affected.

The grand masters present in the city felt the changes and knew that someone was conducting a highly advanced experiment. They all knew each other, so they started sending messengers among those who got along well to find out what had happened.

Meanwhile, in the room, the sheath and the sword resonated with each other. The sheath had absorbed a considerable amount of energy, and unbeknownst to James, what he had created was a mana core. This core continued to be fueled until it reached a minimal operational level, at which point the phenomenon disappeared, and the sword flew out from where it was and sheathed itself.

James, still in his trance-like state, knew that he had little time—or it would be better to say that he was running on borrowed time. He should have relaxed the tension in his body a while ago, but he knew that he couldn't easily return to this state, so he decided to resolve the final issue immediately.

He took out the ring that had been given to him and looked at his own ring. "What do you want?" he asked.

James knew his ring was special. Hell, it was more than special. If someone told him that any ordinary trinket could transport him between dimensions and alter time, he wouldn't believe it.

The ring resonated in some way, and James understood what he had to do. He took off his ring and placed it in a runic circle alongside the other ring.

In a short period of time, the ring seemed to feed on the energy and gem of the other ring and transformed to adopt a similar form.

When the process was complete, James put his ring back on, and when he concentrated on it, he could feel a sensation similar to checking a backpack in front of him.

With everything resolved, James released all his energy, allowing his body to release the accumulated tension. He took a vitality potion and a regeneration potion and crawled into bed. He had no more energy to worry about the results of his creations.