Monster Tide: The Fourth Wave

"Are you gonna upgrade the spear right now?" Hearing Valyr's reply, Tristan could not help but ask in response, his body language showing the immense excitement he felt towards what Valyr was going to do.

In response, Valyr nodded at his question. Though, the words that came out of Valyr's mouth instantly dampened the mood he felt, causing a slightly sad frown to appear on his face. "Yes, I will. After all, we still have more waves we have to complete."

"Though, I'll be heading to the back of the defensive line to do the upgrade. It would do no good for me to block the passage for those fighting, after all."

"Is it possible for me to accompany you and watch you do the upgrade?" Although he had a glum expression on his face, the expression on Tristan's face quickly changed into that of pleading as he asked Valyr this question. At this point, Myst could not help but look at Tristan weirdly, wondering why the most renowned blacksmith in the village was treating a newcomer this way.

Unfortunately for Tristan, Valyr's words once more crushed his hopes as the latter shook his head with an apologetic smile. "For now, it'd be better if I do this upgrade on my own. Since this is my first time enhancing a weapon, you might laugh at me during the process."

"Why would I laugh?" Listening to his words, Tristan decided to be assertive one last time. "Every blacksmith has to start from somewhere, after all."

"That's definitely true but…" A hint of hesitation appeared on Valyr's face, only to let out a sigh sometime later as he looked at Tristan. "Could I do this on my own for now, Tristan? Let me explore the entire process for myself? I promise you can watch the next time I do something like this."

Hearing those words, Tristan's hopes were thoroughly crushed, prompting him to let out a sigh as well. After that, a bitter smile appeared on his face before lightly nodding. "Alright, alright. I won't stop you anymore."

Inwardly letting out a sigh of relief, Valyr thanked Tristan before leaving the vicinity, heading towards the rear section of the defensive line. While he did that, Myst could not help but look at the despondent Tristan, wondering what he saw or realized that made him treat Valyr that way. "Why were you acting like that towards Valyr? It's so… unlike you, Tristan."

In response, Tristan flashed Myst a wry smile. "Since you're not a blacksmith, you don't understand how important weapon bonds are."

"Are they really that special?" At this point, Myst's interest towards the topic could not help but be piqued.

Nodding, Tristan explained. "Special only scratches the surface of what weapon bonds are. If you were to ask me what I think about weapon bonds, they're probably the difference between victory and defeat."

As Myst's eyes slightly widened at those words, Tristan continued to speak. "At the first couple levels, the only thing they do is increase the power of the weapon by a certain percentage, which doesn't seem like much in the long run. However, the reason why weapon bonds are considered important is because of their higher levels. Even the lowest rung of those levels is enough to transform a shitty weapon into a weapon capable of writing legends."

"On top of that, it's incredibly rare for one to come across a weapon bond, especially a weapon bond at the higher levels." Tristan looked at her, his face regaining its earlier vigor. "So far, I've only come across three weapons that have a weapon bond. The first was a weapon I came across when I was still an apprentice, the second was Damian's sword, and the third…"

"Well, that's none other than Valyr's spear." Tristan finished his explanation there. "A weapon bond is a strong enough reason for someone like Valyr to stick wooden spear. After all, there are multiple ways to enhance his weapon's capabilities to match his future strength. On the other hand, obtaining a weapon bond is as difficult as finding phoenix feathers, especially the high-leveled ones."

With her now having a bit of knowledge towards the topic, a question soon formed in Myst's mind, prompting her to ask Tristan about it. "Hmm… do you think I could get a weapon bond as well?"

In response, Tristan let out a light chuckle. "Fortunately for you, you're in the right place for that to happen."

"And that would be…?" Myst raised her eyebrow in curiosity, to which Tristan replied to by extending his arm out and pointing in the direction where the monsters were.

"The battlefield." He lightly smiled.

…

While the two were talking about weapon bonds and how to get them, Valyr had finally found an ideal spot for him to do his upgrading, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. Arriving at the spot, he looked around for a bit, wanting to see whether there were people who might see what he was doing while he was passing through. Thankfully, after a few minutes of surveillance, none of the people that passed by seemed to have noticed his presence at all, allowing his mind to be at ease as he dropped his wooden spear on the ground.

Taking out the forging hammer and knife Tristan gave him, Valyr took in a deep breath before trying to recall all of the experiences he had in the past regarding the enhancement of the equipment. Naturally, the reason why he didn't want Tristan to watch him upgrade the weapon was not because he wanted to explore the process of enhancing on his own. Instead, it was because he didn't want him to know that he was well-versed in enhancing equipment.

After recalling everything he needed to know about enhancing, Valyr focused his attention towards the spear before him, slightly tightening his grip around the knife before using it to gradually carve the spear's surface.

"[Basic Equipment Enhancement]."

Ding!

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[Basic Equipment Enhancement] (Level 1/10)

Rarity: Common

A basic skill any blacksmith should know. This skill allows the user to enhance the recommended level of equipment of their choosing by one after a certain interval. Note that the user cannot enhance their equipment to a level exceeding theirs.

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As if falling into a trance, Valyr's eyes darted about the spear's surface, finding any minute imperfections it had before carving it down with the knife he held. Then, at other times, he would place the knife down before picking up the forging hammer, hammering out the imperfections that couldn't be carved out with the knife.

Gradually, the speed at which he went through this process increased, eventually reaching a point where his muscle memory took over as he spared a quick glance towards what was happening on the battlefield. "Oh, it seems the east and west sections are moving closer to the center section again. Are they finally preparing for the fourth wave?"

"If that's the case, I should hurry up." With that in mind, the speed at which he found and fixed imperfections on his spear sharply increased.

Rumble…

Coincidentally, by the time he had placed both forging hammer and knife down as he admired his newly upgraded spear, a strong rumble could be felt throughout the area, prompting a light smile to appear on Valyr's face as he stood up and affixed the spear behind his back. Pocketing the forging hammer and knife, he soon exerted all of his strength through his feet, zooming through the defensive line as he swiftly made his way to where the east section was now located.

"I can't wait to test this spear out on the battlefield."

"I wonder how much damage I'll be dealing by then?"