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C460 - Start

Leonel's right hand moved like the wind, wrapping around the Ghost Whispering Ore. At the same time, his left shot toward the Soul Pulsing Ore, working with complete independence.

Leone's gaze stared out into blank space. It was as though his mind was completely wiped. It even felt like his eyes might roll back into their sockets at any moment. Yet, the speed of his hands didn't slow in the slightest.

Leonel's right hand rapidly tapped at the Ghost Whispering Ore. Little Tolly raced across its surface causing it to spin rapidly and heat up even faster.

Smokey impurities flew into the air and dripped down from the green Ore. It shrunk at a speed visible to the naked eye, falling from the size of a palm to the width of just a few fingernails.

Leonel's left didn't stop. It stretched out at odd angles, causing Little Tolly to spread across the Soul Pulsing Ore's surface.

Very quickly, the red Soul Pulsing Ore became an incredibly thin length of metal wrapped the entire way by Little Tolly's body. Yet, it seemed as though the thinness wasn't enough for Leonel as he continued to elongate the metal.

From an Ore of barely two inches thick, the Soul Pulsing Ore became a thin line that stretched almost five meters.

Finally satisfied, Leonel's left fingers twitched, causing the thin line to fold in on itself length wise, thus halving it to just over two meters.

To the naked eye, it seemed as though nothing had happened other than this. But, any sharp Force Crafters would be able to see that after folding it, Leonel used the added thickness he gained to roll the thin line into a thin tube.

The Ore ultimately became a fragile hollow tube that seemed capable of snapping in on its own weight at any moment. But, what happened next was truly magical.

Little Tolly, who had wrapped itself around the thin tube at Leonel's command, suddenly began to move.

At first it seemed as though the little guy was snapping the delicately constructed Ore in half, but it soon became clear that this wasn't the case at all.

Little Tolly began to bend and contort into an intricate shape. The more time passed, the more complex the structure became and the smaller size it seemed to shrink to.

It felt almost as though Leonel was constructing a miniature maze, hidden within the thin, gorgeous lines of the Soul Pulsing Ore. But, the reality was that he was constructing something much more miraculous than that.

In just an hour, the over two-meter-long tube had been sculpted into a small spiderweb of structures with a width of no more than half an inch. From afar, it looked like an oval gem. But, up close one could see that it was a maze of delicately forged lines.

As though by coincidence, the tempering of Leonel's Ghost Whispering Ore concluded at the exact same time. By now, it looked like nothing more than a flowing blue liquid, having lost its green color during the purification process.

Without a single pause, Leonel communicated with Little Tolliver to bring the thin blue liquid forward. Then, as though he was a madman… he controlled it to pour over the delicate red structure he had just formed.

One would think that with the heat difference, the red structure Leonel took so long to form was finished. The melting point of Ghost Whispering Ore was simply far higher than that of Soul Pulsing Ore, there shouldn't have been even a chance for it to survive.

However… Little Tolly's body had yet to stop covering the delicate red structure.

In two parts, Leonel both controlled Little Tolly to protect the delicate maze while on another hand controlling the blue liquid to pour over it.

The blue substance wormed throughout the structure, sliding through impossibly small crevices with absolute ease.

If other Force Crafters saw Leonel now, they would be stunned to the point of speechlessness.

Such a process would usually be done in several steps. The easiest method would have been to split the structure into two molds before fusing them into one at the end. However, Leonel didn't take this approach at all despite it being the far easier option.

The reason for this was quite intuitive. When using two molds, it would be impossible to avoid imperfections. The only way to guarantee a sublime result would be to complete the gem in a single step. But, those who had the skill to do such things were simply too few.

One had to remember that most would never even reach the Advanced Grade One designation, let alone the Superior Grade One designation. In addition, those who could use Metal Spirits who were known for their ability to complete intricate Crafts were even fewer!

…

Leonel's vision regained his clarity and a sudden wave of fatigue slammed into him.

His mind spun and he collapsed to the ground, the skin of his hands peeling and dripping with blood.

Leonel sent a glance toward the newly reforged Treading Goddess Necklace, a light smile creeping up on his lips.

He modified it so that Aina could wear it as a head piece again. It looked much less flashy than it did in the past and the only exotic thing about it was the purple gem that hung from its center. But, Leonel was greatly satisfied. He felt that his skill had reached a new level.

"Hey dictionary, scan this treasure for me."

[*Ping*]

[Treasure: Unnamed]

[Abilities]

[Minor Teleportation: Instant teleportation within three meters once every three seconds. Has enough stores to save up for two charges]

[Force Skin: At full charge, capable of withstanding three strikes of a Pseudo Fifth Dimensional entity]

[Sensory Boost: Increase sensitivity and range of Internal Sight by a factor of three]

[Grade: Elite Quasi Bronze]

Leonel grinned. 'This should be a good birthday present, right?'

Other than the fact the teleportation charges had fallen from three to two from the original Treading Goddes Necklace, everything else was perfect.

Leonel still remembered those emotions that ran through him when Miles and Simeon almost killed the two of them. Back then, he had greatly regretted not giving Aina the defensive treasure he had chosen for her earlier.

'Her birthday is just a few weeks away, I'll give it to her then.' Leonel thought with a smile.

After thinking this, Leonel became serious once more.

Originally, he had expected it to take him at least a month to complete Aina's present. By the time he finished, he believed he would have the skill he needed to built the Crafts he had in mind. But, he never expected for him to have a breakthrough and ultimately take less than a month.

But, this was even better. Now, he could begin immediately.

Though his body was tired, Leonel's mind was still sharp. He felt an endless energy coming from his Dream World. He felt as long as his mind was awake, the state of his body meant little.

'[Grand Heal].'

Leonel was showered with blinding Light Elemental Force, the injuries to his hands repairing at impossible speeds.

'Let's start…'

To be continued