Strategic Reprieve

Nemenski watched with a mixture of admiration and respect as the forge's last traces of mana dissipated into the dimness. The surrounding heat was almost unbearable, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene unfolding before him.

The katana, now completed, had burst into luminous fragments, a clear sign that it had reached a unique rank.

He knew of Cliff's reputation and had heard tales of great artisans, but what he was witnessing exceeded anything he had ever imagined. A unique-ranked weapon was so rare that it represented the pinnacle of forging skills.

Until now, the rare rank was the highest distinction one could achieve in forging, and even those weapons struggled to withstand powerful enchantments.

Nemenski, a master in his field, had never created a weapon of such magnitude. His own creations, though refined, had never reached such magnificence.

Rare-ranked weapons had often been destroyed, unable to endure enchantments.