To refine even a poor weapon, there was a specific process that you had to go through.
The furnace's fire needed to be both hot and big enough to be able to handle steel and iron, and the material used could not be anything less than second-grade. If bad materials were used, you would be risking a bad outcome.
That kind of sword, of the poorest quality, probably wouldn't have even been able to be held properly.
Back in the Desolate Lands, and also other worlds, even mercenaries needed a quality sword to survive. But right now, in this new world that hadn't even gotten its footing yet, a good-quality sword could make or break a battle.
And, in the storage room of the Nagas, where all types of swords and spears were hung on the walls, you could find an abundance of swords that surpassed the ordinary trash that people desperately used to survive.
'Woah… I can already tell the swords that I've held in my hands pale in comparison!'
The Sorcerer King slid from side to side, inspecting what kind of sword would fit William's not-yet-developed body, as well as searching for a suitable piece of armour for him as well.
"Ah, here it is! Come!"
At the far end of the storage room, the Sorcerer King found a sleek, modest longsword with a refined edge. It was longer than the mediocre swords that William used beforehand, but he could probably still swing it with enough effort.
Alongside that longsword was tattered leather armour once worn by a mercenary. It looked roughly of the same kind of quality as the attire that those five hunters gave to him, but since the Gods weren't going to give him power anytime soon, he thought it would be fine to wear it this time around.
He got dressed quickly and felt rather giddy as he swung the longsword. Of course, the leather armour didn't properly fit him as he wasn't yet an adult, but it was the best that the old Naga could offer him.
"Let's go. The underground depths await you." The Sorcerer King said, patting William's shoulder.
William nodded and followed the Naga out.
They were now heading back to the statue of Mara and the five obelisks, and as they entered the massive stone chamber again and walked on the stone bridge, the Sorcerer King half-mumbled a few words that intrigued William.
"The Five Kings of Artorius, the heroes sealed the Catastrophe and its cries in the depths of the world…"
'So, these statues are of five kings? And they were the ones who sealed Mara? Hm… I wonder how strong they were.'
As they made it to Mara's statue, the Sorcerer King took out the crystal ball.
"I obtained this item when I last opened the way to the underground depths, and the inscribed words on the words said that this item was a key. I'm hoping this will lead to an easier time opening the…"
The crystal ball emitted an ominous red aura. The same colour as blood. And alongside the unleashed aura, a foul smell came alone with it.
"Eugh… what's happening??"
The Sorcerer King looked upon the crystal ball with horrified eyes, and immediately threw it at the statue of Mara, shattering it.
"O Skies Beyond! Rid us of this foul enemy!" The Sorcerer King prayed, lying flat on his chest and prostrating.
"Sorcerer… what… what's happening…?!"
Inside the shattered crystal ball appeared to be a smouldering mass of flesh, which slowly began to spew out and form a long, shrivelled hand. That hand fully emerged after a few seconds, and pointed at William.
"The Bloodclaw Dynasty, faithful followers of Mara, await you. Come and stop our arrival by our lesser wolven brethren, if you can." A unison of sinister voices said.
William quickly realised what was happening, and went to disturb the Sorcerer King's fanatical prayers. However, what the old Naga saw during the short period they held the crystal ball shocked them so greatly that they passed out a few moments after they got down to pray.
"Damn it… what the hell is this…?!" William exclaimed.
His gaze fixated back on the shrivelled hand, and he stepped forward. At that moment, the statue of Mara moved backwards, and the entrance into the underground depths appeared.
"…Within six months, I'll make sure every single one of you is dead!" William said.
Despite him harnessing the lines he had repeated over and over as an edgy primary schooler, William was serious and threatened them with 100% certainty that he would kill them.
"…We shall await you."
The shrivelled hand dropped dead, and William found himself collecting himself, and preparing to enter the dark depths.
…
"…"
"No…"
"No… no… no…"
"WILLIAMMMMM!!!!"
A heart-stricken scream echoed throughout the cavern.
Sarah screamed with an unbearable amount of shock running through her body, despite suffering from deep exhaustion, despite clinging onto her last bit of consciousness, and despite suffering from Mana Burn, which could happen either from exhausting all the Mana in your body and around you completely or having too much Mana build up in your body.
"…What did you do?!" Sir Arthur shouted at Barrow.
But unfortunately, Barrow had no idea what he did either.
"Tsk… he's under a spell!" The bishop said.
"Don't let him escape!"
Shard charged at Barrow with fury in his eyes. A potential prospect disciple, gone just like that?!
"How DARE you!" Shard roared, preparing to tear Barrow apart with his bare hands.
But, before he could, Shard was interrupted by a blast of golden light from Sir Arthur's sword. With an exuberant light slash, he avoided splitting Barrow into two, and instead tore apart the lingering "delusion" attached to his mind. This was a kind of sorcery, and one mostly used by those filled with deceit. Those just like the Angel of Delusion, Richard Aldeia.
"…As expected of a widely-recognised knight. But, how will we save that young boy?" The bishop asked.
"I… don't know. Even if he does manage to survive, which I'm guessing has only a one in a million chance of happening, he'll be too injured to live properly again."
"The only thing we can do now is to investigate this young man for clues leading to the Angel of Delusion's true whereabouts."
Sir Arthur paused, before heading to the cliff's highest point before the drop. He looked down and saw nothing but darkness.
"…There could still be a chance if that unstable Power of Law I felt creates a miracle, but I wouldn't stake my hope on a miracle. The God of the Skies has already shown me that miracles are nothing more than a Deity's whims, no matter the alignment of that God."
He glanced elsewhere and spotted a sword nearby. The sword that William used to fight the Unholy Steellion. Somehow, as if caused by a miracle, it was still in one piece.
"Hahaha… as I say that, I see something that is caused by one of such miracles just a second after. Maybe this sword will help him if he survives down there." Sir Arthur said, dropping the sword into the abysm.
"…You still have that youthful optimism, despite the gleam of arrogance I can see in your eyes." The bishop said, shaking his head slightly.
"Haha, well, what can I say? I'm a prodigy at the sword, after all, and I became a knighted swordmaster just a year before when I was 20."
Sir Arthur turned and approached Sarah, who was sobbing quietly under the comfort of Soria, Sylvia and Shard, who mostly stared at her with sudden regret. He picked up the only surviving flower in the ruined cavern and gave it to her.
"Don't worry, young lady. Your gentleman will survive."
Sarah wept even more, her tears soaking the ground in anguish.
"How… how do you know that…?" She asked through her tears.
"Because it seems the Gods themselves have staked a lot more than just their whims on him."