Kai stood in front of the old shed Madra had let him convert into a workshop. The stone walls still held firm despite years of disuse, and with the heat coil he'd installed the night before, the place was just warm enough not to freeze his hands.
It was crude—but it was his.
His tools—if they could be called that—were scattered across a plank table. Twine, scrap wire, bits of metal, and broken nails. Charcoal sticks for rune work. A whetstone for shaping. He had no forge, no grinder, no alchemy bench—just improvised grit and the guiding hand of his system.
And that was enough.
[Active Blueprint: Spark Dagger v0.1
Classification: Tier I Close Combat Construct
Function: High-conductivity blade capable of releasing charged pulse upon stabbing
Material Requirements:
Iron Shard (x2)Leather or Cloth Wrap (x1)Copper or Conductive Wire (x1)Mana Residue (x1)
Rune Requirement:[Sigil of Conduction] – must be carved into blade spine
Secondary Module (Optional):Shock Rune (Locked – Rune Rank II)
Estimated Range: Touch-contact only
Output: Short-range pulse ]
"Let's get started."
Kai rolled up his sleeves and pulled the iron shards from his material pouch. These weren't forged blades—they were jagged, rusted scraps, torn from a broken cart axle. But with some care, one could be shaped.
He selected the sharper piece and began scraping it against the whetstone.
Sparks flew. Metal shrieked.
He worked in silence, hands steady, thoughts focused.
Shape the edge. Flatten the base. Sharpen the tip. Smooth the spine.
It took the better part of an hour, but eventually he had a crude blade roughly the length of his forearm. It was ugly—no balance, no guard—but it could stab.
He heated the back of the shard using a bundle of coal and a flame rune scribbled beneath it—barely stable—and used a flattened stone chisel to carve the rune.
[Manual Rune Engraving: [Sigil of Conduction]
Target: Iron Surface
Precision Required: 93% or higher
Note: Rune must remain uninterrupted from hilt to tip.]
Kai exhaled and began carving.
He started with the base spiral, then traced the jagged lines branching outward like veins. Unlike the Ignition Sigil, this rune was longer, etched in a continuous arc to guide mana from the hilt to the tip. Like a lightning channel.
His hands cramped. The chisel slipped once, nicking his finger. Blood smeared the metal.
He didn't stop.
When the final mark was etched and the system chimed, he slumped back with a groan.
[Rune Accuracy: 94%
Conduction Channel: Stable
Spark Dagger Frame: Complete]
"I. Am. Amazing."
He wrapped the hilt in old leather scraps, bound it with wire, and slotted a tiny vial of Mana Residue into the pommel.
The dagger pulsed faintly, lines of orange mana flickering down the spine like veins of fire.
Kai held it up, rotating it in the firelight.
Crude. But real.
A weapon.
His first blade.
And it was born not from magic—
—but from engineering and I guess magic had like a small part but mainly engineering.
[CONSTRUCT COMPLETE: Spark Dagger v0.1]
Use: 1 charged strike per cooldown cycle (manual recharge required)
Durability: 60% – prone to damage under stress
Crafting XP: +10
System Level: 3 (10/10) → 4
Blueprint Saved to Inventory.
[Advice: Do not stab yourself. Or anyone you don't want electrocuted.
> Follow-up Suggestion: Field test in controlled scenario. Or chaotic one. Up to you.]
Kai snorted. "Thanks, HAL."
[Reference Not Recognized. Would you like me to analyze it?]
"Never mind."
He set the dagger gently on the table, hands still tingling from the rune resonance.
Outside, snow had begun to fall again, silent and steady.
And with it… came footsteps.
Multiple pairs. Crunching outside the shed.
Kai stood, fingers curling around the hilt of the unfinished dagger.
The door creaked open.
A boy around his age stepped inside, flanked by two others. Dirty blonde hair. A coat lined with beast hide. Sharp eyes that scanned the room like he owned it.
"You're the outsider," the boy said.
Kai didn't move. "And you're trespassing."
The boy smirked. "This was my uncle's shed. You've been playing with fire in here. Making noise. Villagers say you're working on weird magic."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "You care what villagers say?"
The boy stepped closer, gaze flicking to the dagger on the table.
"I care about keeping East Hollow from becoming a cursed ruin. You're bringing attention. The wrong kind."
Kai's hand slipped behind the dagger.
"Is that a warning?"
The boy grinned.
"No. That's a challenge."