Chapter 52: The Temple’s Reward (Part 2)

“If I use one hand, it must be a Longsword! Yes, a Longsword.” Hiren made his choice without a second thought.

This choice was indeed expected by everyone, after all, among Humans on the Continent, the sword is the most popular weapon . Of course, Hiren’s choice was not just following the crowd, but was made after careful thought.

Because popularity means there is a relatively large number of users. Since there is such a large group of users, various methods and techniques naturally increase. In this situation, no matter how much an individual keeps their own techniques secret, for the whole group, the channels to gain knowledge about swordsmanship are much easier than for other weapons.

As the saying goes, stones from other hills can polish jade. Even if the techniques you get are not on the same path as what you have learned, they will still have some reference value. And if the two are similar or can even support each other, that would be even more helpful. Gathering knowledge and taking the best from everyone is the key to personal progress. Just like the misinterpretation in Tianchao before I transmigrated mentioned Newton’s famous quote—”If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Although this sentence was actually used to mock his nemesis, Hooke.

Since there is a broad road of learning from predecessors, merging it with oneself, and finally creating something new, naturally few people would choose that dark and difficult narrow bridge. Although it is not impossible for the latter to produce strong warriors, not everyone has the desire to cut through thorns and brush aside thorns. More importantly, if you take such a path, unless you have family inheritance or are lucky enough to receive the legacy of predecessors, the difficulty of advancing is far greater than for others. And even after mastering it, you can only rely on the “uniqueness” of having fewer users to gain a slight advantage against enemies. There is no obvious difference in skill compared to sword users among those of the same rank. It is a typical case of working hard with no reward.

As for why sword users are so many and popular, this might be related to the development of human weapons in this world. The mass-produced metal items humans first used should have been Bronze. Early Bronze weapons were sharp for piercing but not good for chopping, so they were just swords. In a world where the gap in individual strength is not large, after the development of metal smelting technology, weapons better suited for chopping would eliminate the ‘sword’ and become the main character on the battlefield. But in this world where the gap in individual strength is huge, the inheritance of techniques is the most important thing. So the sword techniques that appeared first got developed and expanded, and through constant progress, became what they are now. Of course, other races do have other weapon techniques and inheritances. But because of their body structure, those are not very suitable for Humans to use.

Hearing Hiren’s choice, Knight Val nodded with satisfaction. And George felt even more relieved in his heart, ‘Don’t look at Hiren as someone who doesn’t think much usually, but in fact, he is not stupid. Otherwise, he could not have reached the peak of Red Iron Rank by the age of twenty. As for his behavior that is sometimes dominated by emotions and seems to almost not go through the brain. It might not be a process of the path he chose himself. Just like the Five Thunder Righteous Method of the Taoists. And good weapons are not easy to get. Since there is a chance, there must be long-term consideration. Hiren must have thought about his bloodline characteristics and family inheritance.’ “Then it is decided, one Star-Iron Longsword. Now you can choose the Enchantment attributes.” Priest Gavin said while handing over the Scroll in his hand.

George took the Scroll, glanced at it with his eyes, and then passed it to the sitting Hiren. After all, he is the true user of this weapon.

Hiren held the Scroll and scratched his head and ears against the table for a while, but still could not make any decision. Watching his almost monkey-like performance, the few people who came with him seemed a bit impatient.

George grabbed Hiren’s left hand which was rubbing his hair and said to his ear, “Hiren, stop for a moment! I think you should show this to Mr. Val. I think with his understanding of you and his grasp of bloodlines and inheritance, he should be able to give some good advice.”

Hiren lifted his head, his two eyes staring straight at Knight Val, while showing an expression of hope. It was like a drowning person finding a straw of salvation. And the latter seemed still upset about Hiren’s embarrassing behavior just now, so his current hints were completely ignored.

An awkward silence suddenly appeared between the father and son. But for his own future happiness, Hiren still forced himself to ask Knight Val for help, “Dad, oh no, Father. Please use your wisdom to guide this ignorant person with no experience.”

Hearing Hiren’s request, Knight Val bent his right hand slightly with his palm facing up. And Hiren seemed to not understand Knight Val’s meaning for a moment. Until the other person said, “If you want my help, hurry up and throw the Scroll over.”

Hiren suddenly woke up from his dream, quickly stood up, held the Scroll with both hands, and handed it to Knight Val’s outstretched hand.

Knight Val took the Scroll, opened it to the part recording the Enchantment, and looked carefully. Then he turned around and asked Priest Gavin, “Can I mark and write on this?”

“Please help yourself. After all, this Scroll is specially prepared for you.” For Knight Val’s question, Priest Gavin gave a direct affirmative answer.

Knight Val held the Scroll in his left hand and extended his right index finger, as if casually scratching the Scroll with his fingertip. Then he threw the Scroll back to Hiren.

Hiren immediately reached out to catch the Scroll, pulled it open, and looked at it. He found that black lines had appeared below the four Enchantment options. George and Craig nearby also stuck their heads over with interest to join in the fun.

George even extended his finger to touch the new black line under the Scroll. It felt as if the paper fibers on the surface had been carbonized by high heat. And the control was very good, only making reasonable marks without damaging the inner texture of the paper. This level of control really made George admire him greatly.

The three of them carefully observed the Enchantment attributes that Knight Val chose to mark with black underlines, along with the accompanying introduction next to them.

Urgent: The handle of this weapon is decorated with a wing pattern. This wing seems to be vibrating slightly with excitement all the time. Its effect allows the user to wield the sword more quickly, and there will absolutely be no such thing as the blade getting stuck in the scabbard. It can also make the weapon swing more quickly, making it difficult for enemies to defend.

Nether: After Enchantment, this is a nearly transparent weapon. The only effect of this weapon is that it can directly attack ghost-like ethereal monsters. This avoids the situation where some physical Adventurers and Mercenaries who cannot deal with those guys are completely at a loss.

Sharp Edge: After Enchantment, this weapon is incredibly sharp, and the color of the blade part is lighter, emitting a chilling cold light. This Enchantment is as easy to explain as the name. This weapon can cut through the opponent’s armor and flesh more easily, causing damage far beyond their imagination.

Spell Breaker: The surface of this weapon has some rhombic purple-brown patterns, and the patterns themselves seem to have liquid flowing through them. It is a weapon feared by Wizards. Against any creature that uses Arcane or Dark Magic, it can ignore a certain level of their spell protection abilities. And once it hits, it will also cause them extra high damage.

After confirming Knight Val’s choice, George couldn’t help but sigh, “Truly simple and sturdy choices, with no fancy tricks at all, all belonging to practical abilities. As for whether it suits Hiren, I think Knight Val would not make such a joke at this time, right?”

Of course, this sentence was deliberately said for Hiren to hear, to prevent his thoughts from drifting to those flashy but not very practical Enchantments.

Hiren looked at the four candidate Enchantment options on the Scroll, and his facial expression changed back and forth four or five times. Finally, he let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and seemed to be engaged in a mental struggle.

At this time, everyone present did not disturb him, to avoid affecting his own judgment. And thus becoming an object for him to shift or share responsibility with in the future. Although the latter is basically not possible.

“I choose Nether. To avoid getting anxious when dealing with ghosts in the future.” Hiren opened his eyes and softly voiced his choice. However, in the context of the environment at that time, this voice was like a bell ringing in the ears of many people around.

Priest Gavin followed the usual practice to make the final confirmatory inquiry: “It is indeed an Enchanted Nether weapon, and no changes will be made?”

“Yes. I am very certain.” Hiren’s words were firm and clear, completely losing the hesitant and indecisive appearance he had just now.

“Very well! One Star-Iron Longsword with Nether Enchantment is confirmed. Wait a moment, I will give you a token of trust. You need to come here in person to pick it up in one month.” As soon as the words fell, Priest Gavin reminded again, “Remember, it must be in person. It is not allowed for someone else to pick it up on your behalf. This requires confirmation by Divine Arts.”

Hiren nodded repeatedly and agreed, “Understood! Understood! I will definitely come in person.”

Seeing that this matter was settled, Priest Gavin picked up another Scroll placed on the table. After opening it and reading it carefully, he confirmed there were no errors and said, “The priest of the Goblin God of the Black Lead Rank who was eliminated this time should be called Zeksis Christopher. He is also a person of relatively high status in the entire Goblin God Church. But! But!”

“But what? You should speak quickly! Is there any problem here?” Knight Val felt a bit strange about Priest Gavin saying half and hiding half.

“Because this guy has always been hiding behind the scenes, so far there are not many attack incidents directly linked to him. So he does not carry much extra bounty on his head, basically only having the basic reward for killing Goblin clergy given by the Dwarf Temple and the Gnome Temple. This reward is even worse than the previous Cleo Watson’s.” Priest Gavin seemed a bit embarrassed while explaining.

After all, anyone knows that enemies of the Black Lead Rank are far more dangerous than those of the Red Iron Rank. The result is that the rewards for the two are reversed, so it is no wonder Priest Gavin was hesitant on this issue.