For nearly 15 days, Helos’s workshop had completely devolved into a temporary library.
Piles of ancient books almost submerged the workbench. Open pages were strewn across the floor, the chairs, and every other spot where one could manage to step.
The air was thick with the musty scent of old paper and the faint, bitter fragrance of focus potions.
Helos and Julius were drinking the azure liquid like water, relying on it entirely to combat the exhaustion brought on by their inverted sleep schedules and frantic studying.
“Haah…”
Helos let out a long yawn, a few physiological tears squeezing from the corners of her eyes.
She rubbed her sore eyes and closed the brick-thick copy of *Monster Anatomy* in front of her.
“I can’t do this anymore. I feel like my brain has turned into mush.”
She slumped powerlessly onto the table, her silver hair splaying messily over the pages. “If I keep reading, I’m afraid I’ll forget my own name.”
Julius, sitting across from her, was in no better state.
He had two heavy dark circles under his eyes, and his gaze was somewhat vacant as he mechanically flipped through a copy of *Monster Subspecies Ecological Observation Report*.
“Just a little longer…” His voice sounded a bit hollow. “This… this book is almost finished.”
“You might be able to finish, but I certainly can’t!”
Helos wailed, her body going limp in her chair as if she had no bones. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed so readily. This ‘placement test’ is more torturous than sparring with Gavi.”
Just then, a knock sounded at the workshop’s wooden door, which had gone undisturbed by outsiders for a long time.
The two of them froze simultaneously, snapping their heads up like startled hamsters.
“Who is it?” Helos asked weakly.
“Miss Helos! It’s me, Mira!”
A crisp, energetic voice came from outside the door. “Sister Milda asked me to come get you! She said she finally has a lead on the items you wanted!”
“Oh?”
Helos froze at first, then it was as if she had been injected with a stimulant. She bolted upright from her chair, her sleepiness and fatigue vanishing instantly.
“They’re finished?!”
Her eyes brightened in an instant. She covered the distance to the door in a few quick strides and threw it open.
Outside, Mira stood there with a beaming smile, her chestnut ponytail swaying gently in the winter sunlight.
“Let’s go, let’s go! Take me there quickly!”
Helos practically grabbed Mira’s arm, unable to wait a second longer to rush out.
“Hey, wait for me!”
Julius also hurriedly put down his book and quickened his pace to follow.
For him, this was undoubtedly a perfect opportunity to escape the hell of books.
***
Under Mira’s guidance, Helos, Julius, and Gavi arrived at Milda’s workshop together.
Before they even entered, a familiar aura wafted toward them.
Inside the workshop, Milda was standing by the anvil, her brow furrowed with a look of difficulty and distress as if she had encountered some monumental problem.
In front of her, several brand-new components were arranged neatly on a workbench covered in thick leather.
“Sister Milda, what’s wrong? Aren’t they finished?”
Helos leaned in curiously.
“You’ve finally arrived.”
Milda looked up and let out a sigh of relief upon seeing them.
She pointed to the components on the table, her tone carrying a hint of frustration. “I’ve finished the items, and there is more than one type.”
She picked up one of them. it was a sleekly shaped arm blade, about half a meter long. The edge shimmered with a sharp, cold light, designed to be perfectly retracted into forearm armor.
“Look, this is the most conventional design. It extends and retracts freely, balancing speed and sharpness.”
Next, she pointed to another piece. It was a heavy metal gauntlet, the knuckles covered in sharp spikes.
The overall design was full of violent aesthetics—clearly a heavy weapon intended for bludgeoning and tearing.
“This is the heavy claw blade. It’s incredibly powerful, but it sacrifices some flexibility.”
Aside from those, there was a small disc that could be mounted on the wrist, with a polished mana crystal embedded in the center.
“This is the defensive arm shield. It can instantly deploy a small magic barrier, though it doesn’t last long and requires mana to use.”
Helos and Julius looked at these drastically different weapon components, feeling a bit overwhelmed for a moment.
Milda sighed and threw up her hands.
“I originally intended to make only one, but during the forging process, all sorts of ideas kept popping into my head. I accidentally ended up making all of them.”
“Now, I don’t know which one is most suitable for Gavi.”
She looked at Helos with a trace of expectation in her eyes. “So, it’s best if you choose for yourselves.”
Helos looked at the exquisite weapons, then at Gavi, who was standing silently to the side. Her heart stirred slightly.
She didn’t make the decision immediately. Instead, she turned around and looked at her puppet maid with an incredibly serious gaze.
“Gavi,” she said softly, “you choose.”
“Eh?”
This caused both Julius and Milda to freeze in surprise.
“These are weapons prepared for you. No one knows better than you what you need.”
Helos’s tone was very gentle, yet it carried an indisputable firmness. “Choose the partner that fits you best.”
The points of light in Gavi’s eye sockets flickered.
She glanced at Helos first, then stepped forward, slowly walking to the workbench.
She extended her cold metal fingers, lightly brushing over each weapon in turn.
Her fingertips slid over the sharp long blade without stopping.
She tapped the heavy gauntlet, producing a dull thud.
She paused for a moment on the small arm shield, seemingly feeling the mana contained within.
Ultimately, her hand stopped on the last—and most inconspicuous—weapon component.
It was an oddly shaped piercing weapon.
It looked somewhat like a miniature knight’s lance, though it wasn’t nearly as thick. It was more like the thrusting swords used for piercing armor.
It lacked the sharp side-edges of a traditional blade; instead, the entire piece took on an extremely sharp conical form.
A speck of cold light gathered at the tip, appearing as though it could easily pierce through any solid defense.
The surface of the entire arm blade was etched with fine patterns, extending from the base all the way to the tip of the conical blade.
The most ingenious part was its storage structure. In its inactive state, this lethal spike could almost completely retract into the forearm armor, leaving only an inconspicuous metal ring at the wrist. It was extremely well-concealed.
It wasn’t as elegant as the long blade, nor as barbaric as the heavy claws. Its only reason for existence seemed to be to unleash the ultimate piercing power within the shortest possible distance.
“The armor-piercing spike?”
A flash of surprise crossed Milda’s eyes.
“Are you sure you want this? The requirements for using this thing are very strict. It must be used at point-blank range to display its maximum power. Once you miss, it’s difficult to get a second chance.”
“Though, for normal use, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
Gavi didn’t answer. She only tapped the weapon with her finger with absolute certainty.
That crisp sound was her silent reply.
Helos watched Gavi’s choice, stunned at first, before a knowing smile curled onto her lips.
Julius, however, frowned. He didn’t quite understand why Gavi would give up the more balanced long blade for such an all-or-nothing weapon.
“I understand.”
Milda stared at Gavi and finally nodded, a hint of approval in her eyes. “Your fighting style pursues the efficiency of a one-hit kill rather than a protracted struggle.”
She picked up the armor-piercing spike and spoke to Helos. “Since she has made her choice, I will help her install it.”
Helos nodded.
She looked at Gavi, and then at the lethal weapon that was about to become a part of her. Suddenly, a strong sense of anticipation welled up in her heart.
‘Heh, with this, there should finally be a hope of lasting a few moves against Werner.’
Though it might also kill him.