[Heart Wood Spear]
[The Host should go on and take it.]
"..."
Temorsth looked at the thing buried in the ground.
Then he looked at the System window.
Then back at the thing.
"Take it?"
It looked like a branch.
Not a divine weapon.
Not a legendary treasure.
Not something that had just fallen from the sky, broken through the barrier, and almost made his parents collapse.
A branch.
A straight, trimmed branch with a sharpened point.
There was not even a powerful aura leaking from it. No pressure. No overwhelming divine glow. No whisper of ancient might.
It simply stood there, half-buried in the earth, looking like someone had sharpened a stick and forgotten it.
Temorsth's eyebrow twitched.
"Why does it look like a sharpened branch...?"
[Because it is one.]
He stared at the window.
"That was not helpful."
[It was accurate.]
Temorsth sighed.
"Fine."
Xalier and Elah were still recovering behind him. Neither of them looked calm, but neither stopped him either.
That alone meant something.
If they truly thought the spear would kill him just by touching it, they would have moved before he even reached it.
Probably.
Temorsth stepped forward and reached out with his left hand.
The moment his fingers closed around the shaft—
Ugh.
Pain shot through his body.
Not from his hand.
From his right side.
His ankle.
His wrist.
His neck.
The three white tattoos on his body began to glow.
Green-yellow light spread across them like cracks opening in glass.
Temorsth's eyes widened.
'Mom's seal...?'
The shackles and seal trembled.
Not breaking.
Not fully.
But weakening.
Just slightly.
"Huh...?"
The green-yellow light leaked from the markings and flowed through his body, crossing from his right side toward his left hand.
Then the spear drank it.
Temorsth clenched his teeth.
'Is it absorbing my power?'
The light vanished into the wood.
For a breath, nothing happened.
Then—
"Oh...!"
White flames erupted from the spear.
They swallowed the branch completely.
Temorsth almost let go on instinct, but the flames did not burn his hand.
No.
They wrapped around him.
Pure white fire spread over his arm, then across his shoulders, his chest, his hair, his entire body.
It looked like he was burning.
But it did not feel like destruction.
It felt clean.
Sharp.
Bright.
His eyes widened.
"This is..."
The white flames moved through him, then back into the spear, then back again.
Like breath.
Like circulation.
Like the spear had taken something raw from him, refined it, and returned it in a form his body could understand.
Temorsth's lips parted.
"Did it refine my unrefined Light energy...?"
Xalier and Elah watched silently.
Neither spoke.
Neither interrupted.
The white flames slowly faded, leaving only the branch-like spear in Temorsth's hand.
It still looked plain.
Too plain.
But now, Temorsth did not trust that plainness at all.
"Status."
A window appeared.
[Name: Heart Wood Spear]
[Rank: True Immortal]
[Rarity: Very Rare]
[Attack Power: 1,703]
[Defense: 685]
[Durability: 20,875/20,875]
[Element: Nature (Life)]
[Strength: +16]
[Dexterity/Agility: +16]
[Vitality: +12]
[Will/Mind: +14]
[Attunement Requirement: Elf or Half-Elf]
[Description: A spear made entirely of wood, without a metal point. Despite its simple appearance, it is extremely dangerous to Vampires, as it represents a stake made from White Oak.]
[Story: Available]
[Skills: Available]
Temorsth stared at the numbers.
Then frowned.
"Isn't the Attack Power low?"
Xalier's eyebrow rose slightly behind him.
Elah looked at him as if he had said something very strange.
Temorsth ignored them.
"I mean, it is True Immortal Rank, but it is not even a whole thousand above my wooden short sword."
Aidana's window appeared beside the item status.
[I did not explain Ranks and Rarities properly before. I only told the Host that they correlate with power.]
"Then explain."
[Only in a simplified way. The Host's ER is still too low for the full structure.]
"Of course it is."
[If the Heart Wood Spear's True Immortal Rank Attack Power of 1,703 were converted into Mortal Rank numbers, it would be roughly around 14,000 Mortal Rank Attack Power.]
Temorsth froze.
"...Huh?"
[The real difference is not one thousand. It is closer to twenty times the power of the short sword.]
Temorsth looked back at the spear.
Then at the window.
Then back at the spear.
"Why does it need to be that complicated? Why can't everything just use the same numbers?"
[Because different Ranks do not measure the same scale of existence.]
"That sounds like an excuse."
[It is not.]
"It feels like one."
[The Host will get used to it.]
Temorsth sighed.
"Fine. So it is much stronger than it looks."
[Yes.]
"Good enough."
His eyes moved to the next section.
"Show the story."
[Story:]
[Ardantha of the White Wood was a lovely young man. Innocent, kind, and curious toward all he met. His people were often cold toward strangers, but Ardantha never lost his warmth. He was beloved by the Elves of his clan, and even by the Summer Queen herself.]
[One day, while exploring the woods, he found an old keep believed to have been abandoned long ago.]
[There, he saw a beautiful pale maiden enter the haunted place.]
[Struck by her beauty and the mystery of her presence, Ardantha followed her inside.]
[Three days later, what returned to his home was no longer Ardantha.]
[It was a vampiric spawn bent on blood.]
[He killed three of his own before he was struck down.]
[The Summer Queen was heartbroken by his death and enraged by his transformation. In grief and fury, she wept over his body.]
[Where her tears fell, a White Oak tree grew.]
[Its branches were strong, straight, and filled with the Queen's sorrow.]
[She commanded that one branch be cut and fashioned into a spear.]
[Thus, the Heart Wood Spear was born as a bane of Vampires.]
[Every thousand years, a new branch is clipped from the White Oak and fashioned into another spear.]
The window ended.
Temorsth did not say anything for a moment.
The spear felt heavier in his hand.
Not physically.
Just heavier.
"So it really is a trimmed branch..."
His eyes lowered to the wooden shaft.
The story was old-fashioned.
Almost like a fairy tale.
A beautiful maiden.
A cursed keep.
A dead innocent.
A grieving queen.
A holy tree.
A weapon made to kill vampires.
Temorsth's grip tightened slightly.
He was half-vampire.
His father was a vampire.
And the Great God of Spear had given him a weapon made to exterminate them.
The white flames from earlier suddenly felt less simple.
"I understand this Story thing now, but..."
His voice lowered.
"It is strange."
[Stories often are.]
"If people believe in it, it becomes truth, right?"
[Yes.]
"Then the spear does not only kill vampires because it is made for that."
[Correct.]
Temorsth looked at the sharpened wooden point.
"It kills vampires because everyone believes this kind of thing should kill vampires."
[Also correct.]
"Annoying."
[Very.]
The uneasy feeling did not disappear, but curiosity returned quickly.
Too quickly.
Temorsth opened the next tab.
"Show the skills."
[Skills:]
[The Bane of Vampires]
[Protection from Evil]
[The Weapon's Will]
[Guiding Shot]
[(Special) Balance Breaker/Alter]
Temorsth's eyes brightened.
"Oho."
The unease was not gone.
But it now had competition.
"That is a lot. Show the first."
[The Bane of Vampires]
Type: Passive
Effect: When striking a Vampire, the spear has a chance to activate instant-death magic.]
Chance depends on the target's Rank.
Against Mortal Rank Vampires: Low chance.
Against Immortal Rank Vampires: Meager chance.
Against True Immortal Rank Vampires: Extremely low chance.
Against Immortal King Rank Vampires or higher: Negligible chance.
Additional Effect: Any undead damaged by the Heart Wood Spear cannot recover more than half of the damage taken unless a True Immortal Rank Greater Healing and Remove Curse is cast, or unless they repel the energy of Life from their body through another method.]
Temorsth stared.
"Instant death?"
[Yes.]
"Even if the chance is low, that is insane."
[Yes.]
"And it halves healing too?"
[Yes.]
He slowly looked at the spear again.
"This thing is disgusting."
[Against Vampires and undead, yes.]
Temorsth's expression became complicated.
He did not know whether to be impressed, worried, or offended.
So he chose curiosity again.
"Next."
[Protection from Evil
Type: Passive
Effect: Protects the user against aberrations, fiends, and undead. These creatures will find it harder to attack the user, as an aura of Life surrounds them.
Additional Effect: The user gains immunity to charm, fear, possession, and stun effects caused by those creature types.
If the user is already under one such effect, attempts to remove it are greatly improved.]
Temorsth blinked.
"Immunity?"
[Against the listed effects and sources, yes.]
"If immune means immune like in games, this is ridiculous."
[It does.]
Temorsth's smile returned.
"Good. Next."
[The Weapon's Will]
[Type: Active
Summoning Range: 60 meters.
Active Range: Same plane of existence as the Heart Wood Spear and the user.
Effect: Summons a floating spectral spear controlled by the user's thoughts.
The spectral spear deals True Force damage.
Defense does not reduce True damage.
If the target is at or below True Immortal Rank, evasion is impossible unless spatial magic, teleportation, or a similar effect is used.
Every attack consumes durability from the Heart Wood Spear based on damage dealt.
If an attack would reduce the Heart Wood Spear's durability to 0, its durability will remain at 1 until the attack finishes. Afterward, all summoned weapons and remaining charges disappear.
Charges: 6
Recharge: 1 charge per day.
Warning: Forcing activation without available charges may permanently destroy the spear.
Cost: Half of the user's Mana and one-quarter of stamina.]
Temorsth read the window once.
Then again.
"Multiple thought-controlled spears that deal True damage and cannot be dodged normally..."
His smile became a little strange.
"Aidana."
[Yes?]
"Is this legal?"
[Yes.]
"Are you sure?"
[The definition of legal becomes flexible when gods are involved.]
"That sounds illegal."
[It is not.]
"Next."
[Guiding Shot]
[Type: Active
Range: Sight.
Effect: Fires a bright flash of burning Radiant energy from the tip of the spear.
Damage: 24,000 Radiant damage.
The attack counts as a spear throw and benefits from throw-related effects.
Additional Effect: If the spear is thrown immediately after Guiding Shot, it will follow the marked target regardless of distance or defensive skill, unless the target escapes the principle of the attack.
After striking, the spear returns through the same route.
Cost: 10% Mana, increasing by Rank.
Additional Cost: 10 Mana per 100 meters traveled during the throw and return. The spear will return even if the user runs out of Mana.]
Temorsth became very still.
"Range: Sight."
[Yes.]
"So if I can see them..."
[The skill can reach.]
His fingers tightened around the spear.
For a normal archer, distance disgusted him.
Killing someone without seeing them as a person felt cowardly.
But this was different.
This was not shooting a faceless target somewhere far away.
If one day his perception grew enough to see their eyes, their expression, their last breath even across an impossible distance...
Then the distance would no longer be escape.
It would only be reach.
Temorsth looked at the spear's point.
"A spear throw that does not let distance become separation..."
[That is one way to understand it.]
"I like it."
[Clearly.]
Temorsth moved to the final skill.
"Now the special one."
The window changed.
[(Special) Balance Breaker/Alter]
[Type: Active
Origin: A unique power granted to this spear by the Great God of Spear.
Effect: Reverses the target nature of the spear's skills and changes the weapon's element from Nature (Life) to Nature (Death).
Cost: None.]
Temorsth stared.
Then slowly raised his head.
"Wait."
His eyes narrowed.
"Don't tell me... Aidana?"
[Yes.]
"Is this what I think it is?"
[Yes.]
Temorsth looked at the spear.
Then at the skill.
Then at the spear again.
"This spear is not that great for a True Immortal weapon by itself, is it?"
[Correct. As a True Immortal Rank weapon, the Heart Wood Spear is powerful, but not extraordinary.]
"But Balance Breaker makes it extraordinary."
[Yes.]
"Because it reverses the target nature."
[Yes.]
Temorsth's expression changed.
The Bane of Vampires.
Protection from Evil.
Life aura.
Anti-undead.
Radiant energy.
A spear born to kill vampires.
If all of that reversed...
His heart beat faster.
"Then it becomes a bane of Life?"
[Possibly.]
"Protection from Good?"
[Possibly.]
"Radiant becomes...?"
[The Host should try instead of asking.]
Temorsth blinked.
"Try it?"
[Yes. Activate the skill, then check the spear again.]
That sounded suspicious.
Very suspicious.
But also impossible to resist.
Temorsth held the spear more firmly in his left hand.
The tip pointed toward the ground.
He slowly raised it forward.
Xalier's eyes sharpened.
Elah took one step closer.
Temorsth did not notice.
Or rather, he noticed and ignored it.
"Alright..."
His fingers tightened.
"Balance Breaker."
Nothing happened.
For half a breath, Temorsth thought it had failed.
Then pain stabbed into his left hand.
Not normal pain.
Needles.
Roots.
Teeth.
Something inside the spear rejected him so violently that his fingers opened on instinct.
"Ugh!"
The Heart Wood Spear fell to the ground.
Temorsth staggered back, clutching his hand.
"What happened!?"
A red warning window appeared.
[Warning: The Heart Wood Spear has rejected the Host due to the Dark energies within the Host's body.]
Temorsth stared at the warning.
Then at the spear.
Then back to the warning.
"Wait..."
His voice came out flat.
"I can't use it?"
The spear lay silently on the grass.
Still plain.
Still branch-like.
Still surrounded by faint traces of white flame.
Temorsth's expression darkened.
"...Seriously?"