Her own understanding was one factor, but the Alliance's backing was also crucial.
With over a dozen players providing resources together, her logistics were more than sufficient.
Powerful weapons naturally required significant consumption, even for an entry-level SlashBlade.
Since they were based on the Marionette, crafting a White Sheath necessitated sacrificing one.
The higher the tier, the greater the cost.
After finally crafting a White Sheath, most people would normally treasure it while waiting to upgrade it.
Galen Yu's decision to test it out just for the novelty, wasting durability for nothing, was undoubtedly a poor move.
"You've already seen the crafting recipe? What materials are needed?"
Kira Oakmoor's eyes lit up with joy upon hearing Ronan Mountwell's words.
Knowing the recipe was practically the same as seeing the finished product.
With so many helpers, there was no resource they couldn't acquire; there was simply no need to worry.
"Even if it requires diamonds, I've kept a few potions of invisibility. I can sneak into the Twilight Forest to mine some. Just tell me the next step!"
Seeing Kira Oakmoor's impatience, Ronan Mountwell frowned.
It wasn't that he was unwilling to speak; the truth was, he didn't know where the materials came from either.
"You've held the Tachi Craftsman inheritance for so long, Kira. Tell me, do you know about the Proud Soul Orb?"
"What orb? What is that?"
After searching her memory, Kira Oakmoor shook her head, then nodded slowly.
"I haven't heard of an 'orb,' but the inheritance mentions a refinement process for SlashBlades where certain items can be used for enchanting and enhancement."
"It seems related to an orb, but as for the specific method of acquisition..."
She did know it was related to Proud Soul Fragments.
But the problem looped back: where do Proud Soul Fragments come from?
Their progress seemed to have hit a standstill.
Staying cooped up wasn't a solution, so they decided to head outside and try brainstorming with the others.
After the forging session, most players in the Alliance were now holding Unnamed Blade - Marionettes, examining them closely.
"It's more elegant and lighter than an axe, and more versatile than a sword. No wonder he could keep up with our pace in the Twilight Forest!"
Mark gave it a few experimental swings and clicked his tongue in praise.
However, he still preferred using an axe. After a couple of tests, he stowed the blade away.
Clutching his brand-new Diamond Minotaur Battleaxe, he looked at Soren Park with increasing appreciation.
"What did I tell you? Smida is a real talent!"
After so much fighting, they had learned that the Zombie Scepter was a magical tool without durability, so it wouldn't break.
But the Minotaur Battleaxe, despite having slightly higher durability than a regular axe, lacked magical properties and would eventually shatter with use.
Just when Mark thought he was about to lose his god-tier weapon, Soren Park had stepped forward.
"When I looked at Galen Yu's chunk, I saw a tool made of pure iron. I didn't know its purpose then."
"After joining the Alliance and having enough resources to experiment, I discovered it's called an Anvil. it can restore equipment durability."
As the leader of the Alliance, Mark had naturally been the first to try it.
The diamond had been donated by a certain 'lucky' player. The experiment proved that the device could indeed repair equipment.
For the vast majority of players, this was fantastic news.
Many pieces of equipment were extremely precious. They usually felt pained whenever they used them, fearing that a single scratch or bump would deplete the durability.
They didn't understand enchanting, so if a weapon broke, they had to craft it again. For cheap materials like iron sets, that was fine.
But for things like diamonds, or the battleaxe in Mark's hand, the cost was exorbitant.
They couldn't just face hordes of zombies and head back into the Twilight Forest to kill bosses again; it was too dangerous and unrealistic.
Previously, they just had to grit their teeth and accept it, but with the Anvil, they no longer had to worry.
"Hahaha! We have completely mastered the understanding of this block world!"
Being able to achieve with one diamond what used to take seven or eight was a steal!
The bullet chat was somewhat speechless.
' mastered it? You've barely scratched the surface!'
'If this were the past, you might have fooled me. But after watching God Yu... yikes!'
'You still can't even figure out how redstone contraptions work. Do one of those if you're so capable!'
'So, just because a bit of grease leaked from God Yu's fingers, you're all delirious with joy?'
'God Yu is simply too overpowered!'
Anvils can do more than just repair; they can also be used to enchant items!
The Nine Provinces audience had seen this clearly long ago and couldn't even be bothered to point it out.
It was no exaggeration to say that they now understood the block world better than Mark!
As for the Blonde Elder and the other high-ranking officials, they didn't offer any reminders either.
They didn't know the crafting recipe for the Anvil; Soren Park had deduced it himself through sheer luck.
Enchanting required a series of items like enchanted books and enchanting tables.
Though they hated to admit it, the Alliance was still a vast distance behind Galen Yu.
Through enchanting, a monstrous item like the Nine-shot Bow could be obtained, yet Mark didn't even know what books were for or how to make an enchanting table.
Some viewers still tried to argue for their own players.
'Soren Park deduced the Anvil just from its shape! His reasoning skills are incredible!'
'The Alliance is lucky to have Soren Park. Mark will surely become the Lord of Civilization!'
'You talk as if Mark didn't almost kill Soren Park at the start. Now you're sucking up to him?'
'You! I! You cursed Nine Provinces people!'
'Conflict breeds friendship! If not for that, how would we have gotten the Double-Barreled Shotgun? It's destiny!'
'Exactly! Just like how you guys keep shouting "God Yu" this and "God Yu" that, yet his progress is also stuck on the Proud Soul!'
"Exactly! Just like how you guys keep shouting 'God Yu' this and 'God Yu' that, yet his progress is also stuck on the Proud Soul!"
"Cracking the secret of the Proud Soul will be the moment we break through!"
Amidst the arguments, night fell.
They lost count of how many nights it had been as the unique groans of zombies drifted in from outside once more.
Their luck held; there was no fog tonight.
The foggy weather that appeared after the last crisis had terrified many players; the feeling of being unable to see the enemies' positions was horrifying.
When they encountered it a few days ago, they couldn't even leave to explore during the day. If the chunks hadn't already stored enough food, they would have starved.
Since there was no fog today and they had just acquired the SlashBlades, these god-tier weapons...
Certain players couldn't help but feel a surge of restlessness.
The player from John Nation was named Pros, and his abilities were similar to Kapil's, leaning heavily toward combat.
He had defeated three bosses in the Twilight Forest, but luck wasn't on his side, and he hadn't received any good drops.
Even his weapon was merely an Ironwood Sword, which was only slightly better than a regular iron sword.
Now that he had a SlashBlade, he was the first to approach the obsidian wall.
He slashed and hacked.
It was much more flexible than ordinary sword-type weapons. Its light and convenient grip made him instantly fall in love with the feel of the weapon.
"I forgot to tell everyone, the SlashBlade has a trick. The higher your combo count, the higher the damage!"
One could figure it out through self-exploration.
Since they were allies, Kira Oakmoor didn't want to hide this small tip.
As he familiarized himself with the attack patterns, Pros became increasingly proficient. His combos climbed, and his attacks grew more powerful.
"The damage really does increase!"
At first, it took eight or nine hits to kill, but later, with a high rank, he could kill a zombie in six.
This unique attack mode fascinated Pros. Before he knew it, five zombies had fallen by his hand.
However, just as he was getting into the rhythm, a *crack* echoed!
A shattering sound rang out, and his hand was suddenly empty.
"Where's my blade?"
He looked down in confusion, but the SlashBlade had already shattered and vanished.
As the ancestor of all blades, considering its practicality and low cost, it was actually better to use than a diamond sword in many situations.
The only downside was its pitifully low durability; it simply couldn't last very long.
Retreating, Pros found Kira Oakmoor with a hint of embarrassment.
"Kira, do you have any more SlashBlades? My Marionette broke."
Kira Oakmoor glanced at the player. He looked familiar, but she was too lazy to think about who he actually was.
His progress was lagging, he hadn't been lucky enough to get a firearm—he was no different from the other players, just a laborer.
"I do, but SlashBlades aren't free. I need thirty stone, twenty logs, ten iron, and five gold."
"If you think that's too much, you can exchange other items for it."
The raw materials were just a wooden sword and two logs—at most four logs.
In Oakmoor's mouth, it turned into a mountain of resources, yet Pros felt it was a bargain.
"Such a useful SlashBlade only costs this much to make?"
Mining a bit of ore to get such a weapon—considering the SlashBlade's utility, he actually thought it was quite cheap.
However, because of the fog yesterday, he hadn't gone out to explore, and Pros's face showed his awkwardness.
"You know how hard resources have been to get lately. Could you lower it a bit more?"
"So what? The crafting process for a SlashBlade is difficult, and the zombies are getting tougher. This price is already very considerate of your situation!"
He thought about it and felt she was right, but he truly didn't have many blocks.
He rummaged through his backpack to see if there was anything else to substitute, then suddenly paused.
"Huh? What's this? When did this appear in my bag?"
"A Proud Soul Fragment?"
Pros was puzzled as he pulled out the shimmering, flowing object.
He didn't recall having it earlier. Could it have dropped when he killed the zombies?
"What? A Proud Soul Fragment?"
"You can use this to waive... no, to waive two-thirds of the resources!"
She was exactly in need of this item. Pros actually had one?
Pros produced the reduced resources, handing over ten stone, six logs, three iron, and two gold.
Along the way, he explained that he found it after killing the zombies.
Similar situations occurred with several other players who also handed over Proud Soul Fragments.
The bullet chat was overjoyed.
'Strange, I didn't see Pros with any Proud Soul Fragments before.'
'It's related to killing zombies. Does killing them with a SlashBlade cause them to drop?'
'Fantastic! The resource limit is broken!'
'With Proud Soul Fragments, we can craft the orb. The third SlashBlade is within our reach!'
'The Anti-Galen Yu Alliance has finally succeeded!'
Hurrying back to the private workspace with the Proud Soul Fragments, she called Ronan Mountwell back.
From her inheritance, she knew that four Proud Soul Fragments plus an iron ingot could craft a Proud Soul Ingot.
Guessing by the name, Kira Oakmoor tried putting it into a furnace.
As it smelted, a Proud Soul Orb indeed appeared.
"It's a success! Ronan, the Proud Soul Orb is complete!"
She excitedly pulled out the pearl-white orb, cradling it like a precious treasure.
With this, the new SlashBlade would be crafted any moment!
"In less than a day, we've cracked three SlashBlade secrets. Kapil is a joke!"
"Galen Yu is probably still in a daze, right? You expect us to count on him?"
She spoke with a cold sneer, taking the orb and placing it into the crafting table.
"I need a Blaze Rod, a Coal Block, String... and most importantly, the White Sheath!"
SlashBlades were a process of upgrading. A White Sheath needed a Marionette, and the third blade needed the White Sheath as a foundation.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
A full two and a half minutes passed, but the crafting table remained unresponsive.
The smiles on their faces froze.
"The recipe failed?!"
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