It felt so good to be close to the witch!

Forbidden items have their own ranking system, from lowest to highest: C, B, A, and S, corresponding to the ranks of witches, grand witches, great witches, and witches of even higher unknown levels.

Generally speaking, forbidden items in equipment form, at grade B, are already slightly stronger than "epic" quality equipment, and at grade A, they far surpass "epic" quality.

For example, the A-grade forbidden item in Roy's advanced spatial ring - the Demon-Slaying Dagger.

Overall, normal equipment is far less desirable than forbidden items.

However, normal equipment has its own advantages, namely that there is no cost to using it. Forbidden items are powerful, but the cost of using them is extremely high, even unbearable.

At Roy's current level, he needs at least "Inheritance" quality equipment to fully unleash his power.

……

Upon entering the courtyard, Roy saw the mechanical witch Toni, who was waiting inside.

After officially reaching a "deal" with Roy, Tonnie's magic seal was lifted by Ais (it was only 30% unsealed during the previous talent demonstration), and her clothes changed from the simple gray outfit to a fitted and stylish leather jacket and pants.

It's worth mentioning that after 60% of her body was mechanically modified, Tonière has a very strong resistance to cold. Even at the current temperature of minus thirty degrees Celsius, she doesn't need to wear extra clothes.

Perhaps it's related to the energy core within her body.

In comparison, Roy's clothes were much thicker. With his physique and the circulation of his fighting spirit throughout his body, this temperature was naturally not a problem. But if he relied solely on his physical strength, well, the natural composition of a carbon-based life form made it impossible for him to ignore the effects of the cold. Besides, why would he run away to suffer when he could be comfortable?

Besides Tonnie, there was another person in the courtyard, Lilia, who had followed Roy in and was still wearing her original clothes.

The black, reflective leather pants accentuated her full, long legs, making her exceptionally eye-catching; the low temperature seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.

Not only Lilia, but also Shanica and Ais, who are both Grand Rank, are the same.

Roy had privately asked them about the reason behind it, and the answer he received was: "After advancing to the Grand rank and condensing the Witch's Heart, their bodies appear to have a physical form, but in reality, they can be regarded as a constant semi-elemental state. Unless the temperature drops to a certain limit, such as below 100 degrees Celsius, it has almost no effect on them. This applies not only to low temperatures, but also to high temperatures, electric shocks, and other factors."

In terms of physical strength alone, a newly promoted Grand Witch is no stronger than a Gold 3-star Knight, but their physique is very special, and their resistance to abnormal statuses is unmatched by any Knight.

This made Roy very envious.

Perhaps, to achieve the abnormal status resistance of a Grand Witch, one would have to wait until the Golden Peak cultivates a complete battle qi body, or even advance to Legendary status, before it is possible?

Now, in the entire yard, only Roy and Elena and Vivian, the two little ones, need to wear fur coats.

But this is only temporary.

The two little ones have now reached the eighth rune in the first stage of the basic meditation method. It is estimated that in another week at most, they will be able to complete all nine runes and thus advance to the Grand rank.

At that time, only Roy will need to wear thick clothes.

This gave Roy even more motivation to improve his strength.

"Good morning, Miss Tonigne."

Roy greeted the witch in the courtyard with a smile and stepped inside.

“…Good morning,” Toni replied mechanically.

Roy sat down at the stone table where Toni was sitting. The high-level spatial ring on his hand flashed, and a large pile of metal ingots fell to the ground with a clatter.

The uniformly shaped metal ingots, bathed in the pale sunlight of the snow, reflected a dark silver light, exuding a unique allure.

These are Black Essence Ingots refined from Black Essence Ore, which is produced with an extremely low probability only in the very center of the Black Essence Ore Vein. The current amount is the output of the entire Iron Mountain Territory for ten years. Lord Denham, the former lord of Iron Mountain Territory, finally managed to collect these exceptionally precious ores, but because he could not find a master blacksmith who could perfectly utilize the effects of these ores, the process was delayed until now, ultimately benefiting Roy.

Looking at the black essence ingot in front of her, Toni's calm eyes gleamed with joy.

As someone with the talent of "metal control", how could I not feel fond of these rare metals?

Toni is currently only able to simply condense the metallic elements that permeate nature together to form a complete solid, or to use her own magic to simulate simple, single metallic elements, thereby creating physical metallic substances.

There are readily available top-quality metal materials, which are much better than what she painstakingly condensed herself.

At least, that's true for now.

Moreover, high-quality metals can greatly help enhance her innate abilities—by analyzing the composition, structure, and proportions of the metal material, she can attempt to simulate it.

Whether it can be simulated is one thing, but there will definitely be improvements.

"Thank you for your trouble." Roy said with a smile by the stone table, "The specific dimensions and data of the weapons and armor will be based on our previous measurements."

Toni didn't speak, but nodded slightly. Then she stood up, squatted down beside the pile of black ingots, and gently stroked the surface of the metal.

The cold, smooth surface of the metal brought a faint look of intoxication to Toni's eyes.

A silvery magical glow emanated from her fingertips, quickly enveloping a small portion of the Black Essence Ingot.

Roy stood aside and watched quietly.

Under Toni's innate control, these black crystals floated up and merged together in mid-air, forming a large, constantly writhing mass of liquid metal that looked incredibly magical.

As the molten metal continued to roll, its color gradually changed, from jet black to a deep red.

It's temperature!

Roy, who was observing this scene, made a judgment in his mind.

The ability to control metals can even generate high temperatures by accelerating the movement of metallic components...

This is likely related to the fact that the metallic factor possesses a physical form...

That's what he guessed.

Time passed second by second, and the molten red metal solidified into the shape of a long handle, gradually resembling a long sword.

Unlike her previous display of talent where she condensed a weapon in a very short time, this time she was to condense a weapon that Roy would use for a long time. Therefore, Tonnie was very careful and tried to make every detail as good as possible within her capabilities, so it took a long time.

But even at its slowest, it's still much faster than hand forging.

Half an hour later, a long sword was fully formed in mid-air.

The blade is relatively long, nearly a meter long, and even the handle is thirty centimeters long. It can be held with one hand or with both hands. The overall style is similar to the horizontal sword in the Tang Dynasty.

The deep silver blade and bright silver edge give it a sharp and aggressive look. Even just looking at it gives you the feeling of your skin being cut, which shows how sharp it is.

Compared to the blade, the tsuba is smaller, and its overall shape is similar to a regular oval. The hilt is a dark black, giving it a serene and restrained appearance.

Looking at the long sword that appeared in mid-air, Roy's eyes were filled with undisguised amazement.

This longsword is incomparable to the one he used before! They are not even in the same league!

Under Tonigne's control, the longsword slowly flew towards Roy, eventually hovering in front of him.

"call……"

Roy took a deep breath, raised his hand, and gripped the hilt of the longsword.

Because it was just forged, the handle still carries a faint warmth, which, combined with the coolness of the metal, gives it a very unique tactile feel.

Battle aura flowed from his palm into the longsword, and a feeling of exhilaration rose in his heart. A sudden realization dawned on Roy: by using this longsword, he could freely infuse it with battle aura without worrying about damaging the weapon, and the weapon would become even more destructive under the influence of his battle aura.

At this moment, Tonnie's voice came from the side: "Lord Roy, the main body of this longsword forged from blacksmith's ingots is complete, but it still lacks some details that require materials such as leather to handle. These can be handled by ordinary blacksmiths."

"Based on its quality alone, this longsword has reached the 'Inheritance' grade. All that is needed is to find a master enchanter to enchant it, which will elevate its grade to 'Epic'."

"Unfortunately, I don't know the art of enchanting."

Tonière's tone was filled with deep disappointment as she finished speaking.

It is undoubtedly a great pity that the weapon maker is unable to achieve a higher grade due to insufficient skills.

“It’s already perfect,” Roy comforted Tonnie.

There aren't many people who know how to enchant. Most master blacksmiths only know one or two basic enchantments, and they won't teach them unless they're personally taught. Outsiders simply can't learn them.

In the vast province of Rafa, only the Duke's mansion supports a master blacksmith who is proficient in dozens or even hundreds of enchantments.

It seems I'll have to ask Fuma for help to get this master blacksmith to take action...

Roy thought to himself silently.

After adjusting her state, Tonnie used most of the remaining Black Essence Ingots to begin condensing the armor.

This time, the process of refining the armor took longer than that of the longsword. The armor's construction was far more complex than that of the longsword, and it took a full two hours for the armor to slowly take shape.

This is a suit of armor that gives people an impression of being incredibly sturdy at first glance. The dark silver body of the armor is deep and restrained, but the helmet with two spiraling upward-pointing horns is flamboyant and unrestrained, as if it is going to pierce a hole in the sky.

The joints of the armor have many intricate structures that allow the wearer to move flexibly.

After admiring the "treasure" in front of him for a while, Roy said, "By the way, Tonnie, could you please engrave a mark on the blade of the longsword and on the chest of the armor?"

He handed the marked blueprint to Toni, who studied it for a dozen seconds before raising her hand. Magic flowed across the longsword and armor, and when the light faded, a peculiar pattern appeared on the blade and the chest of the armor—a fire-like mark composed of three rhombuses.

The Black Stone Seal!

This is the mark designed by Roy.

As a family of war-meritorious nobles, the Tulumber family did not have its own coat of arms, so Roy designed one. He believed that one day, anyone who saw this mark would think of the name "Tulumber".

After trying on the armor and finding that everything fit perfectly, Roy nodded in satisfaction.

He looked at the sword and armor in front of him and said with a smile, "From today onwards, we are partners. I'll call you Xinghuo and Chenyue."

Starfire Longsword, Moon-Sinking Armor.

A faint buzzing sound rang out as Roy's fingers brushed across the blade, as if it were singing joyfully.

Roy stored the Starfire Longsword and the Moonlit Armor into his high-level spatial ring. Although he wanted to use them right away, these two pieces of equipment still needed some finishing touches before they were truly complete, and it wasn't the right time to use them yet.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Toni." Roy said gratefully, looking at the slightly pale mechanical girl beside him.

The meticulous forging of these two pieces of equipment, especially the Moonlit Armor, placed a heavy burden on Tonière.

Toni shook her head and said calmly, "This is part of the 'deal'."

Upon hearing this, Roy smiled and said nothing more.

……

A day later, Roy, having just returned to the Blackrock Lord's mansion after storing the Starfire Longsword and the Moonlit Armor, which had been finished by the master blacksmith of Iron Mountain Territory, into his spatial ring, hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath when he received an urgent message from Red.

North of Blackrock Territory, in the northern forests of Greenfield Territory, traces of magical beasts have appeared!

-

(Thanks to the generous donor "I阎森I" for the donation!)

My daily book recommendation: "Gian Wants a Leisurely Life"

[Recommendation]: The story of a chubby little tiger who just wanted to live a carefree life but accidentally became king.

Chapter 139 Beast Attack!