Reincarnation Of A Swordsman: The Omni Mage

"No way you just said three days!" Orion said with a facepalm. "Do you have any idea how much effort goes into crafting such a powerful magical weapon from scratch?"

Kyle folded his arms, unfazed by Orion's reaction. "Can't you do it?"

"You're serious? Fine, I'll humor you. To create a functioning magical bow and arrows, especially one using Tier-4 mana cores, I'll need at least two weeks. And that's if I don't sleep and nothing goes wrong."

Kyle frowned, scratching his head. "Two weeks... Is there any way to speed it up? I need it before the Tower opens."

Orion's eyes gleamed with interest. "Ah, so that's why you're in such a hurry. You're going to the Tower?"

Kyle nodded. "Of course. Wait, are you going too?"

Orion adjusted his glasses and smirked. "Of course I am. The Tower isn't just about combat, you know. The treasures inside can change lives, even for someone on my path. Rare materials, ancient blueprints, things you won't find anywhere else."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think the Tower would interest someone like you. Now I'm even more curious about what's in there."

"You'll be surprised, I bet you," Orion remarked before returning to the main discussion. "If you need the bow early, I might be able to get help from my dad for some of the more time-consuming processes. That way, I can finish it faster."

"Thank you..."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Orion held up a hand, cutting him off. "Not so fast. Since my dad would be joining me, you've got to pay."

Kyle groaned but didn't refuse. "How much?"

Orion's smirk turned wicked.

"Four Tier-4 mana cores."

"Four?! That's robbery!"

"Take it or leave it," Orion said with a shrug. "We'll also need some other materials to complete it, but that should suffice."

Kyle sighed, knowing he had no choice. "Fine, you win. But don't think I'm happy about it."

"I wasn't expecting you to be," Orion replied with a smirk. He reached out and snatched the two cores Kyle had already brought, inspecting them closely.

Kyle watched Orion admire the glowing cores for some time, before he finally decided to ask:

"By the way, how many mana cores would it take to upgrade the Aurora Fang?"

Orion paused and his expression turned thoughtful. "Hmm... To upgrade the Aurora Fang? You'll need at least two Tier-5 mana cores."

"Tier-5 cores?!" Kyle asked in surprise.

"That's your problem, not mine," Orion said, adjusting his glasses with a smug grin.

Kyle nodded slowly and considered Orion's price, before eventually resigning. "Okay. I guess an Epic weapon is worth that much."

Orion almost burst out laughing when he heard Kyle. "Epic weapon? Oh, Kyle, you sweet summer child. That's not even in your league yet!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kyle asked with a light frown.

"Listen up," Orion said. "Weapon grades are classified into tiers from Advanced weapons onward; low, medium, and high. Right now, the Aurora Fang is just a low-tier Advanced weapon. To reach medium-tier, you'll need those Tier-5 cores. And to create an Epic weapon? You'd need several Tier-7 mana cores."

Kyle's jaw dropped. "Tier-7?! That's insane!"

Orion shrugged. "Epic weapons are leagues above anything you've seen."

"Guess I won't be getting an Epic weapon anytime soon," Kyle muttered with a sigh before standing up. "Alright, I'll get you that extra Tier-4 core. And don't forget to use the Tier-4 beast corpses for the weapon."

"Naturally," Orion said, his smirk returning. He gestured for Kyle to follow him into a larger room where various tools and materials were scattered about. Kyle summoned the giant corpses of the two Tier-4 beasts he'd hunted earlier, dropping them onto the floor.

Orion's eyes lit up as he examined the massive forms. "These will do nicely. Now, leave me to my work."

**

As Kyle exited Orion's house, he made a mental note to give Orion another core before the day ended, so that he could get to work immediately.

"I'll head back to the forest," he muttered to himself.

Void had already gone in earlier, after he had decided to hunt mana cores and devour rather than cultivate.

Before they parted ways, Kyle had reminded the dragon not to absorb any more cores if he was close to breaking through. Void had reluctantly agreed, knowing Kyle wanted him to save the breakthrough for after they entered the Tower.

Kyle slipped on the [Veil of Silence] the moment he got to the edge of the forest.

'Time to grind,' he said with a grin, stepping into the dense forest once more.

***

The forest blurred around Kyle as he zipped from one spot to another, his figure a streak of lightning darting between the trees. The faint crackle of electricity marked his rapid movements. Beasts had no time to react before falling to his blade or his spell.

A Tier-2 Boar charged from his left, its massive frame crushing branches as it barreled toward him. Kyle didn't even slow down. With a flash of [Lightning Dash], he was behind it in an instant, the [Aurora Fang] already sheathed as the boar's head hit the ground.

[Congratulations! You have slain Tier-2 mana beast: Ironhide Boar!]

[You have obtained 1* Tier-2 mana cores!]

...

Kyle didn't pause after the notification, he immediately made the corpse vanish into his inventory as he zipped ahead.

Those where the scenes as Kyle rapidly cleared the outer forest, eliminating any beast that met his sight and storing them in his inventory.

He continued on with his slaughter until he reached the other section of the forest. Dashing through the dense foliage Kyle appeared at the other side.

'This is where the real fun begins.'

The moment Kyle crossed the threshold, he was met by a pack of 10 wolves.

[Earthen Wolves]

[Tier: 3]

[HP: 300]

They ran at him in unison almost immediately, but Kyle responded duely.

>ZIP!<

His body blurred as he activated [Lightning Dash] once again, closing the distance to the nearest wolf in an instant. The [Aurora Fang] shimmered with its [Frostfire Edge] enchantment as he swung in a wide arc, decapitating the first wolf in a flash of refracted light.

>SLASH!<

>ZIP!<

Kyle zipped again, appearing behind another wolf and taking it out before it could even turn. The rest of the pack lunged, but their attacks met only air. Kyle was already moving with unmatched speed and precision.

The heads of the beasts rolled and their bodies fell with his graceful, deadly dance.

Within seconds, the wolves lay lifeless on the ground. The notifications appeared in quick succession:

[Congratulations! You have slain 10* Tier-3 mana beasts: Earthen Wolves!]

[You have obtained 10* Tier-3 mana cores!] Discover stories with empire

Amidst the usual messages, a new notification appeared that made him grin.

[Vanquished Foes: 619/1000]

'Almost there,' Kyle thought, with his mind already on the next hunts. Without a word, he zipped deeper into the forest. This time, he was ready to go all out.