Chapter 276: Tests
The Menagerie dispersed quickly to get back to work. They all had their own role to play. Every single step any of them could take toward making the potential fight with Twelve just a little bit more viable was instrumental.
If they couldn’t pull it off, then they’d have no choice but to hand the Dungeon Heart over to Twelve. The mere idea filled Arwin with distaste.
And that was how he found himself seated on the anvil near the center of the back room of the Infernal Armory, his chin braced against his closed fist and elbow supported against his knee, lost in thought.
Pieces of Ashleaf tree wood littered the ground around him. They were joined by the demonic tree’s razor-sharp leaves. He had every piece of the tree laid out other than the fruit, which Lillia had taken back to the tavern.
It had been just under an hour since everyone had headed out. In that time, Arwin had barely budged from his spot. The most important part of crafting an item was figuring out exactly what materials he was going to use.
When it came to making a weapon or a piece of armor, that was already difficult enough. Everything had desires. Some metal wanted to cut. Some wanted to protect, and some wanted to be used for something else entirely.
Arwin could work with that. But that was for armor. For weapons. For items that were used in battle, or for knives meant for the kitchen. This was different.
He was trying to make Olive an arm.
Not a sword that she affixed to the stump of her shoulder. Not something that could hold a spoon and do nothing more. He needed an arm. An arm that could replace what she’d lost. Something with all the immense intricacy and capability of the human body. An arm that could support the immense power she needed to swing her sword.