Witch Troupe and the Undead

Icehowl is a legendary weapon with frost attributes, but unlike the Serpent's Tail Sword, its strength is not actually high. However, the cold aura surrounding it is a controllable passive magic field. Any enemy that gets close will be covered with a layer of cold air, which reduces their stamina and tries to penetrate their body in every way, making them stiff and unable to react.

"Crack~" The metal teeth of the Serpent's Tail Sword made a soft, crackling sound as they meshed. The entire sword seemed to expand. The knight took out a roll of rune cloth and wrapped it around the hilt. Instantly, the entire sword began to shimmer with tiny, crimson flames.

"Oh? An enchanted rune ribbon?" The burly man chuckled disdainfully, taking a sudden step forward. Both sides possessed legendary weapons, and conventional armor and magical items were essentially just icing on the cake in a clash of this level. The only factors that could determine the outcome were the quality and ability of the legendary weapon itself, whether it countered the opponent's, and... the user's martial arts skills.

"Clang!" The heavy axe blade struck the weak point of the sword with a lightness and precision beyond Jazz's imagination, deflecting the Serpent Tail Sword. The flames dispelled the icy aura for a moment, but the fist that swung through the dense ice mist landed solidly on Jazz's shoulder.

Even though he immediately adopted a stance to absorb the force, the snake-shaped shoulder armor on his shoulder was completely deformed by the punch. "Don't get distracted, enjoy the fight, duel with me! You still have time to care about those trash?!" The burly man was referring to the knights of the Siaro family who were fighting with the mercenaries.

"Clang!" The sword and axe clashed quickly a few times, because the snake-tail sword was much more solid and heavy than it looked, and one of its enchantment effects was the "heavy blade" effect.

Although it is not heavy in itself, after activation, this thing produces an effect equivalent to a super-heavy weapon weighing 300 to 400 kilograms—it is no longer a sharp blade, but a blunt weapon, and a non-human level blunt weapon at that.

The heavy plate armor would be sliced ​​open along with the man in one go, especially after entering "Snake Tail" mode. The chain blades, which rustled like rattlesnakes, were swung like industrial wheel saws, creating intense sparks on the strong man's axe and armor.

Even though he had avoided vital points, he still had several deep, bone-revealing wounds on his body. Triple heavy armor and plate armor were no different from several layers of parchment in front of legendary weapons. As long as the swung snake tail grazed him, a few millimeters thick steel plate would have a thumb-sized wound, with the metal curling outwards, ferocious and terrifying.

Even the dragon bones of Icehowl, another legendary weapon, have a few small marks, indicating that it was at a disadvantage in a physical attack clash.

“That’s really good~” The burly man wiped the blood from his wound. “I always thought that swords were weapons for women, but now I’ve changed my mind.”

After all, when a sword's weight reaches over 300 kilograms with the aid of magic, no matter how light its actual weight is, it can only be classified as a "heavy industrial processing machine".

Of course, this weight comes from the effect of magic. In reality, the user only has its original weight. Although the Serpent Tail Sword, which actually weighs 70 pounds, is not a weapon that a normal person without a superhuman physique would use.

"Whoosh~whoosh~" The cold seeped in through the gaps in the armor, and Sir Siarro could barely lift his sword. Intense combat is a huge burden for any martial artist, let alone someone who has to be fully focused.

Just as the Serpent's Tail Sword could easily tear through a strong man's heavy armor, the opponent's Ice Roar could also easily cut through his knight's heavy armor. The magical defenses could defend against the Ice Roar's physical attacks, but the cold magical attacks were much harder to resist.

Besides, they've been fighting in the cold, ethereal light for so long that the armor's enchantments have been almost maxed out and it's about to break down.

"Whoosh!" The sharp whistling sound that tore through the air startled both of them. The burly man glanced sideways at the weapons set up below the city wall. After all, the Imperial Army had climbed onto the wall, which meant that no one below the wall was being interfered with by ranged weapons. The two magic crossbow firing positions made the burly man's eyes change slightly.

"You're lucky~" the burly man whistled, and the mercenaries decisively abandoned their opponents and retreated from the city wall. The knight also saw out of the corner of his eye that the city gate was collapsing inward, and the Grand Duke's army was retreating towards the center of the town, as were the mercenaries.

"Phew~~~~" The knight let out a long breath. If the fight continued, he would surely lose. Fortunately, individual strength couldn't stop the Grand Duke's army from collapsing on the battlefield. Similarly, the burly man glanced regretfully at the magic crossbows: "I really hate these things~"

“But that’s just how times are…” His companion patted him on the shoulder, and the two of them quickly cut through the Imperial infantry who had jumped onto the city wall, covering their companion’s retreat.

"Clang!" The Serpent's Tail Sword fell limply to the ground, rolled a few times, and the knight slid down against the wall, struggling to grip the hilt again. He flipped open his visor, a helpless expression on his face. He felt that the war and the battle were developing in a direction he increasingly did not understand.

In a sense, the magic crossbows set up outside the city were the real legendary weapons, because they could really force even a warrior wielding a legendary weapon to flee in panic—no one could remain calm in the face of the pure violence of hundreds of magic bullets coming at them.

Chapter 227 Untainted by Knowledge

The academy auditorium is where Roach's alchemist assessment takes place. Unlike arcane mages who simply flash their badges to reveal their approximate academic level, alchemists are required to undergo testing and assessment before being hired.

It's not just about assessing abilities, but also about assessing strengths. This helps in arranging subsequent courses and avoids assigning alchemists who excel in the same subject to teach the same subject.

The reason is simple: alchemy in this world is still within the realm of empirical science, which means that the experience and habits of different alchemists are not necessarily shared. For example, some of the techniques Roach uses are considered heretical by other alchemists.

Therefore, to avoid conflict and to make it easier for students to believe conflicting accounts, the old headmaster established this rule: every new alchemist must undergo relevant assessments and tests. The auditorium seats have been cleared, leaving a large platform in the center, about a foot above the ground.

“I apologize, Mr. Roach. I was delayed because of some experiments.” One of the alchemists in charge of the evaluation nodded slightly to Roach. Before the results were in, alchemists would still give each other basic respect. Moreover, for alchemists, being delayed was the most troublesome thing—especially when there was a potion simmering on the furnace.

Roach was in the same boat, even more so than other alchemists, when it came to things that took up too much time. After all, while other people's potions might just get ruined, the stuff on his furnace could easily blow the entire workshop three feet off the ground if he wasn't careful.

“Then let’s not waste any more time.” Another middle-aged alchemist nodded and gestured for the servants to bring up the “tools” for testing.

"Since you were recommended by Sir Rhine and Ms. Elena has vouched for you, then we will skip those useless theoretical testing procedures."

After all, in addition to "professors," there are also ordinary lecturers in charge of basic courses in the academy. You can't let those newbies who have just entered the academy and haven't even learned the three principles of alchemy go directly to listen to master courses. It's actually a good thing if they don't understand. The worst thing is that they think they understand when they don't. Don't think that other alchemists won't explode!

Since Roach had a powerful figure vouching for him, and a gold-level witch who was supposedly his mentor was standing next to him, the three alchemists in charge of the evaluation and testing skipped the theoretical assessment (to prevent possible amateurs from infiltrating) and the basic skills assessment (to avoid "Wang Yuyan" type characters who are all talk and no action), and went directly into the high-level comprehensive evaluation stage that is not required for alchemists who are normally hired.

The servants carried in a huge sword rack, on which was placed an extra-long sword, 2.2 meters long and made of countless interlocking silver-white teeth. "This is a project recently commissioned by the academy: to replicate the legendary weapon of the Siaro family, the 'Serpent Tail Sword,' and to mass-produce the legendary weapon as high-grade magical equipment to be equipped for the sword masters in the Royal Guard."

"It uses the same craftsmanship, materials, and enchanting techniques, and even its appearance is a one-to-one replica, but it still cannot achieve the effect of a legendary weapon, or even the characteristics of a high-level magical equipment. Its heavy blade spell can only be maintained for less than 1.5 seconds when swung, and after dissolving into chain sword mode, it cannot be swung like the original due to the excessive weight of the materials." The alchemist examiner next to him gave a brief introduction to the weapon.

"So, this expensive failure will be used as a teaching aid in the subject of creation, and this is your assignment. Please feel free to use your creativity." Roach listened for a while, not understanding what he meant by "this is your assignment." Was he going to be asked to complete this imitation work? However, this doubt only lasted until the three examiners had someone prepare a stack of paper and pens, as well as various simple models and materials.

"No directional restrictions?" Roach already had a guess, but just to be on the safe side, he asked again, "Complete freedom to improvise?"

"Hmm, but it's best not to stray too far from the topic." Now Luo Qi understood the true nature of this assessment. Damn it, wasn't this just asking him to write a research proposal on the spot and produce a paper on the spot?

Is there a time limit?

"Well, it's best not to take too long. Of course, we don't expect to come up with a detailed plan in a short time, but at the very least, it needs to be feasible, not too detailed." So, all that's left is the proposal and feasibility study, which indeed shouldn't take too long.

In other words, you would choose this as your topic or research area, select a direction based on your strengths and abilities, write a thesis proposal, and give a brief presentation and defense of the thesis content. Since there are probably no quick plagiarism detection methods in this other world, it shouldn't be a big problem to actually write it.

That's why this method is the most difficult, because there are so many directions to explore. For example, why did it fail, and what was missing during the replication process. If Roach were to treat this as an analysis of ancient cold weapons, he could write a paper that would take a whole year to complete, covering everything from materials and craftsmanship to culture and legends.

However, it is clear that what is required here is a paper that conforms to alchemy and mysticism, so it is not so easy to submit a superficial one.

Of course, besides this kind of analysis, it is also possible to propose a downgraded imitation scheme or an improvement scheme based on this.

It's also possible that this weapon will be used as a blueprint to create a completely new weapon, or that it will be enhanced to reach the level of the original legendary weapon as much as possible.

Even if Roach questions why legendary weapons are legendary, and what the source and origin of their legendary abilities are, it's still acceptable to pass the test.

With so many directions, it's like having a blank sheet of paper that's the hardest to draw on. For ordinary alchemists without systematic alchemical knowledge and skills, they don't even know where to start.

The Serpent's Tail Sword is enchanted with four enchantments: "Sturdy," "Heavy Blade," "Armor Breaker," and "Agile," plus an Earth element enchantment that allows this legendary weapon to self-repair, and this enchantment effect is permanent.

The metal used is a unique alchemical alloy. The academy did not specify its formula, but only provided a general reference for its properties. In addition, there are several biological materials from dangerous monsters. Even this unsuccessful imitation was not much cheaper than the original.

"Is it permissible to conduct contact studies?"

"No problem. It was a failed product to begin with. It's just for use as a teaching aid. As long as you don't destroy it completely, it's fine." Although it was expensive to make, it was a failed product to begin with. As long as it wasn't completely destroyed, a little bit of damage testing was allowed.

“The dwarven alloy is mixed with a small amount of adamantite and some kind of earth element material.” Roach briefly checked the condition of the saber tooth. He had never seen the original version, so the direction of “what exactly is different from the original version that prevents it from becoming a legendary weapon with a constant effect” was not an option.

"Roche?" Livia tilted her head. Although she had never seen a legendary weapon, she had figured out why the Heavy Blade enchantment didn't last long enough, why it couldn't adjust the attack direction, and why the material was too heavy to wield.

This weapon has no "soul," literally meaning it has no soul; it's just a lifeless object. Not all equipment or other items are created with a faint soul.

Items that exhibit a soul-like response generally originate from the accumulation of the spirits of numerous humans or intelligent beings over a long period of time, creating a "pseudo-soul" effect that then absorbs soul magic to form faint soul fragments.

However, during the creation of this weapon, because the emphasis was placed too much on making it exactly the same as the original work, the spiritual magic could not be gathered on this weapon due to some idealistic judgment factor.

The simplest solution is to take it to the battlefield and kill as many people or monsters as possible; the weapon will naturally develop its own soul. Alternatively, you could use some unorthodox methods, such as adding two pieces of soul essence, or simply adding the swordsmith himself.

In other words, the original weapon may appear to have four enchantments and one enchantment on the surface, but after hundreds of years of use, worship and inheritance by the Siaro family, it is actually in a 5+2 state, with an additional layer of "spirit" enchantment and one layer of "soul" enchantment.

The effects of enchanting and enchanting are mostly due to coincidences and specific environments, occasions, and situations. In other words, not every weapon will become a legendary weapon after being passed down for a long time. At most, it will just be more convenient to use than others, allowing the user to feel a certain "evil aura" from the weapon itself.

It might even have the opposite effect on some weapons, leading to worse performance in reality.

As for why the Heavy Blade Technique doesn't have enough time, it's simply because the player is bad at the game.

Livia couldn't figure out how to maintain an enchantment for a long time, or even keep it constant, without adding a circuit to replenish magic power from the outside. It was like expecting a non-rechargeable dry cell battery to work continuously like a nuclear reactor.

Finally, the reason the material is so heavy is the same: it lacks spiritual enchantment, so the weight of the material itself is purely physical weight, making it very difficult to wield and lacking the ability to be adjusted according to the user's will.

However, due to the extremely random nature of the legendary effect, Livia was unable to replicate it without having seen the original. Moreover, this item had already undergone four enchantments and enchantments, and even for her, the failure rate would be extremely high if she were to artificially add more.

Meanwhile, Roach started working on his own plan. His plan was simple: this thing can't move on its own, right? No problem, just add an external power source that isn't human.

As for the specific implementation steps, there's no need to write them out; just write down the general idea and plan. There probably isn't a good way to disassemble it into a chain sword mode, but it's much simpler to make it move in longsword mode—using the chainsaw principle, separating the sword teeth and the internal sword cord, and rotating them around a central axis.

Power is provided by the rune construct, and magic comes from the life magic drawn from the user. Since heavy blade enchantment is not required in this mode, the free enchantment is changed to life conversion, which converts the blood and life force of the unfortunate one being cut into spiritual magic, thus realizing two enchantment functions with one enchantment.

Therefore, the flexibility and controllability of disbanding into chain sword mode have also been improved. Simply put, in blade sword mode, you can saw people to accumulate magic power, and in chain sword mode, you can use AOE to consume magic power. After you run out, you can switch back.

This does indeed indirectly realize the external manifestation of legendary weapons. Roach's way of thinking is the kind on Earth—where in this world is there a perpetual motion machine? As long as there is continuous input and output, and energy is kept flowing, can't that also be regarded as a kind of eternal effect?

Of course, it's impossible for him to actually make a sample, and that's not part of the assessment. Basically, as long as he comes up with a decent solution, it's fine, even if it's not actually feasible.

If it were actually feasible, it would cause trouble. It would mean that Jin Luoqi would get at least 8% of the nearly 2000 gold coins commission from the West Aro family, and would also take on the next orders from the West Aro family and the Royal Guard.

As for those mediocre alchemists, they probably wouldn't even be able to tell whether this sword is quadruple enchanted or double enchanted in this assessment, because the heavy blade effect and the toughness effect are too similar, and it's easy to mistake toughness for the increase in the strength of the material itself under the enchantment effect.

An alchemist who isn't very knowledgeable about alchemical materials wouldn't even recognize that it has been enchanted with a sturdiness effect.

As a sorcerer specializing in arcane materials, Roach was clearly someone who knew a great deal about alchemical materials. Based on the sorcerer's empirical formulas, he quickly calculated the effects of these alchemical alloys and realized that the actual parameters were far from perfect. Without enchantment, it would be impossible to achieve this level of strength.

"What a brilliant idea! But I have a question, Master Roach. If you fill all four enchantments like this, then absorbing life and converting it into magic power is easy, but what if this magic power exceeds the limit?"

After all, there are no more runes to limit it. Even with limiting runes, it's hard to withstand the onslaught when you're in a frenzy on the battlefield, especially since Roach hasn't solved the "intelligence" problem, making it impossible to prevent the enchantment effect from stopping after it's fully absorbed.

"Oh, this involves installing a directional mechanism in the core, so that when it's completely full, the blade explodes..." "Wouldn't that render it unusable? The user would be killed in the explosion!"

“No,” Roach resorted to a method common on Earth, “Including a gem set with a maximum absorption limit for magic flow, and then unleashing it when it’s full, forcibly breaking the blade sword mode into chain sword mode, maybe the power of this transforming chain sword slash can even be higher~” Roach was thinking of the transforming slash function of the hunter weapons in Bloodborne.

"Hiss... Master Roach, would you be interested in joining our project team!?"

"Uh..." Luo Qi really wanted to say that he was just talking. If he actually did it, he would be exposed in a second for his complex mechanical and enchanted structure. His actual enchanting skills were only at the level of double enchanting. He was not so much the "Wang Yuyan" of the alchemy world, but at the very least, he was far inferior to his theoretical knowledge and ingenious ideas.

"I'm sorry, I have my own research to do."

"So, what is your representative work...?"

"Clang!" The magic machine gun, folded into a square box, was placed on the display stand. "This is the fourth improved version of the magic crossbow, a portable rapid-fire magic crossbow, used in conjunction with the rune disk. The only downside is that it fires bullets too fast." Roach gave a brief introduction. As for what the rune disk was and how it was made, there was no need to explain. It was standard practice in alchemy, and asking further would be impolite and suspected of plagiarism.

“Um, Master Roch…” Alessina looked troubled, and after rummaging through his pockets for a while, he could only pull out a small bag of gold coins. “Could you tell me more about that chain sword that can explode and unfold?”

This perfectly matches the aesthetics and fighting style of the beastmen, full of power yet not lacking in explosiveness and flexibility. In particular, the ability to recover mana by cutting down enemies truly captures the hearts of the beastmen.

In particular, Alessina is more accustomed to fighting with longswords and dual swords. Greatswords are really not her forte. But how should I put it? The attributes of the Unparalleled Greatsword forged by the Little Witch are just too good. It's the kind of equipment that looks like a mess and feels like a mess, but the only thing that's really high is its stats.

The design that Roach presented was not only cool in appearance and stylish in hand, but also had a high panel and required a certain level of operability. This is the kind of weapon that martial artists are most passionate about.

"...How about I install a jet engine component on your greatsword? I just had some inspiration from my research on that train's depressurization system."

"...Then forget it." After thinking for a while, Alessina reluctantly gave up on this suggestion, which might be cool for orcs, but was still a bit premature for beastmen.

"Then our assessment is complete. Welcome to the Imperial Royal Academy, Professor Roach. Currently, the courses suitable for you are..."

"I'll take the basic courses in Refining, since I need to understand the basic level of the students in the academy in order to formulate the next courses," Roach said, indicating that he would still take the basic courses, because taking the advanced courses in Creation would really make him either expose his ignorance or reveal his lack of knowledge.

Because his actual creation alchemy skills were just so-so. He was okay in theoretical classes, but when it came to practical training... being blown up by students or blowing up students was nothing to brag about—well, blowing up the school was even less so.

“Alright, that’s perfect, our basic course instructor has gone to the front lines.” The three alchemy professors could only shrug in agreement. After all, for people like them who were highly skilled but not actually good at teaching, teaching basic courses was truly torture.

It's as torturous as trying to teach a bunch of monkeys to write sonnets with a quill pen—a sentiment from a teacher of basic occultism and mysticism.

Arcane arts might at most kill you, but a poor foundation in alchemy could kill the whole class. So, taking this subject is not only a form of mental torture for the professor, but it can also be accompanied by physical torture, especially in the refining department.

The indescribable substance extracted by those ignorant scoundrels, which emits an indistinguishable mixture of gases, is something that can cause mental, physiological, and even physical harm.

After the evaluation, the professor who had previously substituted for the class told Roach directly that it was best to treat the students in the classroom as uncivilized monkeys or similar creatures, as idiots who could only bite their fingers and eat crayons. He advised Roach not to think that they could understand what was on the blackboard, and even less to expect that they could actually learn anything.

Perhaps after a few months of teaching, such people will gradually part ways with other monkeys, but in the first few months of basic teaching... these outstanding students are not much different from other ordinary monkeys.

“They all have a pair of clear, foolish eyes that haven’t been tainted by knowledge,” Roach joked.

"Insightful, as expected of Master Roach. It seems you've been tormented by your apprentices quite a bit." Thus, before the start of the new academic year at the Imperial Academy, Roach's words quickly spread among the professors and teachers of the various departments.

Even the imperial nobles, upon hearing this, felt it was a very apt description of their own silly roe deer—especially the old emperor, who, when looking at Princess Freya, couldn't find any trace of knowledge in her pure and beautiful eyes.

Chapter 228 The Real Otherworldly Superman

Imperial Capital, Giant Rock Palace.

The Emperor made a rare effort to receive Livia and Roach upon their arrival, and arranged a grand welcoming ceremony. Even disregarding the fact that they came to lift his curse, the mere presence of a Gold-rank witch was enough to prompt the Empire to make such an arrangement.

Such an arrangement might seem commonplace to other witches, but for the little witch who hadn't seen much of this kind of grand occasion...

"Ugh~" The short, blonde girl clung tightly to Roach's sleeve, clutching her staff in her arms. She looked tremblingly at the groups of nobles and the rows of knights in bright armor lining both sides of the palace road, her legs even trembling slightly.

"Your Highness Livia, please relax. These knights don't eat people..." The palace steward led the way with a polite smile. This was the forecourt of the Giant Rock Palace, the courtyard between the palace's outer wall and the main building.

The steps and the slope of the hills divided the fortress into three levels. The bottom level was where the stables and other functional buildings were located, while the top level was the entrance to the palace. Roach and his companions were in the middle, which was also the most spacious area.

Almost as soon as Livia stepped onto the steps, the court musicians began to play their gleaming brass trombones. The loud sound almost caused Livia to slip and fall, but Roach caught her around the waist, preventing her from falling flat on her face. However, her long staff was thrown a meter or two away as a result.

This made the little girl shyly press her hat and run over to pick up the staff. Immediately, a burst of suppressed laughter rang out from the nobles. Even the emperor's serious and solemn expression became a little distorted. She looked like an ordinary little girl who was shy, scared, and even overwhelmed by the crowd.

"Your Majesty, maintain your composure. Don't be too serious or harsh," the astrological advisor whispered. When the staff landed on the ground, he felt a slight fluctuation in the flow of magic throughout the world. In other words, that staff was definitely a true legendary magical artifact.

Legendary-level magical artifacts, or spellcasters' equipment, may not be as powerful as weapons, but they are definitely harder to obtain. After all, the enchantments they require are often extremely difficult to acquire, and they must be imbued with the user's magic power over a long period of use.

However, crafting legendary magical artifacts is actually simpler than crafting legendary weapons—as simple as putting an elephant in a refrigerator. First, you need a magical artifact that is at least quadruple enchanted and imbued with magic, such as a staff, grimoire, wand (an item that stores spell constructs; it doesn't have to be a staff, it can be any shape, including a pistol), and crystal ball, etc.

Then find a witch of at least Gold rank and have her use this magical artifact for over 100 years or even longer, possibly requiring two or three generations of witches to use it. In the end, you will definitely obtain a legendary magical artifact. Of course, given the differences in the strength of witches or sages, the stronger the witch, the shorter the time required.

However, there are clear differences in usage between legendary magical artifacts and weapons. The biggest difference is that weapons are not picky about the user. Anyone can wield a weapon like the Serpent's Tail Sword or Ice Howl to kill people. However, if you switch to Livia's staff, in the hands of an undeniably weakling, it is not as effective as picking up a random stick from the ground for enhancing the spell.

"So, that girl can wield a legendary magical artifact?" The emperor was slightly moved. A gold-level witch might not necessarily be able to wield a legendary magical artifact. It depends on how powerful the artifact is or what level its previous owners were. Magical artifacts are things that belong to the "county magistrate's wife," and it doesn't matter who the county magistrate is.

A spellcaster who can wield a legendary magical artifact is definitely a witch with genuine spellcasting skills. As for academic skills... well, that's hard to say. For example, Livia's academic achievements are mostly kept secret.

If there were a legal mage organization in this world that could use "otherworldly secret realms," her ability to summon and subdue a sub-lord-level great demon and transform it into a horse would be enough to earn her the academic crown jewel of this field.