BXBX NOVEL Chapter 265 Compatibility
"We will stop now Silver, you have done well. Despite your abilities being more passive in nature, you still found a way to apply them aggressively." Overall Elaina was happy with Silver. Despite being one of the weakest when it came to raw power, he still held an important role that not many parties have.
"Hmph." Silver though was not happy that it had ended this early as he still felt like he had a chance to at least deliver a scratch.
"No wonder Luna likes you." Elaina shook her head as she remembered Luna going on a ramble about how cute this wolf boy was.
"Huh?" Silver's ears perked up hearing the words cute and Luna, but he wasn't sure what Elaina was talking about.
"Don't worry about it too much, just be… careful when we move on, as you will be with Luna again. She tends to obsess over cute things which includes you." Elaina didn't want to scare Silver, but at the same time wanted to at least leave him a warning.
Silver had seen a little bit of this side of Luna when they first met, but he didn't think it was that bad.
"I'll be careful." It was a nice warning since he worried about being treated like a plush toy if Luna had her way.
"Good, now let's head back." Elaina let out a sigh of relief while teleporting them back to everyone else.
**
<Before Clara's duel>
"Yo." Shaman walked up to Jane who was eagerly waiting to talk for some reason.
"Hello! You must be Shaman, I wanted to have a look at your sword." Jane got straight to the point and if it wasn't for Himeko holding Jane by the back of her collar, then she would have sprinted as soon as the fight finished.
"Uhhh, sure?" Shaman didn't see a problem with it whatsoever, so she pulled it out of her inventory.
Jane quickly snatched it and began to examine every part of the blade while nodding her head. She even swung it a few times, which Shaman was rather concerned about, but a smile and nod from Himeko reassured her it was okay.
"Interesting… I never got this damn crystal to work, but somehow you can do it." Jane was trying to confirm her theory that it was a compatibility issue with the sword and so far everything supported that.
"I can say there is a compatibility thing with the sword." Shaman didn't want to say too much since she could see how compatible she was with Kotetsu but wasn't sure if Jane knew about the system.
"Really? How do you know? I mean it makes sense if you are the only one that can use it. Has Elli-... Elysia! tried?" Jane got close to Shaman hearing that she knew that it was indeed a compatibility issue.
"Well whenever I use Kotetsu, it feels like it is just an extension of my body, but when used by someone else it just feels like a sword and no she hasn't tried." Shaman leaned back trying to give herself some space since Jane was way too close for comfort.
"I see, I see. ELYSIA! Come try the sword!" Jane called for Elysia to come over which she quickly did, wondering if something was wrong.
"What's up?"
"Can you try using Kotetsu?" Jane held out the katana to Elysia and dropped it, surprising the latter who almost failed to catch it.
"Eh? Why? I have no idea how to use a katana." Elysia held Kotetsu awkwardly, unsure what to do with it.
"Just hold it in your hand and give it a few swings to see if anything happens." It didn't matter if Elysia knew how, Jane just needed to see if Elysia was also compatible since she is also a kitsune.
"Okay?" Elysia held Kotetsu in her hand trying to copy how Shaman does it and flowed some mana into it. Surprisingly the crystal lit up a bright red, indicating it adjusted to her element.
"Woah." Elysia wasn't sure if she was doing it right, but whatever was happening seemed to be good.
"So it is because I used a Kitsune claw." Jane finally figured out what was preventing her from using the blades she created.
"What?" Shaman at first thought that Jane used a person who was a kitsune, but then it occurred to her that there are beast versions of their race that are not so friendly.
"I made a line of swords all using different high-tier beast materials which I believe resulted in making those swords only useable by the counterpart race. So for example a sword made using dragon fangs would only be usable by a half-dragon." Jane explained how she made the sword, but it surprised Shaman that they didn't turn out to be just great swords in general.
"Also the looks of the blade have changed quite a bit, but looking at the runes I engraved on it, I must have been in my creative mode when doing them." Jane had taken back the sword from Elysa to be able to see the handle where the runes were located.
"You can head back now if you want Elysia, thank you." Jane didn't want to force Elysia to stay especially if she found it boring.
"Oh okay, no worries." Elysia did a small bow and walked off while also smiling at Shaman as she walked by.
"Soooo, what now?" Shaman was curious about what Jane had in store or if she just wanted to have a look.
"I was planning to make you all weapons as per Elaina's request, but you already have one that doesn't need replacing. So I thought I could upgrade it for you instead." Jane proposed something that instantly got Shaman's attention as an upgrade to a sword of legendary rating didn't sound possible.
"Really? How so?" Shaman was curious how Jane would even go about it.
"Well, I made these like... I don't know… maybe 8 years ago? And let's say my weapon-making skills have gotten so much better, like the hilt is slightly off and the rune inscriptions are a little wonky. Like there is so much I could make better about Kotetsu here." Jane described things that Shaman never even noticed. She had always assumed the blade was already perfect, but it sounded like it was extremely flawed.
"So if you don't mind, can I take this back after your training? I promise to be done by tomorrow night." Jane passed back Kotetsu to Shaman while asking, hoping it would be a yes as she wanted to work on it as soon as possible.
"Sure, it isn't like I have a reason to decline." Shaman didn't mind at all what Jane did as long as she doesn't break it or somehow make it worse.
"Yes! Alright, I will make sure I won't disappoint." Jane had fire in her eyes which made Hiemko raise an eyebrow.
"Haven't seen you this worked up to be in the forge again." Himeko had a teasing smile while poking Jane's side.
"How can I not be, finally I get to do something other than make shit weapons for the pope." Jane for the most part hadn't been able to do much with her forging skills as she had been swamped with so many requests, but now she had none.
"Are you two by chance... Together?" Shaman had this question ever since she saw them together and noticed that Jane seemed quite close to Himeko. However, when she asked this Jane's face instantly turned dark and her excitement vanished.
"Hmm no? We are just friends." Himeko tilted her head wondering how Shaman made this assumption.
"Oh… Hey, Himeko is alright if you come to my room tonight to talk? There is something you should know." Shaman instantly gathered the situation as by Jane's expression alone she could see that right now the love was very one-sided.
"I can, but why?" Himeko was rather suspicious about what it could be, but she had no reason to decline.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you some things in private that is all." Shaman didn't have a plausible excuse so she hoped Himeko would just trust her.
"Alright? I don't mind." Himeko shook her head as there was no reason to be sceptical. Jane's face lit up a bit hearing what Shaman was planning and, looking at her full of hope, Jane got back a wink.
Jane couldn't believe that someone was going to help as she thought her relationship with Himeko was forever going to stay in the friend zone.
Knowing what Shaman is going to do only made Jane even more motivated to make Kotetsu the best katana she will ever make. This also applied to the other group members as she wanted to provide the best for them.