Valdis, who was listening to their conversation, felt confused.
Although he knew that something the second ancestor, renowned as one of the three divine blacksmiths in Eldoria, had created could not be useless.
But hearing how they talked about it made him realize he might have underestimated the weapon's power.
Seeing his confusion, Malrik spoke up.
"Little brother, it seems the Second Ancestor has gifted you a rare gem."
Hearing this, Valdis became even more confused. Malrik saw this and continued.
"The hardest weapons to make are defensive weapons, because the enchantments needed are more complicated than those for offensive weapons. Creating defensive soul weapons or soul weapons with defensive enchantments is many times harder," Malrik said.
Valdis listened and nodded; he knew little about the topic, having read a little from the family library.
Seeing Valdis understand, Malrik continued, "Now you see, creating soul weapons is extremely difficult; even the weakest soul weapon is a thousand times harder to make than any weapon of a similar tier.
"And making a defensive soul weapon or one with defensive enchantments is extremely difficult to create. And the difficulty depends on what the weapon is protecting. Physical defensive enchantments are rare but can be seen among nobles, but the defensive enchantments that can protect the soul from damage are only seven in the entire kingdom."
Hearing this, Valdis was stunned, his eyes wide and almost falling out of his sockets.
"And the weapon the Second Ancestor gave you is not only a soul weapon but the only one in the entire kingdom—or even Eldoria—that has both soul and physical defensive enchantments."
After hearing this, Valdis took a deep breath.
All this information hit him hard. From their expressions and whispers, he knew they understood how rare soul weapons were, and discovering that soul weapons with defensive enchantments were even rarer surprised him even more.
To make things worse, the weapon he received from the Second Ancestor had both physical and soul defensive enchantments, possibly making it the only one of its kind in Eldoria.
"Is that why only mother and father have soul weapons? And I've never heard of defensive soul weapons before today—seems like they're incredibly rare," Valdis said, nodding in understanding.
But as he spoke, the mood suddenly turned awkward. Valdis immediately sensed the change and asked.
"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" Valdis looked around confusedly, only to see Malrik gazing at him with an awkward expression. It wasn't just him; everyone in the room looked like they thought he said something funny.
At that moment, Elanor spoke up with a small smile:
"While it's true that soul weapons are rare, everyone in this room has at least one."
"And as for defensive soul weapons, except Isolde, everyone also has one," Draven added, breaking his long silence. After a moment, making sure Valdis understood, he continued.
"If you thought that the reason only mine and your mother's soul weapons are always talked about was that they were personally crafted by the Second Ancestor and are his masterpieces of that weapon type."
"Aren't defensive soul weapons supposed to be rare?"
They are, but that's on the outside; here, especially among the upper echelon of the Ebonhart family, it's vastly different. They have the best of the best. Soul weapons might be rare elsewhere, but within the Ebonhart House, they're common," Draven explained.
"You can even buy a soul weapon in the Reward Hall if you're willing to pay the astronomical price," Malrik added, leaving Valdis speechless. Then he continued:
"How can the family of one of the three divine refiners lack weapons? Even the ones he discarded as useless can still fetch a lot of gold on the market."
After saying this, the Second Ancestor chuckled for a moment. He then stopped and said:
"Enough about me for now. The reason we're here isn't to show off the wealth of the Ebonhart House but to examine Valdis' new weapon." Turning to Malrik, he added, "Your flattery is appreciated, but if you think I'll be reforging your sword just because you said a few words. You're dreaming."
As he finished saying that, everyone burst into laughter, knowing all had tried that same trick once, only to be rejected by the Second Ancestor. Seeing their attempts fail was a source of joy.
"We've gotten sidetracked," the First Ancestor said. "We still need to see what kind of weapon that giant blob will become—that's the main reason we're here."
Hearing this, everyone grew silent and let the Second Ancestor continue.
He turned to Valdis and said, "Alright, little one, try calling out to the weapon. Since you haven't opened your Aether Sea yet, it should be somewhere in your abdomen. Find it and call out to it."
Valdis immediately obeyed. He closed his eyes and used a strand of his consciousness to scan his body for the blob. He first examined his chest, then, after a moment, moved down to his abdomen.
As soon as he arrived there, he saw the small silvery blob. The feeling he had the first time he saw it returned, intensifying as he got closer. The strand made contact with the blob, instantly sensing a bond forming between them.
Before opening his eyes, he heard the Second Ancestor's voice
"Don't open them yet. Envision the ideal weapon for you—one that perfectly matches your style and techniques. Set no limitations on what you want, and be sure about what you desire because once it's finished, you can't change it."
Hearing this, Valdis slowed his breathing and sharpened his mind.
He already knew what type of weapon he would be using and didn't need any help or guidance choosing one
Soon his thoughts drifted back to training with the sword saint, Sir Kael, and how much he admired his speed. During sparring, he once asked if it was possible to kill someone without the victim realizing how the attack happened.
Sir Kael's reply was immediate.
As they prepared for another round, Valdis had already drawn his sword, waiting for Sir Kael's attack. But instead of attacking normally, Sir Kael slowly drew his wooden practice sword from its sheath. The moment the tip left, he vanished, and before Valdis could understand what happened, Sir Kael's wooden sword rested on his neck.
He hadn't seen him move, and if it had been a real fight, he'd have been dead multiple times over without knowing how.
Then Sir Kael said something that struck him:
"Of all attributes, speed is the deadliest and hardest to guard against. But speed without strength is useless because, although they can't see you move, you can't kill them with a single strike either. "
After hearing those words he knew that whatever sword he would envision had to have these two properties.
While Vsldus was busy envisioning the structure of his weapon, a voice appeared beside the Second ancestor
"Don't you need to guide him on how to draw the sword's aether channels because I don't think he knows how to do that" the third ancestor said
"That's what I would do if this were a normal weapon but don't forget Nyxaria's soul is in that weapon and she was a better runesmith than I am" the second ancestor replied
Soon the first ancestor joined the conversation
"He's right, she could easily put us in an illusion, so drawing aether channels would be an easier task to accomplish." the first ancestor paused and looked at Valdis who was in a state of serious concentration, and continued "Besides as third said, it's not like we can do a better job. Let's just wait and hope for the best"