The attack of the Earth Golem came as a surprise to everyone, but the most vital members of the group quickly dealt with this monster. Unfortunately, the earth golem managed to kill four people, which was a significant loss.
However, Gisle wasn't going to feel sorry for them. On the contrary, he looked at all the members of the group and said,
"I'm sorry that we lost our comrades, but they are to blame for their deaths. This monster wasn't so powerful that it couldn't be defeated without casualties especially considering our numbers.
These four were inattentive and thought that they were invulnerable since there were so many of us. Don't repeat their mistakes, or you too will die!" Gisle said loudly.
His words were quite cruel, but no one would contradict him. Deep down, everyone knew that he was right and that the most important thing was to survive. If they died, nothing else mattered.
As Agnes struck the final blow, her soul headed for her body. No one minded since she had done the most damage to this monster.
"You decided not to participate?" Asked Wain looking at Zero standing off to the side. She didn't even move during the fight and just watched.
Zero nodded, "Yes, I thought some other monster would show up. I was preparing for an attack from the side."
'She's pretty smart and calculating. Even though she's a mutant, it hasn't affected her character. She doesn't have a beastly nature and a blind desire to kill and destroy. It's exciting...' thought Wain.
After the battle was over, Gisle instructed him to bury the dead and examine the earth golem.
Earlier, he had consulted with Lea about whether the monster parts would be helpful to them, to which Lea responded positively.
She had the soul of a blacksmith, so she intuitively knew what would come in handy for making equipment.
Of course, not all monsters were useful, but many monsters had horns, claws, solid protective plates, and so on. All of these could be used to create armor or weapons.
"Wain, don't you know what these are?" Asked Agnes approaching Wain.
He looked at her questioningly.
"I'm talking about it." Said Agnes, and a large, blue chest appeared beside her the next moment.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEveryone was surprised. They knew how difficult it was to get the Soul Chest, for the chances were very slim.
"Just open it and get your reward. Luck is on your side today." Wain replied.
The chest was quite large. Wain thought it contained some medium sized weapon, a sword, or a short axe.
However, when Agnes opened the chest, Wain muttered with a wry smile, "Is that some kind of curse?"
In the chest was a gauntlet, but Wain could hardly call the object a gauntlet. It was a martial, stone gauntlet. It was long and massive, completely covering a human's arm at the elbow.
It looked more like a piece of stone, bulky armor than an article of clothing. Agnes was satisfied, though. She fought hand-to-hand and attacked with her fists most of the time. It was a simple but powerful fighting style.
This equip suited her perfectly.
"Wow!" Clovis said loudly. He had never before received Soul Chest and spirit gear. His axe, was a quality piece of craftsmanship his father had given him long ago.
"I want that kind of gear, too! The next monster is after me!" Said Clovis.
Gisle walked up to him and thumped him on the head, "Didn't you see what happened to those four? Do you want to die just like them?"
Clovis smiled awkwardly, "Okay, okay, I was just kidding, don't be so nervous."
Agnes put on a combat gauntlet, and Wain said, "Don't you want to show her power?"
He was curious to see the power of the object. The more information he had, the better.
"Okay, then step aside. From the description, it's going to be something devastating and expansive." Said Agnes and walked over to the nearest tree.
She put her palm to the bark as if taking aim and then clenched her hand into a fist and struck sharply. The force of the blow sent out a shockwave, and at that moment, everyone heard a loud snap.
Then more than five trees in front of Agnes were shattered and fell to the ground. It was a mighty blow to the area. It was as effective against multiple opponents as against one massive enemy.
"Not bad," Wain replied briefly.
Clovis and Lea had a more violent reaction. They were ecstatic about such power and just as eager to someday get that kind of equipment.
Gisle saw their burning eyes and decided to reassure them, "You shouldn't try to be like Agnes. You have an entirely different task.
Even when it comes to fighting, you are unlikely to fight as aggressively and riskily as she does. Don't forget that your strength is that you have special abilities. None of us can do what you do."
Lea and Clovis nodded, but you could see from their eyes that they had not given up on the idea of being as strong as Agnes.
'They were impressed by the destructive power of a single attack, but they are inexperienced and don't realize that such power has a corresponding payoff.' Thought Wain looking at Agnes.
Her arm was hurting very badly after that attack. She tried to hide it, but Wain noticed it quickly.
'Hmm, Agnes has a strong body, but using that combat glove is pretty traumatic. Considering the snap and shockwave afterwards, this glove is something like the way a piston works.' Wain thought.
After a couple of minutes, the four men were buried deep in the woods, and Clovis returned to his primary task.
Gisle and the others dismembered the earth golem and used valuable parts to make weapons.
"Lea, would you like to try creating something with this?" Asked Gisle handing the girl two of the monster's horns.
Lea looked at them carefully and then nodded. Lea could create a good piece of equipment depending on many factors, but her skills were most important.
She needed the practice to learn how to create masterpieces in the future.
'Looks like I'll finally get to see Lea in action. Last time she forged an ordinary kitchen knife. The description said the item was the greatest garbage, but this dagger was sharp enough to wound me.' Wain thought.
He was not the only one curious to see how Lea would create a weapon. A crowd of people was formed around Lea. They waited for Lea to start, but nothing happened.
"Lea, is there a problem?" Gisle asked, puzzled.
Lea muttered quietly, "I..."
"What?" Repeated Gisle, he didn't hear what Lea said. She spoke too quietly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"I can't work with so many people looking at me!" Suddenly Lea said loudly.
Everyone was surprised, but they nodded understandingly and stepped aside after a couple of seconds.
Like any human being, Lea wanted to work in comfort to concentrate and create a quality piece.
But, a few people continued to stand in their seats anyway, and one of them was Wain. He wanted to see the process of creating the object up close.
Lea didn't say anything to him, and when she was ready, her aura gradually increased. Then a silhouette of a human-like figure appeared above her. It was impossible to tell if it was a woman or a man.
Then Lea's eyes glowed blue and strange changes began to happen to them. The energy in the pupils slowly turned into a kind of gear. It looked strange but exciting.
Next, an energy hammer appeared in Lea's hand. A mighty and ancient aura emanated from it.
'If I didn't know it was Lea and that she had a craft soul, I would have thought that this aura was coming from a powerful being. Her soul harbors incredible power. I wonder if she'll create garbage again this time or if she'll get lucky, and we'll see a masterpiece.' Thought Wain.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Lea began to strike the horn of the earth golem with her hammer. She became faster and more accurate with each blow, and her aura gradually intensified. Wain and the others even felt the pressure being applied to them.
"Amazing..." Said Teresa. She also decided not to move away despite Lea's words. She wanted to see the process of making the gear more than anyone else.
After Lea struck the horn with over a thousand blows, changes began to happen to it. Blue energy headed towards it, and then Lea started hitting the hammer with crazy speed.
Wain could hardly keep track of her movements. She was hitting more than five times a second, which was not the limit.
'Craft souls harbor great potential. They're not that good for combat, but I can say with certainty that they're mighty. It's hard to achieve that kind of speed and power.' Wain pondered.
Many people thought those craft souls were only good for making things, but that wasn't entirely true. A person with a craft soul could also be very strong, but not initially.
These people were like the sprout of a tree. In the beginning, they were weak, but then by increasing their experience and knowledge, they could possess amazing skills and equipment.
After a minute, Lea's aura returned to normal, and she deactivated her skill. Using this skill took a lot of strength and energy from her, but the job was done.
A re-forged earth golem horn was in her hands, which now looked like a straight blade with a simple hilt without a guard.