At long range, there was the Bow of Elements; at short range, the Cursed Blood Knife. And if he encountered something particularly tough, he had the Flood Dragon Trident.
An inch longer meant an inch stronger — and the trident was the perfect example of that, fully capable of revealing Blaine's power.
Moreover, the Dragon Trident could be used with magical engraving techniques — for instance, inscribing a flaming meteorite array onto the weapon's tip. In battle, such enchantments could deliver devastating, unexpected results.
And for a weapon of that caliber, costing only twenty billion dollars, it was practically a bargain.
After all, the materials came from Atlantis — a civilization that hardly needed an introduction. A hyper-advanced culture lost to time.
"Unfortunately, these two items can't be upgraded," Blaine muttered. "Otherwise, I'd enhance them both immediately."
Thanks to the system upgrade, Blaine could now preview higher-level effects — seeing what a skill or item would gain at Level 2 while it was still at Level 1, or at Level 3 when it reached Level 2, and so on.
The magic engraving itself wasn't anything new; it was connected directly to Blaine's spiritual power. As long as he kept upgrading his spiritual pendant, that part would handle itself.
What caught his attention was the Dragon Trident. At Level 1, it had no special abilities — merely extreme hardness and sharpness. Nothing else.
But at Level 2, things changed dramatically.
The first added skill: [Dragon's Roar] — with a 0.001% activation chance. That meant, statistically, one activation in every thousand attacks.
And what did it do? A sonic attack — a roar like a dragon's own voice.
Such a roar struck directly at the soul, leaving enemies deafened and stunned. The consequences of that hardly needed explanation.
The second skill, [Ice Burial Flower], also had a 0.001% release rate. When triggered, it unleashed a blast of freezing air from the trident's tip, immobilizing enemies. The duration of the freeze scaled with Blaine's own strength.
For now, those were the only known abilities. Perhaps new ones would appear as he continued upgrading. Even better, the activation rate of each skill could be improved with further levels.
Thinking about it, Blaine couldn't contain his excitement. With such incredible skills waiting to be unlocked, not being able to upgrade was pure torture.
"System," he said, "can I melt down the Cursed Blood Knife and the Bow of the White Snake, then forge them into the Flood Dragon Trident?"
[After one hundred thousand simulations, it is theoretically possible.]
[Probability: one in one hundred thousand.]
"Damn it! I can't wait anymore — better to suffer now than drag it out."
"Open the forging menu. Throw the White Snake Bow and Cursed Blood Knife in."
[Confirm: melt the Cursed Blood Knife and Bow of the White Snake — yes or no?]
"Yes."
Blaine didn't feel bad about losing the White Snake Bow. It had been sitting in his storage space gathering dust anyway. But the Cursed Blood Knife was different. He'd learned swordsmanship for it — and its curse poison suited his combat style perfectly. It was also especially effective against the Hand's dragon bone corruption.
Covering his eyes, he didn't dare watch.
Two minutes later—
[he Bow of the White Snake and the Cursed Blood Knife have been melted. Proceed to forge the Flood Dragon Trident — yes or no?]
"Yes."
Since he'd already come this far, there was no turning back.
The forging time felt endless. With odds of one in a hundred thousand, Blaine would never have attempted it before. But luck seemed to be on his side — though his heart still raced.
"Ding."
The system chimed. Forging complete. But that was it — just a sound. No confirmation, no results.
"Seriously?" Blaine muttered. "A single ding? How am I supposed to know if it worked?"
He took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself.
"Ahhh—!"
"Holy shit! It worked!"
The moment he saw the Dragon Trident +1 prompt appear, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
"The God of Luck favors me!" he shouted, clasping his hands together in thanks.
Unnoticed by him, the faint white ring of light above his head flickered once more.
[Dragon Trident (+1)] — Length: 3.3 meters.
' [Dragon's Roar]: 0.001% chance, sonic attack.
' [Ice Burial Flower]: 0.001% chance, freezing attack.
' [Curse Poison]: retains the same effect as the Cursed Blood Knife.
"Jackpot," Blaine grinned.
Unexpectedly, the Cursed Blood Knife's abilities hadn't disappeared — they'd been absorbed into the trident. A total windfall.
As for the White Snake Bow, it didn't seem to contribute much. Despite being a +25 weapon, its base quality was too low to matter.
"System, recommend a combat manual suited for trident use."
[Spring and Autumn Saber Technique] — Price: $1,000,000.
"Huh? A saber technique? I'm using a trident, not a sword."
[Explanation: blades and sabers share foundational principles. You have already mastered swordsmanship. The [Spring and Autumn Saber Technique] emphasizes power and sweeping momentum. Origin: created by the first King of Atlantis, who wielded a trident.]
"Oh… that makes sense."
If it came from Atlantis, Blaine trusted it completely. After all, when it came to trident combat, no one in Atlantis dared claim second place.
And to think — a technique created by the first Atlantean king sold for only a million? That was practically stealing it.
"By the way, I'll need some disposable items too."
He'd had his eye on something for a while: Explosive TNT. The name alone said it all.
That's right — bombs. As powerful as the top-secret ordnance in the hands of the U.S. military, but only $100 million each, a bargain compared to the real thing. Pure explosive damage, no radiation.
There was a reason for the low price.
The system's version of Explosive TNT came without a launcher — just the bomb itself. To most people, it was useless, a chunk of metal better suited as a chair.
But in Blaine's hands, it was something else entirely — a weapon of pure destruction.
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