[Ark Holy Sword]
[A greatsword forged by the Puppet Artisan]
[Designed specifically for puppets, its weight is far too heavy for humans]
[Only with extraordinary strength can it be wielded]
[But if the wielder can swing it]
[Even without relying on the blade's edge, the sheer weight of its body can crush foes ahead]
[Exclusive Ash of War: Form Shift]
[Activating its mechanism extends the hilt, transforming it into a spear]
[This increases attack range but reduces defensive resistance]
Though categorized as a greatsword, it requires a staggering 45 Strength to use.
Its attack style is simple: horizontal swings, cleaves, and thrusts. The sword form suffers from short reach, leaving its attack range merely average compared to other greatswords, with no special effects to speak of.
So is this just a toy?
No. Quite the opposite.
Despite its flaws—short reach, high requirements, heavy stamina cost, and slow attack speed—a single advantage makes it worthy of being called broken.
Its stats.
Yes, this sword abandons nearly all other advantages for raw, unembellished numbers. Forged from the heaviest and hardest metals, it sacrifices flexibility and flashy effects. Yet its sheer quality alone makes it a weapon of legendary caliber.
And an extremely specialized one.
In short: it asks for nothing but Strength. The higher your Strength, the stronger it becomes.
Though the panel shows an S scaling, that's only because S is the highest displayed. In reality, this weapon's scaling keeps improving all the way to 99 Strength, not the usual 66.
On top of that, its Ash of War allows transformation. While some defense is lost, the increased range more than makes up for it, compensating for its most fatal flaw: short reach.
The only drawback left is how demanding it is.
With no upper limit, it requires pouring in a massive number of points to unleash its full power. Otherwise, you'd be better off with an ordinary greatsword.
But investing that much in Strength leaves gaps elsewhere—like Stamina and HP.
In the past, despite its appeal, Lloyd could only shelve this sword, letting it gather dust, because of limited stats.
But recently, after absorbing the remnants of the Giant Clan, he obtained something.
[Sun Talisman]
All Attributes +10
A brutally simple talisman. Combined with Godrick's Great Rune, which grants +5 to all attributes, it instantly raised his base stats to 25 across the board. This drastically eased the pressure of allocation and made the greatsword immediately usable.
And beyond the greatsword, the Puppet Core also granted Lloyd another crucial item.
[Cursed Little Doll]
[An exquisitely crafted miniature doll, burdened with doubts about 'self']
[For puppets, this is the most terrifying curse]
[Life should contain three elements: 'flesh,' 'soul,' and 'consciousness']
[But puppets possess only consciousness, lacking both flesh and soul]
[Even that consciousness is something bestowed by others]
[Thus the puppet begins to question: what is 'self'?]
[The root of its eternal torment]
As described, it was a finely made, palm-sized female doll.
It looked like a child's toy: silver hair, blue eyes, pale skin, a slender frame. Yet it wasn't unsettling. Instead, it carried a strange, delicate beauty, like a masterwork of art.
What drew Lloyd's attention, however, wasn't its appearance, but what was hidden inside.
Blueprints. Not just one or two, nor a single type.
From basic miniature dolls to colossal machinery, even constructs resembling Gundams, all were included.
Though these blueprints came from another world—where the environment, materials, and even physical laws differed from the Lands Between—making them unusable outright, they served as invaluable references. They offered new possibilities for creating life and even allowed him to refine the structures of his existing templates.
Both items were treasures of immense value...
After inspecting the two artifacts, Lloyd thought for a moment, then took out a cluster of souls and handed it to the puppet core.
"This contains some of my insights into souls. When the chance arises, give it to Him—as an exchange."
The puppet core accepted without hesitation, expressed thanks, then fell silent and entered standby.
After finishing with the puppet core, Lloyd spoke briefly with the Queen of the Full Moon. Once he confirmed there was nothing else, he went to check on Sellen.
He had assumed that after such a major upheaval at the academy—and since the Queen of the Full Moon mentioned Sellen's laboratory had been affected and suffered some losses—her mood wouldn't be very good.
But when he saw her, she was smiling so brightly that Lloyd almost suspected she had caused the explosion herself.
As for why she was so happy...
"Remember how you asked me to research 'safety sorceries'? The end result was soul-splitting, but along the way I also explored other branches—like explosion prevention..."
"Besides, the Queen has long thought the academy's safety measures unreliable. But since nothing serious ever happened, pushing reforms never went well. Now, after this explosion—"
"And since safety sorceries hadn't been studied before, ninety percent of the spells in use at the academy now either belong to me outright, or are adaptations authorized by me."
"You understand what that means, don't you?"
Lloyd understood perfectly well. What he didn't understand was...
"Why do you keep stepping on me?"
Not long after the conversation began—maybe because she got carried away, or maybe for another reason—Sellen leaned back into her chair. She tried to cross her legs out of habit, but since Lloyd was sitting close, her foot landed on his leg instead.
It wasn't much—just a slip.
But as she went to move her foot away, she suddenly remembered what this fool had done to her ball last time. Her mood shifted slightly.
This idiot...
Out of a mischievous urge for payback, Sellen decided not to withdraw her foot. Instead, she leaned closer into Lloyd and pressed her bare foot against his chest.
Finding the feeling surprisingly pleasant after a moment, she even slid her other foot into his lap. She kept chatting while tapping his chest with her small toes.
When Lloyd asked her about it, she showed no embarrassment at all. Instead, she replied firmly:
"What? Not satisfied?"
Then she planted both feet on his chest and wiggled her pale toes.
"I haven't even settled accounts with you for last time."
"A foolish disciple who likes teasing his teacher deserves a proper lesson..."
What Sellen truly thought, however, was anyone's guess.
After all, Renna had been at the academy for some time, with Latenna always accompanying her as an assistant. Since she was her disciple's friend, Sellen naturally chatted with her and looked after her. And during that time, it was only natural for sorcerers to get curious about Latenna's foot—it was hard not to ask...
But regardless, under the pretense of "punishment," Sellen "educated" Lloyd for quite a while.
Afterward, worried the boy might actually think he was being punished, she pulled him into her arms when it ended and said things like: "I was just joking with you," "Even though you're a fool, your teacher still loves you," and "You earned credit in the safety sorcery matter—ask for whatever reward you want."
Then...
"Can I take another look at your ball, Teacher?"
Lloyd was genuinely curious about its internal structure. He hadn't finished his inspection last time, and he wanted a closer look.
At his request, Sellen fell silent for a while, then snapped:
"Why didn't I just kick you to death earlier!"
But even as she said it—and even after biting Lloyd hard on the cheek—she still gave in.
"Fine, inspect it. I'm going to take a bath—it'll probably take a while. When you're done, just leave. No need to wait."
With that, Sellen left to bathe.
Lloyd walked over to the "Sellen Ball." He stared at the little face on its surface for a moment, then reached out to touch it.
Unlike Sellen herself, the ball had little intelligence left—likely because her consciousness had nearly vanished after the transformation. It acted only on instinct.
So when Lloyd touched it, the small face didn't show anger. Instead, it revealed an expression of pure enjoyment.
"My apprentice..."
"Touch... feels nice..."
Seeing how much she seemed to enjoy it, Lloyd thought for a moment, then placed both hands on the sphere. He first caressed the little face until it relaxed, then began feeling along the rest of the orb. As he did, he let his soul flow inside, probing its inner structure and condition.
After some time investigating, Lloyd finally understood the nature of the object.
It was a cocoon.
An evolutionary cocoon.
Through her study of origins, Sellen had wrapped herself in Glintstone's power, hoping to evolve into a higher form within its embrace.
Considering she had already condensed her soul into a small orb called the Primal Glintstone, it wasn't surprising she'd attempt something like this. From a theoretical standpoint, her reasoning was even sound.
But theory being right didn't mean the process wouldn't fail in practice.
Lloyd realized almost immediately, without needing to probe too deeply, that the cocoon was already flawed.
Even if the "Sellen" inside managed to break free, what emerged wouldn't be the sorceress herself. More likely, it would be some mindless monster—or the larva of one.
But what exactly had gone wrong? Why had this happened...
That required a deeper look.
With that thought, Lloyd pressed his hand against the sphere again, pouring his soul into it. This time, his probing was more forceful, more unrestrained.
Strange noises echoed from the bathroom, but Lloyd ignored them, intent on his search.
Not here... not here either...
Her soul felt strange. It wasn't damaged, and it wasn't corrupted. It was twisting on its own...
The noises in the bathroom grew louder, even turning into muffled whimpers. But Lloyd stayed focused. Having caught what looked like a lead, he dug in deeper.
She seemed to be imitating something—trying to reshape herself into a different form. But it had failed...
Was her soul not strong enough? Or was it simply incompatible?
He couldn't be sure, but leaving it like this was impossible. Maybe if he straightened it out...
"Stupid disciple... no... my apprentice..."
A faint voice slipped through, but it was quickly smothered, like someone had covered their own mouth.
After a while of careful adjustments, Lloyd still couldn't set the soul right.
It wasn't that he lacked the ability—he just worried that forcing it might damage Sellen's soul. So after gently prodding at it, realizing it wouldn't budge, he stopped for now.
That didn't mean he was giving up. He would just take it slow.
Sellen was still fine. The cocoon wasn't going anywhere. There was no need to rush...
Just then, the sound of a door opening broke his thoughts.
The bathroom door.
Hm? Wasn't she supposed to be in there for a while?
Lloyd turned his head in confusion—only to see Sellen, wrapped in a towel, standing at the doorway. She was bent forward, gripping the frame with one hand, her head lowered. Her whole body was flushed red like a boiled shrimp, trembling faintly.
Lloyd blinked.
What... did she steam herself too long?
As he wondered, Sellen tried to raise her head to speak, but her legs suddenly gave way, and she lost her balance.
She collapsed into a familiar embrace.
Slumped there like soft clay for a while, Sellen lowered her head and, in an uncharacteristically adorable voice, pleaded:
"Earlier... it was my fault, Master. I know I was wrong..."
"Please... don't tease me anymore..."