As for upgrading the Dullahan, there wasn't much to say. It was less of an upgrade and more of a complete overhaul.
The original blade section was detached from the hilt; having sustained hairline cracks and damage in the last high-intensity battle, it was simply tossed aside.
He repeated the previous steps for forging a tachi, first forging the spine out of an Ether alloy, then setting the newly sectioned materials into the frame to form the blade.
The now completely fluorescent-green blade contained an immense amount of Ether energy; it was no exaggeration to say that cutting it was like handling explosives.
However, for the experienced Andrew, this was no problem at all.
Soon, after attaching the handguard and hilt, and re-wrapping the hilt with the same sharkskin membrane as before, the tachi that was once only a rarity level 3 green-quality weapon had leaped to a blue-quality on the verge of reaching level five.
Gazing at the tachi in his hand, the blade flashed sharply under the light.
At the same time, the system's notification chimed once more, confirming for Andrew the success of his work.
With his two most important main weapons complete, Andrew's next consideration was forging a weapon for Anby—the ace of his Silver Squad, its strongest combatant, and the first to venture out and see the world.
Two great blades, stripped from different adult Thanatos specimens, were laid out by Andrew on the forge table.
A scimitar that Andrew had already split in two down the middle was used for his experiment.
Under Andrew's grinding, the tibia bone was shaped into a hilt that perfectly fit Anby's hand, and the scimitar, originally a single piece, could still be used to perform the Silver Squad's unique combat techniques when combined.
Scales from the Vicious Claw Wyvern were fused onto the original blade. The modified scales perfectly complemented the blade, which was itself made from Ethereal material.
The materials from the Vicious Claw Wyvern added some stylish lines to what was originally a simple design.
Andrew reshaped the original Ethereal blade, making it longer and more slender.
The wyvern bone reinforcement and its energy-channeling properties allowed the dual blades to retain the hunter's power while also connecting with the Ether energy drawn by an Engine.
With this synergy, the enhancement was far greater than what an Engine alone could provide—a clear case of one plus one equaling more than two.
Accompanied by a system notification, the rarity level 2 white-quality dual blades were successfully crafted. With the experiment using common materials a success, it was time to use the materials stripped from the evolved Thanatos.
Drawing on his experience from the previous pair, Andrew found working with the level-four Ethereal materials much easier. After selecting even better and more pristine Vicious Claw Wyvern materials, the new forging began.
This time, having familiarized himself with the structure of the Thanatos's crescent blades, Andrew made bold cuts and completely reshaped them.
The blades were made even more slender, somewhat resembling her original dual blades, while the part that was once the spine was replaced with reconstructed prime scales from the Vicious Claw Wyvern.
Stronger, and more resilient.
In addition to the original wyvern bone, the Vicious Claw Wyvern's sharp talons were added to the hilt as a handguard. While protecting the hand, the tips of the extended claws could be used to directly pierce the bodies of Ethereals.
After a series of modifications, a pair of finer, sharper, and far more dangerous dual blades appeared on Andrew's workbench.
As the brand-new dual blades emerged, the system data before Andrew's eyes refreshed in sync.
And this pair of dual blades leaped directly from rarity level two to rarity level four.
Looking at the new blades before him, Andrew nodded in satisfaction.
"I'll call you... Xenoblades."
As he spoke, the system registered the new weapon's name.
Even though they were for Anby, Andrew's hands itched at the sight of new weapons, and he couldn't resist giving them a few casual swings.
"Feels good. As expected of me. Just a bit light."
The words had barely left his mouth when Andrew suddenly realized that while they felt light to him, for Anby, this weight might be a bit... excessive.
After all, these were weapons scaled for a Hunter.
Even with Ethereal materials as the core, a single one of these dual blades would be a heavy weapon that most people would struggle to even swing.
"Hiss... Oh well," he muttered. "I'll trust Anby. I mean, I went through the same thing. Yep."
As they say, a believing heart is its own magic.
Andrew believed that Anby could definitely master them perfectly.
After all, the gap between the upper and lower limits of people in this world was huge. As elite soldiers bred to be the best of the clones, the Silver Squad would surely be able to master them perfectly with training!
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the weapons he had forged.
As the saying goes, you walk a road one step at a time and eat a meal one bite at a time.
The original pair made from the regular Thanatos could serve as Anby's training weapons.
It was a perfect way to make full use of them.
With the weapons done, it was time to craft the armor.
Normal armor was too conspicuous.
He looked at the Thanatos cloak among his materials.
The Ethereal's cloak was soft yet highly defensive, and its similar style reminded Andrew of the Vicious Claw Wyvern Cape from the Master Rank armor set.
Compared to the original's plain cloth, replacing it with Ethereal material would make it even more defensive than the original version.
The only problem was that the materials Andrew had hunted were from a normal Vicious Claw Wyvern, so their strength wasn't up to the level of Master Rank armor.
Still, using that as a reference to make a cape was no problem.
Soon, Andrew had crafted a cape that could cover the upper body.
He added numerous Vicious Claw Wyvern scales to the hem, which not only reinforced its defense but also prevented the cape from flapping wildly in the wind and interfering with combat.
Its rarity level of four was further proof that this piece of armor was no mere cosmetic item.
Combined, the weapon and armor's assassin-like style would surely transform Anby's entire aesthetic.
Paired with Anby's perpetually expressionless face, it was simply a perfect match.
Looking at the weapons and the protective armor before him, Andrew nodded with satisfaction.
Now he could rest easy, letting Anby safely experience her new life in New Eridu. Even if she ran into danger, with these two items as insurance, she could definitely hold out until he arrived.
Nicole had said she'd be taking Anby back to New Eridu in the next couple of days to recruit people. He'd just have Anby come pick them up then, and he could teach her how to use them.
After resolving Anby's weapon situation, Andrew turned his thoughts to the Engines he'd learned about from Caesar during their last battle.
After asking around, Andrew found out from Nicole that a toy store on Sixth Street had a lot of smuggled Engines that could basically be considered military-grade.
But what surprised Andrew even more was when Wise told him he knew an employee at that store,very well.
Dropping his name should even get him a discount.
____
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