Death Ascension - Chapter 94

Deon and Mikael stepped out of the king’s office with conflicting emotions—while Deon was brimming with satisfaction, Mikael was filled with foreboding. Nevertheless, they purposefully walked to Sir Finn’s laboratory, both highly anticipating the finished prosthetic arm.

“My liege, you are here…” Dame Nora bowed when they bumped into each other on the way to Finn’s lab.

“Dame… you’re so tanned!”

“I trained day and night for tomorrow’s spar…”

Nora, whose golden skin was shimmering with sweat, smiled and proudly declared,

“Please watch me fight for your honor, my liege. I will make sure that after I am done, no one can dare to utter your name in disrespect.”

“Prince! Dame! Why are just standing there? Come in quickly!” Finn abruptly opened the lab door, startling the prince and Nora. On his face was his usual maniacal smile. He was obviously eager to unveil his greatest creation.

As Finn was a Combat Almagi, it took him considerable time to touch an area out of his expertise. Unlike concocting pheromone bombs that were similar to making blood ink, Artifact production proved to be much more difficult for Finn. Even more so when attaching unconventional options to the Dame’s artificial limb.

It was dark inside his laboratory. So dark that the young prince even stumbled over Finn’s clutter, but he did not bother to complain. He just wanted to see the item as soon as possible. Just as their eyes had adjusted to the dark, Finn opened the spotlight over one of his workbenches.

‘Nasty! This guy’s nasty, I say!’ Nora internally cursed as the light’s sudden glare momentarily blinded her.

Finn, oblivious of Nora’s thoughts, stood under the spotlight. He dramatically waved his arm sideways, bringing the two people’s (and a ghost’s) attention to the top of a workbench where a long bump was covered in white cloth.

“BEHOLD! DAME NORA’S NEW ARM! THE FIRST OF ITS KIND!” Finn removed the white cloth, unveiling a gleaming black metal arm with a futuristic design.

‘Whoa! This is so f*cking lit!’ Mikael whistled his admiration toward Finn’s work.

The prosthetic arm was leagues better than what he had imagined. The edges were smooth with ball joints peeking through the small gaps and although indistinguishable at first glance, Mikael could make out fine lines running the length of the arm—probably where all the magic tricks are hidden.

He had worked with Finn on the prototype so he thought he wouldn’t be this surprised, but after completing the basic model, Finn forbade him from disturbing his work.

‘His personality sucks but Finn is definitely a genius!’ all three of the Almagi’s lab guests thought in unison.

“Dame, try it!” Deon urged the stunned Nora.

Now that the show’s done, Finn opened all the lights, grabbed the artifact, and approached Nora with a creepy smile—like a gourmet savoring his meal only when all the preparations are done.

“Dame, come here… I’ll give you the honor of carrying my first child.”

“SIR FINN!! Watch your language!” Dame Nora’s skin crawled in disgust at Finn’s provocative words.

“What? What’s wrong with what I said?” Finn asked like he was deeply offended, “This artifact is like my child! Don’t you see my eye bags? I lost so much sleep to create th– Ah! I suppose it’s not my child alone since the prince helped me as well.”

Even before Finn finished his monologue, Deon could already hear his next words loud and clear. His face, as well as Mikael’s, paled, but their soundless protests did not stop the Almagi.

“Then, I will be this child’s father and the prince will be the mother.”

‘Ahh… he really said it… F*ck you, Finn.’

‘B-but… I already have a dragon child… and how come my only partners are male?’

Mikael and Deon thought, respectively.

Tired of Finn’s nonsense, Dame Nora sighed and offered him her shoulder.

Finn attached the prosthetic arm to her right shoulder. He tightened its grip by driving screws directly on her flesh. It looked painful but the dame merely grunted even as cold sweat dripped down her chin. Finally, Finn pressed a section on the metal forearm, revealing a small compartment engraved with a complicated mana circle. He fished out a high-grade mana crystal from his lab gown pocket and inserted it in.

The crystal subtly glowed as soon as it touched the mana circle, and a moment later, the fine lines along the arm hissed, briefly releasing smoke before settling into a quiet, mechanical hum.

“Now, let me explain the artifact effects,” Finn started, now in serious mode, “Since I was pressed for time, I only managed to attach two effects on this artifact. One is a shield while the other is darts. The darts can be poison or paralysis darts, depending on which you load. However, since tomorrow is an official spar, I doubt that you’ll be allowed to use them. Anyway, you can just save them for later.”

“Yes. If I use them tomorrow, my opponents will just say I played dirty when I defeat them,” Nora said, her face grim, “No. I want an indisputable victory.”

Even when he saw her unwavering determination, Finn just shrugged, thinking it was none of his business, “Yes… well… To activate the shielding effect, all you need to do is say the word, ‘Shield’ while for the darts, you just need to say ‘Shoot’.”

Following Finn’s instructions, Dame Nora clearly voiced the activation word for the shield. Almost Instantly, her metal arm unraveled and, like a puzzle, it rearranged itself to form a medieval heater shield. With an exquisite engraving of the Heinken Kingdom flag on its glossy cover, the shield gave off an imposing aura.

But the surprise didn’t end there!

Light streamed from the depths of Nora’s prosthetic arm and enveloped her whole body in white steam—like a literal power-up sequence in a game.

Nora felt her body toughen as her defense stat drastically increased.

“So? What do you say, Dame? Aren’t I amazing?” Finn smirked, knowing full well how great his creation was.

“Thank you, Sir Finn. I will certainly use it well,” Nora smiled, humoring Finn while thinking, ‘Even though you are disgusting… You have my gratitude, comrade.’

–Chapter end–