Vampiric Elements... I Have a Bold Idea

Kang De held the box in his left hand and picked up the shortsword, still in its plain scabbard, with his right.

It looked more like a work of art than a weapon.

He pressed hard with his thumb, pushing the blade slightly out of its scabbard.

Its sharp edge and blazing firelight played off each other, spreading and swirling with a bloodlike, bewitching glow.

Kang De gazed at the blade, lost in thought.

The knight smiled knowingly. Although Kang De did not seem to recognize the stories behind the gifts, his fascination with weapons still struck a chord with him.

"A fine sword, isn't it?"

He said, "The Crimson Blood Flame Edge, a Fierce Killing Shortsword, jointly made by the divine craftsman Nuoli Jushi and the alchemy master Suowosi. It bears three exceptionally rare and precious enchantments, namely..."

Kang De said, "Sharpness, fire, and... lifesteal?"

Ever since he had awakened his superpower to extract elements, everything in the world had changed in his eyes, though some things had changed more than others. The shortsword in his hand, for example, radiated a captivating, dazzling brilliance. Looking closely, he saw lines of elements crisscrossing to form a picture of exquisite beauty.

There were three elemental patterns on the sword, presumably the three enchantments the knight had mentioned.

In one, the elements were crimson and fierce as fire.

Another shone with a sharp, cold light that could cut through anything.

In the last, greedy life flowed.

The knight shook his head. "No, they are Sharpness of the Divine Edge, Roar of the Crimson Flame, and Life Drain."

The difference between the two was more than just a matter of names.

Kang De nodded. "I see."

He could tell at a glance why the enchantment on the shortsword was called Sharpness of the Divine Edge.

In the cave, he had conducted all sorts of experiments, extracting the sharpness element from a blade and applying it to the cloth on its handle, giving ordinary cloth a cutting power like that of a blade. But his enchanting method had been simple and crude, hardly a method at all: he had merely smeared the extracted elements on at random.

The sharpness enchantment on this shortsword, however, was a magnificent, perfect tableau, its elements arranged in endlessly intricate variations. Without even thinking about it, Kang De knew that this Sharpness of the Divine Edge had to increase a blade's killing power far beyond his primitive enchantment. Compared to this elemental tableau, his work was no better than a child's scribbles.

The other two elemental compositions were just as exquisite and grand.

Was this what they were laughing at when they laughed so hard after seeing my enchantment last night?

Kang De pondered to himself.

No, probably not.

He still remembered the regret and sadness on the kangaroo's and the others' faces. A mere difference in skill would not have made them react like that... it had to be a fundamental difference.

And besides...

Kang De carefully examined the enchantments on the sword, studying the three diagrams formed by elements.

On Earth, he had enchanted a tranquilizer gun watch. The elemental composition on the watch was far more complex than these three enchantments. He knew he could never reproduce it, because not only was its structure complicated, but it also contained a great variety of elements.

But this was different.

Though these three enchantment diagrams were astonishing, they were not so complicated that he had no idea where to begin.

And their compositions were relatively simple.

In other words...

If I collect the corresponding elements and copy the diagram onto another sword, I can reproduce the exact same enchantment...

Kang De felt a slight jolt.

He looked up. "The enchantments you mentioned-are they the work of the alchemy master you spoke of?"

The knight was taken aback. It was common knowledge, but if Kang De was from Cathay, it was hardly surprising that he did not know.

He said, "Yes... why do you ask?"

Kang De asked, "How do they do it?"

A detailed explanation would be far too complicated. The knight found the question strange, but nevertheless gave him a careful account of the essentials. "Alchemy master is both a profession and an honorific. They are essentially a type of spellcaster who has chosen a field of advanced study based on their individual talents and interests."

"On the continent, gifted children are selected from an early age. They receive relevant aptitude induction and basic training, and study fundamental mystical knowledge step by step..."

He said, "If you are asking how alchemists perform enchantments, my knowledge is limited, and I cannot provide the details. I can only say it is much like the craft of copying scrolls: engraving, imprinting, and guiding, using media such as magical beast blood and affinity materials to achieve the resonance and solidification of magic power."

Although everything he described was common knowledge and mystical lore from another world, Kang De managed to understand it.

He had the information age to thank for that. There were not only fantasy RPGs but also fucking Western fantasy web novels. With all that cultural exposure, he could still understand the basics.

Yes, even in the era Kang De had transmigrated from, Western fantasy web novels had declined, while Eastern fantasy and urban superpower stories were all the rage. Yet there were still web novel authors who did not know what was good for them, choosing the genre for the sake of nostalgia and the thrill, painstakingly typing away as they waited for the day readers would cry out, "It's actually good!"

It was truly moving.

Magical beast blood, affinity materials, the solidification and resonance of magic power...

Kang De mused, I didn't use any magical beast blood or materials, and I don't know a damn thing about magic power. I just extracted an object and enchanted another object with its elements... It looks like my grand enchanting method and the alchemists' techniques are two completely different approaches.

And my method seems to be... closer to the source than theirs.

This was evident in the fantastical tranquilizer gun watch enchanted through a mysterious method. Ask an alchemy master to reproduce it, and he probably could not do it even if it cost him his life. No, it was not that he could not do it; he would not even know how.

Kang De could not do it either, but he knew how, because the principle behind the watch's miraculous transformation was hidden in that incomparably complex elemental diagram, and he could extract and use elements.

Then there were these three enchantments.

Kang De had received no mystical instruction or spellcaster training. He had no foundation in magic, no materials, and no magic power. Yet all he needed to do was extract the corresponding elements and copy the same elemental array to produce an identical enchantment.

Your enchanting skills are pretty good. Now they're mine.

A thought stirred in Kang De's mind.

He seemed to have opened another door—a door that could make him stronger.

At the very least, learning the three enchantment patterns on the shortsword could raise his combat power another level. Ultimately, it was a question of how effectively he used elements.

Good.

He would study these three enchantments today and find a way to reproduce and test them.

Fire elements were the easiest to obtain, and sharpness elements were not hard to come by either, but the third enchantment was lifesteal...

Lifesteal elements...

Naturally, the first thing Kang De thought of was vampires.

But where was he supposed to find vampires in the middle of nowhere?

So, things that contained the element of bloodsucking...

Mosquitoes.

Leeches.

Lice.

Bats.

And so on.

All right, generally speaking, the vast majority of bats did not suck blood...

Mosquitoes.

Wait, what had he just said...?

"Cleveland... the knight, right?"

The knight straightened. "At your service."

Kang De gathered his thoughts. "There's a small matter..."

The knight said, "Please, go ahead. If it does not violate my code, I would be happy to help."

"It doesn't, definitely not." Kang De said, "You seemed to have been badly bothered by mosquitoes last night. May I ask, did you kill a lot of them...?"

The knight said, "We did. We used some potions to kill mosquitoes, as well as traditional methods such as firelight and mosquito nets to lure, trap, and keep them out. Is there a problem?"

Kang De asked, "What did you do with the dead mosquitoes?"

The knight frowned. "Normally, there would be no need to dispose of them, but there are quite a few mosquitoes on the island, and they were rather unpleasant to look at. We are short-handed at present, so before I left, the head maid was arranging for several maids to collect the dead mosquitoes and take them some distance away to burn. The smell they gave off when they flew into the fire and burned to death... was rather unpleasant."

Kang De immediately said, "If possible, could you give me those dead mosquitoes?"

The knight hesitated. "Of course, but forgive me for asking—what do you want them for?"

To extract lifesteal elements, of course.

Looking at the solemn knight, Kang De could not resist a joke. "I haven't seen mosquitoes in a long time. You know, there's a delicacy in my hometown called mosquito cakes..."

The knight recoiled, even taking a step back instinctively.

"...Just kidding." Kang De said gloomily, "What's with that look? I don't eat that kind of thing."

No, many books record that you Cathayans have an extremely optimistic view of the edibility of every living thing and a terrifying willingness to act on it.

Though he thought that, this was as small a request as could be.

Naturally, the knight was willing to do the mysterious Cathayan a favor.

He sent an attendant back, and soon the attendant came running back with a sack.

Kang De took it and opened it. Ugh, his trypophobia was acting up.

He looked away and reached inside. His mental power spread out soundlessly, extracting the elements. He selected the strongest cluster, and a crimson, bloodthirsty gleam flowed into his body.

Judging by the feeling, it really was the lifesteal element, identical to the sword's third enchantment.

Good, very good.

If these aren't enough, I can find a way to get these people to catch me some leeches or something. I can trade supplies from Earth for them. I don't know what they need, but porn is definitely hard currency.

Lifesteal elements... lifesteal weapons. They're a top-tier enchantment in every game.

But can they only be applied to melee weapons? If I enchant a throwing axe, how is it supposed to steal life?

Wait!

In a flash, a bolt of lightning streaked through Kang De's mind.

He remembered an optical shop among the street-facing stores outside his residential complex.

Hmm...

I have a bold idea.

A really bold one.

Isn't this a little too cool...?

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PS1: It's a new week, everyone. Please keep voting to support me. Damn, I went out for skewers tonight, and something I ate didn't seem quite right. My stomach feels a little uncomfortable... I'll find some stomach-settling tablets. Good night, everyone.