Chapter 113 – Loki’s Hammer
The remaining factories that were working day and night endlessly couldn’t keep up with the consumption of hot weapons. Furthermore, these weapons showed extremely poor results in combat. As many of the important cities were under siege by those mutated beasts, mankind’s only option was to rely on more primitive weaponry. There were times when one’s body was more useful than a hot weapon.
In the dark era’s most difficult period, mankind was forced to use various kinds of sc.r.a.p metal to fas.h.i.+on together knives, swords and other weapons. Empty-handed combat became the bread and b.u.t.ter of every battle, but it was still very difficult to use it against the mutated beasts. As a result, the entire population of the Federation was reduced to a third, with many of the cities falling under the dominion of the enemy.
Fortunately, special ability users and new humans came into existence as a result of mutation from the influence of the higher dimension. There was also the emergence of various different kinds of clans. An exemplar of this was the Potter clan that had lasted since that era till now. Yet, even this unnurtured force could barely reduce the death rate of the human population. It was only with the development of rune weapons that all this changed.
“Rune weapons weren’t an invention of Federation scientists. In this era where living was seen as a luxury, the military and government continuously changed, so scientists weren’t able to focus properly on their research. The first rune weapon instead came from a few individual genius soldiers. As for their origin… does anyone care to share this information with us?”
Professor Moore looked at Ma Dong’s p.r.o.ne posture on the table and suddenly raised his voice. “Ma Dong, please tell us more about it!”
In his dreams, Ma Dong had been facing Milami and drooling. Milami’s bashfulness along with her fluttering, charming eyes that were fully focused on him was too much for him to handle as she asked him with a tenderhearted voice of the deepest impression he had of her.
Was there even a need to think on this?
Ma Dong instantly leapt up and, without taking the time to think, blurted, “S-shape!”
Milami’s S-shape curves were within President Ma Dong’s weak mind at all times. This caused him to always feel like climaxing.
When they saw Ma Dong’s dazed appearance, the entire cla.s.s burst into laughter.
“Quiet down, quiet down!” Professor Moore shouted. He frowned as he signalled with a pressing down motion for Ma Dong to sit. “That is a very accurate answer. In all of the original rune weapons, they indeed had the simplest rune of all, the S-shaped carved rune inscription engraved into them.
“There were some soldiers who had initially discovered that the S-shape inscription was able to enhance the speed in which soul power can be conducted when placed on a weapon. This was also the earliest understanding mankind had on soul power frequency bands. Furthermore, the S-shape carving was able to reduce the drop in efficiency when soul power was conducted through a weapon. During that period of time, there was still no such thing as a rune weapon, but due to the S-shaped inscription being spread across the Federation’s military, the term “rune weapon” finally came into being. These became the first generation rune weapons!”
Ma Dong sat upright, a blank expression still on his face. He’d stopped drooling, but his eyes were still blurred with confusion. What the h.e.l.l exactly happened? Where is my Milami?
Looking at Ma Dong, a look of grudging admiration was on w.a.n.g Zhong’s face. Such a thing had already happened three times this semester. This fellow’s skill of answering questions in his dreams had already reached a level of perfection.
“With the appearance of the first generation rune weapons, the Federation finally tasted its sweet benefits. Regardless of whether it were the Federation’s scientists or its soldiers, both groups developed a very strong interest in this new kind of weapon. Due to this, the era evolved into a period when the development of rune weapons was at its fastest.
“Something from nothing, crude to excellent, all of this took hold in only a few short decades. On the whole, the weapons weren’t up to the standards and norms of our current rune weapons. There were even some that were so simple it was laughable. The rules and fetters we have for our current weapons didn’t exist back then. No constraints were placed on the style of the weapon, and everything was extremely reliant on imagination and creativity. While many were rough and shoddy, there were also many outstanding works that emerged. There were even some weapons that to this day are insurmountable, unreplicable, and legendary!”
With a wave of his marker, Professor Moore wrote today’s topic—The Ten Great Divine Weapons of the Dark Era!
“The Ten Great Rune Divine Weapons represent the pinnacle of mankind’s rune weaponry. Is there anyone who can give me a few examples?”
Topics about the Divine Weapons could make anyone more interested in a topic as boring as rune development history. Along with the excitement caused by Ma Dong’s earlier actions, and the students were all fired up. Those with clan backgrounds knew a thing or two, while the others were of course just talking nonsense.
“Victor’s Demon Devouring Blade!”
“s.h.i.+eld of Radiance! Oleg Divine Armor!”
“Graham’s Sword, Perpetual Saint Gun, Durandal Magic Bow, Loki’s Warhammer,” w.a.n.g Zhong supplemented. He’d read quite a few pieces of information on this in the library. In fact, there was no truly complete definition for these so-called Ten Great Divine Weapons.
The theorized Ten Great Divine Weapons were all different for the various powers. There were even some that were rarely ever seen or heard of because the knowledge of them was infrequently spread. What w.a.n.g Zhong spoke of were those on the mainstream lists; weapons actively pushed forward by the various universities.
Ma Dong woke up finally, unwilling to be excluded. When he understood his previous miracle performance, President Ma Dong felt very satisfied and excited. “Gem of Deception!”
It didn’t matter if his reply was correct or not; the most critical point was that there couldn’t a lack of b.a.l.l.s! How could there not be any ball-type weapon in this list of Ten Great Divine Weapons? It also had to fill up the top spot on the list!
Professor Moore smiled faintly and again made a waving motion with his hands to calm the excited students down. “There are right and wrong answers to what you have all said. For example, Oleg Divine Armour; while it is a complete set of defensive equipment, it is a recently produced product and has yet to enter into the ranks of Ten Great Divine Weapons. Another example is the Gem of Deception. It is a supplementary device, and while its camouflaging abilities are mysterious, it cannot be cla.s.sified as a weapon…”
“Professor Moore, then should rune weapons be divided into defensive equipment and combat weaponry?” w.a.n.g Zhong asked as he raised a hand.
Cla.s.sifications were very important. Being able to understand an object with one look was a way to learn.
With a smile, Professor Moore said, “That is a very good question. That method of distinction, however, can only be used for rune weapons that have been ma.s.s produced in our current era. As for those of the dark era, I prefer to differentiate them according to their strengths. One group would be those of the craftsman cla.s.s, the other being of the soul cla.s.s.”
Moore stopped speaking as he noticed the blank and vacant gazes of this group of students. Obviously they were more focused on the performance and legends behind those rune weapons.
“The so-called craftsman cla.s.s is directed toward those extremely astonis.h.i.+ng rune weapon cast by rune grandmasters. Those weapons held immense power from the moment of their inception.”
“Take for example Loki’s Warhammer of the Great Divine Weapons. Master Loki, while not the first to discover runes, was definitely the one who pioneered rune weaponry. Loki’s Warhammer is the best representation of rune technology’s essence. Due to the runes carved onto it, it possessed exceedingly powerful strength amplification and contained incredible offensive might. It is also a divine weapon countless soldiers yearned for in their dreams.”
When they heard his explanation, all of the youths felt their blood boil.