"Sir Vald would kill you if he knew you complained about his creation."
"Huh? Sir Vald? Who's he?"
"The individual responsible for the creation of this particular weapon."
"Oh, really?Well, if I ever run into him, I'm going to have to ask him what on earth was going through his mind when he sat down and created such a totally worthless dagger."
"Master Xavier, who told you this dagger was designed for hand-to-hand combat?"
"Huh? What do you mean? Aren't all daggers made for that?"
"No wonder you consider it to be useless," said Samuel, shaking his head.
"Just tell me already!"
"Alright. Let it be known that this particular dagger was not meant for close-range combat—it was especially designed and crafted to effectively attack foes at a far distance," Samuel explained.
"Attack from a long distance? With a dagger? What does that even mean?" Xavier asked, confused.
"It'll be simpler to show you than to explain," Samuel replied.
He reached into the box again, this time putting his hand at the bottom of the glass case. Once more, the glass glowed with a faint green light, and a hidden compartment in the bottom creaked open. Samuel extended his hand into the just-opened compartment and pulled out something that looked like two earbuds and a smartwatch.
"Huh? 2 earbuds and a smartwatch?" Xavier raised an eyebrow.
Samuel then offered them to Xavier who then accepted it.
"Can you put one of the earbuds in any one of your ears and wear the watch in any one of your hands? Although, if you want you can put both of the earbuds on." Samuel said.
"Um... sure."
Xavier then proceeded to wear the watch on his right hand and the earbuds on his left ear.
"Now can you press the button on the dagger?"
Xavier turned around the dagger and saw a black button.
'No surprise I didn't notice it initially—the button is the same color as the hilt,' he thought.
"This one?"
"Yes."
"Here goes nothing."
Xavier pressed the button.
Beep.
Power On
"Power on?"
A woman's voice rang and sounded in the ear in which Xavier had placed the earbud.
[My name is Haley, and I am the artificial intelligence for the Hell's Advocate Dagger.]
"Haley? Uh. I'm Xavier." He replied.
'Damn… the dagger's got a pretty cool name,' he thought.
[It is my desire to assist you in utilizing this dagger to its full potential and to assist you in taking full advantage of its abilities,] Haley continued.
"So you're gonna help me wield this dagger?" Xavier asked.
[That specific objective acts as the second goal.]
"Secondary? Well then, what is the primary?" Xavier inquired, raising an eyebrow. He was really interested.
[That would be intended to assist you in managing the dagger by means of my presence,] Haley responded.
"So what you're saying is that you're going to help me control it?" Xavier echoed, perplexed.
[Yes.]
"Well, how are you going to do that?"
[Try to give a command,] Haley suggested.
'Issue a command? Is it going to get the dagger to fly by itself? Yeah right.'
"Then. what do you think of trying to get it to float gently in the air," Xavier suggested, a smirk playing on his lips, complete in the knowledge that it wouldn't work.
FUSSH!
Flames burst powerfully from the very bottom of the dagger as it was forcefully flung from Xavier's hand, and to his surprise, it then hovered in mid-air.
"..."
Xavier stood in complete silence, his eyes wide with absolute astonishment as he stared fixedly at the dagger that was somehow suspended just before him.
'How can this possibly be happening!?' He thought.
Samuel, standing in close proximity to the unfolding scene, observed it with a knowing smile.
"Do you still believe that this dagger is useless, Master Xavier?" he asked.
Xavier directed his gaze Samuel's way and immediately noticed the smug and irritating smile that was firmly plastered on Samuel's face—a smile that quite evidently conveyed the message: I told you so.
"Grr... it's not over yet!" Xavier ground his teeth as he said
He directed his finger towards the firmly shut door behind them.
"Pierce that door!" he commanded with urgency.
'The metal that door is made of is something unknown. Probably information regarding the metal is hidden by the nobles. And the only time those retards hide something is because it has something special in it... I think? Anyways, there should be no way this dagger would be able to do it!'
CLANG!
CHNK!!
The dagger, with almost effortless ease, pushed through the door as if the solid structure was just a soft block of tofu.
"...!"
I-It pierced the door!?
[Is there anything else, sir?] Haley asked.
"Eh? Uh, n-no," Xavier stuttered.
SHHNK!
WHOOSH!
The dagger pulled itself free and flew neatly back into Xavier's hand. He was still in shock, attempting to reason and make sense of the events that had just unfolded.
When he turned to Samuel again, that same annoying smile remained.
But Xavier was not concerned about that particular matter at the moment. Instead, there was some other critical matter in his thoughts which he was keen to learn more about.
"Hey Samuel, could you scan that door and inform me exactly what kind of metal it is made of?"
"That is not necessary, Master Xavier. I already know that information," Samuel replied, back to his professional face.
"You do? What is it?" Xavier asked, curious to know the answer.
"It is Durandite, a precious and highly sought-after metal that is to be found in the Planetoid Durastis, of our very own Plaros Solar System. Durandite has gained renown for its high longevity and superior durability, as well as for its unique ability to maintain an edge better than most other substances."
"The Dwarf Planet Durastis? I've heard about it. It's a Planetoid known for being rich in different kinds of metals. The environment there, however, is notoriously unsuitable and harsh, which is largely why the general public has so little information on it.
***
3 Chapter Mass Release! Hope you like it!!