When Ves finally took the Elegant Cut in his possession, he did not immediately stuff it in a lab machine.

He wanted to familiarize himself even further with the weapon before he messed around with it. Who knew whether it possessed any fancy or unusual functions that might trigger as a result of his actions.

When he drew the paltry sword from its sheath and held it in his hand, he carefully recorded his feelings.

He may not be a swordsman, but he could feel the metaphorical weight of wielding a real Destroyer weapon.

"It is like holding the deadliest leaf in your hand. One accident can easily cut off my legs... if I was still a normal human."

A tier 10 Destroyer weapon may be nothing in front of a high-tier equivalent, but it could easily slice through unprotected human flesh as well as light armor with the same case as a hot knife through butter!

Sturdier armor might require more effort and skill to penetrate, but a Destroyer weapon could always get through so long as the circumstances allowed.

Even energy shields of varying strengths and properties could not withstand the onslaught of destructive energies for long.

Of course, the proportions still mattered. An infantry-grade Destroyer weapon like the Elegant Cut would take far too much time to drain the modern azure energy shields of a typical first-class multipurpose mech.

This was a weapon that was primarily designed to confront other infantry-grade threats from beginning to end.

"The Elegant Cut is as light as a breeze and swift as a sparrow."

When Ves deliberately restrained as much of his raw physical might as possible, he still felt that the blade was light and easy to wield. Its alloys were actually pretty dense, but the slender and frugal design meant that its overall mass remained controlled.

Even weaklings could swing around the blade with ease.

Its thin profile not only made it more practical to wield the blade indoors, but also reduced the probability of inflicting collateral damage.

That was not a trivial concern. Destroyer weapons posed a danger to both friendlies and enemies. A careless or unskilled wielder could easily mess up the wrong individual when wielding such dangerous arman

As Ves continued to perform unskilled attacks with the Destroyer sword, he began to notice other nuances.

For example, whenever he made a sharp slashing attack, the edge automatically darkened and ejected a small amount of destructive energies.

If he thrust forward with the tip, an even smaller but concentrated amount of destructive energies spat out from the front!

When he did not make any aggressive moves, the Elegant Cut remained remarkably calm and docile. It hardly if ever released any harmful energies.

This was a level of restraint and discipline that he was not accustomed to. Its behavior was radically different from that of the mech-grade tier 3 Destroyer spear.

"Are all tier 10 Destroyer weapons like this?" Ves furrowed his brows. "That shouldn't be the case."

It took a deeper examination of his latest acquisition before he figured out what was going on. While it was true that the low-tier nature of the Destroyer weapon made it much more docile by nature, its design further limited its potential outbursts.

Senior Smith Jiesera Dostoevskaya made the most out of the limited volume of the blade. She meticulously combined and layered multiple different alloys into very precise shapes to channel the flow of destructive energies as much as possible.

Even if the blade produced an uncontrolled outburst, the design of the weapon meant that the probability that it would turn against its current wielder was considerably smaller than usual!

The extravagant basket hilt was not as simple as it appeared. It was made out of special Destroyer-resistant materials that had been known to affect Destroyer particles. Its elegant curves not only looked beautiful, but also exerted a precise influence onto the Destroyer particles, making it so that they slightly tended to move away from the base of the sword.

As for the hilt, Ves discovered that it was packed with a combination of special alloys as well as integrated electronics. Though the available volume was small, Senior Smith Jiesera still managed to find a workable balance between sturdiness and functionality.

Ves found it difficult to figure out the complete purpose behind the electronics. He could deduce certain clues by studying the software and hardware, but he lacked the access rights to study them properly.

The weapon transmitted a bunch of very stern warnings to him whenever he tried to poke the weapon a little too deep.

He had no choice but to take them seriously. During the recent exchange, the Terran official already made it clear that any improper use or examination of the Destroyer weapon may cause it to 'lose its power!

The Terrans had always been mysterious about what the latter meant, but Ves may have stumbled upon the truth.

Fortunately, Ves had already conveyed his intention to work together with Ketis to upgrade and overhaul this expensive acquisition.

Therefore, poking around the weapon and modifying it to suit its future

wielder better should already be taken into account.

There was nothing unusual for a mech designer to try to decipher the secrets

of such an impressive object.

Ves gained a better understanding of the Elegant Cut by the time he concluded his shallow examination.

"This is a beginner-friendly Destroyer weapon. It is not only designed to be flashy. It is also designed to minimize self-harm as much as possible." The Terrans had not seen fit to grant him any information about its former owner, but Ves could easily build a profile based on the available information. The original owner had to be a dandy of sorts. He, for he was definitely male, may have joined a military organization to serve as an officer, but it was clear that he was a bit too young and petulant to develop the discipline required to wield a Destroyer weapon safely.

For this reason, Senior Smith Jiesera Dostoevskaya incorporated exclusive Terran technologies designed to limit and control the harmful effects of the weakest tier 10 Destroyer weapon as much as possible.

The Terran weaponsmith had done her best to balance the needs for safety as well as aesthetics. She had done a good job of making sure the weapon scored

high in both priorities.

Unfortunately, she did so at the cost of other properties.

All of the parts and materials dedicated to containing the danger of the Elegant Cut also neutered its lethality.

Ves personally found it rather silly to commission a Destroyer weapon, only to minimize its main characteristics as much as possible.

Nonetheless, such a design choice was not unusual among dress swords.

The reputation boost for carrying a Destroyer sword mattered a lot more than

its practical applications on the battlefield!

The weaponsmith paid very little regard for the latter by necessity. There simply was not enough room to stuff in components that could strengthen or

boost the power of its active blade.

This was in stark contrast to the tier 3 Destroyer spear.

Master Smith Hernán Diorio not only possessed much greater skill and

experience, but also worked under much more favorable circumstances.

The massive mech-grade spear offered more than enough capacity to stuff in a

lot of special materials and electronic components.

The high-tier nature of the Destroyer spear made it so that it could only be

wielded by ace pilots.

This meant that the Master Smith did not have to worry about his work being

used by unskilled hands!

In fact, the extraordinary willpower of a saint granted him a lot of leeway in cranking up the threat and lethality of the tier 3 Destroyer weapon!

"I never expected to come across such a strong contrast." Ves scratched his

head.

It was certainly an illuminating experience for him to be able to make comparisons between two very different Destroyer weapons.

They not only differed in scale and weapon type, but also in purpose and intent.

Ves gained a greater insight into Destroyer weapons as well as weapon design in general from this experience.

As he continued to swing around the Elegant Cut with unskilled motions, he

truly felt that it would take much greater effort to accidentally harm himself. He bet that much of the hidden safety features may have been designed to limit or throttle the harm caused by the blade if the wielder accidentally cut himself!

Though Ves felt tempted to test out this particular feature on his own body, he restrained his urges.

He needed to maintain his respect for Destroyer weapons. The blade might not

amount to much against a lesser phase lord, but it was still a relatively more potent source of harm than usual.

"Well, let's move on to the main event."

He did not spend any further time on admiring the Elegant Cut. It was bound to

take on a different form and purpose once he and Ketis transformed it into a weapon more suitable to be wielded by an energetic teenage swordswoman. Though Ves felt a little regretful, he still clung to the intention of extracting a Destroyer particle from his new weapon.

The extremely low tier of the Destroyer sword as well as its enhanced control and restraint should make it easier to do so than he initially expected!

"This is quite a fortunate turn of events." Ves sounded mildly relieved. He already prepared the lab equipment in advance. When he placed the weapon in the secure slot and conducted the final calibrations on the precision instruments, he hesitated one last time before he was about to commence the risky procedure.

A small surge of guilt ran through his mind.

As an artisan, he felt bad for tampering with this work of art. Although Ves had technically bought the rights to own it and mess around with

it, he still found it disrespectful to undermine the properties that made the Elegant Cut so effective as a dress sword.

Senior Smith Jiesera Dostoevskaya most definitely did not intend for this to

happen with her creation.

However, Ves still had his own goals. He could not suspend his plans just because he wanted to preserve the feelings of a stranger. "Let's get this over with as soon as possible." He muttered to himself.