Chapter 6579 The Initial Power of Demoncasting Although Ves felt he had made a disappointing first D-arm, the experience had taught him a lot of lessons. He felt confident he would be able to do a much better job next time. Ves and Ketis did not immediately throw away the D-arm. They still wanted to gather more data, so they methodically tested out its hardness, its cutting power and any other weird stuff it might have. The Workshop of Creation offered plenty of testing facilities that allowed them to thoroughly understand the properties of the weapon. They gained more precise numbers than the ones collected by Ketis' handheld multiscanner and also managed to record the properties that it couldn't gather. All in all, despite the fact that Ves apparently wasted most of the power of the 'demon' locked inside Lucky's gem, the pink and awfully spiky knife was still a qualified D-arms. Even if its newfound impracticality made it difficult to handle the knife like a standard blade, Ketis was actually beginning to warm up to it after she had become accustomed to its many quirks. "I think this weapon is representative of every D-arms." Ketis said as she performed a modified kata with the D-arm. "Merging my original combat knife with a demon has caused the former to acquire some of the strengths of the latter. The knife has completely exceeded its physical limitations and has become tougher, sharper and deadlier. It has also gained all of the baggage of the demon, which is the source of many complications. As long as the wielder is strong enough to cope with the dangers, he or she may actually be better off than wielding an ordinary weapon." "That sounds good. I feel kind of regretful that this knife did not come close to living up to its potential, but there is always next time. Is there a way to undo the Demoncasting and separate the demon from the knife again." Ketis thought for moment before shaking her head. "If such a method exists, then I do not have the faintest clue how it can be done. The only way to separate the two is to forcibly break the weapon but not too much. The demon will have enough openings to mount an escape attempt. That will probably be a painful and traumatic process where the demon is able to wrench free while leaving parts of itself behind." That sounded anything but a clean separation process. All Ves needed to know for now was that it was too difficult to undo the Demoncasting process and start over with the same resources as before. "That's a pity. We can't reuse the ancient maiden over and over again in order to gain more practice. Each demon is a precious resource because we can't easily reuse it on other objects." "By the way, I think I can roughly gauge the strength of the ancient maiden." Ketis said. "According to my senses, what was originally locked in the gem was only a small and worn-out fraction of the greater whole. She may very well have been a god at her prime, but what little was left that got stuffed in the gem was only a shadow of her former glory. Even so, after this remnant got burned by the demonic flame before being horribly mutilated by getting squeezed into the Demoncasting Mold, she still possesses a degree of strength and cohesion that is on the weaker side of the second major cultivation rank." That caused Ves to look pleasantly surprised. Maiden's Affection was one of the more recent gems produced by Lucky, so the remnant spirit locked inside should have been stronger than the ones locked in the earliest gems, but it was nice to hear confirmation. "Does that mean that a typical gem produced by Lucky contains the equivalent of a Middle Demon that costs 100 AP to summon with the ritual circle?" Ketis shook her head. "It is difficult to make direct comparisons. The remnant is heavily damaged and not as... complete as the demons that are locked inside the tools of this forge. Here. Feel the difference." The swordmaster handed over the pink knife and also picked up a random casting tool. When Ves held both D-arms at once, he could clearly sense the differences. The casting tool was merely infused with a Minor Demon. Yet the integration between the two was so excellent that the equipment utilized the power of the demon to a high degree, leading to less waste and volatility. It was a well-engineered tool that did what it was supposed to without too much excess. The pink knife on the other hand possessed far more excess than actual relevant functionality! It contained the equivalent of a Middle Demon, yet the D-arm was so poorly designed and constructed that it squandered much of the potential of the living power source. The sheer degree of waste was so much that the pink knife ended up being weaker on an overall basis! "It is hard to say which one is better, though." Ves said. "Sure, the casting tool has a definite advantage at this time, but... its growth prospects are limited. A Minor Demon is the weakest of its kind. Unless it can get a lucky break and trigger a breakthrough while it is permanently bonded to an object, it will always remain weak for many years to come. As for this pink knife, it already starts out with a Middle Demon. Sure, the way the ancient maiden is integrated into the weapon is terrible, but she should still have room to grow and evolve." "Even if that is the case, it is unlikely that additional growth will solve all of those flaws and problems. A demon that can grow is a demon that will try to accumulate as much strength as possible before breaking out in a spectacular fashion. What this means is that the pink knife may be fairly manageable for now, but can slowly turn into a greater threat towards its wielder." "I don't think it is as simple as that." Ves furrowed his brows. "In any case, a D-arm that can grow is not necessarily bad. It will steadily become more powerful over time, which is helpful so long as the wielder remains powerful enough to maintain control over the weapon." "I am wondering..." "What are you wondering about?" "What would happen if you turn a Carmine mech like the Yellow Jacket into a D-mech before having a person form a Blood Pact with it? Will the prospective pilot form a permanent bond with the living mech, the demon or both?" "...That is a good question. I honestly don't know, Ketis. If there is any possibility that the Carmine mech pilot will be able to form a Blood Pact with the demon, then... that person will not be having a good time." Ves actually grew a lot more interested in seeing how much a Carmine mech pilot may benefit by forming a Blood Pact with a demon, but he did not think it was a good idea to show much enthusiasm at this moment! Even if it sounded like an incredibly fast and powerful approach towards artifact cultivation, it also sounded like a surefire way to corrupt the Carmine mech pilot in question! "We shouldn't overcomplicate D-mechs by mixing them up with the Carmine System for the time being" Ves said. "Why would we want to waste a precious demon on empowering a weak and inexperienced Carmine mech pilot? Demons are scarce, so we need to ration them to the ace mechs that need them most in the current war. The gems in my possession should largely be occupied by remnant entities that are equivalent to Middle Demons. While I need to get a lot more practice in Demoncasting before I am willing to make use of them, I need to convert them into useful and practical enhancements before the native aliens have started their final push." Ketis shook her head. "That will be difficult. There is not much time left before the aliens launch their attempted killer blow. You will have to spend valuable time during the marathon we have planned on learning the ins and outs of Demoncasting." "Then so be it. Gaining proficiency in Demoncasting is more important than earning more AP. The gems in my pocket aren't doing anything to help defend our border regions in their current state. I have always been looking for opportunities to make them useful at the ace mech-level." Ves still had a bunch of gems, but Lucky's production rate had grown increasingly slower over the years. The gems did become more impressive and powerful though, which was what Ves needed even more. He had been meaning to find a new purpose for Lucky's gems. At this point, their inexplicable boosts made them far too valuable to be used on ordinary machines, but they were only of limited use in high-ranking mechs. The biggest problem that Ves had with the gems up to this point was that they lost. their effect by the time the pilot of a boosted mech became a saint. The Saint Kingdom pretty much replaced whatever the gem had done to strengthen the machine. Perhaps in the future, Lucky's gems would grow powerful enough to capture the remnant of stronger entities. However, Ves believed it was much better to integrate the power of these demons into an ace mech in a more proper manner. As long as the ace pilot's Saint Kingdom was able to recognize and find a way to work with the demon, then the combination between the two would definitely lead to better results! In order for that to happen, the high-ranking mech pilot needed to be okay with operating D-mechs and D-arms. As much as Ves wanted to explore Demoncasting further, he needed to make additional preparations outside of the System Space. He also wanted to test his new D-arm in reality against live targets, which the Workshop of Creation couldn't simulate. "Let's go, Ketis. We are done here for the time being." Ves and Ketis eventually decided to end their visit to the new Demoncasting Forge and resume their tour of the evolving System Space. "So what do you think so far, Ketis? Are you willing to take up the practice of Demoncasting or Demonforging?" The swordmaster had not given a solid answer to this question so far. She did not look as if she had come closer to a satisfactory resolution. "I don't think I can do Demoncasting in its current form. Ketis eventually said. "The source of these demons worries me. I think there is an inherently corrupting aspect about working with such dark and evil beings. If you can replace the demons with more neutral beings, then I may try this variation instead. Do you think that it is possible to do Beastcasting instead?" Ves looked thoughtful. "That actually sounds like a good idea. I have managed to harvest the spiritualities of numerous powerful exobeasts, but... they are not exactly the same as demons. Even if you can fuse them into objects with the Demoncasting Foreo I think that the roculte will ho underwhelming. The princinal wou that a demon strengthens an object is through demonization. The spiritualities of powerful beasts may be able to induce a similar effect, but it wouldn't be the same unless you transform them into demons first somehow." "That is okay, Ves. If Beastcasting can't produce superior quality, then I can always go for quantity instead. There are so many powerful mutated beasts and calamity beasts on the untamed planets spread throughout the Red Ocean that it shouldn't be difficult to harvest their spiritualities in greater quantities. That should at least give me plenty of experimental material to attempt to create B-mechs and B-arms." "Well, good luck, then. I hope you succeed, but I do not think you will be able to achieve quick success. Perhaps it will be better if you master the process of proper Demoncasting first before you try to innovate your own variation." "You're right that this is a better approach, but I want to do this my way,"