As I raced towards the city, I thought of one last thing I needed to do. Stopping for a mont, I took out what was left of my busted axe. The thing looked like it had been through a fire, the wooden shaft flaking with blackened ash. Thinking of how much lightning I had pushed through it, I was probably lucky anything was left of it at all.
But if I was eventually heading towards a conflict with the Fire Birds and especially Hong Feng, I needed a weapon capable of delivering my full strength. And the good ‘ole log chopper just wasn’t going to cut it anymore.
There was only one thing I could think of that would do the trick.
I made a quick detour and headed for the courtyard of the abandoned hotel where I had buried the orb a few miles away. Finding the tall oak tree, I dug it up and then wiped clean its surface to find the passage I needed, just to make sure.
It was under Shura 321.
Shura 321
On weaponry…
We who follow the Frenzied Fla are not bound by sect nor tradition when it cos to our weapon of choice in combat. Be it a closed fist, a short blade, or a mammoth hamr, all weapons can be used to channel one’s Frenzy into the defeat of his foe. Yet take heed, kindled one, for so are more effective than others. For this reason, eschew the bow or any ans of attacking from afar, for such will never satisfy the cravings of one’s bloodlust. Choose instead that which brings you close to your foe and that which can withstand the full might of your fury. And think not that every blade can withstand your might. In ti, even the strongest of weapons will be brittle in your grasp. The tal from which you doth glean is essential, for it alone can withstand the forge of the Frenzied Fla. Choose then carefully your weapon of choice and when all is understood, forge your own totem of rage with it, and mold it in the image of your choice.
I’d well proven the part about not every blade being able to withstand your might, but it was the last section I was interested in more.
The tal from which you doth glean is essential, for it alone can withstand the forge of the Frenzied Fla.
I’d morized this line of course and had read it countless tis, but it remained cryptic to until now. There was only one tal that I gleaned anything from and that was the orb itself. And looking at the final line it all made sense.
Choose then carefully your weapon of choice and when all is understood, forge your own totem of rage with it, and mold it in the image of your choice.
It was telling to use the orb to forge my weapon once I’d learned everything I could from it. I didn’t know if I had truly learned everything I could––I was learning sothing new every day the more my understanding increased, but I had morized it all at least. I picked up the orb and gazed into it one last ti.
This had been the key to unlocking the power of my Frenzied Fla.
Now it would beco a vessel to deliver my rage.
And there was only one person I knew who could transform it.
* * *
“Master Edrik!” I called as I knocked on the door to the cottage.
It was getting close to dark now and the lights were on inside. After a minute the door opened and Lysa appeared in the doorway. Her blue eyes grew wide with wonder and excitent as she looked up at , her mouth ajar.
“Chun! Is that you?” She quickly pulled into a hug, laughing. “My goodness! It’s so good to see you. It’s been so long!”
“Yes, it has been a while,” I said, hugging her back. “Sorry to co find you so late. I was hoping to talk to Master Edrik, if he’s ho?”
“Oh, he can wait,” Lysa said playfully as she stared at , hands on her hips. “Let’s have a look at you first. You must have grown a foot taller since I saw you last. And a beard too!”
I couldn’t help but blush a little as she showered with lemonade.
“Co,” Lysa said, opening the door wide. “You must join us for supper.”
“I wish I could,” I said, glancing up at the darkening sky. “But I’m in a bit of a hurry. I have soplace to be, unfortunately. Just needed to ask Master Edrik about a performing a crafting job for .”
I said the words with [Struggler’s Resolve] and it seed to get the ssage through that I had no ti to catch up. Lysa nodded and closed the door behind her as she stepped outside.
“Well, let’s go then,” she said with a smile. “Edrik’s out back at the forge. I’ll take you to him.”
The acrid stench of burning tal greeted , along with the banging of hamr falls as we approached the smithing shop behind the house. A touch of nostalgia hit as I took it all in. This had been the place where I first started my cultivation journey. It seed like a lifeti ago now, even though it’d just been a few months. I chuckled inwardly at how clueless I was back then, especially when I decided to take on that damn tree.
But I’d gained more than just progression from my ti here. This was the place where I redefined the final goal of my Fla. Not just revenge, but freedom from the empire by carving out our own existence as Terrans, just like Lysa and Edrik had.
Edrik was pounding away at what looked like a plough atop his anvil. Lysa called to him and when he lifted his tinted crafter’s goggles to see , his face bead with a smile.
“Chun, my boy!” he said and gave a hearty handshake as he pulled himself away from the forge. “You’ve returned!” He then furrowed his brows as he looked up at . “By the nine hells, did you get taller?”
“I thought it was just , but he has grown, hasn’t he?” Lysa said, nudging her husband.
Edrik squinted at , focusing on my stomach. “Aye, I would say he has. In more ways than one.”
He laughed when he said it, but there was no denying that I had changed both physically and spiritually since I was last here. I had to have put on twenty pounds of muscle and grown an inch or two. And although the changes had been slow and gradual for , not seeing Erick and Lysa for so long, I suppose the changes were far more dramatic to them.
“I’ll leave you two to speak,” Lysa said and gave a hug before she departed. “You must promise to co back later for that supper, yes?”
I laughed. “Yes, I promise I will. See you, Lysa.”
Edrik watched Lysa depart quizzically. “So, what’s the visit about then, if not for my wife’s fine cooking? Don’t tell you need another job chopping wood.”
Edrik laughed and I smiled with him before pulling out the axe.
“I need a replacent for this,” I said.
Edrik furrowed his brow as he took it from . “What in the nine hells happened to it?”
“Eh… got caught in a fire…sort of.”
He raised a skeptical eyebrow at .
“I just need a new axe, is all,” I said. “One strong enough to take a real beating.” I then pulled out the orb. “Do you think you could forge a new one using this?”
Edrik squinted at the orb as he took it from and lowered his goggles to examine it. After a mont he removed them, revealing eyes wide with concern. “Where did you get this, son?”
I shrugged and tried my best not to lie. “Soone from off world. They said it would make a good material for a weapon.”
“Do you know what this is?” he asked.
I shook my head truthfully.
“It’s called Corrupted Steel,” he said. “Very rare. Even banned in so parts. And a tough tal to work with as well.”
“Really?”
“They say it only forms in the hearts of cursed stars. You know what those are?”
I shook my head again.
“They’re similar to the Bloodmoon. Only not a moon. The worlds around those stars are ten tis worse than what the Bloodmoon creates here. If you can imagine it.”
I almost didn’t want to, but my mind was already conjuring up a world where the very sun evoked demons and devils. “You’ve seen these places?”
Edrik chortled. “Not . And I pray I never will. But the empire itself was ford to combat them, or so the stories go––the star clusters of the demon worlds. Hellish places. If you ever want to see them for yourself though, you can join the Imperial Legionnaires, if you like.” He then let out a laugh. “They send those crazy bastards there to quell the hordes every few years. But honestly, I think it’s just to harvest the most powerful cores in the empire.”
“Sounds like what they’ve done to this place,” I said. “Only worse.”
“By far,” he said nodding.
For a mont I wondered what that would be like. An entire world cursed by monsters and demons ten tis more potent than what was found on Earth. Would everything be an S class? Would they even have classifications for them? And how strong would an Imperial Legionnaire have to be to fight against them?
It made realize just how little of this world I actually knew, and how vast the empire truly was. I must have been crazy to pit myself against sothing so grand to summon my Fla, but I guess that’s how long my journey might beco if I was going to succeed.
“So anyway,” Edrik continued. “It’s a little surprising for to see that you have sothing like this, to say the least.” I could sense he knew I knew more than I was letting on, but after giving another glance he didn’t press it. “You’re lucky I’m a Core Realm artisan, though. Forging sothing like this won’t be easy, but I can do it.”
“You can?”
He laughed. “Of course, I can. They don’t call master for nothing. Now what is it you want? A new axe head?”
I thought for a mont. This was a huge decision. This material was rare and likely illegal as Edrik had eluded to––another link to demonic cultivation for sure. So whatever I made, I had to be sure it was my true weapon of choice, because I couldn’t go making another one again so easily. I thought of the hatchet I used in the ring. Sothing similar to that would be perfect, but it would have to be bigger.
Much bigger.
“A battle axe,” I said. “But it needs to be completely made of tal. No wood.”
I then went on to describe it a little: single bladed and heavy with a shaft slightly longer than my axe to give more reach. After listening to , Edrik nodded and went into his workshop to trace out a design for on a piece of parchnt.
“How’s that?” he asked.
It looked simple on paper but the size appeared right. “Will it be enough material to make sothing that big?”
“I’ll use this to make an alloy,” he said, bouncing the orb in his palm. “A little Corrupted Steel goes a long way. And good thing too. Very hard to find.”
Just thinking of that made wonder how Threja had gotten the orb herself. Or if she had even been one of those Legionnaires in the past. But that didn’t matter now. I had to stick with the present.
“Thank you, Master Edrik,” I said. “I hope this will be enough to cover it.” I then reached into my robes and dropped my last spirit stone into his palm. “For the other materials you might need. And your ti.”
He looked up at , shocked. “Where’d you get this?”
I smiled. “Got a better job.”
“I’ll say,” he said. “But I won’t take it. I have everything I need and my ti for you is free.” He pushed the spirit stone back into my hand. “Besides, I’m actually looking forward to a challenge like this. You can get rusty making damn farm tools all day. But the bigger question is, can you carry sothing like this legally?”
I smiled and was proud I had put in the blood and tears to be able to answer him truthfully. “Sure can. I’ve joined a martial sect now.”
“Ah,” he said, his eyes beaming with comprehension. “That explains a lot.”
I wasn’t going to elaborate on which sect, so I rushed to ask my next question. “How long do you think it might take?”
He smiled. “You’ve gotten inspired, so probably not long. I’m going to start it tonight. Co by around this sa ti tomorrow.”
24 hours? Not bad, I thought. I’d have to try and avoid Hong Feng until then.
“Thanks, Master Edrik,” I said, giving him a wrist-to-wrist handshake. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I called out to Lysa as I left the yard, who gave a healthy wave from the kitchen window along with another shot of lemonade. As I turned towards the gate to the artisan’s district, I couldn’t help but feel things were falling into place. Thinking of what Master Edrik had said about the cursed stars though, I also couldn’t help but feel even my greatest accomplishnts were trivial in a universe so vast and large.
Still, my goal remained the sa and every step on my journey needed to be taken, no matter how small. Seeing the rest of the universe could wait.
Tonight, I had an Iron Bracket match to win.
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