Chapter 14: Village Below the Mist II

Chapter 14: 14: Village Below the Mist II --- He felt the quiet hum of the system pulsing through him, felt the energy around his ring responding like ripples in a still pond. The question seemed simple, yet his mind flooded with possibilities. There were options now. Real ones. After all the years of suffering, of being stepped on, ignored, beaten. Now he could choose. He thought first of the mana gun. His previous crafted weapon. It was sleek. Powerful. A weapon of terrifying precision. But expensive. It used rare materials and drained a mana core with every three shots. The reload process was not quick either. It would make a loud noise. Bright flashes. Too much attention. Not ideal for a poor person like him. Not for everyday use. Not yet. The mana gun is strong and useful, yes. But it was not meant for every fight. It was a weapon to pull out when there were no other options. A last resort. A tool of surprise or desperation. Not a weapon you wore at your side. Not something you carried through markets and fields without drawing eyes. He needed something different. Something that could be shown in public without making people flinch. Something that felt natural in a Seventeen years old boy’s hand. Not a weapon that screamed unknown danger, but one that whispered warning. Something reliable. Simple. Personal. He let his breath slow. Let the noise in his thoughts fall away. He pictured it in his mind. Not heavy. Not fancy. A single edge. A good grip. Something he could wield and train with. Something he could sharpen himself. Something that would never run out of ammunition. Maybe... A blade. "A blade," he said aloud. The system stirred. And the world around him began to shift. The glow of the forge table cast pale light across the temple stones. John sat cross legged in front of it, arms resting on his knees, eyes focused on the screen hovering silently above the surface. It was shaped like a window made of starlight and breath, soft at the edges, but every word within it was sharp. Precise. [ System notification: Blue print of a blade. Item Type: Melee Weapon. Blueprint Class: Void Forged Blade. Material Required: Storm steel Ore – One Unit Raw Mana Crystal – One Void Trace Energy – Compatible Estimated Forging Time: Ten minutes. Do you want to continue? Yes / No ] He tapped the confirmation in his mind. The forge hummed beneath his fingers. Energy flowed upward from its core, pale purple and steel blue. The Storm steel dissolved in a slow shimmer. The mana crystal floated above the center rune before melting into pure light. The void energy in his chest pulsed once, and a thin strand of shadow wound itself into the fusion. Metal formed from the mist. The blade took shape. First the core, it was a spine of black steel, then the edges, it was razor sharp, curved slightly toward the tip. It was not a long weapon. More like a combat knife stretched into the proportions of a shortsword. Balanced. Lethal. The last layer was strange. The void energy wrapped around the blade in rippling lines, like ink dropped into water. It did not cover the surface. It marked it. Veins of darkness set deep into the metal. Then it was done. The glow faded. The blade fell silently onto the table. John picked it up with both hands. It was warm. Heavier than it looked. Alive in a way that steel should not be. The edge shimmered as he tilted it toward the candlelight. The System whispered. [Ding! Item created: Void Forged Blade. Durability: A minus Weight: Light Special Effect: Absorbs traces of elemental magic on contact User Affinity: Perfect.] John held the blade against his knee and stared at it. No spells. No incantation. This was not a sword that borrowed power. It was made from it. He stood there. And behind him, a voice spoke. "How... how did you forge it without any chanting?" Sera stepped from the shadows near the back wall. Her brown robe trailed quietly behind her. Her arms were crossed. Her eyes were sharp. "I watched the whole thing." John met her gaze. "I did not hide it." "Why not?" "Because I wanted you to see." She walked forward, slow but certain. She stopped a few paces from the forge and stared at the faint runes still glowing on its surface. "You are not like any mage I have ever seen. It’s like you are from a different place." she said. "Not fully a Mage." John replied. "Explain" John glanced at the others sleeping across the temple floor. Sera raised one hand. "They will not wake. I gave them a little herb. Safe. Harmless. I needed you alone." He did not ask how. He only nodded. "You will not believe what I say." "Try me" John looked down at the blade. Then he spoke. "I was born in a world without magic. A world of machines. Of buildings that scraped the sky. Of roads that glowed in the dark. I died there. And something brought me here. A ring. A voice. It gave me a second life. It gave me knowledge." Sera said nothing. "I remember that life. That world. But this world is where I belong now." "And the blade" "I built it using that world knowledge. It’s a structure that turns memory into matter. Idea into tool. With my knowledge I can change many things." He expected her to laugh. To deny it. To say he was insane. She did not. Instead, she stepped closer to the forge. She touched the surface. Pulled her hand back quickly. "It sings beneath the skin" she said. "Your tool. It hums like a trapped storm. You are not lying." "No" She turned her eyes back to him. "That blade. It might kill a Circle One mage."