novelraw Chapter 125 - 124 - Evaluation of Skill
Chapter 125 - 124 - Evaluation of Skill
Annabelle held Lind's hand as they followed Master Cain down a strange alley. They had returned to the Sunlit Forge where Lind had expected to experiment with weapon cores as he had with artifact cores.
There were several key differences that would be difficult to overcome, but she had seen Lind's eyes sparkle at the challenge. Ever since he created the 6 elemental core, he had been acting like a little boy with a new toy. She liked him like that.
She had seen him glance at simple mortal puzzles to more complex puzzle artifacts in much the same way. His hobby was odd but she did not mind it. The teachers at the Heavenly Maiden Sect had shared stories that made her shiver thinking about.
Lind did not strike her as lustful, but there were times when he looked at elder sister Qing and elder sister Shoti that she wished he would look at her that way. She blushed as she recalled Qing telling her Lind was waiting for Annabelle, herself, to declare her feelings.
It was too hard!
She felt so safe with Lind and could not imagine life without him. She had been afraid and alone back in the forest. She had not understood then totally but death had been closing in. Lind brought light and warmth. He treated her well and taught her so much!
She also now knew he never took advantage of her. If anything, she had taken advantage of him! Her blush deepened on how she insisted on sleeping next to him but she could not give it up now. It was her special privilege and she would not surrender it!
Cain had left the production quarter that was primarily for peak Iron Tier World Realms and some Gold Tier as well, but then had crossed several trade plazas before reaching a relatively quiet area far from where they started.
They had left at dawn but now it was nearly dusk. Cimmeria was massive and full of busy streets. The floating fortress was still far away but it loomed over them all. Annabelle glanced at it and wondered if the scary lady from Starfire House would accept Lind's terms.
She was pulled back as she felt powerful formations all around them. Her ability with illusions gave her a strong affinity for formations. What took years for others to grasp she had taken only months. She was already a peak grade 2 formation master.
She was shallow, however, in the breadth of her knowledge. It still took time to read and learn new formations, but she had been able to certify herself by creating 3 peak grade 2 formations that worked together to produce a result near grade 3.
Elder Yi had been so impressed she actually smiled with warmth!
"Here we are." Cain stopped in front of a strange building. Annabelle felt off just looking at it. Her instincts were screaming at her that what she saw was false, but she could not peel back the illusion to see the truth.
The building looked like a large tavern but burnt wood showed it had been through fire or was treated by fire poorly. Despite the ramshackle nature of the rest of the alley, no one bothered them the whole time they were here.
Annabelle had hawkers nearly bend over backwards trying to catch her or Lind's eyes but once Cain reached this alley, it was like they all disappeared.
There were several buildings looming on each side but they felt lonely to her.
"From this point, lad, you are on your own. I will wait 1 day at the mouth of the alley. Never worry, no one will hurt you or the lass here." Cain seemed very serious compared to his usual demeanor as a kind grandfather to Annabelle. Lind nodded and squeezed her hand.
Annabelle was about to speak when an aura suppressed them both hard.
"The aether child will leave, now." Annabelle nearly wept at the pressure but it suddenly vanished as Lind's shield appeared around her. It was his artifact! The shield was clearly barely holding on, but she smiled up at his stern face. His dark green eyes were furious.
"She stays with me or I will leave. I have a lot to figure out and no time to waste." There it was again. Lind was stronger than her but at times he seemed so weak willed. Shoti and Qing had confirmed that Lind often simply accepted the flow of events but when his bottom line was crossed, nothing could stop him.
He would risk life and limb if he had to. Her heart began to race like mad in her chest seeing him like that.
"Interesting toy you have there. So, you succeeded." The pressure vanished but a sword flew down and entered the street before them. Annabelle was confused as she could clearly tell it was a low grade 2 sword but Lind seemed stunned.
"Why do you have this?" He was no longer as angry but it was clear he was on guard. She looked at the sword again but nothing stood out. It was outside the shield so she could not even put her Qi into it.
"You were frustrated, angry, and done with failure. You wanted, just once, for the fusion to go well. Does that sound correct?" Lind's face drained of blood but she squeezed his arm to remind him she was there. "Excellent. If you could be that distrubed and still make something usable, you are worth testing."
Annabelle saw a broad shouldered woman emerge from the tavern in front of them. She was easily as tall as Elder Yi but where Yi was seductively beautiful, this woman was attractive in a different way. Her dark eyes were like limitless pools of power and her pale blue hair seemed alive in the dark alley. Her leather armor was well worn but of fine make.
Annabelle felt all the hairs on her neck stand up in fear. This woman was powerful, very powerful. She could not accurately gauge it yet, but the strongest she had met was a low Diamond Tier sister. The current aura would have crushed that sister with ease.
Lind suddenly stepped back in confusion to her eyes. It was not shock, but recognition in his eyes.
"H-how are you here?!" Surprise flashed across the woman's face. Her dark eyes narrowed as she seemed to strip bare all their secrets.
"Interesting. You have met something on my level before. I cannot pierce those memories likely due to their influence. You were chosen to be a legacy hunter by the look of it. I like you more now, boy, but first!" A large metal ore was summoned by the woman in front of them and placed on a pedestal that Annabelle would have sworn was not there before.
It was not summoned, it just was there. Whatever truly sat at this place was not a tavern because the pedestal in front of her was profound. The formations on it were stronger than anything she had yet been exposed to even briefly back at the sect.
"Let's see what you make of this boy." The woman then seemed to conjure red lightning that shattered the shield around them with ease. Annabelle was ensnared and felt unpleasant heat on her wrists and ankles as she was set up in the air. "You have until moonrise."
Lind's anger blew up but he looked at her and calmed himself. He tried to get near her but red sparks kept him back. Annabelle smiled at him and hoped he could see her faith in him. Lind nodded and turned back to the metal sitting in the waning sunlight.
****
Lind had let his guard down. The woman was something impossible. An Immortal Realm cultivator. She should not be in this world at all! If he had never met Younger Twin, he would not have been able to identify her even with his experiences. The major difference was Younger Twin was a spirit.
It was feasible to Lind to bypass the restrictions of Heaven and Earth for a spirit as Ruins did it all the time. He had also seen the severe limitations put upon Younger Twin as it paid a heavy price to help him, but that woman was alive!
She was no spirit, of that he was certain.
Lind pushed it all to the back of his mind as Annabelle hung like a crucifix as red lightning he could not identify flowed around her. It was beyond his Eyes or Touch to affect it. The first and only sword he had refined was blade first in front of him and somehow the woman accurately picked apart his mind at the time of making it.
Now, he looked at the lump of ore on the pedestal. His Eyes could almost make out the truth beneath the illusions in the alley but it was too profound to get it all. His head hurt just trying, yet now he turned all his energy to the metal.
It was unlike anything Lind had ever seen. Master Cain and Harold had allowed him to see up to grade 4 metals and materials. As grades increased, the Qi changed the quality and essence of the materials. What had once been simple iron was now a choice of viridian slivers to iracalt nodes. The other metals had similar variables.
There were few materials that were changed by multiple elements, usually they simply became more receptive, but if it broke into the next grade, it would change. Lind found it fascinating and wonderful to figure out the combinations.
His current elemental shield used an alloy Master Harold had come up with on his own but could never blend perfectly. Lind's ability to do so made it much better and inspired the artificer to new heights as well.
Now, he used all he had learned in 2 months of refining and working on cores to see what this metal could be. He was stunned to see all 6 elements flow into it with ease. It absorbed all Qi equally and without issue. His Eyes could follow it all and no damage was caused anywhere by the ore's natural state.
Normally, Lind would be more cautious, but moonrise was not far away at all. He looked at the sword and wondered something. He had skipped the step of inscriptions entirely somehow but had clearly been sloppy if that woman was to be believed.
Could there be something more? Could the reason he struggled so much with refining be the same as alchemy for him?
Lind calmed his mind and then did something he never allowed himself to do when trying to refine weapons. He simply let his instinct guide him. He needed a goal and a glance at his hip inspired him.
A clear image appeared in his head. His staff extended and channeling all 6 elements with ease. He carefully felt the restrictions his Qi felt using the staff and imagined a better flow. His research over the years was flowing in his mind as his eyes closed.
The dark alley lit up with emerald light. Lind had summoned his harmony as all 6 elements flowed over the ore with abandon. It was as if the Qi from his dantian was laughing in joy to be set free.
"Oh ho? You really are one of us, Lind Frey." The woman reappeared as the light of Qi faded. In place of the ore on the pedestal was a dark metal staff. It was flowing with all 6 elements but it could not shrink like Lind's current one.
What stunned Lind was how easily he could use the staff. It was not simply accepting his Qi, it let him use the modified Soul Arts and magnified them! He could achieve twice the result with half the effort!
"I estimate that is a mid grade 2 item. Well done, you have passed!" Annabelle was let down and ran into his arms. "You are a Forger, Lind Frey. I will teach you all I know and you will enter the contest 3 months from now."
Lind looked in shock at the woman who stepped forward as irresistible as a natural event. She could not be denied!
"I am Delenn. Your Master in Forging." Lind felt himself pushed down by her aura alone this time. He could not resist as it was nearly a full magnitude greater than before. Immortal Aura, it was definitely Immortal Aura!
Lind was not as glad as the last time, but he could only nod in acceptance. The aura vanished and he noticed Annabelle had not been affected at all.
"You will get those Maidens to back off. I have no desire to share my art with them. Until you are permitted, you can do nothing either. Return her at dawn!" The world shifted and Lind suddenly found himself in the plaza in front of the Heavenly Maiden Sect. He felt no nausea or dizziness as usually did with teleportation.
Any doubt about her not being a living being was gone. No Immortal Will could do the things she had done without consequence, but the question remained. How was a true Immortal Realm down here in the mortal world?