Bang Bang Bang
"Hey, black elf, are you there?"
"Open the door, I know you are there."
Two problematic dwarfs stood in front of the room where Alonn was staying.
It had been three days since they had made a deal at the restaurant, and the dwarves had already prepared everything necessary for Alonn to forge the two great axes.
After a while, Alonn opened the door and said in a dark voice, "I already heard you, you don't have to shout."
"By the Gods, what happened to you?" Ugly Ox shouted when he saw Alonn's dark appearance.
In the past three days, Alonn has not left his room once and has also been unable to sleep due to his anxiety about being or not able to feel spiritual qi.
Unfortunately, he not only has made no progress, but he is also weak from hunger and lack of rest.
"Sorry, can you leave this for tomorrow? I am not in an ideal condition to forge anything."
"This..." Ugly Bull and Ugly Ox hesitated, it would delay their plans for a whole day.
Seeing the dwarves' hesitation, Alonn sighed in regret. Honestly, he is beginning to believe that all of this is just a farce, both the return of the spiritual qi and the spiritual beast appearing.
"...Okay, we can wait until tomorrow," Ugly Bull said and sighed.
"...Can I know why you want my services so much? I believe there are other blacksmiths in the capital, perhaps better than me."
"You don't need to know..." Ugly Ox said and shook his head.
"Hmm... Anyway, i'm going to the restaurant, i'm starving," Alonn said and walked out of the room.
The dwarves looked disappointed, but left after seeing that Alonn was in no condition to forge.
After eating a vegetable and meat soup, Alonn returned to his room to rest.
But before lying down on the bed to sleep, Alonn thought about what was going on while seated on the edge of the bed.
'It just doesn't make sense. If there really is a spiritual beast, it means that spiritual qi has been back in the world for some time, enough time for a spiritual beast to grow. In that case, it is reasonable to think that spiritual qi has already spread across the world to a certain extent.'
'Unless all of this is a scam, what is likely, there is only one explanation for my failures, myself.'
Alonn couldn't quite believe the return of spiritual qi, and he also couldn't figure out how to make books turns into ash in an instant.
In addition, the fact that his parents are over a hundred years old and still look young reinforces the possibility that there is something out of the ordinary in this world.
'My real problem, is my lack of belief. Belief in the existence of spiritual qi is something necessary for cultivation, for some damn reason that I don't know. So if I want to succeed, I need to...'
Bang
Unable to complete the train of thought, Alonn fell on the bed straight into the world of dreams.
"She is my daughter..."
"No father, my wife isn't a ash tree..."
"Can't you see? She has such beautiful leaves, just like me..."
After dreaming something strange for almost a whole day, Alonn woke up to the noise of the trouble small duo knocking on the door.
"By the gods, why do you look worse than yesterday?" Ugly Ox shouted when he saw Alonn's clumsy appearance.
"I thought you would only come tomorrow! ", Alonn said angrily.
"Today is already tomorrow, blackie," Ugly Ox said with a strange look.
"Huh!?" it was then that Alonn realized that he probably slept for a whole day.
"Since this is the case, wait a minute, I'm just going to take a shower and change clothes," Alonn said and slammed the door shut, ignoring the dwarves' reaction.
After taking a quick shower and changing clothes, Alonn left the room in high spirits.
After all, he really like his job.
"Come on, damn blackie, we will take you to the smithy," Ugly Bull said and walked on the front.
"Don't call me blackie, i'm not a dog! My name is Alonn,", Alonn said and silently cursed.
"All right, blackie," Ugly Bull said with a nod.
After about half an hour of walking, the trio arrived in front of a smithy, which looked more like a temple because of the large pillars in front of the building.
Moreover, the place was a little bit away from the city center, and the smithy seemed to have been abandoned for some time.
"We rented the place for a whole day... actually two, since you didn't come yesterday. All the tools you need are there," Ugly bull said.
"What about the metals? And the design of the great axes?" Alonn asked.
"Well, we arranged the metals, but we have no design," Ugly Ox said.
Alonn frowned disapprovingly and then asked, "What kind of great axe do you want? Something balanced or ridiculously offensive?"
"The bigger the better," Ugly bull answered.
"The cooler the better," Ugly ox answered.
Alonn put his hand on his chin for a while and said, "I've forged many great axes in the past, and I have an idea of what you barbarians want."
"Fuck- What did you just-"
"Shut up, I need to think.",
"You cocky bastard!"
...
"Here, what do you think?" Alonn said and showed what he drew on paper on a table.
"Hmmm, it looks good, what do you think? Ugly Bull."
"I think its good too, Ugly Ox."
"Since you two are satisfied, I will start working immediately," Alonn said while wearing thick leather gloves and taking off his shirt.
Although the available hearth is not comparable to the one he usually uses in the Republic, it must be enough to forge something simple like axes.
"But let me warn you, my work won't be quick. And I want at least half the payment in advance!"
"Sure" Ugly bull agreed.
For an ordinary smith, forging an great axe is certainly not time consuming, but who is Alonn? One of the most talented blacksmiths in the entire elven republic!
To forge a good weapon, Alonn knows that haste must be avoided! So the two great axes will take at least a whole week to be ready, given the size of each one.
Although Alonn doesn't know why the dwarves want his skills so much, the skills of a stranger, he certainly won't hesitate in the face of the hearth.
Bang Bang
After a while, the dwarves could hear the sound of the metal being hammered.
"I hope he is a good blacksmith as he says, those metals were not easy to obtain."
"Yeah, that damn bastard almost killed us back then."
"Ugly Bull, didn't I tell you not to mention that?"
"Don't worry, Ugly Ox, there is no one around to listen."
"We will need to pay more for the rent..."
...
Quickly, an entire week passed.
Alonn spent most of the days at the smithy and only returned to the hotel to eat and rest.
He booked the room the for another week as well.
For some reason, Alonn always felt something strange while hammering the metal, but he never discovered the source of that sensation.
"Blackie! Did you finally finished?" Ugly bull shouted as he joined smithy.
"Almost..." Alonn said while polishing the great axes blades.
Due to some strange property of the metal, the final color of the blades turned out to be different from what Alonn expected, approaching a greenish color.
After an entire day of finishing finishing the weapons, two great axes with a meter and a half high were finally ready for blood.
The edge of the blades had a total length of approximately one meter, so it was obvious that the weapon was extremely unbalanced.
In addition, there were some notches on the blades that gave both axes a mysterious look.
"I just don't understand how the hell you guys plan to use these weapons, they are... imperfect. But it doesn't matter to me, I just want my payment," Alonn said with a bitter smile.
For some reason, Alonn felt uncomfortable seeing the great axes, he feels that he created an abomination.
"Hahahaha, its perfect, blackie! You are really a great blacksmith!" the two dwarves looked extremely happy with the two axes, so Alonn decided to let them enjoy the moment.
But what Alonn simply did not imagine, is that the two dwarfs would suddenly start fighting each other.
"Hahaha, mine is better than yours!"
"Mine is bigger!"
"Stupid Ox! They both have the same size!"
"Shut up, turtle bull!"
"Stop!" Alonn tried to stop the fight, but both dwarves continued to swing the axes against each other.
"Hahahhaha" the dwarves were in pure ecstasy.
"Did they go crazy!?" Alonn murmured in panic.
Suddenly, Ugly Ox's axe managed to get past Ugly bull's defenses.
Splash
Ugly Bull's blood gushed from the wound on his shoulder like water in a puncture hose.
"Damn!" Both dwarves panicked at the sight of the blood.
"You stupid idiots!" Alonn screamed with sweat on his back.
Fortunately, the wound was not very serious due to the heavy armor that Ugly Bull wore, and after a band aid was done on the spot everyone relaxed.
"I want the rest of my payment, now!" Alonn said, he wanted to part with this duo immediately!
"Fine Fine!" Ugly Ox said and paid the other half without thinking too much.
Before Alonn had a chance to say goodbye, a mutation occurred in the great axe that had injured Ugly Bull.
The blade appeared to be emanating some kind of green smoke, and the blood on it appeared to be being absorbed.
"Argh!" Ugly Bull suddenly cried out in pain!
"What the hell!" Alonn shouted with widened eyes.
"By the gods!" Ugly Ox almost pissed himself.
The great axe slowly began to float towards Ugly Bull and stopped in front of him.
At that moment, Alonn accidentally breathed some of the green smoke emanating from the axe.
'What the hell is this!?' Alonn thought as he felt a heat in his body.
Instinctively, Alonn thought of a possibility. But when he saw with his own eyes what was happening in front of him, the possibility became a belief.
"Perhaps...!" Alonn murmured and said to Ugly Bull, "Hurry! Grab the axe!"
While groaning in pain, Ugly Bull reached out a hand towards the axe and gripped it tightly.
Bang.
The great axe fell to the ground in front of Ugly Bull and stopped emanating the green smoke from before, and all the blood on it seemed to have been absorbed.
Gulp.
While swallowing their own saliva, the trio did not take their eyes off the strange weapon.
After a while, the two dwarves looked in the direction of Alonn.
Alonn was completely astonished, more than the dwarves. Still, he didn't hesitate and said, "If I say that I have no idea what happened, would you believe it?"
Alonn was a little nervous, what will happen if the dwarves think he has something to do with it?
"...I know," Ugly Bull said while getting up.
"We are on the same boat now. You two own and I am the one that forged it," Alonn said with a sigh.
Before Ugly bull could say anything, he realized what Ugly Ox was doing and shouted, "Wait!"
Ugly Ox cut his own hand with the ax that originally belonged to Ugly Bull and made his blood run down the blade.
"Stupid Ox! What if the weapons are evil!"
"Shut up! I also want such a cool weapon!"
Alonn contorted the corners of his mouth and thought 'but it is already yours' and paid attention to what was going on with the great axe.
After a while, the great axe began to emit green smoke as well as the other and absorb the blood.
While the dwarves just watched, Alonn was bold and started to meditate while standing.
'That heat I just felt... What was that?' Alonn thought and approached the great axe to breathe more of the smoke.
With his eyes closed and with greater concentration, Alonn began to follow the cultivation steps described in the manual.
'...Heat!'
Alonn again felt his own body heat up, but this time he was not unprepared.
'Before, I had some resistance, but now I really believe in the existence of spiritual qi, which is described in the manuals...'
—Heavens way produces the dead earth which then produces life! The spirit comes from life, which is permitted by the earth and in this way it is also permitted by heaven.
—Spiritual qi is not essentially just an energy, but a manifestation of the laws of this world!
—Therefore, the cultivation of spiritual qi isn't simply about accumulating energy, but accumulating what allows the heavens and the earth existence, it's the heavenly law that allows us to interfere with reality. Therefore, cultivation is about going against the heavens because no life-form should have the power to interfere on the earth using the heavenly power.
While Alonn concentrated on his goal, the green smoke dispersed and the blood on the great axe was completely absorbed.
"Wow, and to think that those pieces of metal really could be so magical!" Ugly bull murmured.
"I'm also surprised, are these the artifacts described in the ancient legends?" Ugly Ox asked.
"I don't know, but we should stay low-key to avoid..." before Ugly Bull could complete the sentence, he looked up at Alonn with wide eyes.
At that time, a red light had started to shine in the groin area of Alonn.
Red smoke started to appear all over the place and go in the direction of the light.
'I see! It's true qi!' Alonn thought as he noticed changes in his body.
Before, he thought that True Qi would be something like a special new type of energy that he would feel in his body, but now he understands that True Qi is simply the spiritual qi being controlled and stored by him, which creates a unique signature to it.
'Physical energy, mental energy and spiritual qi, the three energies that make up True Qi do not merge completely to give origin to something new. The body and mind simply come into harmony with spiritual qi while giving the latter a unique signature, which guarantees my control over it, this is True Qi.'
'If spiritual qi is simply an embodiment of the laws of the world, it means that controlling True Qi gives me a certain right to interfere in the environment in which I am.'
'So... this is cultivation!'
Making sure that he had finally formed True qi, Alonn was finally able to go to the next step and guide it through the right paths, strengthening and adapting his body while preparing to open the Root Gate.
Honestly, it is not easy to guide something like this on the first attempt, but Alonn was patient and completely ignored the notion of time.
What he found strange, is that the amount of True Qi continued to increase with ease, as if there was no lack of spiritual qi available in the environment.
This probably means that there has been spiritual qi in the capital for quite some time, Alonn was simply not able to use it.
'It seems that the world is really as described in the manuals, everything is as it should be, the heavenly laws allow everything that happens... Except cultivation, strangely.'
After a long time of guiding True Qi through the veins and organs of the body, Alonn finally felt comfortable manipulating it. At the same time, he felt that the rate of absorption of spiritual qi only seemed to increase as his body adapted.
'I'm not going to explode... right?'
Fortunately for Alonn, his body was able to keep up with True Qi's buildup as it was strengthened and adapted.
An hour, two hours... Alonn stood for a long time with his eyes closed.
Meanwhile, the dwarves simply looked at the elf as if they were seeing something frightening.
"By the gods, what's happening with him? All that red smoke just disappears when it approach him," Ugly bull asked with his new great axe in his hand.
"I don't know, but this is just as magical as the weapons he forged."
Suddenly, the red glow in Alonn's groin area suddenly intensified as blood dripped from every corner of his body.
"Fuck, is blackie going to explode!?"
"Run!"
The dwarves were so frightened that they almost shit in their pants, and then moved further away from the elf.
"The gods are merciful but I fear that even they can't save the boy, look at all that blood!"
"Should we pray to the devils then!?"
'Damn! These fucking dwarves just don't shut their mouths!' Alonn thought as he tried to ignore the stupid conversation.
He finally reached the most critical moment described in the first manual, the opening of the gate!
"Fuck! This young elf want you split in half!" Alonn screamed, opened his bloodshot eyes and channeled all the True Qi in his body towards the Root Gate, which is located on the tailbone!
"Fuck, blackie went crazy!" the dwarves were terrified and instinctively aimed their great axes at Alonn's neck, thinking that the poor elf was threatening them.
At that moment, the red light reached a peak of luminosity, scaring the dwarves even more.
"You are the one going to be split in half!", Ugly Bull shouted with bloodshot eyes, without realizing that cutting the neck is different from cutting in half.
Alonn, seeing the axes flying towards him, can only pray that his body could withstand the impact.
In that moment of despair, Alonn instinctively overcame his own limits and managed to open the Root Gate in a single attempt.
Bang
"Blackie!"