Without hesitating, he began pouring a thin stream of his essence into the circulation inside. Its grey color flowed, activating the first rune, then the second, then the third... Yet the amount he pushed in was just a bit over what was really needed. Avaln took a deep breath, controlling his anxiety, his focus never leaving the flow under his hands, and soon enough, he saw just what he expected.
The demonic essence inside the spear began to feed on his essence. It's black, corrosive attribute swallowing the grey like a cub seeking milk. The black grew thicker, its current, mightier, and the whole circulation sped up slightly, as if spurred.
Avaln smiled with satisfaction, and continued the arduous and steady work.
By the time he saw some results, the essence inside had grown twice its original size. And by the time he finished, it had reached five times that previous growth. Its circulation sped up quite significantly too, and the runes were finally activating on their own.
As to why, it was simple.
The essence until then had lacked the strength to do so. Probably because of how long the process in its making took, added to the time it laid there without being used, the spear had lost much of its demonic essence to the world, so it barely had enough to move around.
Avaln couldn't but shook his head in disbelief.
In the books he read, all authors described the people who possessed elementless essence as poor fools who wouldn't amount to anything in the future, for not having an attribute was considered to be the greatest misfortune for an adventurer as they'd be weaker by default, aside from becoming prey once strong enough. But Avaln saw it for what it truly was, and now held physical proof in his hands…
His elementless essence could serve as a fuel. Normally, injecting one's essence into another body with a different attribute would, at most, do nothing; At worst, weaken it, yet his elementless essence was the perfect nutrient. And if his suspicions were right...
He shook his head. He'd have time for that.
And so, he opened his eyes, only to notice the sun was already setting. "What the…" He muttered, only to hear a gasp right by his side.
He met a pair of startled pale blue eyes. "Rei?"
"Master Avaln! You are alright!"
"Did the little brat wake up?!"
"Hey kid! You had us worried there."
Avaln wore a puzzled look, as he skimmed through the old smith, grandma Mira and Rei, then fixed his purple gaze on the latter. "What's going on?"
Rei sat by his side. She had a blanket over her shoulders, and there was a pillow on the ground. "Master doesn't know?" Avaln shook his head, repressing a grimace at the title. "Master has been sitting here two days straight."
He blinked twice. Then he moved his shoulder, then the other, noticing his muscles were certainly stiff. "Two days?" He repeated.
She nodded, her eyes darting from his shoulder, to his torso, to his face, as if trying to see something out of place. Her concern was so palpable that made Avaln wonder if he was really alright. Maybe his left shoulder wasn't actually supposed to be on his left side. "Grandma Mira said some adventurers enter a trance from time to time, but after a day even she began to worry."
"I wouldn't say worry… It was certainly unusual. But then I sensed what was happening to the spear and... " the elderly woman explained, then a rough voice interjected.
"What did you do to the spear, kid?! What I saw was… I've never seen anything like it!" The old smith almost shoved grandma Mira aside, then thought better and gently tapped her shoulder before approaching.
Avaln smiled awkwardly. "I guess you wouldn't believe me if I were to say it was a failure, right?"
"Of course not! Two days of trance? At your age? At your refinement level? Unthinkable!"
A part of him wanted to facepalm himself, the other was asking what did you expect? He had indeed wanted to play it as if the experiment was a failure before, but he never thought two days would pass. Now, even if it was indeed a failure, they would still want to take a look at the spear.
He let out a sigh, then stood. "Master crafter, did you ever test its strength?"
The old smith shook his head. "Only someone skilled with it would be able to give any good measure. However, I could more or less tell from experience, why?"
Avaln nodded, and thought for a breath before deciding it would be a good opportunity. "Do you know of a place that's not frequented where I could try it out and train on a daily basis?"
Grandma Mira and Jeff exchanged glances at this, then the latter said, "I do... but there might be danger of demon boars strolling through there. Do you still want it?"
Avaln shrugged. "What am I supposed to defend the village from again?"
The old smith seemed taken aback at this, then nodded, slightly abashed. "I'm guessing you won't tell us anything until we are at that place, right?"
Avaln smiled. "Nope!"
Rei chuckled from behind, grandma Mira sighed, and Jeff seemed to want to punch something but couldn't quite find what. Finally, he also let out a sigh and added, "We should set out tomorrow then, it's getting late already."
"In that case, I'll prepare dinner!" Rei took Avaln's wrist and pulled, gesturing to the elderly woman. "Let's go grandma! I'll use your kitchen!"
She and Jeff exchanged another glance, this one full of knowing, then the former began a slow stroll towards her home, in no hurry to catch up to the younguns.
They departed early in the morning.
The old smith guided him eastward, grandma Mira and Rei followed while Avaln carried the demon boar spear on his left shoulder, covered by clothes in a way that made it seem like a rug. Grandma Mira had said it was best not to attract attention to them if he wanted the place to remain a secret, to which he agreed.
"The area is off-limits since the barrier failed. It's a tail of forest that's quite close to the mountain range without being considered a part of it, so not many people know about the clearing I'm taking you to... " Jeff explained, as they ventured through a well hidden path that wasn't much of a path, yet made way between the trees and bushes. "But as I said yesterday, some demon boars may be wandering around these parts."
Avaln nodded, not alarmed in the slightest. His seventh sense could cover fifty steps now, so even if their surroundings seemed uncertain, he was sure there were no threats in their vicinity. However, he still made an effort to look around just in case, as no one would believe a meager Nascent Essence realm could-be-adventurer like him was capable of such a feat.
Fortunately, in a way, he found the stroll quite pleasant. Last time he traversed the forest, it had been while constantly on the watch, constantly concerned about Rei... But now he was able to enjoy it.
Some may find it strange, but given the life Avaln had led until now, book here, broom there, bully here, bruise there... Everything was a new experience for him, and the shifting nature of the leaves, bushes, branches and bark felt almost entracing. Every step he took showed him a new aspect of dark green, humid brown or ray of sunlight, and even his seventh sense seemed to be a fountain of entertainment.
I'm like a cub. He thought.
"Master Avaln…" Called out Rei, falling into step beside him. "Last time you said you were from Greenleaf, but that it wasn't much of a home... What did you mean by that?"
That phrase had made her very curious, and couldn't help but wonder. Avaln, however, shrugged. "There isn't much to tell really… I wasn't born in Greenleaf, but in an abandoned village instead."
"Abandoned?" She inquired, yet soon saw the shadow that covered his features, as his purple gaze seemed to get lost in an unspoken image.
"Abandoned. I don't remember much from my time there, and… well, I got sent to an orphanage, so maybe because of that I don't really know what a home is."
Home, uh? He pondered, suddenly drawn to reminisce. Some memories are harder to find than others, much like a vault you've left there to collect dust and forgot where its key is, and maybe because of that he didn't see the forced branch Jeff had pulled aside, about to lash him in the face.
"Careful!"
However, a delicate pale hand caught it.
"Jeesh, Uncle Jeff, be more aware of who is going behind, will you?" Reprimanded Rei as she met Avaln's eyes. "Is Master alright?"
An awkward smile peeked through his mouth. "Yes, sorry. I'll be more careful."
She returned his smile, cheerfully. "As long as Master is alright." Then, she focused on the path. "Do you remember anything from that village?"
"Hmm? The village?" He blinked a few times, somehow finding it hard. "I…"
"We've arrived." Announced the old smith, halting Avaln's train of thought, as they stepped into a clearing of about twenty steps wide.
The ground was soft grass, the gentle breeze drew patterns dimly illuminated by the rising sun, and Avaln soon found a target to test his spear on. It was a tall tree in the middle of the clearing, and although a part of him felt slightly guilty for what he was about to do, he also realized there wasn't much he could do about it.
"Alright kid, time to tell us what you did to the spear!" Said the old artefact crafter, hunger shining in his eyes.
Avaln uncovered the ivory, almost white two-steps tall weapon, then spun it around in a flourish he was beginning to grow quite fond of. It felt like a sort of ceremony, it prepared his mind, focused it, and a part of him that he'd never tell anyone about, thought of Sgithe. Next, he took a step forward and readied his basic stance: bottom half of the spear held by his left, pointing slightly down while his right was gently placed on the upper half, extended towards the head.
He took a deep breath, then looked at the four feet wide trunk.
"What are you goin-" Jeff tried to inquire, yet grandma Mira elbowed his side, then shushed him with a gesture.
Last night, Avaln made two decisions. First, the one inside his soul couldn't be Sgithe. He still didn't know how or why, but that was definitely just the puppet. Second, maybe because of his loss against the puppet version of Sgithe, he went through the Dún Scáith records in order to finish the comprehension of a new technique, designed to be used by itself, or as a sequence after Snake bites the neck.
The move was a wide horizontal sweep in front of him, at neck height. Avaln closed his eyes, remembered how it was described, the motions of the body, the command he needed to give to his essence, where it should flow stronger, adjusting his breathing.
And its name...
Fortune Abandons The Bold.
He thrusted the spear diagonally, then swept it to the side, step forward.
Shallow. He thought, then spun on his feet, chaining the move with another of the same kind, the spear on his shoulders, then extended once again, adding momentum…
Better. Were his next words at the feedback he received through the spear, amazed at its lightness, flexibility and power.
The bark exploded, creaked, then the wind escaped as the tree tilted and fell down. Avaln rested the spear on his shoulder, thinking that for a first attempt, it wasn't bad. Then, the lack of comments made him turn around.
Jeff and grandma Mira were staring at the tree, agape. Rei's eyes, however, were darting between him and them, as if afraid the shock may suck the little life they had left. In fact, it took them a while to come to their senses.
She was familiar with such a feeling, as she had seen Avaln kill a demon boar in one move. It wasn't something one believes until it's witnessed with one's own eyes.
Grandma Mira was the first. She nodded once, as if finding a new motivation, then took Rei with her to the side and whispered something to her. Then, Jeff came to, or seemed to, as his first words were strange, "is that really… my spear?"
Avaln smiled. "It's actually mine now."
The remark had its desired effect, as the old smith furrowed his brow and retorted, "Whatever! Let me see!"
Avaln shrugged, then handed him the weapon in an easy manner. Jeff took it in his arms like a baby, and his expression went from doubt, to skepticism, to surprise, to finally awe. His gaze found Avaln's. "W-What in the twelve did you do?! The resistance, the flexibility, the sharpness, toughness... everything is way higher now! If I wasn't the one who crafted it, I'd say someone was trying to pass a low-rank Astralite weapon for bone!"
A smile was his only answer.
"No, no silence this time! I've been studying artefact crafting my whole life, and I've never seen runes like this, much less a weapon with essence moving inside! The closest I know of are crown guards, and I can only dream of reaching the heights needed to work with that stuff!" Jeff spouted, throwing a burly arm to the sky while the other held the spear like a treasure. Avaln lifted an eyebrow at this, thinking that maybe it had been a mistake to let him examine it.
He sighed. "Don't tell me you are rethinking our agreement…"
The old smith squinted his eyes, weighing his options. Will against will, they stood there silently, yet before he could open his mouth, an incredibly calm voice called out from behind, "Uncle Jeff?" He turned around, only to see Rei staring at him. Her smile, almost too wide. "You wouldn't be thinking of going back on your word, would you?"
"M-Me? O-of course not!"
"I'm glad to hear that. It would break my heart if my dear uncle Jeff were to be so disrespectful towards the person who saved my life, after all." A delicate, pale hand almost floated in his direction. "The spear, please?"
"L-little Ri? But…"
"Please?"
As cold sweat ran down his temple, the burly smith receded and handed her the weapon, which she embraced between her arms. Then, she turned and took two light steps towards Avaln, her smile normal again, bright as a full moon. "Here!"
How could he refuse? As his hands received the polearm, he couldn't help but think how lucky he was Rei wasn't crossed with him. Jeff, on the other hand, kept staring daggers in his direction, and Avaln couldn't help but believe he was holding Jeff's wife instead of the demon boar spear.
He released his seventh sense, and probed the circulation inside once again, admiring the result. The demonic essence flowed strong, like a mist of poison, which added a subtle yet definite passive to his blows, the blackened wood being the physical proof. Avaln wondered if that effect could be enhanced somehow, and decided to further experiment in the weeks to come.
He also noted down to be more discreet in the future: if even someone who seemed as upright as the old smith could be tempted at the sight of treasure, then Avaln couldn't but shake his head at the naivety of his recent actions.
He didn't know how long he'd remain in Gale either, but as he cast a gaze upon the pale blue eyes of a certain girl he somehow saved, a gentle smile eased his features.
"Master Avaln?" Rei inquired, a bit abashed at this.
"It's nothing. We should get back for now."