"Damn it… I can't do it!" Cliff grumbled, irritation evident in his voice.
"You need to concentrate, my lord. Try to control the output of your mana, then channel it into the dagger to take shape," Akumu replied, standing directly in front of him.
"Wouldn't it be better if you just showed me?" Cliff shot back, frustration creeping into his tone. "I'm not familiar with these concepts."
"Yeah, the master is right... crunch," Cain chimed in, munching on a fruit while perched on a tree branch. "He comes from another world; all these mana concepts and aura are completely foreign to him. Crunch"
Akumu sighed, taking the dagger Cliff offered. "Treat the dagger as if it were an extension of your arm. Control the output of your mana and try to let out as little as possible. When the mana eventually emerges, impose your will on it and extend it along the blade."
As he spoke, an ethereal glow emanated from his right hand, rushing toward the dagger and giving it a luminous appearance. Suddenly, Akumu raised the dagger and swung it toward his hand, aiming to strike.
Caught off guard, Cliff exclaimed, "Hey, what the—"
Before he could finish, he realized Akumu's hand remained intact.
"What's wrong? I thought you were going to cut yourself!"
"It's not sharp! Crunch" Cain interjected, loudly chewing his fruit.
"Yes, for now, it's like an iron stick. I've trained it and hardened it, but it's not ready to cut anything," Akumu explained, delicately rubbing his hand where he had struck.
"How do you sharpen it? I thought you just had to imbue your mana into the sword for it to become sharper," Cliff asked, disappointment creeping into his voice.
"It's much more complicated than that," Cain declared, leaping down from the tree to land on his feet. He moved closer to inspect the dagger Akumu was holding.
"When you apply mana to a material, it temporarily strengthens and becomes more resilient. But for your aura to become sharp, you need to refine the edges as finely as possible," he explained, his voice growing serious. "At first, it requires extreme concentration, but with practice, it will become second nature."
As he spoke, he covered his right hand with his aura, walked to a nearby tree, and gently thrust his finger into the trunk. Without any resistance, his finger sank into the wood as if it were butter.
Stunned, Cliff approached the tree to inspect the small hole left behind, his mind racing with questions.
He wanted to ask how he had done it, but quickly realized Cain had already explained.
"A stupid question," he muttered to himself.
Sensing Cliff's excitement, Cain continued his explanation. "By strengthening it with mana, even a piece of wood can cut through stone."
"There's something else to consider: mana carries the affinity of its emitter. So, when you strengthen a material, it's temporarily influenced by that affinity."
"So the reason the wooden club the mutant goblin used didn't burn is because it absorbed his fire affinity?" Cliff asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Yes and no. It's not that simple. What prevented the club from burning wasn't just the affinity providing resistance; it likely evolved alongside its wielder. Recognizing the mutant goblin as its master, it developed similar resistances."
"Oh, well, I heard the announcement that my sword had evolved. Can I do that too?" Cliff inquired eagerly, not wanting to miss any opportunity.
"Not yet with fire, but probably. The evolution your saber underwent is its first, so we could consider it to be at the 'rare' level. It should be sharper and lighter, but that's it. It won't withstand intense heat."
"Unless your sword undergoes another evolution, going from 'rare' to 'unique,' it will melt as the heat increases," Akumu added with a chuckle.
Cliff felt a twinge of disappointment; he had hoped to perform fire breath moves soon, but all was not lost—he just needed to be patient.
"Stop moping, sir," Cain said suddenly, placing a hand on Cliff's shoulder. "To master this, you need to start by controlling your mana output. So please, get to work."
Handing the dagger back, Cliff began channeling his mana again.
An hour passed, then another. Slowly, the dagger became enveloped in his mana, its shape starting to solidify until it completely merged with the weapon.
Unable to contain his joy, Cliff erupted into laughter, startling both Cain and Akumu, who had been lost in meditation.
"Did you succeed, sir?" Cain asked, getting to his feet to walk over.
"See for yourself!" Cliff beamed, his pride evident as he brandished the dagger.
"Wow, you managed to strengthen it!" Akumu exclaimed, inspecting the dagger in Cliff's hand. "Judging by the amount of mana you put into it, if it were sharpened, it could even cut through steel!"
"Then teach me how to sharpen it! I'm sure I could master it in less than a day—"
BOOM!
As Cliff bragged about his ability to quickly grasp their instructions, he stepped back and fell onto his back.
His vision blurred, the world around him darkened until all that remained was pitch black.