Chereads / Legacy of the Dragonborn / Chapter 49 - Chapter 49, Stone Sculpting (Part 1)

Chapter 49 - Chapter 49, Stone Sculpting (Part 1)

The warm, comfy rays of the spring sun poured down on the dorm-1875 bros lounging in their backyard. Yori, Giichi, and Ryūji, chatted idly. Now both Yori and Giichi were 16 years old, and Ryūji was now 14. The three of them had grown up quickly, and even the shortest of them, Ryūji, had reached 1.6 meters in height. The tallest of them was Yori, at an astonishing amount of 1.9 meters.

"Giichi stop pretending in front of the two of us. Even fourth bro has lost his virginity. Why are you and third bro still pretending? How about this, at the end of this month, why don't you and third bro both go to Solara Kingdom City's 'Luminus Night Paradise'? I'll handle the expenses. I guarantee both of you will feel very comfortable, and I'll also guarantee the girl will be a virgin too. Deal?" Holding two small stone weights and doing a chest workout, Yori laughed out loud. Those two stone weights each most likely weighed about 20~30 pounds.

Renji generally disdained such light weights.

Giichi laughed also. "Okay, okay, Boss Yori bein' Boss Yori, how about you two having been there, Luminous Night Heaven, and third brother and I go drinking. That closer to the facts?" Side: Ryūji teased, "Giichi, you're just not a man after all.

Giichi could only smile bitterly. Suddenly, footsteps could be heard outside the courtyard. Yori put the two stone weights down and headed towards the courtyard exit while saying, "I bet it is third bro. C'mon, time to eat…" Before he finished his words, Yori suddenly went silent. He watched as Renji strode forward, a huge boulder on his shoulders, easily at least three feet high and a hundred pounds heavy. But Renji was just setting this huge boulder into the dorm, no challenge. The three of Yori, Giichi, and Ryūji were staring, agog.

With a weighty sound from the rock hitting the ground, Renji casually set it carefully in a corner of the courtyard, and all of their hearts quivered.

"What the f*ck? Third bro, I know you're strong, but how are you this strong?" Yori stared at the bolder. "Is the boulder hollow or something?" As he spoke, Yori moved forward and stretched out his hands, giving the boulder a test. "Hrrrrrngh!" Yori used all his strength, and his entire face flushed dark red, but that giant boulder seemed to be rooted into the earth as it didn't budge an inch.

"Boss Yori, stop wasting your energy. There's no way you can move it." Renji laughed. Yori's physical strength was less than that of a warrior of the first rank. How could he [lift it]?

Ryūji goggled at the boulder, then, letting out a few loose breaths of his own surprise, abruptly turned his head to stare at Renji with his eyes wide open. "Oi, Renji, why have you brought such a huge boulder into our living quarters? Oh, now I know!" Ryūji's eyes lit up. "I've seen the tip-top fighters once lift huge boulders with their bare hands. Is this your warm-up drill for becoming a weightlifter now, Renji?"

I would only end up being pounded into meat paste by this huge rock." Giichi looked at the boulder, surprised, and let out a few breaths. He then said to Renji, "Third bro, why did you bring this huge stone to our apartment?"

Renji smiled back at his three bros and spoke two words: "Stone sculpting!

According to Kaiya Tanaka's words, his sculptures were now qualified to be put in the standard hall. But it took so much time to carve each piece, and usually one day wasn't enough. In the past, he could casually carve them at the rear mountains without thinking that he might make a mistake, but now things were different.

"Stone sculpting?" Ryūji, Giichi, and Yori stared at Renji in surprise.

"Eh, is this really something of a surprise?" Renji returned from his three brothers.

Ryūji quickly said, "This isn't surprising, no. It is extremely surprising! We four brothers have been living together for six or seven years now, but I never saw you sculpt stone. So, have you thought of starting the training today?"

Renji laughs out loud, "Who says I've never been trained before? I have been practicing stone sculpting in the rear mountains for over five years by now, but this time, after I finish this piece, my plan is to take it to the Yamazaki Gallery and display it there and see whether it can be sold for any money. But by then, he had figured out how to raise enough money that would allow his little brother Kenji to have enough money to accompany Housekeeper Haruto off to the Stormcrest Empire to request admittance and training. The Reshin family had practically declared bankruptcy by this point, but Kazuki didn't care. So what if his family had bankrupted itself? Add on top, his elder son Renji attending the Keito Institute and eventually graduating to become one of the mighty maguses and his younger son, Kenji, could even possibly become a Dragonfire Warrior.

Kazuki could already envision the glorious rise of the Reshin clan!

"The Yamazaki Gallery?" Hearing this, Yori and the other two stared at Renji in astonishment. Renji had been the pride of their dorm, dorm 1875. Although he was only fifteen, he had entered the fifth grade at the Keito Institute and was hailed together with Hikari as one of the 'Two Ultimate Geniuses of the Keito Institute'. Yori and all the others had recognized Renji as a genius, but…

Stonesculpting was a very deep art. Many would painstakingly train for decades and still only be considered an ordinary sculptor. How, being a very ancient and long-lived art, could stonesculpting not be hard to master? How could Renji dare to dream that his artworks would hang in the most venerated of all art galleries-the Yamazaki Gallery?

"Third brother, don't go to your head." Giiichi made a joke to comfort him.

"Renji, I worry…your sculpture, really can sell ah?" Ryūji followed on, with an unthinkable expression on his face.

Yori laughed loudly. "What are you guys doing? Third brother, just have an exhibition then. As long as you exhibit something, I will spare ten thousand gold and buy it to help make you famous."

"I do tell the truth." Renji pulled out a Direct Chisel from his clothes.

"Direct Chisel?" Ryūji's exclamation was like an outcry. "Renji, looks like you've done some preparing. However, in times of old, I too was prepared to learn stonesculpting and consequently know that lots of tools would be required, such as Direct Chisel, the butterfly chisel, the triangular chisel, the jade bowl knife, and other various tools, to include saws. What, you only prepared one tool?"

Giichi, Ryūji, and Yori at least knew the basics. Renji didn't say too much. Holding his Direct Chisel, Renji of course entered an easygoing state of mind. His spirit felt the boulder in front of him and the earth-essence flow and he could even feel just barely the veins in it. With a smile, Renji started to make use of the chisel.

The shimmering of the chisel reflected the sunlight, making Ryūji and the others squint. But all of them kept their gaze on the boulder.

"Whooooosh!" Wherever the shadow of the chisel fell, large pieces of stone began to fall as well.

A saw should be used to chop the large piece of rock. He actually removed it with just a Direct Chisel? How astonishing must his wrist strength be? "How does Aogie do it, though?" Yori was watching the whole thing with wide eyes. Yori, next to him, remained silent as Giichi and Ryūji also fell totally silent. Wrist strength? To do this in such a manner as casually as Renji did, with every cut being perfectly even, was not something which could be accomplished just with strong wrists. Renji was as serene as a pond of stagnant water. The Direct Chisel in his left hand reached out and, in rapid cuts, sliced through all sides of the boulder, while pieces of surplus stone rained down in a constant stream.

The natural, elegant way in which Renji carved was a pleasure to watch.

 "Third bro, he…." Yori, Giichi, and Ryūji looked at one another. At this moment, each of them felt in their heart that maybe Renji really was indeed an expert stone sculptor. Calm. Natural. Serene. Renji was really enjoying the sensation of stone sculpting. At his current level, Renji had no longer a need to consider how much effort and strength should be used in any particular place. The Direct Chisel on his hands would naturally do most perfectly the usage of force. This was done subconsciously. When compared with the 'Direct Chisel School'? None of the other schools of stone sculpting could be so effortless. Experts from all the other schools had to decide which of the many varied tool types would be used for every part of the sculpture.

That was tiresome enough.

In this way, as free and natural as it could be, Renji's stone sculpting made his spiritual essence grow very fast, just like

the grass after a spring rain. That feeling of freedom in growing was so great to Renji that it made him feel comfortable down to the bone.

Renji's right hand came to an abrupt stop. The whirl flying dust and pebbles took a while, but the outline of something creeping was visible past the boulder.

Why the hell are you standing there dazed? All surprised?" Renji laughed and flicked his cigarette away to his side, turning to look at Yori and the other guys. "I've just made a simple outline. There's a lot more time that I will be putting into it later. Anyway, let's go to lunch.

Yori, Giichi, and Ryūji looked at one another. Based on what Renji had just shown them, all three were certain of one thing:

"Genius." Yori said with admiration.

"A genius amongst experts." Giichi added.Even amongst stone sculptors, for someone to be able to reach Renji's level of proficiency in just five or six years was an event that occurred perhaps once in a century.