The chieftain entered the cave with a basket and set it down quietly. His eyes moved toward Rocky, still sitting cross-legged, deep in his meditation on the divine characters.
*This child has been here for ten days without waking up...*
He frowned, concern etched on his face. If Rocky remained so absorbed in his understanding of the divine word, it could have dangerous consequences. The chieftain had brought Rocky here with high hopes, but now, he feared that Rocky's immense talent might become a liability if he grew too fixated on it.
Sighing, the chieftain walked over, intending to interrupt the boy's trance for the seventh time.
"Little Rocky, are you okay?" he asked, his voice gentle but firm. "You haven't been out in ten days. Let's stop for today. How about you rest and come back tomorrow? If you hear me, just move your fingers, and I'll take you back."
He didn't dare physically disturb Rocky, given the mental energy surging within him. Any wrong move could be harmful.
Rocky, hearing the chieftain's words, was in a dilemma. In truth, he had mastered the divine characters three days ago. The reason he hadn't left was because he was grappling with a problem.
Rocky had initially hoped to use the power of the divine characters to develop new abilities—specifically, to perfect the abilities of the Sword of the Wise King. But as he began experimenting, he discovered a critical flaw. The divine characters were the embodiment of the rules of nature itself, while Nen was the manifestation of personal will, a force that often bent or even broke those rules.
At its core, Nen and the divine characters were fundamentally incompatible.
This realization hit Rocky hard. He tried to carve the divine characters into the Sword of the Wise King, but they vanished the moment they touched the materialized object, as if the sword rejected them.
It was as if the divine characters were powerless against the physical reality of the sword.
"Hey, I guess I can't wake up today," the chieftain's voice broke through Rocky's thoughts, and he looked up at him. "Don't worry, Grandpa. I'm fine," Rocky replied with a faint smile.
The chieftain froze, hearing Rocky's voice. Relief washed over him as he turned back, eager to see his apprentice was finally awake. "Little Rocky, you're awake! I thought you might stay here for a year or two, and I was worried you might never wake up at all!"
He was referring to the danger of getting too absorbed in the divine characters, where the mental energy could spiral out of control. A Nen user obsessed with such energy could, in the worst case, lose themselves completely to it.
"I'm fine," Rocky reassured him, though a tinge of frustration lingered in his voice. "I've been fine for a while. It's just... after mastering the divine characters, I found a flaw in my thinking."
"A flaw?" The chieftain raised an eyebrow. "What flaw?"
"I wanted to carve the divine characters onto my weapon—the Sword of the Wise King," Rocky explained, pulling the sword from its sheath. "But I found that it doesn't work. The power of the divine characters can't be left on material objects."
The chieftain observed Rocky for a moment before slowly speaking. "Maybe your idea isn't entirely wrong."
Rocky's eyes widened. "What do you mean? If I've tried and failed, how could my idea not be wrong?"
The chieftain shook his head slightly. "Remember what I told you earlier: some Nen abilities possess elements of the divine characters. Based on that, I think the divine characters aren't inherently incompatible with Nen."
Rocky blinked, processing the words. "But if the divine characters sometimes appear in Nen abilities, then they should be compatible, right? So why isn't it working for me?"
"There must be something you're missing," the chieftain said, his voice calm but thoughtful. "Perhaps there's something more to this than you realize."
Rocky's mind whirled with possibilities. There had to be an explanation. If the divine characters could be integrated into Nen, there had to be a way for him to do it too.
In a moment of intense focus, Rocky's mental energy surged, an overwhelming force that felt more intense than ever before. His Nen surged in response to the challenge, causing his body to pulse with energy. The room seemed to hum with his newfound power, and even the chieftain could sense the change.
"This..." the chieftain thought, his heart racing. "He's already pushing the limits of his Nen. I can't stop him now, and I'm not sure I could even if I tried."
Despite the chieftain's concerns, Rocky continued, absorbed in his own thoughts. He began to carve and re-carve the divine characters into the air before him, but each time, they vanished upon contact with the sword. His mental energy burned brighter, more fiercely than ever before, but still, he couldn't find the breakthrough he desperately sought.
*I have to figure this out. There's got to be a way.*
His frustration mounted, but Rocky wasn't ready to give up. That's when a new thought sparked in his mind. What if he didn't need to carve the divine characters onto the sword? What if the sword itself had to be re-materialized to accept them?
Rocky's eyes lit up as the realization dawned. If he could re-materialize the Sword of the Wise King, it might create a connection strong enough to bond with the divine characters. But that meant he would have to let go of the current form of the sword—the very weapon that had been so integral to his growth.
He stared at the sword in his hand, the weight of the decision sinking in. *Do I really want to sacrifice this weapon?*
A brief moment of hesitation passed before Rocky made his decision. "At worst, I can start over," he muttered. "I can modify my Nen abilities. I'll keep pushing forward no matter what."
He clenched his fist tightly, and with one determined movement, he shattered the Sword of the Wise King. This time, it didn't dissolve into crystals as before. Instead, the sword's form disintegrated into pure Nen energy, dissipating into the air.
As the sword broke apart, Rocky felt a sharp pang of loss, but he didn't waver. He knew that this was the only way forward.
*If this is what I need to do, then so be it.*
The process wasn't easy. He could feel his Nen weakening slightly as the energy he had poured into the sword was now lost. But Rocky wasn't worried. He could always rebuild. He was determined to forge something new, something stronger.
And with that resolve, he began the task of rematerializing the sword. Each movement of his hands guided the Nen energy with focus and precision. Slowly but surely, the sword began to take shape again, this time infused with the power of the divine characters. The patterns of the divine characters began to appear, not as separate symbols, but as part of the very essence of the sword itself.
Finally, the Sword of the Wise King was reforged. But this time, it was different. It was no longer just a weapon—it was a conduit of both his Nen and the divine word, a tool capable of reshaping reality itself.
Rocky stood back, awestruck by what he had created. "Grandpa... I did it," he whispered, a mix of awe and pride in his voice.
But even as he spoke those words, Rocky knew this was only the beginning. The sword had been reforged, but now, he would have to learn to wield its power—and face whatever challenges lay ahead. But for now, the road was open, and Rocky was ready to walk it.
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