The last hours of that night passed, and after Alm calmed down, he joined Bruno to carefully plan the next steps. On the morning of the sixteenth day, they contacted Ruri through the array, but she took an unusually long time to respond. After a few minutes, her voice sounded, responding with extreme irritation.
They knew that the three who stayed behind hadn’t faced any danger because they could sense Ruri through the array. So, they were a bit bewildered and asked, ’What happened? Are you feeling unwell?’
They could hear her deep breath, and then her voice sounded dry. ’Everything’s normal.’
’Well, I see. The situation has changed.’ Bruno seemed to understand something, while Alm simply ignored it and began talking to her. ’The dwarves we saw escaping earlier, I want you three to head south and capture them. It’s been 15 days, but they were injured, so they shouldn’t be too far. Langrum is experienced in living outside, so she should be able to find them.’
Silence on the other end persisted, so Alm continued. ’There are cultivators chasing them. You must act quickly and cannot kill either side to avoid influencing things here in the city. Use your mental power to make the pursuers continue the search, then bring the dwarves close to the city.’
Silent seconds continued, then Ruri finally spoke. ’Yes, master. But... when will you return?’
Alm finally felt all the strangeness coming from her and didn’t respond immediately, so Bruno intervened. ’Maybe a week or two, if everything goes well. If you execute the plan quickly, you can contact me every night as a reward.’
Ruri’s voice responded promptly. ’Understood! We’ll leave now, but please try to come back earlier.’
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Immediately, they sensed, through the array, her movement, probably calling the other two who were training nearby to come out as quickly as possible. ’What the hell happened?’ Alm asked, completely lost.
’We are fifteen days away from her... at this age, hormones and feelings are starting to go out of control. It won’t be long before she stops being a child.’ Bruno replied without going into too many details, but Alm understood.
’We have to discipline her properly; she can’t be that attached.’ Alm spoke seriously.
’Forget that, if we maintain daily contact, there shouldn’t be any issues.’ Bruno retorted and returned to studying the plans for the mithril furnace.
After a few hours, they turned to forge other alchemy furnaces. They were getting better every day, but no other Azure-White furnace emerged despite all their efforts. At this moment, they had just forged another furnace, and an alchemist was putting the inscriptions.
’These lousy alchemists, it’s almost impossible to improve with them providing support.’ Alm mentally spoke furiously.
’To make the furnace with mithril, we have to climb a new step...’ Bruno thought of a solution. ’Doara mentioned that Almin’s master was experienced in assisting forgers. If we use Almin, who is learning from him, it should be easier, and we can evolve together.’
Alm quickly agreed, trying to control his impulses to kill this useless alchemist in front of him. As soon as he finished the inscriptions, they spoke as a command.
"From today on, I don’t want any unknown alchemist helping me. Call my friend Valmin; he should be up to the task."
The alchemist looked tense but didn’t respond; this whale was already someone of very high status, and even the leader respected him. He simply left, and the words of the glorious FatFluke spread quickly.
On that same day, Almin arrived at the forge, but he was accompanied by a short woman with cautious eyes; it was Alnia. Almin approached and greeted the whale, pretending to be old friends.
"My master discussed your request, and he thought it would be good training for his two disciples to help you." Almin spoke lightly. "I started studying furnaces recently, but Alnia should be at a level close to the alchemists, as she has been studying with my master for a few years."
Alnia took a step forward and bowed without saying anything. The whale simply sighed, saying, "Kid, I won’t eat you if you’re hungry. I don’t care about useless things. Valmin is my friend; if he thinks well of you, I will too. Just act normally."
Alnia listened in silence and turned to Almin, who just nodded at her. Then, in the next second, her face changed completely as if a mask had fallen. "Great, Valmin is a bit of an idiot, but he has a competent friend..."
Then, she started talking non-stop about things that no one cared to pay attention to. The whale then turned to Almin, and he seemed relaxed, pretending to listen to Alnia talk endlessly.
’This idiot. He seems to have formed a bond with this unbearable woman and her new master.’ Alm grumbled mentally.
Bruno also noticed, sensing the problem they would have. So, he just turned, ignoring Alnia, and started forging another furnace. In two hours, the heat from the fire laws ceased, and they called Almin and Alnia, who were a bit away. She was way too relaxed and spent all the time talking to Almin, who just listened. Clearly, he was thinking about something completely different, just responding to her from time to time.
’How does he put up with this...’ Alm said, amazed at his brother.
’He doesn’t put up with it. He just pretends to listen and gives her rope to keep talking cheerfully.’ Bruno replied as the two approached.
Alnia began inscribing the furnace, taking almost an hour, twice the time of the other alchemists. The white color emerged without any surprise, but Alm and Bruno were satisfied. Despite taking more time, they felt that she had much more potential and willingness to improve. At least they didn’t feel the urge to kill her in the end.
Three days passed, and the duo took turns assisting the whale in the forge. When it was Almin’s turn, he was indeed inferior, but he learned quickly and improved with each new attempt. Perhaps in a week, he would already be on par with Alnia at the beginning. But the woman was also gradually evolving.
That night, Ruri finally contacted them again and reported that they had done what he asked perfectly, and the dwarves were with them. This was Bruno’s idea, as old Doara had said they would be captured. Even though Alm said it was useless, Bruno believed that it didn’t hurt to save them, and having a bond with the dwarves could be useful in the future.
In the current situation, injured and moving slowly, it was only a matter of time before they were captured. After Almin and the whale fled with everything, the people in the city would certainly waste no time chasing the dwarves, and they could return to their land safely.
After informing them of the success, Ruri spent a long time excitedly talking about her day. They noticed that Ruri enjoyed watching Loeus and Langrum a lot, and she noticed how Loeus was getting stranger every day around his master Langrum. After he turned 15, even Langrum changed the way she looked at him a bit. And according to Ruri, things seemed to be slowly growing into something beyond master and disciple.
After Ruri said goodbye, Alm and Bruno were surprised to realize that they had spent two hours talking to that girl without being bothered. Then, their old memories and those of their wife answered their doubts; they didn’t mind because it was that little girl who was talking. They thought that perhaps that’s how their child, the one that didn’t get a chance to be born, would turn out like.
The days passed, and after twenty-five days in the city, forging daily, the second White-Blue furnace was built. Almin made the inscriptions, now slightly surpassing Alnia’s skills. At this point, Alm and Bruno nodded determinedly to take the next step.
That night, after various tests, they severed the connection of the mithril with the laws of the world, putting it into the spatial inventory. Then, using the fire runes from the array, they managed to melt it slowly, taking the first step to forge the mithril furnace.
Almin had to be present to provide his runes with full force. Still, after the whale spoke of success, Almin felt bitter and not excited. Alm and Bruno noticed this, and they already knew the reason for this reaction. They had told Almin that as soon as they managed to forge the mithril furnace, they would start moving to escape.
It didn’t take long for Almin to speak lightly through the array. ’Goku... do we have to escape alone?’
’Hm? Going alone or not doesn’t change the goal. But why would I take anyone with me?’ The whale responded dryly.
Almin thought for a moment and spoke. ’My master is an extremely experienced alchemist, and I feel like I can learn a lot from him. I took my time, carefully analyzing him and Alnia; they’re not bad...’
’I understand. Trust isn’t given; it’s earned.’ The whale spoke calmly. ’We can’t stay in the city, or have you forgotten that you’re a cultivator of the evil path? If you’re thinking about the city in the desert, that’s too risky. I can’t accept just anyone; it may not seem like it, but I’m responsible for everyone living inside.’
Almin clenched his fists, speaking confidently. ’Master Detue had a strong friendship with the dwarves; I feel he will leave the city soon. As for Alnia... she will follow him wherever he goes; she likes him much more than just a master and disciple’s feelings.’
Alm squinted his eyebrows. This again? Do all relationships between disciples and opposite-sex masters end in romance? At least Detue was an old man and would never give in to that woman, Alm thought.
Almin continued. ’You said you wanted to make a five-ring Yang pill. He can make it quickly if you give him the conditions. It will be good for you, and I... took the liberty of asking...’
’You spoke to him?!’ The whale cut in furiously.
’I just mentioned it in passing about concocting that pill.’ Almin quickly replied. ’At that moment, I saw Alnia’s gaze change in the direction of our master. Then he said he would sell his soul to make and have a pill like that.’
The whale listened, angry still, but then they thought about their reaction. Alm certainly didn’t understand anything, so Bruno sighed, speaking to Almin. ’It seems like their relationship is already quite advanced.’
Almin listened and nodded, seeming already sure of it. Then Bruno continued. ’Detue is old and can’t have children. But with this Yang pill... his chances will surely rise to 90%.’
Alm finally understood the situation and fell silent in astonishment. Bruno thought for a moment and spoke to Almin. ’We don’t really need the pill; just making it is enough. Langrum will be furious, but you can make it for her again in the future.’
Bruno then sighed and concluded. ’I’ll test him personally. If he’s really reliable and accepts my conditions, we can take him.’