The whale sighed, and upon opening its eyes, saw the image of Ruri looking directly at them in a strange way. It lasted for three seconds, and then, with a sigh, the two souls separated again without any fuss. Suddenly, Ruri’s eyes trembled, and Alm and Bruno noticed something wrong; she seemed to be understanding a bit about it.
’This is one of the last secrets we have, but it’s not yet time for her to know,’ Alm mentally spoke to Bruno, preventing him from thinking about discussing it. Bruno was impulsive and did everything according to his feelings, without much thought.
They felt a vast amount of information springing into their minds, and at the same time, the internal earth rune in their bodies now gleamed in a dense and sacred brown color. It changed completely, as if a new living being was in their bodies; they could even sense a pulsing of laws.
Then, the whale moved, ignoring Ruri’s gaze, and touched the giant crystal of fifty meters. They activated the new earth rune and, in the same second, seemed to completely understand the structure in every millimeter of that crystal.
It all lasted thirty seconds; following that, a brown glow slowly covered the entire crystal. Everyone looked at it with bated breath; the weight and hardness of that giant crystal were incalculable in their minds, and only this figure would be able to do something. In less than a minute, a spatial rune shone on the forehead of the whale... and in the next second, the fifty meters of crystal disappeared into the void. It was now in the spatial inventory.
Everyone sighed as the whale turned around. "Let’s go, I have a lot to do." So, it quickly took everyone outside.
***
A week later, they returned to the surface after spending five months in the secret cave. They didn’t bring the other giant crystal, considering that the dwarves wouldn’t be happy about it. However, they had collected hundreds of small crystals from the innermost monsters.
With less than three months remaining until the recruitment at the Three Extremes Sect began, they had a lot of preparations to make. The first step: they could no longer keep the existence of the four families a secret, as they would need everyone for the plans to flow. Secondly, Vuard now needed to stand out to the point where the Grimstone family considered him a terrifying talent.
Thus, a meeting was held in the castle, with the presence of the whale, Ruri, Loeus, Corin, Vuard, and his future wife, Oldis.
Alm and Bruno began to slowly recount the origin of their blood, revealing that they descended from a sacred creature sealed on this planet. Bruno spoke with a heavy tone, expressing that this creature was like a parent to them, and that it was their duty to save it. Everyone swallowed hard; they had never seen the whale so emotional.
Then came the time to talk about the four families and the origins of Ruri and Loeus. Since the beginning of the conversation, they felt Ruri clinging to their arm with a gentle expression; although internally, she was distressed and scared, she held onto them firmly as if seeking safety. In a short time, she took a deep breath and calmed down; they were there to support her, and she feared nothing.
Loeus, on the other hand, seemed stunned. He never imagined that he would have such a grand origin, and understanding that he had bestial blood in his veins left him even more perplexed. "So, I’m similar to Master Langrum?" he murmured.
The whale considered the memories of the behemoth regarding the families and agreed. "To some extent, yes, you and I are hybrids. The Yangta are divine beasts very close to a sacred snake, and Langrum also has the blood of a snake-like beast with white scales. A strange coincidence."
After both calmed down, attention turned to Corin and Vuard, and they revealed the existence and origins of the Diagram. They then explained that they needed them to establish contacts in the four families, warning about the dangers but emphasizing that they could easily pass as descendants.
Corin accepted without hesitation. Vuard, on the other hand, was concerned. Now, with a wife and soon-to-be children, the situation was more complex. The whale nodded; if he agreed right away with so many responsibilities, they would suspect if he was truly reliable. Alm and Bruno, even being cautious, also needed to consider the impact on everyone around them. The fear of hurting them should always come first.
The whale then spoke softly, "For everything to work out, you’ll have to stand out. I am the second coming of the Forge God, but I received everything from him. So, I will personally make you a disciple of the Forge God. Don’t get it wrong; you’ll be his disciple, not mine. And as a thank you for your help, I’ll allow you to pass on the teachings to your children."
Vuard and Oldis trembled, and their hearts beat like drums. If they accepted, even if Vuard didn’t survive, their children would become direct disciples of the Forge God, completely changing the future of the dwarves. With these promises, Vuard looked at Oldis, and they accepted without hesitation.
The whale sighed and, without delay, transferred all the knowledge of the first level of the Forge God’s Dao to Vuard. He would return to the desert city as planned, where, with his wife, he would strive to absorb all the knowledge. The Grimstone clan dwarves, even if not all of them were blacksmiths, understood this aspect and would appreciate Vuard’s work. If all went well, he would be accepted among them.
Thus, as promised, the whale went to the forge with Vuard, spending time exchanging tips. After a week, when everything stabilized, the whale and Vuard, now his official assistant, finally focused on forging.
First of all, they exchanged with the dwarf king dozens of small moonlight crystals for mithril. They wanted to test the new runic seal before using the precious colossal crystal. The timing was opportune, as in just over a month, Ruri would turn 16.
Using all the mithril, they focused on creating something simple and small: not a weapon, but a hairpin, something they remembered from the memories of the earth, associated with Asian cultures; perfect for Ruri.
Bruno remembered it being called ’Kanzashi’. Usually made of wood, with an elegant and slender design, used to secure and adorn the hair. This accessory often features decorative details, and Ruri seemed to like flashy things. As it was something small, they made it in large quantities and used all the mithril, employing celestial refinement. After thousands of attempts, they looked shocked at the hairpin emanating a terrifying silver power.
"Kanzashi +5 worked," said Bruno excitedly.
They called Ruri for support and began to carve the enchantment runic seal. She used her spatial laws, and all the lucky stones were already around. Soon, an enchantment of these laws was created, shocking her and the whale. The mithril completely changed its property and seemed to be a dense and physical spatial rune.
The whale carefully examined the item and the runic seal, quickly understanding that if the hairpin wasn’t at +5, the spatial laws wouldn’t merge with the material, resulting in a total loss. After many analyses, they concluded excitedly: the enchantment seal was challenging and extreme, definitely worth using to merge with the weapon made of the crystal.
They called Oldis to help Vuard with crafting the colorful details on the hairpin; Oldis was an expert at it. Ruri was also present in the forge, enthusiastic, detailing her preferences. Thus, Alm and Bruno began working alone with the moonlight crystal.
Only they could perform this task, and only with the new internal earth rune was it possible. The entire forge was isolated from prying eyes at their request. They then laid out the fifty-meter crystal on the ground, causing indescribable astonishment in Oldis, who had not seen it before. The weight was so immense that the ground began to collapse, but when they activated the behemoth’s bloodline, the weight seemed to lighten and dissipate.
In front of their bloodline, they easily managed to divide the colossal crystal into 16 parts, each measuring just over three meters. They then began, fearfully, the celestial refinement, with only eight attempts to refine two parts at a time.
After a day of work, Alm and Bruno managed to create two +1 crystals.
’Damn, I’d prefer to have just one... now the decision will be difficult,’ Alm expressed dryly.
Meanwhile, Bruno, looking at the lucky stones around, sighed, feeling insecure about the process. Under the piercing gaze in the background, he had an idea. Then he turned to Ruri and waved to her.
She ran to their side. "Be my divine lucky charm; I only have one shot," Bruno said, and she nodded, smiling radiantly.
So, without hesitation, Alm and Bruno risked everything with Ruri by their side.
An hour passed tensely... until...
"SUCCESS!"
The whale exclaimed excitedly. They turned to Ruri, who was smiling radiantly, hugging them. They promised her a reward in the future, and immediately, she became pensive, which made them worried, but they decided to ignore it for now.
Now, with the refined +2 crystal, which should have an inconceivable weight and power, they began forging the weapon. Bruno, who would be the beneficiary, already had in mind exactly what he wanted, and due to the size of the crystal, it was obvious: a heavy sword.
Ruri stayed close, watching the weapon being created. She quickly saw the gigantic blade being sharpened and sighed in admiration. She remembered Langrum’s black sword, but what her master was forging was much, much larger, and the true weight couldn’t be measured.
After seeing that they had finished the main part, she curiously asked why they didn’t choose a saber or an axe, weapons they usually used. Bruno smiled inwardly and calmly explained.
The heavy sword has a massive sword body and incredible weight. Although it is classified as a ’sword,’ it has no resemblance to one. Additionally, due to its weight, controlling it is incredibly difficult. Wielding the sword consumes a considerable amount of Qi. Heavy, difficult to control, and consumes a lot of Qi; these three disadvantages ensure that no intelligent cultivator would use it. Its greatest advantage is that, once it hits something, it causes massive destruction. However, with such a heavy weapon, it’s impossible to swing it with any speed. Hitting the opponent becomes very difficult, and striking creates many opportunities for the opponent to counterattack.
Because of this, this sword is only suitable for the battlefield; if someone can control it well, it would definitely be a weapon capable of massacring many. But it’s definitely not suitable for one-on-one combat, not only providing no assistance but also becoming a burden.
Ruri was intrigued by the explanation. "So, why choose such a weapon?"
"Because this is a sword destined for protection. A heavy sword is not suitable for duels but rather for facing a sea of enemies on the battlefield. While swords are agile and versatile, and a saber is violent and dominating, the heavy sword excels in the ability to protect. Wielding other weapons can protect at most three or five individuals, but by wielding a heavy sword, it’s possible to block an entire army, as long as those you want to protect are kept in the rear." Bruno said lightly, his eyes shining. "The heavy sword is a weapon of massacre, an authoritative weapon, but above all, a weapon of protection; I want to use the heavy sword to protect."
Bruno finished looking penetratingly into Ruri’s eyes as if his gaze completed his words. Then, he quickly got awkward. He heard Ruri’s heart beating strongly, and her face turned as red as an apple.
’She interpreted it a bit differently... but she’s not entirely wrong.’ Alm said coldly.
Bruno sighed, extending his arm and gently stroking her hair. This girl seemed to have no way, but he didn’t feel bad about it. Then, as expected by him, her shyness won, and she couldn’t stay; she quickly lowered her face with a whimper and ran away. Only Oldis watched, smiling, as Ruri silently fled.
Alm and Bruno then focused on the main task, and the enchantment runic seal began to be sculpted. Bruno regretted making Ruri run away; now, they lost an important lucky charm. But they had confidence in managing.
Soon, all the power of faith and Yang was poured into the seal. It was as if life were being generated in the body of the sword. Quickly, its silvery color faded away; right after, a celestial blue covered its entire being. When it stabilized, celestial white and blue seemed to mix and interchange slowly. It was a success, and Bruno felt immense confidence and power of faith flowing between his body and the sword.
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
’How is it?’ Alm asked, unable to feel anything in the sword.
Bruno took a few minutes to analyze, then spoke. ’It’s even better than I imagined. It seems to enhance my power immensely in a strange way; I even feel like I can create techniques with it.’
’Great, we’ll use the immortal core then. My weapon can wait, despite having the demon metal, I prefer to have more capability to protect the girl first. We’ll figure out a way to get another immortal core later.’ Alm said with a rare sincerity.
Soon, the damaged immortal core was removed. Inside resided the spirit they found in the abyss storm realm. They had to fight the demon king to obtain it, and it almost led to a disaster afterward; now, it would finally be used.
The core’s spirit had been with Vrix all the time, teaching him everything from speaking to cultivation and Qi, even though he didn’t need to cultivate. Currently, he could communicate mentally with disjointed words, but he already had some ability to manipulate Qi and laws. The core itself was 7% restored, and Alm and Bruno were not afraid to use it now. In the future, when they needed another weapon, they could create another and transplant the core to it; of course, that should be impossible, but the Dao of the forge god was no joke.
The core was placed in the weapon in no time. Then, the whale rose, its eyes shining as it tried to lift the heavy sword. But... currently, after changing the crystal’s property, the bloodline almost had no effect, and the weight was... at the very least, unbelievable.
Physical cultivation was activated to the maximum...
Bloodline was activated to the maximum...
Then they burned the core’s Qi mercilessly...
Only then did they lift the three-meter weapon. Their whole body trembled under the weight and power of it. They were consuming a lot of Qi just by lifting it; attacking with it? At most, they could do it three times before depleting everything within them. But... Bruno was even more excited about the result.
’My power almost has no offensive capability. This weapon covers my weakness, and now we can fight while protecting allies, with my capacity greatly expanded.’ Bruno said excitedly, then thought for a moment. ’A name... Fides! It means ’faith’ and ’trust’. It comes from Latin and is a connection of mine with the earth.’
This, obviously, would be the name of the core’s spirit, not the weapon. Now that Fides would live in this weapon, it would adapt to this power, not being able to be placed in something very different in the future. After appreciating their creation for a while, they stored it in the inventory; Vrix would still be the teacher.
***
Time passed, and Alm and Bruno read a good portion of the basic information left by the behemoth. Then, they called Corin and Vuard and, using the diagram, with the help of their divine souls, bestowed upon them the bloodline of high dwarves and high elves.
Vuard was going to get married before they left, so it was a good time; he fainted and fell into a coma that lasted several days until he woke up. When he woke up, the entire earth and its laws seemed to bow before him; with just his presence, all the dwarves instinctively kneeled.
As for Corin, the bloodline seemed like a drop in the ocean, and nothing changed. But when Alm and Bruno asked Ruri to seal his entire natural bloodline... in two days, Corin changed significantly. His colorful hair became uniform, in a greenish tone very similar to an elf; and his body seemed to slim down, losing muscle very quickly.
When everything settled, one month before they left, Ruri’s birthday arrived. She paraded through the dwarven city with them, using her silver hairpin adorned with accessories. With that, her spatial power became simpler and easier to use, helping her a lot. The whale waited for her to say what she wanted as a reward for the help... but she didn’t say anything. She just clung to them as they walked through the city together.
A week later, there was an imperial wedding among the dwarves. The king’s daughter was getting married, with Vuard, of course. Everyone celebrated for three days, and all the dwarves from the cities joined in the festivities.
Fifteen days before the appointed day, they said their goodbyes and set out with an army of women and babies. The numbers dwindled significantly, as many were ultimately convinced to leave their children. In the city, they would be well cared for, and they could eventually visit them. However, most just never wanted to see them again.
Then they left and took everyone very close to the desert. The whale, using the laws of the earth, summoned Pooh, the bull-headed beast that was a guardian of the city. And he escorted the dwarf couple and the women to the city.
Vuard promised to study everything he received day and night, and Oldis promised Ruri that when she returned, there would be children for her to meet. So, finally, the whale and his group set out towards the Three Extremes Sect.