Soul-Linked artifacts are bizarre because they belong to cultivators, and cultivators defy the Heavens. Something as simple as a brick could similarly defy the heavens if Soul-Linked and become a godly tool. Imagination and resources are the only limiter to a Soul-Linked artifact’s growth.

~Lugh, God of Battle and Craft

A month later, Crow and Hooligan arrived at the edge of a magma lake. In the distance, they could see the volcano. A Shrine at the edge of the magma no long had its crystal lit up because they’d just completed their twenty-ninth Shrine.

“How are we going to reach that?” Hooligan asked. She’d tied her long curly hair back because of the heat, but sweat still dampened her clothes. Hooligan had already complained at least a dozen times because of Crow’s high tolerance to heat and cold.

Crow and Hooligan stood there for about ten minutes before Crow came to a decision. The Vanguard, his trusty steed, was nearly indestructible, or so it should be able to withstand the lava, or so he hoped. He finally decided to christen the boat with a name and felt that Vanguard was appropriate.

The Vanguard landed on the magma, and Crow focused his Mana Sense on it, waiting for something to go wrong. The moment he sensed anything off, he’d draw it back into his Vortex Pin. Several tense minutes passed without any issue. There was some black smoke, but he knew it came from the lava burning off impurities from built-up grime. It wasn’t worth paying it any mind, so he ignored it.

Besides the nearly unbearable heat from the bottom and sides of the boat, it wasn’t impacted by the lava. Surprisingly, it floated on the fiery lake as if it was resting on a lake.

“What the hell kind of boat is that?”

“No idea. However, it’s probably my favorite artifact. It has saved my life more often than I’d like to admit.”

“Have you tried to refine it?”

Crow had briefly thought about it but put it out of his mind because it wasn’t something he had time to deal with. And now that it was here again, he felt a little foolish thing about long it’d been since he’d acquired Vanguard. Sage’s Mind wasn’t infallible; just because Crow could remember everything didn’t mean he’d recall it randomly. Usually, he had a running list of active tasks he needed to do, which is how he kept track, but if something didn’t make the list, it’d need a catalyst for him to recall it. When he actively thought about the topic, he’d recall everything he ever learned about it.

Since he put the thought of refining the boat aside, he never considered it again. It wasn’t that he forgot about refining it, but just that he hadn’t actively thought about doing so again. Without mincing words too much, this was his way of forgetting things that he felt were irrelevant. He packaged those thoughts into a box in his mind and shoved it in the attic. If he needed that stuff, he could always recall it, but it wouldn’t be at the front of his mind.

Crow could justify it by saying he hadn’t done much research into it beyond understanding what Soul-Linked items were—a topic he only looked up because of his Soul Carving. However, he knew that he was making excuses. He should have followed up on it earlier.

“Why do you ask?” Crow finally asked helplessly.

“It really might be a powerful artifact. This magma is hot enough to melt Earth-grade treasures into slag, but it was suitable for trying to refine something into a Soul-Linked treasure, provided it could survive the heat. I’m guessing your boat is at least Sky-grade, so I’d use the pressure and heat from the lava to assist you in refining it. Got anything I can refine?” Hooligan asked.

“Just like a hooligan, extorting me for my treasures,” Crow grinned but then thought about something he made the last time they were in Sanctuary. “Actually, I do have something. Since I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to withstand the heat, I made you something I’m calling the Witch’s Frigid Finger.”

Crow pulled out a wooden want that was no bigger than his forearm. It was crafted using a root that Mugna gave him and claimed it came from Father Oak. He spent nearly all his energy Soul Carving it and even sculpted the tip so that he could embed a sliver of the Frigid Starburst crystals he looted from the glacier. He didn’t expect such a violent reaction when he slotted the crystal in. The wand had practically turned into a wooden icicle, or maybe a blue crystal with visible wood grain. Either way, it still looked like wood, but the crystal infused so much Frigid Mana into it that it turned blue. He used a leftover piece of wood to seal the gap left behind so that Hooligan didn’t accidentally touch the crystal. It, too, turned blue and melded almost seamlessly with the wand. Crow had to look very closely to see where the wood grain pattern didn’t align.

The moment the wand appeared, the temperature around them dropped at a ridiculous rate. A bluish water vapor fog gathered around the tip of the wand. The wooden shaft bulged slightly at the top but otherwise looked like a crooked stick—apart from the frost color and heavy cold emanations.

“That’s… beautiful,” Hooligan said, her eyes fixated on the item.

“It’s yours.” Crow handed it to her, and the smile on her face was more than worth the effort he put into it. “While it shouldn’t immediately harm you, don’t touch the wand’s tip, or it might turn your hand into an ice crystal. I embedded a Frigid Starburst crystal in it. If you let the tip extend past your hand, you should be able to lash it to your arm.”

“Why?”

“You might need your hands free. Also, like a wand, it acts as a focus for spells you cast, but it’d be best if they were water or ice based. How do you feel? Is it enough for you to cross this lava lake?”

“Yes, I feel awesome, but remind me to beat you later for only giving it to me now. Don’t you know you shouldn’t let a lady sweat or freeze?” Hooligan admonished, but she didn’t even put any effort into it. She cheerfully hopped into the boat.

Crow got in behind her but realized a problem. The fins made from vines would only last for a short while before they burned to ash. After a dozen meters, he’d have to resummon them again. The amount of mana he channeled into them depleted his Source rather quickly. The only option was to use his Body cultivation method since he could constantly use the breathing technique to restore his mana.

“What are you doing?”

“Wood Mana is weak to Fire Mana, and I can’t use my other abilities. We’ll get there, but it might be slower.”

Hooligan snorted while trying not to laugh. She could see how hard he was struggling with it and felt a little bad about not being able to help out.

“What if I use the wand?”

“No! Don’t do that, or you might solidify the magma and worsen the situation.”

Crow also used what he called his Soul Force, which was a type of energy he didn’t fully comprehend. However, it was energy drawn upon when he summoned his Star Arrow. Using Soul Force, Crow surrounded the boat and combined it with the heat of the lava. The strangest thing that occurred was that his Soul Force had traces of Yggdrasil. Since it was in his Soul Verse, there was no way he wouldn’t recognize it. Either way, he felt that it was probably a good thing.

The only other thing left to do was draw out some of his blood essence. When Hooligan wasn’t looking, he’d casually cut himself to allow a drop of it to fall onto the boat. Hooligan never noticed because the blood vanished immediately.

Lastly, he’d periodically cut himself to allow a drop of blood essence to fall onto the boat. Hooligan didn’t even notice because the blood disappeared immediately after. After a few hours, he heard a cracking sound up in front, and his panicked eyes met Hooligans. She didn’t seem concerned at all.

“Look,” she said and pointed at the side of the boat. A thin veneer broke off and exposed a different type of charcoal gray wood with a silver grain pattern. “The heat is tempering it and bringing out its original look and power. If I’m not mistaken, that is wood from a Void Tree. They are rare and only found in the void. The bark is even darker than the wood and has white leaves with black veins. Every part of the tree is a treasure, which explains why this damned thing can float on anything.”

“Void Wood, huh? Does it have any special traits?”

“Yes, it can disperse any energy directed at it, including kinetic energy and pressure. The only problem is you were safer before the veneer was burned off because I doubt if any cultivator can resist killing you and taking it for their own.”

“Are you thinking about it?” Crow chuckled.

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Crow wasn’t sure how to respond because he didn’t expect that answer. The longer he glared at Hooligan, the bigger her smile got.

Regardless, after a few hours of slowly slogging across the lava lake, the boat transformed. The veneer had broken down completely, and following that, the entire craft vibrated while the wood planks thickened. The boat expanded from a small vessel to something more prominent, but Crow wasn’t sure what to call it. A sailboat was the closest approximation, but the retracted mast was something he didn’t know how to draw out. Not to mention, there weren’t any sails.

“Is this ship alive?” Hooligan asked. Her sensitivity toward Wood Mana grew daily since she could only use Nature’s Beauty.

“I’m not sure. The Wood Mana is definitely more responsive, but it’s lacking Spirit. The Vanguard is like a technique in physical form.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can interact with the boat like it’s a technique which allows me to activate specific abilities. However, I’m not… connected to it. I’m not sure what it can do.”

Besides the mast, the boat now had oars, tiller, and rudder. The oars were part of the actual boat; Crow just had to grip the boards on each side, and they’d appear. If he dropped it, the oar was absorbed back into the boat.

The strangest thing was the oars, tiller, and rudder because they were similar to his vines. The entire ship now felt alive. The wood beneath him responded when he called on his Blood Thorn that appeared because they were part of the sailboat. The top board of each side of the Vanguard was an oar, but it was on a strange. While experimenting, Hooligan moved to the back and grabbed the tiller.

“Alright, big guy. Get rowing, and I’ll steer us.”

Crow sighed internally. All he could say was that at least she was helping and not a dead-weight passenger anymore. However, she was about to receive a bigger shock. Before awakening, growing vines out of the boat used generic Wood Mana, but the rules changed now that the fins were coming from void wood.

“Watch this!” Vines grew from the ship, and Crow’s adeptness at weaving them was leagues above what it was when he first created fins. Because he didn’t have to steer, he made a galley, but instead of oars, each side of the boat had six fins that rowed in concert.

The Vanguard no longer moved like a dead animal through sludge. He only had to focus on keeping the fins active since they were all performing simultaneous actions. The boat took on new life as it practically glided across the magma.

However, he couldn’t maintain his actions indefinitely. Exhaustion had settled in long before he awakened the boat, so after about an hour, he stopped. The bow now had a wide wooden bench meant for passengers, but Crow collapsed on it and fell asleep seconds later. Hooligan climbed on top of him and slept on his chest. The ice wand she shoved into a nearby rung.

Several hours later, Crow’s eyes cracked open, and he felt Hooligan’s drool on his chest. He didn’t mind it and affectionately rubbed her scarred cheek. Gently, he picked her up, laid her down on the bench, and returned to propelling the ship forward. His hand rested on the tiller, but there was a locking function, so he just kept it pointed straight ahead.

Before falling asleep, he hadn’t realized how close to the volcano they were. It only took another hour to run the hull up onto the thick scree at the edge of the lava lake. Afterward, he spent the next three hours maximizing his Soul Force to speed up the refining of the Vanguard.

Hooligan woke up with her curly hair in a crazy mess, and she wiped her mouth with the back of her fist. She then rubbed her bleary eyes while Crow watched the whole routine with laughter dancing in his golden-green eyes. When she saw they were at the volcano, she immediately became alert.

“What do we now?”

“Climb,” Crow said, pointing up the slope toward the gaping hole that would lead into the fiery volcano pit. “But I need another hour, maybe two.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been refining my trusty boat. I feel something is about to happen.