Boom!

A loud explosion can be heard in the middle of Zarek Forest. The nearby monsters ran away scared of the fierce sounds of battle.

“[Ice Shield]”

Harry held out his hands where a wall of ice appears to block an incoming sword. The sword cut through the ice and flew straight to Harry.

“[Barrier]”

Layers of barriers formed and blocked the sword again.

“[Magic Missile]”

Balls of mana formed around Harry and shot at the sword wielder.

“Tch.”

Chris clicked his tongue and drew back while dodging the [Magic Missiles]. He switched directions and ran in an arc around Harry before closing in.

Shiin

His sword glowed with qi and he swung it again towards Harry. One by one the barriers shattered and the sword continued on its trajectory.

“[Ice Shield]” “[Fireball]”

The ice cracked under Chris’ blade and got vaporized by the [Fireball] cast by Harry. The rapid temperature rise turned it into steam and blocked Chris’ view. Harry used [Warp] at once and appeared at a distance behind Chris.

“[Flame Curtain]” “[Air Ball]”

A curtain of fire formed around Chris and the incoming [Air Ball] expands from the heat and caused an explosion. However, Chris jumped out of the fire and dashed forward, swiftly approaching Harry. It seemed that he defended himself and strengthen his legs with qi. He slashed Harry continuously but Harry kept blocking with multiple [Ice Shields] and used [Warp] to dodge Chris’ sword.

“Is dodging all you could do?”

Chris tried to provoke Harry while swinging his sword.

“Look up.”

“You think I’m gonna fall for that?”

“Suit yourself.”

Chris, suspicious of Harry’s motive, looked up to see a huge magic circle floating in the air above them.

“Bye. [Warp]”

Harry mockingly waved his hand at Chris and disappeared from his sight.

“Shit.”

Chris cursed before getting blasted away by a storm that formed from the magic circle.

***

Harry and Chris were sparring while I was watching from a nearby tree branch. It’s been almost 10 months since the incident with the assailants from the Dark Guild. All three of us are A-ranked adventurers now so we could take it easy. We also stuck together the whole time so that when the Dark Guild makes a move we could quickly dispatch the attackers.

That said, there haven’t been any further attacks since then. I got time to train Harry and Chris because of that. I jumped from the tree branch where I was sitting and caught the flying Chris with one hand.

“Is it fun flying?”

I poked fun at Chris while holding him by the back of his clothes. He just made a face and looked away. Harry had gotten stronger after training with Chris, but Chris on the other hand just kept losing in their spars. He’s strong, but Harry just outgrew him.

“What’s your excuse this time?”

“I was just distracted!”

“Sure you were.”

I smiled at his answers and let him down once we landed. I called Harry over and complimented his performance.

“Thank you, young master.”

“Chris.”

Chris looked at me without answering.

“What’s up with that defeat? How embarrassing, if a storm hits you just create a bigger storm.”

“No, that’s just possible for you isn’t it?”

“What do you mean by that, what did you cultivate your qi for?”

I scolded him after hitting his head.

“Watch me. Harry, hit me with the same spell.”

“But-”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No, it’s not that. There’s a huge bear behind you.”

I turned to see a huge bear in a gray coat rushing towards me looking at me as if I’m its prey.

“Hey, that’s my mission. It’s a Greyfur Bear.”

What a pleasant coincidence, Chris took a mission to hunt the bear. He unsheathed his sword and darted towards the bear, pouring a huge amount of qi into his swing. A strong gale formed from the slash and knocked down a couple of trees behind the Greyfur Bear that is now cut in half. It looked like he let out all of his frustration with that swing.

“Young Master, did he..?”

“Yeah, he held back during your spar.”

“This guy...”

‘Though I could say the same thing about you.’

Harry could have finished the fight with a stronger spell like [Inferno] but he decided to use just a weak [Gale]. They both have gotten strong. And it looks like I didn’t have to lecture Chris since he clearly knows what to do. What did he get so humble for earlier? Good grief.

“Well, Chris completed his mission. Let’s go back now.”

“Eh? What about your demonstration?”

“You just wanted to see my swordsmanship, didn’t you?”

“Eh~ Was I caught?”

“Geez.”

“By the way, I don’t think I could use this anymore.”

Chris showed his sword, with its blade now broken because it couldn’t handle the massive qi from his last swing.

“Just buy another sword.”

“I heard you’re a talented blacksmith.”

“I trained you for free, I’m not giving you a free sword too.”

“Tch. How stingy, I wonder how you’ll grow up.”

“I’ll at least be more handsome than you.”

“You’re calling me ugly?”

“Am I wrong?”

We kept bickering all the way to town.

***

Ttaang!

The nostalgic sounds of hammering rang loudly in the local weapons shop.

“Good morning!”

I greeted the shop owner cheerfully as I entered the building. He was hitting molten steel on an anvil.

“Oh! You’re here again! Gonna make another sword?”

He stopped hammering for a bit and greeted me back.

“Yes please. I’ll pay for the materials.”

“It’s fine! Your works gave me so much profit already, feel free to use the workshop.”

In the past couple of months, I’ve been frequenting this place to make swords and sharpen my skills. I’ve developed the mana tempering method further and I could also craft better swords without tempering them with mana. I sometimes sell the swords I make to the shop owner cheaply where he’d make a profit if he sells those swords. Of course, none of them were magic swords; they’re just normal swords that are excellently made.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mind it.”

He went back to hammering and I stepped into an empty workspace. I lit up the furnace and started working.

***

After hours of working, I finally completed the new sword. With a more refined technique, the quality of the completed sword is better than any sword I’ve ever done. Night was a katana as I was stuck at considering the aesthetics rather than practicality but after having more experience with making swords I designed this new sword based on a Chinese Jian since it’s more suited to my swordsmanship.

“You’re done?”

The shop owner, Smith came into the workshop after the sounds of me working on the sword stopped.

“Is that the new sword? What a beautiful sword. Are you going to name it?”

“Yami”

I muttered the name I decided on. It has a beautiful dark blade like Night but I can’t name it Night again and Shadow or Darkness sounded too generic. So I just named it in Japanese with a word that meant dark since I don't know what kind of name I should give it otherwise.

“Yami huh? Doesn’t sound so bad. What does it mean?”

“Dark.”

Just like Dhorin, Smith seemed to agree with my naming sense. Yami, my second masterpiece, was born at that moment.

***

“Here.”

“Huh? Isn’t this your sword?”

“I made a new sword.”

I showed off Yami to Chris after handing him Night. I’ve used Night for more than a year now, Chris is more than qualified to wield it from now on.

“Its name is Night, use it properly.”

Chris stared at Night before taking it from my hands. He knelt and bowed to me respectfully. I got surprised since he has never been this respectful before.

“I’ll treasure this sword. Thank you, young master.”

I could sense the sincerity in his words, unlike his usual mocking tone.

“What the hell are you doing? Don’t just change your tone all of a sudden.”

I said to him with a slightly disgusted face.

“Tch. Can’t even be grateful.”

He grumbled quietly after getting up but I could still hear him.

“Huh? What was that?”

“Nothing.”

He went back to his usual attitude but his tone was a bit more respectful towards me compared to before.

“Dumbass.”

“What brought that on?”

“You brought that on. You’re a dumbass.”

“I didn’t even do anything.”

“Yeah you did, you’re being a dumbass.”

“What a kid.”

“Yeah but Rebecca likes a kid like me more since I’m cute.”

“You...”

As usual, we bantered all day long even while doing missions.