Chapter 16 (1/2)

Chapter 16

Cheating

Chu Shen walked up the path leading towards the blacksmithing area. Smoke billowed upwards as the clanging of metal rang out. Chu Shen smiled.

He walked into the side of the forge. There was his teacher at the forge, a rare occurrence really. Master Lang typically left the forging to the other blacksmiths or to him.

Because Master Lang was a great inscription master he typically wrote the inscriptions for Chu Shen. After all, his Qi destroyed an inscription when he tried to write one.

His master was forging several throwing knives at once. Each blow with his hammer was extremely strange. It seemed to hit all the knives at once.

Chu Shen stared at the strange sight before smirking. Master Lang truly was worthy of being called a master artificer. There is a difference between a blacksmith and an artificer.

A blacksmith forges weapons but that is all. While they can craft miraculously sharp and strong weapons with Qi or heavenly fire, it will always be worse than an artificer’s creation.

An artificer is an inscription master and a blacksmith. An inscription is a carving laid down by an inscription master that can have various effects. One is helping channel Qi into a weapon or even increasing the Qi’s efficiency and power.

Another effect would be to transform Qi into a different type of Qi. For example, a fireball inscription when powered by martial Qi can shoot a fireball at their opponent.

With the effect of an inscription a weapons combat ability can more than triple. However an artificer is different than both an inscription master and a blacksmith master. The reason for this is actually an extremely simple reason.

An artificer is both. Because an artificer has personally crafted the weapon they lay inscriptions upon, there is no flaw. They know everything there is to know about a weapon they craft and therefore can use an inscription that perfectly suits it as well.

Each weapon has its own personality and each inscription has its own. Only the most perfect union of inscription and weapon will be able to bring out a weapons true potential.

This is why when you compare two equal weapons made by a blacksmith and inscription duo and an artificer, the artificer will always win. He frowned. Of course, since he couldn’t lay down inscriptions because of his Qi erasing the inscription ink, he could only be called a blacksmith instead of an Artificer. He would have given up long ago but this was the best thing he could do with his Qi type

A sudden stop in the clanging of metal shook Chu Shen out of his stupor. Looking up he saw Master Lang standing in front of the throwing knives. Master Lang took out a couple vials stopped with a cork

Chu Shen recognized these vials. Each inscription required materials to be made into liquid called inscription ink. Using their Qi to manipulate this inscription ink the inscription master would then make the inscription.

Master Lang unstopped the vials. A glowing blue liquid floated out of the vial. The liquid collected into several b.a.l.l.s of liquid in front of each knife. The liquid started twisting and turning, a powerful Qi permeated the air.

The liquid formed into symbols. These symbols gave off an indescribable sense of power. Finally the symbols were complete, the glow turning golden. The leftover liquid flowed back into the vials and Master Lang stopped the vials.

The symbols hovered mysteriously in the air over the knives. Finally with a gesture of Master Lang’s hand the symbols flew down to the knives. With a flash of light the symbols turned into a circle on the knives handle.

Chu Shen mentally applauded Master Lang’s control of the inscription symbols. It was a simple inscription, basic really.

However, even the most basic inscription took a long time. Only an expert could do it in a matter of moments.