Chapter 11 Chapter 11 - One of their Own (1/2)
CHAPTER 11
ONE OF THEIR OWN
Lino didn't encounter any obstacles on his way back to the cave where Vyeala and the old man were patiently waiting, meditating in a cross-legged position. As he stepped in, the two of them opened their eyes and looked at his self-satisfied expression with a strange gleam. Coughing lightly, Lino ignored their gazes and sat back down before taking out the [Spring Bloom] and [Crevice Stone] before putting them down. [Crevice Stone] appeared almost like an ordinary piece of ore, yet purple-lustered veins circling faintly through its surface spoke otherwise. With a little bit of grinding down, this almost ordinary piece of ore would turn into a flat, purple stone.
”Do you guys have any [Homespring Water]?” Lino cut to the chase immediately and asked the duo who first looked at the two items on the ground before looking at Lino with some confusion in their eyes.
”Why do you need it?” Vyeala asked, narrowing her eyes.
”Why else but to craft a celestial weapon, of course!” Lino puffed his chest out proudly.
”Ha ha,” Vyeala suddenly laughed coldly. ”Craft with what? Your head? To be honest I'd be really glad to see you trying to break that stone apart with your head. With how thick your skin is, your head is probably ten times thicker. Who knows? You may even be able to break the stone with it!”
”Heh,” Lino sneered as he chuckled. ”Do you want to bet, little demon?” a strange glint flashed through the old man's eyes while Vyeala's face reddened for a moment. However, before she had a chance to retort, the old man interrupted her and took out a clear vial and presented them to Lino.
”Will this be enough?” the old man asked.
”Oh, enough, enough! Fantastic!” Lino took the vial with strange gleam as he licked his lips. ”Alright, I'll start crafting now. Even if a naked celestial beauty suddenly shows up, don't interrupt me.”
The duo rolled their eyes but said nothing as they observed Lino's actions. The latter set aside the flower and the water as he flipped his palm downward and placed it atop the stone. A moment later, he began snapping his palm left and right, using it as a grinding stone to shave away impurities within the [Crevice Stone]. Old man's eyes bulged slightly as Vyeala looked at the scene curiously. After a few minutes, the dim luster of the ore was replaced with faintly flat surface which emitted light, purple glow. After shaving away topside, Lino went and shaved away the rest of the ore before a palm-sized stone weighing nearly 100kg remained within his hand. Veins pulsated throughout its surface in purple luster, causing the stone to appear rather strange.
Setting aside the stone for the moment, he picked up the flower and examined it deeply before picking up the vial. Opening the lid, he poured its contents entirely directly at the center of the flower which sucked them in immediately, fluttering even though there was no wind. The emerald-green flower grew even more saturated as it turned slightly transparent. Satisfied, he took the small piece of [Crevice Stone] in one hand and brought the [Spring Bloom] directly over it. A moment later, triple-colored flames bloomed from within his fingers, directly setting the entire flower ablaze.
The old man's heart suddenly jolted because he recognized the flame: Great Boundary Flame, Tri-Spirit Flame! The only reason the old man recognized it was because he saw its sketch in one of the clan's ancient records. The flame itself hasn't been seen in Umbra Kingdom since its inception! Now, seeing it within the hands of this youth, the old man didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could truly craft something simple this way!
As the flower slowly turned to ash, it fell directly atop the stone before Lino ground it with his palms, forcing the stone itself to directly absorb the ashes. He then brought both palms against the stone as they began blazing in three colors of fire. He would occasionally shake his palms, bring them up and then down, wound them around, sometimes opening them and prickling with his fingers the melted surface, and other times even blowing directly at the stone.
Lino's expression was that of extreme concentration; however lax he may seem ordinarily, when it comes to blacksmithing itself, he never once slacked. What was most important in process of crafting was a stable, concentrated mind. Sensing minute changes, fixing mistakes that prop up on the spot without allowing them to linger into the final creation, modifying the creation itself midway through if necessary… none of these things can be accomplished without fully dedicating yourself to the process.
In such way, he forced flames to burn for nearly two hours. His energy depleted heavily and sweat poured down his forehead and his back. Alas, with a loud clasp of two palms, he condensed the melted stone into a paper-thin plate. The plate was two-palms-size, rectangular in its shape, and appeared rather ordinary on the surface. However, after close examination, one would spot a few crevices along its surface as well as vein-shaped lines which connected these crevices.
He finally breathed in relief as he leaned back against the wall of the cave, panting heavily. Without proper tools, crafting even this seemingly ordinary plate had taken a great toll on him. Just having to keep Tri-Spirit Flame active for two hours was something that he wouldn't dare do under normal circumstances. Still, it was over now. His exhausted gaze quickly grew illuminated as he looked at the plate, grinning from ear to ear.
”Alright,” Lino said as he kept the plate near his breast. ”I'll rest for a few hours and then we'll depart.”
”Eh? What did you craft?! Show us!” Vyeala said with both curious and pleading gaze, while even the old man himself seemed somewhat taken by the scene.
”No rush, no rush,” Lino replied casually, smiling mysteriously in the process. ”You'll know soon enough.”
Despite the fact that Vyeala pleaded for some time, Lino remained exceedingly mysterious about his creation. After realizing that she won't be seeing the strange plate's stats any time soon, she finally gave up and allowed Lino to rest in silence. In reality, even Lino himself wasn't too certain over the success of his idea. While it was tangible, and definitely viable, the resources were scarce. In his original idea, the plate itself should have been like a normal, vanguard shield. However, for their purposes, he imagined it should be enough.
After roughly four hours, Lino snapped his eyes open as they no longer exuded the air exhaustion, but rather a gleam of strange profundity. Chuckling weirdly, he startled the duo awake as well. Getting up, Lino dusted himself off and took in a deep breath before looking outside the cave; night had all but fallen, which was perfect for them.
”Alright, let's go.” Lino said as he headed toward the exit.
”Go?” the old man asked, knitting his brows. ”Does that item of yours provide some concealment during the night?”
”Nope.” Lino shrugged his shoulders casually as he replied. ”Aii, don't give me that look! Do you know how many times I get a chance to act mysterious and cool? Zero! Zilch! Nothing! Let me have this moment, please?”
”…” the duo stared at his honest expression nearly vomiting blood. At least try to hide your true motives!!
”Ha ha, don't be afraid,” Lino said, his expression exuding confidence unseen before. ”While I can't claim we won't be found for certain, I can claim that we probably won't be found until the very edge of your Clan's influence.”
”What do you mean?” the old man asked as he cautiously brought Vyeala with him, following Lino as he departed from the cave and landed on the main road.
”This is the road which leads directly towards the Second Mountain?” Lino asked the old man as he pointed at the nearby pavement.
”Yes.” the old man nodded.
”Let's go then.” and thusly so, Lino began walking casually. Not through the thick trees, or bushes, or some other points where he could hide himself. No, he walked directly through the main road, for all the mothers and fathers to see him.
”What are you doing?!!” the old man cried out in alarm as he raced and grabbed one of Lino's arms, pulling him to a stop. ”If you want to kill yourself, just do it! Don't drag us down with you!!”
”Eh? Why would I want to kill myself?” Lino said. ”I'm young, handsome, talented, brilliant in intellect… I have entire future to leave my mark as a scar across the world! Why would I deny the world of my greatness?”
”…”
”Aah, fine,” Lino said, shrugging his shoulders as he took out the plate and handed it over to the old man. ”I know you won't depart with me no matter what unless you see the source of my confidence. Go ahead. I've unlocked its stats.” Vyeala and the old man looked dubiously at the plate before reading through its stats, not knowing whether to laugh, cry, roll their eyes backwards, or grind their teeth to ash.
[Celestial Plate – Unique – Level 20]
Defense: 0
Durability: 1
Special effect: Obscures vision of others, masquerading the wearer and those nearby within the wearer's desires. Unless the other party is much stronger than the wearer, it is almost impossible to see through the illusions.
Special effect: Item's effects are tripled at night.
Note: Second in the series of Celestial items by a newcomer. Looks promising.