Alex was surprised.
He thought he had been directly teleported into the Matrix.
"Explain to me in detail what you saw… but not all at once. You, Asudar, start. You've already witnessed it twice."
Asudar bowed slightly and replied:
"Well… last time, after you touched the hammer, you became… strange. And this time too. You seemed… different."
Alex frowned but said nothing. He waited for the rest.
"It was as if you had become some kind of puppet. Materials appeared out of nowhere, like invisible molds, and after forging what you were supposed to forge… you returned to yourself."
Alex thought to himself:
I see… Only my consciousness is sent into the Matrix, and meanwhile, my body acts automatically… like a robot.
Then he said out loud:
"Interesting. Anyway, I think I understand everything. How about we test these twin mini-axes?"
"Yesss!" shouted the dwarves and ants in unison.
Meanwhile, away from the village, Kiran had been training tirelessly since their return. His defeat still obsessed him.
"I need to be stronger… stronger!" he repeated, chaining vertical strikes with the Lightning Sword.
His body was drenched in sweat.
Alex arrived accompanied by the forge dwarves and a few giant ants.
"Kiran, I see you're still training, even now. Want to train with me? I'd like to test my new creations."
Kiran gave a small smile.
"Gladly."
He leapt several meters and swung his sword in a vertical strike.
Alex blocked with his left mini-axe, then pushed Kiran back by striking his blade with the right mini-axe. Kiran stepped back but landed smoothly on his feet.
"The parry effect works well. I didn't feel anything," Alex declared.
Kiran immediately attacked again. This time, Alex infused a bit of energy into his left axe.
Kiran swung horizontally to the left. The sword seemed to hit Alex… but it was only a residual image.
"What?!" exclaimed Kiran.
Alex appeared behind him.
"Behind you."
He swung his right axe charged with energy.
Kiran reacted quickly, placing his sword vertically to defend. But on impact, the mini-axe released a shockwave that violently threw him backward. His body crashed into a tree.
Alex rushed to him.
"Are you okay? Sorry, I didn't know the effect would be so strong. Do you need healing?"
Kiran, trembling but standing, gritted his teeth and replied:
"No… it's fine. Let's continue instead."
Alex sighed.
"I just wanted to test my weapons. We'll have a real fight another time. If you're okay, I'll go."
He turned his back and began to leave.
But the accumulated frustration, his repeated defeats… everything exploded.
Kiran lost control and leapt at Alex.
"Heiiinnn?!" Alex exclaimed, turning around.
The Lightning Sword glowed, arcs of electricity bursting from its blade.
A system window appeared before Alex:
[The Lightning Sword refuses to attack its creator. Defense system activated.]
The handle electrocuted Kiran.
He dropped the weapon and collapsed to the ground.
"What… is this…" Alex murmured.
He checked Kiran's condition, relieved to see him still conscious. He carried him to his house, then returned alone to the forest.
Alex observed his creations.
"Well, what if I tried their self-defense system too?"
He threw one of the mini-axes into the air and extended his arm along its trajectory.
Just before impact, a window appeared:
[Camélia, the right twin mini-axe, refuses to harm its creator. Defense system activated.]
The axe released a shockwave into the air, slightly deflected, and sank into the ground.
Alex picked it up, his eyes shining with excitement.
"Amazing… It's as if my creations have consciousness."
He repeated the experiment over and over until night fell.
Finally, he fell asleep on the ground, not even realizing it.
[Next Evolution: ???]
Time remaining before evolution: 34 hours.