I was expecting Sin Mal to either become hostile or straight up scared after I revealed my Sword Heart. Its "aura" alone is something ordinary humans could not bear.
Best case is legs shaking; worst case is fainting.
A few talks later…
"???"
I could not follow her line of thought. My eyes swept over her embarrassed face. Her heterochromatic eyes avoided my gaze.
All I wanted was to resolve Bronya and Sin Mal's situation. That way, she won't reach the breaking point and break Bronya's legs. She can even turn into an ally.
…
There's no use mulling over it.
"I will arrange a time for you two to talk. Good?"
"..."
Sin Mal remained silent as she nodded.
"That's all. I won't prevent you from stalking as long as it remains harmless."
This meeting satisfied my small vanity to show off. I finished it by jumping directly from the roof. The speed of my fall became faster, yet when I landed, there was only a shockwave of air.
I looked above and saw Sin Mal staring right at me. I waved my hand to her as a goodbye.
With this…
Things should get better.
Right?
*****
August 15, 2012.
It is a typical morning. I looked at the clock. 7:00 AM.
"Fwa…"
What surprised me is Kiana. She is already stretching her arms. Am I dreaming?
No.
Then, everything we talked about last night appeared in my mind. She completed the late stage of Qi Refining. I also completed the peak stage of Qi Refining. I can break through the Foundation Establishment Realm at any moment.
It is time to leave this orphanage… today.
No matter how hard I tried to ask Welt, I didn't get any results about Siegfried. It is compensated by them allowing me to create several weapons using their workshops—all made using the five ores that I have.
"Will you…"
"I'm going first."
She did not give off her usual liveliness.
…
She's still reluctant to leave… but to find her deadbeat dad, she has to. We are out of options here.
Siegfried did not show up in Anti-Entropy. Even Cocolia… when we tried to ask her, she could only determine his whereabouts half a year ago. From America, he went straight to Iceland!
Only Ryoma…
He's the one who mysteriously gave Kiana her black card. He's the only one who knows about Siegfried's sporadic whereabouts.
…and I have no intentions of pointing him out to Kiana.
Sirin, Sirin…
No.
It's all Otto's fault!
"Remember the heads up I gave?" I reminded her. "They want us to stay after breakfast."
"Um. Got it."
I watched her leave the room with her towel and clothing. The empty bedroom…
Four months.
It reminds me of my graduation. The empty dorm, devoid of all our traces…
It's not like we are parting forever. Still, it hurts. That's how things are.
…
I sent my spiritual consciousness to the dark blue ring on my right ring finger. A floating jian appeared moments later.
A lot of changes happened to it.
Originally, it was a honkai weapon manufactured with a miniature honkai core. The core was destroyed, leaving a military-grade steel sword. Its performance dropped with the lack of the core, but it is more than enough to kill zombies and white birds. It falls short on the chariot.
Hence, I decided to make a new weapon. I have five first-grade ores. Two of them came from the first two months. The other three came during these latter two months. Their sizes varied, but the three ores are human-sized.
I used the technique quota to get dozens of weapon blueprints. This started my journey as a refiner.
There are three steps to it. First is the forging of material itself through any means possible—that results in an artifact embryo. Anti-Entropy's workshop can handle and melt first-grade materials.
What came next is to lock the spirituality (spiritual qi conductivity) through spiritual consciousness. I had to make sure they would not be lost. Spirituality holds the unique characteristics of these ores.
Finally, the inscription of thumb-sized patterns. These are the "Patterns of Tao" that maximize the material's potential. This can be done whenever possible, though it needs to place the artifact embryo back to the flames.
I have a general guide to follow thanks to the blueprints. But, it's not enough to 'follow'. I have to be flexible in unforeseen changes or do an impromptu when I am on the verge of making a mistake.
I scrapped some materials during these tries. I have to thank the human-sized ores. They funded me on my weapon refiner experience.
Just like that, I became capable of forging first-grade artifacts.
…
I traced the small symbols I carved on the blade. It is done with spiritual consciousness when the metals are at high temperatures.
Nothing much changed from the jian. I melted down the original jian and combined it with two other spiritual ores. It turned into an enhancer of sorts. It has been with me since I awakened my Sword Heart.
Its silver blade, the cloth grip…
Except for the position of the honkai core, it is an exact replica.
I kept on swiping and reviewing the sword blade. My thoughts about this parting are not that heavy. Nonetheless, I am worried.
Cocolia and Grey Serpent…
If X-10 really happens, I will have no choice but to stop it. Seele and Bronya did not need to worry about spiritual qi source. Seele alone emits a second-grade spirit vein. Sometimes, she outright turns into a third-grade spirit vein with dao rhymes.
I don't know why or how. It just happens.
As for Sin Mal…
…
I am speechless.
She reached out to me several times. That led to an operation to let her talk to Bronya.
Worse, that girl cannot accomplish that task in a month. She always shows off her snobby side. Bronya could only nod or shake her head.
It wasn't until I pulled her over to Bronya's side forcefully did she start talking with her.
That made her look like a tsundere of sorts now…
Today closes the chapter to those four months' worth of lighthearted daily life.
"Honkai."
One day.
Will of Honkai…
No, the Cocoon of Finality.
I will turn your tragedies into a wholesome slice-of-life.
I swear.