“Check it out!” Adam declared as he finally returned back at the estate, where the pups greeted him by bouncing at his feet. He scooped them up with one hand as he held out the axe to Sonarot, though Raygak had rushed over to him.

“You said I could play with it,” Raygak said.

“Have you been helping your father with the dishes?”

“Yes,” the boy said. “I am a big boy.”

“It is an axe, and Sonarot is my Aunt, so she should play with it first. However, since you’ve been so good, I’ll let you play with it second,” Adam said.

Zijin panted as he stared at the Half Elf, having rushed to the estate when he had heard that the enchanting had been complete. The Iyrman who had been watching over Adam had been hesitant in telling him, thinking Adam was lying since no one could make a greater enchantment in just ten days.

“I will be second,” Zijin declared.

“You will be third,” Adam said. “I have already promised Raygak.”

“You would give it to a child before me?”

“Raygak has been really good, helping his father wash the dishes in the past week,” Adam said. “Of course I’m going to allow him to play with it,” Adam said, noting Jogak’s glare from nearby, “under supervision.”

Zijin crossed his arms. “Very well, I will wait.”

“Does it require…” Sonarot held it in hand. “Yes, I am sure it does.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t make it that good,” Adam said. “It is my first greater enchantment, so…”

Sonarot went to meditate with the weapon, as Adam played with the two Dire Wolf pups, pressing his face into their fur.

“What does the axe do?” Citool asked, staring at Adam as he played with the pups.

“Well, it’s slightly weaker than Lightsear,” Adam admitted. “Though it’s much more effective at killing a wider variety of monsters.”

“It is weaker, but more powerful?” Citool asked.

“You’ll understand once Aunt tells you,” Adam said, eating the food which had been made by Shikan that week. It was grilled meat in the evenings, sometimes slathered in fat.

Sonarot finished meditating with it, spending a few minutes cutting through the targets which had been prepared, which would be used as fuel during Nightval.

“There is something beyond my understanding,” Sonarot said.

“Oh, you can expend charges to deal more damage and heal,” he said.

She continued to cut through the wood, expending the charges to deal more damage, but it didn’t seem to affect the the wood much.

“Oh,” Adam said. “Right.”

“What is it that I’m missing?” Sonarot asked.

“It deals damage to the mind, and since wood doesn’t have minds, it probably doesn’t really seem like it’s that powerful," Adam said.

Sonarot stared at him for a moment. ‘It attacks the mind?’ She then looked to Elder Zijin, giving him a number of looks.

Zijin was surprised that she had something to say to him, no doubt about Adam, but he noted another look. He sighed, allowing her to come towards him to attack him. He clenched his teeth and his entire body tensed as he filled with rage while she attacked him.

His eyes went wide as he stepped back, reaching up for a moment to nurse the headache, a pain searing in the centre of his mind.

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“That weapon is quite powerful,” he said. “How many charges does it hold?”

“Three,” Adam said.

“Three?” Zijin said, his words obviously full of shock. “Why did you make it so that it dealt damage to the mind?”

“Was it designed to kill father?” Sonarot asked, earnestly.

Adam rubbed his chin. ‘What do I say?’ He could tell them the real reason, but at the same time that would sow some doubts about him. However, he also didn’t want to lie.

“If Jarot ends up bullying my sister, I need a contingency plan, don’t I?” Adam stared up at Zijin and Sonarot nervously.

“So it was designed to go against him,” Sonarot stated.

“Kind of,” Adam admitted. “I realised that damage to the mind is probably the rarest form of damage, but it also probably is something which very few beings can handle.”

Sonarot stared down at the axe. It was designed to beat Rot family members, that was undeniable. However, Adam wasn’t the kind to turn his weapon against them, not that she had ascertained.

“I am certain that he will bully Lanarot much,” Sonarot said.

“Then he’s going to become very familiar with that axe then,” Adam said, simply.

Sonarot sighed, smiling towards him. “It is a powerful weapon. You must be careful.”

“I designed it so that when I’m fortunate, I’ll be able to deal as much damage as I can,” Adam said. “So if I strike true, I’ll pump all three charges into the attack.”

“How many charges did you spend against me?” Zijin asked the Iyrman opposite him.

“One,” she said.

“One?” Zijin stared at the woman.

Adam could sense there was something they were discussing between the silence. “Still, I think even with all that, I’m pretty sure I can’t deal with that monster with a single blow.”

Sonarot handed the axe to Raygak, who held it up with both hands. His father remained nearby, watching him as he attacked some wood nearby.

Zijin motioned his head to Sonarot, but she shook her head.

“That is a dangerous weapon, Adam,” she said.

“Well, yeah,” Adam said. “I designed it to be dangerous. If it wasn’t dangerous, I would have failed. The point is that I have a few charges to deal damage or to heal.”

“If the weapon is in the wrong hands, it will be something which will have disastrous consequences.”

“That’s true for all weapons, Aunt.”

Sonarot bowed her head, before brushing his hair. “Take good care of the weapon, Adam.”

“I know,” he said. “I’m a Half Elf, meaning I’m only half stupid.” Adam pat his head with a finger and winked.

“I will let you all play with the weapon,” Zijin said. “I should go and finish some work.”

Adam wondered if that work was to report him to the Great Elders. “Did I do something wrong?”

“I am uncertain,” Zijin admitted.

“No,” Sonarot said. “You have done nothing wrong.”

“If you say so,” Adam replied.

Zijin quickly retreated away, going to meet with the Chief quickly.

The Chief, seeing Zijin’s look, sighed. “Is it about the weapon?”

“Yes,” Zijin said.

“How is it?”

“It is powerful,” Zijin said. “It is not just a simple greater enchantment, but one with greater powers.”

“What kind of greater power?”

“It attacks the mind in the same way that it attacks the body.”

The Chief remained silent for a long while. “That is a curious enchantment.”

“It also holds three charges. Each charge can be spent to either heal or deal more damage to the mind.”

The Chief furrowed his brows.

“He can spend all three charges at once if he wishes,” Zijin said.

The Chief remained silent. “You are certain?”

“Sonarot confirmed the weapon’s abilities, and Adam did so by his words.”

“It is interesting that he created that particular enchantment considering the Rot’s abilities in their rage,” the Chief said. It didn’t make any sense to him, though that was only if he ignored one key event.

‘Did he create the weapon to kill Jarot?’ the Chief thought.

“Adam has joked that the weapon was designed to deal with Jarot if he dares to bully the girl.”

“Lanarot?”

“Yes.”

Iromin leaned back in his chair, taking a bite of his snack, a piece of fried dough, pushing some towards Zijin, who accepted one out of courtesy.

“This is no doubt a declaration of his intent,” Iromin said. “It was designed to deal with the Rot family’s specific ability. Was he told about it before he created the weapon?”

“Either he was told, or he managed to assume what it was,” Zijin said.

‘If it’s him, then perhaps he managed to find out,’ Iromin thought. “Ten days?”

“Ten days.”

“I will speak with him,” Iromin said.

Zijin bowed his head and excused himself.

Iromin remained in his gazebo, eating his snacks silently. ‘Ten days? A weapon which attacks the mind?’ He sighed, wondering when Adam would stop making it difficult for him.

Soon the other Great Elders arrived to speak with Iromin in the late evening.

“So?” Elder Forest asked, sitting down nearby, helping herself to some snacks. “Are we going to talk about him today?”

“Yes,” Iromin said. “We are.”

Elder Gold and Elder Forest were most intrigued. They had heard that Adam had managed to create a greater enchantment in ten days, and that apparently he has another presence within his mind he speaks to.

“How long does it take Romaezi to create a simple greater enchanted weapon?” Chief Iromin asked.

“Four weeks,” Elder Forest said.

“Halved if it was last month,” Elder Gold said.

“And something beyond a simple greater enchantment?”

Elder Forest and Elder Gold exchanged a look.

“Three months,” Elder Forest said.

“Halved during the storm,” Elder Gold added.

Chief Iromin tapped the table with a finger, thinking.

“So it’s true?” Elder Gold asked.

Iromin nodded, sighing.