It has been two weeks since our training with Solgen began. At first, I thought she was joking about the intensity increase each day, but I remembered this is Solgen we’re talking about. She had no reason to lie to us. The punishment she was referring to earlier, I was the first victim. When my rapier suddenly disappeared mid-fight, I instinctively called forth a katana to replace it. Solgen obviously noticed it and stopped the sparring.

“Hop around the entire village on one leg and return to me in thirty minutes.”

I gave her a pleading look, hoping that she would increase it to one hour, but…

“Now it’s twenty-five minutes,” she said cold-heartedly. Knowing it was no use, I did what was asked. I rushed back just in time, and the oppressive heat of the day weighed heavily on my shoulders. As I laid there on the ground, my legs throbbing like they’d been dipped in a lava pool, I saw Solgen’s silhouette above me.

“Why are you resting?” she said with a blank face. “Get up. Our sparring isn’t over yet.”

“I can’t even move!” I cried out. She ignored my pleading and was leaning in for another slap until I instinctively rolled away.

My mentor gave me a small smile. “See? You can move.”

Isaac took a longer break than normal the next day, and Solgen severely enforced his penalty.

“Drop and give me 200 push-ups. Do not miss a single one. If you do, the next time you’re punished, it’ll be increased by 100, and so on and so forth.”

“200?! I can barely do a 100!” Isaac complained. The harsh teacher opened her mouth, preparing to retort, but Isaac cut her off, knowing what she was going to say.

“Sorry! I’ll do the 200!”

He proceeded to do his push-ups in silence, his breaths in rhythm with the movements. As he was halfway there, he asked Solgen a question in a strained voice.

“Am-I-allowed to use-my mana?”

While Isaac was struggling to do his push-ups, Solgen and I were sparring. She was dodging all of my attacks and answered Isaac calmly.

“Of course. I was wondering why you haven’t been using it before. All I said was to do the push-ups.”

While Solgen was momentarily distracted, I went in for a leg swipe, hoping to catch her off-balance. I found out quickly that was stupid of me.

“Ow!” I groaned, holding my leg. The force of the kick was like striking solid steel beams!

Solgen appeared behind me without so much as a sound. “Good attempt, but this is a seasoned body that went through hardships.”

And once again, she gives me another slap.

The remaining weeks went by fairly quickly, and the last day had already approached. Me, Isaac, and Solgen were standing in the middle of the platform, watching each other. The sun was at its highest peak, and a light breeze flew by. In the distance, I heard little ones squealing with joy, probably having the time of their lives with their parents and siblings. As I listened, a dull pain encompassed my entire body as if my muscles had been put through hell. They felt like an elastic band on the verge of snapping if Solgen were to tell me to hop around the village one more time. As for Isaac, he had bags under his eyes and his fingers would twitch every so often from swinging his sword after mana training. The boy looked as if he hadn’t had a good night’s rest in years.

“I would love to continue training you, but today is the day Venny should be finished, and our last training session. Now, my apprentices! Show me the fruits of your labor. If you’re able to land a hit on me, you pass.”

Isaac let out a deep sigh. “Alright, Laila, let’s show her what we’re made of.”

“No need to tell me twice. You know what to do, Isaac.”

“Of course.”

Isaac took a deep breath and infused his body with mana, effectively increasing all of his Stats for a short period. He learned that technique during one of his punishments: push-ups. For some reason, only he can do it. I tried mimicking him, but it wouldn’t work. It was probably because of his [Energy Manipulation].

He took one step forward and catapulted himself toward Solgen, the ground beneath him trembling from the force of his power. Isaac quickly closed the gap between them, but Solgen kept her composure and avoided every one of Isaac’s sword swings. Taking advantage of Isaac’s distraction, I hurriedly crafted as many rapiers as I was able without over-exerting myself. The outcome led to ten of them being made and arranged around me in a circle. With a flick of a wrist, they all hovered off the ground slightly. Now that preparations are ready, it’s time to begin. I motioned for the blades to create a wide circle around the whole arena. They all flew to their respective positions and awaited further commands. I then joined my brother in attacking Solgen.

“What are you two planning, Hm? A sort of trap?” Solgen muttered. She ducked her entire body when I went in for a stab at her head. I adjusted my grip and thrust it downward, but she retreated a few paces back. Isaac expected this and dived at Solgen.

“Got you now!” He shouted.

Solgen thought he was going for another wide swing, but Isaac dropped his weapon. Solgen’s eyes widened in astonishment. Isaac clenched his fist and punched the ground with such force that it created a cloud of rock and dust, blanketing the arena. Not wasting any time, it was time to proceed to the next phase. With both hands now free, I commanded the blades that laid dormant around the arena and pointed at the dust cloud. The rapiers instantly jetted to where I marked and shot through the smokescreen. The cloud finally settled after a few seconds, and the blades vanished. However, Solgen was nowhere to be seen. We looked around the arena, but we couldn’t spot her at all.

“Where did she go?” I murmured.

“Behind you,” a voice whispered behind me. Knowing whose voice it belonged to, I spun along my heels and lunged, but the palm of Solgen’s hand blocked it.

“There is no need to continue any longer. You both pass,” Solgen declared. When I looked up at her face, there was a nick on her cheek. A drop of blood seeped out of the wound.

“I had to use one of my portals to escape the onslaught of weapons. Creating your own smokescreen and using Laila’s magic simultaneously was a genius idea. You even managed to wound me, an experienced fighter!”

With a gentle touch, she placed her hands on both Isaac and my heads, ruffling our hair.

“Hell yeah, we did it, Laila! Up top!” Isaac said excitedly. He had one of his arms raised, waiting for me to smack it, which I gladly accepted.

Solgen waited patiently for us to finish, smiling. “Now, let’s go to the smithery.”

The smithery? It’s about time. Every night, my thoughts were consumed with the image of Venny working in his smithery, the heat of a forge radiating around him. I thought about what sort of weapons Solgen wanted us to use. I have a faint idea of what it is, but I need to see it with my very own eyes.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

****

Solgen led us to a brick smithy with a few windows near the edge of town. The smithy was sixteen feet wide and twenty-eight feet long; the ground vibrating with the pounding of anvils. Its foundation and walls were made of the same material as the other homes in Igni Town. The open gable roof had rectangular shingles that were a deep red-brown color. Near the middle of the roof was a chimney spewing plumes of black smoke, signaling that the forge inside was currently in use. A dirt path led us to the front entrance of the smithy.

This will be my first time entering a smithery. I can more or less guess what it might be like, scorching heat, and the smell of metal and smoke.

“Come in,” said Venny after we knocked on a metallic door.

Solgen pushed the door open, and a gust of musty air rushed out. When I came in through the front, it was as I thought. Even with my [Heat Resistance], I could sense the heat on my skin, like a thousand needles. This place wasn’t all that special and had a lot of space, too. All that stood in here was a blazing forge, an anvil, tools, and some weapons donning the walls. A few unfinished pieces, such as a dagger, shields, and a helmet, sprinkled the ashen floor. There was another room in the back, but a lock was installed. Looking at it closer, there was no keyhole in sight, which I found odd.

“I was waiting for you. Follow me.”

After hammering a piece of metal one last time, Venny led us toward the back of the smithy and stood in front of the locked room. He pulled out a small key with an orb embedded in the bow. As soon as the key touched the lock, I heard a satisfying click, and the door opened slowly with a groan. Peering inside, the room was dark, but I could still make out a rough outline of how big it was. Maybe a bit smaller than the previous room.

“Excuse me for a moment,” said Venny. He glided his hand along the wall and the ceiling light was activated.

“Woah…” I gasped. Compared to the previous room, this one was stacked! A variety of swords were arranged on a rack, with a separate rack for spears and other weapons. All sorts of clothing and armor were hung on the walls, with the glass cubicles that housed them reflecting the light. Below each one was a small sign. I went up to an armor piece constructed of bones and examined the words inscribed on the sign.

Demogre? Is that a cross between a demon and an ogre? Oh! It’s probably from those red and gray monsters we encountered in the cave! That makes way more sense. So that’s what they’re called…

As I thought about the demogres I fought in that cave a month ago, a loud thud came from the middle of the room. I spun around and noticed a large metal chest sitting there. Venny dusted his hands off as he motioned at the box.

“Alright. Here is the gear I’ve been prepping. Go ahead and open it.”

Isaac’s eyes sparkled at the chest. “No need to tell me twice!”

Isaac rushed over and pulled the chest open. A powerful blast of mana erupted, sending him backwards.

“Jesus! What the hell did you make?”

“One of my best products. Now hurry up. I ain’t got all day,” Venny barked. Not wanting to waste his time, we both peeked inside the chest.

“I call dibs on this one!” Isaac said. He pulled out a turquoise crystal sword, its power radiating outwards in bright waves. The cross guard had an upward curve, and the handle was encased in a soft, black leather. The wave of mana we felt earlier was coming from the blade itself.

Venny watched Isaac with a smile, stroking his beard. “Boy, you better be careful with that blade of yours since it’s entirely made of Torqinite. It took me a hefty amount of time to create. Just one wrong move during the process and a mana explosion would’ve occurred.”

“I’ll treasure this sword with all my life,” Isaac stammered. He was sniffling and running his fingers over the intricate craftsmanship. I looked back into the box and chuckled to myself when I saw the next weapon.

“So that’s the reason,” I murmured. I cautiously grabbed the handle of the rapier and inspected its glossy, raven-black surface, the metal cold to the touch. I tapped the tip of the rapier and pricked myself, drawing a drop of blood.

I turned to face Venny, my mouth agape. “The tip is very sharp! I only gave it a light touch and my skin was cut. What is this metal?”

Venny chuckled at my surprise and said, “It’s made from the toughest metal in all of Athiens; Damastril.”

This rapier is made from Damastril? And it’s the toughest metal on Athiens? Holy shit…

[Legendary item acquired: Damastril Rapier]

Hm? I forgot about this feature. It’s been so long since it activated. The last time that happened was when I received the Magi’s Crude Staff. Now that I think about it, it’s been collecting dust in my Inventory. I can probably use it now since I can use mana, but do I really need it?

“Hey, Venny. Can you take a look at this? I got it when I defeated a mage.”

I retrieved the staff from my Inventory and handed it to Venny. He brought the weapon closer to his face, adjusting his goggles.

‘This staff… is utter trash. I’ll take the crystal. It’ll serve well for something later.”

With a loud snap, he removed the crystal from the staff and tossed it to a nearby table of tongs and wrenches. “Now that my work here is done, you guys can scram.”

“Before we leave, I would like to say thank you for all you’ve done for us,” I said while bowing. Isaac placed himself at my side and followed along.

“Same here. Thank you for this amazing gift!”

Venny waved us off and said, “Meh. It’s the least I can do for you poor souls…”

Poor souls?

I was about to ask what he meant by that before Solgen cut in.

“Alright then, apprentices. It’s time to bid Venny goodbye. I must speak with the two of you in private.”

She ushered us away from the blacksmith and dragged us out of the smithy. We were left standing on a dirt road as Solgen closed the door.

I furrowed my brow at Solgen. “What’s the rush? It sounded like he had more to say.”

Solgen focused her gaze elsewhere, scratching her head. “Do not worry about that. Right now, I have something very important to say. It’s related to your training.”

Isaac and I exchanged puzzled looks. “Our training?”

“Yes. While I did mention our training sessions end today, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re done training.”

I gave her another puzzled look. “What does that mean? I’m still confused about what you’re trying to say.”

“There’s a seaside port west of here that is a conglomerate of strong warriors. Every year, a big tournament is held, and those powerful warriors fight each other for wealth,fame and glory. I heard from Morgac that the prize is one wish being granted by the ruler. What you two need right now is more fighting experience, and what better way to gain that than this event?”

A tournament for those who are powerful… I don’t know how to feel about this.

“What do you think, Isaac?” I said to my brother. His eyes beamed with delight and his face was lit up with joy.

“We get to fight powerful people? That means more chances to see magic! Sign me up!”

Yep, I should’ve known he would be excited. How dumb of me to expect a different reaction.

“I guess we’re going then,” I sighed. “What’s the place called, and how do we get there?”

Solgen reached into her pockets and pulled out a map of what I’m guessing is the continent, due to how many labels there are. The continent was called Ashia, and it formed into a deformed croissant shape. Before I could study it any further, Solgen lifted it up and took a quick peek.

“Instead of taking one of my portals, it is best to explore the world around you. Morgac will provide you with the transportation and I’ll give you this map. Here, take it.”

Grabbing the map from her hands, I examined the piece of paper. The Ashia continent was surrounded by water, and the land was broken into boundary lines. Places were listed on the map such as Port Silis, Aglona, Craidol, the Dwarven Kingdom, the Elven Forest, and Noblela. There were other miscellaneous places too like the Wyvern Forest, the Desolate Mountain Range, and some area called The Tears of Spirits. What a weird name…

Right now we’re in the Magmi Region, and she said west of here near the sea… There it is! The port’s name is…

“Port Silis?” said a voice near my near. Isaac was looking over my shoulder and muttered to me. “Isn’t Silis Greek for forest or something? Kinda redundant, don’t ya think?”

“What stood before the city was a forest, but was later cleared away by the ruler,” Solgen pointed out.

“Okay, well, when do we leave?” Isaac asked, looking up from the map.

“The transportation should be prepared for you at the front gate. You two will leave as soon as you are ready.”

Isaac’s eyebrow rose in suspicion. “Are you not coming with us?”

Solgen shook her head. “Sadly, I cannot accompany you to the tournament. I have things to take care of…”

Solgen’s response was ambiguous and evasive, similar to how a corrupt politician avoids answering a frequent question. The look on her face tells me that this is of utmost importance. It’d be best not to probe her. Isaac thought so too and changed the subject.

“We’ll make you proud of us. Once we return from Port Silis, we will be marked as champions!”

“It’s a one-on-one match, Isaac,” Solgen replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Isaac’s face fell and let out a small ‘oh’, sneaking a glance in my direction. I knew what Isaac was thinking, and I didn’t blame him. He was probably wondering if there’s a high chance we’ll face each other in the tournament. He’s also probably thought of ways to beat me. Even then, I have no intention of losing to my kid brother, not even in a million years.