Allan did not see Sarey's mood. He could only guess what she felt.

Both of them changed their destination. Moving inside, to Allan's forge. Sarey led Allan by her side and poked him into his hand.

“Do you have some special plans in mind for this time?” She asked.

“Depends on what you call special.”

“Your bandanna for example?” Sarey asked meaningfully. She had a small box hidden behind her back.

“That too, I guess. I want to reforge this stubborn exchanges. I think being honest with each other is much better than him, being so secretive and unsure.”

“What do you expect? He was unwilling to do this from the very beginning. He is forced to be your teacher for himself.” Sarey said as she sat behind a chair. The whole room was in her field of view. Allan stood in the middle, by a side of the furnace. In the anvil was laid out a bandanna with a hammer emblem. She also had a small box on her lap, which she did not hide, since Allan would not question it.

“Oh. You think I am being too forceful?”

“No. I believe there is no right or wrong. Being honest with yourself is the best way.”

“It depends on 36. Not us.” Allan said with resolution. One that he would not stand by and see him work around them in a confusing fashion and secret.

Allan wanted to know more about him and the world he was about to reach. It was curiosity, as well as a little bit of expectations, that made him come to this decision.

Sarey was expecting some issues to come. She met 36 first, and it was not a pleasant experience. Although, he changed his behavior. It still reeked of schemes amidst the little care he wanted to provide them. He looked more self-centered to her than anything else. Life was about him to him and vice versa.

There was sudden tension in the room before it was broken by Sarey who walked toward him and grabbed his hand.

“Why not get this sorted out by ourselves?”

She sliced a small cut into his palm. It slowly dropped towards the book that was on the ground.

“I still don't get why, blood,” Allan asked.

“No clue. I would rather not question it.” Sarey said without much thought.

Both of them had now no choice other than wait. It would take a few minutes for 36 to appear.

Silence prevailed in the room before the blood disappeared from the leather cover. Light shot from it in a few moments and a portal appeared above the book. With a thud, a figurine of 36 fell from it below the portal.

“Took you long enough, brats.” The angry voice of 36 got to them. It seemed his mood was not that good at the moment.

“Good enough, I suppose,” Sarey said in return.

“What? Do you have something to say?” 36 barked at them.

“No need to get angry, mister 36. We kept ourselves busy. There are some things we can discuss. How about it?” Allan tried to calm him down.

“Hmmm. Go on. What is your current progress?”

Allan explained to him his routine and amount of work.

“Better than I expected. Now, strip.” 36 indifferently said.

Huh?

Both Sarey and Allan fell silent. Something similar happened to them a while ago.

“Alright.” Allan went with it before he make it more awkward. He stripped himself until a small loin cloth was around his lower body. Other than that, his whole body was bare. Displayed to the eyes of Sarey and the figure of 36 was a completely different kind of Allan than they saw for the first time. He stood there straight.

Tigh back muscles were across his shoulder blades and spine. Even small notice of the abs is within his abdominal region. Arm muscles were toned down a little. Not overly bigger or small. From his previous experience, Allan always had bigger arms than legs, but this time, it was the opposite. His thighs were bigger with muscles that popped off. Other than that, it looked like the body of the begginer practitioner of martial arts.

Sarey couldn't help but admire him. There were no other feelings as she watched him regain so much in so little time. It was worth the hard work. Unknown to her, even if she wants to admit it or not, the way muscles worked was not entirely understandable.

Are they strength? Sure. Are they resilient or defensive? Ether is fine.

Allan did not build this from the ground up, since he already had some basis at the start, yet the amount of progress he had done is not something he understood that clearly.

“Passable.” 36 said in the same tone as before.

“Good. I tried to work as openly as possible. How about starting the Tree treatment?” Allan said, with an expectation of starting something new. For the past few days, he started to enjoy the workout more and more. It made him feel better, and forget any worries. He could not understand the deeper meaning of what was going on within him or the changes his body unwillingly went through.

Something strange, but from the outside perspective, who doesn't know anything, it is a testament to the vastly different standards. 36 and Sarey have very different views on what they could say was passable.

“Go directly to the stone. If you don't feel like it, you can start with the tree for 10 days, but I feel like it would be a waste of time. Since Sarey provided you with good enough medicine, there will be no such problems. I will prescribe the time and amount of ingredients for the medicines later to her.”

“What stones?” Allan put the clothes on himself once more.

“Instead of trees, it is going to stone you are going to hit. Sarey will explain it to you later.” Do you have some discussion in mind? Both of you seemed like you have a lot in mind?”

Sarey was shocked upon hearing him. He was truly an immortal cultivator. Always seeing unexpecting turns of events, schemes, and surprises.

“Yes. Last night. I experienced something very strange. Sarey performed some acupoint treatment after practice and sparring. It led to a strange event where I was in some kind of shock. She said I was scorching hot and she could barely hold me still. I was asleep, and it took me a long time before I calmed myself down.”

“What did you use?” 36 voices pointed towards the silent Sarey.

“One from the pages you left me. It spread from his spine and neck. It was a normal treatment. I swear,”

“There is nothing normal with the page I gave you. Not anymore. If it will happen again, I will think of something.” 36 surprisingly did not mind it all that much.

“Are you sure? I felt like I was about to die. It was a strange feeling.”

“Then get used to it, if you want to walk this path. It is nothing for cowards.” 36 sternly said.

“Why do you say it like that? How about some words of encouragement?” Sarey shouted at 36. She no longer stayed calm as she hoped for. Even his response made her somewhat angry. She still felt guilty after yesterday.

“Life is not encouraging,” Allan said between their arguments. “Let's calm down and deal with anything afterward.”

“I can't be bothered with your weak mindsets, brats. The amount of time is limited after all.”

“You should try harder if that is the case,” Sarey said with a pissed-off face and crossed arms.

“Hehehehehheh. That is funny coming from a mortal. I spent months upon months of research for some way to help him gain at least some chance within the next year. I am in a constant state of thoughts and possibilities. Give me a fucking break and deal with your problems as well.”

“How about all 3 of you calm down first?” a voice shot from the distance as Zigmund appeared around a corner.

“F-father?” Sarey said with much shock, but still not as big as he saw the 36 for the first time.

“Who do we have here? Another mortal who wants some attention? I am getting tired of this. ” 36 indifferently said, with obvious mockery.

“I am only a normal bystander with a little bit of advice. No need to think too much about me. It is... that I was unable to remain this sort of work. It went too much into my head.”

“You knew all along?” Sarey asked.

“More or less. Allan is not a normal boy. I was sure of it from the start when I met him in that strange forest.”

“What a mortal can know?” 36 asked.

“Think of it as a hunch of an old soldier. Be it life or death. All 3 of you need to think about yourself first. Be it war or daily troubles. all sorts of situations will come and they all need to be more or less resolved. I don't want to hear the full story or your situation. Just a few words of something that can be beneficial to you all. Let the past be past. Put the differences aside. If there are things to be resolved, reach them one at a time. If the world that you call immortal is so tough, how could a life spread across the universe?”

“I hope you will take a big considerating towards your own situation. Try, give up, succeed. Be it anything, but failure. It could all help. Why worry about any outcome?” Zigmund stated the majority of his words in a single monologue. Ocasioally changing his tone to Sarey, Allan, and the figure who talked behind the wooden figurine.

“Shut up, old man.” 36 angrily said without regard.

“No. This is not about me. I am a little forceful. When it comes to your problems, I can't care less. It grinds my nerves. I hear a lot of legends, but nowhere near the disappointment of seeking your situation. Truly tragic.” Zigmund said with pity in his voice of seeking out the bothersome scene he chose to invade.

Allan was still processing the whole situation, He never thought Zigmund would force himself to act like this. Of course, he never even noticed that he was spying on them. He should have, as his perception of his surroundings improved over time. Nose, ears, and sense of touch were great examples. It seemed, that Zigmund still did not reveal his full skills.

“You pity me? Me? You must be out of your mind, old man.” 36 shrill voices spread across the room. Angry and unreasonable.

“You sound like every bloody lunatic I've met in the war. Angry towards any unfavorable situation. Bastards without a shred of shame. I like those and hated some too. What kind of person were you before you happened to be that sort of bastard, I wonder.” Zigmund said with a speck of amusement.

36 fell into a grinding silence. His voice was shrieking in mumbling madness.

“Y-you fucking... man. So what? Do you think your words hold any meaning? Am I a seeker of death? I am trying something I never tried before. The world I know is nothing that a sort of person like you can imagine.”

Bang!

The penetrative sound stopped all sounds. It came from Allan's location who hit the ground with his pole. It was unfortunately shredded to pieces upon the impact of force and the grip in his hand caused the pole to crack. Allan was gripping it in silent anger of unconventional frustration with what was going on.