There was a large rat staring into the distance from atop a boulder by the river. He seemed distracted as I sat down next to him. I yawned and enjoyed the scenery around me. Shu’s expression didn’t change as he stood up and pulled out his sword. He began to pace as he started carving characters and symbols along his path. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I idly watched as he continued.

“This hurts like hell!” Wang Tai was next to his son doing the after-workout stretches. For some reason his wife had forced him to join us the past few days. At least the kids didn’t complain as much as he did. I turned back towards him and saw him shaking as he tried to touch his toes.

“It isn’t about doing it exactly. You just need to do what feels right, but yeah, it’s going to hurt like hell when you first start.” I smirked at him.

The trio below finished their stretches and the two kids began to spar. Wang Hu seemed a bit off today though. It seemed as though his sword didn’t fit him anymore. Bai Xiu had always shown a bit more skill in weapons than he did but it was extra apparent today.

I turned back to watch what Shu was doing as he circled the boulder and continued carving symbols around the flat top.

“Shu.” He turned towards me when I called his name.

“I like this boulder. It’s a nice boulder. So what are you doing?” He continued his motions without pause.

“Just sit still.” He still seemed distracted.

“I can’t do what Long and Xinyi do when they check the spiritual energy at a glance. I have to focus on a target and direct things accordingly.” He completed his lap of the boulder and sheathed his weapon.

“Just so you know I’m considered one of the most adept in this empire when it comes to spiritual sense.” The symbols around me began to light up slowly.

"This formation checks attributes and spiritual talent, as well as any outside influences." Shu gestured as I felt a strange disturbance around me.

As the formation gave off light the trio next to us began watching. It almost felt like I was surrounded by water. It was sort of nice. Kind of like swimming without moving.

"Strange. There's... nothing." Shu stepped back and stroked his chin. I think that's right.

"From what I've gathered, you simply appeared near here like the other man correct?" The lights died down and Shu stopped his pacing.

"It was similar but his was a bit more... guided." I nodded.

"You don't have any of the strange spells attached to you that he does." I sighed at his words. I didn't even ask!

After the morning workout I returned to the workshop. Hu was distracted as we arrived. The kid went to the back immediately.

"Sparky! We're back." He announced.

"Sparky?" I glanced towards him.

"Well the fire needs a name right?" He said it so matter-of-factly I couldn't refute him. The small fire sprite didn't show itself often but it was certainly there. I grunted in acknowledgement and was about to go make lunch when Hu spoke up again.

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"Hey, what kind of sword is it that you have?" He asked.

"It's called a claymore." I answered while yawning. He contemplated for a few moments before he continued.

"Can I have one?" His eyes were bright and he seemed expectant. It was probably bad to give a kid a sword but if old video games have taught me anything it was probably more dangerous to go alone. I shrugged.

"Didn't you make your own sword last time?" I watched as realization seemed to dawn on him. He began to gather materials and line them out. As he finished preparing he went to the side of the fire.

"Sparky, can you please help me?" He asked with an honest expression and the fire started to dance. I couldn't tell what it tried to say but the kid took it as confirmation. He jumped for joy and started to work. I went back to what I was doing before. I probably wouldn't ever get used to having living fire as one of my roommates. It was also probably a bad idea to let a kid work alone but he had done it plenty of times before and Long was nearby even if he was napping.

Shu returned to the smithy not long after. He found me before I could even start cooking and forced me to follow him back to the river. When we arrived he made me stand in the center of the formation he made again and he started doing several gestures. The lights this time began to float off the ground and circle around me.

"Why do I have to do this?" I stood in the center of the strange sensation again. It was similar to when people tried to sense me but it felt even more invasive.

"I thought there might have been an issue with the formation. So I used a better one, but you don't even have an element. No spiritual root. You have nothing besides your strangely large qi channels." Shu paced as he scribbled in his scroll.

"It's fascinating. Absolutely fascinating." He continued his experiment for a short while.

"You should be limited at the initiates realm without the ability to use spiritual energy but you have the same durability as an upper earth realm cultivator. Even your physical strength is far beyond what it should be." The rat kept circling me and writing things down. It felt like I was on an operating table for a moment. Shu pulled out a stick from nowhere and suddenly swung at me. It broke across my calf and I felt a light smarting pain.

"What the hell!" I shouted at him and he inspected the broken stick. He then proceeded to write with even more fervor. I would punt him if I wasn't sure he could kick my ass.

"Now the real question is, how in the world can someone like you make an artifact?" He watched me expectantly.

"I don't try to. I just make things how they're supposed to be." I sighed.

"You really are just that stupid..." Shu pinched the bridge of his snout.

______________________________________________________

Dang Tong's office was a mess. String connected several reports and handwritten statements along his walls. He paced back and forth with his unkempt hair flowing freely.

He had stopped going home lately. The dirty plates on his desk were stacked high since he had not allowed a single person to enter his office. He followed the threads that refused to connect in any meaningful way. He didn't find anything that could be considered an answer. There was no reason for the appearances. He considered sending reports to the imperial city so they could assist in the investigation. A knock came to the door. Elder Zhang walked in without waiting for a response and glanced at the writings on the wall.

"Nothing?" Dang Tong continued to pace while Zhang spoke.

"The only thing that ties these together is that they are all foreigners." The general plopped into his chair. He had exhausted himself and every possible lead he found. If he could actually find one of the people that wouldn't attack him he would be in a much better position. The man he met before the real investigation began had almost attacked on sight. He had been forced to abandon meeting the man from the nameless village to avoid the monsters living there. The only other person that he found who had stayed in the area had apparently become some sort of bandit king and was already killed by someone else. All the others were already in other regions and beyond his reach.

Zhang tried to follow the strings and seemed a bit distracted.

"Our lord is almost finished with his project." The elder offhandedly mentioned. The lord had been secretive ever since he started whatever thing he was working on. The soldier's eyes went wide. He started the line around the room again. This time he placed a new paper at the beginning of the line with the symbol of the local noble family. This project had started only days before everything began. He would still need to confirm it but at this point he would bet his horse that they were related. He loved that horse.

"It seems the answers we're looking for are with him..." The two men looked at each other and sighed. There wasn't much they could do if the lord was somehow involved.