Ursel had just planned to mix everything into an evenly ratioed alloy. On the surface, that seemed like a viable plan. With light and darkness involved and different potencies of materials, however, things became far more complicated.
Even with the attention of Ursel, John, Viriato, and Raul the required balance of elements was difficult to maintain. They were fortunate that the first failures only resulted in the destructions of certain materials that had additional backup.
“Alright, I think I understand the ratios,” Raul said. The alchemist was used to complicated mixtures. Most of them simply didn’t become solid afterwards. “We need to focus on the four core elements first. Viriato will be responsible for stabilizing the light and dark elements as we add the layers on opposite sides. And Ursel, you’re responsible for molding the shape. I don’t know what will fit you and if you’re right and its practically immutable when our work is done…” he shrugged. “Well, it would be pretty terrible if it didn’t fit right.”
Ursel grumbled. “It’s so much easier to do pure earth.”
“Obviously,” John said. “I’m surprised that’s not what you went for.”
“Nah, that’s no good. If I went up against someone like master Renato they could just dismantle my armor on an elemental level. If we get this set up it should be better. Uh, assuming it’s stable.”
“It can be,” John said. “Now let’s go over the process one final time with the alterations before we make our attempt.”
Once everyone was confident in their roles, they began the process. First was a core of neutral attributed metal. Even if the earth element would often control metal, it didn’t have any earth element beyond its basic form.
The basic smithing process in some ways reflected the cycle of core elements. The next thing to be introduced was heat, melting the metal and allowing it to be roughly shaped. From there, it could be quenched in water or a certain sort of oil, before being returned to the air.
In their case, the process was a bit more drawn out. They began infusing the various elemental materials into the neutral metal. John’s role was actually to keep things stable, though that grew easier as they added elements. Ursel had a good understanding of what materials could be imbued into the armor, instead of just bringing powerful components of every element. Fire stones, water crystals, a bottle of particular air, and some essence of earth to tie everything together.
Once the first round was complete, they had a big slab of metal. Ursel was pounding it into shape, as pouring the liquid into the mold produced even layers which weren’t actually optimal.
During the whole process, they had to keep it from cooling completely. Once it did, the stable structure would likely be more durable than Mountain Steel, a solid mixture capable of resisting any attacks at the Consolidated Soul Phase- and still being quite effective beyond that level.
Raul continued to add elements bit by bit, until they had several generations of elements holding together. Then it was Viriato’s turn, as they added light element infused threads to what would become the outer edge.
John was quite certain that a normal suit of armor wasn’t made in a single batch, but this was the method Ursel was most confident in. And indeed, as she continued to hammer and twist things into shape- with John helping encourage everything to flow together as she willed it- sometimes skipping steps as a cultivator was actually more practical. Full body armor from head to toe began to take shape, with Ursel sweating profusely as her arms reached deep into the forge. Protecting herself from flames wasn’t that easy, even with a tempered body.
When the darkness was infused, John felt the whole thing threaten to tear itself apart. Fortunately, he was ready for that and reached out to it, holding on from one side while Viriato wove himself through the whole thing to balance the light and darkness. The latter tugged on the former, holding it tight against the material.
John had no idea how long it took. He just knew that the sun was setting when they were done, but he thought he’d seen a couple sunrises as well. His spiritual energy was drained, as he’d needed to provide the greater strength of his own energy. The others were exhausted as well, but finally Ursel declared it done, smoothing stray bits and making certain all the articulating joints worked.
Looking at it when it finally cooled, John got the sense that the suit of armor was a single thing. Which it was, from a certain perspective. But even when gauntlets and sabatons were pulled apart from the helmet and cuirass, it still had a clear connection. Even without particular enchantments inlaid into it, the very mix of elements made it act as a single entity.
“This is amazing,” John said. Then he grinned. “Maybe we should make this for everyone.”
“Sure,” Ursel shrugged. “You try it,” she said, tossing him the gauntlet.
Aside from the fact that it was made to fit her… there was another issue. John almost toppled over when he caught the gauntlet, as its weight was significant. He had enough spiritual energy left to balance himself, but their resulting material was denser than even Mountain Steel. “Will you even be able to move around in this?” John asked.
“Obviously,” Ursel said. “And more importantly, I shouldn’t have to augment its defensive properties against most opponents.”
“Leaving you free to attack as you please,” John nodded. “Though… I can’t imagine many people standing up to you regardless. Your weapon is still the same, right?”
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Ursel nodded. “Mixing elements there would inhibit my ability to be active. And though my body is quite powerful, I do intend to still make use of my spiritual energy.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” John said. “Do you want to test it out before the tournament?”
“Yes. We should.”
-----
Watching Renato flail on Ursel to no effect, except occasionally forcing her to take a step back, John was quite confident he couldn’t damage her new armor. Not that that would make her invulnerable. He could attack through the small eye slits or any other gaps, if necessary. Sure, he’d then have to contend with her tempered body but John was fairly certain he could manage it.
Then again, it would be pretty embarrassing to lose against a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator, even if Ursel was near the peak.
When they were first testing, John had only given half hearted attempts to destroy her armor. Then he’d ramped up to more serious attempts to damage it. He knew it would be difficult to repair, but that was why it was important to see if he could even scratch it.
“What should we call this?” John asked.
“I think it’s fairly simple,” Renato said. “Rainbow armor.”
“Ugh. Pass,” Ursel said. It did glimmer, though, given the outer layer having the greatest imbuement of light. “Six Element Steel is way better. And your sect did most of the work.”
“We might have to borrow you to smith some more of it at some point,” John said. “Maybe a few small pieces, or thinner perhaps.”
“You’d lose something, but most people would find it better,” Ursel agreed. “Without the thickness, you might be able to cause some damage. It flexes a bit, actually.”
“Sure doesn’t feel like it,” Renato shook his head.
“It’s not much, but it distributes the load throughout it, the elements calling on each other,” Ursel explained. “It’s even better than I thought.”
“Great,” John said. “So, does this mean you’re planning to dominate all of the Consolidated Soul Phase participants from the Sky Islands?” John had been worried for a bit, but they’d received an official missive from the First Peak indicating the Sky Islands would be participating in the tournament.
Escorting them through the Wuthering Steppes would be necessary, as many people remembered their previous grudges. Even if Sitora hadn’t wiped out people along the way like the Molten Sea, there had still been conflict as they made a route to the Shimmering Islands. More than that, Abritt might be looking for trouble and it would be better to avoid any excuses. They would be treated with honor, though not with subservience.
Of course, John had assured the Wuthering Steppes that they were free to seek any vengeance within the bounds of the tournament. If they were strong enough to manage it, of course.
-----
The last few years of preparing for the tournament went quicker than John might have expected, though perhaps that was because he was so busy. He didn’t neglect his own training, of course. As the representation of the region’s unity, he had to be the strongest. If he lost to Abritt again- which was unfortunately still quite likely- he had to at least show enough strength.
He wasn’t alone, of course, but John didn’t expect any but Renato to have a better chance of defeating Abritt than he would. If Abritt were a pure air cultivator that would be one thing, but she still had the earth element as well. She would be able to unravel his defensive techniques, even if she didn’t use earth element in the same way as the Stone Conglomerate. In short, he wouldn’t have a complete elemental advantage- and the gap in ranks was still important.
Renato had reached the thirty-ninth rank before John, but he wasn’t likely to step into the mid Ascending Soul Phase with just another year or so. With Abritt in the first rank of the late Ascending Soul Phase, there was still a huge gap.
As for everyone else, however, John expected Renato could dominate any Sky Islanders. The other exception might be Sitora as she was a transmigrator with a wealth of experience, and solidly in the mid Ascending Soul Phase. But John had thoughts on how to fight her, and the gap wasn’t as large. That was assuming all of the Island Masters were participating, of course.
John suspected Morana would be sitting it out, but if she chose to show up he would give her a proper chance to participate. And he would be making sure that the formations were ready to protect people from any untoward actions. That included from both sides, because they couldn’t afford to appear as if they were trying to cheat. Any victories they didn’t earn would appear as a weakness instead, ruining their show of strength.
-----
Several new individuals had reached the Ascending Soul Phase in the area. Alina of the Milanovics in the Green Sands. Yonit was the first in the Brandle clan to reach the Ascending Soul Phase, though Tirto was probably only a decade or so behind.
Presha’s existence as a new Ascending Soul Phase neighbor had been a surprise, but she was not the only one. Not counting the Muted Crags who had lost Rezso, there was one as far west as the Viridia WIldlands. John had personally been hoping for someone from the Emerging Bamboo Sect, but sadly it was Mandlen of the Indestructible Kapok Grove. John’s main experience with them had been negative, but that was how things went sometimes. Surprisingly, Mandlen was just one of the elders of the sect and not the Sect Head, though it was thought he might take over the position in the near future given his strength.
Whether it was because of some cycle affecting the world with great spiritual energy or a greater level of association between elemental regions or any of those factors plus more undetermined it wasn’t quite clear, but cultivations had risen faster than in any records. Charlotte of the Firepine Palace was not a surprise candidate as an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator, and John had rather expected it even given her age.
There was just one final individual John was hoping for. Ever since he had formally established the Six Elements Crossroads he didn’t see as much of Crystin as he had- she was still part of the Tenebach clan, after all. She had been a reliable friend and ally, so John was quite pleased when he finally received word of her breakthrough. It apparently hadn’t been easy, with some sort of special help from Ciaritzal and Melanthina, but she made it.
John looked forward to seeing her, though as he understood it she wouldn’t be participating in the tournament herself. She would just be acting as a guard. Well, if that was what pleased her John saw no reason to stop her from doing so. And he would be glad to know that Melanthina and Ereli had reliable protection along the road- even more than usual, of course.
Most likely, the Sky Islands would have a few more Ascending Soul Phase cultivators of their own. John had sensed some close to the edge, and with nine years and a particular challenge they expected to face he wouldn’t be surprised if some were successful in breaking through. It was probably a good thing, as long as they could manage to get along. John hoped that the Second Peak got some, because Sitora was a reasonable enough individual. And maybe Abritt would get over her disdain for continentals. He could dream, at least.