Episode 215. Shadow Hammer (1)
Tweet. Tweet.
Two small, colorful birds fly in. They circle in the air and land on one side, rubbing their bodies together.
tweet.
A bird shows curiosity towards Rayubia. It starts to look at her closely as if it is curious. It has discovered something about her.
The marks carved into Rayubia’s body. They were the Brion swordsmanship known as the ‘Way of the Sword’, which Felkion Brion had personally carved into his only daughter.
Because I couldn’t bear to carve all the sword patterns on a newborn baby’s body, I had no choice but to carve only up to five patterns.
“Go away”
At that moment, a low voice called out.
Only then do the birds notice the wolf glaring at them from the side with stern eyes. They flap their wings in surprise and escape from above Rayubia’s body.
“… … .”
Elkio is trying to push his nose into the sleeping Rayubia. He changed the child’s position so that the child can sleep more comfortably.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps heading towards them resonates.
“El Quio.”
The one who called Elchio was an old man with a thick beard. At the old man’s appearance, the birds that had just been chased away by Elchio flew towards him in a friendly manner.
An old man who smiled gently and let two little birds land on my fingers.
The place where the old man and Elkio were was in the middle of a forest full of trees. It was a very different scenery from the plains where it was hard to find even a single tree.
Among them, the place where Rayubia was sleeping was by a pond where moonlight was softly shining.
Soon, the old man approaches with careful steps. Then he puts his hand into the pond.
“The sentinel of cumulative clouds, Elchio… Hmm, this name ‘Elchio’ doesn’t seem to stick in my mouth.”
“Rayubia named me after my biological father. By the way, Rayubia doesn’t seem to be waking up. Maybe she was in too much of a shock.”
The old man shook his head.
“It means you’re not ready to come here yet. You should have come after you’ve raised your level a bit more.”
“Your forge isn’t only for the ‘chosen ones’, right?”
“They are not affected at all. Only the ‘chosen ones’ are affected. Rayubia is so weak that she is greatly affected.”
“Tch, is that so? I thought it was because I’m a fighter.”
At that moment, the old man’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t even think about insulting the person who threw the ball in front of me.”
“I know how to handle things to that extent, Kamnuit. I just said it because it’s the first time I’ve seen the Lord of Red Cloud Castle be a Tohun person.”
Elkio looked at Kamnuit and said.
Kamnuit.
The white-haired old man was the master of the hidden forge and its sole worker. He was a legendary blacksmith and the mediator of the ‘chosen ones’.
Another peculiar thing was that he was blind and had lost his eyesight. When you raised his eyelids, all you could see was a white, cloudy eye.
“Elkio, how long do you think it will take for your master to sing ‘Accumulation of Clouds’?”
“That’s the problem. The sword’s level needs to rise for ‘Red Cloud’ to appear, but right now it’s barely a 1-star level.”
Kamnuit laughed heartily. He also understood Elkio’s frustration.
Up until now, all of the ‘Lords of Red Cloud’ before Rayubia had reached the level of 6 stars. Only those at that level could be chosen by the ‘Aura’ to meet the Red Cloud Guardian.
There has never been a case like this before where a thirteen-year-old child appears. What’s more, the Lord of the Red Cloud Castle is a swordsman who doesn’t even have proper swordsmanship.
Even Kamnuit thought it was a strange choice for ‘Auror’. It could mean that the situation was becoming more urgent.
“Anyway, the sword pattern carved into that child’s body will be important. ‘Auror’ wouldn’t have chosen that child for nothing.”
Kamnuit stood up from his seat.
The time he spent here, which was both a forest and a blacksmith shop, transcended human categories. Having stayed there for 200 years, everything was familiar even if he couldn’t see it with his eyes.
“… … !”
So the reason Kamnuit stopped dead in his tracks was for another reason.
“… … !”
Not only Kamnuit, but also Elkio felt that there was a new person entering the forge besides them.
“Who is it? Are there any people other than the ‘Chosen One’ who know of this place, Kamnuit?”
Elkio raised his body and came near Kamnuit. Wheeee, the wolf’s fur spreads to one side in the blowing wind. There is hostility in his eyes.
“No, the one who has entered now is the ‘chosen one.’”
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know who it is. For now, all I know is that it’s ‘The Chosen One.’”
Kamnuit turned his face towards Elchio. All he could see was pitch black, but he opened his eyes wide. He warned Elchio with his eyes free of black.
“But keep in mind, Elkio. This is a peace zone agreed upon by ‘Auror’ and ‘Mana.’”
Of course, Elkio didn’t know either. Elkio looked down at the sleeping Rayubia with worried eyes and grumbled.
“Tch! I wish it was Cellok. Of all the gods of ‘Mana’, he’s the closest.”
* * *
“Your Majesty, where am I?”
Blane looked around and asked.
However, while Rubin had a visible pillar of light, Blane did not. It was natural for him to be confused, as he had experienced a teleportation in an instant without any phenomenon.
In an instant, we moved from a grassland with nothing but rocks and short grass to a jungle.
Besides, there was something strange. The trees and the birds had a different vibe. It was a difference that anyone with a dark side couldn’t help but feel.
“No map of the continent could record this.”
“yes?”
Rubin pointed to the sky indifferently. Blane, who had raised his head and looked up at the night sky, was faced with an overwhelming sight.
“… Have we now come to a dream world created by the ‘Dream Spider’?”
That would be the most reasonable suspicion.
“No. This is the real world.”
“Then how come there are three moons… … .”
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The continent has only one moon, and to the naked eye it is no bigger than a dot in the sky.
But here, there were three moons large enough to fill the field of vision, each with a different color.
Red moon, blue moon, black moon.
It was fortunate that I was able to talk to ‘Amyeon’ just before coming here. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what each of those three moons meant.
The blue moon would be Mana, the red moon would be Auror, and the last black moon would be Amyeon.
‘I can feel all three energies.’
Rubin is a being who possesses darkness, mana, and aura. From the moment he entered this place, the powers contained within his body began to resonate.
“This is another world. A world similar to the Demon World.”
It occurred to me that perhaps this world was created solely for the blacksmith. That is, a common space agreed upon by Aura, Mana, and Darkness.
“Blaine. No matter who appears in front of you, do not draw your weapon without permission. If they attack you, just dodge and never fight back.”
“Yes, I will keep that in mind.”
The two walked through the jungle, guarded.
There were all kinds of beasts here. Those that would normally be ferocious beasts were docile here. In fact, they were almost playful.
Under the three moonlights, the bear, the eagle, and the deer all looked at Rubin and Blanet with curious eyes.
“master!”
Up ahead, in a place with thick trees and thick shade, an unwelcome beast slowly reveals itself.
It was a huge, gray wolf.
Krrrrrr.
Blane grabbed his bow. It was not a beast, but a divine beast. The humiliating fight came back to him like a nightmare. He had saved his life, but it was a fight that was no different from defeat. He wanted to restore his damaged pride right away.
‘The master knew that Elchio was here. That’s why he told me not to do anything.’
Rubin’s request came to mind. In the end, Blane was the one who could only grab the bow, but could not draw it.
“El Quio.”
When Rubin called his name, Elkio let out a hostile howl.
“The Dark Clan… These vicious bastards, chasing me all the way here.”
“Rather than chasing after you, we met by chance, the sentinel of the red cloud.”
Krrrrkkaa!
The moment the nickname ‘Sentinel of the Red Cloud’ comes out of Rubin’s mouth, Elchio roars with murderous intent.
At this, the beasts of the forest scattered in panic. A flock of birds flew up into the trees.
“… … .”
As the sound of the flock’s wings completely died down, an eerie silence descended upon the forest.
Elkio thought that what he had been worried about had happened. The Dark Clan had finally figured out that Rayubia was the ‘chosen one’. That’s why they had come all the way here to nip that in the bud.
At that moment, a person walks out from behind El Chio.
“No, El Chio.”
“Kamnuit.”
The blacksmith emerged from the shadows and appeared under the moonlight. Rubin held his breath and his eyes lit up at his appearance.
“Your Majesty, is that man the blacksmith?”
Ignoring Blaine’s whispers, Rubin had been prepared since long ago. It seemed instinctively that he should do so. The blacksmith in front of him was not a great warrior, but he was clearly the master of this land.
As Rubin crouched down, Blanet followed suit.
“Kamnuit. Is that the human you were talking about earlier?”
“Yes, the author is the one who was chosen by the dark side.”
“… That can’t be. It’s the first time I’ve heard that Amyeon chose someone.”
“This is my first time since I was selected as the ‘Blacksmith of the Other World’. 200 years? 300 years? The years I spent here are now vague. Anyway, the author is the ‘chosen one’ of the dark world. He has the right to freely enter and exit this place.”
Elkio shook his head from side to side, glaring at Rubin with sharp eyes, as if he wanted to deny it. And then he thought. That human doesn’t have a god. Then… wouldn’t it be worth a try?
As if he had guessed this, Kamnuit shook his head again.
“Remember, El Chio. This is a peaceful zone.”
“But the word ‘darkness’ is missing from that oath.”
“It’s not that it’s missing, it’s just that it wasn’t mentioned. No one has ever been chosen by Amyeon before. If Amyeon is really missing as you say, why would the black moon shine here?”
Aside from that, he had to stop the fight for Elkio’s sake. The Shinsoo was said to be immortal, but that was only in general cases. If he was killed by the ‘chosen one’, the Shinsoo would become immortal.
And one more thing. Kamnuit knew that no matter how much he was the ‘Guardian of the Red Clouds’, he was no match for that human.
“I want to know your name.”
“This is Rubin Roinen.”
“I thought so. If it’s Roinen, then it’s the root of the Amyeon clan.”
An old man with his eyes closed, concentrating on himself.
Rubin studied the face closely. He could tell that he was blind, but he also saw features that suggested his birthplace.
‘He’s a touhou person. Then, could it be?’
For a moment, a fact about a person in history flashed through Rubin’s mind.
I wanted to resolve the question right away, but I had to postpone it for a while. First, I had to follow the flow of the conversation.
“By the way, Rubin, you have a soul weapon.”
I could tell even without my eyes seeing, because this was the home of all the spirits.
The ‘Blacksmith of the Other World’ usually creates works when requested by the ‘Chosen Ones’.
But that doesn’t mean that I only create works when I have a commission. When I don’t have a commission, I spend most of my time in solitude and contemplation for creation. That’s hundreds of years.
The works completed in this way flow into the world through the ‘gap’. These are works that are made only once every 100 years. These are the things called ‘soul weapons’ and ‘soul magic tools’.
“Here it is.”
Rubin handed Kamnuit his beloved sword.
The blind blacksmith felt Rubin’s hand and picked up the sword. It seemed that he could examine the state of the soul weapon even with his eyes closed.
“… Ah, Blood Frost! It’s the work of my previous blacksmith, about a thousand years old. It’s a masterpiece that captures the essence of cold and snow. It will never break or rust. Only the master recognized by the sword can wield it.”
He too seemed excited when he came across the masterpiece of the old days. He continued to touch the bloody frost here and there with a much gentler voice.
“Then how about this?”
A wrist filled with the bracelet of the ‘Lost Archmage’ Glayton. It was a magical tool that allowed one to see the movements of an opposing magician.
This was also a great work, but strictly speaking, it was not comparable to a soul weapon or a soul magic tool.
‘But it must have a different meaning to Kamnuit.’
As expected, Kamnuit looked quite surprised. He even showed his white pupils, which he had never shown before.
“This is… Glayton’s bracelet?”
“yes.”
Suddenly, I remembered what Sellock had said. He had described this blind blacksmith as someone who once felt inferior to Glayton.
And Rubin had one more memory of this blacksmith: one of his magic classes at Capotini School of Magic.
‘It was probably during Kaizen’s potion making class. Dahlia mentioned an example of a historical event related to potions.’
“This is the story of the lost archmage Glayton. There is a story about the blindness he bet on the chieftain of the Tooth tribe. The chieftain of the Tooth tribe lost a bet with the archmage and drank the magic potion he made, and from the age of twenty until he died of old age, he lost his eyesight.”
Dahlia’s voice played in Rubin’s head.
“I think I finally understand who I am facing. Kamnuit, the man who once lost a bet with Glayton.”
“… … .”
Kamnuit, who was feeling the ‘Glayton’s Bracelet’ with his fingers, smiled and put his hand down.
“That’s right, thanks to that Glayton guy, I was able to put my name in a corner of the continent’s history.”
I guess the ill feelings towards Glayton are now a thing of the past. Well, I guess he has far surpassed Glayton’s level by now.
The blacksmith turned around and gave Rubin the blood frost.
“But I was able to come here thanks to Glayton. He recommended me as the ‘Blacksmith of the Other World.’”
Kamnuit began to walk.
That moment.
Rubin and Blaine discovered one of Kamnuit’s secrets. A great secret that they had never seen or heard before.
‘…there is no shadow.’
Only Kamnuit had no shadow. Suddenly, it occurred to me that this might be related to the ‘Blacksmith of the Other World’ ability.
Kamnuit gestured towards Rubin.
“You didn’t come all this way just to chat with me, did you? Come with me. Let’s go to my forge. I’ll listen to your story there.”
