30: A Soul Weapon?

Evelyn felt a strange sensation in her body, as if her blood were pulsating in response to the whip she held in her hand. Not just that, her amulet that had been reacting to it earlier seemed to have quieted down too.

"A dragon whip! Don't tell me that this weapon recognizes me as its master?" Evelyn muttered to herself, lost in her thoughts, while looking at the whip in her hand.

"No, it can't be... It is too old to be a soul weapon."

She thought as she remembered what her mother had taught her about weapons. Her mother, who couldn't utilize her elemental abilities, could be considered an expert in weapons and combat skills.

There are three main categories of weapons: ordinary weapons, beast weapons, and soul weapons.

Ordinary weapons are crafted using regular raw materials. They have neither crystal stones nor beast cores. Infusing them with mana or elemental powers will only produce mediocre effect. The higher the rank of the blacksmith, the faster the weapons can absorb mana, resulting in more powerful strikes.

Beast weapons are commonly used by mages as they can easily be infused with the mage's spiritual energy and elemental power. Not to mention, they can have their own passive or active skills when used by mages, and they add a buff to their user's strength, speed, and attack power. Beast weapons are crafted using magical crystal stones or beast cores from mana beasts, along with other raw materials that can be either regular or rare. They are ranked according to the beast cores used in their crafting by powerful blacksmith mages.

Soul weapons, themselves, are the rarest of all weapons and the most sought after; one of their special attributes is that they choose their master. These weapons have a soul of their own. They are alive and can absorb mana from their environment to unleash their specific elemental power, just like mages. When it has chosen its master, a soul weapon will form a contract with him. Only death can break the contracts.

It is mostly found with witches and very few human mages of high rank. With soul weapons, one can annihilate more than ten demon minions with just one strike. Soul weapons can only be crafted by powerful rune masters and blacksmiths using an extracted soul (some say it is the soul of spirit beasts), crystal stones, and other high-grade raw materials.

Soul weapons have the ability to evolve, especially as their master's power increases.

Remembering all of these things, while holding the short whip that was slightly wiggling, Evelyn became even more convinced that this was not a soul weapon. Perhaps, a beast weapon.

Soul weapons, which have a life of their own, can never be this old and rusty. They are capable of self-restoration. Secondly, she didn't feel any pain in any part of her body as a result of the weapon forming a contract with her by giving her a 'soul mark'. It could only be a beast weapon.

"Even if it's a soul weapon. What if I refuse to be its master?..." Just as Evelyn muttered this, the whip in her hand wriggled even more, as if it was dissatisfied with what she had just said. Not minding the whip's reaction, she lifted it up and, feeling its light weight, she swung it down.

She felt so in tune with the whip. And it seemed like something she could master in just a few days. Evelyn decided to go for this weapon. She plans to inform her mother about it, hoping that her mother will buy it for her from the academy. 'It should be cheaper than others here, right? Considering its old and rusty nature... I will use it to go beast hunting with my bow soon.' Thinking about this made her smile a little.

She took the weapon to see what Elvis had gotten. After scanning the area for a few seconds, she finally spotted Elvis brandishing a sword and swinging it.

"Does it match your lightning?"

Elvis had his concentration broken by a voice while he was testing out the sword, but the voice was familiar. He couldn't be happier. His sister appears to be socializing and engaging in conversations with others, even initiating them.

"Yeah! I just love this weapon. You know, Mom already gave me a sword, so I should learn swordsmanship. I just wish Mr. Ronald would take me as his disciple and personally teach me swordsmanship."

"What about you?" Elvis asked, and that was when his eyes caught sight of the rusty whip his sister had been holding. Evelyn, upon seeing her brother's perplexed expression, nodded in response to Elvis' questioning look.

"That old whip?... What about the bow and arrows that Mom gave you?" Elvis couldn't believe the surprise look on his face, so he scanned her face and asked her, but she continued to maintain that stoic expression.

"Yes. About Mom's bow and arrows... Today, I started learning archery after being discharged from the infirmary. Anyway, there is something I have been meaning to tell you. Can you come over to my room, or should I visit you before curfew?"

"Okay, I will come over," replied Elvis, who was very happy. His sister is finally going to open up to him. He was above the clouds.

"Am I also allowed to be there?"

The two siblings heard a voice behind them. Turning around, they saw Zoya walking up to them.

"Um, yeah... After all, it will be in our room. Anyway, I would first meet Troy in the general training unit after this class before returning to our room," replied Evelyn. "Where is your weapon?"

"I have never used a weapon before, and since we aren't given the weapons here. I don't want to become attached to any weapon. I can always find one to practice with. Later, I will buy my own weapon. Besides, my ice element does not easily match with weapons... I hate staves too." Zoya couldn't stop rambling. She was especially happy that Evelyn, whom she had cherished as a friend, but who was difficult to confide in, was willing to share her troubles with her today.

***

When the students were done selecting their weapons, they were led back to the combat training hall. Mr. Ronald paired each of them with a partner. Then, with Logan as his partner, the teacher demonstrated the basics of striking with their weapons, such as thrusts, slashes, and swings. They were also taught the basics of blocks, including how to deflect and parry incoming attacks with their weapons.

When he finished the demonstration with Logan, who happened to be a fast learner, he instructed the students to practice the strikes and blocks with their partners. Evelyn was paired with Steve, who was wielding a scythe. Just before the others asked Evelyn to pair with them when the teacher announced it, Steve had come up to Evelyn and asked her first. So she gladly agreed, especially since Steve had been her guide in learning archery.

Elvis and Zoya could only frown; there was nothing they could do. And Elvis knows better than to interfere with Evelyn's self-expression and socialization, especially now that she was starting to come out of her shell. However, he couldn't help but feel angry that it was Steve, of all people. Zoya herself was paired with Cedric,who suddenly appeared and asked her, as if he was proposing.

Elvis, who didn't know many people, was abandoned by his friends. He was a 3-star, so those with higher ranks wouldn't want to practice with someone of a lower level. And he himself couldn't lower himself to practice with a 2-star level. But as he was looking around for another 3-star, Troy approached him and they teamed up.

"Why did you ask my sister to meet you at the general training unit earlier?" Elvis asked Troy, who was also wielding a sword, as both of them were striking at each other. "Even though I appreciate that you saved us from Wilson yesterday. I still don't trust you, especially when it comes to my sister. What exactly do you want with her?" His expression and the forceful thrusts of his sword were clear indications of how serious this conversation was to him.

Troy, who had been resorting to defense and blocking Elvis' desperate strikes, finally found an opening. He deflected the incoming slash from Elvis, kicked his leg, and pointed his own sword at Elvis' face.

"You lose. Don't you know that letting your emotions cloud your sense of rationality makes you vulnerable to your opponent? Especially since you are a man, I wonder if there was an emotional exchange between you and your sister during your birth," Troy sarcastically said, smirking. "My business with Evelyn has nothing to do with you. I wonder if all twins have this level of sister complex."

After saying this, Troy left Elvis, who was fuming with anger. He felt like punching the guy's mouth, but could he? He was only a 3-star, and he will only bring more harm upon himself by fighting a 6-star. Elvis went to lean against the wall in the hall, sulking over what Troy had told him.

As Mr. Ronald finished with his partner, he watched the other students practicing. His eyes met Evelyn, who was practicing with Steve. Her whip, with its bud-like spikes that resembled shards of a blade, was constantly clanging against Steve's scythe.

"Isn't that the useless whip that had been in the vault for a very long time? How could she use it so well when it always feels like breaking when others use it?" Mr. Ronald muttered as he made his way to the students.

Even though Evelyn was not as skilled as Steve in using weapons, she was doing a great job parrying the scythe slashes from him.

Steve thrust the curved blade of his scythe towards Evelyn. She was caught off guard this time. However, the whip moved on its own, wrapping around the blade of the scythe.

Evelyn was stunned, Steve was baffled, and Mr. Ronald couldn't believe that it was the same useless whip he knew.

The other students all turned their heads towards these two as they saw their teacher approaching them.