Ch 56:- Forging

"Ah, Logan's room? What's going on?" Rayne asked, taking a sip of his smoothie.

"I'm not sure. Sir just asked for everyone to gather there," Peter replied.

Rayne nodded and followed Peter out of the room, taking another sip of his smoothie as they made their way down the hallway.

Inside Logan's room, the girls along with Vorden were patiently waiting. The boys were quite calm, while Erin was tapping her foot away. Lately, she had been using all her spare time to practice her sword skills, yet she still couldn't achieve the same results as she did on the roof that day. Being here just seemed like a waste of her time. Layla, who was standing next to her, felt a horrible bubbly feeling in her stomach. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it was going to jump out of her throat.

"Can't you just tell us what this is all about?" Erin said annoyed.

"This is a very serious matter," Logan replied, sitting in his chair. He was currently playing with a trapezium style Rubik's cube made from metal. The inside used little small triggers to twist and turn the shape in all sorts of different directions. This made it multiple times harder than a standard Rubik's cube. Each time he shifted one of the pieces, a large mechanical sound would be made.

"And I would hate to have to repeat myself again," Logan said as he continued to mess around.

The room was silent, and the only thing that could be heard was the shifting sounds of Logan playing with the mechanical item. They waited and waited.

*Click

*Click

"Will you put that damn cube away!" Erin shouted, "Before I shove it up your…."

Just then the sound of the door was heard.

"Looks like they are here," Logan said as he put the cube on the floor.

Quinn entered first, and right behind him was Fex. As soon as Erin saw him, she immediately stepped back.

"Quinn, what the hell is he doing here?!" Vorden shouted.

"Wait, I was the one that asked him to come here," Quinn said. "If it's something to do with Peter or the vampires, then he's going to be a big help. Remember, he helped us out last time, and he has stayed true to his words every time."

"Look, I can tell I'm not wanted here," Fex said. "If you really want me to go, I'll go."

"No, please stay," Logan said. "Quinn is correct, this matter is very serious, and I do believe you will be a big help."

Soon after, both Rayne and Peter entered the room. As soon as he entered, both Quinn and Fex turned their head to him because they could smell a very familiar and sweet smell coming out of the smoothie cup. It contained human blood that he had harvested from the Planet Caladi when he visited there.

"It seems like everyone is here," Logan said as he munched on his sandwich. "Let us begin."

As usual, when Logan explained things, he displayed what he was looking at on his computer screen to the others through a hologram. As he went through files one by one, he explained what they meant.

"When I woke up this morning, I was surprised to see an envelope on the floor," said Logan. "I was afraid that it might be some type of bomb or something. I had my mechanical spiders go ahead and pick it up, then inspect it. I scanned it for any traces of tampering and to see what was inside. To my surprise, there was a small little nano stick inside with a note."

The screen had changed, and now a scanned version of the note was being displayed to the others.

"In this nano stick is some information on one of the big Four family members, more specifically its leader known as Truedream. Our group has managed to gather extensive research on him, and here we can see all his wrongdoings in the past. The reason why I have passed this note onto you is that unfortunately for all of you, Truedream will be arriving in a few days' time.

"Out of everyone, I thought perhaps with your abilities, you might be able to do something to stop this madness, for we do not wish anyone innocent to get hurt."

At the end of the letter attached to the bottom was a stamp, and everyone in the room recognized it well. They had seen it many times on television, and some of them had even written school reports about the group. It was the group known as Pure.

"So what if Truedream is coming to the school?" Erin replied. "He does a routine visit to most of the military bases anyway. I fail to see why this is our problem and why we should even trust the words coming from a military group?"

"I don't know," Layla said. "Maybe they know something that we don't, and I'm guessing it has something to do with that stick."

Here's a revised version with more realistic character speech:

Logan cleared his throat before speaking. "Although I would like to say congratulations, I believe anyone would have been able to come to that conclusion." He paused and then continued, "The files changed once again and this time it contained reports of the previous visits that Truedream had done."

As the group read through the reports, their expressions turned sour. Quinn spoke up first. "I can't say that it doesn't surprise me. It's expected of this crappy system."

Erin nodded in agreement. "But still, I don't really see how this involves us. We're just students and they want us to stop this. He's from one of the big four families."

Vorden furrowed his brow in thought before realizing something. "Wait, did you say the visit was in a few days? Isn't that…." He trailed off, his voice trailing off as he connected the dots.

Logan smirked. "Looks like we have a winner. This is the reason why I called you all. I remember you telling me that for some reason Duke had deliberately wanted Peter to reach a level four…."

"It seemed strange," Vorden interjected, "but why were they suddenly showing favoritism to Peter? And what's with the rush?"

"Putting these two things together, it makes sense," Logan explained. "Not only was Peter originally weak, but he also had no strong family backing. Sure, his family would be upset if he were to lose his powers or disappear, but no further steps would be taken, and everyone would soon forget just like the students before."

"And if they find out that Peter has no abilities anymore, they will start asking questions all over again," Vorden said. "Not just about the vampire stuff, but when they find out we were close to Peter, they might start looking into the deaths and more."

The group fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

Out of all of them, the first one to leave the room was Erin. "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I'm not really that involved with you guys," she said. "I'm not a vampire, and I have no ties to what you did with the others. If I help out in this, it will only make me a bigger target. If you guys are caught trying to do anything, it could come back to me. I can't let that happen."

"Stay here!" Rayne said, stopping Erin in her tracks. "I think you should hear the plan. From what I can conclude from all this, they aim for students who don't have a prominent family background, and they are needed to be at least around level four to five. So, I think it would be for your own good."

Erin glared at Rayne before turning around and exiting the room. Rayne sighed as he watched her leave. "Self-confidence isn't always good," he thought to himself.

"We have two days," Logan said, bringing the group's attention back to the task at hand. "This Sunday, the students will be asked to gather in the assembly hall to welcome Truedream. Usually, the students are asked to stay back after the assembly. This is what is stated in the reports. They will then be taken somewhere, but where?"

"Nobody knows…" Vorden trailed off.

"All that we know is that these students who are taken away lost their abilities," Quinn said. "The world is given the explanation that they have been punished for doing something bad, so their ability got taken away, and some even disappear. So, what plans do we have?"

Rayne spoke up. "Is that all info we have?"

"Yes," Logan confirmed.

"Then bye, let me know when you have a solid plan," Rayne said as he stood up from his chair and headed for the door. He tossed his empty cup in a nearby trash can before picking up the scent of Erin and following it to the terrace. He could hear her sobbing from the other side of the door. As he reached for the knob, he hesitated, wondering if he should intrude on her privacy. He finally decided to sit down beside the door and listen. He could feel the weight of Erin's sorrow as he thought about how difficult it must be for her. He let out a sigh of sadness and melancholy, realizing that he may have unintentionally brought up painful memories about her family.

"Note to self: never talk about someone's family situation, especially not to their face," Rayne thought to himself. After sitting for a while, the sobbing sounds slowly decreased. With about ten minutes left before combat class, he decided to use his quickening skill to disappear in a cloud of mist before reappearing downstairs. He lazily made his way towards the combat class and, upon entering the classroom, went through the same drill of kicks, punches, and blocks. This time, Rayne decided to focus on practicing and continued doing so until the lesson came to an end. Afterward, he decided to return to his room.

~Next Day~

The next day was the weekend, so the group had no classes for the day. However, they were unable to spend their time as freely as the other students could. Instead, they met in Logan's room once more. Each of them went over the details of their plan, while Logan also handed each a strange round circular pin to be put on their clothes. It looked similar to a button and blended well into their uniform. There was also a separate circular small speaker that was to be placed in the ear. These two items were a set that was to be used to communicate with each other. The only person who didn't receive one was Peter, as they knew he would be taken away. However, a microphone was once again installed into his watch so they could hear everything that was happening.

After exiting Logan's room, Rayne decided to do something else today. He wanted to make some ammunition, which was something new since he hadn't used ammunition for a while after discovering that he could create blood bullets. His aim for today was to try to make ammunition that could at least kill a one-spike Dalki and tend to his weapons, cleaning them. Meanwhile, Layla, along with the rest of the group, would be further strategizing. In the whole thing, there was not much for him to do since his capabilities were still unknown to the others, so his part in the whole fight was still a little passive. All he had to do was to assist if anything went south.

"This is one hell of a stupid plan," Rayne mumbled as he finally arrived at his dorm room. After which, he immediately opened his laptop, logged in, and sold all 110 basic tier beast crystals, along with 25 intermediate tier beast crystals that he killed on planet Caladi, along with 3 advanced tier crystals. He sold it all, gaining 116,000 credits. After which, he went on and bought a whole lot of things before going and receiving them from the storage unit. After entering the code, a large crate was delivered to him, which got him some weird looks when he dragged it to his room, but they all ignored it. After entering his room, he activated the scroll, instantly teleporting to Planet Pioletic along with the crate. After arriving there, he stored it in his inventory before making his way towards a fairly abandoned building. It was an advanced forgery, and after reaching there, he opened the crate, Rayne assessed the condition of the forging room. The room was dusty, with broken equipment lying around. He sighed, realizing that he had a lot of work to do. He spent the next few hours cleaning the room and repairing the broken parts. He also added a few new pieces of equipment to make the room more efficient.

As he was working, his system beeped.

[Quest: Forger

Description: Congrats, you're a forger now! Show off your skills and make a beast weapon in just six measly hours. No pressure or anything, but don't screw it up.

Reward: None, because apparently crafting a weapon that could save your life in battle isn't worth any sort of recognition or compensation.]

Even though there was no reward, Rayne was excited at the prospect of crafting his first beast weapon. He carefully selected the Glatherium pieces he had gathered from the broken doorway, a rare metal known for its high durability, and the beast crystals from Planet Caladi, ensuring that only the best materials were used in his creation.

He fired up the forge and placed the Glatherium in the crucible to heat it up, and added the beast crystals on instinct. Rayne carefully watched the metal, ensuring that it didn't overheat or cool down too quickly, as this could affect the final product's quality.

Once the metal was ready, he poured it into a mold of a kunai knife that he had previously prepared, waiting patiently for it to cool down and take the right shape. After a few hours, the metal had hardened, and he removed the knife from the mold.

Rayne then meticulously inspected the weapon, looking for any imperfections before using a grinding wheel to sharpen the blade, honing it until it was razor-sharp. He used a series of files and sandpaper to refine the shape of the blade, removing any rough edges or imperfections.

However, Rayne was disappointed with the final product's it's stats were only as good as a regular knife and it also didn't have any active ability. Feeling dissapointed he was determined to take another shot at it and grabbed another piece of Glatherium, melting it down and adding the beast crystals. This time, he decided to turn it into a large ingot.

As Rayne prepared to shape the Glatherium ingot into his desired form for the kunai knife, he approached the anvil with a focused determination. He lifted the heavy hammer with his hand, feeling its weight and balance, and positioned himself in front of the anvil.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and brought the hammer down on the glowing red-hot ingot with a resounding clang. The metal deformed under the impact of the hammer, its shape slowly beginning to take on the form of the blade.

Rayne continued to strike the metal, carefully controlling his breathing and injecting his Qi into each blow. He adjusted the angle of his strikes, gradually refining the shape of the blade as it took on a sharper edge.

With each strike, the heat of the metal dissipated, cooling it down and making it harder. Rayne then reheated the metal, returning it to its glowing red-hot state, before continuing the shaping process.

As the metal began to take on the desired shape, Rayne focused on the details, carefully shaping the bevels and the tip of the blade. He used a variety of tools, including hammers, tongs, and chisels, to create the intricate design that he had envisioned.

Throughout the forging process, Rayne was acutely aware of the properties of the metal, adjusting his techniques to ensure that the blade had the desired strength, durability, and sharpness. He worked carefully and methodically, taking breaks as needed to avoid overworking the metal.

Finally, after many hours of intense labor, the blade was complete. Rayne lifted it up, admiring its beauty and the workmanship that had gone into it. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

With the blade finished, Rayne turned his attention to the handle, carefully wrapping it with para cord to give it a comfortable grip. The resulting kunai knife was a beautiful and deadly weapon, a testament to Rayne's skill as a blacksmith and his dedication to his craft.

Rayne immediately inspected the Kunai further, a system window pops up to display more information about the weapon:

[Item Name: Unnamed Kunai

Tier: Intermediate

Description: A sleek and deadly knife, crafted with precision by the skilled hands of Rayne Talen. The blade is made of Glatherium, a rare metal and infused with the beast crystals.

Ability:

- Bleed: The sharp edge of the Kunai can cause deep and painful wounds, making enemies lose health over time. The anticoagulant poison will keep the blood flowing.

Durability: 99/100

Weight: 0.5 lbs]

"Damn, I really made something this time, instead of the crappy one," Rayne thought as he yawned and started to feel sleepy. He switched off everything before making his way to the scroll and then teleporting to his dorm room. At that moment, he noticed that it was 3:30 am at night. Due to the intense focus required for crafting, he had lost his sense of time. Without changing or cleaning his body he fell asleep.