Wind

Two weeks later, Pef was still busy crafting, mostly swords and blunt swords at that.

'What should I try next, a bastard sword?' Pef mused while poking the bone in front of him.

He closed his eyes, designing and imagining a sword in his mind. Then he pushed gently with his soul, catching the ideal sword in his mind and projecting it into the bone.

The Sky ranked bone resisted, like it always did. Unlike Core ranks, he wasn't energy ranks higher, to simply impose his will, and apply pressure. With high ranked materials, you had to infuse your qi, and then gently stretch or squeeze, until the artifact gained the shape you desired.

And after that, came the hard part, binding the qi to the sword, making it sharp and balanced. Only good smiths could do it, after decades of Practice. Pef was okay, but not good enough.

He stopped after the bone took shape, and poked it with a finger. Not sharp at all.

"You're decades too young to make swords, Pef!" he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Lin!" he yelled and rushed to embrace her.

"Gently, you idiot! Don't break my ribs..." she admonished him with a sigh.

"But..." Pef checked her rank with a soul search. Peak Spirit rank. How disappointing.

"I'm not the Oracle, my dear. She really was special, and close to Earth rank anyway" Lin whispered in his neck, their heights reversed this time. Pef had grown up, being a palm taller than her.

"No matter. You just need to fight some strong things. Or me"

"Hmmm. Or maybe you need to give me your love, and carry me over the peak in your loving arms?" Lin teased him, while her arms wandered over his body.

"Ah, you heard about that..." Pef whispered a bit ashamed.

"I'm a woman, you moron. I don't need anyone to tell me, what I can see with my own eyes."

"Right. Well, I won't say no, to such a beautiful lady..." Pef whispered as he leaned in to kiss her.

Much later, they came up for air and dinner.

Aunt Ching and Aria were chattering in the kitchen, when the couple came inside.

"Ah, you didn't beat him up, after all" the oracle said with a smile.

"I'd just bruise my fists. I used other means." the new Earth smith replied with a smile.

"I'm hungry."Aria added with a pat over her stomach.

Pef nodded and went to cook, while the women whispered behind his back.

'You're recording all they say, I hope'

Of course, Aspirant. Only good things so far.'

'I bet. Now tell me about alchemy and those pills.'

'Pills can be used to concentrate qi energy, for temporary or permanent rank increase. They are a simple and effective way to avoid years of intense massacres, and devastating the fauna for improvements in rank.'

'Exactly. I would need to kill a thousand Earth ranked beasts for my Sky rank. And so on. A few flowers and rare earths would work just as well.'

'But until then, you will need to learn acupuncture and clear your meridians. Or maybe in conjunction. Some pills can unblock meridians as well.'

'So, implant me with the software and guide me through!'

'Only the standard Legion formatting and a few data files remain in my database. The Manual, for example. I can't confirm its integrity with a checksum. From the standard novemdecillion bytes of data, I have less than an exabyte remaining.'

'So you got hit hard'

'Exactly. This unit is not at full operational capacity. Also, gloves are not supposed to think. And I'm afraid I have begun to think, sir'

'That's fine. Unless it's a cogito-virus or some other memetic infection?'

Then this universe is doomed, and we will burn for eternity, or we are burning already, but don't realize it...'

'Okay, beside that. I think you got jolted. Your construction material is strong enough to support computation and even qi abilities. Thus, when in contact with a highly energetic entity, like a tier 8, and possibly due to losing your user or attempting to safeguard his mind state...'

'Huh. Are you saying I am alive now, sir?'

'Exactly, my orange glove. Welcome to Veritas Legion, Adjutant.'

'Oh. So that's how it feels...' the glove mumbled and went silent.

The next week, Smith Lin went over the artifacts that Pef made, and fixed various mistakes, and also sharpened the swords.

She had centuries of Practice though, and her Earth rank only made it easier. Pef learned beside her, noting tricks of the trade.

Then the time came for Pef to leave.

"Aria, if your aura is what I think it is, you can forge yourself for two years. Forget about water bending. You will be able to fly." Pef told the green haired woman, while they sat in the cold cellar.

"But, it hurts!"

"Or you will die of old age, in some 200 years. While looking old and disgusting, as your goddess won't be around to add days to your life." Pef warned her, a bit serious.

"That would suck..."

"Okay, punch me in the face!" Pef demanded with a wry smile.

Aria reacted and punched him in a flash. Her fist's skin split and tears fell from her eyes.

"Owww. My fist hurts!" she complained loudly.

"See you next year, my love." Pef declared, as the Awakening began, overriding and superimposing itself over the druid's cultivation.

She will suffer, and get stronger.

Or die, and never suffer again. That was the way of the Legion.

Outside the smithy, Aunt Ching and Smith Lin waited for him to emerge.

"Stay safe Lin. Wear that armor, even inside."

"You better not keep sending more wives to be Awakened in my cellar. I have smithing to do." the woman warned Pef while she embraced him.

"Oh. Hire a few maids to watch over Aria. Promise them a copper mirror as payment for a year's work. You'll have a thousand girls to choose from"

"Hmmm. I will do that. My time is valuable and I don't like that woman so much." the smith agreed with a smile.

Pef took Ching's hand and jumped, reaching a hundred meters from the ground. He landed on the airship's raft, and began turning towards Lacrimosa.

"So. The druid gets one year as well?" Ching asked while Pef fueled the stove.

"Two years. She needs to catch up with us" Pef explained while computing something on his free hand.

"Huh. You are really ruthless" the Oracle mused while looking back towards Smithtown.

Pef nodded while he kept adding fuel to the fire.

A few hours later, they Ejected over the Quing garden, their feet sinking a meter in the ground.

"I didn't feel anything..." the Oracle observed curious, while she climbed out.

"Your punches can shatter meters of stone. Why would you mind a small jump..." Pef asked rhetorically, as Chief Quing and his daughter rushed out of the house.

"Husband!" Mia yelled and ran to hug Pef.

The Chief stared at Aunt Ching for a few seconds.

"You haven't looked so nice since I was a child, old hag!" The Guardian exclaimed while checking the oracle amazed.

"Yes, yes. Lin said the same thing. Only this young man hugged me..." She replied while nodding towards Pef.

The Chief blinked a bit, while his Spirit measured both of them.

"Dear Gods. Earth ranks!"

"Eh, hurts a little, but it was worth it." the oracle preened while gesturing at her plump body.

"Yea. Mia cried a lot. But she's a Nascent soul now. It does work, eh?"

"Indeed it does, Chief. And you're next. I'll stay a month, while I temper Mia, and you can enjoy being bathed by warm maids..." Pef said in a teasing voice.

"Oh, that was clever, my husband..." Mia whispered in his ear.

"And who will guard the city while I'm disabled?" The Guardian complained, while his face was clearly daydreaming about bath maids.

"Two Earth ranks?" The Oracle replied in an amused voice, while a Sky ranked sword appeared in her hand. She did have a storage ring, after all.

"Oh...that is a good answer. All right. And you two... I want grandchildren, get working!" The Chief yelled while pointing at the (not so) newlyweds.

Mia blushed while Pef smiled and shook his head. Shaming people for grandchildren, it seemed it was done in the neolithic too.

They had a welcome home dinner, and then the Chief was locked in an ice cellar, with an old hag to feed him soup and tea.

And wash his body.

Pef and Mia got to have a honeymoon, though without fancy travels. Just lots of love.

Then the month passed, and two Guardian deputies were sent to the cellar, while Pef got ready for his expedition.

"How come I'm not an Earth rank?" Chief Quing complained, while testing his new Sky ranked hammer and armor.

"It will come, boss. You do need to get a few wives. The Xi way is not just combat but also love. Mia is almost half to Spirit rank now. Wasn't there a Wind mage around?" Pef asked with a thin smile.

"Oh...her. She doesn't like people much. Prefers to fly around and lord over people"

"Or maybe she's lonely, and has no one to share her life with. So she wanders the skies, alone"

"Hmmm. If I had anything of value, I could visit and offer her some gift..."

"A Sky rank armor and a few copper items, perhaps?" Pef proposed, while waving over the table and presenting a few gifts.

"That might work..."

"Just take it slow, Chief. Warn her about the soul assassins. Make rounds to make sure she's safe. Not sure what else, maybe the oracle can help"

"Enough. I wooed a woman once, I can do it again, even if I'm not a hundred anymore..." the Chief grumbled while loading the gifts in his ring.

Pef smiled and turned to leave.

"Take care of Mia while I'm gone, boss. Not sure if she's pregnant, but I tried my best" he said softly, then walked away, his back smaller and smaller.

'Of course I will, my boy. You don't need to tell me that...' the Guardian muttered inside.

A Sky ranked hammer appeared in his hand, ready to crush anyone between him and his grandchildren.