Chapter 4

It has been 2 years since that night I met old man Fujikawa and my weapon is almost done. I have been working under him as an apprentice by day and trainee by night. The training was rigorous and the studying was just as bad and this day could not have come any sooner. I just have one last training session with him then I finally receive my very own sword. I feel one step closer to reaching my sister. It only gets even more difficult from here onwards but things have changed.

The old man asked me to meet him at the Frost Mountains where we trained when we were not at the scotching furnace of the forge. The temperatures could easily reach temperatures close to absolute zero and the use of anything warm was forbidden so as usual I was in a t-shirt and shorts with sandals. I quickly ran up the mountain with the shinken he first gave me on my lower backside.

As I ran up the mountain I felt something was wrong. I immediately stopped and scanned the area. 'Where is this sense of unease coming from? Killing intent!' As soon as I looked up, I saw the old man mid-air coming down vertically at me with a kick. As it was about to land I put my arms over my head and prepared to block. His attack connected and the impact alone shattered the ground beneath me and the ten metre radius around me was loose with cracked rock. The old man returned to the air. He was skilled in mid-air combat and so I knew he wasn't coming down. I stomped on the ground and 3 rocks the size of my hand came up from the once was intact ground. In one fluid I threw them up in the air and I quickly followed. I kicked one of the rocks at him then used the other one as a launch pad and launched myself upward above the old man while I grabbed the other rock with my right hand. I unsheathed my sword with my left hand and held it in such a way that the hilt in the direction of my thumb to maximise my advantage against him.He blocked the first rock but it sent him flying backwards but before he went far, I came down vertically and threw the other rock at him. This time he dodged to the side. Whilst his eyes were still adjusting, I fainted with the sword, spun and heel kicked him down to the ground. Without giving him room to breathe, I activated stage 1 of my enhancement magic which maximised my offensive and defensive ability and dove at him. Free falling was not giving me enough speed and so I air stepped by pushing the air beneath my feet so hard and fast it created an ice platform which could I step on. I could only do this because of the water particles in the air that would freeze when you force them out of it gaseous state. The sword whistled with the wind and I came down so fast that the old man could old pick up several rocks that had cracked off the ground when he made impact and he used them to block. He threw them at me. He was smart and I did not realise the mistake I made until I swung my blade to cut the first rock. He only threw the rocks in the air because he knew I had to get them out of the way else they would hit me. That would give him enough time to conjure weapons and his favourite was a double barrel shot gun which had short range but it scattered its bullets. The old man muttered: "Gun style: dual barrel spread". As I swung my sword, I allowed my body to follow through with the slash and used the second rock that the old man had launched at me as a pedestal to propel myself to the side but I was too slow because he had already fired a shot and one of the bullets had grazed my leg. I made a backflip and in a crouching position, I landed on my legs. Without a pause I dug deep into the ground ran straight towards the old man weapon in hand. He could not fire straight at me because he knew that I would side step and attack him from the side whilst he was open because of the guns recoil. Nevertheless he fired. I side stepped but he had anticipated it and with his other hand, he had conjured another shot gun. He muttered "Gun style: dual wield spread shot". He fired. I activated my second stage of my enhancement magic which boosted my speed three fold. "Enhancement style: quickening"; I muttered as I focused the enchantment on right arm which had the blade and on my eyes then started cutting the bullets. Whilst I was occupied with the bullets the old man had already dashed to my left and came in with a kick. I was cornered. If I tried to dodge the kick, I would be hit by the remaining bullets i had not cut.

I decided to ignore the incoming bullets and let the enhancement flow to my legs. I kicked to old man's leg that was already in motion and willed myself to fly back with the impact. I spun with a back flip and used the sword to come to a halt. And with that the old man declared the session over.

***

Today was the only day we returned to the village when the sun was still up. We headed to the old man's forge and he handed me the sword that had taken us 2 years to craft. He did the final preparations and finishes so I was anxious to know how it looked.

It looked like a normal shinken but it felt different. The hilt had a diamond design that was black and electric blue. The blade itself was crystal blue and it looked extremely sharp. It reflected the sun and when it did, you could see a white aura around it. When I held it, the aura's colour changed from a blue aura to a brilliant white aura. I swung it around twice and when it looked at it again, it was a single edged blade, a Chokutō. It was a made of orichalcum-diamond alloy infused with ether-nano. It was a unique design that was never seen before. Crafting it required new blacksmithing techniques and that was also what contributed to why it took so long to craft.

-"It sharpens when you intend to go into actual battle?"

The old man nodded.

-"What are these slots for on the hilt?"

-"Those are for when you wish to imbue it with rune stones but that is something you have to find out on your own."

"Mother taught me all about them…"

The old man came and placed his hand on my shoulder and said: "This sword is a now a legendary class item. Protect it with your life and it will do the same. Law of equivalent exchange. And where ever mother is, I'm sure she I watching over you. Now go to the mage academy and learn all there is to find your sister."

"Thanks old man. Before I leave, does the sword have a name?"

"No but it will come to you when the time is right."

I was really going to miss him. He took me in and taught me a lot of things. Only a few words can describe the gratitude i feel towards him. Leaving him felt like i would never see him again. He did not have any family that came to visit during my stay with him and the only thing he ever did was work. At first the old man never smiled and always had a sad look in his eyes. He did not like talking about the past and he would always dodge my questions about it. I remember the first time he smiled, he had it on for hours because his face got stuck that way. He may have a tough exterior but in the end he was and still is a tsundere. I could never understand why he was never straight forward about his feelings. We had many fun times of which I will never forget so all i can do now is be grateful.

I carefully sheathed the sword and place it down and dashed at him and gave him and gave him a huge hug.

"Thank you old man."