Death... and me

As mentioned before, it was possible to gather elements with a weapon through inscriptions. However, it would occupy space on the weapon itself, leaving less space for other inscriptions. If such a thing could be avoided, then it would definitely bring the weapons a level higher. That's what Ghihara Lan thought when Rean told him that his weapon didn't have inscriptions.

"This isn't all." Ghihara continued to examine Rean's weapon. As a blacksmith himself, especially one who held the position of an elder in the Sacred Land, he could obviously see how good it was made. "This sword's strength is definitely at the very top of what you can achieve with a Golden Initial-level equipment. Compared to that first sword you forged for me, this is simply leagues ahead. In fact, you could even say they're from different realms."

Ghihara suddenly had an idea. "Come with me for a moment." Ghihara then brought Rean and his weapon to where another cultivator was taking the blacksmithing test. He just so happened to be at the same level as Rean, Golden Initial-level. "Hey, Tiao. How's your kid?"

Tiao was one of the three elders responsible for the Blacksmith Hall's tests. "He's about to finish it. Why? Do you need something?"

Ghihara nodded and then pointed at Rean. "Let's wait for him to finish that weapon of his and test it against this guy's sword."

Tiao was surprised to hear such a request. "Is it something good?"

"Check it for yourself." Ghihara then passed Rean's sword to Tiao.

Naturally, Tiao reached the same conclusion as Ghihara and was just as shocked. "How's that possible?!" Immediately, he understood why Ghihara wanted to test Rean's weapon against the other guy's. "Let's wait. It's almost complete."

Ghihara nodded and watched the other blacksmith finish forging his weapon. "Not too bad. Considering his cultivation, that saber of his should be slightly above average. It's perfect for the test. What's his name?"

"Francis Tussiu," Tiao replied. "He definitely isn't bad. However..." Tiao looked at Rean's weapon before continuing, "I better not make comparisons."

Rean didn't mind much and also waited for Francis to finish his weapon. The guy was focused on the forging, so he didn't notice Rean's group there. Of course, Rean was also a blacksmith, so he could more or less tell how good Francis's Saber would come to be and sighed. 'Sorry for it, brother. It was my idea,' he thought.

As Francis worked on his saber, Ghihara looked at Rean and asked, "I guess I already know the answer, but I'll ask it nevertheless. How did you forge this thing? If possible, be as specific as you can."

Rean smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, but this is my secret. If everyone finds about it, wouldn't I lose my gold mine?"

Tiao laughed as he patted Ghihara's shoulder. "Hahaha! He's very confident in himself that we won't be able to figure it out."

Ghihara shrugged his shoulders after hearing that. "Just the type of answer I expected. However, let's see if it'll still be a secret once I analyze it thoroughly."

Rean didn't seem to mind. "That's not a problem. You can have this sword of mine for free. However, you must tell me the correct price for this type of equipment once you finish the test against Francis's saber."

Ghihara obviously wouldn't refuse it. "Sure, I'll be able to tell you soon."

Tiao then looked at Rean with a weird expression. "Ahem... you don't happen to have another one of these weapons, do you? I would like to try to figure out its secrets as well."

Rean smiled in response and took out another piece from the Soul Gem Dimensional Realm. "Here you go, elder. But in exchange, I want you to help me spread the word later. I'm in need of a lot of Divine Stones, so the more orders I get, the better."

Tiao was more than happy enough to comply with Rean's request. "Sure thing, kid." Well, he was certain that Rean's weapons would grab a lot of attention even if he didn't do anything.

Eventually, Francis finished his saber and couldn't help but look at it, satisfied. "I forged a good piece this time." Francis then looked at Tiao and only then did he notice Rean and Ghihara being there as well. "Errr... is something wrong?"

Tiao shook his head before extending his hand. "Let me take a look at your saber."

Francis didn't know what was happening but gave the saber away without questioning. Tiao didn't take that long to examine it. "Very good. It's a genuine Golden Initial-level saber. I'll register your name in our Blacksmith Hall. Since you're already a Blacksmith Guild member, there is no need to do it here. Now then, I'll use it against the sword crafted by this disciple here. Would you mind if we checked who had the best weapon?"

"This..." Francis was taken aback as he didn't expect such a thing to happen. The worst part was that he obviously recognized Rean. 'One of those weird twins from the recruitment! Why would they want to try my weapon against him?' Surprisingly, Francis accepted in the end. 'There's no need to be afraid. Since I was already accepted into the Blacksmith Hall, it won't matter what happens. Besides, I did forge a good saber this time.'

Francis looked back at them and replied, "Go ahead, elders. I also want to see if my saber is good enough to not lose in a clash against one of the weird twins' weapons."

"We-Weird twins?" Rean couldn't help but repeat those words. 'Is that how we're known?' Rean asked himself.

Tiao and Ghihara didn't care as they immediately raised the saber and sword. Their cultivations were several times higher than Francis and Rean, so one of the two weapons was bound to break after pouring their Divine Energy inside and clash against each other.

The two weapons screamed with the overbearing amount of Divine Energy in them. However, while Francis's saber only trembled, Rean's weapon seemed to become a volcano ready to erupt due to all the Fire Element it gathered.

Eventually, Tiao and Ghihara purposely attacked each other's weapons. As for Rean, he felt like he had seen this scene before. 'This reminds me of the Varen Tribe.'