Born in Blood

Liam shook his head and took out the green token, handing it to the blacksmith.

The man grunted once he saw the token, and an irked expression formed on his face as he took it and crushed it with his bare hands.

"I told that scrawny twig not to send me anyone unless they're interesting enough to make weapons for, and he sent me a child?!"

Liam sighed. He didn't say much, but took out his blades and stretched them forward.

"I need new weapons, my current ones are damaged and are no longer usable. Can you make me new ones or not?"

The red-haired man was about to kick the kid out from his shop, before he saw the state his blades were in.

At the same time, he realized how the young man standing before him didn't even budge when he shouted but remained calm, and despite the burning air around them, he didn't sweat.

'His blades are made from an obsidian alloy, but it's poorly made. Is that a coat of dried blood on it? Wait, the ring around his hand… this kid is already a cultivator?'

The blacksmith pursed his lips for a moment, staring at Liam in silence.

Without warning, he grabbed his Night Blades and shattered them on the ground.

Liam scowled, his frown deepening with each second that passed.

Noticing his glare, the blacksmith scoffed proudly.

"Never use store bought weapons. The things those phonies make are a disgrace to us forgemasters! I'll make you a new pair. What's your name, kid?"

Liam paused for a moment, before answering. "Liam."

The red-haired man pursed his lips again. "Rogan."

With that brief and strange introduction, the blacksmith, known as Rogan, turned around and entered back into the forge.

Liam followed closely behind, scouring the space, which was the size of two living rooms.

Besides the boiling heat — which his body thankfully was used to — there were various tools and metals laying around chaotically.

On the left wall, the corpses of various magical beasts could be seen, ranging from Rank-1 to Rank-2 — a price-tag beneath it. The beasts themselves were in a large see-through container which seemed to contain some sort of preservation capability.

The area was illuminated by a white light hanging from above. In the middle of the space, a giant black anvil sat, covered with dents and marks that displayed its heavy usage.

Towards the right, materials ranging from greasing oil to various weapon handles sat in cupboards and tables.

Hammers and other tools were hung on the walls, and in front, was a cauldron of red-hot magma — the cause of heat in the room.

Liam approached a Rank-2 beast — the Albino Python — and inspected it. ｂｅｄ𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.𝚌𝚘ｍ

It was 3 meters long and had glimmering white scales. Its reptilian eyes were forcibly opened, revealing a yellow iris.

Liam had seen them before, but he hadn't had the opportunity to fight against one.

'With my current strength, it's not a stretch to say I can fight against Rank-3 beasts.'

Humans had a great advantage over magical beasts for one reason only. Their sea of consciousness and powerful intelligence.

Liam's progress with his mental sphere had been steadily increasing — the rune didn't hurt his head as much as before — and he felt really close to a breakthrough.

"Alright, let's discuss payment. I specialize in making weapons from magical beast corpses, so you can choose which blades you want from that bunch.

"Keep in mind, whichever one you choose, your blades will have the innate ability of that beast — at least, a copy of it."

Liam raised his brows, remaining silent. His tone was incredulous as he spoke.

"Innate ability? You can do that?"

Rogan gave a firm nod. "It's my forging technique. Now, quickly choose. I don't have all day."

Liam paused for a moment, before speaking with a respectful tone:

"Please teach me."

The benefits of such a skill were endless.

Liam knew that he couldn't count on store-bought weapons forever. It didn't matter how expensive or well-made they looked — as long as he didn't make it with his own two hands, he wouldn't trust its quality.

Not to mention, Liam dealt with magical beasts on a daily basis.

Rogan arched his brows, scoffing.

"If every ten year old wanted to learn how to forge, don't you think this art would be redundant?

"Not to mention, the technique I use is Unorthodox and incomplete. It'll cause you immense pain each time you use it, but also requires you to have a powerful body and sturdy mental sphere."

"...That's it?" Liam asked, confused. The part about immense pain felt incredibly casual to him. "How strong of a body and mental sphere?"

Rogan himself was a bit confused. Although he himself had a high tolerance for pain, it didn't occur to him that Liam might have the same.

"A Rank-2 body, and strong mental energy you can manipulate precisely."

A short silence ensued.

"Then teach me."

Rogan had a dumbfounded look on his face, but slowly realized what Liam was implying.

"You… you're already…?"

Liam nodded, prompting a pensive look on Rogan's face.

A strong pressure started to emanate from Rogan's figure — mental waves that wrapped around Liam, which the latter quickly pushed back using his own.

Although his mental waves were significantly weaker, Rogan's expression indicated surprise and realization. He continued to increase the waves' intensity, before signs of pain appeared on Liam's face.

Eventually, the blacksmith sighed and retracted his pressure. "Choose what magical beast corpse you want me to make."

"Is that a yes?"

Rogan scoffed proudly. "You'll have to know how it works first. If you do decide to learn it, I won't allow you to slack off. I don't care if you start crying, either."

A slight smile appeared on Liam's face.

He was gonna get along with his new mentor.