It All Started With Lightning

New Sword

Two days passed so quickly. He felt stronger overall.

He got up from the cushion he was sitting on and yawned terribly. It was as if he wanted to break his arms and back.

After leaving the room, he quickly gave the seal to the teacher and left.

Right now, he had an overwhelming desire to see his new sword, but being a bit of a masochist, he decided to eat breakfast first. He ate almost the size of a whole lamb for breakfast. He had paid two soul stones for it, but it was definitely worth it.

After leaving the dining hall, he quickly made his way to the Weapon Building. When he entered, he saw that only two young attendants were there. There was no teacher. He approached them and asked.

"Where is the teacher? My sword, is it ready?"

The two looked at his excited face and wanted to make fun of him, but just then the Teacher came through the door.

He was carrying a box on his back.

He spoke as he walked.

"Heheh, brat, your sword is ready." He said and went upstairs with a smile.

William followed right behind him.

The teacher placed the box on the table on the second floor.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

William nodded excitedly. "Yes!"

The teacher just smiled at his excited behavior. Then, as if he had thought of something, he stopped smiling and spoke.

"Brat, you owe us a hundred Soul Stones."

William was astonished. He had even paid for the black iron himself.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because we had to put extra material in it. Otherwise, we couldn't have turned fifty kilos of black iron into a sword." He said.

"What material did you put in that was so expensive?" William wondered about the material that was sold for the price of a hundred soul stones since even black iron wasn't worth that much per kilo.

"Fire crystal. We used a nail size, but it was enough. And that's good for you, thanks to the fire crystal, it can withstand the execution sword technique without any problems."

William nodded in understanding. That would work for him. A stronger sword meant stronger enemies to defeat, but then he remembered that he had no more money.

"Teacher, can you give me some time to repay my debt? I don't have that much right now, but I promise I'll pay you back in a month." He said. His face was extremely serious.

"Okay, you have nowhere to run. If you don't pay your debt in a month, I'll take the sword."

"It's okay, teacher." He said and went to the box.

The box was made from an unknown tree. It had curved lines on it. It looked like a precious box.

The box had two locks. He lifted it easily. "Kacha! Kacha!"

He carefully opened the lid of the box.

When he saw what was inside, his eyes began to shine with the light of the sword.

At that moment, William wanted to jump into the air and shout to show his happiness to everyone.

It was a katana!

It had a long, six-foot blade. The blade was completely jet black because it was made of black iron. There was no mixture of different metals. The red star-like dots added to the black color by the fire crystal made it look like a sword from a fairy tale.

Even the part where he told the teacher about the hilt, "It doesn't matter, it's okay if you can't," was done. The skin of an unknown red creature and the skin of a black creature contrasted perfectly on the hilt. With a six-inch handle, he could use it with either one or two hands.

He carefully took it out of the box and weighed it.

Fifty kilos was a bit heavy for him, but he didn't care. He would work with this sword day and night and would not stop until he could use it comfortably. It was a katana of his dreams, of his own design.

He immediately wanted to test it by sending Qi into it.

When he used the Execution Sword technique, the sword began to glow as if it had been created for this technique.

He stepped back a bit and began to swing the sword. Meanwhile, he sent a lot of qi into it. However, he realized that the second-level strengthening absorbed his qi like a bottomless pit. He still didn't have enough qi for this sword, but he didn't care. He was sure that he would reach the bronze level soon. Even if he didn't use any strengthening until then.

When he channeled almost all of his qi into the sword, the two strengthenings went into action. A different aura began to spread in the room. It was as if William could cut the whole building in two with a single slash.

William felt this wonderful feeling until the strengthening was deactivated. Beads of sweat the size of chickpeas began to form on his forehead before he pulled back his technique and qi.

The sharpness strengthening was on an entirely different level. Although it seemed like a long time, he could only stay in this state for a few tens of seconds. Due to the weight strengthening, he was too tired to hold the sword.

After being completely satisfied, he drew his qi and technique from the sword.

He carefully put the sword down on the table.

As he was about to thank the teacher and bow down, he heard the teacher's voice.

"Take the cloth out of the box." He said.

William did as he was told and lifted the soft, thick cloth.

Under the cloth was a scabbard suitable for a sword, fiery red on black, with embroidered patterns of various animals. If you looked closely, you could see that these patterns were tigers, phoenixes, and dragons. It was a combination of solid wood and leather.

William now felt as satisfied as someone who had lit a cigarette after perfect sex and was watching his wife.

It was such a beautiful feeling that neither the joy of leveling up nor God's blessing could come close.

When he picked up the scabbard, he noticed a word embroidered on the bottom.

It was written in the language of mages. He read, "Firebringer.

William felt that the name fit this sword perfectly.

He took the scabbard in his left hand and the sword in his right. He rubbed the blunt side of the sword between his fingers and then slid it into the scabbard.

"Kacha." It was something he heard, like the voice of the gods.

William was so pleased that he stooped several times before he left.

He couldn't wait to try out the sword, but he couldn't even use it yet. So he went straight to the cultivation building. He wanted to both meditate and practice here until he got used to the sword.

He could go to the training building because it was free, but it was open to everyone. William did not want everyone to see the sword. He believed that one day, this sword would be remembered as one of the best swords in the world.

His usual room in the cultivation building was empty. After paying a four-day entrance fee, he locked his door and took his sword out of his dimensional bag.

For a long time, he just stared at the sword. After a while, his excitement was gone. In his previous world, there were techniques created specifically for this sword.

He felt that he needed to practice those techniques first. He had always trained with broadswords before, but this time was different. Although it was as deadly as the broadsword, it required some changes to his style.

It needed to be faster and more deadly. It was as if this sword was made to kill with a single strike.

He tried to remember techniques from his previous life. Then he stood up and began to experiment with techniques in the room that was large enough.

In fact, what William was doing right now was absolutely amazing for his age.

William was just trying to create a technique for his sword!

But this technique was not something that required qi like the others in this world. It only involved body composition and sword use. It was just a sword technique like Pierce had taught him.

First, he worked on the cutting movements. For a few hours, he practiced the cutting techniques that he could use most effectively. In the end, he decided that he needed to practice a few movements continuously. He named each of them individually. It was also a leisure activity for him.

The last time he practiced his footwork, he realized that flame steps were no longer useful at his level. He needed a more complex and effective movement technique.

He also found his own greatest shortcoming. He had this sword made because it suited his dreams and tastes, but he had forgotten one thing.

The cutting power was fine, but the stub was sorely lacking. It could stab, yes, but it would definitely be less powerful and harder to stab than a normal sword.

William was well aware of its shortcomings. So he spent four days getting used to the sword and improving his techniques.

After four days, he happily left the cultivation room early in the morning.

For now, he hadn't made much progress, but at least he had gotten used to the weight of the sword and was able to use it, albeit with some effort. That was enough for him. After receiving the potions from Baldur, he decided to take on some missions to test the sword.

After leaving the Cultivation Building, he ate well as usual. Then he went to Baldur's house.

Baldur looked tired when he arrived. It was obvious that the preparation of these potions had taken all his energy.

Normally it was very difficult for him to get tired because of the worm blood. But making a potion also took a toll on his mind.

Seeing his tired expression, William asked. "How are you? You look tired."

Baldur replied with a light sigh. "Yes, I'm really tired." A wry smile appeared on Baldur's face. "But I finished the potions with only one failure!" he said.

Seeing his happy face, William was happy himself. He, too, was looking forward to these potions.

He had a few questions in his mind, but after taking the potions, he decided to ask them.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "So where are the potions?

Baldur took a small box out of his dimensional bag. He recognized the material this box was made of.

It was a tree called 'Soul Willow'. Boxes made from it provide long-term protection when an item containing spiritual energy is placed inside.

He took the box from Baldur's hand and opened it.

Inside, he saw eight potions lined up in two rows. The color was a strange gray. It had a dangerous look.

After removing the box, he thought he should ask the questions in his mind.

"Baldur, can you tell me the exact effects of these potions? Normally, I don't use potions that contain spiritual energy because of the impurities in them." He said.

Baldur looked at him with a surprised expression. "Then you must be a genius. You're almost bronze at such a young age."

William was startled by his words and immediately made up an excuse.

"No, that has nothing to do with it. I've only been working since I was three years old." He said.

Baldur's eyes sparkled. "Wow. Since you were three?"

"Yeah."

"I admire your perseverance, my friend."

"Thank you. So the answer to my question?"

"Oh yes! You can easily consume this potion. I guarantee it. Because there is no spiritual energy in this potion. This potion affects your soul directly. It's like a mage's meditation."

William couldn't understand much. Without the spiritual energy, how would he increase the spiritual energy?

Baldur poured two glasses of beer again, as he had done during their last conversation. Then he sat down in his chair and began to speak.

"Well, William. I don't think I need to explain how warriors use spiritual power. All I can say is that warriors absorb the spiritual power in the world through meditation and turn it into qi power." He sipped his beer.

"Yes, I know. I do the same thing every day," William said.

"Yes, of course you do. But things change when it comes to mages. We absorb spiritual energy the same way you do, but we store it in our minds, not our bodies. Our conversion rate is definitely lower than that of warriors. This is because the storage place is a strange place called the mind, whose mysteries have never been solved. This spiritual energy we absorb is what we call mana."

He took another sip from his beer.

"Now, let's get to the point. This is where we store mana. There is also the soul. You can think of it as something like the etheric body..."

William cut him off.

"I know what soul means." He said, rolling his eyes.

"All right then. Things are easier. This potion strengthens the soul. The direct effect is there. That's why mages seek it out like crazy. It is the perfect tonic for mages who are stuck in their level like me. You can use it too. With these eight potions, you can definitely become a mage. Of course, it's just a qualification. Fate will decide your talent."

With Baldur's last words, William finally realized the full effect of the potion. This strengthened his soul. Not his spiritual energy! William thought of spiritual energy in two different ways, but spiritual energy had always been one thing. While spiritual energy was the fuel, the soul was the vehicle that used this fuel.

Several ideas immediately came to his mind. Can I become a mage before I'm sixteen? What about the system? Is the system waiting for my soul power to reach 'one'?

He knew that the system would be ready by the time he was seventeen. He shouted in his mind to look at the remaining time.

"System!"

[System..Tem..Repair...Established...Estimated..Duration...Two Years...Eight...Months..Eight..Days.]

Excited by the idea, William looked at the remaining time. He was even more certain now. The system was definitely waiting for his Soul Power to reach the required level.

William knew that his current soul power was around 0.5, based on what his mother had said, but it was definitely not inferior. A Soul Power below that level would indicate injury or illness. He felt perfect. So he assumed that the system was wasting power above this level to repair itself.

He didn't show his excitement. After chatting with Baldur and drinking some more beer, he left his house.

He started walking at full speed. The people on the side of the road made amazing noises as he ran, but Wiliam didn't care. He even heard Merlon calling after him, but he didn't even look back.

He wanted to get to his room as soon as possible and test his theory.

...