Dull Harmony

When she was done explaining her plan, Shui nodded and asked a question for confirmation.

"So you're saying that we'll attack them while they're together."

Shui thought she would enlist his help only to kill her target, but her scheme actually involved his target as well. Apparently, there would be a black market auction the following night, that both targets were confirmed to be attending.

"That's right. Additionally, although I'm not completely sure yet, I think there's a good chance that the Pink Devils' cult-master will be there as well, so I leaked this information to the ones assigned to her. The two of them are equal in strength and ability so they'll probably focus on killing the target instead of each other."

Shui felt like he had done enough for her, so he didn't even feel anything when he heard that the two assassins were prepared to kill Iris. He was more interested in the plan of the fox assassin.

"I see. So they'll attempt to kill her while she's watching the auction, and then regardless of whether they fail or not, we'll use the panic that causes to strike while they're evacuating."

The fox assassin showed approval before adding, "And in the case that we don't get the reaction we're looking for. I want you to disguise yourself as one of the staff and force a commotion to start."

'She even took that part into consideration.'

As he was very satisfied by what she had in mind, Shui had no comments as she went over the details of the plan once more and then confirmed his payment.

"As long as I can confirm the death of my target, I'll give you the other fragments of the map, deal?"

"Deal."

As the two exchanged a handshake, Shui had the sudden feeling that he had met the assassin before, but it was only a faint feeling that he thought of as a mistake. With that, their business was done so the two quickly separated and went their own ways. Shui sneaked back into his room and then went straight into the forge. After a couple moments to adjust his mental state, he was ready to begin again. Alia waited at the side as Shui took care of the preparations, and took over when it was time for melting.

He had decided that the base would be a few empty elemental crystals. However, although these crystals were empty, they had an inherent earth attribute due to their origin. This was where the theory of the five elements started to factor in.

As he was making a sword, it was necessary for it to be sharp to some extent. In order to do this, he added the hard scales of a lizard high beast. These scales possessed faint traces of metal attribute which was nourished by the earth attribute of the elemental crystals.

However, leaving the two ingredients alone would divert the purpose of the sword from support to offense, so Shui then added the heart of a high beast that was well versed in fire abilities. This fire attribute nourished the earth element and suppressed the metal element. Once these three materials were added, the melting process could be completed and he could then move on to the refining.

In the Still Heart state, Shui withdraw his divine energy and held the hammer with just his physical strength. It was already engrained in his muscles, so Shui didn't need to worry about whether or not he could hammer correctly. With each hit, there was a delicate yet fierce sound that echoed throughout the suite. If it wasn't for the multiple arrays in place, the vibrations would have resonated with the fragile furniture and caused them shatter. This would have included his window so in the back of his mind, Shui was thankful.

While checking for any faults with the power of the Perception Chapter, his steady strikes provided the red-hot blade with a nourishment that it couldn't get anywhere else. Every hit brought it closer to completion as he enhanced its properties and balanced the elements, but there was a limit to the level of completion it could reach like this.

Once Shui was satisfied with the number of hammer strikes he used, it was time to quench the blade. Unfortunately, unlike the scales and the crystals, the heart had a high concentration of fire attribute so it would become the dominant attribute if left alone. To regain balance, the blood of a water snake high beast was used for quenching.

The simmering sound of swift evaporation was heard, but the vapour stayed trapped inside the bucket as the the blade underwent a quiet change.

After about a minute, Shui pulled out the thin blade which came out with a blue shade hiding a brilliant red within. Normally, the sword could be considered about 99% complete at this point, but for this artifact one major step was left before it was finished. The creation of the hilt, which though essential was often looked down on, was the finishing touch for his work.

Although the water attribute of the blood had suppressed the overbearing fire attribute, it remained in conflict with the fire element. Like this, the artifact would never be able to show its true power. Therefore, Shui used the bark of a rare-grade tree as the hilt. The wood attribute from the bark, would be nourished by the excess water attribute, strengthen the fire attribute, suppress the earth attribute and be suppressed by the metal attribute, bringing perfect harmony to the artifact.

Once the hilt was added, the blade glowed with a gentle white light that was slowly sucked back into the blade. The final product was black, with long cracks from which white light peeked out from but still retained a smooth texture. Even the natural phenomenon that should have accompanied its completion was trapped inside the blade. When it was placed in its scabbard, it looked like a fresh walking stick as there was no handguard.

"I shall call this Dull Harmony," said Shui.

"Well, I guess that's acceptable, but I'm naming the next one," said Alia.

The two showed smiles that expressed their pride and satisfaction in making this blessed tesora-rank artifact. Normally the materials he used would only be good enough for a spirit-rank artifact, so being able to make a product at least one rank above the materials provided was a show of true skill. This artifact might not have used a method as out-of-the-box as the harmony or resonance-series, but Shui felt pride in knowing that he could still create something extraordinary while sticking to established methods.

While admiring the work, Shui began to notice the fatigue that had piled on during its production. When he took a look outside, he saw that it was a few hours after dawn, meaning they had worked through the night. Normally this would have no effect on his awareness, but this time he exerted himself so Shui thought about taking a nap. However, before he could come to a decision, he heard the sound of someone knocking the door.

As he was feeling tired, he was in no mood to welcome guests, so without moving he checked who was at the door with his spiritual sense.

'Ugh.'

When he noticed that it was Alicia, he was even more reluctant to get up.

With her eyes still examining the artifact, Alia asked, "Is it that bold girl from yesterday?"

"That's right, I'll just ignore her."

"Hmm, I wonder if she'll let you off with just that."

"..."

Just as Alia said, Shui didn't think she would simply accept his silence and leave, but he hoped that she would.