Sarah and Yajirushi trained in the middle of the village’s main square, drawing more and more attention as time passed. Children gathered nearby with bright, eager eyes, whispering excitedly as they tried to follow the pair’s quick movements. Even a few farmers, still holding their tools and covered in dust, had stopped to watch.

  The village was simple, but welcoming. Wooden houses, dirt roads, small gardens and vegetable patches beside the doors. For a few moments, the training had stolen everyone’s attention.

  “Stop worrying about catching up to me and start thinking about how to surprise your opponent.”

  Determined to show Yajirushi what she was capable of, Sarah launched a series of attacks at him, but every single one seemed to miss.

  “I get it! Shut up and let me focus!” she snapped, trying to land a hit.

  With each movement, she tried to adjust her technique and predict Yajirushi’s steps, but he kept slipping away with effortless agility. He watched her closely, noticing the improvement in her concentration, even if she was still nowhere near actually hitting him.

  “Come on, Sarah! You can do it. Think faster than me!” Yajirushi shouted, encouraging her to keep going.

  “Wow, what a beautiful woman!” Sarah suddenly said, a sly smile spreading across her face, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

  Yajirushi, always quick on his feet but now caught off guard by curiosity, got distracted for just a moment. “Where? Where is she?” he said, turning his head to look for whatever Sarah had pointed out.

  The instant he looked away, Sarah moved.

  In the blink of an eye, she rushed forward and appeared behind him. With a triumphant grin, she whispered,

  “Got you...”

  But before she could strike, Yajirushi vanished, as if he had only been a blur in the air. In a movement so quick it was almost imperceptible, he reappeared behind her, an amused expression on his face as he asked with a hint of sarcasm,

  “Did you hit her?”

  Sarah froze when she heard his voice behind her.

  “What?! How did you do that?” She spun around quickly, but it was already too late.

  “I didn’t hit anything! WHAT? He disappeared again!” Sarah shouted, looking around frantically, trying to find him.

  Yajirushi laughed and appeared lounging on a bench.

  “That’s the essence of battle, Sarah. You need to learn how to anticipate your opponent’s movements, not just attack on impulse.”

  Now more focused, Sarah took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts.

  “Alright. Then I’ll focus and think before I act. This time, I won’t let you get away!”

  Yajirushi sighed, wearing a faint, confident smile and the bored air of someone who had already lost interest.

  “Alright, that’s enough. I think it’s impossible for you to hit me,” he said, crossing his arms. “Even if you trained for another hundred years, I still think it’d be impossible.”

  Annoyed by the provocation, Sarah crossed her arms and gave him a look of contempt. “A hundred years? You’ve got to be kidding! I’ll get you long before that!”

  Yajirushi smiled, challenging her.

  “Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day you’ll get there.”

  Sarah thought, Wow. He’s such an asshole.

  “Come on. Let’s eat. Then we’ll keep moving. We’ve already been here for three months. Time flies.”

  “Three months? Damn... time really does fly. But then why do I still feel like I don’t know anything about magic?”

  The two fell silent for a while. They stared at each other a little longer, Sarah clearly waiting for an answer.

  “You’re... not hungry?” Yajirushi asked.

  Sarah narrowed her eyes.

  “Don’t change the subject.”

  “What is it with young people and magic anyway? Is that all you lot think about these days?”

  Sarah pointed her sword at him.

  “You’re dodging the ques...”

  Before she could finish, Yajirushi grabbed her by the head, roughing her up with his calloused hand.

  “Let go, damn it.” He was way too strong.

  “Alright, alright. Your magic training starts tomorrow.”

  “You said that yesterday.”

  Sarah protested, and as she slid her sword back into its sheath, she made a quick movement. The moment she finished, the hilt suddenly dropped to the ground. A second later, the rest of the sword followed.

  The blade had shattered into pieces.

  The two stood in silence for a moment, then stared down at the broken remains on the ground.

  “I think... it broke. Yajirushi.”

  “You think?”

  “Why do my swords keep breaking? That’s the third one this month. That’s not normal, is it?”

  “For someone as dense as you, maybe it seems normal. But in your case, there’s another reason.”

  Yajirushi crossed his arms and looked at the pieces scattered across the ground.

  “People use mana all the time. Even without realizing it, they release a little every day. With training, anyone can learn to control it better, strengthen their body, or transfer mana into objects. That’s normal.”

  He paused briefly before continuing.

  “But people born with primary magic are different. Their mana is refined in another way. It becomes denser, harder to contain than the mana of an ordinary person. That’s simply the nature of living beings.”

  Sarah lowered her gaze to the broken sword.

  “And that has something to do with this piece of junk?”

  “It does. When someone like that keeps pouring mana into an ordinary object, the object can’t withstand it for long. At first it seems fine. But little by little, it wears down... until it breaks.”

  Yajirushi pointed at the pieces on the ground.

  “That’s what happened. Again.”

  Sarah frowned.

  “So my mana broke the sword?”

  “Exactly. And if you keep this up, you’ll break every ordinary sword you touch.”

  She went silent for a moment.

  “So that means I really do have primary magic?”

  Yajirushi shrugged.

  “Most likely. People born with primary magic end up releasing that mana somehow sooner or later. Sometimes it happens in battle. Sometimes in a near-death situation. Sometimes it just happens out of nowhere. The only thing that changes is when.”

  He looked at her directly.

  “You were born capable of using magic. No one can take that away from you. Now all that’s left is to figure out what kind of magic it is.”

  He stood and lightly kicked one of the broken blade fragments.

  “And before that, we’re going to need a sword that can handle you.”

  “And where do we get a sword like that?”

  “It’s not that hard to find a magic sword. If we look around, we can probably find one in some shop. The problem is the price. So instead, we’re going to talk to a blacksmith who’s a ‘friend’ of my masters.”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes.

  “Why did you put air quotes around ‘friend’?”

  “Because he’s a little unstable. But relax. He’s not evil.”

  “That does not make me feel better.”

  “Keep walking.”

  The two followed the road as the late afternoon light began to fade.

  Sarah stayed quiet for a few seconds, kicking a stone along the path, until she glanced at him from the side.

  “You already knew, didn’t you?”

  “Knew what?”

  “Don’t play dumb. About my magic.”

  Yajirushi shoved his hands into his pockets.

  “I suspected.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “Saying it earlier wouldn’t have changed anything. You still didn’t have enough control, and no normal sword could handle your mana for very long. First, I needed to get you close enough to a place where that problem could actually be solved.”

  Sarah made a face.

  “So you were stringing me along.”

  “I was avoiding problems.”

  She huffed and fell silent again.

  In her mind, an “unstable” blacksmith could mean a lot of things.

  Maybe some monstrous old man with arms like tree trunks and a face blackened with soot. Or a complete lunatic, burned from head to toe, yelling at the fire like it talked back.

  But it could also be worse.

  It could be some tiny, irritating man with a shrill voice and weirdly oversized muscles, the kind who’d take one look at her and blurt out:

  “Who’s this brat?”

  Or worse:

  “And why is this brat so pretty?”

  Sarah grimaced at the thought.

  Gross. Disgusting.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  In her imagination, Yajirushi would just shrug and say,

  “Relax. Everything’s under control.”

  And the blacksmith would point at her and reply,

  “No sword. I’ll only make something if you give me the girl.”

  I’d kill him, Sarah thought.

  “Sarah.”

  She blinked.

  “Huh?”

  “We’re almost there. You alright? You look like you’re thinking something stupid.”

  Sarah straightened up immediately.

  “I’m fine. Relax. Let’s go.”

  They walked for a while longer until they reached the foot of a mountain. It was so tall that from where they stood, they couldn’t even see the top.

  Sarah tilted her head back, already annoyed.

  “We’re not going to have to climb all that, are we?”

  “No. We’re already here.”

  Yajirushi pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and checked something written on it. Then he placed a hand against a smooth section of the rock.

  Sarah frowned.

  “...Are you about to talk to the mountain?”

  Yajirushi ignored her.

  “A??k.”

  “Listen. Like I said, the guy’s unstable. For the love of the Goddess, let me do the talking and stay behind me.”

  “Fine.”

  “Sarah, I’m serious. If he gets irritated, we die.”

  Sarah said nothing, but she didn’t understand why Yajirushi looked so nervous. He was far too strong to fear someone or something. Eventually, she decided he must be worried about her, so she chose to obey.

  Behind the hidden entrance was a long staircase descending into the mountain. Sarah thought of her old home, but said nothing. Yajirushi went first, and Sarah followed several steps behind. The stone steps were damp with moss, and the place was cold and humid. The walls were rough, lined with grooves that looked natural. They kept descending until they started to hear it.

  The sound of something striking metal.

  For some reason, the deeper they went, the warmer it became.

  And when they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, there it was.

  When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sarah had the strange feeling she had stepped into the heart of the mountain.

  The place was enormous. It wasn’t just a cave, but a forge buried deep within the stone. The uneven ceiling vanished into smoke, while the dark floor was stained with soot, deep scratches, and old patches of melted metal. Chains hung from hand-carved stone pillars, holding tools far too large for human hands. Anvils, boiling barrels, piles of ore, and unfinished weapons filled the hall.

  At the center of the forge, the metallic sound echoed.

  Clang.

  Clang.

  Each strike sent sparks slicing through the air, and the heat down there felt heavy, as if the mountain itself breathed fire.

  Then Sarah saw the blacksmith.

  It was a gigantic black cat, nearly nine meters tall, standing on two legs. His body was broad and muscular, shaped by centuries of brutal labor. His dark fur was marked by burns and old scars. The face of the aged predator carried a wide muzzle, white whiskers, and a deep scar running across his nose.

  He wore a thick leather apron covered in marks of metal and coal. Small amulets and fragments of ancient weapons hung from his neck.

  Kedicik raised the hammer.

  Clang.

  The sparks lit his face for a moment, and Sarah felt a chill run up her spine.

  This didn’t feel like just a blacksmith.

  It felt like a creature forged alongside the very weapons he created.

  He kept working without looking at them.

  Clang.

  Clang.

  Only after plunging the glowing metal into boiling water did he slowly lift his head.

  His feline eyes settled first on Yajirushi.

  The silence grew heavy.

  “Odama said you would come, meow.”

  His voice was deep and rough, like stone dragging across the ground. Each word came out with a strange mix of laziness and danger.

  Meow? Sarah thought.

  A giant… talking cat?

  Yajirushi stepped forward. Sarah immediately noticed the change. He still had that naturally arrogant posture, but now he was… careful.

  “It’s been a while, Lord Kedicik. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

  The cat narrowed his eyes.

  “You are, meow.”

  Sarah almost turned her head to check if she had heard that right.

  Yajirushi inhaled through his nose, holding back his response.

  “I need a sword.”

  Kedicik wiped one of his paws on the apron and replied flatly.

  “That depends on the sword, meow. But I’ll warn you now. I’ll charge double.”

  Yajirushi held his gaze without lowering his head.

  “Double? That’s excessive.”

  “It’s my price, meow.”

  “Your price is robbery.”

  One of Kedicik’s ears twitched.

  “And you’re still too arrogant for someone asking for a favor, meow.”

  A faint smile appeared on Yajirushi’s face.

  “I’m not asking for a favor. I’m here to make a deal.”

  For a moment, the two stared at each other as if every word were another knife thrown in the dark, hoping to strike the other’s heart.

  Then Kedicik snorted.

  “I can only decide once I see the weapon’s wielder, meow.”

  Yajirushi paused briefly.

  “Sarah.”

  She took a second to respond.

  “…Huh?”

  “Come here.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Just come.”

  Sarah stepped out from behind him slowly, not liking the feeling of being presented like an animal for sale. She stopped a few steps away from Yajirushi.

  Without looking at her, Kedicik spoke.

  “Your name, meow.”

  Sarah swallowed.

  “Sarah Kizuryu.”

  “Another one of you spreading that ridiculous na—”

  The moment his gaze lowered and met the girl’s eyes, Kedicik froze.

  His gigantic body seemed to lock completely. His pupils narrowed into hard slits. His ears tilted back. The hammer nearly slipped from his paw, and for a moment he truly looked as if he had seen a ghost.

  Sarah immediately stepped back in fright, hiding behind Yajirushi again.

  Even Yajirushi seemed surprised.

  “…Kedicik?”

  He didn’t respond.

  He kept staring at Sarah for several seconds, in a silence so strange even the fire seemed to dim.

  Then suddenly he made a choking sound.

  Then another.

  And he started laughing.

  Not a small laugh. A brutal, full, uncontrollable roar that echoed through the entire forge and made the hanging chains tremble with the vibration of his voice. He laughed so hard he had to lean one paw on the anvil, his tail whipping through the air behind him.

  “Kio sen deli bir kad?ns?n, meow!”

  He laughed again.

  “Kio sen deli bir kad?ns?n! HAH! HAH! HAH!”

  Sarah peeked from behind Yajirushi, completely lost.

  “…Is he insulting me?”

  “I have no idea,” Yajirushi said without taking his eyes off the cat.

  Kedicik took a while to catch his breath. When he finally calmed down, he still let out two short laughs through his nose. Then he wiped his muzzle with a paw, inhaled deeply, and looked at Sarah again, now with a different light in his eyes.

  “Alright, alright, meow,” he said at last. “I’ll make the sword, meow.”

  Yajirushi frowned.

  “That’s it?”

  Kedicik showed his teeth in a crooked grin.

  “Yeah. I just remembered something very funny, meow.”

  Kedicik was still chuckling quietly as he approached.

  Each step made the ground tremble slightly. Sarah stood still as the giant cat bent toward her, lowering his massive head close enough to examine her properly. His feline eyes slowly moved from head to toe, checking every detail.

  He let out two more rough laughs.

  “Hah… hah… unbelievable, meow…”

  Kedicik stepped away and turned his back on them. He walked to a stone rack at the back of the forge where bars of many different metals rested side by side.

  But among them there was only one dark bar.

  It wasn’t black like coal. It had a deep, dull tone, almost as if it swallowed the light of the fire instead of reflecting it.

  Kedicik stared at it for a moment.

  “So you’re the only one left, meow…”

  He grabbed the bar and carried it to the forge.

  Sarah watched silently.

  Yajirushi let out a quiet, bored sigh.

  Kedicik placed the metal into the fire.

  The flames licked the dark bar. For a moment nothing happened. Then the material began to change. Thin red veins appeared first, like cracks filled with embers. Soon a deeper glow spread through the metal, as if the heat were awakening something sleeping inside it.

  Sarah narrowed her eyes.

  The cat raised the hammer.

  Sparks of black and gold flew through the air. The metal slowly bent under Kedicik’s strength. Muscles moved beneath his fur while the heavy apron creaked with each strike.

  Sometimes he muttered something. Other times he simply said:

  “Hm. Tekrar, meow.”

  The heat kept rising. Kedicik turned the piece, plunged it into the fire, hammered again, trimmed the edges, and shaped the blade. Every movement was precise, without hesitation.

  Only strength and certainty.

  Yajirushi yawned.

  Sarah glanced at him.

  “How can you be bored watching this?”

  “Because it’s not impressive.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “And you’re impressed way too easily.”

  She was about to answer when the final strike silenced them both.

  CLANG.

  Kedicik slowly lowered the hammer.

  Then he plunged the blade into a deep basin.

  The hiss exploded through the air.

  Steam burst upward, swallowing half the blacksmith’s colossal body for several seconds. When the mist began to fade, he pulled the sword out.

  And then Sarah saw it.

  The blade was beautiful.

  The sword was completely black, dark as night, with a dull sheen that seemed to swallow the surrounding light. Yet it wasn’t a dead black. When the forge fire touched the metal, subtle red veins appeared across its surface like hidden embers running through the blade. The edge looked thin and cruel, impossibly clean.

  The guard was simple and elegant, slightly elongated, also black with small deep-red details near the base resembling cracks or dried petals. The handle was firm, wrapped in dark cloth with faint crimson patterns woven through it. The sheath followed the same design: black, smooth, understated, with red details that seemed to pulse when viewed from certain angles.

  Kedicik stabbed it into the stone in front of Sarah.

  “Take it, meow.”

  Sarah stepped forward slowly and grabbed the handle.

  The moment she lifted it, she expected to feel something. A shock. Heat. A strange presence.

  But she felt nothing.

  Except one thing.

  It was light.

  Too light.

  Sarah widened her eyes slightly and gave the blade a short swing.

  Kedicik watched silently for a moment before declaring:

  “Her name is Odachi, meow.”

  Yajirushi frowned immediately.

  “Odachi? Aren’t those supposed to be long swords? That one’s pretty small.”

  Kedicik turned his head just enough to glance sideways at him.

  “It’s Odachi, meow. That’s it. End of discussion.”

  Sarah repeated the name quietly.

  “Odachi…”

  Then she smiled.

  “I like it.”

  Kedicik raised one massive paw and spoke in a lower, heavier voice than before. It sounded less like conversation and more like an ancient blessing cast upon newborn steel.

  “Yolun keskin olsun. Ruhun k?r?lmas?n, meow.”

  Sarah didn’t understand a single word, but somehow it felt important.

  Yajirushi simply nodded in thanks.

  Not long after, the two of them were already leaving the forge.

  Sarah walked with the new sword at her waist, far too pleased to hide it. Sometimes she touched the handle just to check if it was still there. Other times she pulled the blade slightly from the sheath just to see the dark shine again.

  Yajirushi walked beside her with his usual expression.

  “You look like a kid with a new toy.”

  “Shut up. Whether you like it or not, I am a kid.”

  Even so, she kept walking with a satisfied air, occasionally swinging the sword lightly as if getting used to its almost nonexistent weight.

  Then it happened.

  With a simple, almost distracted motion, Sarah cut through the air.

  The next instant something tore across the passage.

  The stone wall ahead split open with a deep, clean cut, as if an invisible blade had sliced the rock in half.

  The sound echoed through the mountain.

  Sarah froze.

  Her eyes moved from the scar on the wall to the sword in her hand.

  “I think… I cut that.”

  Yajirushi stopped too, staring at the cut in the stone.

  “Oh, you think? What the hell was that…?”

  Behind them, Kedicik observed the mark in silence for a moment. Then his whiskers moved in something close to a smile.

  “Spatial magic, meow.”

  Sarah turned instantly.

  “What?”

  Yajirushi looked at him as well.

  “Spatial magic? You know her magic just from that?”

  Sarah turned quickly to him.

  “How do you know?”

  Kedicik lifted his chin calmly.

  “Ben mükemmel bir demirciyim, meow.”

  Yajirushi sighed.

  He knew that tone already. He wasn’t getting anything else out of him.

  Sarah was still staring at the sword, trying to understand what had just happened.

  Yajirushi then turned around and started walking.

  “Come on. We got what we came for.”

  “My magic is awesome. God himself can come fight me, Sarah Kizuryu will solo him.”

  Sarah ran after him, still holding Odachi and trying to recreate the cut while Yajirushi kept stopping her.

  Behind them, Kedicik watched the two walk away and thought:

  They didn’t even say thanks. Damn brats.