29 The Lord of Tin (1/2)

”This pill,” the Auctioneer's voice split the venue, stopping the rampant gossip and discussions, ”Is one of our Main Three Events!”

All eyes turned towards the stage. Everyone there knew the rumors about a Perfect Soul Knight technique. They looked at the pill bottle on the display. A few members of the crowd tilted their heads to the side, and confusion ran rampant like a plague.

Many wanted to ask, ”How is a pill even comparable to the Main Event of a Perfect Soul Knight technique?”

No one did ask, though. There were too many high profile people in the Auction House. Any slip of the tongue could end up offending someone who should not be offended at all costs. A deafening stillness washed over the crowd, and they waited for the Auctioneer to continue.

”I see some confused faces out there, hehe,” the Auctioneer giggled, ”Well let me tell you, this pill is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece provided by a Master Alchemist!”

A small murmur came from the crowd. A few people started to whisper again. Bolts of mana, Voice Techniques in their raw form, ripped through the air like lightning. The mention of a 'Master Alchemist' was enough to start a frenzy in and of itself.

There were only three known Master Alchemists in the Tin City, and not one of them would put a pill up for auction without bragging about it and turning their nose up to the general populace.

”This pill has rather miraculous effects,” continued the Auctioneer. ”You see, the alchemist who brought it actually brought two of them, so we could test out the effects.”

Those words silenced the murmurs from earlier. The mana in the air froze, left hanging like a painting on a wall. Many people leaned forward in their seats.

Zara snickered from her balcony. She looked down on the overall atmosphere and, then, she looked behind her at the pile of goods she won through her bidding. She wanted to dress her teacher up in several of them right away, but she knew better than to interrupt her teacher's Weapon Refining.

She decided to get her entertainment by watching the ants scurry around the sugar cube she tossed to them, instead. Her chest swelled as she took a deep breath and relished in the feeling of superiority… She was slowly getting addicted to it. She wanted nothing more than to get stronger, strong enough that she could look down on all of her sibling disciples.

For now, she decided to take what she could get. Her eyes glanced over to the tent set up next to her and her smile turned more profound, deeper, and a bit creepy.

-

Cara was in the middle of the most harrowing part of her Weapon Refinement. She finished all the individual parts, but now she needed to combine them without leaving weaknesses in the structure of the weapon.

Sweat formed along her brow as she brought the meat of the blade and combined it with the edge, using her mana to fuse the two together alongside the powers of the Refining Furnace.

Mana twisted into knots in the air and started to tie itself down. The elements of Fire, Air, and Earth were woven into a weave, and time seemed to stop.

Everything coalesced in that moment and Cara poured out her heart and soul into the weapon. She called upon her Earth Spirit to assist, and her Mana surged.

Cara, so deep in her focus, never noticed that by channeling all that energy, her own cultivation was nearing perfection. The First Crack on her core filled in more and more, until it reached the very top and the energy had nowhere left to go.

Cara's eyes shot wide open. She felt a terrible pressure on her vessel and she knew she messed up her calculations. She thought she'd be able to finish the weapon first before she broke through to the second Crack…