Free Web NovelChapter 19: Chapter 19- Second Chamber, The Twin Trials
Shen and Leo watched the translucent figure, their stances defensive, ready to retaliate any moment.
The chamber was silent except for the occasional pulse of the inscriptions on the wall.
"I don’t think it will attack..." Leo said slowly.
Leo hadn’t even finished his sentence when the figure beside the anvil moved.
It raised its arm, pointed at the blade resting on the anvil, then pointed toward them.
"I think it wants me to repair the sword," Leo said and walked forward, but an invisible barrier appeared and stopped Leo in his tracks.
The figure shook its head and pointed at Shen, then pointed at the ceiling, and then at the sword.
...
Both Shen and Leo were confused.
Shen looked up and saw a massive inscription on the ceiling. Then a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
"It wants me to carve a talisman into that sword."
He moved forward and arrived in front of the anvil with no resistance.
He observed the blade. It was a dark steel blade with a faint blue temper line running along the length of the blade.
Shen looked at the translucent figure. The figure had reverted back to its motionless state.
Seeing this, he sighed in relief. Good, no fighting.
He pulled out his parchment set, ink sticks, grinding stones, and a vessel of water, setting them on the bench where the anvil was placed.
Before grinding, he wanted to feel the density of the sword. freewebnσvel.cøm
He reached out for the sword. Just as he touched it, a pressure emanated from the blade, pressing down on him.
His knees nearly buckled.
It was the intent the blade had accumulated throughout the years. Whoever had forged it or wielded it was an extraordinary person.
Seeing Shen nearly collapsing, Leo asked, "What’s happening?"
"The blade’s testing me," Shen replied through gritted teeth. He let go of the sword.
He went back to grinding the ink.
The chamber was filled with the sound of Shen grinding the inkstone. His movements were precise and deliberate. He remembered everything he had been through, all the talismans he had forged as he ground away.
The ink was ready.
It looked like black obsidian liquid sparkling with the light emitted by the inscriptions on the ceiling.
Now, he was ready to carve.
Pulling out a needle from his belt parchment, he moved closer to the sword. The needle — slender, double-edged at the tip, its half wrapped in black cord — looked more like a surgical instrument. He held the needle as if he were holding a pen. He had used this needle to craft the talisman on Leo’s sword as well as his own.
The pressure was still there, but he bore through it. He dipped the needle into the fresh ink; the black, gleaming ink climbed the steel needle through capillary action.
The needle hovered over the blade.
Fuck, what was I supposed to carve again?
He began to sweat, his hands shaking. The featureless figure came closer and pointed Shen to the ceiling.
Ohh...
He took a deep breath and calmed down. He sat cross-legged.
He observed the talisman inscribed on the ceiling, learning each and every detail, every line.
Soon he began to see something else within the talisman.
Core Character (Center)
守 — Shǒu — Guardian
Inner Ring (4 characters, cardinal directions):
不破 — Bù Pò — Unbreakable
不折 — Bù Zhé — Unbending
不锈 — Bù Xiù — Uncorruptible
不忘 — Bù Wàng — Unforgetting
Outer Ring (8 characters, intercardinal spiral):
火 — Huǒ — Fire → 骨 — Gǔ — Bone → 血 — Xuè — Blood → 钢 — Gāng — Steel → 魂 — Hún — Soul → 誓 — Shì — Oath → 印 — Yìn — Seal → 恒 — Héng — Eternal
The outer ring spirals in sequence, each character connected to the next by a hair-thin carved line that wraps around the dome like a thread. When followed in order, the spiral read
"Fire tempers the bone. Bone holds the blood. Blood feeds the steel. Steel carries the soul. Soul binds the oath. Oath seals the pact. Pact endures eternal."
He memorized everything he could. He didn’t immediately start carving. Instead, he took out a talisman paper and brush, then painted everything he could remember onto the paper.
His hands moved fast and smooth, each stroke carrying confidence.
After ten minutes, he had painted every single stroke and line.
I think I can carve it now.
Shen picked up the needle again and started carving the exact inscription in sequence, from the core guardian character. He knew in his mind, after observing the talisman, that he was supposed to carve starting from the core and working through the four anchors to the spiral.
After an hour of concentrated carving, he finished the core guardian character. He moved to the outer layer, but he couldn’t draw it. He had a feeling that something was missing in the core character.
No matter what he tried, he couldn’t move to the outer anchors. After failing to carve the outer character, he focused all his attention on the core, trying to see if he had missed anything. He compared the inscription with the one on the ceiling.
Hmm... I don’t see any difference in any lines.
All the lines are perfectly the same as the one on ceiling.
I can’t find any fault in the carved lines, except the inscription on the ceiling feels alive, while mine feels like... just drawn lines.
.....
Oh..
Then it hit him. His teacher’s complaint about everything he drew during his time as a calligraphy student.
"Your work is perfect in every stroke, but I can’t feel any emotion from it. There is no soul in it."
Those were the exact words of his teacher.
No soul... No passion... He muttered.
Something clicked.
He looked at the inscriptions on the ceiling again, closed his eyes, and began to ponder over it. Soon he understood that he couldn’t just carve the text — he had to blend in his intent with the text.
The word *Guardian* meant to protect. So it should protect the sword — protect it from attack, protect it from eroding. Similarly to how the entire chamber was being protected by the inscription on the ceiling.
He drew the line with the intent to protect, his will resonating with the sword. Nothing changed in the lines he had traced before, but the core character Guardian now felt alive; it pulsed with light.
Then he moved on to the four anchors.
Unbreakable.
He thought of Leo — when they faced the giant bear, he had stood tall with an unbreakable will, with no fear. The lines were carved with the intent of an unbreakable will. As soon as he carved this character, the pressure being released by the sword diminished.
He carved the characters one after another — Unbending, Uncorruptible, and Unforgetting — every character fully integrated with what it was meant to do, its essence embedded in the inscription.
The inner ring closed.
Then he began to carve the outer spiral.
Fire.
He visualized Leo’s eternal fire as he carved the word fire. When he completed the mark of fire, he felt as though something within him had been reorganized. But he didn’t dwell on it.
Then the rest of the characters.
骨 — Bone.
血 — Blood.
钢 — Steel.
魂 — Soul.
誓 — Oath.
印 — Seal.
恒 — Eternal.
The spiral closed, marking the completion of the talisman. He set down his needle. The talisman flickered in and out, steady, with white luminescence running through every carved line.
Previously he needed the help of a strong fire to make the metal remember the talisman permanently, but this time that restriction was broken. He had gained a new way of crafting.
[Ding!]
[TRIAL COMPLETE: THE INSCRIPTION]
REWARDS UNLOCKED:
- Class Skill Unlocked: [Freehand Inscription (Passive)]
- May now carve talisman seals without needle or ink — intent alone suffices.
- +50 XP
- +5 Talisman Crafting Proficiency
[Phase 1 complete. Awaiting Phase 2.]
"It’s done," Shen said with a smile as he turned to Leo.
Leo was staring at him in amazement.
The translucent figure bowed to Shen and merged into the sword.
Shen wanted to say something, but the chamber suddenly shook.
Leo came over. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. I think Phase 2 is starting," Shen replied as he read the last line of his notification. Phase 1 complete. Awaiting Phase 2.
"Phase 2?..." Leo asked in confusion.
The chamber changed. The walls shifted. The amber light dimmed and flared; lines of gold fire traced across the obsidian like veins awakening.
The anvil still remained at the center of the room, but the space had expanded.
Then forge stations materialized — twenty-three of them.
At the center of the chamber where the single anvil stood, a large forge burned beside it.
[Phase Two Begins]
[Chamber: Trial of the Apprentice]
The scene turned into one that looked a lot like a classroom.
Shen moved beside him. "Look."
Faded murals were carved into the obsidian wall — a figure at the center forge, hammer raised, surrounded by small figures. Apprentices.
Leo approached the mural. At the bottom of the mural, were texts in ancient script.
[ANCIENT SCRIPT - UNTRANSLATED]
(Hidden Quest resonance detected)
Translate? [Y/N]
He blinked.
"Yes."
[The apprentice who cannot hold the hammer alone is no apprentice at all.]
[The fire does not discriminate. It only burns.]
[You must learn to shape it before it shapes you.]
The words faded away. The fire at the center forge flared as if summoning him.
"I think it wants you to forge something," Shen said.
Leo nodded and walked forward.
He arrived before the forge. It was old — older than any forge he had seen. The stones around the forge seemed to have been through the heat for thousands of years. Leo touched the hearth’s rim, trying to feel it.
The eternal fire within him responded.
Gold fire spread across the stone, tracing the veins. The forge roared with golden flames.
[Ding!]
[TRIAL: THE APPRENTICE’S FORGE]
[Objective: Forge a blade at the central anvil
Constraints: No Eternal Flame. No Forge-Sight. No Soulbond.
You are limited to the skills you had when you first lit your first forge.]
[Reward: Unknown. ]
[Failure: Unknown.]
Reading the notification, his mind went blank.
No eternal fire. No forge sight?
He had been relying on these two skills the most since he entered the game.
He shook his head and helplessly retracted the eternal fire.
"Quite a test," he muttered.
"Test? Of what?" Shen asked.
"Of whether I am worthy of my class or not," Leo answered.
His helpless expression was already replaced with a burning passion.
He set the iron ores into the hearth. Amber gold flames heated the metal. He watched as the metal turned red. He pulled the iron out and set it on the anvil.
He picked up the hammer that was beside the anvil. It looked ancient, but plain — unenchanted.
There was no forge sight showing him the striking points. No eternal fire that could increase the chances of forging.
Just him and the steel.
He struck the metal with his hammer. The hammer felt heavier and less forgiving without his class skills assisting him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of the hammer striking the metal resounded through the quiet chamber. At first he felt awkward, but soon he got used to it as his muscle memory from all the forgings — both inside and outside of the game — kicked in.
Sweat dripped from his brow. His back straight and steady.
Soon the metal began to take shape.
As Leo was immersed in forging, the shadows shifted.
Shapes started to move in the obsidian walls — translucent and featureless.
Shen noticed it and was scared witless.
He recalled what had happened in the first chamber.
He got into a defensive stance, his hands already grabbing the talismans, but the featureless figures didn’t attack as he had expected.
Instead, these featureless figures moved and drifted to the empty forging stations and stood behind the twenty-three empty anvils, watching — as if learning.
Leo didn’t notice. He kept forging.
Strike, rotate, fold. Strike, fold, rotate.
His father’s voice echoed in his memory, "Feel the metal, and if it doesn’t follow your will, you can try and hit it until it follows."
He kept hammering.
Soon the blade took shape. Crude, uneven, but whole.
He plunged the blade into the trough, quenching it. Steam erupted.
[Ding!]
[CRAFTING COMPLETE - TRIAL BLADE]
Quality: Common (Crude)
Materials: Iron only
Enhancements: None
[This blade was forged without class skills. It is imperfect — the edge is uneven, the temper inconsistent. But it was made by hands that remembered the work before the system.]
The forge fire dimmed. The featureless figures bowed and disappeared. Then a new notification appeared in front of Leo.
[Ding!]
[TRIAL COMPLETE: THE APPRENTICE’S FORGE]
[REWARDS UNLOCKED:]
- Class Skill: [Unenhanced Crafting (Passive)]
- Forge basic items without consuming skill resources.
- +50 XP | +5 Forging Proficiency
- Blueprint: [Apprentice’s Steel Longsword] (Uncommon)
- Base Quality: Good
- Chamber 2: Trial of the Apprentice — Cleared.
- Spiritual Integrity: 100% (No change.)
....
