The puppets brought forth several top-grade concoctions.
One of them poured a shimmering liquid onto the blade, which hissed and steamed upon contact. Another puppet sprinkled a fine powder of rare minerals over the sword, the particles dancing in the air before settling into the cracks.
Aksai’s eyes narrowed in concentration as he continued to weave Essence Equations. “Now for the forging process.”
Aram handed Aksai a mystical metal ingot, its surface gleaming with a radiant light. Aksai placed the ingot into a small furnace, stoking the flames with his Spirit spells. The ingot began to melt, its essence flowing towards the damaged sword.
Aksai chanted, sending another set of glowing symbols towards the blade. The melted metal seeped into the cracks, filling them with a brilliant glow. The sword began to hum, resonating with the Spirit essence being infused into it.
Next, Aksai prepared to elevate the sword’s rank. He placed several rare minerals around the Array Formation.
He formed a complex pattern of symbols in the air. The minerals disintegrated into fine particles, which merged with the sword, enhancing its structure. Another round of Essence Equations was fed to the sword, stabilizing the process.
With the repairs nearly complete, Aksai performed a final series of hand signs. The glowing symbols wrapped around the sword, binding its essence to Aksai’s will. The Lian Flying Sword floated towards him, now pulsating with a newfound power.
Aksai reached out, grasping the hilt. The sword responded instantly, its blade gleaming with a pristine, silver light. The cracks had vanished, replaced by intricate runes that glowed softly. The hilt was now reinforced with a layer of mystical metal, ensuring it could handle Aksai’s potent Spirit essence.
He swung the sword experimentally, feeling its balance and power. The blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle, leaving a faint trail of silver light in its wake.
Aksai smiled, satisfied with the result. “Perfect.”
***
A few weeks later.
City of Rogalia. Acarnis.
It had been more than a year since Theo awakened his Aether Wisp.
Aksai’s woodland clone returned to Acarnis after meeting with Aksai at Everwood Farm. He silently waited for Theo to sleep before replacing the dummy ring the kid was made to wear in his absence.
Ever since Aksai’s woodland clone had become Theo’s “cheat artifact,” it was difficult for him to meet with Aksai freely at Everwood Farm. The kid would immediately know if the woodland clone had gone somewhere, leading to complications the clone wanted to avoid.
After all, the kid was possessive of the ring, considering it his “cheat ability,” giving him an advantage over his peers. He saw himself as special among all the kids he interacted with at school. As such, the young boy was very particular about always keeping Aksai’s clone, which had been turned into a ring, close to him.
Therefore, the clone decided to visit Aksai only when it was convenient. He would wait for Theo to sleep, then create a dummy ring to snugly fit Theo’s fingers before teleporting back to Everwood Farm.
This much precaution was necessary after Aksai had learned the true extent of this world and the kind of Aether practitioners it had. The woodland clone didn’t want to be hunted down by powerful practitioners of this world again.
The next day, Theo went to school as usual, wearing his “cheat ability.” This was a special school in the City of Rogalia, meant for specially talented young Aether practitioners.
Ever since Theo awakened a beast-type dragon Aether Wisp, he was considered an elite seedling by Acarnis’ standards. He received many sponsors and already had preliminary contracts lined up with various organizations. There was even a possibility the Acarnis World Government would take note of him if he showed diligence in his Aether cultivation in the future.
In short, Theo had a bright future ahead of him. He had been transferred to the school’s dormitory, away from his parents. The dormitory was safe and secure, designed to help young Aether practitioners keep up with their curriculum.
Aksai had learned many things while staying with Theo. He had proven his usefulness many times, using his subroutine neural link fabric to solve some of Theo’s most complex study problems, allowing him to ace all the theoretical tests.
Theo was one of the rising stars in his school, which enrolled only talented kids. Even among the most brilliant and naturally gifted young Aether practitioners, he had proven his mettle and stood out.
The day started like usual. Theo woke up and immediately checked the wooden ring on his right index finger. He smiled at the ring before getting out of bed. He freshened up and left his dormitory room, ready to face another day.
However, this was when the school alarm bells started ringing. Theo, who was in a school open field at the time, froze in his steps as he heard the alarm bells coming from different directions at once.
He soon saw a group of people wearing black clothes and black sleeveless leather armor approach him and surround him from all directions. He couldn’t see their faces as they had covered them with black masks.
“Who… who are you?” Theo asked with a mix of trepidation and fear. He could tell that the people in front of him were obviously stronger than him. Plus, it didn’t look like these people belonged to the school. It also didn’t look like one of the surprise drills organized by the school.
“Hehehe,” one of the masked men stepped forward, malice and amusement reflecting in his eyes. “Who we are is of no concern to you, kid. Just know that we have recognized your talent. So we are here to take you away with us to meet your new family. Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you,” the man chuckled, his mates snickering at Theo as well.
It took a while for Theo to realize that an unknown force had barged into the school, which was supposed to be one of the safest facilities in Rogalia. This group wanted to abduct the young seedlings, and due to his talent, Theo had also been added to the abduction list.
It was a well-planned kidnapping attempt, and Theo was just one of the many students who were supposed to fall prey to this incident.