Chương 73: The Forge

"If choking my enemies out with that black smoke isn't its purpose, then what is it?" Gray asked, meeting Gozen's gaze.

"To devour mana." Gozen's voice dropped.

"What?"

"When you first obtained Hollow, the cloud it produced was a far superior version of the clouds you were creating through your basic Cloud Mastery," Gozen explained.

"Its true function is to devour every mana construct inside its cloud—including the ambient mana in the atmosphere." He pointed toward the empty air between them.

"The ability doesn't contain toxins, nor does it actually deprive anyone of oxygen. But an Awakened core relies on both oxygen and mana as fuel. By stripping half of that mixture from the air with Hollow, you abruptly starve the core and trigger that choking sensation. Peak Ranks and above won't experience it, though—by then, their cores have developed enough to efficiently store and utilize the mana they breathe." Gray's brow furrowed.

"So breathing nothing but oxygen can kill someone at the Awakened or Elite Rank?"

"No. It isn't lethal to them. The sudden absence of mana is simply a drastic change from what their bodies are accustomed to breathing. The shock hits the core, travels to the brain, and causes them to lose consciousness. Nothing more." Gray nodded slowly.

"That explains Ivan and William. But what about the Ogre I fought on the first level? And the Abomination? It actually suffocated to death."

"Human and Riftborn biology are fundamentally different," Gozen said.

"Riftborn cannot survive without ambient mana. It's why they never naturally existed on Earth—the atmosphere there was barren of it. The Primordials stranded on that planet eventually adapted to breathing oxygen alone, but without mana to properly nourish them, their cores gradually turned stagnant." He raised a finger.

"In the Ogre's case, the dense concentration of your basic smoke around its face stripped away enough mana to render it unconscious—but I'm assuming it didn't kill it. The mana-dissolving effect becomes stronger the more tightly you compress the cloud. Hollow, being the superior version, outright killed the Abomination by completely erasing the mana within its cloud." Gray absorbed the explanation.

"Okay. That makes sense. But how is Hollow different from using my normal smoke while the Shroud aura is active? They both devour mana, right?"

"With Hollow, you don't need the aura active, so there are no penalties that come with it," Gozen replied.

"And unlike Shroud's smoke, where it has to seep into your core to gradually devour the mana contained in its domain, Hollow consumes the mana instantly." Gray blinked.

"Instantly? So if someone throws a fireball at me, I can spawn Hollow in its path and snuff it out on the spot?"

"Exactly." A nostalgic smirk tugged at Gozen's mouth.

"Or if someone summons a ten-foot colossus, you can manifest the cloud around its ankles, erase its feet, and watch the bastard topple over. I nearly pissed myself laughing the first time I saw that—and I couldn't even urinate!" Gray grinned, already imagining the tactical possibilities.

"I'm guessing it can't erase an entire massive summon at once, though."

"Nope. Only whatever enters its cloud radius." Gray shrugged.

"That's more than enough. Having a trump card that can instantly extinguish a threat sounds incredible."

"And that is exactly why I didn't tell you the full capabilities of your class," Gozen cut in sharply. Gray's face twisted in confusion before realization struck.

"Wait—yeah, why didn't you?" His voice jumped an octave.

"The anti-magic could've helped me during the race!" Gozen swatted a hand.

"For starters, you didn't need to know about Shroud's Legacy before actually unlocking it at the Peak Rank. And prior to awakening the Legacy, both your basic smoke and Hollow were substantially weaker. If I'd told you that you possessed 'anti-magic,' you would've gotten ahead of yourself, started thinking you were some kind of messiah capable of extinguishing anything in your path, and eventually overstepped and died because of it." He raised an eyebrow.

"Am I wrong?" Gray dropped his gaze to the floor, a low grumble slipping from his lips.

"No," he muttered.

"That's spot-on."

"Then what about Tobari?" Gray continued, snapping his gaze back up.

"What exactly happens when I coat the blade in my smoke? It withers some things away, but other targets seem completely immune."

"That's a bit more complicated." Gozen scratched his cheek.

"I'll explain it once we reach the academy. You received a Soul Shard from the race, yes?" Gray had completely forgotten about the race rewards, and he certainly didn't remember seeing a Soul Shard among them. He tapped into his dimensional ring. Inside rested the familiar blue Ability Shard alongside the rough black lump of an Advancement Stone. Beside them sat a purple Tier Upgrade Shard, its identity immediately supplied by the ring's spatial awareness.

Farther in, a similar crystal radiated a soft white glow—the Soul Shard. The final addition was a circular brown talisman stamped with the emblem of a key: an Astral Rift Bypass Ticket.

"Yeah, the Soul Shard's here. A few other things, too." Gray focused on the talisman.

"How useful is this bypass ticket? Should I keep it or try to sell it?" Gozen scoffed.

"Good luck selling that. You'd be stepping on the toes of the Big Three who control the Astral Rifts, and nobody wants to end up in their crosshairs." They continued in silence for several blocks, the steady hum of traffic filling the gap between them. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Eventually, Gozen broke the quiet with a question that had clearly been weighing on him.

"How did it feel?" He glanced over, studying Gray's relaxed posture.

"Feel?" Gray's brow creased as he met his mentor's gaze.

"William," Gozen said flatly.

"Oh." Gray exhaled through his nose.

"You mean how did it feel to kill him?" Gozen grunted in confirmation. Gray gave a careless shrug.

"I didn't feel much. He needed to die, Gozen. I did it for Hyun." Gozen stopped walking. His expression hardened as he fixed Gray with an unblinking stare. Gray instinctively leaned back from the sudden hostility before catching himself, his gaze dropping to the pavement, unwilling to meet those eyes.

"I understand why you did it," Gozen said quietly.

"And I can't say I would've acted any differently in your position. But understand this: if you continue down this path toward glory and power, bloodshed will be inevitable." His voice grew heavier.

"Along the way, we lose pieces of ourselves. Pieces of who we used to be. But we cannot allow ourselves to become hollow."

"Listen, I get what you're trying to say." Gray kept his voice measured.

"You think I'm going to turn into some deranged killer who stops understanding the value of a life. But I know where the line is." Fury crept into his voice despite his attempt to remain calm.

"Possessing someone's body, using it until there's nothing left, and then throwing it away—that deserves a much worse death than what I gave William. None of this would've happened if it weren't for Hyun's mentor." Gray's jaw tightened as he snapped his gaze back to Gozen.

"Who was it? Who did that to Hyun?" Gozen raised a hand, cutting him off.

"Nothing good will come from knowing. Ignorance will keep you alive. I don't want you anywhere near him."

"What do you take me for?" Gray sneered.

"You think I'm going to start plotting revenge against a Kaiser?" He shook his head.

"I'm just saying I deserve to know. That's all." Gozen's expression darkened. He fixed his disciple with an absolute stare.

"I will not repeat myself." His voice dropped into a low rumble. Gray immediately swallowed his anger and gave a slow nod.

"I… understand." Satisfied, Gozen grunted and resumed their march toward the Forge. They rounded the final corner, and a massive structure came into view at the end of the avenue. It stood in contrast to the sleek metropolitan architecture surrounding it, built entirely in the style of an enormous traditional temple. The Forge occupied the entire block. Its timber frame rose three stories in tapered tiers, each level capped by tiled roofs that curved sharply upward at the corners.

Thick wooden pillars supported the structure, while intricate latticework framed the exterior walls. What drew Gray's attention most, however, were the three colossal longswords impaling the roof. The first plunged straight through the center, its blade buried so deeply that only the enormous hilt and a narrow strip of steel remained visible. A second pierced the roof at a diagonal, crossing behind the first.

The third mirrored that angle from the opposite side, though its hilt had been completely sheared away, leaving only a jagged stump of metal jutting from the tiles. The perimeter was just as bizarre. Instead of a conventional fence, a barricade of weapons enclosed the property in a broad rectangle—longswords, daggers, katanas, spears, nearly every type of weapon Gray could name, driven point-first into the ground to form a literal wall of steel around the compound.

A white marble path stretched beyond the entrance, its polished surface standing out against the dull silver-gray streets of the city. Traditional Japanese houses reminiscent of the Edo period flanked the walkway, each storefront bearing the same insignia: an anvil pierced by a longsword. Heavily armed guards patrolled the grounds in full steel plate, the Forge emblem stitched prominently onto their shoulder patches. As Gozen strode down the path, the nearest guard stiffened.

He elbowed his partner and jerked his chin in Gozen's direction. The second man frowned in confusion, but the moment he followed the gesture, the color drained from his face and he snapped upright at once. The reaction spread down the walkway. Guards who had been slouching against walls or casually chatting moments earlier suddenly locked themselves rigid. Conversations died. Backs straightened. Some held their breath as Gozen approached, their armor giving faint metallic rattles from barely restrained trembling.

"They tense up the second they see you," Gray observed, glancing between the petrified soldiers.

"You must get a lot of respect around here."

"It isn't respect," Gozen said. He suddenly snapped his gaze toward one of the nearby guards. The man flinched so hard his armor clattered, then immediately lowered his eyes to the marble beneath his boots.

"It's fear."

"Fear?" Gray frowned.

"I thought they considered you a hero in this city." Gozen waved the notion away.

"A label long past its expiration date. People judge you by what you are today, not what you were yesterday." He gestured toward the structures lining the path.

"These buildings house the apprentices. Smiths and crafters train here until their skills are refined enough to enter the main building and work under our revered forgers." He pointed ahead.

"That massive structure at the end of the road is the Forge itself. The three blades piercing its roof represent the founders of this guild: my brother Miyoshi, his son Kenji, and myself." Gray studied the unusual rooftop.

"What's with the sheared-off hilt?"

"That one is mine," Gozen replied, offering no further explanation. Instead, he changed the subject.

"I built the main hall and these housing units with my own two hands. What do you think?" Gray took in the imposing architecture.

"It's beautiful. Much better than the sterile corporate buildings we passed on the way here. It stands out in a good way." His gaze drifted toward the barricade of weapons surrounding the compound.

"But why are there so many weapons driven into the ground?"

"They belonged to fallen members of this guild." Gozen's voice softened.

"It's a memorial. Even in death, the spirit of each wielder remains here to guard this place." Gray gave a sympathetic hum before turning his attention ahead. Beyond the weapon-lined perimeter, an open archway led into a broad stone courtyard that stretched toward the wide steps of the main entrance. But what caught his eye was the weapon hovering above the arch—a curved scimitar suspended in midair, its blade glowing with a bright azure light.

"That's a beautiful sword," Gray remarked as they approached.

"But don't you have problems with thieves, leaving all these weapons out in the open?" The floating scimitar trembled. With a sharp metallic hum, it tore free from its suspended position and shot backward, the blade blurring across the courtyard toward the towering double doors of the Forge. Its hilt slammed cleanly into an outstretched hand. The man who caught it wore a full suit of dark blue, shogun-style armor. Long black hair streamed past his shoulders, the crown pulled into a tight topknot.

He appeared to be in his forties, with sharp, angular features weathered by age and marked by several deep scars. A woman descended the broad stone steps beside him. She wore a flowing white dress of fine silk that matched the silver-white hair cascading down her back. Her features were soft and striking, but Gray's attention immediately settled on what rested behind her—a pair of pristine feathered wings folded neatly against her back. Trailing several paces behind them was a face Gray recognized instantly. Shota.

"Thank you. It belonged to my father," the armored man called, his gruff, commanding voice carrying effortlessly across the courtyard. He strode forward with the scimitar resting at his side.

"And every blade guarding this guild falls under my dominion. Should a thief ever entertain the thought of stealing one, their hand would be severed before their fingers finished closing around the hilt." He crossed the remaining distance and stopped mere inches from Gozen, staring him down with a hardened glare.

"I don't recall inviting you into my guild, Gozen," he sneered.

"Kenji!" Gozen said with familiar glee, spreading his arms wide.

"Surely you'd grant your uncle passage into the building he constructed with his own two hands, no?"