Death... and me

Roan approached the counter, waiting for what the elder wanted to give him. Old Worm then took another token from his pocket and threw it at Roan.

"Bring this token to the disciples at the entrance of the Alchemist Hall. It will give you the rights to take the Alchemist Exam. That's all, you can leave."

Roan looked at the token with his deadpan face for a second before looking back at Old Worm. In the end, he just nodded before leaving. As for the other disciples studying there, none of them believed what they saw. That's because it was the first time anyone had ever seen Old Worm doing such a thing. First of all, they didn't even know that he could!

Roan didn't think much about it, though. He was sure that he wouldn't have a problem gaining the right to participate in the exam; this token only saved him the time of a pointless memory test.

On the way out, Roan passed the token to the Disciples at the Alchemist Hall. Right after, they took his badge and did something to it. After giving it back to Roan, they said that he could now take the exam anytime he wanted. He only needed to show his badge when the day of the exam arrived.

Roan put his badge away and headed to the Blacksmith Hall after that. Just like he said, he arrived a few minutes later.

Rean came out and then brought him into his workshop.

"Alright. Sister Orb already confirmed that the formation in this workshop won't allow others to spy on us. That being said, I'll start the forging of my sword."

Roan then remember one thing.

"Sister Orb, what's the limit of the concealment of this information?"

[Divine Soul Realm should be able to piecer through it. However, since I have control over it, I will feel it straight away. Rean can simply stop forging if such a thing happens.]

Roan nodded, satisfied. It was good to be sure.

"Alright, then. What about my own sword?"

Rean then pointed at a weapons' hack where one could see a light-colored sword.

"I finished yours already. After all, your sword needed to absorb Light Element, which is my specialty. In my case, I need it to do the same thing with Dark Element. This way, my sword will be at the same level as yours when we fight together."

Roan got puzzled.

"Was there a problem with your sword before?"

Rean shook his head.

"No. It's just that our elements must complement each other to bring the max power possible. Your Spiritual Kaz Sword absorbed Light Element, which was perfect to complement your own Dark Element. However, my one also absorbed Light Element, which I already have a lot. The Dark Element I got through our Soul Connection would never reach the level that you can use by yourself. Because of that, my sword couldn't reach the same power as yours even though they had the same quality."

Roan couldn't help but nod. He had noticed that Rean's sword was indeed a lot less efficient than his.

Rean quickly started the forging process and controlled the forger with his Spiritual Energy. However, Roan stayed in the side and poured Dark Element every time Rean asked for it. Rean was already successful with Roan's sword, so the second time was even easier. The only reason he brought Roan here was that he was much better at controlling Dark Element. Rean wouldn't reach his level through the Soul Connection Dark Element, nor would Roan reach his with Light.

Rean took the sword and put it into the hot liquid with several Spiritual Materials inside. It wasn't just oil like he showed to the other blacksmiths before, but something completely different. That's because Rean's tempering process was distinct from the others. So it needed a different process too.

Just like that, the day came to an end. Fortunately, the sword was forged just as Rean expected. In the end, he raised his Dark Element sword as he looked at its color.

"Phew... it went out pretty well."

Roan looked at Rean's sword and couldn't help but ask.

"Are they made of different materials?"

Rean smiled after hearing that.

"Correct. We got all those High-Quality Materials in the Gold Hands Bandits Group's Nest, right? There were several types available there. All those years of robbing made their stockpile quite bountiful. Of course, I have no doubt they sold a lot of them in the past as well, but I'm already happy with what we got. There was also the materials we got rewarded with after the mission was over."

"Anyway, due to the quantity available, I was able to finish practicing and fixed the last details that were preventing me from completing my swords. Still, there were plenty of High-Quality Ores and materials available, so I took my time to test my Light Element and your Dark Element with each one. After I got the result, I worked on two types of different alloys for you and me."

"Your Sword is an alloy made of Prefusia, Deep River, and Light Iron ores. As for mine, it is made of Dark Swamp Worm, Lemuria, and Profund Black Inky Ores. Their combination was the best one to absorb the surrounding Dark Element."

"Worm?"

Rean laughed.

"Dark Swamp Worm Ore is the name of a metal that grows inside the demon beast with the same name. It accumulates the surrounding materials into its body and solidifies it. Anyway, it's also another type of High-Quality Forging Material."

Roan didn't understand much of it, so he simply jumped to the next question.

"So, they are finished, right?"

Rean looked at Roan and nodded. After that, he looked back at his sword before saying.

"Yes! As for their names..."

"What do you think about Light and Dark Annihilators? No, maybe Life Severing and Death Bringer! No, wait! I know! Let's call them Light and Black Star! Yes, those are quite goo-"

Rean was talking when he suddenly turned around. However, Roan was nowhere to be seen, nor was his sword. Yeap, Roan completely ignored the name-giving time and brought his sword away, completely ignoring Rean's enthusiasm.

Rean's mouth twitched, and he complained through their Soul Connection.

'Don't you know that the name is one of the most important parts?'

Roan couldn't care less, though.

'Chose whatever you like. I just want the sword.'

Rean couldn't help but feel sad that Roan didn't understand his feelings.

'Fine! If someone asks, your sword's name is Black Star! Got it?'

Roan nodded and didn't waste time complaining.

'Yeah, yeah... Black Star it is...'

Rean wasn't very satisfied with Roan's lack of emotion but knew that the Ice Block wouldn't give him ears. At least, Roan accepted the name he chose.

Rean then returned his attention to the pile of High-Quality Materials that he still had available.

'Hum... When Malaka comes back from her mission, I'll bring her to help me crafting her new staff. Can't let her use that Low-Level Spiritual Staff anymore.'

After that, Rean wrapped everything up and exited the workshop. He looked around and began to think.

'1000 Destiny Points... Roan will get 300, but where do I get the rest?'