Chapter 80- Hugh’s breakthrough?
Hugh watched quietly as Master Rook and Leo talked.
He left them to their conversation and went over to the cubs, settling down among them and playing with the small creatures, caressing their soft fur with careful hands.
Leo remained frozen, staring at the status panel in front of him.
A level-8 player with numbers that completely defied everything he thought he knew about the game.
Master Rook reaching level 8 when not even a full day had passed since he joined was already outrageous. The attributes he was showing at that level made even less sense—they simply should not exist.
Then Master Rook finally stopped holding back and revealed the full extent of his abilities.
The SS-rank talent called Soul Edge left Leo speechless, and the special physique was even more extreme that it was outrageous.
Leo himself possessed a physique called Forged Body, still incomplete and undeveloped. Master Rook’s, by comparison, was something else entirely.... Totally broken. Leo finally understood at once that this physique was the reason behind the old man’s impossible stats at level 8.
"Come," Master Rook suddenly said interrupting Leo’s thoughts. "I will teach you how to use qi."
Leo froze ... again.
The offer was unexpected.
One look at the old man’s face, however, made it clear that refusal was not an option. Leo nodded.
Master Rook’s gaze shifted to Hugh, who was still occupied with the cubs. He walked over and tapped the blacksmith on the shoulder. Hugh looked up.
"Oh. Can I do anything for you?"
Master Rook studied Hugh from head to toe.
"You should join us and learn Qi as well. It will help you craft more interesting items."
Both Leo and Hugh stared at him, caught completely off guard.
Hugh considered the suggestion for a moment, then glanced at Leo as if silently asking what he should do.
Leo could only offer a helpless smile.
Seeing that Leo was no help, Hugh thought it over seriously one more time... and finally nodded.
"Sure."
Master Rook handed each of them a wooden practice sword.
"Now follow me and copy my movements exactly. Once you have the forms down, you will try to feel the qi and circulate it. These stances are designed to help you sense it."
He demonstrated the sequence.
Hugh and Leo mirrored every motion.
Inside the forge dimension a strange scene unfolded...
An old man and a younger one moving through awkward, unfamiliar stances with wooden swords while a second old man walked between them, using a stick to correct posture whenever a knee bent too far or a shoulder dropped out of line.
The drill continued for nearly five hours without pause.
By the end both Leo and Hugh were drenched in sweat, muscles locked in protest, bodies pushed to the edge of what they could endure.
"Hey Leo," Hugh whispered, voice tight, "Is this really correct? Why do I feel like this old man might be a little shady?"
Leo shook his head slightly. "It does look strange, but I think he’s genuine about the qi. I saw it on his panel."
They kept moving....
Another hour passed.....
Something faint began to stir inside each of them.
Hugh received the first notification.
[You have gained Qi Sense.]
Years of hammer work and forge heat had already tempered Hugh’s body. That foundation let him detect the qi first.
An hour later Leo felt the same shift and received his own alert.
[Ding~]
[You have gained the skill Qi Sense.]
Master Rook sensed the change at once. "Good. Both of you have gained qi sense. Now try to mobilize the strands as you move through the stances. Practice this daily."
The formal training ended.
Just as Master Rook turned to leave he paused, remembering something, and called back over his shoulder.
"Leo. Why the fuck are you using your real name in the game? Even my granddaughter warned me to pick a different one. Are you an idiot?"
He walked away looking pleased with himself.
Only he knew that he would have used his own real name if the girl had not stopped him.
Leo, mid-swing, locked in place.
Heat flooded his face....
He had regretted the choice for a long time.
There was nothing to say.
"Sigh..."
He simply let the exhaustion take him.
Hugh dropped beside him. Both men lay flat on the ground while their bodies continued to complain.
After enough rest Hugh pushed himself up and returned to the workbenches.
His hands still trembled from the long practice as he picked up the scroll for the black flame. He read through it once more, closed his eyes, drew a slow breath, and activated Ashen Flame Control.
The black fire rose again.
This time Hugh could feel it travel through his body. With qi sense active he guided the flame along the pathways he now perceived, letting it flow like water.
When he opened his eyes the fire answered him with calm precision, no longer wild or difficult to hold.
"The fire listens to him differently now," Surtr observed to Leo.
Hugh released the flame and let his arms fall.
He was still covered in Sweat ...
When he stretched his focus, the old injuries stayed quiet. He was grateful for that.
Nearby, Ash had climbed onto the forge table and settled on a scrap of leather. Amber sat by the forge heart, staring into the remaining coals.
While Hugh recovered, Master Rook drew Leo aside.
"I have been meaning to tell you this since the moment I first saw you. Your energy is unusual."
"You mean my qi?" Leo asked.
Master Rook nodded. "The first day we met, the energy inside you was a vast pool of qi, full of vitality. When we met again in the real world it had become a dwindling candle, ready to go out at any moment."
He watched Leo’s face for a reaction, then continued. "It has recovered somewhat, but it is still far from its peak. What happened?"
"Because of what happened in the game," Leo said. "The fight. I nearly—"
"I think I know what happened. I saw few posters on the way with bounty and.... with your face in it."
Master Rook’s tone stayed even. "The stances will thaw it. The breathing will give it a current. Practice daily and do not rush. A frozen river cracked by force becomes a flood. A frozen river melted by spring becomes life."
He paused. "There is more inside you than you understand. It will not wake on its own."
Master Rook turned and walked back toward the forge, leaving Leo standing in the doorway while the words settled.
The old man began his own practice, working to translate real-world movements into the game. He had become completely absorbed by the virtual world. Leo could only shake his head at the sight.
He looked over at Hugh, who was already sketching a new sword design at the workbench. Leo hoped the blacksmith would succeed soon.
An epic-rank blade would be useful—especially if he could borrow it again. He decided he would help speed the forging along whenever Hugh was ready.
.....
While the two of them remained occupied inside the forge dimension, a black sedan sat parked across from the smithy on Penn Avenue.
The engine was off. The windows were tinted. Two figures occupied the car—one in the driver’s seat, the other in the back. The smithy across the street was dark. The windows above that marked Leo’s living quarters were dark as well. They had stayed that way for three days.
The man with the binoculars lowered them and took out a phone.
"He hasn’t been seen in three days," he reported, voice flat. "The blacksmith. Living quarters are empty. Smithy’s been closed since Tuesday."
He waited.
"The old man?" a voice asked from the other end.
"Comes and goes at random. He’s shown up twice so far. There’s also a girl, maybe twelve or thirteen. Sometimes she arrives with him, sometimes alone."
"So what do we do, sir?"
"Stay put and keep me updated. Looks like he’s still inside the game. I’ll see if anyone on our side can make contact with him there."
The call ended. The man set the phone on the dashboard and raised the binoculars again. The street remained quiet. The building stayed dark.
.....
Elsewhere, inside the Space Z building at the Texas star base,.....
A woman sat at the head of a long table while a group of men stood and delivered their reports in turn.
One of them rose. "We have successfully established a guild in Myth Online.
Progress is steady. We have also located several hidden missions. We hope you will consider joining the team; the rewards may include a unique class."
The woman nodded once.
A second man stood. "Our extraterrestrial exploration is ready to begin. The rocket has been completed and can withstand the conditions required for preliminary surveys of nearby systems in the Milky Way."
She nodded again, then looked across the faces in front of her.
"And our famous blacksmith?"
"He is currently unreachable in both the game and the real world. We cannot contact him. Another company appears to be attempting to force Mr. Stone to join them. He does not seem inclined to cooperate and is pushing back."
"Oh?" The woman’s expression sharpened with interest. "That is interesting. See if we can offer him some assistance. If the opportunity arises, take it. If a public statement becomes necessary, you already have the authority."
She leaned back slightly. "I wonder whether our blacksmith will appreciate the help... or not."
A quiet laugh followed the words, soft and private.
....