Chapter 8

Although Tom told the girl to leave, she refused and stayed there kneeling, with her head on the ground, but he was not bothered. He continued hammering the metal piece. With each hit, he released such a powerful aura that even those who were outside felt it; This included the cursed weapon, which was already back in the basement.

Although Tom was releasing the aura, he was unaware of it. He was only focusing on trying to turn the metal into a thin layer. He hammered that metal for quite some time until he finally was finished. Although it was not perfect, even it was the best he could do. Then he stretched his arms and picked up the red crystal. The crystal started emitting a very thin flame. It was almost as if it was some kind of nail or needle.

The finished material was a few millimetres wide, and he started using the gemstone to cut a few thin millimetres off the side. The thin fire was so concentrated that the moment it touched the metal, it instantly melted, and Tom could cut it as if it was butter. Since he tried to keep the molten material as far away as he could, he held the piece he was cutting with the tong. As a result, the line he cut was very uneven, and the moment he was finished, he sat down.

As the thin fire kept on being produced, it emitted a powerful magical aura, which was not noticed by Tom; however, the kneeling girl started feeling it, and as time went on, she started feeling greater and greater pressure from the magical power.

Tom started trimming small pieces from the thin material he had cut off. Tom kept on working on that part, and by the time he had divided the material, the temperature in the room drastically rosed. Along with the heat, the magical power and its density also surged.

"W...What is he?! I have never felt this much magical power being released... He is using that fire crystal... Which consumes way too much power... Yet he is using it at this level of intensity... I think it would suck even master dry in a blink of an eye..."

"Is...Is it some kind of training for him? Is he testing how long he can last and, at the same time, trying to do something useful..." The intruder thought.

"Pew... It is quite hot in here, and it will just get hotter soon... Now, I will have to form these pieces into a shape of a nail... or at least close to that." Tom thought as he slightly shook his head.

Quite some time had gone by since Tom started working on the nails; the heat and the magical power in the room just kept on increasing. The girl on her knees was struggling to stay conscious as she was exposed to such a dense magical power. Tom, on the other hand, didn't even notice that the girl stayed in the forge; he was so immersed in his craft.

By the time Tom was finished with the nails, the room was so hot that he was drenched with sweat. Some time ago, the girl had fainted, and the wolves quietly pulled her out without them being noticed.

"Phew... I wasted a lot of metal in this process... But at least it is finally done; now the nails only need to get cooled down, and maybe tomorrow, I will be able to continue... I should really go out and bring back the axe and the knife... But I am not really motivated to do that." Tom Mumbled

He stood up and stretched his limbs and back.

"I am really sweaty... I was so focused that I didn't even notice it." Tom thought.

He quickly left the forge. It was already late; a beautiful full moon lighted up the garden perfectly. Tom noticed that Lorié was sleeping in the house he had made. He chuckled slightly, and then he quickly fetched his bucket and headed straight to the pond. He filled the bucket with water and then splashed it himself. He repeated this process a few times.

Meanwhile, the intruder was outside of Tom's territory and was slowly regaining her consciousness. Fer sat on her head with crossed arms and was hitting the girl's forehead with her heels.

"Hey, you are finally awake; you were trying to cross the border... But it seems it backfired... You are lucky you are still alive. Even outside, I could feel the intense magical power as it was being released by Tom. You truly are a fool... Even though he warned you to leave..."

"Maybe I should play some more with you as punishment. But I think I can leave that out on one condition." Fer said with a smug smile.

"W-what would it be?! P...please don't show any more nightmares! I...I...That was just..." The girl said, but Fer cut her off.

"I believe that you do know that the cause was justified for your actions; also, about the condition. I want you to bring some soft material tomorrow which can be used for padding. Also, you noticed that Tom is wearing just a simple dress. I want you to bring some clothes..."

"They must be ordinary, worn by workers, as I know that he is not fond of formal outfits. Also, I believe you want to have a friendly relationship with Tom, right?" Fer questioned with a serious tone.

"Y-yes, of course..." The girl stuttered.

"Tom seems to be interested in magical stones... I think I don't need to explain it further to you." Fer asserted.

"Erm... B-but those crystals are utter garbage they..." The girl spoke up after a brief pause.

"Yes, they are, but Tom found a way to use them; I do believe you HAVE seen him using one! Do not question him." Fer asserted.

"How did you... Are you a..." The girl whispered with slight fear in her voice.

"Yes, you guessed it right; I AM a dream beast. But although I am one, I am one of the weaker kind... Also, if you don't come tomorrow, I will just have to force you to watch some more juice and yummy nightmares!" Fer declared.

The girl's eyes widened, and Fer lazily jumped off her and started flying. She hovered over to the girl's eyes and glared into them.

"I...I swear I will come tomorrow morning! A-and this time; I will wait in the door patiently!" The girl replied

"Good!" Fer said with a smug smile.

Fer was about to fly back to the house, but suddenly a faint but still noticeable wave of magical power came from the house. Moments later, the sword flew past them.

"What is it up to?" Fer thought.

She quickly flew after the sword; although she was tiny, her speed was not to be underestimated. She quickly caught up to the sword. The sword landed in the middle of nowhere; only a short hooded person was in the area, and the sword landed next to the being.

"Why did you escape? Do you know..." Fer asked but was cut off.

"Cursed sword! Your return has been requested; you are to return and obey our lord's new commands! Hm... It seems you brought a fresh dream beast to our ranks! I am sure our lord will be happy to..." The short man stated.

"A midget will not order me around! I have already found a new master, and your lord, who left me rot in that damn village, can go and fuck himself!" The sword shouted.

Suddenly a powerful purple burst of energy erupted from the weapon, and it pushed back the unknown being.

"You dare disrespect our lord?! You are tired of living sword! You will face the wrath of our lord! And now, you will come back with us!" The man declared and pointed at the sword.

Suddenly dozens of similarly short creatures landed around the area. Each of them had chains in their hands, which had a slight reddish glow.

"Goblins dare to try and capture me?!" The sword shouted again.

From the blade, a darkish, shadowy mist started coming out. It soon took up the shape of a human being, which held the weapon. However, suddenly every creature in the perimeter threw its chains at the shadowy figure, entangling it with the chains. They started pulling the chains to stop them from moving, and they succeeded. Nor could the shadowy figure move or the blade itself.

Suddenly from the direction of Tom's house, a pillar of blue energy appeared, which was followed by a devastating burst of energy. Everyone was blasted away, and even the chains were destroyed.

"W-what...D-did Tom save us?! But I thought he went to sleep." Fer thought as soon as she noticed the burst of energy.

The blast pushed her to the sword, which, to some extent, softened her fall. The blade was on the ground, on top of the shadowy figure. And on the blade, Fer was kneeling.

"You owe me one, Fer!" The sword said.

"Y-yeah... Thanks for catching me! But you did run off without warning me, so let's say we are even!" Fer replied.

She quickly started flying and started hovering high up in the air.

"I hope I can leave things to you. I am going back to check on Tom!" Fer shouted.

"Sure, I can deal with them now!" The sword replied.

Fer quickly started flying as she was travelling; another powerful burst of energy erupted, but it had negligible effects on her. While she was travelling back, she encountered another three energy bursts, all coming from Tom's house. In the garden, she could see everyone except the sword. The wolves were lying next to the doghouse. Doli was still carrying Elnin, and the spider was on the doghouse. All of them were shivering.

"W-what happened?" Fer asked as she was descending.

"Well... As soon as master finished, he went back to his study, but moments later, he rushed back to his forge and has been there ever since..." Lodié said.

"I think I saw something... He was holding a few red crystals and ores before he entered the forge!" The spider spoke up with a shaking voice.

"Red crystals and ores? What could he be working on... I am very curious, but I am not stupid enough to go there..." Fer thought.

She quickly flew around the house, then into the study. On the desk, there were many tiny torn pieces of paper and one which had some drawings on it.

"W-what could it be? some sort of magical tool?!" Fer thought to herself as she stared at it.

On the sheet of paper, a pair of axonometric gloves was drawn. In the centre of each glove, a circle was drawn. And at the tip of each finger, a smaller circle, but it was drawn with a wobbly line. Next to the gloves, a half-finished sword was drawn; only its hilt and handle were drawn, and its blade was missing. The drawing was drawn by hand, so it was not very even, but it was clearly recognisable.

"I...I hope Tom finishes quickly; I want to see and ask him what this is... I don't know!" Fer mumbled.

She quickly flew out of the room and flew back to the wolves, who instantly looked at her as she arrived.Although Tom told the girl to leave, she refused and stayed there kneeling, with her head on the ground, but he was not bothered. He continued hammering the metal piece. With each hit, he released such a powerful aura that even those who were outside felt it; This included the cursed weapon, which was already back in the basement.

Although Tom was releasing the aura, he was unaware of it. He was only focusing on trying to turn the metal into a thin layer. He hammered that metal for quite some time until he finally was finished. Although it was not perfect, even it was the best he could do. Then he stretched his arms and picked up the red crystal. The crystal started emitting a very thin flame. It was almost as if it was some kind of nail or needle.

The finished material was a few millimetres wide, and he started using the gemstone to cut a few thin millimetres off the side. The thin fire was so concentrated that the moment it touched the metal, it instantly melted, and Tom could cut it as if it was butter. Since he tried to keep the molten material as far away as he could, he held the piece he was cutting with the tong. As a result, the line he cut was very uneven, and the moment he was finished, he sat down.

As the thin fire kept on being produced, it emitted a powerful magical aura, which was not noticed by Tom; however, the kneeling girl started feeling it, and as time went on, she started feeling greater and greater pressure from the magical power.

Tom started trimming small pieces from the thin material he had cut off. Tom kept on working on that part, and by the time he had divided the material, the temperature in the room drastically rosed. Along with the heat, the magical power and its density also surged.

"W...What is he?! I have never felt this much magical power being released... He is using that fire crystal... Which consumes way too much power... Yet he is using it at this level of intensity... I think it would suck even master dry in a blink of an eye..."

"Is...Is it some kind of training for him? Is he testing how long he can last and, at the same time, trying to do something useful..." The intruder thought.

"Pew... It is quite hot in here, and it will just get hotter soon... Now, I will have to form these pieces into a shape of a nail... or at least close to that." Tom thought as he slightly shook his head.

Quite some time had gone by since Tom started working on the nails; the heat and the magical power in the room just kept on increasing. The girl on her knees was struggling to stay conscious as she was exposed to such a dense magical power. Tom, on the other hand, didn't even notice that the girl stayed in the forge; he was so immersed in his craft.

By the time Tom was finished with the nails, the room was so hot that he was drenched with sweat. Some time ago, the girl had fainted, and the wolves quietly pulled her out without them being noticed.

"Phew... I wasted a lot of metal in this process... But at least it is finally done; now the nails only need to get cooled down, and maybe tomorrow, I will be able to continue... I should really go out and bring back the axe and the knife... But I am not really motivated to do that." Tom Mumbled

He stood up and stretched his limbs and back.

"I am really sweaty... I was so focused that I didn't even notice it." Tom thought.

He quickly left the forge. It was already late; a beautiful full moon lighted up the garden perfectly. Tom noticed that Lorié was sleeping in the house he had made. He chuckled slightly, and then he quickly fetched his bucket and headed straight to the pond. He filled the bucket with water and then splashed it himself. He repeated this process a few times.

Meanwhile, the intruder was outside of Tom's territory and was slowly regaining her consciousness. Fer sat on her head with crossed arms and was hitting the girl's forehead with her heels.

"Hey, you are finally awake; you were trying to cross the border... But it seems it backfired... You are lucky you are still alive. Even outside, I could feel the intense magical power as it was being released by Tom. You truly are a fool... Even though he warned you to leave..."

"Maybe I should play some more with you as punishment. But I think I can leave that out on one condition." Fer said with a smug smile.

"W-what would it be?! P...please don't show any more nightmares! I...I...That was just..." The girl said, but Fer cut her off.

"I believe that you do know that the cause was justified for your actions; also, about the condition. I want you to bring some soft material tomorrow which can be used for padding. Also, you noticed that Tom is wearing just a simple dress. I want you to bring some clothes..."

"They must be ordinary, worn by workers, as I know that he is not fond of formal outfits. Also, I believe you want to have a friendly relationship with Tom, right?" Fer questioned with a serious tone.

"Y-yes, of course..." The girl stuttered.

"Tom seems to be interested in magical stones... I think I don't need to explain it further to you." Fer asserted.

"Erm... B-but those crystals are utter garbage they..." The girl spoke up after a brief pause.

"Yes, they are, but Tom found a way to use them; I do believe you HAVE seen him using one! Do not question him." Fer asserted.

"How did you... Are you a..." The girl whispered with slight fear in her voice.

"Yes, you guessed it right; I AM a dream beast. But although I am one, I am one of the weaker kind... Also, if you don't come tomorrow, I will just have to force you to watch some more juice and yummy nightmares!" Fer declared.

The girl's eyes widened, and Fer lazily jumped off her and started flying. She hovered over to the girl's eyes and glared into them.

"I...I swear I will come tomorrow morning! A-and this time; I will wait in the door patiently!" The girl replied

"Good!" Fer said with a smug smile.

Fer was about to fly back to the house, but suddenly a faint but still noticeable wave of magical power came from the house. Moments later, the sword flew past them.

"What is it up to?" Fer thought.

She quickly flew after the sword; although she was tiny, her speed was not to be underestimated. She quickly caught up to the sword. The sword landed in the middle of nowhere; only a short hooded person was in the area, and the sword landed next to the being.

"Why did you escape? Do you know..." Fer asked but was cut off.

"Cursed sword! Your return has been requested; you are to return and obey our lord's new commands! Hm... It seems you brought a fresh dream beast to our ranks! I am sure our lord will be happy to..." The short man stated.

"A midget will not order me around! I have already found a new master, and your lord, who left me rot in that damn village, can go and fuck himself!" The sword shouted.

Suddenly a powerful purple burst of energy erupted from the weapon, and it pushed back the unknown being.

"You dare disrespect our lord?! You are tired of living sword! You will face the wrath of our lord! And now, you will come back with us!" The man declared and pointed at the sword.

Suddenly dozens of similarly short creatures landed around the area. Each of them had chains in their hands, which had a slight reddish glow.

"Goblins dare to try and capture me?!" The sword shouted again.

From the blade, a darkish, shadowy mist started coming out. It soon took up the shape of a human being, which held the weapon. However, suddenly every creature in the perimeter threw its chains at the shadowy figure, entangling it with the chains. They started pulling the chains to stop them from moving, and they succeeded. Nor could the shadowy figure move or the blade itself.

Suddenly from the direction of Tom's house, a pillar of blue energy appeared, which was followed by a devastating burst of energy. Everyone was blasted away, and even the chains were destroyed.

"W-what...D-did Tom save us?! But I thought he went to sleep." Fer thought as soon as she noticed the burst of energy.

The blast pushed her to the sword, which, to some extent, softened her fall. The blade was on the ground, on top of the shadowy figure. And on the blade, Fer was kneeling.

"You owe me one, Fer!" The sword said.

"Y-yeah... Thanks for catching me! But you did run off without warning me, so let's say we are even!" Fer replied.

She quickly started flying and started hovering high up in the air.

"I hope I can leave things to you. I am going back to check on Tom!" Fer shouted.

"Sure, I can deal with them now!" The sword replied.

Fer quickly started flying as she was travelling; another powerful burst of energy erupted, but it had negligible effects on her. While she was travelling back, she encountered another three energy bursts, all coming from Tom's house. In the garden, she could see everyone except the sword. The wolves were lying next to the doghouse. Doli was still carrying Elnin, and the spider was on the doghouse. All of them were shivering.

"W-what happened?" Fer asked as she was descending.

"Well... As soon as master finished, he went back to his study, but moments later, he rushed back to his forge and has been there ever since..." Lodié said.

"I think I saw something... He was holding a few red crystals and ores before he entered the forge!" The spider spoke up with a shaking voice.

"Red crystals and ores? What could he be working on... I am very curious, but I am not stupid enough to go there..." Fer thought.

She quickly flew around the house, then into the study. On the desk, there were many tiny torn pieces of paper and one which had some drawings on it.

"W-what could it be? some sort of magical tool?!" Fer thought to herself as she stared at it.

On the sheet of paper, a pair of axonometric gloves was drawn. In the centre of each glove, a circle was drawn. And at the tip of each finger, a smaller circle, but it was drawn with a wobbly line. Next to the gloves, a half-finished sword was drawn; only its hilt and handle were drawn, and its blade was missing. The drawing was drawn by hand, so it was not very even, but it was clearly recognisable.

"I...I hope Tom finishes quickly; I want to see and ask him what this is... I don't know!" Fer mumbled.

She quickly flew out of the room and flew back to the wolves, who instantly looked at her as she arrived.