Chapter 9: The Black Dragon

It's been another three days since my chat with Kasumi. I just entered the pub opposite to my tavern when I heard a storyteller exultantly depicting something to an equally excited crowd.

"...and then, the boy went 'bam' and stepped hard on the ground, so hard he shook the earth all along! A ring appeared around his wrist, and he slammed his opponent right on the barrier. One hit! That's all it took for him to win." Described Mr. Storyteller.

"Lackey," I dragged a waiter over and gave him some silver. "What's the matter there?"

"Sir, so you haven't heard!" The waiter instantly put on a smile and hid away the silver. "There's been two names flying around. One always has a sword sheathed behind his back but no one has been able to make him unsheath it yet, and the other can beat his opponents with just one blow with his left arm behind his back. They're known in town as 'The Black Dragon and the White Phoenix'!"

I waved the waiter off.

"Well, at least you're used to being famous," Moye chuckled.

"That's less of my worry right now," I covered my forehead. "A bear and a mantis can both easily kill an ant, but that doesn't mean the mantis can be as strong as the bear."

"True. Kasumi may be out of your league..." Moye nodded. "For now. But I'll make sure you can surpass him."

"And how would you do that? Tomorrow's the last day of the festival," I tilted my head. "Which means that I'll have to face him tomorrow if no other strong opponents show up."

"You'll see. Finish your dinner, and I'll show you."

I did as told. Moye then took me out to a weaponsmith.

"You need a proper weapon. This sheath won't take you far with Kasumi."

"Why? I don't think this place has any weapons more durable than the material that forged this sheath."

"That's true, but do you honestly think you'll be able to win against him without using your spirit?" Moye questioned.

"...but my spirit pretty much does nothing," I replied awkwardly.

"That's because it's still in its unawakened form. You can awaken its memories slowly by fusing with other swords that have a spirit," Moye explained.

"So I need a sword with a spirit? But aren't spirit artifacts expensive?" I pinched my chin.

"That depends on their rank," Moye answered calmly. "And expensive? Dude, you're literally rich."

"I'm... rich?"

"Ya don't need to say that out loud, brother," A man walked over. "I'm the shop owner. Whatcha need?"

"Um, I'm in need of a spirit artifact," I scratched my head. "A sword, please."

"I have quite a few of those. What rank are we looking at?"

"What can I afford?" I asked Moye telepathically.

"You? Well, you can probably get away with two high-rank spirit artifacts with forty gold. You have way more than enough."

"Never hurts to get the better ones. High rank," I snapped my fingers and told the owner.

"Gotcha. Ye want what kinda sword? Heavy? Short? Or perhaps, a whip sword?"

"Something like this," I took out Moye and unsheathed it.

"Oh! Yer the Black Dragon!" The shop owner jumped up. "Yer sword not good enough for you?"

"For some reason that really pisses me off," Moye grunted.

"No," I shook my head. "Just wanted a sword I can fuse my spirit without having to use this one."

It's the truth, but I didn't tell him that the reason I'm not using Moye is because she sealed herself.

"Wow, yer really as powerful as them peoples say!" The shop owner nodded. "Anyhow, I got a few light swords in ma possession. Hol'up, I'll show 'em to you."

He turned around, scouting for some swords and returning with a few.

"These are the best ones within the radius of seven leagues, I guarantee ya," He chuckled. "Does yer spirit have an element?"

He pointed to a katana with a burnt blade. "This one is for fire-element spirits. Apparently it survived the lava tsunami centuries ago, and absorbed some energy."

"Ah, this one is for shadow-element spirits. It's quite the show, not gonna lie. I've seen someone use it, and the blade will make those... whatchamacallit..."

"Afterimages?" I suggested.

"Yeah, those. But the blade will adjust itself to the position of an afterimage if something hits it. So you can create kinda like a shield."

"What's my element?" I asked Moye.

"Yours is a bit special. You can learn and master any element as long as you awaken it," Moye shrugged.

The shop owner kept going on and explained the six swords one by one. In the end, I chose a sword with a sakura branding on its blade by the name of Hanakanko*; Moye said it could synergize with my sole 3 mLs of ninja blood, which comes from someone in my family line, a relative I don't even know.

"Okay, here we go," When we returned to the tavern, I took Hanakanko out immediately, and fused my spirit with it.

This time, it took a while. I tried for the entire night, and just when the sun was rising, I finally called the sword spirit out. It was a projection of a small girl wearing a Miko attire.

"Ya! Hajimemashite!" The spirit greeted me cheerfully. "My name is Hanakanmaru*! And yours?"

"I'm Reiken. Reiken Kitano," I replied. "Hanakanmaru, can we get started? We're kind of running out of time."

"Aw, I wanted to get to know you better first," Hanakanmaru pouted. "But I guess it's alright! Let's get started already!"

And so I went ahead and tried fusing my spirit with the sword spirit.

*Hanakanko: 花间子

**Hanakanmaru: 花间丸