Chapter 147: Allan letting loose

“Weapon?” 36 said “I may tell you that, but it was nothing fancy. It was a mere rank beyond the Immortal one while I had personal power well over such weapons. It is called an Artifact rank, which is a more powerful version of the immortal rank, but significantly more intricate and rarer. The same could be said for everything in the continuous, or declining order of such ranks. It makes easy sense out of the materials, treasures, and so on.” 36 explained.

“So an Artifact rank after the Immortal one… What are the differences? Wait, what are even the means of the Immortal weapons? Do they have any special abilities or strengthen the user and use the Energy itself? I get they aren't made from such materials as Black Mithral. That, I get it.” Sarey said.

“It's all about materials, so yes. You get it. Materials do a lot for the cause of the quality of the weapons, but a good craftsman can do wonders with quality and skill.”

“That sounds great and all, but could a mortal rank defeat an immortal rank weapon? Should these more extraordinary materials do such a difference?” This time, Allan asked, as this was on his mind as well.

“Most likely, but it's hard to do since it depends on the user the most. Weapons are just tools after all and the user is the cause of their action of them. You may have a fancy and powerful weapon, but without mastering it, it is a burden to the wielder instead. That is the common sense in the arts of Immortal lands, and anyone can understand it..”

“I get it, mister 36.” Allan nodded as he talked. “Is it the reason you are forcing me to take on an Immortal Martial Art through this reward structure that I don't even know much about? It's for me to get sooner to the better stuff so I have heads up for the future?”

“Yes and yes, but there is also something else to it. The reward at its core was yours since you reached the first threshold. It is what you have an opportunity to get from then on, but how about hitting me once again but with this spear of yours?” 36 said meaningfully, trying to see and found if Allan could reach the bigger threshold to much better rewards.

“So you want me to get this greediness for that? For twice the rewards, what aren't even guaranteed? I think I understand more or less what you are trying to do, but I refuse to do that. There is no need for craziness what I hear in your voice.” Allan said, unbothered by 36's idea that stemmed from clear greed.

“Fine. It's your choice, but you have to take on the Immortal Martial Art through the first bracket. It's important!” 36 said resolutely.

“What in the world is this pile of wood scheming this time? I wonder.” Allan thought to himself and considered the circumstances. There was something strange when it comes to 36. As for the rewards, Allan could not help but be suspicious since it was free, and everything free is usually the most expensive later on the line. That's what he learned, and that's what he guessed about this Diary of the Body.

Although, what was the general overview of common sense can be wrong in this case. Allan was still a boy in his mind, and not even that familiar with anything Immortal. He was honest and careful about it. It was a world that he feared to some extent, so taking things from 36 with a grain of salt was the first thing he was doing.

“I will think about it. Can I even take a look at the rewards with choices for them, or is there some limitation?” Allan rather asked to get a better understanding.

“Trying to look closer at the feeding hand can be understandable, but for you to be so suspicious is not needed. You must take advantage of the current situation and push forth! Is that not agreeable? I know these possible rewards may be suspicious for you, but it's worth trying luck. ” 36 tried to negotiate, but Allan's suspicions could be normal when one was in this predicament.

“Fine, but you will tell me everything when it comes to them, and everything these rewards include. I bet you left out some things, or don't know some things since this is the core structure of this Diary. I will consider choosing the reward and take something if it will be interesting to me. You won't force me to take something If it's bad or not something I approve of.” Allan decided and talk with confidence and seriousness. 36 fell silent from hearing and watching this boy talk like that. He genuinely looked like a person of power now, and not like some wimpy mortal boy. His words were calm, yet powerful and unmoving.

So much so, that 36 was moved, considering his words with seriousness, unlike many times before.

“It's a deal that I can't refuse, Allan. Your words are yours, and I need some additional information as well. The case of reward may not be as simple as you think, but it's not free by any means. Nothing in the Immortal lands are free stuff. Power will bring forth fortune, and only ability and skill will let you keep them. Remember that. As for the time for this, we can do it tomorrow or the day after. I don't mind, but you have to do something, in particular, to choose from the rewards.” 36 said without much hint.

“Why so mysterious about everything?” Allan asked.

“Because you will choose and do this first bracket of the rewards within the Diary of the body. You should prepare yourself mentally, as I don't know exactly what it will be like as well. So much is still left hidden from my lack of knowledge…” 36 revealed, sounding rather pitiful at the end.

Allan was actually stunned by hearing that and felt apprehensive for the first time. Within could all mean something inside, so he guessed 36 meant the portal which Diary of the Body used. He will have to travel through the special portal toward the world of the diary and 36's prison to get the rewards. Choosing that was what 36 talked about and hoped this wouldn't be a mistake. Getting Allan to that place may be very easy, but that place may be dangerous. After all, he was yet to become aware of what the insides of that ship contained.

“I… I would lie if I said I want to come there, but it's not dangerous, right? You wouldn't think of this unless you have a certain guarantee over my life.

“It's… like fifty-fifty or maybe more favorable to your safety. I don't know the extent of that place outside of my prison. It's the same with your potential rewards or what it would be like. That is why I am hoping to reach The Wisher of the Diary to sough out some information, but it may take a while, or he may refuse. I will see, but try.”

“Once again, mister 36. You aren't making sense of this logic. Isn't the core problem of what you are trying to give me dangerous, and rather clueless from your side? You are supposed to be my teacher and someone who will give me a broader path. Are you in a hurry for the unkept future so much that you aren't able to give me anything in particular?

“I am… So what?!” 36 told, yelping towards Allan, who sounded quite cold. Maybe it was intentional, but 36 wasn't the kind to stop because of some ploys. “I do stuff for the better future. Nothing in the Immortal lands is easy. There are places full of dangers, trials, and death. I've never met a powerful person who didn't get through harsh obstacles. You shouldn't be a coward… This isn't for that, though. Diary of the Body may be the ultimate death experience, but it has an equal amount of good fortune. I believe so, but the time is precious, so that's why I am insisting on this so much today.”

Allan frowned, but it was hard to point that out because of his bandages across half of his face. “Why you are thinking of the future so much? I hope you won't push me to a path I don't want to see or meet. For example, Sarey will be unable to come into this place, right?”

“Hmph… You… Fine.” 36 sneered but answered. Allan was rather ruthless in talking, but to some extent, 36 understood why he was like that. It's important to be cautious, but it can grow to cowardice, and that wasn't what he wanted from him. “Yes, she can't come inside. Only the owner of the Diary could, but…” 36 felt hesitant to consider the messy first times he met with Sarey. It all felt outside of the rules of what he read about, but what was within the rules of the Diary? He didn't understand it either, and that situation with his imminent death and Wishers messages made it more than obvious. Although just slightly, because he was still pissed off when it came to the situation of the past.

Now, he had no choice as the path was looking better than he hoped for, yet the dark clouds could always come in one moment without notice. Allan was more powerful than he thought, and this training itself proved it, as well as this Spear in his hand.

“Very well… I am no coward. I hope you won't play some tricks on me and won't let anything outside of my words. My previous statement still counts. You will talk to me more about it before starting this Rewards thing. If not, I will straight up refuse to go.” Allan said in an unyielding tone.

“That is fair from your view. I may not like it, but I accept such a condition, but I doubt I will know more. Heheheh.” 36 laughed and not helped to ease Allan's mood with his words at all. It all meant that this journey was more or less questionably dangerous, or a straight walk in hell.

“Alright, is that all to it with this discussion, Allan? I got your words, so my task before that is next. But that will come to me when I am done with being in this plane.” 36 talked, changing his tone to a much more relaxed one since he was over Allan's ploys.

“I think we forgot a thing or two, or you did not want to answer them from the beginning. This talk about materials, ranks, or even cultivation of the Spark is all I am curious about, but we can continue with this on another day. When I will finish this training, isn't it right?”

“Do whatever, Allan. This knowledge would not be hard to know if it would be said earlier, true, but I am working with a lot of stuff that needs great attention to detail. You will have to accept this as is.”

“Fine. So much for a teacher, I guess.” Allan spoke, mocking 36.

“So much for a student, brat!” 36 barked in return, finding much enjoyment in this, and he wasn't bothered with it being the case. He wasn't a good teacher and that was something he agreed with.

Only time and himself would tell what this reward and Immortal Martial Arts were all about. 36 told the whole truth about these rewards that he knew about for a long time. Although, he said small lies about himself, having an Artifact rank weapon. He held a valuable treasure in the past, but it was an Immortal rank of the utmost upper layer. It had basically the same strength as a lower-rank Artifact weapon, but those were the sweet little lies he kept telling himself. He, in fact, believed it was right to call it an Artifact Rank treasure, and here, no one would not believe him. Just some mortals who didn't know better.

This was a redundant lie, which was a grey lie that meant nothing to him. These kids would not find out about his truth at all, so why bother with small lies? It was to make himself look better, perhaps.

“This is about it, mister 36. Let the rewards be rewards until the next time you will get more information. I have still a lot of things to do, while weapons will wait as well. It's not like it will take a moment to learn the Immortal Arts, and I am still a mortal without a Spark of hope. Literary, and figurately. As you will do so, I will work on the finishing touches on these last stages of training. So, you can both start your little discussions without my presence as usual. I am over it.” Allan said as he got up from his boulder and went to continue with the remaining training what he could do here.

He didn't consider his words to be too harsh, but 36 almost made him mad today with the number of things he said, didn't know, or hid. He was sure of that. 36 was a crafty man after all.

For now, Allan will be adjusting his feelings over the Body Whip Technique that 36 taught him, and try some stuff with the weapons, since he had them on hand. It would be a bother to take them every time to such distances, so it was a perfect time to swing his glaive or use his spear without any repercussion. Smashing rocks, and slicing the apart may as well be his favorite thing to do.

Looking at his strange demeanor, and leaving, Sarey sighed and accepted this discussion for what it was. She pondered why Allan thought of letting her join him there, but it put a strange warmness into her heart. Alas, she knew it wouldn't work even if she could accompany him. She would be a bother without any doubts.

“I guess we can discuss further things you mention in the previous one. If that was not sufficient for you, of course, which I think wasn't.”

“Alright. I will refrain from commenting about Allan and today. I still have some thoughts and things I want to know about, 36. You promised me!” Sarey pointed at 36 without backing down. Be it her father or this dull, or hard wooden 36, she would get what she wanted. That went without her words, at least hopefully.

“I know that…” 36 said, accepting Sarey's words of going with her long stretch of talking.

While they did so, Allan left them alone in exchange for distant rocky formations. There was nothing particular about them. He also took his both weapons with him to make some testing. He hoped he was outside of 36's view, but he couldn't tell that. He walked towards the left of his talking voice, and since he could not be moved away, he was a long enough distance from their discussion.

“It should be fine. I don't care about him at all today… I swear.” Allan sighed, bumbling his words for his own ears.

Founding the right rocks was kind of hard, but since this whole valley was full of them, some were better than others. Allan knew his use of weapons can cleave apart a lot of stones. Perhaps even all of them, but that was his guess.

Allan paced around the big piles of stone, feeling the atmosphere, wind, and scenery with his senses. He knew there were rocks everywhere, but his eyes meant nothing for that. He also imagined the past of this place, which could have been a regular-looking forest that was pushed to the rocky cliff. That, or it was the rocky mountain since the beginning? Allan did not ask but wondered, since he was adjusting his mind to calmness after 36's forceful conversation.

Finding a rock about the same height as himself, he regained a better mood than talking to a piece of wood.

“Phew, what about you, rock?” Allan asked as he leaned forward, resting his hand against the cold rock.

“I guess you can't speak, see, nor sense anything, like me. But I still wonder how you will feel when I cleave you in half,” Allan said as he took his glaive to his single right hand and left the spear aside.

Stepping a few steps away from this big stone, he put his right hand around the strangely shaped lower part of the shaft. Then, Allan pulled his hand with the glaive behind him and slashed before him with high momentum, strained grin, and body. It was in a semi-horizontal slash across the surface of the rock. He used the full power of his body, in hopes of glancing at the power that this glaive's edge could do. He also did this to see his improved strength.

Biceps, triceps and whole shoulder with back muscles tensed as the swinging motion held high momentum. Glaive was a very forward-heavy weapon, and Allan's was all so much more than that. This motion when he held the handle on the lower handle meant the heaviness was stronger with a single-handed grip. Allan won't be able to stop this motion even if he wanted to. If he tried that, his muscles would be torn apart, or quite strained, causing him to have not the least fun of times.

However, he didn't hesitate, since he had no need for that. He left the strength flow, continuing with the slash as the edge came into contact with the rock's surface.

Swish!

There wasn't much of a sound there. It was the whistle of the glaive which pierced the air, and it went right through the stone which was left the same as before. That was until Allan retrieved his glaive, which was stuck deep into the rocky ground. He slashed the stone so cleanly that he felt nothing and so did the rock.

“Oh… I did not expect that.” Allan said, letting go of the glaive on the ground and walking to the rock. Poking it with his palm, he wanted to see if it was still there.

It was.

The moment he touched the rock, the upper part of it fell to the side, not even crumbling apart, since it was clean cut. Allan's slash was like a line that cleaved through the rock.

“Rocks are pretty much stronger than the human body as far as I am concerned. It's a matter of density, and that's why armors are important. I know that since father made sure I understood that for some reason. Anyway, what sort of weapon did I create? Could it be the effect of the black whetstone, or am I may be stronger than I am aware of?” Allan asked, placing his hand on the smooth, marble-like surface of the cleaved rock.

He felt it with his touch. It was smooth like a polished stone, for sure. Allan was stunned because he had almost no indication of his progress apart from rock smashing and the general idea he had around his body and the spars. Though the latter was kind of… unique, and dependent on Zigmund's mood.

Allan felt his punches and strikes with his legs were good enough for him, and they did give him an impression of power. Yet, this weapon… It was a monstrous difference.

Unfortunately, the rocks had no say in his progress, so Allan had to figure it out himself.

“Weapon is beyond the strength of the human body. That is something that I know very well since I am a blacksmith and 36 thought so too. Even in the Immortal lands, it's the same thing. Although my punches can leave cracks on the rocks of hundreds of kilograms, should I take it as enough force to damage a human as well? I should also consider the rigid nature of the stone, while humans can dodge, wear armor, or straight up take the hit with no so-right statures. The body can be soft and hard in certain areas and leave the damage to travel differently. I heard from my father there is an organ in the human body that is right below the stomach or around it. When hit with enough force, or movement, even a weak attack could put down a robust man with pain, but not destroy the body.”

Allan thought about the causes of his discovery, and he even included past knowledge, since he was his own teacher as well. Considering his past and the things he remembered, it was an easy way to trust himself.

Although 36 was still nice to him regarding the knowledge he had no idea about, the general overview of 36 wasn't that favorable. Not after the past, and how Allan had to work so hard to push 36 to tell him more.

It was a kind of a power dynamic that was quite strange for the teacher and the student. It was the first time Allan felt like having a proper teacher, but this didn't put him in a good mood.

“Today, 36 was rather talkative. Sure, but I wonder if it's because of my progress or because of this spear of mine. This talks about Immortal ranks and Artifacts is interesting though. I must bring the Immortal-ranked weapon to him! One day! I will craft them myself!” Allan decided to himself.

Even if 36 would be against it, he would go for it.

Allan then decided to try more moves, cleaving and smashing the rock with all kinds of hand placement and angles on his glaive. Rock shuddered until it shattered to many pieces, unusable for Allan any longer. Though that didn't put Allan to stop. He still had a lot more stones around him, so he moved to others with a spear and a glaive alike. Trying more and feeling the differences in stances was an excellent way to learn about it. It was feeling a lot better than learning through the spars against Zigmund.

This wasn't the same thing as a spar against the living opponent. Allan could tell it straight away that the improvements with this kind of method were small, to say the least.

It still had one huge advantage, though. That was, he was free to use as much strength as he could and not care if he would cleave, slash or thrust into any living being. He was the one in charge, and that was the simplest thing to go against such rocks.

This could also leave some insight about the hand's position and good methods to use the handle of the glaive to his advantage. Allan felt he could get more familiar with the weapons he made in this way. Much better than with spars, since he never did so against Zigmund. His staff was all he used against him.

Stopping after demolishing quite a few rocks, Allan let go of the glaive's handle. It was by no mean an easy feat to wield it for a long time. The strain around his wrist caused some trouble for him, even though the specially made handle was supposed to ease this pain away. It was more difficult to swing the glaive, unlike a spear which was more flexible and easier to handle.

“Handle of the glaive is providing plenty of a grip and the center of the mass is as easy as it could. Problems lie with me. I can strike around 14 times before the strain is unbearable, and I had to relax my hands for a minute before continuing.” Allan thought as he kept figuring out his limits. It was not as bad as he thought, considering the moment he made the finished glaive. Back then, he was barely swinging it around a single time.

“This training is not that wasteful because I can't get familiar with them for the first time. Alright, Let's keep going without a weapon, and then, I will return to the weapons against 3 more rocks.”

Allan decided, and rested his weapons on the sides before starting his smashing training as usual. That was including some moves with the Body Whip technique and all kinds of regular punches, kicks, and so on.