Morning hit, and Woon woke up, staring at the ceiling of his room. He lay there, contemplating his future. Would he simply live according to his whims, or pursue a clear, defined goal?
"Hmm, I can continue being a mercenary with Eric, but what then?" he mused.
Woon rolled around in his bed, pondering what he would do after achieving whatever immediate desires he had.
"Ugh, this is frustrating," he muttered, falling silent for a moment.
"Should I explore this world, visiting different places? That doesn't sound bad!" he thought. "But I can do that while being a mercenary, so I'll probably end up doing it anyway."
"How about surpassing those prodigy swordsmen? Being the best wouldn't be bad, would it?" His eyes lit up. "And showing that an untalented person can beat up the prodigy swordsmen, or whomever they are."
"That will prove you can become strong, even if you're untalented!"
Woon let out a laugh, finally having a specific goal that wouldn't bore him. Being the strongest of all really fired him up.
"Now I've set my goal: OPERATION TSOA, A.K.A. The Strongest Of All!"
Suddenly, the door burst open with a loud bang, as if intentionally meant to startle someone. Woon was indeed shocked by the sudden entry, and then someone stormed into the room, shouting.
"HEY WOON, WAKE UP!"
"You're so damn loud, shut it down, will ya?" Woon grumbled.
"Oh, you're already awake?" Eric asked, surprised. "Hurry up and change, we're going to the old man's place! I'll wait for you downstairs!"
Woon quickly got dressed, putting on his usual black shirt and black pants, borrowed from Eric. Once ready, they immediately headed straight to Ron's shop.
"Old man, we're here!" Eric called out.
"Come inside!" Ron's voice boomed from within.
"Okay, we're coming in," Eric replied.
"He's still closed at this hour?" Woon asked, confused.
"He's working on something!" Eric said with a knowing grin.
"What?" Woon wondered aloud.
Woon and Eric headed inside the shop and went to the back. They saw Ron hammering down a piece of iron that was clearly taking the shape of a blade. It was freshly out of the forge, still glowing a vibrant red and yellow as he smashed the metal.
"Dude, what's he doing?" Woon whispered to Eric.
"He's forging a blade. We talked about this when you first came here!"
"Ah, is that blade for me?"
"Yes, your claymore didn't suit you at all. And remember I told you to bring all your equipment yesterday?"
"Yes, it's here."
"Good, just put it to the side."
Ron smashed the iron multiple times, slowly forming the shape of a long blade, hammering it and throwing it back into the fire. This repeated process solidified the shape and strengthened the steel. Finally, the blade was plunged into water. The heat from the sword caused steam to erupt as it sank deep into the quenching bath. After a few moments, Ron pulled the blade out of the water. Just by looking at it, Woon could tell it was perfect from every angle.
After quenching, Ron meticulously polished the blade with a series of grinding and using polishing stones to hone the blade's razor edge. After the polishing, he continued to work on the hilt and the guard. A black, wooden, long hilt was precisely fitted, and a guard shaped as four lobes with a cross pattern was attached. The entire process was so swift it seemed like a miracle that it happened in just an instant. As a final touch, Ron picked up the black sheath he had already prepared. As he put the finishing touches, he noticed Woon and Eric watching him.
"Oh, you're already here? I didn't even notice!" Ron exclaimed.
"Really? You even told us to just come inside!" Eric retorted, a smirk on his face.
"Did I? I didn't know," Ron replied, feigning innocence. "By the way, let's go to the training room!"
After arriving, Ron called for Woon. "Woon, come here. This will be your new weapon!"
Ron handed the gleaming blade to Woon.
"Really… this?" Woon murmured, a flood of internal excitement erupting. 'HMMM… YEAH, LET'S GO!!! A KATANA! If a man doesn't want to become a knight, they want to be a samurai, HUHUHUHU!' Woon laughed internally with pure joy.
"A katana," Woon said calmly, masking his excitement.
"Yes, it is. Based on what Eric told me, you're fast and flexible, and you can't perform any advanced techniques. We plan to hone your physical body. Since you're unlucky enough not to be able to wield mana or other energies, this will be hard, so you'll be relying purely on your physical strength!"
"Damn, harsh," Woon mumbled.
"It's the truth, weak ass!" Eric said, teasing Woon.
"So, what do we do now?" Woon asked.
"Try using your new weapon!" Ron instructed.
"Okay!" 'This is it! I feel good about this! I'm cutting you down! I didn't manage to do it at first, but you're f—'
Woon held the sword with two hands and swung it fast and precisely. But after he swung, it almost seemed as if the dummy hadn't been hit at all.
"Hey, Woon, did you hit it properly or what? Your form is good, what happened?" Eric asked, confused.
"I don't know, but I'm sure my sword hit it!"
"Wait, let me see!" Eric walked closer to the dummy.
'Damn, that was clean!' Eric thought. "It got cut!"
"What?" Ron said, surprised.
"I said he managed to cut it. It was just so fast that the dummy didn't even move a bit. Look!" Eric pushed the head of the dummy, and it slid off cleanly.
"It's the result of your training, and the divinity plays a big part too!" Eric explained.
"What?" Woon asked, bewildered.
"You know you've become a follower of the Goddess of Darkness and Dreams, right?"
"Yes," Woon answered.
"One of the Goddess's authorities is the Vision of Imaginary!"
"Vision of Imaginary?" Woon said, still confused.
"Yes, Vision of Imaginary. It's an authority where anything you imagine can become reality. But it's usually an authority given only to her saints and saintesses. How did you acquire it?"
"Umm, I don't know. I just thought that I would be able to cut it, and then...!"
"Can you try imagining something, like a sword? Try remembering the sensation you felt before!" Eric prompted.
"Okay!" 'That sensation... it was confidence. Now I just need to imagine a sword!'
Woon tried to imagine a sword appearing in reality, but after a few attempts, he failed.
"So you can't," Ron said, who had been silently watching them.
"Seems like it," Eric added.
"We can't do anything about it now, but let's focus on what we need to. Woon, now name the sword that I gave you!" Ron instructed.
"Name it?"
"Yes!"
'What should I name it? Like Black Moon? Shadow Blade? No, that's so corny. Umm…'
"How about Sumi?" Woon suggested.
"Sumi?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It means 'ink' in the East. It really matches the sword—all black from hilt to sheath. It's a fitting name!"
"Sumi my ass! It should be named the Dark Sword of Terror!" Eric declared.
"You're so bad at naming," Woon said, rolling his eyes.
"You just don't get the humor of the great me!" Eric scoffed.
"You're crazy!" Ron said, shaking his head with a chuckle.
"Look at my gun. Do you want to know its name?" Eric asked.
"Oh, what is it?" Woon asked, intrigued.
"Don't," Ron warned.
"Its name is Cutie Pie!"
Woon tried to stifle his laughter, but failed. "Hahahahaha, Cutie Pie? Ahahhahah! Your gun is merciless, but its name is Cutie Pie?"
"What's wrong with it? This is just a small gun. If I brought my other one, you'd be shocked!" Eric boasted.
"Other?" Woon asked, surprised.
"Yeah, there's another one. He doesn't take it out often. His gun that he carries often is just his pocket gun. His real gun is a monster!" Ron explained.
"Monster? What do you mean?"
"It's a Barrett M82! I built it according to the ancient ruin treasure that he managed to obtain."
'What? A Barrett M82? Isn't that a sniper?' Woon thought. "So, what's its name?"
"Big Mommy!" Ron said, barely suppressing a laugh.
'What? Does Eric have some sort of illness?' Woon was aghast. "What?"
"Told you you'd be shocked! It came from an ancient ruin! A divine weapon!" Eric exclaimed.
"I'm not shocked that it came from an ancient ruin, but I'm shocked that you named that monstrosity Big Mommy!" Woon said, completely bewildered.
"What's wrong with it?" Eric defended.
"Nothing, I guess that's just your taste," Woon replied, trying to sound diplomatic.
"Hey, tell me what's wrong with it!" Eric insisted.
"Don't bother," Ron interjected, ending the debate.