Chapter 30: Solution

"How could you tell that!? The assassin wasp is a bug and wind type monster. How could it only need a dark crystal!? The runes shouldn't… but the bones are…how!?" The one armed blacksmith had used the crystal from an assassin wasp to attempt to carve the runes only to fail.

The problem was the energy within the crystal. It was insufficient to properly activate the effects of the materials within the black needles. Even the wind crystal that the assassin wasp could potentially have within its body lacked the necessary energy. But these two were the most plausible option in theory to activate such skills.

"I just assumed since it hunts at night and needs to blend in to the darkness." Clark lied about how he had come up with this. He was just knowledgeable enough about beasts to be able to explain this away as a random idea. A lucky guess.

"A fresh mind with less knowledge can sometimes grow a belief greater than a philosopher of many years. I see." The one armed man grabbed the three black needles. They all had the same markings of unfinished runes. "You are a lucky kid. Sit and watch, your mentor had only seen me forge a handful of times."

From the forge fires, a movement caught Clark's eye. It was a small flapping that soon revealed itself.

'Volcanic butterfly- rare (tier five)

The volcanic butterfly adores the heat of lava. It is normally hard to find and battle with but the wings it has are perfect materials for fire resistance potions. This specific volcanic butterfly has been cared for with extreme kindness. It has been allowed to grow larger than it normally would and unlock a dormant skill directly related to it being a spirit beast. The flame dwelling prosthesis is a unique form that can be used to better forge items. It maintains the heat within an object while the forging process moves along.'

The large butterfly wrapped its burning wings around the stump of an arm that the one armed blacksmith had left. It was clear that the blacksmith had been born this way but as the flames increased, the butterfly changed shapes. It was soon revealed to Clark in the form of a flame patterned arm.

The insect legs and wings had become harder looking while wrapping around a completely metal hammer that the smith picked up effortlessly. The flames heated the hammer to a bright orange. A single box of crystals was rummaged through with the smith's free hand grabbing a midnight black crystal.

"Watch as the energy flows through one to the other. Not anyone can do this. It takes years of work to be able to control an energy that isn't yours." The one armed smith whispered while he began to tap the crystal softly. The runes being added glowed with orange heat. The darkness crystal seemed to be dissipating the more it was used.

Patterns became complete causing each needle in turn to glow before returning to the previous form. Small drops of sweat fell from the one armed smith's brow as he forged. The dark crystal faded away leaving just a cracked piece without anything left.

The energy that was channeled through the crystal previously had dwelled within the runes as they were formed. This alone was enough to complete the three black needles properly. "Now that is how you guide energy from materials the right way. Heat just helped. My bond with my volcanic butterfly is unique. It is literally part of myself. If you can't learn anything from this then you are wasting your time as a tamer."

The one armed smith stood up. The butterfly unfurled in a small flit of flames. The volcanic butterfly returned itself to the forge fires where Clark was sure it was more comfortable. "Take that package there and that one there. They are the new gear sets Alexander ordered. Then the black needles are yours too. The order was canceled after the owner decided to try and deal with some snakes in the swamps. If you find any of those scales though, send them here. I assume you'll visit that woman in the auction house next. That's normally how Alexander shops."

The one armed blacksmith seemed to know Alexander very well. Enough to the point that he had Alexander's movements memorized. "Thank you for the lesson. I have learned more than I expected." The polite response from Clark before he left was enough for the one armed smith to let loose a smile for once.

"Alexander found a decent kid. Too bad he has to hide his face already. Must not be like that Little brat with her lynx." The one armed blacksmith returned to his work while Clark left.

"Devi, any materials we get are coming here. I don't care the cost we have but that's the only blacksmith we can employ." Clark felt that the gift of the black needles was partially because the one armed smith wanted to create a bond but also because he was impressed by Clark.

There was a high cost for the work Clark might ask for but the lesson was more valuable than future business. Seeing the care that the blacksmith was able to bring forth while forging was spectacular. It was something that Clark was surely unable to learn at the academy until he was only. Therefore, he had a step ahead of his training. He could learn to use his energy much better so that he could utilize it within his battle techniques. This early lesson could have brought him more strength than he would have had otherwise.

"I can learn the skills from the books about biology. Every beast had small weak points that take massive damage when hit. Add the black throwing needles in to my battle style and the fact that they return when energy is added to them…" Clark started to see a way to use his ghostly steps in tandem with these. "All I need is a few techniques using needles as weapons. I'll need to go back to the library."

Devi was interested in this style of fighting. It seemed very similar to how it moved about invisibly. Devi could sneak up and bite someone unsuspecting. Clark would be able to sneak around and deal massive damage without anyone knowing. They had the perfect combination.

"Alright, no more distractions. I need to go to the Raven family auction house." Clark looked up at the sky noticing that it was already becoming dark. He had spent hours at the first and second shop. He understood why he had been told it would take days.

But in comparison to how long it had Taken Clara years ago, Clark was well ahead. He wasn't trying to learn various new skills at once. He was level headed and learning small lessons here and there to build his base knowledge.

"The Raven family auction house is huge. Stay close to me and avoid some of the valuable sale pieces there. We can't afford to ruin anything there." The city was known for the small auction houses around. They were owned by merchants with good connections. But none could rival the Raven family. They had established the first auction house many years ago when the city was formed. This led them to maintain the top auction house within the city selling the best items.