“That doesn’t make any sense! Is it saying that I have to be suicidal!?”

I grumbled and massaged my head as I tried to understand what I read.

“What should I do? Maybe I can go to the cathedral and ask the priest some questions. Tomorrow is Sunday so there should be service.”

Getting from my chair I began stretching to loosen the stiff muscles of my body. After putting on some clothes I grabbed one of the Tortoise books and headed out the door.

“I need to go to the smithing room.”

After leaving the dorm, I went to the academy and traveled to the second floor which was a pain due to the number of stairs.

The second floor of Elendria Academy was not as spacious and friendly looking as the first floor where a majority of the classrooms were located. It was dark as if there was a spell that kept sunlight away from the halls and it looked spooky like a dungeon. The first me and Iris walked through the second floor we were freaked out.

But at that point, I was brave enough to walk through the halls alone. I went all the way down the path to a giant doorway that held a crooked sign with horrible handwriting that read “SMITHING ROOM”.

The purpose of the smithing room was to serve as a place for students in all years to build their own weapons and armor. Students could either make what they need themselves or ask one of the licensed blacksmiths who worked in the room for twenty-four hours to do it.

Walking into the smithing room, I could see that there were only a few students who were only conversing in gossip with each other and laughing their asses off. And there were at least four blacksmiths who were in the far back of the room, by the furnace and anvil working on whatever.

My eyes landed on only one of the blacksmiths, a dwarf woman with reddish-brown hair worn in plaits and scarlet eyes. She wore a fur-lined tunic, shin guards, and heavy-looking leather boots.

The dwarf woman looked up from her working station and made a big smile the moment she saw it was me.

“Baxter! How yah doing this morning?”

The very cherry and energetic greeting brightened my mood. This dwarven woman’s name was Toto, a hard-working blacksmith of Elendria Academy who had been a part of the school for twenty years. She is the only member of the staff who treated me like a human being—not caring that I am Forsaken by Mana.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said as I walked up to her. “I require your skills, Miss Toto!”

Toto blew a raspberry and laughed aloud. Her booming laughter was so strong that it scared the other people in the room as they were done doing what they were doing and looking over at us.

“How many times have I told yer tight ass to stop calling me Miss Toto?! I know I’m old but yah don’t need to make that verbally clear!”

I replied, “Old? In my opinion, you’re the youngest-looking dwarf I’ve ever seen! I don’t even see a strand of hair on that smooth chin of yours!”

The female dwarf put her hand to her chin and rubbed it while grinning.

“Don’t let the efforts of this one-hundred-year-old bag of bones fool yah! I shave every day!”

“I thought dwarves wore their facial hair with pride.”

“Most do, but I don’t. It’s too damn itchy!”

Toto placed down her hammer and put her arms to her side.

“Anyway, what do yah need me to make? Some armor? The midterms are coming next week Friday I believe!”

“I do want you to make something for me, but not armor…a sword.”

“A sword? I got some pretty good swords by my counter already! Even a few with magical runes embedded within them!”

I shook my head.

“I’m sorry but those blades aren’t doing well for me. And the ones with magic runes are useless for one such as myself.”

I held out the book I brought with me and opened to the page that I needed to show. The female dwarf leaned forward and she squinted at the very detailed image of the weapon I desired. After fully taking in the information on the page, the dwarven blacksmith looked up at me with a puzzled expression.

“Uh…what the hell is this Baxter?”

“A special sword. It’s called a katana.”

“A curved blade. I never made one like that before. Where did yah get this book?”

“Found in the library. This book is a treasure for a Null who wishes to be a Holy Knight!”

Toto picked up her trusty smithing hammer.

“I don’t see how a blade would be useful for fighting in Terra Form.”

“Well, that’s just it, I’m not going to use Terra Form anymore. I am practicing a new style.”

“A new style!?” Toto shouted. “This soon!? Baxter, the midterm is next week! Making a change like that is foolish!”

“I’m well aware but I’m confident that this is the right move. I’m not a pro at it yet, but when I get the hang of it I have a feeling I will finally be able to keep up with everyone!”

Toto wanted to say more but closed her mouth. She let out a heavy sigh and then held her up to me, showing me her trademark smile.

“Look at yah…breaking the stasis quo and finding yer own path. Turns out I did have a huge impact on yah huh?”

I laughed in response.

“Sure sure, keep telling yourself that! Anyway, how long do you think it will take you to finish this blade?”

Toto hummed to herself for a bit before answering me.

“A normal sword would take me two to three days. But a blade shaped like that?…yah can expect it to be done either by Thursday night or Friday evening.”

My eyes widened after hearing the unsatisfactory due date of my katana.

“T-that’s way too late Toto! My exam is on Friday! If I don’t have a sword—“

“I’m sorry! If yah want this sword to be the best quality and not fall off its hinges, I’m gonna need that much time!” Toto shrugged with an apologetic look. “If I don’t get the sword by yah on Thursday then use a school-issued one for the exam.”

“But I need the katana to perfect the fighting style I’m trying to learn! Without it—my training will be inefficient!”

The female dwarf sighed heavily while folding her arms.

“Look, I’m sorry Baxter but I can’t go any faster. Even if I bring another person to help me it will just be the same result. And I doubt any of those snobby smiths would want to help me make this “katana” anyway.”

Toto sucked her teeth.

“These smiths are so damn prideful that they would rather sacrifice all four of their limbs before doing a design they see no value in.”

“But yet you’re doing it,” I stated. “Despite it being a design you’re not familiar with. Do you see potential in the katana?”

Toto shook her head.

“Nope! I don’t see any potential in a weirdly shaped blade! But I do see potential in yah, Baxter! That’s why I’m doing this!”

“Toto…”

The dwarf blacksmith straightened the black gloves she was wearing on her heavy hands and went over to the other side of the room. When she got there, Toto picked up a crystal mineral that shined like a thousand stars.

“Is that…mithril?” I asked as I stared at the magnificent gem. For a commit like me who lived in a backwater town seeing just one mithril shard was like observing something who only heard about in legends.

“Yep! Collected it myself last year!” Toto answered. “And I’m going to use it to make yer katana!”

“A-are you serious!? B-but won’t you get in trouble? Only fourth years are allowed to make things with mithril—“

“Baxter,” Toto started. “I could give two shits about the rules in this place. If I’m going to make a weapon, yah best believe I’m going to use the best material I got!”

I couldn’t contain my happiness as I ran over to Toto and hugged her. I even lifted her off the floor as I embraced her (she was pretty heavy).

“You. Are. The. Best! I love you, Toto!”

“I think yah love me a little much!”

The female dwarf slapped me across my back twice which was in the span of a second. The strength from her small—yet muscular arms made me feel like someone threw an entire sledgehammer on my spine. I dropped my small friend and tried to rub my throbbing back to ease the pain, but my hands could not reach.

As I was trying to stop the irritation in my skin, Toto laughed aloud pointing at me as tears streamed down her eyes.

“Now that’s a funny sight right there!”

“Argh! That shit hurts! Screw you, Toto!”

“Aw~! Where did the love go~?”

Me and Toto continued to converse with each other for hours before I eventually said my goodbyes and headed back to the dorms. In my room, I sat down by the desk and resumed to try and understand the spirituality within the Tortoise’s writings.

“What the hell is zen…?”