Now that Aka had fully memorized the route, he advanced toward the cube without hesitation, using everything at his disposal for safety. Upon arrival, he carried nearly five hundred blades up from within the cube and immediately began his work.
He started with the tail blades—roughly one hundred of them. Over the course of seven days, he reforged each one into a longsword, encasing them in wooden scabbards. Once finished, he packed them into a massive bag woven from vines and headed toward Chan Village, one of the villages near Lord Wang's domain.
He had expected trouble at the entrance, but when the guards saw both him and the sheer number of swords he carried, they let him pass without resistance.
As Aka walked through the village, he struggled to hide his surprise. Compared to Wang Village, Chan Village was far more developed—both architecturally and socially. Even the poorest homes had proper roofs, and most buildings were two stories tall. The ground floors served as shops, while people lived above them. At one point, Aka even spotted a four-story building—the village's only inn.
After exploring the village for roughly three hours, Aka struck a deal with an elderly woman who offered to rent him a shop for a surprisingly reasonable price. He hung three longswords behind the shop's front glass, stored the rest in the back, stepped outside, and began advertising his wares himself.
For the first hour, no one came.
But Aka had no need to worry about his voice growing too loud. With Physical Energy flowing freely through his throat, he let his voice carry as powerfully as he wished—and the effect was immediate. By the second hour, the line in front of the shop had grown to over a hundred people.
Seeing this, Aka decided it was time to begin.
He welcomed his first customer inside and, without giving them time to ask a single question, placed one of the swords from the display directly into their hands.
"This sword," Aka said smoothly, "was forged from the bones of a creature that dwelled deep within the Cerberan Forest—a being not recorded in any book. It can cut through anything placed before it. Its edge will never dull, and its durability surpasses steel by at least fivefold. Fewer than one hundred such blades exist… and yet its price is only one hundred Crystals."
As he spoke, Aka deliberately layered his words—feeding Physical Energy into every syllable. To someone who had never felt such pressure before, resisting its influence was nearly impossible.
One sword sold. Then another. Then another.
By the middle of the third hour, every blade was gone.
Those still waiting outside began to stir in frustration, but Aka raised his voice and announced that he would soon return with far greater stock. He sent them away with a wide, confident smile.
After offering discounts to a few hesitant buyers and giving the elderly shop owner her agreed thirty percent share, Aka packed the remaining Crystals into three chests she provided. In a single day, he had gone from nothing to 5,950 Crystals.
With the chests in hand, Aka headed to the inn and asked the receptionist to summon the owner. At first, he was not taken seriously—until one chest was opened and revealed to be filled entirely with Crystals.
Innkeeper: "Welcome, honored guest. How may I assist you?"
Aka: "I wish to store my Crystals in the safest way possible."
Innkeeper: "I understand. You may rent a third-floor room to store them, or—for a slightly higher fee—you may deposit them in our vault, where they will be kept absolutely secure."
Aka: "The price?"
Innkeeper: "Normally, one hundred Crystals per week. But for a blacksmith of your stature, we can offer our vault for eighty."
Aka opened a chest, counted out eighty Crystals by hand, and followed the innkeeper downstairs. Among rows of metal safes, two of his chests were placed inside a large vault. Once it was sealed, Aka took the key and left with a single remaining chest.
Carrying even one chest prevented him from running at full speed, and it took him five full days to reach the cube. Realizing this was inefficient, Aka rested briefly, returned to the village, paid an additional 160 Crystals to extend the vault storage, and left a contract promising interest if he was late. He then returned to the cube and did not leave for two full weeks.
Afterward, he rushed back to the village, hired two wagons, and waited at the forest entrance. Eight hours later, all the weapons were loaded, and the journey back took three days. Once there, Aka renegotiated with the same elderly woman—this time for a fifteen percent cut—and reopened sales.
This time, the first customer arrived before the shop even opened. A line of nearly a hundred people had already formed.
These swords were shorter than the previous ones, making them suitable for a wider range of fighters. Some even bought them in pairs—for dual-wielding, they were perfect.
For two full days, Aka sold without rest, constantly channeling Physical Energy into his voice. By the end, every blade was gone.
His total profit: 50,000 Crystals.
An amount so vast it represented fifty months of labor for a village of a thousand people.
He purchased seven full chests and one half chest—worth 7,500 Crystals—and gave them to the shop owner. The remaining forty-two and a half chests were transported by four wagons to the inn, where it took ten men working together just to bring them inside.
The innkeeper was stunned—but he never once considered theft. Sometimes even village lords entrusted their valuables here. A single stain on his reputation would kill the goose that laid golden eggs.
Though Aka attempted to influence him further, he did not fully succeed. Instead, Aka paid 2,500 Crystals to ensure that all chests would be delivered safely to a location of his choosing.
That night, Aka enjoyed the inn's finest offerings. At dawn, he departed with four wagons and forty-two muscular guards, entering the forest once more. The wagons waited at the edge while each man carried a chest into the depths.
After a week of travel, they reached the clearing beside the cube, where the trees grew tallest. Four men had died along the way, but the rest carried on, rotating the burden.
Aka ordered them to set the chests down. He escorted them back to the forest entrance over another week, watched them leave, then returned alone.
It took him an entire day to carry every chest into the cube.
At last, he had fully harvested the creatures of this forest. In one of its most dangerous depths, Aka now possessed thousands upon thousands of Crystals—and a serpent corpse that alone was worth thousands more.
What he lacked was time.
Of the total month he had been granted, little remained. Leaving the serpent behind once more, Aka returned to the palace a few days before his leave expired.
Especially after the Third Ritual, time had passed unnaturally fast. In that limited span, he had acquired nearly everything he needed to escape—wrested from those grotesque, terrifying creatures.
It felt like a dream.
If you've read or taken a look, thank you so much. If you have any thoughts — good or bad — please leave a comment. I'll probably see and reply right away. Thanks again, and I wish you a great day.