Dimensional Descent

Jac observed the shop with a smile, his eyes scanning it from top to bottom. The youths who were standing around, some of whom had already been banned, could only watch on. In all their time on Valiant Heart, this was the first time they had ever heard of an elder taking the initiative to come to a student’s shop like this. 

Those who recognized Jac as the top Force Crafter of their organization, though, were even more shocked. Someone of Jac’s status was only a step below the true powerhouses of the organization. 

In truth, a Crafter would usually have even more power than Jac did. The only issue was that Jac couldn’t Craft Bronze weapons. As such, most of the strongest warriors of Valiant Heart went to outside sources to get what they needed. This meant that Beinala’s power wasn’t as great as it could otherwise be had he been a Bronze Crafter. 

That said, Jac still had quite a bit of power within the lower echelon of elders and among the elite students. It was he who created their weapons and did maintenance for them. As such, he had a great hold on the middle tier of Valiant Heart. 

Still, Jac’s greatest aspiration in life was to breakthrough and enter the Bronze ranks. In order to succeed, he needed resources, more than even he could gain by normal means. 

He needed special natural treasures to temper his fingers and help them reach a higher Designation. He needed more materials so that he could practice creating Bronze treasures to stabilize his realm. And, most importantly, he needed the astronomical funds that would be required to buy Bronze Force Arts. 

No matter which it was, it all required an impossible mountain of resources. 

When faced with such an impossible to complete task, for the sake of his ambitions, which man wouldn’t bend a little…? Even if it meant listening to some of the ’suggestions’ of those he deemed to be his juniors. 

Though all of these things were flowing through Jac’s mind, his smile never faded. 

”Let’s go.” He said to his wives. With that, they walked into the range of teleportation. 

At that moment, the boxy, fabricated voice faded away to reveal a recorded message left behind by Leonel. 

”Apologies, esteemed elders. I am honored that you would come to my little shop, however it should be noted that BLACKSTAR only has weapons suitable for those of the Fourth Dimension. 

”If you understand this and would still like to take a look around, feel free. Unfortunately, due to my inadequate skill, only one of your level of status can enter at a time. 

”Should you still choose to enter: Welcome.”

Leonel’s voice was warm, inviting and carried several layers of humility. It was actually quite soothing to listen to and gave many the illusion of a junior dutifully greeting his grandparents and their close friends. 

However, for some reason, when it registered to Jac, he felt it was particularly grating on the ears… as though there was a hidden mocking tone he couldn’t quite pick up on even with his senses. 

Jac looked toward his two wives. They had a slight frown on their faces as well. But, when they thought about it, did any of this really make a difference?

If Leonel’s voice had said that his ’pitiful’ skills didn’t allow him to teleport any Fifth Dimensional entity in then there was nothing they could do other than maybe try to slander him. But, he had actually said that he could allow one in?

What was the difference between one and three? Regardless, a brat in the Third Dimension wouldn’t be able to do a thing. 

”I will go then.” Jac said with a smile. ”With such a courteous junior, I can’t possibly keep him waiting, right?”

Jac’s two wives watched their husband disappear before sending a glance toward one another. They had been looking for some kind of relief, but all they saw in each other’s eyes was a hint of discomfort. 

…

Arte was at a complete loss. Watching Leonel work felt like he was watching a deity gingerly constructing a new race of being. 

His hands oscillated with such speed that they left a blur in the air. From time to time, small popping noises would shake Arte to his core. He knew instantly that this was actually a product of Leonel’s fingers blasting through the sound barrier in small bursts. He could hardly comprehend how mere fingers could reach such a level, not to even mention the fact that this was a Fifth Dimensional world where something like breaching the sound barrier was several times more difficult. 

The truth was that Leonel didn’t need to go so far for a mere Tier 6 weapon. It was just that he just received a message that told him that he just might want to hurry up a small bit. 

With a flick of his wrist, a black feathered quill appeared. With nimble movements, he quickly wrote several Force Arts, their every line precise to an extreme. 

Leonel expelled a heated breath. He swept a glance over his fingers, only to find that they carried no small amount of heat. 

”Your hammers should be good now.” Leonel said plainly, tossing the chain connected twin hammers over. ”Force should flow through them even better than before.”

Just as Arte was eager to test them, a sudden sound interrupted them. 

This time, though, there was no prompt to commission a work. Leonel had thought that this might happen, so he had designed  the teleportation arrays to send any elders that might come right to this place. 

On cue, Jac’s vision cleared, only for him to see the expansive space of the second floor. From his vantage point, it was difficult even to tell where the walls started and the floor and ceiling ended. It really did feel like he was standing in the middle of the vast expanse of space. 

When Kaela laid eyes on who had come, she clenched her fists hard, her teeth grinding against one another. 

The atmosphere grew heavy.