Limits

I woke up the next morning, and felt rested. 'Even though I slept on a chair, I haven't got such a good rest in a long time' I thought. I slept for a few good hours, practically a day. I stood up, and stretched my body. 'I should return to my sword practice. After all, I will be leaving in the village soon' I thought.

The days passed like this. I spent most of my time on sword training. I managed to learn a few new Forms, and get accustomed to the old Forms. Aran showed me the Third, Fourth and Fifth Form of the Lethal Sword Technique. The Third Form comprised of both the foot technique, and special Styles. I had to position my hands on the hit in specific ways, in order to attack. I found that doing so, allowed me to better control my sword. Not only that, I was able to use my strength better.

The first three Forms were basic Forms. The Fourth and Fifth Forms, were the Defensive Forms. Although Aran called them defensive, I could actually attack using them. The Forms were basically centred around defence, that was why they were called the Defensive Forms. The Forms emphasized the Defensive Stance. Different holds and foot techniques, were included as well. I asked Aran about the last two Forms, but he said "I will teach them to you, when I'm satisfied with the other five".

Because I couldn't do anything about it, I trained the ones I learned. During that time, I supplied more recipes to Kara, and tested her knowledge a few times. She answered all the questions correctly, and even managed the create some recipes on her first try. After the initial 20 recipes, I began giving her some tips about medicine making.

She went far, even without my help. 'I guess she really does have a talent for this field. She is hard working, and dedicated… a perfect disciple' I thought. The winter would arrive soon, and it would be the time for me to leave. 'I can train my sword and archery, during my journey. It would be great to learn those last two Forms from the Lethal Sword Technique, but if Aran is adamant, I can't really do anything' I thought.

Besides the new sword techniques, and archery tricks. I tried to gain a full control of my energy everyday. Even though a couple of months passed, I wasn't anywhere near the mastery of my energy. I also had a few more things to take care of, before I left. The field was fully cultivated, therefore I skipped one day of training and harvested everything. 'I will need to make quite a number of Extracts. I want to help out the youngsters mostly, but the adults can benefit from them as well' I thought.

People like Aran, Finch and other important people, would be included. 'I will need some space to make my Extracts. Olav's place is good, but it will take some time to produce this kind of amount. I can't simply tell him to move out for a few days' I thought. I decided to ask Finch, about an empty house I could use.

When Finch heard what I wanted to do, he immediately replied "There are a few houses you can use. Follow me, I will take you to one". We soon arrived at a house, located closer to the edge of the village. Finch said "This house belonged to a craftsman. He died a few years back, and it's now available for a new family. Use it for as long as you need. No one will bother you here". I nodded my head, and took the keys. I said "I will be here for a few days. I only ask not to disturb me, as I will be busy. When I'm done, I will return the key".

Finch nodded, and said farewell. The insides of the house were quite dusty, but it didn't matter to me anyway. I only needed the space. I set up my tools, and began making Prime Extracts. I wasn't going to make blood purifying, or strength improving Extracts only. I also wanted to make more medicine, and stock the village up. Besides, I could always do with a few more bottles of medicine myself.

Time slowly passed. Bottle after bottle of Prime Extracts, were produced by me. After two days of making Extracts, I used all the herbs that I grew. 'Now the second phase. Distilling all the Prime Extracts into Zenith Extracts' I thought. There was no time to waste, and I quickly set up my distillery. This process was not longer than the initial process of making Prime Extracts, but it still took me almost two days. I was already tired after making so many Prime Extracts, even though I broke through my Inner Limits. I still required sleep and food. Although I didn't sleep, I would eat something in between making Extracts. This allowed me to continue for so long. 'Staying awake for four days… I don't really want to repeat that' I thought.

Fortunately, distillery was easy to use, and didn't require too much of my focus. After these long hours, and constant work, I distilled all the Prime Extracts. I received around two litres of Zenith Blood Yarn and Earth Grabbing Sprout Extracts. I also had loads of medicine now. Most of it would go to the village, but I would keep some of them too. Fortunately, I stocked up on bottles. Whenever there was a chance to buy some containers such as bottles, I always did that.

'I will distribute that tomorrow. I just want to sleep now' I thought, and laid down in the dusty bed. I didn't care about anything at this stage, and fell asleep instantly. I don't know for how long I slept, but when I woke up, it was night time. I stretched a bit, and did my usual routine of exercises. When I walked outside, I saw a bright full moon, hanging in the skies. 'I wonder why the Ancestral Weapon of Asturb Village, is called Moon Blade?' I thought.

The sword always seemed plain to me. There were no markings on it, and the design seemed simple. It looked just like any one handed sword. I started at the moon for a while, then left. I headed straight towards Finch's house. It must've been well into the night, because no one was around, besides some guards. All the lights were out as well. 'I shouldn't disturb them' I thought. Unfortunately, the window to my room was closed. But Haily's window was opened. I entered through that, and quietly made my way to my own room.

I decided to just practice my control of the energy, until everyone woke up. The morning arrived quickly, and I went downstairs to join my family. Finch was really shocked when he saw me. He asked "When did you return?". I replied "During the night. I didn't want to wake you up guys". I sat down , and continued "I'm done now. I created loads of medicine, there should be enough for all youngsters". I then looked at Finch, and said "I didn't forget about you guys either".

Finch asked surprised "You will give us some as well?". I replied "Of course. You are the backbone of this village. All the guards, teachers and others need to be strong as well. How can you protect the younger generation, if you are weak?". Finch laughed loudly, and said "That's true. Although, I already broke through my Inner Limits". I shook my head, and said "It doesn't matter. It will still work, you just need a bigger quantity that's all". Finch was very thrilled by the news.

I took out about 100 milliliters of the Zenith Blood Yarn Extract, and said "I believe you can take around half of that. Haily and Aron should be able to take the other half. That is under the condition of Haily breaking through her Half Step". Haily smiled, and replied proudly "I did! Two days ago". I nodded, and said "Very good. You worked hard".

As Finch was about to grab the bottle, I said "Before you take it, I need to tell you something". Finch stopped, and asked "Are there any side effects?". I laughed, and replied "Would I give that kind of crap to my own family? It's not that, it's about the process. This will be very painful, believe me". Finch replied "I can take some pain!". I smiled, and said "We will see. You will be first in that case. I will help you out, because I don't want you to die". I poured half of the bottle into an empty glass, and told Finch to drink it. Without any hesitation, Finch drank the whole content of the glass.