Xulun city was a massive city. It didn't span moons or planets like some city, yet its population was nearing the billions, a city built on top of another city. The surface was over five hundred stories high where parks, sky scrapers, and the richer population lived, Billboards dotted the landscape each building a host to a not too insignificant number of them, cars would fly between city scape buildings using the chasms created by the towering buildings beneath the surface as roadways. Traffic was not allowed between the surface buildings and skybridges had been placed connecting each city scape building creating an intricate spider web of walk ways. In the center of the city was a large elevator that reached into space connecting Xulun spaceport, a faint translucent dome pulsed from the elevator as it served dual purpose as the central point of the shield generator. The surface appeared to be clean and pristine home to the rich a stark contract to the blocks below, those that lived in the commons where the backbone of the surface performing duties and completing jobs the rich did not, grocery store attendants, cops, soldiers, janitors and so on they lived comfortable lives not worrying about their next meal or the heat in their home. Those that lived in old Xulun were less fortunate, merchants too poor to have a shop on the surface or to greedy often set up stores in old Xulun hiring workers and paying them a penitence rent was never a guarantee at the end of a month and food by the end of the day was a luxury. The slums where what was left after old Xulun a place of lawlessness and the fevered, government propaganda taught those that lived in the commons and old Xulun that the slums where a monster infested place poisoned by the surface air of the desolate planet they lived on. Moving up blocks was considered impossible yet there were a few rare souls that had managed to make life better for themselves.

  Rin had spent the past month preparing for the tournament, he was no longer required to participate in Hunst Academy's tournament to vie for a spot in the city tournament as Valder had selected the academy's four participants. There had been objections and as he returned to schooling he had heard a number of vile rumors. Though they were quickly dismissed once people started seeing his condition. No one appeared to have an issue with Sophia or Douge getting a position or even Botchlim. Valder intended to give the position to Kenji however he refused. Rin had never met Botchlim; he was however amongst the top prospects at the Academy. He was born with two affinities and has had a head start on most of his life. Botchlim was a dwarf nineteen years of age and he already had a full beard that he kept long and braided weaving gemstone into the braids. In a stark contrast to his chin his head was bald, a preferred hairstyle from what Rin had heard. He held the affinities for Earth and Fire a common affinity to be found amongst the Dwarfs and like Sophia he was a damage dealer however, his tactics lied between Sophia and Douge he traded speed and finesse for strength and toughness.

  Rin stood atop the highest peak of Hunst Academy looking out at the city. His return to a standard education was welcomed. Adventurers hired to increase security at the Academy had assured Douge's own parents that it would be safe. That mostly meant students could no longer sneak out in the middle of the night as Rin had yet to leave the campus proper. He wasn't stopped but he could feel their watchful gaze. Just like the first time he attended the school he spent most of his down time learning craftsmanship he had been quickly transferred out of a basic combat course and transferred into a more specialized one that helped teach him the stances. The teachers mostly criticized and corrected inconsistencies better than that. He was left to his own devices allowing him to practice. He could feel a numb tingling in his left arm. The sleeve of his coat tied up and tucked into the pocket. There was no arm there and the numb tingling was just a phantom of what was once there. Lights moved feverishly amongst the chasms of the buildings like millions of worker ants, each light represented a vehicle Rin found the chaos relaxing and had started coming up here to unwind before bed. With a sigh he let out his frustrations. Flashes of memories played across his closed eye lids, he squeezed them tighter as memories of Liliandra played across them not wanting to let them go.

  “ I think you would be happy.” Rin said out loud but to no one in particular. “ I think I've come to understand my emotions better now. There's only a week left before the tournament and once that's done I'll be leaving the city. I'll visit your carine before I leave.” With another heavy sigh Rin opened his statues menu.

  [Level 23]

  [ Stats: Strength 41, Constitution 23, Dexterity 16, Intelligences 26, Wisdom 25, Spirit 23]

  Rin had gained a significant number of levels during past events and his training. He had allocated stat points to what he considered the best positions they should get. He had yet to breach twenty five for Constitution and spirit, choosing to allocate points under dexterity before receiving a milestone ability. He had brought wisdom to exactly twenty five and chosen an ability that paired fairly well with his artificer ability.

  [Crafting menu: crafting menu allows you craft simple items from your interface. More complex items must be mastered before their crafting recipe becomes an option.]

  It was a simple ability but allowed him to create mana syrup and his ammunition straight from his interface. It worked while in combat or mock combat at least as he'd only been able to practice it while sparring. It also meant he no longer had to spend hours grinding crystals to dust. A small timer in the bottom left of his vision signified crafts that were currently ongoing. They still took time but now they happened in the background and he'd be unable to replenish resources in the middle of a fight, but he could start the process when he realized he was running low.

  “ I knew I would find you up here.” A feminine voice came from behind him. Rin did not turn

  “ You knew?” He asked as the women walked up he was standing on a ledge his back to the conical peak.

  “ Well I didn't know I went to your dorm room and you weren't there so I asked one of the guards and he told me that you come up here quite often.” Rin turned to Sophia and nodded to her.

  “ I do it feels nice and less stuffy. I feel cramped in my room.” He said

  “ I can understand that.” Sophia had been carefully walking along the ledge stopping once she stood next to Rin. Rin opened his inventory and pulled out a burrito. Holding it out to her.

  “ Hungry?” He asked his gaze returning to the hive of activity. He felt the burrito leave his hands hearing the crinkle of tin foil.

  “ You've been avoiding me.” Sophia said between bites.

  “ Yes.”

  “ Why?”

  Rin shrugged.” I've been avoiding Douge two."

  “ That's not hard to reason out. Since his return his brothers have been all over him.” There was an audible gulp as she swallowed before continuing.”Why haven't you responded to any of my text messages.”

  “ Sophia, you know why.”

  “ Humor me Rin.”

  “ What they said is true. We've become too dependent on one another. If I avoid the two of you, it'll be easier once you both have to leave.”

  There was a long silence before Sophia spoke again.

  “ I know.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “ Goodnight Sophia.” Rin jumped off the ledge, a chain shooting out from the sleeve of his coat to wrap around a corbel that held up the underside of the ledge. The chain was a part of the new invention he created with the help of mr.woodicker. It used a winding mechanism he wore on his back hidden underneath his coat. Each component was created with mana infused steel, reducing the weight and increasing the tensile strength. Words of command were carved into the winding mechanism allowing him to control the extension and retraction of the chain. It required a large amount of mana to function But the use of a fire crystal set into a vial of wind infused syrup and the scripture for absorption carved into the container allowed the fire crystal to absorb and turn it into mana suffusing it into the mana syrup. He had yet to find the limits of its use but had prepared substitutes in case he needed to replace it.

  The next morning was a weekend day and there was no school Rin had tried to sleep in but found himself waking up relatively early as the sun had yet to rise. Rin walked to the promenade in front of the Academy that led to one of the main sky bridges that allowed access into the academy. He stepped off the flagstone path and walked through the grass. Finding a good spot to practice. As it was the weekend he was not required to wear a uniform. However, he chose to wear slacks and a nice button-up shirt. Using his interface, he quickly changed to his adventuring garbs simple cloth pants with a matching tunic leather boots and greaves made of bone, his chest plate was made of a similar material and each piece held a crystal inside his trench coat fluttered in the Wind as it hung down to his calves. Using malice with earth elemented mana he created a blade that protruded from the barrel it became a thin curved blade. The blade was a mixture of obsidian, crystal and rock. The strata that defined the lines between each material created a hamon. Rin had considered finding a quiet place to practice, but a part of him wanted to be seen. The rumors hadn't been getting to him but he hated that he could do nothing about them. Rin started his dance slow at first flowing from wind stance to fire stance and then moving into Earth stance The first, second and third forms of each stance flowed perfectly into one another from Earth stance. He brought his legs together letting his blade rest against the dirt as he assumed water stance, his sword slicing through the air with each movement. He could feel the aggressiveness of fire stance. His dominant foot forward ready to strike its powerful form. Left one open for a counter-attack so as he followed through he dropped his body. His legs created a powerful base as he entered Earth stance bringing the blade up above his head as if to shield him, the tip pointing down towards his feet. He swept his leg across his imaginary opponents feet, sweeping them from under him With a quick slash downward his blade tore into the dirt and grass. He brought his feet together close, assuming a water stance. His muscles loosen ready to react and dodge and finally he ended back and wind stance. Not as aggressive as fire, not as defensive as earth, not as evasive as the water but something in between a balance. The perfect start and end to his dance.

  Panting from the exertion Rin heard someone clapping.

  “ Color me impressed, I'd suppose. I shouldn't listen to rumors.” The voice was heavy like stone and Rin turned to see who it was. A stout dwarf his arm thick as logs. His legs just as thick. He wore the standard Academy uniform, the blue a contrast against his obsidian marbled skin this was Butchlim.

  “ Names Butchlim.” The dwarf said, holding out his left hand. Rin stared at that hand briefly, before placing malice back into his inventory, his body fuzzed as he switched back to a school uniform.

  “ Is there something I can help you with?” Rin asked

  “ No, just one of my buddies told me I could find you out here and I wanted to meet the man who took my friend's spot in the tournament. I heard you were a gimp and I can see that was true.”

  Rin rolled his eyes and turned around walking towards Mr.Woodickers forge he had wanted people to see him come up to him to ask questions and he was willing to talk but he was not willing to do was to take insults.

  “ You think yourself high that you don't need to talk to me just because you're the princess's boyfriend.” Butchlim said. That caused Rin to pause

  “ Rumor has it that because you're sleeping with his granddaughter, the founder picked you.” Butchlim said. I need to address this right now. I can't let a rumor like that spread but how far has it spread anyways. Rin thought to himself. No, these rumors don't matter once this tournament is over. We'll be leaving the city going our separate ways. Rin continued to Mr.Woodickers forge.

  The steady pounding of a hammer echoed as cold steel pounded against hot steel. Getting used to forging with only one hand hadn't been as hard as he initially thought it would be. Rin suspected that it was partially due to him being inexperienced to begin with. He stood there anvil at waist height and clamps between his legs holding the bright orange almost yellow colored steel he held it against the horn of the anvil twist his legs to move it as he hammered giving the steel plate a curved shape once he was satisfied with the shape he placed it back inside the forge a large box that used coils to produce an even heat a touch screen was placed on the side that allowed him to control the temperature on the screen was a diamond shaped crystal image a subtle call back to how fire crystals were used to regulate temperature back in the old days. With the steel in the forge he left it to get back up to temperature turning his attention to a metallic skeletal arm. his attempts at creating a prosthetic he could use had seen relative success with basic functions in the hand for closing and opening; it didn't look as good as the prosthetic he was given and it was functionally worse But he had managed to forge it all on his own. Each piece of hand-forged steel had a complex series of glyphs and strings of words of command that flowed from the elbow. There he had left an open cavity, a place that allowed him to insert what he had begun to think of as manamunition. The name was still a work in progress and he already had half of mind to rename it.

  “Mana shell.” Rin said out loud as he was thinking. Yes, that was a better name for it. He thought. Having a prosthetic arm that operated using mana as a form of power as opposed to electricity allowed him to control it using his interface or with mental commands like he did malice. He wouldn't need to flex a certain muscle or close a certain number of fingers to simply move the arm or close the hand, he could just simply think about it as if it was a normal hand. The forge dinged, letting Rin know his metal was at optimal temperature for tempering; he walked over, pulled the steel out and brought it over to a vat of mana syrup. Typically one would quench steel in water or oil to transform the crystalline structure inside the steel inducing a martensite transformation creating a harder steel. Although the steel was harder it would also be brittle which would require him to place it back in the forge and temper it. The mana syrup functioned much the same; it would however fuse a small amount of mana crystals into the steel itself, giving it an atomic structure similar to magical steel harvested in the mountains. Alverez had figured this out and shared his findings with Kenji who in turn shared it with Rin. Magical steel was a costly product to buy and this method had been a cost saver for Rin. A

  Hours later Rin was placing his prosthetic arm back into his inventory. He wasn't satisfied with its performance; it was still too loose on his shoulder even though he had tightened the leather straps to the point that they were digging into his skin causing him pain; he considered a mechanical connection knowing that it would help the performance. However, he was concerned with modifying his own body to meet the requirements. He would have to create an implant a mount into his shoulder lost in thought he jumped when a notification blinked Into existence.

  [Message from: Kenji]

  Rin quickly opened the message.

  [Where are you at? I thought we were supposed to meet at my parents restaurant before we headed to the adventurers administration.]

  Rin cursed he had lost track of time and was now late. He sighed grateful that he had already shut the forge off and began putting away all the tools rushing out Rin closed and locked the door.

  [ Omw.]

  Rin replied quickly. He could run taking the sky Bridges across the city, however, that would take close to thirty minutes to get to the restaurant. Rin equipped his jacket and headed for the closest sky bridge that would lead him outside of the academy. Sweat dripped down his face as he ran, the cool air felt amazing, it most likely felt colder since he was away from the heat of the forge and its heat. The sky bridge was a simple steel construction with glass flooring. It had wire strung from one end to another acting as a guardrail. Many students not dressed in uniform were walking away from the school. They glanced at him as he ran past however, he paid them no mind as he released the chain, extending it just enough for him to grab the top. He pulled a rounded hook with a round clip on the bottom from his inventory connecting the two and he jumped over the wire railing casually latching the hook to a rounded piece of steel. He rapidly extended the chain allowing him to free fall. Waiting he hung in the air, the rush of wind reminding him of simpler times. Vehicles rushed back and forth below him, one who had most likely seen him started honking, if he had actually been falling then there would be nothing he could do so the honking was wholly unnecessary. With perfect timing he retracted the chain sending him swinging under the bridge. As he began to reach the peak of his swing he extended the chain allowing it to go limp. His hook springing open, releasing it from the steel rod he had hooked it to. He was sent flying across the large chasm.