After an hour of relentless focus and unshakable precision…
CLANG!
HISS!
ZING!
Jack placed the final piece onto the anvil with a soft thud. The air shimmered with residual heat as he lifted the completed artifact the Beastcaller Whistle. It pulsed faintly with green-gold light, its surface engraved with smooth, precise lines and runes that hummed with restrained magic.
A soft vmmmm filled the air as the whistle vibrated gently in his palm stable, alive, and perfect.
Jack exhaled slowly. His chest rose and fell as the tension melted from his muscles. His fingers, still slightly warm from the forge, relaxed around the artifact.
He'd done it.
Professor Borin's heavy boots echoed across the stone floor.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The old dwarf stopped in front of Jack's station, casting a shadow across the workbench. His eyes, sharp as chisels, locked onto the whistle.
Silence.
Then he picked it up.
CLICK!
He turned it slowly under the light, inspecting every detail. The glowing runes. The mana resonance layer. The craftsmanship of the housing.
The classroom seemed to hold its breath.
Then…
GRUNT.
"Craftsmanship…" Borin's gravel-like voice rumbled. "Excellent."
Jack stood tall.
"Mana flow… flawless. Material fusion… smooth and stable."
A beat of silence.
Then, with a nod that felt like thunder:
"You've passed. You'll receive your Novice Blacksmith's Badge tomorrow."
DING!
A quiet, invisible bell seemed to ring in Jack's heart.
He didn't cheer. He didn't even grin wide.
He just smiled calm, confident, inevitable.
"Another one down," he murmured under his breath, voice like the wind after a storm.
He submitted the Knowledge and Theory scrolls, then turned on his heel and walked away. The forge behind him still crackled with activity
CRACK!
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
But none of it reached him anymore.
His mind was already beyond the test.
He knew he passed.
He didn't need validation. He had results.
By the time Jack stepped outside, the sky had transformed into a painting of fire and dusk.
The sun dipped low, bathing the academy grounds in a warm orange glow. Purple clouds swirled overhead like royal cloaks being drawn across the heavens.
The air smelled of iron, sweat, and the coming night.
Tick… tick…
He glanced at the academy tower's clock.
5:45 PM.
Night was falling.
A day of triumph was coming to a close.
But deep inside, Jack knew
This was only the beginning.
Jack stood silently before his home as a warm breeze whispered through the trees, rustling the leaves with a soft shhhh.
He raised his hand, knuckles gently tapping the wood.
Knock knock…
A pause.
Then the door creaked open.
Standing there was Emma his mother.
The moment her sharp, tired eyes landed on him, the seriousness in her face dissolved like morning frost. Her lips curved into a soft, radiant smile, one that could melt away the weight of the world.
"Welcome home, Jack," she said, her voice as warm as candlelight.
Jack gave a small nod. "I'm back."
Without further words, he stepped past her and into the familiar silence of home. He moved with the quiet rhythm of habit straight to his room, a splash of water on his face, a change of clothes and then out the back door, his footsteps barely making a sound.
No one followed.
They knew.
This was his time.
The backyard was still. The moon hung high like a silent guardian, and the sky had deepened into a canvas of indigo and silver. Stars blinked into view one by one, distant fires watching from the heavens.
Jack sat down cross-legged in the middle of the yard.
The cool grass brushed his palms. The night air carried the faint scent of pine and iron. A stray cricket chirped once, then went silent as if the world itself knew not to interrupt.
Inhale…
Exhale…
His breathing slowed.
His heartbeat steadied
Thump… Thump…
A quiet drum, guiding him into stillness.
His mind became calm. Empty.
Focused.
For the last three months, he had poured himself into everything alchemy, forging, cultivation. Studying until his eyes burned. Training until his body ached. Meditating until dawn stole the night from him.
Every second was preparation.
And now… now he stood at the threshold.
2nd Star Early Stage Ascendant…
…to 2nd Star Mid Stage Ascendant.
He closed his eyes.
The world faded.
Only energy remained flowing, coiling, waiting.
It was time.
The moment Jack's consciousness dipped into the depths of his soul and heart…
WHOOSH!
A sudden storm of mana erupted around him.
The air twisted. The ground quivered.
The backyard, once still and serene, now trembled beneath the weight of his awakening.
Leaves fluttered violently as the wind howled, shaking the trees with a chorus of rustling fury.
Whooooosh…
Above him, the stars seemed to shimmer brighter, as if responding to the call of power.
And then
BOOM!
A pulse of raw energy burst outward from Jack's core.
Like rivers drawn to the sea, pure elemental energy surged toward him from every direction.
Fire burned.
Water flowed.
Earth rumbled.
Wind howled.
Ice shimmered.
Lightning crackled.
Wood bloomed.
Light shone.
Darkness whispered.
Time slowed.
Space bent.
All 11 Elements roared into motion spiraling around him in breathtaking harmony, dancing like celestial dragons.
Jack's heart pulsed once.
BA-THUMP.
He inhaled sharply every breath drinking in elemental force.
Deep within him, his Magic Circle, once faint and transparent, flared to life around his heart radiant and alive.
His Aura Force Ring, coiled around his left arm, began to glow, lines of light etching themselves in colors more vivid than any forge-born flame.
Clear and formless no more.
Now, they blazed with brilliant hues, each one a mark of ascendant power.
Then
CRACK!
A sharp, resonating crack echoed within his body like thunder rolling through mountains.
Jack's eyes snapped open.
His body trembled not in pain, but in the raw, overwhelming force that surged through every nerve, every vein, every cell.
And then… silence.
The wind stopped.
The elements stilled.
The night held its breath.
Jack exhaled, slow and steady.
A faint glow still lingered around him, like the last embers of a cosmic forge.
He had done it.
He had shattered the barrier
And stepped into the realm of the 2nd Star Mid Stage Ascendant.
A whisper left his lips.
"…Finally."
Just a few seconds later
CRACKLE… WHOOSH… FZZZZT…
The lingering echoes of Jack's breakthrough still shimmered in the air when the front door burst open.
James. Emma. Sofia. Ava.
All four stepped out into the backyard as if pulled by an invisible thread.
The moment they crossed the threshold
They froze.
Their eyes widened. Their breath caught.
The world felt… different.
The air was thick with lingering mana. Elemental particles floated like glowing fireflies red, blue, green, gold, violet dancing gently in the breeze.
The soil beneath Jack was fractured, cracked from the explosive pressure of his breakthrough. The grass around him was scorched and frozen, lightning-scorched and dew-kissed, life and death woven in perfect chaos.
Above him, the sky still shimmered with the fading remnants of elemental waves auroras of power lingering like divine signatures.
BOOM… THUMP…
Their hearts pounded, almost as if resonating with the shockwave that had passed.
Jack sat unmoving in the center of it all calm, focused, his eyes closed, breathing steady, as if untouched by the tempest he had just summoned.
James took a step forward, stunned.
"He… he broke through…?" he muttered, eyes wide with disbelief.
Emma placed a hand over her chest, voice trembling.
"But… Jack's elemental affinity was supposed to be low. He only awakened one element just one…"
Sofia's eyes sparkled like twin stars, filled with innocent pride and wonder.
"Big Brother is awesome!" she grinned brightly. "I wanna be just like Big Brother Jack!"
But it was Ava who broke the silence with awe laced in her voice.
"That… wasn't just a normal breakthrough," she whispered. "That was a Major Breakthrough Phenomenon…"
James turned his head sharply.
"Wait… what do you mean?"
"That kind of elemental surge" Ava pointed toward the fading lights in the sky. "only happens when someone crosses between Star Stages, not within them. He just went from 2nd Star Early Stage to Mid Stage, but that looked like someone ascending from Mortal to Master Tier!"
Emma looked at Jack again at the boy sitting cross-legged in the aftermath of something impossible.
"…Just what are you becoming, Jack And What Blessing did you for you cause such Phenomenon?" she whispered.
And in the silence, the wind carried the faintest hum
A song of power, of destiny, and of a boy who had just begun to walk the path of legends.
Ava's expression was the most shaken.
She had seen countless cultivators rise and fall during her travels prodigies who defied logic, monsters in human form, and those touched by divine fate.
But this…
This was something else.
When Jack advanced to 2nd Star Mid Stage, the phenomenon that unfolded wasn't just powerful.
It was unnatural.
Unbelievable.
Unprecedented.
"That's not normal…" Ava whispered, more to herself than the others. "This isn't just a minor ascendant pushing forward… This… this was something else entirely."
Just then
Shfff…
Jack's eyes slowly opened.
They were calm. Steady. The storm had passed, but a strange silence remained within him. His breathing was light, and his aura completely suppressed like still water hiding a fierce tide beneath.
He looked up and saw his family watching.
Slowly, Jack stood, brushing dust from his clothes.
"I did it," he said simply.
THUMP!
Sofia sprinted forward and threw herself into his arms. "You did, Jack! You really did!" she cheered, hugging him tightly.
Emma stepped closer, her smile soft and proud. "Congratulations, son."
James gave a firm nod and patted his shoulder. "You're growing stronger. Keep going."
Even Ava smiled gently. "Well done, Jack. Truly."
But just as quickly as the warmth came…
The mood shifted.
Ava's expression tightened. Her eyes flicked to James, Emma, and Sofia.
"Come. A word. Privately."
Jack, understanding, stayed behind without question.
Ava led the three a few paces away, far enough that Jack couldn't hear. Her tone turned cold, clinical her instincts as a seasoned cultivator kicking in.
"That phenomenon… it wasn't normal. You've all seen it, haven't you?"
James nodded slowly, jaw tense. "Yes. And it's not the first time."
Ava's gaze sharpened, cutting through the tension like a blade. "Explain."
Emma hesitated… then sighed. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Three months ago, when Jack broke through from 1st Star Peak Stage to 2nd Star Early Stage… the sky turned golden-red. Elemental rain fell. Every cultivator in a five-kilometer radius felt the mana quake."
Sofia added softly, "We were scared. We thought his body might collapse… but he sat there like a master. Like someone who'd done it a dozen times before."
Ava's expression turned grave.
"…This is dangerous," she muttered. "Breakthrough phenomena at this level…? Only one in a million cause such things. Even among the brightest geniuses, this is unheard of."
She took a breath.
And then her voice dropped into something colder. Deadlier.
"If word gets out… Jack's life will be in danger."
Thud.
James clenched his fists.
Emma's hands instinctively rose to her chest.
Sofia's lip trembled. She looked at her brother with silent fear.
"Powerful factions will come," Ava continued. "To recruit him. Control him. Enslave him. Or if he refuses"
"They'll kill him," James finished grimly.
Silence fell like a stone.
Heavy. Unrelenting.
Ava placed a hand on their shoulders.
"This truth must stay hidden. Never speak of Jack's breakthrough phenomena. Not to friends. Not to teachers. Not to anyone."
Everyone nodded.
Not out of fear.
But resolve.
Because in this world of Samsara, A world cruel, ruthless, and mad. Even a spark could burn down kingdoms.
That night, despite the weight pressing on their hearts, they chose to do what families do best.
They celebrated.
Emma whipped up a feast in the kitchen, the air filled with sizzling meat and the rich aroma of spices.
James brought out a bottle of rare spirit-fruit wine, saved for special occasions.
Sofia hung paper lanterns and hand-drew decorations, grinning ear to ear.
Ava, despite her worries, helped grill the meat, keeping a close eye on the embers.
Jack sat down at the table, surrounded by warmth, laughter, flickering candlelight, and the clatter of plates.
He didn't say much.
But deep in his heart…
He made a vow.
A vow wrapped in fire and ice. In light and shadow.
"I will rise higher. No matter what. I will protect my family and loved once"
----------
To Be Continued…!!