Chapter 22: Arrangements

Chapter 22: Arrangements

Bran gathered the six half-grown White Wolves, a pair of Snow Falcons, and the black cat Huahua together and gave a simple introduction. Bran’s method was rather simple and rough. With Danny’s help, he picked up the animals and rubbed them hard against each other, then took these creatures, who kept shaking their fur, back to their respective places.

The Snow Wolves were tossed by Bran into the Kennel. The pair of Snow Falcons was taken to the area near the Attic on top of the hill. The female was tied up, and the male was released. Bran also scraped together a pile of broken branches and placed them nearby. He hoped the male falcon would have some sense and build its nest on the roof of their Attic first. He casually patted the female to comfort her: “Don’t be afraid. Buying a house and building it is a man’s job.” Then he took the somewhat ruffled Huahua back to the room to sleep.

…

In the early morning, hearing the eagle’s cry outside the window, Bran turned over and got up. Now he was a man with assets, with a bunch of little companions to support. When he ran outside, he saw Danny playing with the falcon, so he ignored her and ran down to the Kennel. After cleaning the Kennel and the stable, he took Huahua, the several White Wolves, and the pony for a slow jog along the courtyard wall, helping them get familiar with the place as soon as possible.

…

After breakfast, Bran and Danny went to the Training Ground. Using his ability, he quickly made several stone locks of different sizes. Then he picked up the smallest one and swung it around a few times under Danny’s disdainful gaze.

He set up several wooden practice dummies and picked up a long pole nearby. He thrust the pole forward. As it approached the horizontal wooden arm of the dummy, he flipped his wrist and struck the arm, producing a sharp crack sound. Then, following the momentum, he thrust forward with a thud, hitting the center of the dummy’s vertical post squarely. Traditional spear technique emphasized “blocking, lifting, pulling, turning, parrying, holding, entangling, and returning.” Parrying and holding had to be quick and powerful to knock away an opponent’s weapon so the spear tip could stab in. But with his current small physique, he was still far from it. It was just for show now.

He picked up an empty sack, put a little gravel and sand inside, and practiced lifting, swinging, carrying on his back, and slamming it down a few times. From now on, he would add a little sand and gravel to it every day. The effort of adding a shovel of sand each day had to start now. Training was a matter of perseverance. He couldn’t rush it. It was both practice and cultivation. He would take it slowly.

Danny stood by, watching Bran busy himself with the arrangements, occasionally stepping forward to lend a hand. By the time the final weapon rack was set up, the entire morning had passed.

…

During lunch, listening to the eagle cries and wolf howls outside the window, Bran couldn’t help but ask, “Danny, how come I’ve never seen your wolf or eagle or anything?”

A hint of sadness flashed across Danny’s face, then vanished: “They died.”

As if she had found someone to confide in, Danny began to tell her story.

“I didn’t have a Snow Falcon. Snow Falcons are very difficult to tame, but once tamed, they become excellent companions. Back then, I didn’t have the ability to tame one independently.

I had a pair of White Wolves. There were many White Wolves where I’m from, both domesticated and wild, all mixed together. Sometimes wild ones would sneak into homes, freeloading for food and drink. Sometimes domesticated ones would follow wild wolf packs and roam around. Maybe years later, when injured or too old to run, they would sneak back home. But very few managed to come back alive like that. The wilderness in the Northlands is too dangerous; White Wolves aren’t very powerful.

White Wolves don’t actively attack us Northlanders or our livestock, even when they’re starving. So if you encounter a White Wolf in the wild, you can rest easy for a while. When humans and wolves meet during hunts, they often cooperate to kill prey. When a human and a wolf take a liking to each other, a simple symbol appears in our minds. Then we use our own blood to draw this mark on the wolf’s head, and from then on, they never leave our side. White Wolves are usually monogamous; they advance and retreat together. So often, our White Wolf companions also come in pairs.

I met them when I was eight, about your age. I sneaked out of the tribe and then got lost. While I was crying, a wolf pack passed by. They left the pack and stayed with me.”

Seeing the look of yearning on Bran’s face, Danny sighed. Her tone became low, faintly carrying a weight of sorrow and hurt.

“The coming-of-age ceremony. I lost them during my coming-of-age ceremony. It was all my fault. They had already warned me, but I was still careless…”

At this point, Danny didn’t continue. She fell silent.

Bran said softly, “That pair of Snow Falcons… I believe they will become your new companions.”

…

In the afternoon, Bran went to the Storehouse alone. He carefully took stock of the materials inside. Looking at each material and the name of its owner written beside it, Bran couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. He needed to start working as soon as possible.

Bran spread his Mana outward, using it to sense the materials. Now his Mana could extend about ten meters. Bran knew this was his limit, like tentacles gradually unfurling; when they straightened out, that was the end. He gradually calmed himself, carefully sensing these materials, then compared and distinguished them against the materials he already understood and mastered.

Nearly a year of unceasingly using Mana, especially using Mana to seep into swords and knives to understand their essence from a microscopic level, had made Bran’s Mana grow rapidly. Although he was still far, far from the goal of the microscopic level. But Mana seemed to have its own memory, applying certain structural arrangements to the target swords as if replicating them. This was the instinct of his ability. A hand-forged sword would always have some unevenness here and there, but Bran’s ability avoided these flaws. This was why the swords he handled were of even higher quality.

If it were just simple, repetitive manufacturing, Bran could now make over ten swords in a day without rest and without feeling any strain. But Bran didn’t want to do this simple, repetitive labor. He wanted to leave something behind, perhaps works that could be passed down through generations. And that required him to keep learning and understanding.

When Bran calmed his mind and tried to deepen his focus continuously, to make his Mana perception more and more subtle, his Mana would pour out uncontrollably, lasting only a few breaths. This was the real reason Bran often looked pale and suffered from Mana exhaustion. But as long as he persevered, he believed there would be rewards eventually. Like now, although his face was pale, he still stood steadily, not collapsing like he used to.

Bran slowly retracted his spread-out Mana, keeping it only within a one-meter radius around his body. This was his method of constant training. He thought he should go check the old Castle warehouse. There were too many learning samples there. He silently recalled a few particularly special materials from his recent perception, then went out and headed straight for the Castle.

…

Danny stood on high ground, watching the small figure go out. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. This child was always out of sync with this World, but being with him was surprisingly easy. He didn’t order you around because you were a servant, nor did he feel fear because you were a brave Warrior. He always treated everything equally. He lacked the fearlessness of a Northlander, but he possessed many more delicate things—care, compassion—though he hid them well.