Thinking for a while, he spoke again. “Nah. I probably shouldn’t. Not only would it attract attention, but he’s also my current father’s friend. Besides, I doubt I can with my current strength.”

He thought of an alternative plan to end any remaining hostility and suspicion for once and for all. Still, it was risky. Kane decided to sleep and let the situation make his choice. His plan would depend on Bokar’s attitude.

The next morning, Kane went to Bokar’s workshop again. Not many people were around in Deven because it was still quite early in the morning. He knocked on the door despite a sign that said “closed” in onish hung on the door.

“Come in. I never thought you would visit me again,” a man’s voice resounded from the inside.

The door was pulled open from the inside. Kane entered to see Bokar holding the knob. He wore loose yellowish-brown tribal wear. Was he fatter now than he was before? He then said, “Kane, I know you’re tense right now. Don’t worry, I swear I’ll not harm you again.”

“How can I trust you on that?” Kane rubbed his chin. The oni’s words didn’t convince him, especially after he had threatened to cut his neck.

“I don’t have any contracts or anything. You’re welcome to walk away, but I think you wouldn’t have come here if you didn’t trust me, right?”

Kane silently nodded. Bokar then turned away and stepped toward the back of the shop. “Let’s go to my forge, shall we?”

Kane walked through the door, entering the shop. Two wooden stairs were built inside the narrow room. One led upstairs, the other one to the basement. They descended slowly.

In the well-lit room, Kane saw many kinds of smithing equipment and tools. They looked ordinary, and some of them were rusty. The ceiling had ventilation to keep the basement from getting too hot. The room somehow reminded him of his past self, when he had still been new to blacksmithing. While looking around, he noticed a hunk of metal on the anvil. With just a glance, he knew it’s low-quality steel.

“Were you working on something?” asked Kane. He grasped the metal for a bit.

Bokar shook his head. “Not yet. I won’t start smithing until you arrive. Say, why did you come here so early this morning?”

“I couldn’t help it. I’m excited to become a blacksmith.” He shrugged.

“Hahaha, you’re that interested?” Hearty laughter escaped from Bokar’s lips. “Well then, let’s get started right away, kiddo.” He clapped Kane’s shoulder.

Bokar then introduced and explained his tools and equipment in the forge. Similar to Ezar’s lesson, Kane pretended to be ignorant of the field expertise. Next, Bokar taught him how to create a dagger. He took a tong, clutched the hunk of metal, and then heated it in the fiery fire. The burning furnace raised the room temperature, warming the air.

While sitting, Kane narrowed his eyebrows and asked, “Why did you mistake me for a demon?”

“I guess I must tell you. It’s a long story, so bear with me. When I was young, I had a friend. Her name was Ana. She was different from everyone in the village because she was a human and, also, a beggar. She always got picked on by others because of her timid nature, and I ended up protecting her.” Bokar curved his lips a little, almost smiling, yet his tone betrayed his expression.

“So you liked her, huh?” Kane smirked.

“No. No, of course not. I just believed it’s wrong to pick on the weak.” Bokar coughed before continuing.

“One day, she changed drastically. She became braver and somehow able to cast spells! I asked her about it, and she said nothing about it. One day, she disappeared. Everyone was quietly happy except me. I’ve searched every nook and corner, but I couldn’t find her. I gave up when my parents became worried and angry. After many nights, she still didn’t show up and everyone, even I, started forgetting her.”

“About two months into her disappearance, I woke up in the middle of the night because I felt something wasn’t right, and it was. Everything was in flames. I can still feel the heat and smell the burning woods from that night. I tried to help my parents first, but the rubble blocked my path. I barely managed to escape, then screamed for help, until I realized that the whole village was in the blazing fire. I wanted to save all of my tribesmen, but it was impossible, and thus I escaped alone to call for help.”

Bokar took a deep breath and looked at the ceiling. “When I looked at the sky, I saw a man flying to the outskirts of the village with his devilish wings. I immediately knew that he was the culprit! So I followed him. After a while, he landed on the ground, and I saw him with a girl. Just with one look, I knew she was Ana, so I beckoned to her. She looked at me and recognized me.”

“What happened next? Did you find her again?” asked Kane, leaning forward.

“She just left after throwing fireballs at me. Later, I realized that my whole village had already disappeared, burned down. I would’ve been starving to death if I hadn’t met some demon hunters who were tracking down the demon. They then took care of me and trained me until I became one of them. I still haven’t given up on finding her, though. Your sudden change of behavior reminded me of her,” Bokar let out a bitter laugh.

Kane nodded, and then he raised his eyebrow. Something didn’t add up. “Why do you stay here in Deven rather than trying to find her?”

“Lately, there hasn’t been any clue to find her nor the demon, so I thought it would be better to wait than to search aimlessly. The demons became somewhat dormant. Not sure why, but it’s hindering my search.” Bokar put a hollow smile.

“Dormant?” Kane rubbed his chin. He had no outside information during his stay in the Westcreek Kingdom, nor was he interested in knowing.

“Yes, they’re not actively hunting humans anymore. Hah… let’s get back to making weapons again, shall we? Pay attention, Kane,” said Bokar. He gazed upon the heated steel.

He retrieved the metal with tongs. It emitted a yellow-reddish color. Clenching the tongs tightly, he put the red-hot metal on the anvil and started hammering it.

“Don’t cover your ears, okay? You must get used to it,” he said.

Each time he banged the metal, sparks flew by, and with each strike, the metal gradually changed its shape and became thinner. Even with the deafening sound, Kane remained unfazed and somewhat bored.

---

The thick ingot was now transformed into a thin blade that had the same size as a knife or dagger. The color was red-yellowish due to its high heat.

“I’m finished!” said Bokar as he quenched the blade into a bucket of oil. It produced a hissing sound and smoke.

The blade was slowly revealed as the oil descended. The metal was smooth and sharp.

“What do you think, Kane?” Bokar grinned with pride.

“Not bad I guess,” Kane replied blandly. He wanted to say something different.

Bokar clicked his tongue, somewhat unsatisfied with his answer. “So you can do better, huh?” he asked jokingly. “Now try to make a blade without my help!” He sat on the chair where Kane used to sit.

Without saying anything, Kane then proceeded to grab all the things that he needed. After he was done, he asked Bokar, “Say, you’re a demon expert, right?”

“That’s right. I’ve dealt with many kinds of demons in my lifetime and I know their secrets, though I’m taking days off for now.”

Kane then said, “Then, I need your help.”

Bokar grew confused and asked, “What help?”

Before he could finish the sentence, a huge flame roared in the smelter. The room became hotter than before. Bokar jumped out and shouted, “What are you doing!” He ran toward Kane to stop him.

“I know what I’m doing,” said Kane calmly while pointing his forefinger at the ingot.

Bokar looked at what Kane was pointing at. He noticed several thin threads appeared connecting between the finger and the ingot.

“What are those? Those are not vis or even mana. Could those be the cause of the huge fire?” he muttered.

Kane didn’t answer. He immediately took out the metal and placed it on the anvil with lightning-fast movement. Kane grabbed not one hammer, but two of them and wielded it with each hand. His injured arm had not recovered, yet he could still move it freely.

The two hammers took turns striking the metal within the briskly paced rhythm. Occasionally, both hammers struck at the same time. The process left Bokar befuddled without a word and at the same time, he was fascinated and continued watching Kane.

Bokar muttered, “He didn’t even grip the metal yet his strikes are frighteningly accurate…”

He noticed the faint aura surrounding both of the hammers so he asked. “Using vis while hammering… Wouldn’t that make the steel unstable and broken?”

“It would if you do it incorrectly.” Surprisingly, Kane answered.

Thirty minutes later, the blade took shape. Kane stopped his action after hammering it continuously.

“I’m done.”

He quenched the blade in oil. When he lifted it, the blade glowed bright red for five seconds, then faded until only a dim light lingered.

“That aura… a r-rank 2 weapon!” Bokar shouted. His eyes widened. He had never thought that he would’ve seen a ranked weapon that was smitten in his workshop, especially by a mere kid.

“High rank 2, more exactly. Still, I was hoping for something more than that.” Kane sighed in disappointment. He knew that he needed better equipment and resources to make something better than this. His current physical strength was also lacking.

“Now, I’m not sure if you’re a very, very genius prodigy at smithing, but either way, that was unbelievable!” Bokar shouted. His eyes widened as he gazed at the dagger.

“Well, to be honest, I have a secret that I haven’t told you yet.” Kane smiled. He took a deep breath before revealing his true identity.

Kane told Bokar about himself, his meeting with Xervatia, and his reincarnation. Bokar didn’t believe him at first but then continued to hear him without saying anything, which surprised Kane. However, Kane concealed the rank of the possessed sword. He didn’t want Bokar to be shocked even more.

After finishing his story, an awkward silence ensued. Kane didn’t know what he wanted to say next. Perhaps Bokar too. Kane decided to break the ice and asked, “Do you have any questions?”

Bokar took a deep breath. “So you were an ax saint and mastered blacksmith in your previous life and then after you died, you reincarnated in Kane’s body and happen to have the same name as him?”

Kane nodded. Seeing this, Bokar kneaded his temples and said, “You know, I would think you are either crazy or under some hallucinatory drugs. But after seeing you in action, I somewhat believe you, at least the part about you being a master blacksmith.”

“That’s a relief—”

“Still!” Bokar conjured an immaterial sword from his hand. It was created using his vis. He held it against Kane’s stomach, almost touching him. “Were you, or rather, are you evil? You might not be a demon, but I can’t let an evil person roam in this village.”

Kane held his hands up in the air. “Am I evil? The short answer is: no, I’m not evil. You saw me helping Gako.”

“You could be pretending,” Bokar eyes narrowed.

“If I was evil, I would have waited for Gako to be mauled by that bear, then killed it while he was eating the corpse. And, if I were pretending, I would’ve sneaked into your house and tried to murder you last night,” explained Kane.

“True. Still, coming up with those scenarios does make you suspicious.”

“Oh, please.” Kane rolled his eyes. “Living a long life can make you more logical, at least in my case. You can’t prove that I’m evil, right?”

Bokar was quiet for a while, as though he was processing the information. “Hm, makes sense. How did Kane the child die?”

“I know that he ate a poisonous plant, but I genuinely don’t know how this body recovered from the poison. He was deathly allergic to it.”

“So, you didn’t forcefully possess him? I’ve heard some dark arts practitioners were able to transfer their souls into corpses.”

“No, I didn’t. Besides, you need a ritual and some ingredients before performing such an act. And no, I don’t involve myself in dark arts. I just know the information, like you.”

“Then how did you reincarnate? How did you end up with Kane’s body? And why did Xervatia let your soul go?” asked Bokar without a pause.

Kane took a deep breath. He must stay calm, otherwise it would not end well. “I too asked those questions to myself. I want to find the answer. If you help me, I will help you in return.”

Bokar was silent once more. He lowered the weapon and made it vanish. “Fine, I accept your plea. You may not be a person with harmful intention, but that doesn’t mean I’ll lower my guard.”

Sighing in relief, Kane lowered his hands. That went well, much better than he’d expected. “That’s fine for me. Anyway, why aren’t you sad or angry that your friend’s son is dead and has been… replaced by me?”

“I would if I had personally witnessed his birth. We haven’t talked for a long time either. It’s similar to hearing the news of the death of a stranger; I can’t invest any emotion into it. I do feel bad for Ezar that his son is technically gone, but that’s another story. It’s up to you whether you’ll tell him,” said Bokar.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Why did you tell me about this, Kane? Aren’t you afraid of revealing your secrets, especially to an acquaintance like me?” Bokar asked again.

“Because I need your specialty in finding this demon Xervatia,” answered Kane. “Also, I felt that I couldn't hide my secrets from you for a long time.”

“I understand. What’s her name again? Xervatia, right? I’ve never heard her, but I’ll try to find her whereabouts.” Bokar nodded.

“And how would you do that?” Kane wrapped his arms around himself.

“With the help from my fellow demon hunters. I promise I won’t tell anything about you.”

“That’s great! I’ll write a description of her so you won’t forget.” Kane smiled.

“Alright, however…” Bokar bit his lower lip.

“Hm?”

Bokar scratched his neck and averted his gaze. “Please teach me how to make ranked equipment without any special materials.”

“Heh, I knew you we’re going to say that. I will gladly teach you. It’s a deal.” Kane offered his right hand.

Both of them shook hands. After they finished talking, they proceeded to make the handle for their weapon. They used the Great Earth Bear bones for the main material.

“Kane, you said you were a master blacksmith, but why haven’t I heard of you?” Bokar asked while still working on the handle.

Kane raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. “Really? Maybe I wasn’t famous in this region.”

“Being a blacksmith for about 7 years, I’ve known a lot of blacksmiths, especially the famous ones. You’re not lying, are you?” Bokar squinted his eyes.

Kane pondered for a moment then asked, “Do you know Estevan Redfist?”

“Of course, I know him as well as all other blacksmiths. He is undisputed the number one blacksmith in the world! A living legend. Though I don’t idolize him, many of us do.”

“Huh, that’s interesting. I’ve certainly never expected him to become that famous. Time surely passed by quickly.”

“Don’t tell me that the great Estevan Redfist was your teacher…” Bokar guessed.

Kane shook his head. “Nope. He was my apprentice.”

Once again Bokar gaped, wide-eyed at Kane. He leaned backward, almost falling from his chair. “Th-that can’t be real, right? The teacher of the greatest blacksmith is right in front of me? You must be joking.” His hands were quivering, unable to continue his work.

“Fine, I can’t prove that beyond my words, but I’m telling the truth here.” Kane shrugged.

“I… I don’t know whether to believe you or not. It’s just very bizarre.”

“Indeed it is.” Kane nodded. “Anyway, let’s get back to work.”