Chapter 249: Disruption

"Represent me??" asked Jade.

Then, Jade begins to think. The others didn't disrupt Jade as they knew this was an important moment for Jade and his sentient weapon.

After a while, "Old man Draught, could you help me take a piece of my mana core?" asked Jade.

"A piece of your mana core? Are you crazy? I know the best way to represent you is your mana core. But, even if I succeed in taking a piece of it, you will be disabled in the worst case you could die." replied old man Draught.

"No, I will not die." replied Jade shortly.

"What makes you certain?" said old man Draught.

"If it is before, I will say the one representing me is my village, the Sur village. But now, I am a warrior and a fighter. During the last few months, I keep thinking why I can't break through to the seventh grade."

"Everyone said that my strength is already at its peak. All I need is just the last step. This last step seems to be very far filled with many obstacles. I feel like I have missed something. But, during our journey towards here, I started to realize something."

"Ever since I created my village and become a pillar of everyone. I am starting to be afraid to risk my life subconsciously. As the leader, I always thought to be there, to become everyone's pillar, hope, and shield. It feels like I am being bound by it.

"Being away from my people makes me realize this invisible chain in my heart. Maybe this is the reason I stopped going forward. Maybe this is just my overthinking. But, I feel if I want to move forward, I need to risk my life. I need to gamble with everything I got." said Jade.

"That's why I will use this chance to breakthrough!!." declare Jade as he releases a powerful mana aura subconsciously.

Hearing Jade's declaration makes the old man Draught smile.

"Kahahaha… Trying to a breakthrough while finalizing your weapon sentient with your core." laughed Draught.

"That's.. the craziest thing I've ever heard. You do realize finalizing your weapon is not just fusing your core into it. You need to make a bond with it."

"On top of that, you also need to focus on going through a seventh realm. If you fail, you will not only die, your existence will be completely erased since you try to reach the seventh realm. I'll ask you once again, are you sure about this, Jade?" asked Draught seriously.

"Yes, I am sure." replied Jade resolutely.

"F-Father…" said Gilford, but he stopped talking further as he looked at his father's resolute face.

Now, all Gilford can do is support Jade and hope that he will be safe. Everyone knows that stepping into seventh grade is a very dangerous step that needs a miracle for it to happen. 

There is even a saying that people that managed to reach this realm are the one that survives many adversaries and the impossibility. The one that breaks the chain of fate and God's prophecy. The one that will stand on the top.

If going through grade six is risking their entire life, then breaking through grade seven is risking their whole being. Should they fail to pass through, their entire being will be erased by the world. This may be the same with death, but the implication is different.

In this magic world, everything is possible. Even resurrecting people is possible. But, someone that failed to break through grade seven could never be resurrected since their entire being is erased and gone into nothingness.

Looking at Jade's resolute face, Draught couldn't help but accept his demand. He knows that every single person that steps into seven grade is never going through a usual way. But, what Jade's going to do needs more than a miracle for him to succeed.

After that, Draught and Jade start to prepare themselves. Normally, the finalize of weapon sentients need to be done alone by the user or owner.

But, since Jade decided to use a piece of his core, Draught also needed to help him take a part of Jade's core carefully without doing unnecessary harm to him.

After meditating to calm his mind and prepare his mentality, Jade stood up in front of the Star Core. Old Man Draught stands near Jade with a solemn expression. Taking a piece of mana core without killing or crippling the user is challenging, even for Draught.

Angus and Gilford are also ready nearby in case something goes wrong. Then, Jade takes a deep breath before nodding to Draught to start the operation.

In the meantime, outside Draught's small house, Warton trained against bubbles as usual. Suddenly, he feels a high-level barrier surrounds the whole mountain. Then, a few people with hideous clothes appear in front of Warton.

"I suppose you are not here as a guest." said Warton as he prepared to battle while flaring up his mana and suppressing everyone. *Whooss* 

Although Warton is often being used as a caretaker by Draught, he is still a true seventh-grade combatant. A combatant that reaches the top. Without wasting any moment, Warton brandished his greatsword towards the person in front of him. *Clang*

"This strength.. Tch.. It seems you came prepared." said Warton as he felt his opponent was almost on par with him.

"Leave him for me. All of you go through the hidden passage." said the person in front of Warton while brandishing his dual short sword.

"Hmph… Do you think you could pass me easily?" said Warton as he tried to block the others.

But, he was once again being blocked by the same person with a dual short sword. The person keeps attacking Warton at his vital spot with speed and great precision. This forced Warton to defend himself and let the others pass through him, entering the small house.

"Tch.. You are courting death. Even though you managed to pass through me, there is still an old man Draught that could kill all you easily." said Warton.

But, the other person didn't respond and kept attacking Warton frantically, creating a massive shockwave each time they clashed.

In the meantime, inside the forge, Anna who is playing with the 'Fireflies', suddenly looks at the cave entrance where they come from. Jayna, who is nearby, also notices a hostile intent from the cave.

"Ilgor, prepare for battle. We have got company." said Jayna.

Hearing this and looking at the two girl's behavior, Ilgor immediately takes out his dual axe and looks at the cave entrance. 

*Sniff* *Sniff* After sniffing for a moment, Ilgor suddenly launched an attack towards the cave entrance [Axe Art - Wind cutter]. *Whoosh* *Clang* Two intruders reveal themself while parrying Ilgor's attack.

At the same time, just as Draught starts his operation taking a piece of Jade's mana core, he feels an intruder coming into The Forge. 

However, Draught currently can't get distracted and stop his operation. Otherwise, Jade will die at his hand. At the same time, Angus also perceives the intruder using his [Great Mana Echolocation].

"Cousin, there is an intruder outside." said Angus.

"Intruder?! At this moment!!" said Gilford.

"Yeah, let's seal the place and come outside. We must not let them distract the old man Draught and uncle." said Angus.

They immediately close the black door to the circular room and place a few battle golem to standby. However, during the way, Angus perceives few intruders already going inside the tunnel coming towards them.

"Tch.. They are fast. Cousin, they are here." said Angus as he cast Fire Oil in front of them.

Because of the heat from the lava wall, the flammable Fire Oil immediately ignited and exploded. *BOOM* The explosion is big enough that it could be heard by the people outside.

'That's coming from the tunnel. How come they managed to pass us and my detection?!' thought Jayna, who was looking at the people in front of them. 

There were only two people before them, but Jayna and Ilgor couldn't perceive their strength level or any mana fluctuation.

'They seem to have some good stealth items. But, they choose the wrong place to fight here.' thought Jayna as her entire body is covered with fire.

"Big sister, can I burst them?" asked Anna.

"Yeah, you can also transform here." replied Jayna.

"Really?? Yay.." said Anna as she disappeared from her spot, leaving the cracked ground.

In the blink of an eye, Anna had already arrived in front of the two people brandishing her miasma claw towards them. The two intruders are surprised looking at Anna's transformation, but they still manage to get hold of themself and parry the incoming attack. 

*Clang* *BOOM* Both of the intruders take a few steps back as they didn't expect Anna's strength. Using this opportunity, Jayna approaches the two intruders using [Fiery Burst].

"Anna, jump!! [Sword Art - Fiery Wave] " said Jayna as she brandished her sword horizontally.

Since Jayna inside The Forge is rich in fire mana, Jayna didn't need to use [Sacred Fire] to utilize [Fiery Wave]. A massive heatwave immediately came towards the two intruders and engulfed them while Anna jumped high in the sky.

After the fire recedes slightly, the two intruders manage to survive, relying on their safety items. But, Jayna also noticed there were some burn marks in their clothes.