As the first harsh rays of morning sunlight pierced through the thick layer of smog and dust, casting down onto the Dark Zone junkyard, a shrill cry accompanied by a few sharp slaps shattered the silence.
— “Hey!
Hey, you little rascal, wake up!
Why did you end up sleeping out here last night?
You’re reckless, kid!
The frost is cold as ice, and you didn’t even bother going inside?”
Old man Akaisin grumbled while forcefully tapping Shin’s cheeks.
Shin opened his eyes blearily, his messy jet-black hair falling slightly.
After a long, exhausting night wrestling with the stubborn energy current, drowsiness had completely defeated him.
Shin let out a massive yawn, rubbing his eyes sluggishly:
— “Agh…
I was sleeping so well, why did you wake me up, old man?
Last night I came out to train a bit more, and I accidentally fell asleep before I knew it.”
Saying that, as if suddenly remembering his achievement from last night, Shin’s dark eyes flashed with a triumphant gleam.
He sprang up, extending his palm right in front of the old man’s face:
— “Look at this, old man!
I officially have Sophion now.
Take a good look so you can’t say I’m just talking big!”
VÙ…
A gentle yet implicitly oppressive aura erupted around his hand, a volatile blend of violent crimson and abyssal black.
Old man Akaisin narrowed his eyes at the strange energy current.
A flicker of astonishment crossed his mind, but his face remained perfectly composed as he nodded:
— “Red and black?
How unusual…
But whatever, it’s fine.
Manifesting and calling forth the energy on your very first night is a good start.”
Old man Akaisin stood up, clasping his hands behind his back, and gave the boulder a light kick, his voice returning to a brutally practical tone:
— “Now that you’re awake, let’s head out to scavenge scrap early today.
Oh, before you go, take some money to the black market and buy some rice and wine for me.
I didn’t have a single drop yesterday, and my mouth is itching like crazy!
Just go buy it; this afternoon I’ll teach you two something new.
I guarantee it’ll be way flashier!”
Shin curled his lips, grumbling as he stood up:
— “Typical debt-ridden old geezer, always quick to capitalize on an opportunity!”
A Productive Scavenge
Despite his complaints, Shin trotted to the corner of the shack and fished out 25 Dark Coins—the meager savings he and the old man had scraped together over the past weeks from selling scrap metal.
Clutching the coins, he headed straight for the rundown black market of the Dark Zone.
After a grueling round of bargaining that left his throat sore, Shin walked away with a jar of cheap rice wine and a few kilograms of white rice.
Glancing back down at his palm, the 25 coins from this morning had shrunk to a mere 10 Dark Coins.
”At this rate, we’ll have to grind like crazy today, or the whole lot of us will be surviving on pure oxygen,” Shin sighed to himself.
Bringing the items back home, he tossed the wine jar and the bag of rice to Kento:
— “Kento, store these away neatly for me!
I’m heading out to the large scrap mountains to find some goods.”
With that, Shin turned and sprinted like the wind toward the gargantuan landfills in the center of the Dark Zone.
By now, the sun was high in the sky, and dozens of other impoverished residents had already swarmed the area, digging through the trash to make a living.
Using the sharp, discerning eyes of a professional scavenger, Shin navigated through the narrow crevices of the scrap mountain.
Fortunately, after a whole morning of digging that tore his cloth gloves to shreds, his eyes caught a massive metallic mass buried beneath a pile of old corrugated iron.
Marshalling all his strength, Shin pulled it free.
It was the lower torso of a broken, heavy-duty military robot, but its base featured an incredibly imposing and robust tank-tread chassis!
— “Sweet jackpot!” Shin’s eyes lit up.
“We struck gold today with this lower chassis.
I wonder if it can be fitted to Loona’s half-robot?
Well, whatever, let’s just lug it back.
With that girl’s genius mind, she’ll definitely find a way to modify it!”
By midday, Shin sold his other miscellaneous scrap to the dealer, exchanging them for another 5 Dark Coins (bringing his total reserve to 15 coins), and excitedly carried the heavy tank-tread block back to the shack.
Stepping into the yard, he found old man Akaisin already back, lounging on a bamboo chair.
Shin slammed the heavy metal piece onto the ground with a resounding, dull thud and shouted at the top of his lungs:
— “Loona!
Kento!
Come out and see what I brought home!”
Hearing the noise, little Loona rushed out from her corner.
The moment her thirteen-year-old eyes landed on the tread chassis, they lit up as if she had struck gold.
Giggling with glee, she immediately pulled out her toolkit, wrenches, and screwdrivers, diving straight into assembling and tinkering right then and there, completely tuning out the rest of the world.
Kento flashed a gentle smile and darted into the kitchen to start the fire for lunch, while old man Akaisin’s eyes gleamed the instant he spotted the wine jar resting on the table.
Shin wiped the sweat from his forehead, walked over to the old man, and tilted his chin up defiantly:
— “There!
Your fine wine is here.
You better keep your word and continue teaching us this afternoon, don’t you dare stiff us!”
— “Of course, of course!
Since my good disciple has shown such thoughtfulness, how could your master refuse?” Old man Akaisin cackled, hastily popping open the lid to take a massive gulp, letting out a deeply refreshed sigh.
I was craving it so badly, a quick sip to brighten up the house and boost our battle spirit!”
Before long, a simple lunch was laid out.
The four gathered around the table with whatever makeshift food they had scraped together, yet the atmosphere was incredibly lively.
— “Hey, you rascal Shin, finding that tread chassis this morning was pure luck.
Your trash-clawing footwork is still very green; it completely lacks refinement!” Old man Akaisin remarked, clicking his tongue in disapproval as he picked up a piece of vegetable.
— “What do you know, old man!
Without this ‘unrefined footwork’ of mine, you’d be drinking plain tap water while teaching us this afternoon!” Shin fired back instantly, matching him beat for beat.
Kento and Loona were all too familiar with this scene.
The two younger siblings giggled as they ate, watching the grandfather and grandson bicker like a daily comedy show.
This tiny pocket of warmth acted like an exclusive remedy, letting them forget the harsh reality of the Dark Zone outside as they prepared for a truly explosive training session in the afternoon.
The Weapon Coating Theory
As the sweltering midday heat passed, the oppressive air of the Dark Zone began to ease up under the dry afternoon breeze.
Out in the small yard of the shack, the brothers, Shin and Kento, sat cross-legged facing one another, their jet-black hair fluttering gently in the wind.
Both were sinking deep into a meditative state to perceive and mobilize the Sophion currents within their bodies.
At this moment, two auras of completely opposing colors fluctuated gently around their bodies.
On one side was Kento’s calm, grayish-white shroud; on the other was Shin’s crimson-and-black mist, carrying that mysterious, underlying pressure.
Not far away, old man Akaisin sat bouncing his leg on his ancient bamboo chair, holding the jar of rice wine purchased earlier that day.
He took tiny sips, rationing every single drop out of fear that drinking too fast would empty the jar and leave his mouth feeling “dry” again.
In the corner of the yard, little Loona was still working intently, using her wrench to tighten the final bolts securing the robot’s upper torso to the tank treads Shin had brought home.
Suddenly, old man Akaisin set his wine jar down on the ground, cleared his throat, and waved over the two brothers:
— “Hey, you two rascals, pause your meditation for a second.
Come over here, let me show you something to widen your incredibly narrow perspective.”
Shin and Kento snapped their eyes open upon hearing his voice, retracting their auras before quickly running over.
Old man Akaisin stood tall, his previous lazy demeanor vanishing instantly as he spoke in a solemn voice:
— “Sophion is the source of all things.
It doesn’t merely stop at creating natural elements like fire, water, or electricity.
If you know how to condense and shape it, it can manifest things far more interesting and practical!”
As the words left his mouth, old man Akaisin lightly channeled his energy.
Instead of letting Sophion escape outward into a loose aura, he concentrated the entire reserve into his right palm.
A blinding flash of light began to condense, compressing and elongating until it ultimately transformed into the shape of a razor-sharp energy blade, emitting a high-pitched hum that tore through the air.
SLASH!
SLASH shreds!
Old man Akaisin swung his arm effortlessly, executing two basic slashes.
The energy blade swept through a three-inch-thick steel plate lying abandoned nearby.
With a clean, effortless slicing sound, the large steel plate was divided into three pieces so smoothly that the sheared surfaces were as flat and reflective as mirrors.
Shin stared blankly at the three chunks of steel crashing to the ground, his eyes wide and mouth agape, before blurting out an utterly dimwitted remark:
— “Whoa…
You can even make a whole blade out of it!
If you used this to slice beef or cut pork roll, it would be absolutely unbeatable—fast and completely non-stick!”
Hearing his brother’s comment, Kento nodded along:
— “You’re totally right, big brother!
Using this to shred water spinach for pickles or peel squash would be perfect—saves you the trouble of sharpening knives!”
The corners of old man Akaisin’s mouth twitched.
He immediately delivered a painful thud to each of their heads and snapped:
— “Give me a break, you two geniuses!
Don’t you dare do that, it’s a total waste of cutting boards!
Our house has exactly one wooden cutting board left to use.
If you use this to slice meat and vegetables, it’ll split the board right in two.
Where on earth are we going to get the money to buy a new one then?!”
Nursing their freshly bumped heads, the two brothers quickly snapped back to seriousness.
Old man Akaisin waved his hand, and the energy blade vanished into thin air.
He bent down to pick up a rusted, decaying iron bar lying on the ground and continued:
— “Back to business.
Sophion doesn’t just create pure energy weapons; it can also be infused directly into conventional physical weapons.
Watch this!”
He closed his eyes, channeling a current of Sophion along the length of the rusted bar.
Strangely, the iron bar didn’t emit any blinding light and outwardly looked just as rusted as before, but its internal structure had completely altered.
Old man Akaisin handed the bar to Shin and Kento:
— “Try smashing it.”
Kento curiously took the iron bar, marshalling all his strength to strike it hard against the massive boulder beside them.
CLANG!!!
A deafening, metallic ring echoed.
A crack split across the boulder, yet the rusted iron bar in Kento’s hands didn’t bear a single dent—no matter how hard he struck, it wouldn’t bend, and no matter how he twisted, it wouldn’t deform.
Kento gasped in astonishment, his eyes wide:
— “It’s like an invisible shroud is protecting the weapon from breaking…
Master, what happens when we apply this coating technique to a real sword?”
Old man Akaisin smiled, stroking his silver beard:
— “Naturally, it will become a hundred times sharper and more durable.
If you master it to the absolute peak, you won’t just slice through iron and stone—you’ll be able to cleave through the hardest hyper-alloys or any matter in existence within this universe. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
It all depends on the user’s proficiency in controlling Sophion.”
Standing alongside them, Shin slapped his thigh with a sharp thwack as realization dawned on him:
— “No wonder that decaying wooden cane of yours that you use to poke trash and push scrap metal has lasted all these years without breaking or rotting!
Turns out you’ve been secretly pumping Sophion into it every single day, haven’t you?
You crafty old geezer, hiding your tricks so well!”
— “Hmph, cut the nonsense, you rascal!
Now that you know, hurry up and get back to training, master your Sophion control and do me a favor!” Old man Akaisin grunted, turning back to his bamboo chair to sip his wine.
Desolate Training Grounds
Throughout that entire afternoon, the small yard of the shack was flooded with energy.
After hours of grueling effort, the two brothers finally achieved their first major breakthrough in basic elemental manifestation.
CRACKLE…
SNAP…
From the crevices of Shin’s fingers, tiny sparks of violet-blue electricity began to dance steadily under his complete command.
WHOOSH…
Within Kento’s palm, a small orange-red flame erupted—though small, it burned with perfect consistency, no longer sputtering out.
Seeing the achievements of his two adoptive grandsons, old man Akaisin nodded slightly in satisfaction, but he immediately stood up, clapping his hands with a loud thwack to disperse the brothers’ smug atmosphere:
— “Good!
Very good!
You two learn quickly; consider yourselves as having grasped the bare basics of Sophion.
But don’t celebrate just yet!
Now, turn around and train your martial arts styles!
Physical conditioning and combat technique must go hand-in-hand with Sophion.
If you overtrain your Sophion but your actual practical combat looks like an absolute eyesore, you’ll enter the world as nothing more than a punching bag for others to practice on!
Worthless!”
The combat skills training session officially commenced, and it quickly morphed into a literal hell.
Shin was taught the exclusive, highly unpredictable footwork and fist forms of the old man’s personal sect.
Meanwhile, Kento poured his efforts into practicing the straightforward, decisive strikes of Kyokushin Karate under the old man’s strict guidance and correction.
Old man Akaisin transformed into a dark supervisor, wielding a small tree branch.
Whoever made a mistake received a painful thud to the head.
— “Punching in the wrong direction!
Incorrect force!
Loose footwork!” — THWACK!
THWACK!
THWACK!
— Shin took three consecutive hits to the head for striking too crudely and constantly messing up his posture.
— “Incorrect stance!
Center of gravity is too high!” — THWACK!
THWACK!
— Kento couldn’t escape his fate either, taking two hits to the head for holding an improper stance while executing his Karate strikes.
An entire afternoon slipped away in agonizing drills.
Moving beyond martial arts forms, old man Akaisin forced both of them to jog while lugging heavy scrap metal blocks and iron bars on their shoulders to build endurance.
The brothers’ sweat poured down like rain, soaking their shirts, their ragged gasps echoing across the yard.
Just as the old man was monitoring them with crossed arms, constantly pressuring them to run faster, a crisp mechanical engine roar accompanied by rhythmic metal clanking suddenly sounded from behind him.
— “Huh?
What on earth is that?” Old man Akaisin spun around in surprise.
Out from the dark corner of the scrap fence, a robot roughly 1.2 meters tall slowly rolled forward.
Its scrap-metal upper body had been polished clean, the electrical circuits running along its side emitted a steady green light, and most remarkable of all, it was moving exceptionally smoothly on the tread chassis Shin had brought back at midday.
The robot raised a mechanical arm, executing a perfectly precise salute.
Loona ran right beside it, her face smudged with dirt but sporting a radiant smile as she eagerly showed off to the old man and her brothers:
— “Tada!!!
What do you guys think?
I’ve completely finished repairing the robot!
It’s running perfectly smooth now, hehe!”
Old man Akaisin’s eyes went wide as he watched the robot circuit the yard, his gaze reflecting clear astonishment mixed with pride.
He walked over, ruffling Loona’s hair and praising her:
— “Splendid job, Loona!
This little girl is a true mechanical genius.
Given the opportunity to study deeper in the future, you will undoubtedly engineer far more terrifying things.
You have a massive future ahead of you, my girl!”
Shin and Kento were overjoyed to see the robot functioning smoothly.
The two brothers immediately slowed their pace, intending to drop the scrap from their shoulders and run over to inspect their little sister’s masterpiece.
However, before their feet could even change direction, old man Akaisin’s thunderous roar crashed straight into their ears:
— “Whoa, who said you two could rest?!
Who gave you permission to stop?!
Pick that scrap back up and keep running for me, now!
Anyone who dares to slack off gets a thud to the head from your master until your forehead swells!!!”
Shin and Kento flinched, exchanging tearful glances without daring to whisper a single word of complaint.
The brothers could only grit their teeth, straining under the heavy iron blocks on their shoulders as they resumed jogging around the yard beneath the fading afternoon sun.
Sweat poured like rain, their entire bodies ached, yet within the hearts of the black-haired brothers, a strange, unyielding determination burned bright.
That brutal yet laughter-filled afternoon of training officially drew to a close, marking the very first steps of the two brothers on their path to conquering ultimate power.
END OF CHAPTER 5