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Reappearing, the spot of ghostly flame on the metal shifted position again, and Amber tried to strike it but missed slightly and felt that sliver of information she had previously gained expelled from her mind.

She gritted her teeth and tried again, but in her impatience, she missed again as the ghostly spot changed location last second and lost another sliver of information.

"Ah! This is so frustrating." Amber cursed. While the buffs from the fruit had been in effect, it had felt like cheating. For a day straight, Amber's mind had been tranquil and focused, her body had been in complete control, and her patience was manageable.

But slowly, the effects of the fruit and truffles wore off, and as the days rolled by with her stuck striking this same piece of metal with a hammer, her resolve began to waver.

I need to hurry up. I'm sure the Elders are ahead of me by now.

Amber knew it was a toxic cycle. The more she felt behind, the more she rushed the process and messed up, which then caused her to lose more and more information regarding the inheritance.

What were the qualities of a forge master? Amber had realized the answer to this question during this grueling task. It was a test of patience and willpower.

She had to keep her hand steady, her pace perfect, and her mind calm. If anything was out of balance, she fell back a step. Who knew being a forge master was so grueling? She had assumed it would be easy from the first few days... just hit the piece of metal repeatedly on the correct spot until she gained all the knowledge.

Amber let out a long sigh and looked around. There was nothing but darkness beside the anvil with a single piece of unchanging metal and the hammer in her mental hand. Some streams of fire Qi flowed near the edge of her consciousness, and the hushed whispers of knowledge tempted her to throw the hammer down and concede to her Elders.

She hated herself—such a seemingly simple task lay between her and glory, yet she couldn't do it. It was frustrating beyond measure.

"Come on, Amber, you can do this." She muttered to herself as her mental grip around the hammer within her mind tightened. "Just calm yourself and take it one step at a time."

She raised her arm and struck down, hitting the ghostly spot perfectly. It fizzled out and granted her a sliver of knowledge regarding the ways of becoming a forge master. The problem was not all of the titbits of information were helpful. This was an inheritance of a person's life, meaning they passed down all their life knowledge, no matter how mundane or ridiculous.

It's part of what made this seemingly tedious task so frustrating. Strike a few times successfully, gain a portion of the technique, and then acquire a recipe for fried rice and the vulgar memories of a one-night stand.

It was distracting and sometimes downright gross. How was Amber supposed to keep a clear mind and try to impart her will through the hammer when she had this Monarch Realm's sex life playing in her head? These weren't memories suitable for someone like herself, leading her to question many things.

The sound of metal on metal struck her ears. She missed the ghostly spot. A force seemed to rip that tiny part of the inheritance she had just comprehended from her consciousness as if it had never been there, but the silence was deafening—impossible to ignore.

***

The Grand Elder was unperturbed by the memories as he slaved away at the anvil in his mind. The steady beat of the hammer calmed his soul and fed his brain with information. Slowly he grew closer to his goal.

But he was still a little impatient, causing him to miss every now and then, much to his subdued frustration. He had never been a man known for patience, always rushing into battle head first, so to keep completely still and repeat the same repetitive task over and over was driving him insane.

He just had to press on...

***

A year within his mind had seemingly passed, and Elder Mo felt at peace.

The hammer beat down with a consistent rhythm, never missing its mark. Years of patiently teaching the younger generation the ways of cultivation and meditation allowed him to put up with a lot of nonsense.

To him, the intrusive memories containing aspects of this Monarch Realm's life were of unimportance, simply noise in the background like the constant chatter of his students.

If he could teach, he could learn. Years of frustration at trying to chip away at the bottleneck had strengthened his resolve, and resisting the heart demons that ate away at his sanity had steeled his mind into an impenetrable fortress.

Facing this trial a week ago would have been impossible. Back then, only a grim determination had kept him going, whereas now he was lifted by a second wind, and his hopes for his life were reignited.

In all honestly, Elder Mo didn't even care for the inheritance. He felt at peace just being able to live for a few more centuries, nurture the Redclaw family's younglings, and perhaps reach the Star Core Realm.

The battlefield had been his home, a place of chaos where a quick-thinking mind was key. But he had left that life of slaughter behind long ago for days of peace and quiet, away from the screams of the dying.

With a faint smile, he kept hammering away, enjoying the peaceful rhythm and hints of knowledge that gave him some perspective on a longer life. Perhaps similar to one, he may get to live due to the tree's truffles.

***

Amber sat in the silence of the black stone room.

Her eyes were open and longingly looking at the hammer shrouded in ghostly spirit fire perched upon the altar. Perhaps it was rather immature of her, but she had given up and put the hammer down within her mind in frustration.

Deep down, she knew she wasn't worthy of wielding the hammer. Either it was due to a lack of life experience, or she lacked the quality needed in a master forge master.

Stop being a brat. The world doesn't owe you the inheritance.

Amber huffed the strands of red hair out of her face and curled up into a ball, clutching her knees to her chest. Resting her chin on her knees, she continued glaring at the hammer.

What was I thinking... I'm no forge master. Happy to sit inside by an anvil all day making weapons. I want to explore the world, see new things and get stronger.

Maybe she was just trying to make herself feel better, but her thoughts held some profound truth that was hard to ignore. She was not worthy, nor was she suited for the hammer.

Perhaps her talents lay elsewhere?

I never gave alchemy a go... I heard the Redclaws are naturally good at alchemy due to our fire affinity, but I always skipped the lessons to advance my cultivation.

Amber was startled from her thoughts when Elder Mo let out a satisfied sigh, and his eyes opened.

He turned to look at her with an uncharacteristically warm smile. She was so used to seeing a permanent scowl on his face that she almost feared that some haunted spirit had overtaken him.

Relax. Elder Mo has been a changed man since overcoming the bottleneck.

"No luck?" Elder Mo asked calmly as he got to his feet and stretched his back, seemingly in no rush.

Amber reluctantly shook her head. "I just couldn't keep it together. Kept getting... frustrated and rushing, which only made things worse. I figured I was too far behind at some point, so I quit."

Elder Mo nodded, "I see. Young with a lot to learn. This was an interesting test of patience, willpower, and resistance."

"Resistance?" Amber asked.

"Indeed, resistance. To be unbothered by outside forces and pressure. One of the hallmark truths of being a smith is to hammer away rain or shine. Never rush a job, or leave one unfinished. See it to the bitter end."

Amber felt her heart clench. She had done everything wrong. What use was a smith that constantly let the world affect their work and then quit halfway through a masterpiece?

But wait, why isn't he stepping forward to claim the inheritance?

"Elder Mo," Amber asked cautiously, "Why don't you pick up the hammer?"

The man chuckled, "I have no need. I know the Grand Elder well enough. We fought side by side for many years. Just like you, he never had a chance."

Amber tilted her head, "How so?"

"Everyone has their own strengths in life, Amber." Elder Mo lectured as he always did. He had been the one to teach her how to cultivate when she could barely walk. "You can't teach a fish to fly or a tree to walk. That is what this inheritance test was all about... finding someone worthy. A person with a perfect match to the original owner."

For some reason, Elder Mo's words made Amber feel better. She had been beating herself up over it, but maybe they weren't compatible.

***

The Grand Elder's eyes snapped open a while later, and immediately groaned when he saw the smug Elder Mo leaning against the altar.

"You could have just woken me up, you bastard." The Grand Elder huffed as he got to his feet and stretched out his weary joints.

"You wouldn't have forgiven me," Elder Mo smirked, "I knew you would spend the rest of our lives claiming you were mere moments away from enlightenment. You're a sore loser after all—always have been."

"Just grab the darn hammer and be done with it." The Grand Elder didn't even want to glance at the majestic hammer on the altar that had provided him so much grief. The closer he got to the truth, the more impatient he became, leading to him losing more and more knowledge.

And the idea that the other two Elders are meditating in such rich fire Qi outside made me feel like a fool for wasting my time here. I hate that darn hammer with a passion.

The Grand Elder had lived long enough to know when something didn't suit him. He belonged on the battlefield blasting monsters with his flames, not holed up in a cave crafting weapons. He was a wielder of swords, not a creator.

"As I said before," Elder Mo said as he reached out to touch the hammer, "I'm sure this is the first of many such opportunities under the gracious Ashfallen Sect. So long as we stay loyal, I'm sure future opportunities will arise."

"Stop trying to sound wise and claim your prize, you smug bastard." The Grand Elder said while tapping his foot impatiently. He didn't want to be consoled by his old friend right now. He wanted out of here to meditate and advance a stage in the Star Core Realm so he could blast that worm in the face.

Elder Mo laughed as his fingers wrapped around the handle, and he easily picked the hammer up. An explosion of spirit flame from his body sent a plume of dust and rustled the Grand Elder's clothes.

Turning to face them, Elder Mo's eyes glowed a ghostly blue, and the hammer seemed almost fused to his hand as it was hard to tell where his hand ended and the handle began. It was just a blur.

Elder Mo then raised the hammer above his head, a miniature sun of ghostly fire formed on the hammer's head, and he then struck down on the anvil, sending a sonic boom throughout the temple that made the entire building crumble around them as if it were a glorified sand castle.

***

Idletree Daily Sign-In System

Day: 3520

Daily Credit: 16

Sacrifice Credit: 103

[Sign in?]

Ashlock dismissed the system notification and welcomed a brand new day.

"Five days have passed since the mystic realm was deployed." Ashlock sighed as he did his morning check. His vision blurred as he activated {Eye of the Tree God} to appear out in the wilderness.

As usual, the grotesque worm had emerged from underground, feasting on the weak monsters gathered around the wall of trees overnight and munching happily on his sweet-smelling mushrooms.

It was tragic to watch so many monsters being taken away from him, but as long as it kept the darn worm that should be worth over a thousand sacrificial credits around, he felt it was worth it.

Casting his view back to Red Vine Peak, he saw Elaine wipe the sleepiness from her eyes.

Over the past few days, she had rotated between learning the ancient language, practicing her sword fighting skills, and consuming truffles. The root improvement truffle had been uneventful as her void Qi looked much the same, and the expelling of her heart demons had gone much the same with her own void Qi obliterating them.

Elaine yawned, "Good morning Patriarch. Up for more sword fighting today?"

Unlike Stella, who usually spent hours lazing around under his shade and talking nonsense, Elaine was always straight to business first thing in the morning.

"How does she have so much energy when the sun has barely even risen yet?" Ashlock grumbled.

Back when he had been a human, he was a self-diagnosed night owl that would regularly stay up till 5 am even if he had work the next day. "I wonder if some of my degeneracy has carried over to my life as a tree. Or maybe my body is slow in the morning since it's cooler and there's no sun."

Alas, Elaine's enthusiasm to improve her sword skills was infectious, and Ashlock greatly enjoyed flexing his new limbs and being the teacher rather than the student for once. It had felt unwinnable when he tried fighting Stella, but Elaine was so garbage at combat that he had to hold himself back.

Within his inventory, Ashlock had arranged the swords he had looted from the dead Voidmind Elder into a neat pile so he could grab the one he wanted at any time.

"I will use these three today." Ashlock mused as the swords vanished and appeared outside.

Carefully placed holes in the stone that avoided any of the Qi gathering arrays, let his black vines emerge, and soon enough, he had equipped them with the beautiful swords.

'What do you want to practice today?' Ashlock wrote on his trunk, and Elaine effortlessly translated his words. The language comprehension fruit and multiple days and nights of studying had done wonders for her ancient runic language capabilities.

Ashlock had to admit it felt freeing to not rely on Stella to translate everything; soon enough, he expected all of the Redclaws to understand him alongside Douglas and Diana.

"Let's do parry practice today," Elaine said as she raised her sword. Ashlock complied as he sent three of his black sword-wielding vines to strike at her with nonthreatening speed.

The sound of Elaine's sword parrying his to the side filled the courtyard. Since the speed was so slow, he could let his mind wander. For some reason seeing Elaine so earnestly learning the sword reminded him of when he had spent hours watching Stella and Diana spar in the training courtyard that no longer existed.

"Man, I miss them... I hope they come back all smiles and stronger." Ashlock lamented as he looked at the mystical white fog encompassing most of the mountain peak. "I wonder how the Redclaws are doing. If they didn't make it into the same realm, then I think Amber might struggle to survive. Actually, on that point, how the hell is Douglas going to make it through?"

Sadly all Ashlock could do was sit here and pray that his sect members made it back safely.

Before he knew it, dusk had arrived, and Elaine collapsed where she stood. Her rose-gold hair was drenched with sweat, and she gasped for breath.

"I probably... shouldn't have become... such an unfit potato..." Elaine sadly laughed to herself as she lay on her back.

Ashlock chuckled at her statement, and before he fell asleep, he watched Elaine stagger to her feet and collapse again in a hunched-over sitting position on the Qi gathering array.

The world rippled slightly as she cultivated void Qi, and he soon felt the coldness of sleep envelop him.

However, when he awoke the next day and dismissed his system notification, he immediately felt like something was... coming his way. His mind kicked into gear far faster than even Elaine, who was stirring awake, and his vision blurred as he went to look at the tree wall.

"Oh shit." Ashlock panicked.

The worm was heading toward him, but there was more than one... there was an entire family of the grotesque things.