I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 614: A Symphony of Elements

Before his words faded amidst the crackling fire, the prince waved his palm. Five sparkling minerals and three blocks of wood releasing dense vigor-filled fragrances appeared on the table as he thundered.

"Actions speak louder than words, junior craftsman. I’ll bet on you." His fists trembled in excitement. "These are the last materials I own, the key to my freedom, and..."

He retrieved a golden parchment sparking with Qi from his sleeve. "Your key to finding my father. If I knew I would gift this one day." He brushed the somber vein like characters running across the fabric with a reminiscent smile.

"What’s that?" Adam tilted his head, confused by the clue’s different look.

"Something my father gave me and the first prince if we ever met misfortune." The prince answered. "Rip it off, and the void Qi imbued inside will teleport you to its owner."

A bitter taste filled Xie Lian’s mouth as she glared at the prince. "Why did we put ourselves in danger in the last three trials if you can bend the rules? And why did you change this one?!"

Adam rolled his eyes. ’What trial did you take part in exactly?’

Meanwhile, the prince lowered his head. "We can’t choose arbitrary trials, or we would just ask anyone for a handshake and be free. Instead, we need someone to fulfill our deepest desires. For me, it was to enjoy a discussion with a woman just like I used to with my wife. But seeing that blade reawakened my crafter’s soul. I want to witness the creation of a masterpiece one last time."

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose, a depressed sigh escaping his lips. "I shouldn’t have shown you my weapon. It ruined your trivial yet beautiful desire."

He closed his eyes, remembering his fifteen years of unseen struggles and sadness as a ghost. Compared to the prince’s fifty thousand years, they were nothing—but were also enough to understand how these small things were the ones he had longed the most for.

However, the prince shook his head. "I’m grateful I met you. It’s almost as if you could feel my emotions." He cupped his fists again. "Please, begin. I’ll reveal what happened to us once you succeed."

Adam nodded, the promise of answers fueling his steps to the table. Though the trial’s difficulty increased, the teleportation parchment and, more importantly, the sparkling materials were worth the trouble.

He gripped a dark gold mineral, his eyes narrowing in concentration as he felt the rough texture and raw metallic Qi hiding inside.

"Tier eight?" His lips curled, and mana engulfed his eyes. It was the first time he held something so powerful, and he knew he could produce the sharpest weapon that had ever existed with it. But not without tweaking it slightly.

He struck his knuckles, his voice thundering as he took in the four other minerals of similar quality but different affinities. "I’m all fired up!"

Without hesitation, he gripped two and brought them closer. Slowly, the mana buried under the Qi resonated as he used his hands’ arcane synthesis.

The prince frowned before his pupils constricted at the surreal spectacle. Like water, the two minerals rippled and then merged. Even more unsettling, their properties didn’t seem to diminish. Instead, they complemented one another, creating a composite mineral never seen before.

But Adam shocked him again as he repeated the process with the other ores, creating a never-seen mineral pulsing with five affinities: metal, void, ice, shadow, and time.

"Two rare and two supreme ones..." He bit his lips, clenching his hands to suppress his desire to grip and berate Adam. After all, even the worst two-star smith knew a crafter needed the right affinity to bring out the metal’s potential. How would he do it?

Meanwhile, Adam smirked. That was one hell of a bad baby. Maybe it reached the ninth tier? He couldn’t tell but still could purify it further!

With a wave of his hand, natural magic symbols covered the table. Their radiant silver, dark, pale blue, and ethereal lights brightened his delighted face as golden lightning rumbled from the nexus nodes.

Simultaneously, his heart poured an appalling quantity of mana into his circuits as the metal sang.

Like a caterpillar turning into a majestic butterfly, it shed its impurities, leaving behind a condensed crystal vibrating with power.

The prince’s eyes widened, his hand moving to muffle his ragged breath and questions. He couldn’t break Adam’s focus, not when each of his movements was a mystery he yearned to understand.

But when he believed Adam would move to the furnace and grip one of his enchanted hammers, he almost choked on his saliva as his robes flapped loudly and the elements raged in the room.

Space distorted, any trace of light vanished, and an ice storm swirled around Adam. No, there was more. His eyes narrowed, catching the faint particles of metal amidst the snow.

Amidst the strange phenomenon, two milky white lights shattered the darkness as Adam’s hands ignited like two suns.

The crystal sizzled, the scent of melting metal filling the room. An anvil appeared from thin air, the same elements waving on its surface like tides as Adam placed the scalding metal in the middle.

An ethereal hand weaved itself from thin air next and came down crashing.

CLANG

Sparks flew, the ore bending under the pressure as Adam’s grin broadened. With each pounding, his heart drummed louder in his chest. With each flight of sparks, his focus reached a new peak. And with each element he infused into the hand, his love for crafting increased.

What masterpiece would see light today? What did this incredible material want to look like? So many questions and possibilities. Yet, he frowned amidst his delight. Mana wouldn’t suffice.

He had no mastery over void and time. Even worse, those elements terrorised him. After all, the least he wanted was to hasten the flow. He’d look smart if he turned into an old man after a few seconds, trapped himself in an endless loop, or conjured a black hole.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l