The Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers appeared once more, and rhythmic hammering echoed through the room again.
The surveyor was about to tell him he could use ordinary metals, but she stopped when Kaelan glanced at her. He wanted to see just how far this child could go.
As Ray struck the Heavy Silver again, a sense of joy surged in his heart. It felt as though he had reunited with old friends.
With each strike, the metal responded with a crisp hum, as if singing back to him. His hammering gradually accelerated, and the Heavy Silver began to take shape.
Each hammer strike rebounded higher than the last, and Ray instinctively poured more strength into the next blow. Under his steady rhythm, the metal slowly formed into a semi-circular medium-sized component.
Kaelan watched in silence.
There was not a single wasted movement.
Every strike landed exactly where it should, every transition flowing naturally. This was forging at its most fundamental and most perfect.
This child's foundations were terrifyingly solid.
Even compared to eighteen or nineteen-year-olds who had apprenticed for eight years, Ray surpassed them.
There were no flashy techniques, no unnecessary flourishes. Yet the purity of his forging left a profound impression.
Medium-sized components were often used in the core structures of mechas, particularly in joints. Ray had crafted a semi-circular knee-joint component.
Joint parts endured the most wear and tear, but they were also ideal for embedding soul guide arrays. Heavy Silver, with its excellent soul power conductivity, was perfectly suited for this purpose.
Ray had thought all of this through before forging.
Another hour passed.
At last, Ray presented a flawless semi-circular component to Kaelan and the surveyor.
Both of them were rendered speechless.
"Masters," Ray asked, unable to hide his pride, "did I pass?"
This was his first time forging a Heavy Silver component, and he was genuinely satisfied. The only regret, in his eyes, was that it wasn't Thousand Refined. Given enough time, he was confident he could have done it.
After completing his first Thousand Refinement, his understanding of forging had risen to an entirely new level.
Forging Heavy Silver again felt nothing short of wonderful.
When Ray stepped out of the forging room, his entire face was glowing with joy.
It wasn't because he had earned the recognition of two grandmasters. It wasn't even because he had officially advanced to a second-rank blacksmith.
It was because of the ten thousand federation coins now resting safely in his pocket.
Forging rare metals actually paid this much!
The realization hit him like a hammer to the chest.
Back in Ironspire City, earning thirty thousand coins had taken him three full years of hard work. Yet here, a single Heavy Silver component had netted him ten thousand coins in one go.
Before he left, Kaelan had instructed him to return to the Blacksmith Association in two days to receive his blacksmith badge and officially begin accepting commissions from the Association.
*
"Gilbert!"
The call finally connected.
"En?" Gilbert's voice remained as indifferent as ever.
"Where did you dig up such a monster?" Kaelan blurted out impatiently.
"What are you talking about?" Gilbert replied calmly.
"Who else could it be?" Kaelan snapped. "Your nine-year-old disciple. Second-rank blacksmith. And he forged a component directly out of Heavy Silver! At this rate, with a few more years of focused training, he'll master the Thousand Refinements. From there, becoming a Grandmaster is only a matter of time. How did you train him?"
Silence.
"Hey, say something!"
"I have nothing to say," Gilbert replied flatly. "He was born with innate divine strength. He's diligent. That's all."
"That's all?" Kaelan nearly laughed in anger. "Did you send him here just to show off?"
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Kaelan choked. "Then say it. What do you want? You're stuck in remote Ironspire City most of the year. Do you really have time to guide him properly? Let him come with me. I'll personally train him."
"I'm hanging up."
Dududu.
"Bastard!" Kaelan nearly crushed his soul communicator.
"Teacher?" A young man in his twenties walked into the room at that moment. "You were looking for me?"
Kaelan turned slowly, eyes burning. "What rank are you now? How many years have you trained under me? And you still can't complete the Thousand Refinements—"
The unfortunate disciple became the outlet for all of Kaelan's frustration.
*
Ray, blissfully unaware of the storm he had caused, was already on his way back to the academy.
"Take it."
Ray placed a bulging bag of Federation coins in front of Raziel Phoenix, who was leaning against his bed. The swelling on Raziel Phoenix's face had gone down slightly, but the bruise was still obvious.
Raziel Phoenix stared at him coldly. "Trying to dodge tomorrow's fight?"
Ray shook his head. "I couldn't pay earlier because I didn't have the money. Since I caused most of the damage, you shouldn't be covering everything alone. Here's ten thousand coins. I'll pay you the other ten thousand when I have them."
He paused, then added seriously, "I won't back out. Tomorrow after school, I'll come. You choose the place."
With that, he turned and climbed onto his bed.
From above, Miel and Lucius exchanged glances.
Ever since the steamed bun contest, Miel's attitude toward Ray had changed noticeably. Lucius, meanwhile, was quietly shocked. Ten thousand federation coins weren't a small sum. How had Ray gathered it so quickly?
Ray soon sat cross-legged and entered meditation.
Today had been his first real fight. His lack of combat experience was obvious. If not for Bind, he knew he wouldn't have been able to contend with Raziel Phoenix head-on.
That realization stayed with him.
His teacher had warned him before. Silverfalls Vine required control above all else. He still had a long way to go.
Across the room, Raziel Phoenix lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His thoughts replayed the fight again and again, especially the moment his Light Dragon Dagger failed to cut through the vines.
"Is it really just Silverfalls Vine?" he muttered inwardly.
He clenched his teeth and touched his still-swollen cheek.
"Tomorrow, I'll show him who I really am."
**
Dawn arrived quietly.
Ray woke as the first rays of sunlight slipped through the window.
A night of meditation had restored much of his soul power. Ever since breaking through to rank ten, his recovery speed had noticeably improved. At the same time, he could feel how much more energy future breakthroughs would require.
As he got out of bed, his gaze briefly met Raziel Phoenix's.
Raziel Phoenix, who had been meditating, opened his eyes at the same moment.
Cold met calm.
After a brief exchange, Ray looked away and headed for the showers.
In his eyes, Raziel Phoenix was just another wealthy city brat, arrogant and overbearing. If he had to choose, he'd much rather be friends with Miel.
After washing up, Ray moved on to the most important part of the morning.
Breakfast.
What he didn't know was that his legendary performance with steamed buns had already earned him a nickname.
"Rice Bucket."
The dining hall was nearly empty when he arrived. Breakfast was divided, as usual, into three windows. Ray headed straight for the third.
Milk, eggs, sausages, bread, and vegetables.
He piled them high, forming something close to a small mountain on his plate, then sat down in a corner and began eating in earnest.
The chef peeked through the window, half-worried the child might burst. Seeing Ray eating cheerfully, he silently relaxed.
Raziel Phoenix entered shortly afterward and went straight to the first window.
At a glance, his plate looked similar to Ray's. On closer inspection, it was vastly different. The milk came from captive-bred soul beasts. The food was dense with nutrients, carefully selected.
But in sheer quantity?
Ray's portion was easily ten times larger.
Though seated far apart, Raziel Phoenix kept glancing over. Ray, meanwhile, was fully immersed in his meal.
As students gradually filled the dining hall, whispers began again.