Tiberius awoke at his standard time the next morning and began his daily rituals of two hours of physical training followed by a bath.
Once finished with his morning routine, Tiberius made his way to the garden to continue his silent contemplation of the path of the sword. On his way to the garden, a servant approached him bowing to Tiberius, saying, "Young Master, your mother wishes for you to go visit her and the lord in his study."
Tiberius gave the servant a nod, heading to his fathers' study to discover why his parents were looking for him. Arriving at the study, Tiberius knocked on the door as he entered the room and saw there was a stranger in the room with his parents. The stranger was a broad-shouldered and burly man with long, wild gray hair that fell past his shoulders and a beard the color of ash that went down to his waist. As soon as Tiberius entered the room, the piercing blue eyes of the stranger shot towards him in a way that seemed to burrow to his very soul as the man let his aura flare up.
Even while being glared at by a cultivator vastly more powerful than himself, Tiberius only furrowed his brow at the pressure being exuded. Tiberius turned to his parents, ignoring the stranger, and bowed to them, saying, "Greetings father, mother. I have arrived as you requested."
"HAHAHAHAHA!! So, this is your boy, Rexar! He is a rather interesting one" The stranger boisterously laughed as he retracted his aura.
Shaking his head, Rexar replied, "Yes, this is my son, Tiberius," turning his head to his son, "Tiberius, this is an old friend of mine known as Vulcar. He is not only the greatest blacksmith of this country but the best one in this region of the world."
Heaving a sigh of relief, Tiberius looked away from his father, turning his attention to Vulcar. Tiberius bowed, saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Master Vulcar."
"So, you've taken an interest in smithing, have you?" Vulcar asked, once again sizing him up.
"I have."
Hearing the simple answer that Tiberius gave him, Vulcar narrowed his eyes, asking, "What reason do you have to want to pursue this path. If it is just a hobby to you, then I don't mind giving your father a little face by teaching you the basics. But if walking the path of a metalworker is something you genuinely desire...Well, we'll see what your answer is first before we determine what other options you have."
Tiberius closed his eyes as he began to contemplate his reasons for wanting to learn this trade. He couldn't tell him about his past life and how he was a blacksmith there. Nor could he tell Vulcar about the forging technique "Carnage of Life and Death." Several moments passed as he thought about it before he got struck by sudden inspiration. Tiberius smiled and whispered to himself, "I am overthinking this," before continuing in a louder voice addressing Vulcar, "When I first witnessed a blacksmith working in the craftsman district of the city, I felt something. Every time that forger brought his hammer down, having it clash against the metal he was working with, it reverberated in my soul. When the heat roiled out from the forge and slammed into me, it was as if it sent me to another realm. Every spark from the flames, every pulse of power that ushered out from the hammer slamming into the anvil, seemed to call out to me. I felt like I found a lost part of myself that I never realized that I was missing. The feeling, the urging, I got goes well beyond simple desire. It is something that I need."
Vulcar looked over to Rexar after hearing Tiberius' answer saying with an amused look, "Quite a strange one you have here old brother," before turning his attention back to Tiberius, continuing, "But I do like your answer. Would you be willing to accept me as your master and learn the ways of forging?"
Kowtowing to Vulcar, Tiberius replied, "It would be my honor to be accepted by once as esteemed as yourself to become their disciple."
"Very well, you are now my disciple. For now, continue with the rest of your day, and we will officially begin tomorrow morning." Vulcar said in an authoritative tone, lifting Tiberius with a gesture of his hand, dismissing Tiberius from the room.
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Rexar POV
After seeing his son leaving the room, Rexar turned to Vulcar, "I have to thank you for accepting my son as your disciple" with a relieved sigh.
Hearing her husband speak, Azura followed up, saying, "Yes, thank you so much. It is quite tricky finding a skilled enough blacksmith that would allow our son to have a real future in the field. Even finding a blacksmith that has enough skill to teach others is incredibly difficult."
Nodding in agreement, Rexar opened his mouth as if about to say something when Vulcar cut in, "I didn't accept him because of my connection to either of you. So don't get things confused. I only accepted him because I felt something special about him, and I like the answer he gave."
Vulcar, seeing the awkward expressions covering his friends' faces, chuckled saying, " But if it makes you feel better, he only entered my sights because he is your son. So, I should be the one thanking you for bringing me such an interesting student to me." Vulcar paused after he finished his words and looked directly at Rexar, teasing, "Also, don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't forget who you are and that you are his father, old brother. After all, a teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime."
Seeing his wife pouting slightly, Rexar glared at Vulcar saying, "You old bastard, how could he possibly forget that the great, I am his father. Besides, couldn't you have given me some face by saying that you only took him in because he's our son?"
"Ha! And when did you command such face Rexar?" Vulcar responded with disdain covering his face and contempt dripping from his voice.
The trio just stared at each other for several moments before bursting out in laughter.
"It truly has been too long since we last met, old brother."
"That it has that it has. So, in celebration, how about we have a couple of drinks and reminisce about old times."
Azura just shook her head at the antics of the two, excusing herself to return to her area to work on some tailoring ideas she had, while leaving the two brothers to catch up.