"It is time to start the test," Rona said as she raised one arm. "You are free to forge whatever you want and so long as it reaches Baron-Grade, you pass. You have 2 hours! Now, go!"
Ezio didn't hurry as he looked around. More than half of the contestants already started but there were some, like him, taking their time and inspecting the furnace. He was confident in forging a Baron-Grade craft, after all, he crafted much better things under Aodhfionn's tutelage. His first craft didn't count, as it wasn't him who forged it.
All aspiring younglings could get the title of an apprentice from any Blacksmith Master, even the First Rank. But to get the token of the first rank, one must take an exam in the Association. Now that Ezio was at the peak of Qi Force Opening Realm, he normally couldn't take the title, but because he could indeed craft Baron Grade tools, he could still pass the exam and that was sufficient.
He looked at the available metals and decided to work with Primesteel. Primesteel was an alloy made of Pristine Iron. It was a good material to forge Baron-Grade weapons. Although it couldn't create anything higher, it was one of the easiest metals to work on. He didn't need to craft something showy in an illusion and he didn't want to shine out too much.
He took the glowing metal and placed it in the furnace. He held the protruding stick coming out of the furnace and fed the Qi Force into it. Soon, the furnace blazed and flames started to dance.
Since it was stronger than Pristine Iron, it would take some time for Primesteel to melt. With nothing else to do, Ezio started to look around while keeping the stick and feeding Force from time to time.
A blonde teen caught his attention right away. In his two hands, he was holding two different metals. One was gold in color and the other was silver.
"Mighty Gold and Mighty Silver?" Ezio looked at the metals, gobsmacked. Both Metals were really high grades and would require an hour and a half to melt. That would only leave 30 minutes for everything else. Hammering alone would take a long time.
"Using both metals, what is he going to forge?" He couldn't help but be amazed.
"He might be a prodigy but he is too arrogant." Dong Dong said with a snort.
"Let's just watch, Vice-President, he might have a plan." Rona smiled.
Ezio took his eyes off the blonde and looked at the others. Although what the blonde was doing was amazing, it would be all for naught if he failed.
"Oh, she is interesting." Blacksmith Ezio's voice reverberated in his mind.
"Who?" Ezio asked as he looked around. In some inconspicuous corner, he saw a girl with a slim body. She had forest green eyes and orange hair. He felt like falling in love but controlled his emotions. "F*cking beautiful!"
"It is, right?" Blacky asked.
"It?" Ezio looked at the girl's hand and saw a metal. It was purple in color but there were white dots all over it. "Ghostsilver?"
"That is a Ghostsilver for sure," Blacky said in his mind as he whistled. "She is going to forge a spear. Now, that would look good."
"Hmm, why?" Ezio asked in bewilderment. Wouldn't a sword be better? Since the surface area of a spear was lesser than a sword. After all, she couldn't forge the shaft from the same metal. Most masters would choose wood or elastic metals for the shaft to reduce the vibration the user would feel. If the spear shaft were to be forged by metal, the user would feel all the aftershocks of the attacks in their bodies.
"Can't you see the wood on her lap?" Blacky asked with a snort. "That is Spiritwood. It is a perfect match for the metal she is using. She is good."
"Oh, I see now." Ezio nodded in understanding.
While he was looking around, his metal had already melted. He took a tong and placed it on top of the anvil and grabbed the hammer. Feeding Qi Force to the hammer together, he started to pound the metal.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Soon, metal hitting metal sounds reverberated in the room. Ezio closed his senses to the outside and hammered over and over again. It was soothing music to his ears. A lullaby to his sleepless nights. He felt comfortable in the monotonous action of hammering the metal. The weight of the hammer and sweats burning his eyes, he couldn't feel them at all.
His sweats fell on top of the sizzling metal and vaporized it in seconds. Ezio had already flattened the metal and it was taking the shape of a sword. The impurities were surfacing with his every strike. Although his strikes looked simple, they were in fact not.
This was a technique imparted by Aodhfionn. It would use the flaring Force to increase the effect of each strike. It wasn't easy to master as it required expertness in controlling the Force. For example, if he required Anon's help previously for striking three consecutive punches at the same level of power, now he could do it himself thanks to his mastery in control.
While he was lost in his hammering, a commotion disrupted the others. They all looked at the flaring flames at one corner and saw bloody red-green fires blazing with ominous heat. The blonde seated near the furnace seemed unperturbed. Two metals in the furnace, on the other hand, started to melt already, despite it being half an hour only.
"Special fire? A high grade one at that." Dong Dong couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, Vice-President. His Signium is Blazing Blood Baron. Allows him to use Bloody-Green Fire. That is why he is good at smithing and can also be a knight. After all, these flames can also burn his enemies." Rona explained it in a timely manner.
"Good, good. He is a prodigy after all. And since he can back it up, he has the right to be arrogant. I like kids like that." Dong Dong smirked as he looked at the blonde with greed.
On the other corner, an unnoticed orange-head was gracefully hammering the metal she had melted. Her strikes looked light, but with every hit, the metal was taking the shape she wanted. And in 100 strikes, he created the spearhead. She then took the wood from her lap and placed the spearhead on the stick. As if they were meant to be together, the spearhead merged with the handle. She then dipped the metal into the water to quench it and hammered it 100 times again.
Ezio was lost in his own hammering and finished the sword. He too dipped it into the water but also placed it back in the furnace. This was a technique he learned when Blacky took over his body. It would clear more impurities and make the metal much harder.
Although this was just an illusion, it was still a tip that would increase the rank of the craft. After finishing the sword, he quickly worked on the handle, and in no time at all, he was done with his assignment.