Chapter 72: The Blacksmith

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: The Blacksmith

[3rd POV]

Aeon entered his private workshop. Because he was recognized as the youngest 3-star Blacksmith capable of consistently producing high-grade, Rare-rank items, the club administration had granted him a remarkably spacious, standalone personal building to serve as his primary crafting domain.

The structure itself was not overly extravagant. It was laid out as a simple, functional one-bedroom house complete with an attached bathroom and a kitchen area.

However, the true heart of the building lay in its massive workshop facility, which was fully equipped with an independent material storage unit and a dedicated, reinforced testing room.

Click!

The mechanical lock disengaged as Aeon stepped throught the house. Bypassing the living quarters entirely, he headed straight toward the rear of the building where his workshop floor was located.

Within moments, he was standing directly before his forge furnace, observing its configuration.

It was a beautiful, traditional stone forge that roared with a deep, red-orange fire. The structural stonework was reinforced with bands of dark, high-grade metal and heavily engraved with intricate, glowing runic arrays.

Two large mechanical bellows pulsed rhythmically, pumping steady streams of compressed air directly into the base of the flames, while a localized crystal core hovered beneath the hearth, silently amplifying the thermal output to extreme levels.

Standing nearby was a massive, heavily weathered anvil completely covered in deep-etched runes—a flawless blending of ancient blacksmithing traditions with high-fantasy craftsmanship and advanced technology.

Aeon raised his right hand and summoned his Infinite Stellar Flame. Instantly, a mesmerizing, pitch-black-violet flame began to dance across his open palm. With a casual flick of his wrist, Aeon threw the fire directly into the furnace hearth.

The transition was immediate. The baseline red-orange fire was instantly devoured by Aeon’s dominant violet flames, completely replacing the heat source with his own flame.

Extending his thoughts outward, he used his telekinesis to unlock the distant material storage area, calling forth the precise ingredients required to forge the specific weapon he had in mind.

Seconds later, the heavy reinforced door on the far left side of the room slid open automatically, and four distinct objects floated out into the air, flying in a neat trajectory straight toward Aeon’s position.

As the exotic materials suspended themselves gracefully in mid-air, Aeon turned his head slightly to evaluate their properties.

The first item was a raw, jagged lump of specialized metal roughly the size of two clenched fists. Its metallic surface hissed constantly, crackling with volatile, erratic arcs of raw lightning energy.

Krrrrrzts! Krrrrrztz!

The second component was a brilliant blue crystal, within which pure lightning essence danced and swirled like a trapped storm.

The final two items were a highly preserved bone fragment and a pristine, energy-infused feather, both harvested from a high-tier Thunder magical beast.

Considering that every single one of these harvested items was heavily saturated with the lightning element, Aeon’s objective was clear. He was going to forge a Thunder sword.

In the realm of blacksmithing, crafting lightning-attributed equipment was widely considered one of the most difficult and volatile undertakings due to the unstable nature of the element.

Aeon did not waste a single moment. Using his telekinesis, he immediately guided the volatile hunk of Thundersteel directly into the maw of the furnace.

The moment the black-violet flames swallowed the metal, the intense, unnatural heat began to slowly break down its rigid structure, softening the core.

Simultaneously, Aeon concentrated his telekinetic grip around the metal, creating a dense localized barrier to tightly contain the roaring lightning essence trapped within from escaping into the room.

Once the black-violet fire had properly softened the metal to the ideal temperature, Aeon used a mental command to pull the glowing mass from the hearth, landing it perfectly onto the center of the runic anvil.

Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out his custom-made forging hammer, gripped the handle firmly, and brought it down heavily upon the heated metal.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

For one continuous minute, the heavy rhythmic strikes of Aeon’s hammer echoed off the walls. He maintained a blistering pace, constantly striking the glowing metal while dividing his focus to actively suppress and contain the roaring lightning essence that fought back against every blow.

He then smoothly folded the flattened metal over itself, sealing the layers, and returned it to the furnace to be reheated. Once it reached the optimal state of malleability, he transferred it back to the anvil, hammered it intensely for another full minute, and folded it yet again.

This rigorous process continued until the metal had gone through five complete cycles of heating, hammering, and folding, meticulously purifying the core material.

Following the final hammer strike of the fifth cycle, Aeon skillfully shifted his angles, shaping the elongated metal into the unmistakable silhouette of a sword.

With the base blade formed, only the three remaining auxiliary materials floated in the air. Ordinary blacksmiths would have simply embedded the crystal into the hilt or melted the beast parts into the alloy, but Aeon possessed an entirely different, far superior methodology.

Focusing on the three hovering items, he applied a precise burst of telekinesis to forcibly extract the raw, unadulterated essence from the materials.

Instantly, three small, brilliantly glowing blue orbs of concentrated energy tore free from the items.

Deprived of their core essence, the physical remains of the crystal, bone, and feather crumbled away, dissolving into fine dust that scattered to the floor.

With a motion of his fingers, he drifted the three glowing blue energies toward the heated blade. The moment the orbs made contact with the metallic surface, they completely submerged into the sword, disappearing into the molecular structure and becoming entirely one with the weapon.

The impact was instantaneous. As soon as the beast and crystal essences integrated, the sword’s lightning energy skyrocketed exponentially.

Violent, blinding arcs of blue electricity crackled wildly out into the surrounding air, illuminating the entire workshop.

Krrrrzzzzt! Krrrrzzzt!

Reacting with flawless precision, Aeon instantly clamped down with his telekinesis, forcing the runaway lightning energy back into the confines of the blade, refusing to let a single drop of the potent essence go to waste.

He returned the surging sword to the furnace for a brief, intense reheating cycle, and upon pulling it back out, he began hammering the surface once more.

This time, however, he activated the specialized runes carved into the face of his forging hammer. He wasn’t just shaping the physical metal anymore.

With every heavy strike, he was hammering the lightning essence itself, forcing it deep into the crystalline structure of the metal and taming its wild nature completely.

Finally, after a relentless barrage of heavy blows, the wild lightning calmed down entirely under Aeon’s overwhelming control, concluding the core forging phase.

All that remained now was the process of tempering the blade, quenching it in specialized solutions, and sharpening the edges to a fine point.

He also took his time adding the final decorative touches, carefully engraving elegant aesthetic patterns along the fuller, making the weapon look beautifully dangerous.

While his hands executed the finishing work on the blade, he simultaneously used his telekinesis to craft a matching, perfectly insulated sheath for the sword in the background.

Finally, exactly fifty minutes after he had first started, he was finished crafting yet another high-grade, Rare-rank item. Aeon held the completed weapon up to the light, turning it around slowly as he thoroughly analyzed its balance, weight, and its edges.

Every once in a while, the blade would give a soft, subtle tremble, humming quietly as if showing innate respect to its creator.

Satisfied with the result, he teleported directly into his private testing room, appearing instantly in a wide space lined with various mechanical dummies.

Approaching the control console, he manually adjusted the structural hardness setting of one of the test dummies to D-rank, aiming to gauge the weapon’s physical sharpness.

Raising his hand, Aeon executed a swift, casual downward swing, directing the edge of the sword toward the center of the reinforced dummy.

The next moment, the blade passed through the durable material effortlessly, cutting through the D-rank structure like a hot knife slicing through butter.

Slice! Thud!

The top half of the mechanical dummy immediately slid off its base, crashing heavily onto the floor and revealing a perfectly clean, polished cut along the severed edge.

For the next several minutes, Aeon remained in the room to thoroughly test the weapon’s elemental capabilities, channeling his own diluted version of lightning energy to ensure the it functioned flawlessly.

"Hmm. Pretty good. This will easily net me a very substantial amount of Academy points once I put it up for sale," Aeon muttered quietly to himself, sliding the humming blade smoothly back into its custom sheath.

Since he had officially become a recognized member of the Blacksmithing Club, he was granted full access to their premium material reserves, though the club rules dictated that he had to contribute 10% of whatever finished products he created back to the organization.

Fortunately, the club operated its own internal auction house, allowing members to simply submit their creations to be bid on by the wealthy students, professors and the rest of the staff.

This setup provided Aeon with an incredibly efficient method to accumulate massive amounts of Academy points, while simultaneously allowing him to indulge in the process of creation.

"I really don’t think I will ever get bored of refining pills and crafting items. These occupations are incredibly addictive," Aeon said with a faint smile, glancing down at the sheathed weapon in his hand.

Storing the finished Thunder sword securely inside his space ring, he walked out of the testing area and headed to the bathroom to take a hot shower.

After a thoroughly relaxing bath, he dressed himself in proper, clean attire and left his personal workshop compound, setting a direct course toward the regional Auction House.

As he walked through the residential pathways of the artisan sector, numerous senior blacksmiths caught sight of him, calling out greetings and showing genuine respect to the young genius.

Minutes later, Aeon stood before the grand entrance of the Auction House. It was one of the largest and most architecturally impressive structures in the entire crafting district, designed to reflect commanding authority and grace.

The moment he stepped through the heavy front doors, a refreshing wave of cool air hit his skin.

Due to the naturally intense, scorching heat of the surrounding volcanic terrain, this facility and indeed every major building in the sector was equipped with a massive, high-powered cooling system to maintain a comfortable environment.

Aeon quickly located the main reception area and walked directly toward the counter. A beautiful, blonde-haired elf was seated behind the desk.

The moment her eyes landed on his approaching figure, she immediately stood up and offered a deep, respectful bow.

"Welcome back, dear customer," she greeted him, her voice sounding smooth, welcoming, and thoroughly professional.

Aeon was treated as a VVIP client at this branch, primarily because he consistently brought in high-grade Rare-rank merchandise.

Furthermore, his status as an exceptionally young 3-star blacksmith made him an individual of immense future potential during his stay at the academy.

Aeon gave a simple, polite nod. Reaching into his space ring , he withdrew the newly forged weapon and slowly drew the steel from its sheath, exposing the blade.

The receptionist, already thoroughly accustomed to his routine, immediately pressed a designated button on her keyboard, activating a localized scann to analyze the structural quality of the sword.

Within a split second, the assessment results flashed onto her holographic display screen, confirming that the item was a genuine, masterfully crafted Rare-rank sword of exceptional high-grade quality.

"As always, your craftsmanship is absolutely amazing, young master. Do you wish to sell this item directly to our establishment for a fixed price, or would you prefer to place it in the upcoming auction, sir?" the receptionist asked, her eyes shining with genuine admiration as she examined the clean lines of his work.

"Auction it," Aeon replied calmly, sliding the blade back into its insulated sheath with a soft click. Placing items up for public auction consistently generated significantly higher returns than selling them directly to the counter, and Aeon had no intention of settling for a smaller sum of Academy points when he could maximize his profits.

"Understood, sir. The next official auction block is scheduled to take place two days from now. Your accrued Academy points will be transferred directly to your account immediately following the final sale."

The receptionist tapped another interface button, causing a small, shimmering spatial portal to manifest directly over the marble counter.

Aeon casually guided the sheathed Thunder sword into the glowing portal, turning on his heel to head toward the exit once the weapon was secure.

Behind him, the receptionist offered another deep bow, her polite voice echoing clearly down the grand hallway.

"It is always a pleasure doing business with you, young master. Please come again."

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