Teacher

After the banquet ended Loken headed home and took a rest for the whole day... he had a very strong hangover from all the wine... he was not used to drinking since the Beastman in the Lighninggoddomain would not allow Humans to drink and keep all the good stuff for themselves. In his sleep, he dreamed about all the things he experienced so far... from his past life where he lived in suppression... to where he found Ragnar and experimented with the Blackiron and found out more of its fascinating uses... till where he excavated all the Blackiron of that mining town and escaped through the eastern border. It was a long way and a lot of things happened to him. He was forced to come out of hiding and decided to show his powers and what he has learned from his father and of the ancient writings.

When he woke up from his sleep he was wondering how he should live from now on. Should he stay as he was and stay down, trying to stay down and adjust to the environment like he used to do... or should he embrace his newfound freedom and seek for friendship, adventures, and power. His goal was to dismantle the other domains and raise Ragnar into a symbol of peace... was it safer to stay low or openly challenge the world. All he knew was that he wanted to become stronger. He then stood up and prepared something to eat for him and Ragnar. Ragnar was now eating nearly as much as Loken himself. He decided to head for the Grom later on and ask him for guidance... but first, they ate till they were full and had a satisfied look on their faces... and took another nap to overcome the hangover... Ragnar crawled trough the bedroom and played with some toys left by some clan members.

When Loken was completely rested he went for the blacksmith workshop and wanted to seek out Grom for guidance... then he saw that signboard hanging over the entrance again... The right Path is your Path...displaying in silver color on that board, "What is the meaning of this" He was wondering if this was the clan's motto. Soon he arrived inside the workshop... inside the workshop, Torken was standing... he seems to be searching for someone... soon Torken noticed Loken and Loken began to understand that the someone Torken was looking for was him. " Loken there you are... I hoped that you would spar with me again and teach me some of the techniques you used against me" Loken gave him a slap to the back and said: "You are a hundred years too early to challenge me again... first you have to understand the true essence of Metal everything will come after that... here have this and try to open it without using any tools." Loken handed Torken a Metal box approximately the size of a teapot... Torken just grinned and took it from Loken... he was very confident in his strength and tried to break open the box with brute force. "You won't be able to break it... try to understand it by feeling it with your connection to the Metal element," Loken said as he saw how hard Torken was trying to break it apart. Loken then left and headed to the front desk and asked for the clan heads whereabouts.

"Are you looking for me?" Grom appeared behind Loken... Loken was very surprised that he could not feel Grom's presence at all... Loken was used to feeling his surroundings to be un guard for surprise attacks since every person nowadays carries a peace of Metal around with... like the spatial rings or jewelry, weapons, or money. It seems Grom was able to mislead his senses... Loken read about such a technique but was not able to test it out before. "Seems like you are studying in the ancient writings," Loken said to Grom... Grom grinned and said: "There are some very profound skills that are quite useful... so, what can I do for you?" Loken lowered his head and asked: "I have a problem with deciding what path I should walk in the future and how I can make the most of it... could you give me a hint?" Grom answered, "The future path of one person can not be decided by another... you should make that choice on your own."

"Even if you do not know what to do now... you can stay and think about it as much as you like you are home now... so take it easy... I am sure you will find your way." Loken lifted his head and said: "You are right I have time to decide maybe the answer will come on its own." Grom grinned, "I have a task for you... I have gathered a few of our top ranking and most skilled blacksmiths I want you to show them how to forge Blackiron... Loken's expression then changed and he said to Grom," I would like to but I guess... there is no way the current clan can do so... I heard from Torken that everyone here is just proficient in hardening and sharpening the Metal with there elemental powers... it is no problem to forge it like every other Metal but I discovered a secret to that Metal that requires one to control the flow of the element." Loken then took some Metals and a sword out of his hidden rings.

When Grom saw those Metals and the sword his mouth dropped and he said to Loken in astonishment. "What is this... why are there so many colors on those two Metals and what is that sword?" Loken then explained everything he discovered about, Adamantite the Human Metal, Obsidian the Dragon Metal to Grom... he also explained that everything is made out of Blackiron and that only the Fire element was added when that sword was produced. Grom was not prepared for such a tremendous discovery and asked: "What happens when you combine those two Metals?" Loken's face turned very serious and he said: "Do not think about it... I managed to do so once and the Metal that emerged from it was too unstable... the Human and Dragon elements fight each other and power of chaos was born from it... I called that Metal, Asurantium... Asurantium will explode after it is formed and only a tiny bit the size of an apple is enough to destroy the whole clan's area." zzsshhh Grom took in a very deep breath and was completely speechless.

Suddenly Torken came in with a very joyful expression. "Sorry, father for disturbing you but I have to ask Loken a question." Torken was Grom's son? Was what Loken was thinking... but he now understood that this was the reason why Torken was so carefree inside the presence of other clan members. "Ah, Torken what is it... please ask him and leave... we have important matters to discuss." Torken just grinned and ignored his father... he looked at Loken and said: "Can we now fight again... I managed to open the box?" Loken looked at Torken and discovered that the box in Torkens hands really was open... Loken smiled and said: "Since you have opened it what is the true essence of Metal?" Torken shortly thought about it and said: "Metal is solid and can be used to enhance power and defense but it is also conductive and is an extension of ourselves... if you feel it from the inside you can move it to your will."

"Very good... it seems like you really are a genius it took me a whole day to figure that out." Loken left out the fact that he was only six years old at that time... he then looked at Grom and said: " Clan head it seems like I finally found my path... this is what makes me feel good and seems to be the right way." Grom did not seem to understand what Loken means so he asked: "Which path is it then??" Loken grinned and said: "I am going to become a teacher here in this clan... not only for guidance in elemental control but also in forging and understanding Blackiron." Loken saw how Torken made a progress in his understanding of the Metal element and this made him feel proud, proud that it was his guidance that made someone progress... this was the first time he had this feeling so he was really happy about it and wanted to embrace this more often.