The Better Weapon

After Shui and Maha left, Daisy went to see his superior. He found him sharpening his knives in the room that was supposed to be Daisy's office/safe space. This was his usual pastime so Daisy didn't have a problem with it, although he did have to remind him to collect all of his knives when he was finished. He didn't really use poison so besides being sharp, the knives weren't that dangerous, but he was the suspicious type who would accuse someone of stealing if he saw them with a knife that he had forgotten to take up.

"Sir, the new recruits have left," Daisy announced.

"I see. What did they buy?" the young man asked.

"Fox Demon chose a sensory support tesora-rank artifact, while Faceless chose that damaged corna."

"That one, huh? Hmm."

After that, the young man became indifferent to the two. It was better than him holding a grudge, but Daisy felt like there was something he had to ask.

"Um, sir? What do you think about them?"

At that question, the young man paused his actions and took his time before replying.

"If they don't die early, then we might be able to take a step closer to our dearest wish."

"Really?!"

Daisy also thought highly of the two since he knew that they were the ones who caused chaos at the dark auction, but he didn't expect them to get such a evaluation from the young man. The organization's dearest wish was something that still could not be realised despite the Masters and True Masters that supported them, so the only way that someone could push them closer to the wish, would be to take a step further.

'No no no, he probably just means that they have a chance of taking up 'that' role. Even so...'

Unaware that they were being praised by their superiors, Shui and Maha stopped nearby the guild to talk. It was mostly small talk and working out the details of how they would meet up for the upcoming idol concert, so it didn't take long before they split up.

Shui then went straight to the Blacksmith Union, but when he reached its entrance, he spotted Adrian walking behind an aloof middle-aged man. Their faces looked similar so he guessed that they were relatives, but he wondered why this relative was here. He took a moment to decide whether he should follow them or not, but before he could make a decision, someone recognised him.

"You're here!" Georg shouted.

When Shui turned around, he saw that there was an energetic smile on his face, so he believed that the results hadn't been revealed yet. It was a shame that he missed the chance to investigate Adrian, but now that he was separated from Emily he had more options.

"Of course I am. I still need that apology after all."

"Hmph, we'll see who'll be the one apologizing soon enough," Georg replied with a smirk.

"Oh? So the results haven't come out yet?"

"That's right, but he's already finished the sword made with my method and passed the task. About now, he should be finishing up the one crafted with your theory. Follow me. I wouldn't want you think I cheated after all."

Confident that Shui would be proven wrong, Georg led him deeper into the Blacksmith Union. Naturally, he had needed to ask for permission to bring him here, but his elders quickly gave the okay once they heard the reason. They didn't know what method Shui suggested, but they thought it would be a good experience for young blacksmiths to hear about fresh perspectives.

Georg and Shui took about five minutes to walk through the halls of the main business building of the Blacksmith Union, but after that, they ended up in front of forges lined up like rice paddies. The forging rooms were all identical, but Shui could tell the skill of the occupant by the clashing of hammer and metal that leaked out, because of his experience and exceptional hearing granted by the Perception Chapter.

Although it was on a much grander scale, the continuous ringing of metal was very familiar to Shui. It reminded him of his days in the Heaven clan with Uncle Bartos and his apprentice brothers. Back when he only needed to focus on what was ahead of him. Those sweet days.

Shui would have liked to spend more time reminiscing, but Georg moved on with no concern for him so he had to follow. Even though he could see through the skill of the forge masters from their sound, once they got closer to the middle right cluster of forges, all of the sounds had the same level of dissonance.

'I guess these are the novices.'

While Shui hoped that Georg actually knew which forge to go to, they eventually spotted a gathering near a particular forge. There was one elder with a hammer on his waist who left his top barely covered, as well as a few men who were around the same age as George. Considering how buff all of them were, it wouldn't be too weird to think that they were siblings or relatives of some sort.

When they spotted Georg approaching with the unfamiliar Shui, their reactions could be categorised into two groups. One group scoffed at his slender appearance while the other acknowledged the strength of his specially trained body. The elder was part of the latter group, and he was also the only one who tried to check Shui's forging skill with his eyes.

'So this is the boy who he made a bet with. Hoho, impressive.'

As they got closer, Georg greeted his fellow apprentices with boisterous laughter and then introduced them to Shui.

"These guys are forge masters that were trained in the same batch as I was. You could say that we're like brothers," after telling Shui about them with a smile, he then greeted the elder and introduced him as well.

"This is one of my teachers, Sir Dima Lock. Don't be too amazed, but he's forged a half-step archaic-rank artifact before."

"That was just a lucky try. I can't call that my own achievement."

Despite saying that, the elder looked quite pleased with himself. Shui was actually impressed that he could forge something of that quality, so there was a hint of admiration and respect in his gaze, but nothing as exaggerated as Georg. However, Shui felt awkward when he was being appraised by the elder, so he ignored that gaze and instead watched how the forging was going. Just as Georg had said, the boy who Shui had seen on that day was in the middle of the quenching process so the blade was almost finished.

When the boy pulled the blade out, its final appearance was different from other swords. Rather than a shiny surface that could reflect light, the only things that sparkled were the water droplets on it. However, when these forge masters of varying levels of skill saw the sword, they gulped in anticipation.

After making the bet with Shui, Georg began to wonder if maybe he had been too rash. He still thought that Shui was wrong, but as a blacksmith, he was curious as to what the exact result would be if he followed Shui's method. Unfortunately, he couldn't finish the preparations in time, but now it looked like it was unnecessary.