Nightblade (Darkest night)-Chapter 222: The Forge

"No, Professor Rundrik."

The maestro pierced her with a stern gaze for a few moments, then continued speaking.

"Since you're all on the verge of becoming apprentices now, with the obvious exception of the Talented, and have a rudimentary understanding of how umbralis works, today I'll be taking you through..."

Professor Rundrik carefully took them through the theory of the primary crafting process of blade weapons.

"One of the most important things in the crafting of a weapon is the Wielder of the weapon. Depending on the temperament, their combat style, and preferences, these will help us choose the perfect materials and give a weaponsmith a higher chance of achieving weapon synchronization with the Wielder."

Rundrik's eyes shone with an enthusiastic light.

" While not all of you will become master weaponsmiths in the future, it's every teacher's dream to see their student make them proud."

Gesturing with his hand, Rundrik beckoned to the students.

"Come with me."

His eyes shone with an ethereal light.

"It's better if you see what I'm talking about in person."

Lucian gasped, immediately shooting to his feet.

"We're actually going to get a chance to see the weapons forge?"

Talia threw him a flabbergasted look.

"What's so incredible about that?

Lucian spared her an incredulous glance before moving forward.

Looking around, she noticed the other students scrambling up with the contagious excitement.

In the underground chamber that served as the weaponsmithing lab, a calm, controlled heat emanated from several large cauldrons that contained flames in different colors: emerald, violet, cyan, and even gold.

The dazzling flames of varying colours illuminated the brilliant chamber,r giving it an almost fantastical appearance.

But that was only the first level.

Privy only to those who considered learning weaponsmithing.

At its core, weaponsmithing was a truly elusive and obscure art. Different Masters in the discipline had several secrets that put them ahead, ad making the need for secrecy paramount.

Those students who managed to become novices were given the chance to progress to the second level, the forge.

And yet, Professor Rundrik was offering them an opportunity to glimpse it before they were even full-fledged apprentices.

Down in the weapon forge, a vibrant heat emanated through the walls.

As soon as they entered, the strong scent of molten metal invaded their nostrils.

A slightly metallic taste lingered in the air.

Flames pulsed throughout the wide expanse of the forge, seemingly with a life of their own.

Emerald, cyan, and even violet flames licked at the sturdy glass, pulsing with a strange, life-like intensity, almost as though they were trying to break free.

Talia momentarily froze, feeling the intense heat washing over her.

In the scorching haze, several figures moved into the glass chambers while others toiled away within the flames and heat.

Molten liquid metal slowly coursed through the sleek glass tubes into glass compartments resembling silver ichor.

It almost seemed as though they were mortals inside the body of some profane deity.

Overhead, floating in the air, a massive spherical-shaped cauldron pulsated with a life of its own, and with every pulse, silver ichor pulsed through the giant tubes flowing down into large intricate glass compartments.

Within them, already prepared weapon molds stood, waiting to be filled.

Within the glass compartments, several apprentices worked, hammering away at the rapidly solidifying molten metal in sync.

Each of the apprentices was purely and intensely focused on what they were doing.

Each strike at the molten metal was unhurried, measured, and precise.

Despite standing at different points throughout the compartments, they moved as one.

Almost as though they shared the same mind, none of them even the slightest second later than the other.

At some point, Lucian found that he'd drawn closer to the glass.

Looking closer, it felt like they were all part oc one massive organism, each of them an extension of its limbs. Working with unnatural unison.

The apprentices paid the scions no attention at all.

"How much have they worked to achieve this level of cohesion..." Lucian thought, realizing he'd been holding his breath.

Among them, Lucian immediately recognized Solgrane, Rundrik's assistant, overseeing the making of what appeared to be a giant battle axe.

Several apprentices worked on the massive weapon, each of them hammering away at a different part of the weapon with unnatural synchronicity.

Even at this stage, Lucian could already see just how powerful the weapon was going to be.

" How was someone even supposed to wield the massive thing in battle, let alone carry it around stealthily..."

Brilliant blue sparks flew from the weapon's surface, a peculiar pattern slowly coming to life on the blade's surface.

As they watched,d the weapon seemed to come to life, inwardly glowing with an electric blue light.

The apprentices worked tirelessly, their eyes focused solely on the slowly forming weapon.

The arms and hammers rose and fell in sync, beads of sweat rolling down their foreheads.

The sheer concentration in their eyes was evident.

With every strike, a subtle hum emanated from the weapon, the glow growing brighter and brighter.

Rundrik turned his orange eyes, glowing with pride.

"For now, just observe..."

The rhythmic pounding of hammers in sync created an eerie symphony that echoed throughout the forge.

Flames of different hues lit up the compartments, painting the forge ablaze in a rainbow of colours.

"Beautiful..." Lucian murmured.

Talia wanted to refuse, but she couldn't help but agree.

Weaponsmithing had an innate allure of its own, a sort of mesmerizing beauty that was undeniable.

Standing beside them, Emily watched the grueling process in wonder and awe. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen. The only thing that came close was the Blood Reaper blades Rundrik had gifted Morgan.

Rundrik walked to one of the glass compartments,s stopping in front of it.

" Even with modern techniques, a true weaponsmith must know the old way. Back then, en before the advent of technology and the different machines we now use, this is how weapon smiths worked."

Lucian barely heard him.

With his now heightened senses, he could clearly feel the flow of umbralis through the massive chambers.

To the mundane human, the process seemed ordinary, but massive streams of umbralis continually flowed into glass compartments.

He slowly understood what was happening right in front of him.

" They're imbuing the weapons with umbralis..."

It was the only explanation for the large streams of umbralis flowing through the large chamber.

Because of the single-minded harmony when each weapon was hammered and imbued, the umbralis hummed, the air itself vibrating with power.

It was ethereal, almost magical.

Despite its simplicity, Lucian knew the process demanded immense physical endurance just to stand in the vicinity of the molten metal and the flames within the glass chambers.

Several moments later, they slowly filed out of the forge, but the memory of the Great battle axe remained firmly imprinted in his mind.

"I wonder..." he thought, stopping in his tracks and turning back.