Chapter 168: The Blacksmiths Association
Chapter 168: The Blacksmiths Association
Magnus still had not taken his gaze off the massive skin, a few seconds of silence passed.
Lian and Kain were still waiting for him to explain what he meant by what he said, and then he quietly took a deep breath and said.
"The problem is that my tools cannot even damage it."
"What do you mean?" Kain asked in surprise, he did not expect that one of the country’s greatest blacksmiths would have a problem making armor from this corpse.
Does that really mean making armor from the corpse of an Unholy is that hard?
The old man, without answering, pointed to one of his apprentices.
"Bring hammer number seven."
The apprentice paused for a moment, then quickly ran toward the shelf at the end of the workshop.
A few moments later, he carried a massive hammer with a black steel handle and a silver-colored head with both hands.
Just looking at it was enough for anyone to understand this was not an ordinary tool.
Magnus took the hammer from him.
"With this hammer..."
His gaze fixed on Lian.
"Most of this country’s A Rank armors have been made with this, I have been using it for more than fifteen years."
He stepped forward and spread the World Devourer Giant’s skin on the special anvil.
All the apprentices had left their work, everyone was watching with curiosity.
Magnus wrapped both his hands around the hammer’s handle, the veins on his arms lit up, his muscles contracted, he raised the hammer above his head.
The next moment... BOOOM!
The sound of impact shook the entire workshop.
Sparks of fire scattered around, the metal anvil sank a few centimeters into the ground.
But... the skin did not get even the smallest scratch.
On the contrary... a very faint sound was heard.
Tick...
Magnus calmly raised the hammer, its metal edge... was chipped.
"Master... the hammer..." one of the apprentices whispered in disbelief, that small damage to the hammer could cause millions of dollars in loss for them.
Magnus just sighed and placed the hammer on the table.
"This is exactly what I wanted to show you."
"This skin... cannot be processed at all with my current tools."
"So the skin of an Unholy is that strong?" Kain asked again.
"No, the problem is not just that it is an Unholy, but its race, this corpse belongs to a race of monsters that were known for their defensive power, a defense that is stronger than mountains, penetrating it with normal hammers is not possible."
The workshop fell into silence again.
Even Lian realized for the first time how far the true value of this skin was beyond his imagination.
He knew the skin of this monster was definitely valuable, but not to this extent, to the point that even one of the country’s greatest blacksmiths could not penetrate it.
Magnus went toward one of the old shelves, from among dozens of leather books, he pulled out a thick and worn volume.
He opened it on the table, inside the book, an image of a massive hammer could be seen.
Its head was made of a golden-colored metal, and its entire handle was covered with ancient runes.
"Titan’s Forge Hammer." The old man said with special respect.
"The heritage of the Blacksmiths’ Association, its age goes back to several hundred years ago." He ran his finger over the image.
"Almost all the Ancient Rank equipment recorded in this country... were made with this very hammer."
Lian looked at the image carefully, even from a drawing, one could feel the greatness of that tool.
Their country did not have many Ancient rank treasures, no country had many, and most of such treasures were in the hands of the government or the top five guilds of the country.
And of course, the Vorhelm clan...
Magnus closed the book and sat on the chair.
"Don’t think any blacksmith can use it whenever they want, that hammer belongs to the Blacksmiths’ Association."
Then he started explaining.
Blacksmithing, unlike awakened classes, was a profession.
After the emergence of the Ruined Realms, humans had found thousands of books, tools, maps, and remaining knowledge from destroyed civilizations.
Years of research, testing, and failure caused a group of humans to revive part of that knowledge.
All of them were craftsmen, not awakened ones with special classes, and this had made the number of true masters very small.
The Blacksmiths’ Association was also considered the most powerful organization in this field, almost all the Master Blacksmiths of the country were members.
Even the government did not have direct control over the association.
Even the most powerful awakened ones sometimes waited for months in line to get a proper armor or weapon made, and the problem was that they couldn’t say anything.
Blacksmiths did not have combat power, but they were of extremely high importance and were respected throughout the world.
Some projects carried out inside the association had a value equivalent to fully equipping an army.
"So we’ll just borrow it." Kain said after a few moments of silence.
Magnus gave a bitter smile.
"I wish it were that simple." He looked at the hammer’s image again.
"The Titan’s Forge Hammer is only used for projects that the association’s council approves."
"If they determine the raw materials do not have enough value, permission to use it is not issued."
"Not out of stinginess, but because every time that hammer is used, the cost and depreciation are very high."
"No one is willing to take such a risk for a normal project, even though I don’t have much to do with those idiots, but without their permission, that hammer cannot be obtained."
"Is there a way to talk to them? I’m sure this project is valuable." Lian added this time.
Of course this project was valuable!
they were talking about making an Ancient rank armor, such an armor could become an industrial masterpiece
Anywhere in the world, such a project was valuable and extraordinary.
Magnus did not answer immediately and examined the skin for a few more minutes, sometimes touching it with his hand, sometimes looking at it under the runes’ light.
In the end, he raised his head and looked directly at Lian.
"Of course there is a way, and I will accept this project."
Lian smiled.
But Magnus continued.
"But... first I have to convince the members of the association’s council, if they don’t agree... there’s nothing I can do either."
Lian thought for a moment.
"How long will it take?" he then asked.
"If everything goes well, at least a month, but if the council opposes, maybe never."
A faint frown settled on Lian’s face.
As far as he knew, the leaders of the Blacksmiths’ Association were among the closest people to the President’s circle of advisors.
He knew this because the Blacksmiths’ Association is extremely famous, and its leader and the President are always seen together as allies and friends.
And the President... did not have a very good relationship with the Vorhelm clan.
Of course, he could not take direct action against the Vorhelm clan, he did not have the power, nor would the congress allow such a thing.
Even many cabinet members avoided and feared getting involved with that influential clan.
But... causing trouble for one of the young members of the clan? And without directly breaking the law?
It probably wouldn’t be too hard, this thought passed through Lian’s mind for a moment, but he said nothing, but it was too early to judge pessimistically.
And besides, a month was also a long time, he wanted the armor before entering the Special Areas, but it seemed such a thing was not possible.
At that same moment, the sound of running was heard from outside the workshop.
The door opened hurriedly, one of the apprentices entered breathlessly, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"Master..." he took a few deep breaths.
"The head of the association just entered the building, told me to inform you, he came about the weapon the President requested from us."
A deep frown settled on Magnus’s face, and he said under his breath, with a completely dissatisfied tone.
"...Who does that idiot think he is, coming without an appointment?"
Lian and Kain exchanged a quick look, both had almost simultaneously reached the same conclusion.
It seemed... this old man really did not have special respect for anyone.