LIII

  Kaz stared wordlessly at Elder Aelon, wondering what prompted this outburst, not knowing who Valorias was, or what was discussed between them. It was nice that Elder Aelon was praising him in a way, making Kaz feel like he was actually someone of some importance. As if being on his ‘bad side’ was actually something to be concerned about, which Kaz felt in a way, proud of that.

  Slowly calming down, the Elven Mage explained, “Shortly after you departed for your adventure, Valorias Faedusk, Nahan’s father, summoned me and the Headmaster of the Academy to his residence.”

  Kaz immediately knew where this was going, just hearing the name Faedusk was enough to explain everything. Aelon continued, “At his residence, he tried to threaten us, demanding for some kind of restrictions to be imposed on you, and unfortunately, the Headmaster agreed. Just the typical politics between people with no actual physical power, only power of reputation. He knew quite a bit about you, which shows his influence is quite widespread. As I left the unpleasant meeting, I warned Valorias that he was acting irrationally, and that angering you would be detrimental to him and his family.”

  With a solemn voice, Aelon concluded, “Again, young Kaz, be wary of the people who are around you. I wouldn’t put it past that family to do more than just restricting your access to the Academy. And make sure, once you ascend past their statuses, that you do not yield to them because they are weaker. I usually wouldn’t advise someone to act in such a way, but sometimes, people need to be reminded that there is always someone mightier than them.”

  Kaz noted that, and he agreed with Elder Aelon. He already knew he wouldn’t ever do anything that would involve that cursed family, but hearing Aelon essentially urging him to be a pain to them in return sparked something within him. His Mana Core seemed to agree, as it sent a wave of powerful energy throughout him. Aelon noticed it, and nodded with a look of admiration at him, which embarrassed Kaz. All this positive attention that Aelon was showing him was more than he was used to.

  With a sigh, and smoothing out his white robes, Aelon stood up, and informed Kaz, “Alas, young Kaz, I must go as I have students to teach at eleven. I will be willing to answer any remaining questions that you may have, but at another time. I am sure you have plenty of questions, as all children do, and they will be answered to the best of my ability. If you want to contact me, you can ask the Guild to send a message to me with a time and location, and I will confirm or choose another day to meet if I have arrangements already.”

  Kaz thanked Elder Aelon for this discussion, slightly annoyed that their time was cut short due to his nap and also him having to teach other students besides him. He quickly reprimanded himself for that thought, wondering why he was being so selfish. They walked out the room, and made their way back to the main area of the Guild. Aelon departed and Kaz turned around, walking back to his room, but was waved down by Laelara, who was calling him over.

  He walked over to her desk, and she greeted him, informing him, “Hi Kaz. Just wanted to let you know that Wylana, the trainer who will be instructing you, will be here tomorrow at eight in the morning to begin your training. And I am delighted to inform you that the Guildmaster agreed to pay for your lessons, so don’t worry about the one Gold Token fee.”

  Kaz felt extremely happy that he was going to begin his training, but the color quickly faded from his face as he realized his glaive was still being repaired. Laelara noticed his reaction, and questioned him, but Kaz just explained, “I don’t have my glaive back yet, as I asked a Blacksmith, Gruss, to repair it for me. I will check later today, but maybe I could use spare spears or such tomorrow just in case?”

  Laelara confirmed that they have wooden training spears, so that alleviated any fear he had that he would already mess up his first impression. With that conversation over, he hurried over to Gruss’s shop, hoping that he was done, or will be done by the end of the day. He stopped by the same food stall that he got the savory treat from and got two fresh ones. He ate them, again closing his eyes to savor the delicacy.

  After devouring those two treats, probably looking like an animal to onlookers, he stepped into Gruss’s shop, noticing that the door was closed. He saw Gruss hunched over his workstation, and all he did was yell out, “Sorry, shop’s closed fer now!”

  Kaz winced, and replied, “Sorry, Gruss, was hoping to get an update on my glaive, but I will come back later.”

  Kaz couldn’t help but jump backwards as Gruss immediately abandoned his task, and rushed towards him. He exclaimed, “No, not ya, lad! I thought yer were someone else. Apologies!”

  Chuckling at that, he waved him off, and he was dragged behind the counter, the Dwarf almost lifting him off the ground with one hand on his shoulder. Kaz could feel the Blacksmith’s excitement, which didn’t match his appearance in the slightest. Up close, he could see the soot covered face, with sweat trails, and very baggy eyes.

  He couldn’t help himself, and asked the poor Dwarf, “Are you alright, Gruss? You look like you’ve been dragged behind a horse.”

  Gruss laughed it off, and explained himself, saying, “Never been better, lad! I worked all day and night on yer beautiful artifact. I ‘vent felt dis way in forever, and my Calling elevated afta a long period of stagnation thanks ta yer weapon.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  He felt horrible knowing that because of him, this poor Dwarf worked nonstop, resulting in the state he is in now. But he had to ask about his Calling, as he always wondered how non-combat focused Callings Ranked their Abilities and elevated their Resonance. He decided to ask, “Hey Gruss, how do Callings like yours Rank your Abilities and raise your Resonance?”

  Gruss rubbed his rough beard, which Kaz noticed had missing patch, and then answered him, “I’m willing ta explain it, but afta we go over yer weapon.”

  Kaz nodded reluctantly, knowing that he had no say in this, but also couldn’t help the anticipation rising within him. They walked over to his workstation, and he couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped his lips. His new glaive looked totally different, but in the best way possible.

  Gruss explained the changes and repairs he made to it, beginning with the part with the least amount of change, which was the blade that rested on the end of the shaft. Gruss told him, “For tha blade, just ran it through a few steps ta strengthen it, which allows it to be stronger an’ sharper.” Kaz was blown away, because it looked like the blade had a texture to it, as if he saw the edges of where the hammer struck. It looked amazing to him, and he notices that the blade itself was darker, before being a bright silver, and now it was a darker shade of silver. He wanted to test the sharpness of it, but was scared to injure himself, so he would wait to test it at the Guild on some dummies.

  Then, Gruss explained the shaft of the glaive, which saw the most change. He explained, “So, fer the shaft, I removed it completely, and made a new one, hence the different wood used. Dis wood is more flexible, which allows fer better absorption on impact. I also added small bands of metal throughout, ta help the wood from splitting, but avoided areas where ya would hold it. And finally, at the end, I added a small little cap with a tip, just in case if ya need to jab something wit tha butt of yer glaive.”

  The shaft was beautifully done, and Kaz could help but stare at it. The wood was more of a whitish gray, opposed to the simple brown that it was earlier. And the metal used matched the coloring of the blade, and in total, the weapon looked amazing to him. It was totally worth it to bring it Gruss, and he was honestly surprised at how good it turned out.

  He moved to grab it, but hesitated, but with a confirming nod, he picked it up, and immediately he noticed the slight weight difference, but it felt more polished to him now. It felt like a massive upgrade from its previous version, but it made him happy knowing it was the same glaive that he had grown to rely on. He gave it a few lighthearted swings and thrusts, and was satisfied with it, unable to stop himself from grinning.

  He looked over to Gruss, who was bouncing on his toes and clapping his fingers together, obviously happy that Kaz approved of his work. Kaz thanked the Dwarf for his amazing work, and then Gruss motioned over to a small metal table, and metal chairs.

  They took a seat, and Gruss returned to Kaz’s earlier question, responding with, “Wit us non-combat Callings, we advance sort of like yer combat Callings. We do a task over an over again, making small improvements. But fer us, we only advance when our craft improves, so I cant make tha same sword a hundred times without changes and hope ta get an extra Rank or something.”

  He continued, “So, we have ta discover new ways ta improve, so projects like yer glaive boosted my Ranks ‘cause of tha new experience and new designs.”

  Kaz thought about it, and it made sense. It was then he realized that for instance, his [ Mana Burst ] only Ranked when something changed with the construct or casting of it. So that is how he Ranks his Abilities, not through repetition, but through improvements to his Abilities. That was such an obvious thing that he didn’t realize himself, and he wanted to slap himself for being so dense.

  Kaz had another question, so he asked Gruss, “But how does your energy source work? Like for me, I use Mana Points to fuel my Abilities for attacks or shields. How does that work for you who works on objects?”

  Gruss chuckled, rubbing his belly, and explained, “Fer us Crafters, our energy source varies ‘tween Mana Points and Focus Points, but lucky fer ya to know, I use Focus Points. A few of ma Abilities are [ Strong Strikes ], [ Precision Hammering ], and [ Metal Insight ]. I’m pretty sure ya can guess what those Abilities do, but they essentially help me focus,” he giggled and winked at him, stressing the word focus because his source is Focus Points, causing Kaz to roll his eyes and groan, much to Gruss’s delight.

  “But ya, they help me perfect my craft, and that is what separates us Blacksmiths, some focus on certain parts of tha process of Blacksmithing, but for my case, I like to be good in everything as I work alone ‘ere.”

  Kaz nodded, and it made sense to him the way he put it. Essentially, the Focus Points fuel the Abilities that help him speed up the process while making the object perfect, minimizing flaws that general people would do without said Abilities. He shook his head, marveling at the way every Calling was different but unique in its own way.

  Finally, Kaz decided to ask him one last question, “Thank you Gruss for the explanations, but if I may, I have one more question,” to which Gruss huffed in confirmation, “what makes a weapon (Refined) and so on. Like after the changes you made, will the glaive still be (Refined)?”

  Gruss immediately answered, not needing time to think about it, “Fer a weapon or gear ta be of a certain quality, or retain tha quality, it all comes down ta tha quality of materials used. Fer example, yer glaive used a (Refined) wood that is found in only one place in our Realm, and the metal used fer yer metal bands came from metal mined deep in the mountains. The tiers of quality go like this, Simple, Refined, Unique, Epic, Hero, Artifact, Legendary, Divine, an’ finally Primordial.”

  Kaz absorbed that information, although it was quite a list to remember. Before he could thank the Dwarf, Gruss also mentioned, “Fer quality materials though, the Realm reflects on the quality of tha materials. Fer example, our Realm can only produce Refined materials fer now, and once it evolves, then it will start producin’ Epic quality and so forth.”

  Kaz just bobbed his head up and down, his head already overflowing with information. He got up, grabbing his repaired glaive, and thanked the Dwarf, who shook his hand roughly, making Kaz wonder if he now had a dislocated shoulder. Like before, the Dwarf asked him to close the door on the way out, but before he even managed to close the door, loud snoring echoed in the shop.

  With a pep in his step, he made his way back to the Guild, already giddy to try it out. He approached the training yard once he entered the Guild and awkwardly strode up to a training dummy. He felt uncomfortable to be out here, as he tried to ignore the eyes that shifted their attention to him. With a deep breath, he brought his glaive in a wide arc, and with satisfying slash, he cut deep and cleanly through the wooden training dummy.

  Yep, this weapon was awesome. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow.