Chapter 379: The Hammer and Anvil.

“And the Luedbrumdar clan’s artisans moved first!” I began my career as a shoutcaster, providing play-to-play information on what was currently happening on this stage of grudges. With the smithing competition having begun between Grimnir and his former clan, sparks naturally flew, both metaphorically and literally.

“Nine versus three, it is obvious there is a massive difference in labor between the two groups. We have a master blacksmith and runesmith on one side with his apprentices, while the other has a master for all three professions.” Right next to me, I had Jadhund give the audience the much needed analysis as my colorcaster partner. Although he was an artificer, he was also one of the chiefs in the railroad guild who oversaw the blacksmiths, artificers, and runesmiths in charge of the maintenance of the train station.

Aside from that, he was the only one I knew with such extensive knowledge to help me. Outside of our crafter trio who were participating, the rest of Aurora had little they could say about the finer details of this match. Speaking of them, they were all in the audience right now, sitting on bleachers and watching the show.

Nishio, like Daichi, recovered pretty quickly with the help of my white flames, which seemingly also lit a fire in their eyes. Daichi wanted to participate in this competition for his own sake, while Nishio was my loudest supporter for this plan. He wanted to humiliate the Luedbrumdar’s for what they did to everybody.

Now, aside from the students, we also had Tasianna and Rajah. Well, Tasianna was just on stage with me and was taking a break right now, but what about my virigress? The virigress who just evolved into a rank C seven days ago? Well, let me just say he was doing his own thing for now. Not like he could do much for this match.

Frankly, I couldn’t really focus on his task, since the competition was flaring up. I had to concentrate on this match!

My eyes darted from Grimnir’s side to the Luedbrumdar’s, noticing that they had already organized everything. “Mister Jadhund is right here, as the Luedbrumdar members aren’t wasting a moment as they inspected the ingots and began smelting them! The three masters are taking full command over this battlefield!”

Not missing a beat, Jadhund latched on my last point, using this chance to introduce the three masters. “Master Ugoval is the clan’s best blacksmith, the one who replaced Grimnir after his exile. Not only was this man Grimnir’s rival, he was also the one to face the orange-haired Tazong in the last competition. However, Grimnir’s hammer hadn’t rusted yet, as he defeated Ugoval with an astounding set of armor last competition, never seen before!”

“This is a grudge match, everybody! Not only is there a family dispute, but these two rivals are going head to head once again. The old defeated the new, and the new now wants his revenge! Can he get it? Now in this even field with more than enough helpers?”

Shoutcasting was necessary to keep everybody on their toes and invested. The human and dwarven craftsmen were naturally interested in this match, unable to keep their eyes away. Naturally, the entire dwarven population inside my subspace were holding their breath as the heat kept increasing and increasing.

Therefore, I had to keep the remaining “casual” viewers interested and in their seats. Most came for me, so switching up the show could mean I could lose my audience. If they wanted to leave, then it was all okay. There was no need to force them to stay. As such, I had a duty to entertain those who remained.

A few on the Artorian and Estralian side had already left, but for the Yeosian, this was probably one of the few chances for relaxation. Not only was there food, but with all the chaos that happened in Elyonda, they wanted to stay here for the laughs and excitement. Knowing this only made me feel even more pumped.

Give them a narrative they can follow! Let’s make this the best show ever!

“Mister Jadhund, what about the other two masters? What are they bringing to the table?” I asked, causing some of the Luedbrumdar apprentices to glare at me with annoyance, although they were quickly rebuked by their masters.

Didn’t mean it as an insult, sheesh.

“Master Peregrin, the clan’s first student of Broggart Luedbrumdar. Meaning, you have one of the best artificers you can find under the Ankoran Mountains. A staunch follower of his teacher’s, you can understand why he is glaring so much at Grimnir, the one who took away his master.” Jadhund then turned his attention to the runesmith of the trio. “Then you have Master Meriadoc, the one most envious of Grimnir, probably.”

“Oi!” The man himself shouted, blasting a stream of fire from his mouth. He then growled, shaking his head and pointing his face and ram horns back to his work.

“That’s a Taz for ya. In any case, that was not an exaggeration, sadly. Grimnir was not only a talented blacksmith and runesmith, but had grabbed many young dwarves’ attention during his journeyman years. Meriadoc is one of them. Still, not to be trifled with.” Jadhund then pointed at the beardless son of Maagneil, who was working with a face full of wrinkles from his constant frowning. “That Inko lad posing as an ‘apprentice,’ however, is not one you should overlook. Darlion, trained by his father to replace his older brother Broggart, isn’t some random lad. As you can see from how he is coordinating with Ugoval, he ain’t a fraud. He would be a master blacksmith, if he were to only pull up his pants and take! The damn! Exam!”

I did as he suggested and observed the group, squinting a bit as I saw the three masters coordinating brilliantly with their apprentices. Currently, since the artificers and runesmiths couldn’t do anything, as they needed to actually make the armor first before anything else could be done, they were helping the blacksmith create.

Ugoval and Meriadoc were Taz dwarves, meaning they were responsible for smelting the ingots with their fire breaths. As the ingots turned blazing yellow in their smelter cups, Ugoval placed the smelter into the furnace until it was ready. Their apprentices then poured the molten metal into the given molds, creating sheets for the gauntlets first, then the shoulder plates, and finally the breastplate.

The brilliant yellow and white lights shining from the molds brimmed with power. It was just molten metal, but to the dwarves and smiths, this was the beginning of a new creation. All in the Honor of Crustacia, you could say. Therefore, the moment Ugoval picked up his hammer, I couldn’t help but hold my breath.

… BANG!

The loud metallic echo of the anvil erupted in the concert hall, drowning out all the cheers, muttering, and awe-stricken gasps. With the first blow, we knew the match had officially begun; everything before was just preparation. With the second blow—bang—the jubilation amongst the audience reawakened.

“It’s begun! The pounding of metal! The three blacksmiths—master and apprentices—have started forming the metal plates into workable pieces!” I commented through my [Aerokinesis] to wake people up from their awe. Even if I was against them, I had to at least act unbiased as I shoutcast. “You can feel the full rage and power with every blow! Sparks are flying as the artificers are keeping the metal down with the tongs, letting the smiths do what they are best at! Meanwhile, you have the runesmiths, spraying blood into the furnace!”

“Sadly, that is all you will see for the runesmithing portion, everybody,” Jadhund announced. “There is a reason why there is a set of curtains available. Challenge or not, the runesmith guild will have a bone to pick with any artisan who tries to showcase techniques to ‘outsiders.’ Sorry, folks.”

Runesmith techniques and methods were technically a trade secret, meaning they were protected by one of the dwarves’ largest guilds. It seemed that, even for a short show like this, even the Ankoran King and Queen couldn’t do much about it. As Grimnir told me, runesmithing was part of dwarven pride, so it could only be shown to other runesmiths.

As such, once the “quenching of the fire with blood” was done, the three runesmiths immediately helped out the blacksmiths with the forging process. Hammering, reheating, repeat, until it was time to quench it in water, or alcohol, as the dwarves liked to do it.

Just watching their coordination made me a bit nervous. As I finished my commentary on them, I then turned around to Grimnir’s side, wanting to know how they were going, only for my face to freeze up a bit.

Oh no …

Bang! The sound of metal echoing finally erupted from their side.

“A-and with the sound of Grimnir’s hammer, his side had finally begun the creation of the armor! Surprisingly, instead of the components for the easier pieces, like the shoulder pauldrons or gauntlets, it seemed they were trying to assemble the platemail first!”

It was just as I said. Grimnir, Daichi, and Ellaine were all bringing down their hammers on the three anvils they had, all to bend and form the glowing metal sheets. I knew Daichi was working under Grimnir as a blacksmith, but seeing Ellaine also smithing was certainly a surprise. Although, similar to the other team, she couldn’t do any artificer work right now, so she had to participate in doing something. There was still a strict timer.

“Surprisingly, the Grimnir team is seemingly allowing the apprentices to take the lead on the creation of the tasset—the waist part of the armor—while they left their master to create the cuirass. Not to mention, why exactly the plate first, when you can make the vambraces and gauntlets first so the artificer can get to work?” Jadhund agreed with my worries. “However, people, whether their strategy is correct or not will be decided later. For now, just watch! This, people, is why Grimnir was known as the best blacksmith in the entire Luedbrumdar clan!”

Just like during the blacksmithing contest in Cederaille where Grimnir first joined our party, our resident blacksmith’s hammering speed was truly unrivaled. The constant banging was far louder and more obtuse than the more controlled rhythm of his opponent, but with my very eyes, I could see not a single strike was random, they were extremely precise.

Just watching him work after so long, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew taking him on our trip was the right call. “Ringing, ringing, can you hear that people? That is what happens to your ears if you listen to loud music! And this is what I call pure power! Even metal or punk rock can’t beat something the wild banging Grimnir is doing!”

From a distance, people couldn’t see what Grimnir was doing, but everybody could clearly hear the sound of his work. Compared to the rock concert I gave, Grimnir surely beat me and Rosserto’s band on a loudness scale. The speed of his strikes sent so many sparks flying that you would think my scale-dusts were flying around.

If the Luedbrumdar’s Ugoval could do 20 strikes in ten seconds, then Grimnir far exceeded that with 40. It wasn’t just due to a difference in levels or Agility, it was just the fact Grimnir looked like a man possessed. He was giving it his all in this one work, to the point nothing in this world could break his trance. Except…

“Lad, hold your hammer tighter! That sweat is weakening your blow!” Even while full focused, I could see his eyes glancing over to his apprentices. Even now, he was giving them tips. “Lass, prepare a spell! Keep up the [Air Shield] so you don’t burn! One, two, three, NOW!”

Just as the white glow of the metal he was banging started to dim, Grimnir belched out a burst of fire onto it. At the same time, Ellaine cast [Air Shield] around her and Daichi, protecting them from the sheer heat for a moment before she canceled it.

In the next moment, Daichi raised his hand up, invoking the magic circle for [Imbue Fire] before using it on the metal he and Ellaine were working on. As the flame surrounded it like a coat, it reheated the piece of metal, saving the duo precious time on reheating it in the furnace. Unlike the Luedbrumdar, the two of them were mages! Their spells would accelerate things for them!

“This is something practically enviable if I must say! The elven blacksmith techniques of weaving spells in their smithing. Certainly far faster than our process, but unless you have perfect control over the flames, that metal will be unevenly heated. Ya can’t bang on metal like that! Can’t replace a furnace if you aren’t a master fire mage!”

Jadhund was right about that. Daichi was letting the [Imbue Fire] linger around for too long. It still saved them on time, but not by much, considering the Taz dwarves in this match could just use their fire breaths to emulate something similar.

This single comment was causing some commotion in the crowd as the dwarves cackled in glee at this sight. I could hear them grumbling how mages shouldn’t be sitting at the furnace, and how they figured team Grimnir were arrogant for using magic to “speed things up.” Similarly, the human and beastmen craftsmen shared this opinion, worrying about them as I heard them cheer for Ellaine and Daichi.

“Mister Jadhund, you mentioned your surprise that they started with forging the plate armor and the fact that making the gauntlets would be faster. As we can see, the Luedbrumdar smiths are doing just that; in fact, the artificers on their side have even started making the finger armors! The dexterity of an Inko’s fingers, correct?” I kept the commentary up, trying to get some information on what was going on, as I couldn’t figure out Grimnir’s plan.

“Correct, lass. Taz dwarves are great miners and smiths since they are hardier and stronger than us Inko dwarves. On the other hand, our fingers are almost similar to human’s in size, unlike the tazics’ cumbersome thick sausages. That makes us better manatechnicians, but also important for the detailed work like the gauntlet.” He then turned around, facing and holding his hand out to present the smiling Ankoran King. “Our High King is an Inko! Meaning, the armor has to fit his frame. If you are a smith, you need to fit your armor exactly for him. That is why the molds were given.”

He then turned around, clearing up his voice to continue, “On that point, I don’t think I need to remind our audience, but this armor is made for him. Not as battle armor, though, but for ceremonial reasons!”

“But runes and mana circuitry are to be attached,” I questioned.

Jadhund nodded but also shook his finger, telling me I am right, but that I didn’t understand the whole story. “Correct, but unlike for humans, elves, or dragonewts, a dwarven lord expects even ceremonial armor to be usable in a fight! Old habits, you can say, as the early history described our holds constantly being in danger of random monster attacks. Underground, monster spawnings just happen more often. You got mana floating around with mana-hungry ore. The contamination is just higher down here.”

It reminded me of Shaturein, the underground city of Griffonpeak. Everyday down there, monsters would spawn since the mana concentration couldn’t be completely removed. Not to mention all the hedge mages working illegally in the undercity to make things worse, it was no wonder they couldn’t solve something like this.

However, here in this dwarven hold with all the mana lamps and other technology cluttering the place, I haven’t seen a single monster around. It shouldn’t be possible naturally, weren’t it for the fact they had some sorta contraptions which kept all that mana in a single place. I still didn’t get the details on it, but that was what created the mana barrier along the street. It was why my [Mana Eyes] noticed all the mana moving like a river to a single location when I was inside the hold.

“Therefore, the armor created today has to fulfill three criterias. First, they must follow the instructions given to them. Second, they need to endure blows, which means the stats of the armor will be evaluated. Lastly, the aesthetics. It needs to look good!” Jadhund emphasized that last point. “A dwarven warrior’s normal armor is composed from monster material, like any respectable fighter, but this armor is only made from normal eoriant alloy. So, all of you better remember to make it look good! Don’t hand the damn king some shoddy piece of crap!”

Eoriant—the alloy made from the Peolyncian ore euorinium and steel. As Grimnir described it, the ore had incredible mana-absorption features, but they were brittle to a fault. That was why steel was added to strengthen it while keeping its ability to conduct mana well. Iron, steel, and the leather stuff were for beginners or those low on cash. Armor and weapons made from eoriant was the tier you wanted to achieve as an adventurer novice, as you could start dabbling with enchantments and runes.

If I’m remembering right, my glaive is made from eoriant to bind my dragon materials into a proper form.

In any case, back to the match, it seemed Jadhund’s warning didn’t faze any of the experienced crafters. Some of the apprentices on the Luedbrumdar side were unnerved, but that was about it. On the other hand, the crowd was excited by this fact. They weren’t just nitpicking the way the craftsmen were working, but also the details of the works now. And here I thought we were all just laymen, yeah?

“Hey, come on, m’lady Ellaine! Don’t let those dwarves show Artorias up! You got this as a manablood!”

Is that supposed to be encouraging?

“Oi, Ugoval! Ya hear them akongs speak to ya? Show some fucking spine and hammer faster! Ya lost the last match cause Grimnir got more spirit!”

Is that supposed to be encouraging?! What?!

It actually started to feel like a real sports show with all the toxic comments being thrown around. Thankfully, it hadn’t escalated into any fights yet, but I could feel the tension between the Artorians and Gazahan-Orn … nians? Whatever. All that mattered was how the Artorians were showing their national pride in Ellaine, encouraging her to win even more after hearing what the dwarves were spouting.

Witnessing all the people cheering for her, Ellaine raised her sweat-filled face up. She then looked over at her parents and brother, watching them clap and call out for her to do her best. Not to mention, the students were cheering her on as well; the hype-filled orchestra even caused them to stand up and cheer for both Ellaine and Daichi.

Watching Kohaku and Kazumi stand on their seats, swinging their arms up and down like cheerleaders, prompted Daichi to raise a thumbs up at them before he swung his hammer down again. Performing on a stage like this could be unnerving, but it could also infect you with the audience’s energy. Nothing could trump the power of people cheering for you; it just gave you this indescribable exhilaration. As if you were the main character at this very moment.

A feeling I knew very well as an idol.

“Reminder, focus on your work! So everybody give it your all! Swing those hammers down and up! This is the—”

Bang!

A chill ran down my spine when that loud metallic bang somehow drowned out my voice. I stopped speaking and snapped my head around to the Luedbrumdar side, eyes wide when Ugoval moved away from the main anvil for the beardless son of Maagneil—Darlion.

A fire grew in the eyes of the Inko as he raised his hammer up. In the next moment, he dropped it down again, creating more noise. When he raised it again, he let out a loud war cry, before accelerating his speed of hammer strikes to the point it mimicked Grimnir’s obtuse banging.

“Wroouuuuuuuuugh!” It reached the voice breaking heights of Rosserto’s wild singing. He wasn't taking a single breath as he used the anvil’s edges and sharp horn to mold the metal sheet into a workable shoulder pauldron.

The moment he exhaled, he inhaled deeply before continuing his work. One, two, three more plate layers, just like that! The artificers then took the layers away from him, clearing up his workstation to assemble the pieces into a piece of equipment.

“Woooooooooooooaaaah!” The dwarves exploded in jubilation at the sight of this man finishing one of the plates before continuing on the next. An apprentice only in name, Darlion excited the audience with his hammering speed, almost rivaling that of Grimnir’s.

“That’s our young master! Darlion! Darlion! Darlion!”

Hearing all of the cheers caused the man himself to smirk widely, proud of his work. He then wiped away the sweat on his face before he turned around, only for his smile to disappear. Grimnir, the one he wanted to triumph over, didn’t even give him a speck of his time. The always dutiful blacksmith kept swinging on the cuirass, bending it more until it was to his satisfaction.

Darlion then grinded his teeth, grimacing in annoyance before he snapped his eyes over to Daichi. Unlike Grimnir, Daichi did respond, twitching a bit at the dwarf’s rage-filled glare. However, Daichi didn’t dodge it, taking it in and even reciprocating it with his own.

“Continue working, lad!” Grimnir shouted as he gave the platemail its last swing. “Never stop swinging your hammer!”

Unlike with Darlion, Daichi stiffened up, saluting. “Y-yes, Master!”

Grimnir didn’t react, instead, he looked over to Ellaine. “Lass!”

“On it!” she responded before taking the platemail from his anvil, leaving her master to smelt the next pieces of ingots.

“Division of labor!” During my moment of silence, Jadhund took over. “The artificers with their more deft hands are starting the assembly of the individual pieces. The Luedbrumdar have the pieces necessary for the gauntlets and, thanks to Darlion’s spectacular display of skill, manage to finish one of the pauldrons. On the other hand, the platemail was just finished by Grimnir, and his apprentice is starting its assembly with the tasset the two had made.”

I thought the cuirass would have been more simple, considering the time, but from the look of it, Grimnir had added more than just two layers. Four layers of metal sheets were ready to be strung together, each having indents ready to be colored to give it some texture. Outside of that, more details have to be added afterward, and from the look of it, that was Ellaine’s job.

Meanwhile, Grimnir finished pouring the molten ingots into molds for the gauntlets. I thought he would start making them, but in spite of his faster hammering speed, he handed the work to Daichi? Furthermore, he picked up a ladle with blood, spraying it into the furnace!

“Grimnir’s begun the runesmithing process!” I announced as he placed an ingot into the fire.

“What?!” Meriadoc, the Luedbrumdar’s runesmith master blurted out, baffled at how Grimnir had begun hammering the heated ingot to remove all of the impurities inside it. “Are you insane?!”

The Luedbrumdar clan had only splattered the blood into the furnace, a ritualistic action to “link the blood with the rune in preparation.” Since the armor wasn’t done yet, they couldn’t start making any runes, but Grimnir had already begun the second step.

Once the ingot was finished, he placed it back into the furnace, before ordering Daichi to throw an [Inferno Blast] into the flames. [Inferno Magic]’s 1st level spell! As you would expect, the huge flame scorched the stone furnace, setting it ablaze before it was blown away by Ellaine’s wind magic. As it cooled down, Grimnir pulled out the molten ingot and placed it on the provided runic anvil, before pulling out a metal stick.

“Ellaine!” he called, ordering her to place the nearly assembled cuirass on the anvil.

She then wiped the sweat away on Grimnir’s brows before pulling the bucket of blood next to her feet. Seeing she was ready, Grimnir then dipped his metal stick into the molten ingot before he began drawing something onto the platemail. Meanwhile, Ellaine began pouring blood onto the mana-infused metal, binding everything into a proper rune!

“Recklessness!” Jadhund shouted. “Grimnir and his apprentice have begun the runesmithing process, but where is the damn cape! Hide ya damn craft, you bastard!”

Jadhund’s cry fell on deaf ears on Grimnir’s side, causing the runesmiths on the Luedbrumdar side to freeze. In the next moment, they spat insults at him, calling him a “zuekluk” and damn “traitor.” Telling him he was shaming the runesmith guild, Meriadoc and his apprentices ran over to their side and pulled their curtains over Grimnir’s workplace, blocking everybody’s sight of the smithing process.

Did they plan that? That’s what I call abusing the personalities of others, jeez!

Grimnir knew how runesmiths acted the best, meaning he probably knew this was exactly how the runesmiths on the other side would react. They stopped working and ran over to their competitor’s side, just to do their work for them. My goodness, Grimnir really had no fucks to give, now that he was crafting for his grudge.

“Uuuuuuuh, huuuuuaaaaaandaaaa vieeeeeeeee,” Grimnir bellowed out the ritualistic song of runesmithing, letting his deep bass voice fill the orchestra with his singing. “Saaaaaarlooooontaaaaa fieeee uuuuumsliiiid! Feeeeelknuuuuln lasaaa mahoooooj’ku ruuuuunek daaaaaahbu, Cruuuuustacia.”

“Bastard! Ya damn larrunda, Grimnir!” Even now,the Luedbrumdar team couldn’t help but throw insults at him. They were completely thrown off their game. “Ya damn bastard, I’ll report ya to the guild and have them—”

“Master Meriadoc!” But before he could finish his rant, Darlion shouted. “Get ya damn ass over here already, or are you trying to bring us down?!”

“Y-ya brat! How da—”

“How dare you blemish this royal competition! Get ya damn ass over here and work! Or are you gonna dishonor yourself by making us work the last bit? Bloody 48 minutes left!” He slammed his hammer down. “Get ya ass over here to win! Or are you gonna let Grimnir keep tormenting you?”

“Kuek!” Meriadoc flinched, unable to speak back.

“Look!” Darlion then pointed at Daichi. “That’s the linchpin of this operation! It doesn't matter if they finish the runes when they can’t finish the gauntlets or pauldrons! The crusty bastard is letting the weak human mage do the forging! Ya think we can lose? Get over here, already!”

“R-right away, Young Master!”

Oh damn! Smacktalk.

Darlion smiled when the master runesmith listened to him, crackling a bit as he turned his arrogant eyes to Daichi again. “Hear that, human? Ya think ya can beat a dwarven smith? Ya think the trust Grimnir gives ya is actually deserved? I’ll show ya why humans don’t have a chance against us! Why he’s a damn fool for choosing some transmigrating failure like ya as his—”

“Shut up!” Daichi shouted. “You don’t get to—”

“Daichi!” Grimnir’s singing stopped to shout. “Work. You don’t have to prove to anybody of ya worth with words. Actions! Actions speak louder than anything in this damn world! Let them call me zuekluk, let them call you a failure. We all know better. We all know better! And we will be better than them!”

Grimnir!

“Master’s right, Daichi!” Ellaine interjected to support. “Who cares what others think about you when you can show them your worth. Stop listening to the insults from that bully. Work harder! Faster! So we can show him what the Aurora can do! What Master Grimnir managed to teach us! WORK!”

“Kuek!” Daichi clenched his hands into fists, turning his weary face first to the two hidden behind the curtains before back to Darlion. The dwarf was stils smirking, trying to egg him on, but Daichi returned his eyes to his work, his anvil! “Ellaine! I got the fingers almost ready!”

“Good!” Ellaine then suddenly charged out of the curtain, her spell rings shining brightly. She cast [Swift Winds] onto herself, but the light from her rings didn’t dim, meaning she was using her demonic powers here.

Her entire body, outside of her face, was hidden behind her thick worker clothes. If she was using [Musclemass] to strengthen herself, then nobody would be able to see it happening.

With her increased Agility from the skill, Ellaine put on her mana breaker gloves and picked up her thinker’s wand.

“Insanity!” Now Peregrin, the runesmith master, couldn’t help but react to what was happening. “Madness! She’s doing the mana circuitry while the metal hasn’t been bent into shape yet?! While it’s still hot?!”

“It’s exactly what you heard him say, people!” I followed up on his reaction, seeing as most probably couldn’t hear him. “Ellaine has not only started the artificer part of the challenge, but she’s doing it while Daichi is still bending things into shape. That means, she’s creating the circuitry of mana all while avoiding his hammer strikes! This is a massive risk. Her hard work can just blow up if Daichi makes a single mistake!”

Is this how you guys are trying to save time?!

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Recklessness — that was all you call this strategy. It finally dawned on me what they were planning on doing as I watched Ellaine not only start putting in the circuitry, but also helping Grimnir out with the runesmithing.

“Ellaine!” Daichi called.

“Lass!” Grimnir would order her to him.

It was a crazy plan. Grimnir and Daichi would do the smithing, while Ellaine would act as a real apprentice for both of them, all while keeping herself busy with the mana circuitry. I didn’t understand why they thought this strategy was the best. Ellaine was fast due to her spells and demonic power, but this should still be incredibly stressful on her.

Seeing them work like this, the Luedbrumdar’s side were clearly unnerved, but moments later, Ugoval shouted. He told everybody to focus, denouncing their actions as ones made from desperation. They were only three, so the only way Grimnir could win was to risk it by trusting his apprentices on the more extensive work.

“That fool is trusting some kids on work for the king? Fool! As if apprentices will do anything but ruin proper work!” His words rallied the masters and Darlion, but it also had a side effect of demoralizing the five apprentices. Although the masters rallied, the apprentices looked far more nervous, almost as if the pressure was starting to get to them.

… However, this was just the start.

“Kuooooooooooooh! Dhuiiiiiiiiin! Hoshkuuuuuuut, vie Dhuiiiiiin!” Now, Grimnir’s voice wasn’t just the sound of a bass, but it felt like there was an echo coming from it. A deep, unsettling reverb; it was almost hard to listen to… but only for me.

“D-Dhuinn?!” Jadhund took a step back.

“Kuek!” Meriadoc stiffened up, looking in Grimnir’s direction with terror. This fear, though, became reality when Grimnir’s next strike created a blue-red lightning from behind the curtains. “Dhuinn rune!”

I snapped over to Jadhun, shaking him awake to have him explain what they were talking about.

“Dhuinn runes, dear crowd, is what runesmiths call the best of the best, named in honor of the God and Father of Runesmithing himself, Dhuinn! Although it isn’t some sorta secret method or something, as even apprentices can learn how to make them, creating them is a different question.” Jadhund then nodded, taking a deep breath. “Able to hold onto magic and special effects on the same tier as level six advanced magic skills, these runes not only take up three possible slots from a piece of equipment for a single effect, they also require you to strain, possibly even break your voice to create them.”

“Break?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Infuse mana into your throat, that’s why you can hear his voice echo as he sings. However, that’s not really a problem with potions and a holy mage around.” He waved his hand before pointing in Grimnir’s direction as another blue-red lightning bolt appeared behind the curtains. “The problem is that ya can’t make Dhuinn runes with pig blood. Ya need, at least, rank D monster blood for that. The fact the lightning coming from the anvil is red tells you that the blood can’t bind the amount of mana he’s hammering into it.”

Hearing this, I snapped my head up. “Wait, isn’t that bad?!”

“Not at all, lass. Actually, that damn fool might have figured out how to win this match! Dhuinn runes are huge, compared to normal ones. You need two ingots of molten metal to make everything.” Just as he said that, Grimnir came out of the curtains to place an ingot into the furnace. “Those runes cannot work! That’s the point! He ain’t here to make a battlefield set of armor, he’s making ceremonial ones. Unlike normal runes, he doesn’t need to make sure the runes work, he just has to make sure they look good. It’s a decoration!”

“T-that means… it’s another time saver!”

“Correct!”

“Uuuuuuuh, huuuuuaaaaaandaaaa vieeeeeeeee.” The sound of Grimnir’s singing voice was almost as if he was agreeing with us.

This was the first time I’d heard of Dhuinn runes, but just the fact Grimnir had thought of another way to save on time and labor made me excited. Not just me, but also the rest of the audience as we understood the more tricks the Grimnir side was showing, the more it was likely they could finish on time.

“20 more minutes! A whole bell had passed everybody! This is the final stretch!” I announced.

“Done!” The artificers on the Luedbrumdar shouted as they held the finished gauntlets up, causing loud roars to come from the dwarves.

On the other hand, Daichi had only just now finished the gauntlets, allowing Ellaine to work on them without fearing her fingers might get crushed. Sadly, Grimnir wasn’t done yet, so she still had to divert her attention. While those two were continuing the artificer and runesmithing parts, Daichi was now beginning the creation of the pauldrons. There was less than 17 minutes left, and none of them were finished yet!

This contrasted with the Luedbrumdars, as the artificers were now helping out with the rune creation. Meriadoc had been unnerved by Grimnir’s blatant challenge with the Dhuinn rune, but he had composed himself. He was almost finished.

“Keep it up!” Ugoval shouted as he and Darlion were adding details onto the rest of the platemail. He then snapped his head to his real apprentice, pointing his finger away. “You! Paint! Get more paint!”

“Y-yes, Master …”

Unlike Grimnir’s side, the apprentices on their side, outside of Darlion, had only done menial tasks. All to support their masters, as they weren’t trusted with even hammering some metal. Wiping off the sweat from their master’s faces, holding metal down, and being fetch boys; they weren’t even trusted to pour blood onto the runes! Were the masters this nervous, such that they couldn’t even have their apprentices do the bare minimum as craftsmen?

Sadly, commenting on that might be a bit too BM—bad-manners. I mean, I shouldn’t be biased, right?

Ten more minutes, but Daichi, Ellaine, and Grimnir weren’t done yet.

“Done!” Meriadoc shouted, presenting three glowing runes on the breastplate of the cuirass. They then left the assembly to the artificers to help the blacksmiths add the last bits of details, like the Kongun’s clan emblem.

Five minutes left.

“Done!” Ellaine shouted, almost collapsing on the ground. Her face was drenched with sweat, to the point you could see how soaked her clothes were.

Sadly, she couldn’t rest yet. She had to force her exhausted body back to Grimnir, as the runes weren’t done yet.

“Lad!” Grimnir called Daichi, prompting the young man to rush behind the curtains with the still unfinished metal pauldrons.

Two more minutes.

“Finished!”

I snapped my head around, grimacing slightly as I saw the Luedbrumdar proudly present their finished armor and a set of gauntlets. The fact they were brimming with mana, lighting it up to accentuate the details and color they gave them made me feel very unwell. I could feel my stomach churn a bit as Grimnri still wasn’t finished. There wasn’t much time left.

“We have our first finished contestants! As expected, the Luedbrumdar clan!” I kept shoutcasting, despite wanting to bite my lips. “They were already done a while ago, but the fact they gave their all in adding the details on their armor was surely a feat worth mentioning! What a landslide in creation time! On the other hand …”

I looked over.

“Saaaaaarlooooontaaaaa fieeee uuuuumsliiiid! Feeeeelknuuuuln lasaaa mahoooooj’ku ruuuuunek daaaaaahbu, Cruuuuustacia.”

Grimnir was still singing.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Come on, finish up!

One minute.

Come on! I snapped my head around to the Ankoran King, watching him laugh aloud as he began to get off his seat.

30 seconds.

Grimnir! Daichi!

Ten seconds!

Please!

“Ten!” I began the countdown. “Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two—”

Come on! Finish it up!

“—one, ze—”

“Done!” Three voices resounded in unison as they dashed out from the curtains, slamming gold and red painted cuirass onto the anvil. All three were breathing heavily, ready to collapse.

“Zero! It’s done, put down your hammers now!” At this point, it was just courtesy to say it, but the fact I said it caused everybody to finally let out the pent-up tension.

First to feel it were the apprentices on the Luedbrumdar side, all falling on the ground, taking in deeper breaths than me after stamina training during P.E. The next was Daichi, who couldn't hold himself on his legs any longer. He couldn’t even pull himself up with how strained his arms were. Hammering that much would do that to you.

Nevertheless, until the King accepted a winner, this competition wouldn’t end. As such, the Ankoran King came onto the stage, followed by Grimnir and Ugoval presenting their work to him.

He stared at the works first, before turning around to me. “Well, dear, dragon princess, would you not finish your duty?”

Seeing him smirk, revealing those sharp canines of his, made me think the summit I would have with him would be quite troublesome. It really seemed like his personality wouldn’t be one I would very much like… or maybe I was being too judgemental. Still, he was right, I still had a job to do.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the final stage of this competition is finally here! The declaration of a winner!” I then cast [Unheiliger Engel], producing two wings with them to hold both pieces of armor in the air for everybody to see. “First, you have the Luedbrumdar’s!”

Two words: straightforward and pretty. There didn’t seem to be any problems with them at first glance, but while I called them “normal,” they still had added color and hard ridges along the pauldrons to give the armor some personality. It looked heavy, but with the gold and blue coloring, it made the armor exude regalness. The gauntlets, too, have a similar vibe.

On the other hand, Grimnir’s gauntlets looked… less impressive. There were some deformation here and there, evidence that the creators weren’t masters like the Luedbrumdar’s. The mana circuitry inside still looked like a beautiful stream of rivers, perfectly giving that techie-look. There were good things here and there, and you could see the smith did their best, but it wasn’t comparable to its competitor.

When I gave those descriptions to everybody, Darlion naturally smirked, holding himself from laughing. He knew the gauntlets would go into his favor. However, a single superior piece wouldn’t decide the actual winner. You won it all, or you didn’t.

As such…

“This is the last piece—the armor made from the Grimnir side. A cuirass composed of four layers, colored blue and red, instead of blue like the other side. However, as I could guess from everybody’s attentive look, it should be obvious what is the main selling point of this piece of armor—the rune!”

As Jadhund mentioned, the Dhuinn rune was quite huge, in fact, it looked almost like a tattoo on the armor. Starting from the chestplate, the rune spread its ever-glowing blue color throughout the cuirass with detailed paintings like a mural. As if Grimnir was telling the story of somebody, you could see the figure of a person as they went through trials and tribulations, before finishing in the middle, where a crown sat on top of a metal bearded mask.

“… Speak.” High King Fugnarus ordered Grimnir. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yes.” He bowed respectfully before responding, sounding extremely hoarse. All that signing probably destroyed his voice. “Before today came, I had figured this would be a sorta competition, considering the High Queen’s preposition for theater and kabuki shows. As such, I had already planned everything for this to be your armor. I have read her memoirs.”

Even kabuki shows? Man, the Revolution Queen is such a weeb … Oh, wait, she’s Japanese. Otaku.

While I was contemplating that fact, Grimnir then began tracing his finger along the armor, dimming the blue glowing runes outside of the places he touched. “… I apologize… for what I did in the past, my king. I know she was your aunt. I shouldn’t have invaded such a place.”

Aunt? Wait, hold on, right. Kongun. Chihiro’s mortal name was Dravlia Kongun.

“This is your forgiveness after so long, Grimnir?” the king spoke calmly, picking up the gauntlets to try them on. They fit him perfectly. “Well, Queen Dravlia’s is one thing, zuekluk. Laws are laws, even if God Bleidla never enforces them. Still… I can see what your travels have given you. Wisdom.”

“And far too much forgiveness.” He then kneeled down, holding his head down. “Aside from the competition, I wish to dedicate this gift to you not only in my name, but also in my princess’s name! To commemorate your meeting and to bid this acquaintanceship to turn into friendship!”

Grimnir!

W-what was this guy planning?!

“Gahahahaha!” While I was embarrassed and stunned at Grimnir’s entire plan, Fugnarus crackled loudly, letting everybody see the remains of the pastries he had been dining with King Drangleic. “Good! You are exiled, so you have the right to choose who to serve, zuekluk! But, my, what a great mistress you found. She has good taste. What a gift this is, Dragon Princess Hestia. I didn’t know you knew my love for good armor! What an amazing cuirass; I could tell this story to my future children!”

“…” I couldn’t say anything. I was just too baffled at how this was developing, so I could only smile back.

Seeing my lack of reaction, the dwarf turned around, putting Grimnir’s armor back on a table to inspect our competition’s. “However, I cannot let a silver tongue bribe me here… Ugoval!”

“Yes, my liege!” The man kneeled.

“I can see your improvements ever since Grimnir left the clan. I can see the precision in your strikes, but I can also see your bad habit of holding the tongs too tightly. This little indent on the edges here, almost like your inscription.” The King traced his hands along the ridges of the armor, feeling them out. “The runes might be well placed, but as you can guess, they aren’t a match for even a faulty Dhuinn rune. Still impressive. If proper blood was given, then what an honor to witness its birth.”

He then tried on the gauntlets, given a satisfactory nod. “Gauntlets, though, far superior. Design-wise, fitting, and it feels great in my hands. Lad!”

“Yes!” Daichi answered as the king turned to him. The young man jumped onto his feet, running over to bow.

“Needs work. Tis an insult to present such soddy work to a king, do you understand?” Daichi twitched, forcing himself to nod out of respect. “… But, I can see the passion. Work harder. Don’t let the lass’s work go to waste next time, eh? Tis some good mana circuits. Feels like a Tazong made it, not some human. ”

“Thank you, High King Fugnarus!” Ellaine bowed with full confidence. “It is an honor.”

“Y-yes! Thank you very much for your kind words!” Daichi did the same, only that I could see him unable to keep himself from smiling.

“Hmm …” Fugnarus then began to contemplate, before letting out a small sigh. “Ugoval, Meriadoc, Peregrin.”

“… Yes.” All three moved forward.

“I must say, it was good to see your work. I will remember your names. Bless the capital and the mountains with your work and skills, alright?”

“…” The three dwarven masters bowed their heads in crestfallen manner, only to snap them up, banging their fists on their plate armor. “WE ACCEPT YOUR DECISION! Thank you, your Majesty!”

“Grimnir!” He then turned around, now holding the armor and gauntlets he made. “… Still a long way to become a real teacher. Still, good work; your skills have not rusted one bit since you left. I like it very much. Congratulations, I shall take yours back home.”

“Tha—”

“YEEEEEESSSSSS!” I charged forward the moment I heard this, grabbing Daichi and Ellaine before shoving them close to Grimnir. In a large embrace, I hugged all of them before jumping around in pure joy! “You can’t believe how much I was worrying! What the hell was that last moment reveal, huh? Jeez, that’s how you make people worry!”

“H-Hestia, stop! Please! I’m—”

“Oi, oi! Stop it, Hestia-san! This is really nauseating!”

“Gahahaha! Dammit, lass, couldn’t you have waited a moment more? Hahahah!”

The pent-up anticipation holding this crowd on the seats was finally released, as people cheered and clapped to those who won and lost. It was a graceful loss by the Luedbrumdar clan members, allowing the mood to be jubilant. Sure, some dwarves were shocked in their seats, and I could see the apprentices on their side crying a bit.

It was strange. I felt bad for them. Despite all the animosity between our two groups, in this very last moment, there was genuine respect. The three masters couldn’t help but praise Grimnir for his impressive work, seeing as he basically beat four master artisans, with only the help of two apprentices. Obviously, there was still some lingering hostility, but in this very moment, it was all forgiven for the craft.

“Griiiiiimnir! Wraaaahaaaaaaha!” Even Rosserto couldn’t stop himself as he charged onto the stage to perform with his band. His emotions were expressed through song.

“Nice one, Daichi-kun!”

“Yeah, great work, ass kisser. You did a great job there!”

Even the students came to celebrate Daichi’s victory, despite Kyouya and Tatsuya not liking him so much.

“Shut, you assholes! Hahaha, but yeah, hehe, can’t believe… I did something like this.” The emotions were getting to him. I could see from his wet eyes.

“Ellaine, my dear, you did a wonderful job! Still, I have to tell Josine that you need some proper shampoo! You reek, my dear!” On the other hand, Ellaine’s friends and family had a different way to congratulate her.

Naturally, the person herself couldn’t take it as she pouted with a reddened face. “Mother! Please, you don’t know how disgusting that makes me feel!”

“Oh come on, Mother. Our poor youngest will probably melt after being exposed to so much heat! Just look at her face, a fever!” Jonathan added to the teasing. “Don’t you think so, too, Lady Amelia?‘

“Hiehie, the academy will love this story. Sweaty and soot-covered Ellaine. Even your arms are starting to bulk up like a man’s, my dear friend.” Even Amelia joined the teasing train!

“W-wah, now you’re going too far!”

It was a moment of reprieve and celebration… Sadly, two people didn’t think the same. As the orchestra was filled with music and jubilation, two people snuck out.

Rajah, we’re counting on you.

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