His gaze swept over the metal rack.
Fifteen different metals, each measuring roughly one-third of a square meter. Their colors, textures, and lusters varied greatly.
Though the test sounded simple, it examined far more than raw purification skill. The surveyor deliberately did not identify the metals. Recognizing and understanding them was part of the assessment. Choosing poorly could lower one's score even if the purification itself was decent.
Ray studied them carefully. After a short pause, he reached out and selected a metal from the middle of the rack.
The block shimmered faintly with silver light.
The instant he chose it, both Kaelan and the surveyor stiffened.
Neither of them had expected him to pick such a thick, heavy metal.
"I choose this piece of Heavy Silver," Ray said calmly.
He lifted it and placed it onto the forging table without producing the slightest sound.
Gilbert's training surfaced instinctively in his movements. Metal was never allowed to clash unless one was actively forging.
This piece of Heavy Silver, with dimensions of one-third of a square meter, weighed well over three hundred kilograms. Yet Ray handled it as though it were nothing.
The surveyor couldn't help but exclaim, "Little one, your strength really isn't small."
Her doubts were beginning to waver.
"Masters, may I begin?" Ray asked.
"You may," she replied. "You have one hour. Purify it as much as you can. The result will determine your score."
"Yes!"
Ray wasted no time.
He activated the forging table and steadily increased its temperature before placing the Heavy Silver inside to be calcined. The calcining time counted toward the hour. The Blacksmith's Association was strict. There were no tricks, no shortcuts. A blacksmith's work reflected directly on the association's reputation.
Ray inhaled deeply, rolling his shoulders as he guided the flow of soul power within his body.
He hadn't chosen Heavy Silver to show off. It was simply the metal he was most familiar with.
After his first forging attempt, he had gained an intimate understanding of its temperament and reactions. The size and quality of this piece were also remarkably similar to the one he had worked on before.
Without realizing it, his instincts had led him to it.
At the same time, Gilbert's warning echoed clearly in his mind.
Do not reveal the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers.
Not before fifteen.
His breathing gradually synchronized with the faint hum of the forging table. His eyes sharpened, focused solely on the shifting temperature readings.
Kaelan stood to the side in silence, observing.
When he saw that transformation in Ray's gaze, his heart stirred.
'Gilbert… you've truly picked up a treasure.'
Kaelan had never been a natural genius. His rise came from stubborn devotion and relentless focus. He believed deeply in forging as a way of life.
And now, before him, stood a nine-year-old child who had already entered a state of absolute concentration.
That alone was extraordinary.
At precisely the right temperature, Ray pressed the control panel, drawing the Heavy Silver out of the forging table.
The surveyor immediately noted the timing, her pen moving swiftly.
From her experienced eye, it was obvious this was not Ray's first time forging Heavy Silver. A novice who hadn't even registered yet could never display such familiarity.
Ray began.
His arms trembled slightly as a pair of Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers appeared in his hands. He lifted his left arm and tapped the Heavy Silver twice.
Ding. Ding.
Kaelan's gaze instantly shifted to Ray's ears.
They twitched—barely.
'He's listening,' Kaelan realized. 'Listening to the metal itself.'
His expression changed completely.
In the next instant, Ray's right arm came down like lightning. A sharp whistle cut through the air, followed by a heavy impact.
Peng!
The Heavy Silver depressed inward as the tungsten hammer rang clearly.
Ray's large eyes lit up. His left hammer followed immediately.
Peng!
Two powerful reverberations echoed through the forging room.
Kaelan's pupils contracted.
'Those are… Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers?!'
For the first time since entering the room, his calm cracked—just a little.
How old was this child, exactly? And yet he could wield such heavy Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers with ease. Even among rank two blacksmiths, many struggled to use a single forty-kilogram hammer. Ray was swinging a pair of them, each weighing that much, as if they were extensions of his arms.
Blacksmithing demanded strength, endurance, and technique. Strength formed the base, amplifying the power of each strike, but it was also the fastest resource to be consumed.
Without hesitation, Ray's arms were already moving again.
The twin hammers fell.
From the feedback transmitted through the metal, Ray immediately sensed it. This piece of Heavy Silver was astonishingly similar to the one he had forged before. Even the internal vein patterns were alike.
Familiarity flooded his mind, and his hammers answered instinctively, raining down upon the metal like a sudden storm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bangbangbang!
The forging hall filled with a rhythm that was both fierce and precise. Power and order intertwined, creating a strangely mesmerizing harmony.
Since arriving in West Ocean City, everything had felt foreign. The unfamiliar streets, the academy, the bullying, the punishment fees. Pressure had piled upon him until he felt as though he could barely breathe. After all, he was still only nine years old.
But here, in front of a forging table, with Heavy Silver beneath his hammers and rhythm in his hands, he felt grounded again.
This was home.
His eyes locked onto the metal as his ears twitched ceaselessly, catching every subtle response from the Heavy Silver. With each strike, the metal began to change. And as time passed, the sound of hammer meeting metal grew richer, deeper, more stirring.
Kaelan and the surveyor grew solemn.
Ray was completely immersed. His focus was so absolute that even blacksmiths in their twenties or thirties would struggle to match it.
A genius.
The same thought surfaced simultaneously in both of their minds.
Kaelan no longer needed to examine the Heavy Silver. With his experience, he already knew the result.
Heavy Silver purification was the benchmark of a rank two blacksmith, precisely because of its density and resistance. It was notoriously difficult to refine completely.
When Ray had chosen it, the surveyor had believed he was overestimating himself.
Now, she realized she was witnessing a performance.
The moment Ray's hammer strikes coaxed a clear, beautiful note from the Heavy Silver; he had already passed the rank one assessment.
Everything after that was no longer a test.
It was a demonstration.
The only question left was how far this demonstration would go.
The Thousand Refined Tungsten Hammers blurred in Ray's hands, rising and falling like reeds in a current. The closer he synchronized with the Heavy Silver, the faster his strikes became. Soon, only flickering afterimages remained, while the dense pounding flowed smoothly, like liquid metal.