303 Smithing Guru

Honestly, even Garza was afraid of the pale-faced young man. The unrestrained magical wave pouring off of him was too scary; if he was not wrong, this man had to be at least level-17. Even if he went against him, the odds of winning were slim. Besides, with the speed at which he moved, this man was most likely well-versed in martial arts as well…

Without question, it would be foolish to go against a man like that.

"But, Master Garza—"

Lasorick wanted to continue his protests, but was immediately cut off by Garza. "Alright, Lasorick, let's end this here. I'm tired and wish to rest, you can settle the rest of it with Kaman…"

"Ok…" Lasorick debated for a while before he reluctantly agreed. He did not have a choice, as he could not go against Garza. Even his father Anjay had to treat him with utmost respect as the President of the Guild of Blacksmiths was not merely a blacksmith—he had an unimaginably formidable backing…

With Lasorick's agreement, it all became easier. Kaman had long wanted to settle the issue amicably, and bought the machete from Lasorick at two times the original price without a second thought.

After sending off Lasorick and Garza respectfully, Kaman looked deflated as he sat in the thrashed shop for half an hour before he returned to his senses. "I'm sorry Mage Felic, that was embarrassing…"

"Haha, that was nothing. If we must, it was me who had troubled you…"

Kaman patronized him half-heartedly before burying the incident as though it had never happened. As for the shimmering machete which lay amidst the debris in the shop, Kaman never gave it another glance, and treated it like it was nothing but air…

Kaman thought that this was the wisest way to deal with the situation, and since Master Garza had said that it was not forged from rainbow adamantine, something had to be wrong here…

But even then, Kaman dared not say anything, since he did not have any evidence. Even if he did, he could not question Mage Felic with the machete and ask him why he gave him a fake to sell.

What a joke, hadn't he been in enough trouble?

Thus, Kaman thought the best thing to do was to remain silent…

Unfortunately, Kaman did not know that Lin Li knew what he was doing, and could not help finding it amusing. Lin Li knew what he was thinking, but did not want to explain it to him…

Honestly, Lin Li might have been the only one who knew that the machete was indeed forged from rainbow adamantine. Only, he had used a skill that was too advanced when forging it, so even a Smithing Master like Garza had thought it was fake.

True, weapons forged of rainbow adamantine would look dull, but everything had an exception, rainbow adamantine included. Amongst the techniques of Smithing Gurus, there was one targeted at rainbow adamantine.

Everybody knew that weapons had to be quenched at least once—even most magical weapons. It was just that the method of quenching was more complicated. Rainbow adamantine, however, had to be quenched at least two to seven times as every time it was quenched, the weapon was infused with another magical attribute. This was a testament to a blacksmith's skills, for the number of times it was quenched determined the quality of the blacksmith's technique as well as the quality of the weapon forged of rainbow adamantine. The more times it was quenched, the more magical attributes it had. A blacksmith who was able to quench the weapon seven times was no doubt a true master!

However, Lin Li's skills were way above that of a master, and he knew that to quench it seven times was not the limit. Actually, it was better to quench it only once and infuse it with eight magical attributes created in that single instance. That was the true limit of forging rainbow adamantine!

A Smithing Guru was one because they could achieve what a Smithing Master could not. It was every blacksmith's life goal to reach the seven magical attributes of rainbow adamantine, and to be able to forge a weapon with seven magical attributes meant that their forging skills had peaked out. However, the blacksmiths who stood at the peak knew that an eighth magical attribute existed—it was only that its presence was more obscure than a god's words. To be able to forge a weapon with eight magical attributes with one quenching was a goal only Smithing Masters could pursue…

Legend had it that the Smithing Gurus who were above Smithing Masters in skills could forge the weapon with one quenching and activate the eighth magical attribute of rainbow adamantine. At the same time, the weapon would shimmer unlike what usually happened…

And Lin Li had used the technique belonging to Smithing Masters for this machete.

A pity that nobody, Garza included, could see the true value of this machete.

"Alright, Kaman, time is ticking, bring me to the dwarf…" Lin Li was a little dejected to have the masterpiece he'd created in a moment of passion depreciated. He was not in the mood for small talk; hence, with a few half-hearted words, he rushed Kaman to bring him to the carriage of ore.

"Ok, ok…"

As the two exchanged half-hearted words, Lasorick had already boarded the carriage with Garza at his side. Garza was resting with his eyes closed, and paid no mind to Lasorick's endless complaints.

"Master Garza, the two foreigners were too much!! Why didn't you let me punish them? And Kaman, that corrupted businessman, how dares he doubt your appraisal after selling me a fake! If not for your sake, I would have torn down his shop!"

"Alright, Lasorick, don't forget that you're Anjay's son and will take over from him one day as the castellan of Doland. Rashness is not a good trait to have as a castellan…" The middle-aged blacksmith could not help frowning at Lasorick's endless complaints.

"But…"

"No buts, Lasorick. I'll tell you this: the two foreigners are not people you can punish, especially the black-cloaked man…"

"The black-cloaked man?" Lasorick was not convinced. "Isn't he just a servant, why can't I punish him?"

"Servant?" Garza shifted himself and sat up straighter, a sneer on his tan face. "You really think he is a servant? Don't be funny, Lasorick, he is at least a level-17 mage! Even the most powerful mage that your father has may not have such capabilities, and you think he is a servant you can punish?"

"Le… level-17?" Lasorick gulped, his beady eyes filled with disbelief. "Y-y-you… You said, that black-cloaked guy, is a level-17 mage?"

"Maybe even level-18…"

"…"

"But something is strange…" Garza frowned deeply again at this, his tanned face filled with doubt as he spoke as though to himself. "I couldn't tell how powerful the other mage was, could he be more powerful than the guy in the black cloak?"

"Master Garza, what are you saying?" Lasorick was confused when he heard this. What other mage, who was stronger than the guy in a black cloak? Could Master Garza be referring to the guy who had threatened him about his hands?

"Right, right, weapons forged of rainbow adamantine do not have to be dull, that must be it, that must be it, the eighth magical attribute, the legendary eighth magical attribute… " Garza muttered to himself, and became more excited as he did. In the end, he leaped up, and yelled, "Stop the carriage!"

"What happened, Master Garza?" Lasorick was taken aback.

"Don't ask anymore, Lasorick, get someone to bring me the machete from the shop now!"

"Uh, the machete?"

"Yes, the machete forged from rainbow adamantine!"

"Alright, Master Garza, calm down, I'll have someone do it now…" Garza looked very serious, so Lasorick did not dare delay it any further as he stopped the carriage and alighted before getting one of his attendants to buy the machete back.

After that, Lasorick returned to the carriage with a doubtful expression. "Master Garza, w-why is it you want it back?"

"Lasorick…" The middle-aged blacksmith shook his head; the calmness from earlier could not be seen on his tanned face anymore. "I was wrong, how could I not have thought of that, there really is a Smithing Guru in this world…"

"Smithing Guru, what Smithing Guru?"

"Only in legends, a Smithing Guru who can activate all eight magical attributes of rainbow adamantine with one quenching!"

Lasorick finally understood something when he heard this. "You're saying…"

"Yes, if I'm right, the one who forged the machete is a true Smithing Guru!"

"Good heavens…"