Chapter 164: Shye’s Favorite Brand

After a few minutes of walking, Shye finally arrived at his designated seat.

He felt nervous as he walked through the crowded seats, thinking that he would be reprimanded big time by the deans once he arrived.

Fortunately, it seems that the deans and the instructors were on a different business so they shouldn't be able to know that he was late, unless...

'They wouldn't rat me out...right?' Shye nervously thought as he looked at the Colzen students.

Judging from their smiles, the deans probably wouldn't know so he decided to stop thinking about it and just sat down to watch the proceedings of the blacksmith competition.

Based on what the commentator said, the second round of matches had just finished; they were now down to the final stage and the sixteen blacksmiths who survived were currently the top 16 best blacksmiths in Valenzia Region.

Shye was curious.

He wanted to know who the sixteen blacksmiths were.

Fortunately, the competition didn't make them wait too long.

"Without further ado, let's introduce the three judges who will score the contestants' works."

Cheers of smithing enthusiasts reverberated across the entire square as three judges of varying ages proudly walked up the stage, confidence oozing out of the pores of their bodies.

Apparently, these judges were well-known.

Unfortunately, this was the first time Shye was able to attend and watch such a competition.

Thus, these judges were unknown to him and he could only wait for the commentator to introduce the distinguished individuals.

"Introducing the first judge, he is currently one of the best appraisers in Valenzia City if not the best. From Oracle Appraisers, Nick Tackton!"

The commentator said as he gently waved his right hand and pointed it towards a short middle-aged man with short curly black hair, tan-coloured skin, not-so-endearing eyes, a nose akin to a small pumpkin, and thick lips.

Still, it didn't look like she was far off though.

Once all the blacksmiths had settled down, the commentator introduced them one by one; the crowd's cheers were divided as each person rooted for the owner of their favorite blacksmith brands.

Thunderous acclamations reverberated in the entire square as the commentator finally introduced Doran, the crowd favorite.

It seems that his popularity was still unmatched even when compared to the other prominent blacksmiths of nearly the same caliber.

When it was time to introduce the young female blacksmith, everyone's ears perked up, curious to know who she was.

"Next, a promising young blacksmith, the champion of the rookie blacksmith competition, and the only female blacksmith to make it into the final stages. Hailing from Kossin City, give it up for Meido Chan!"

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the cheers for the young blacksmith surpassed even those of the more prominent ones, second only to Doran's.

Naturally, Shye was among those who were cheering loudly, startling the entire Colzen group of students.

After hearing the name of the blacksmith, Shye subconsciously stood up and cheered at the top of his lungs.

He was a big fan of Meido Chan's crafts so he was already cheering hard before his brain could even process what happened.

The Colzen group of students looked at the rookie blacksmith with interested eyes, engraving her name into their minds as they vowed to check her crafts in the future.

If their respected Senior Crowley was a big fan of this blacksmith, then her works must be of high quality.

Finally, once the introductions were done, a huge dome of transparent barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the stage and isolating the blacksmiths inside their own small world–free of all distractions.

The purpose of the transparent barrier was to make sure that any noise from the crowd wouldn't affect the focus of the blacksmiths.

After all, one mistake could mean a disaster in such a high-level competition.

Once everything was ready, the administrators finally gave the signal to start, prompting the blacksmiths to quickly look inside the huge box of materials provided to them.