"Smithing is the art of creation, the art of patience, the art of knowledge, and therefore... the art of power." Brokkr profoundly stated.
Lyrian interest in this art was piqued, as he continued to listen to Brokkr about how one could use the art of smithing in all areas of life. He even was instructed to begin training his weapon to the side by Brokkr, so that he could tell him his mistakes, and how to fix them with the mindset of how one smithed.
An hour passed by, as Lyrian continued to swing his hilt by Brokkr's instructions. On this swing, his eagerness to learn about smithing and to gain power slightly got hold of him, causing him to slightly tilt his hilt to the side and miss the target area.
"Mistake number 104!" Brokkr shouted, "Lyrian, when striking your sword, you are not just attacking, but also creating a flawless attack. If you were to miss and not land your weapon on a vital area, then that could spell death for you on the battlefield. You must be precise, focused!" He exclaimed, as Lyrian quickly fixed his demeanor.
That night, Lyrian thought of ways that he could create better creatures with this knowledge that he had.
He was sleeping on the floor, while Brokkr slept on the bed. He didn't mind, however, being too preoccupied with the valuable knowledge he learned during their training that day.
When he created Garmr, his thinking was unfocused and random, not honed into something, 'I wonder, what would happen if I focused my mind into precisely creating a certain type of creature using the art of smithing?' He thought to himself.
From that first day, two more days passed. It was now the 21st day of the exam. Lyrian trained under Brokkr's instructions similarly throughout the time he had. He learned a lot about smithing and how one used such art in combat and in normal life.
However, Lyrian knew that he hadn't even scratched the surface of smithing. He wanted to learn more but also knew that there wasn't any more time.
That day, after training his sword with Rocky the Diamond Lizard for the duration of the early morning, he returned to the hut as instructed by Brokkr. On entering, Lyrian saw the dwarf holding a sword in his hands, pointing it up as he closely inspected each and every detail on it with one eye closed.
The sword had a silver hilt with a small dragon's sculpture flowing through it, glimmering red crystals in the dragon's eyes. The blade was the same size as it was before, not too long, perfect for Lyrian's size.
It was much finer than before, having a noticeably dangerous edge, along with small inscriptions in the middle of the blade. Upon seeing Lyrian enter, Brokkr threw the blade across the room.
Lyrian was slightly caught off guard by this, seeing an extremely sharp weapon come flying at him, but still managed to catch it with a slight duck, "What are you? Trying to cut me?" Lyrian joked.
"Oh trust me, if that sword was to hit you it wouldn't just cut you. It would kill you." Brokkr also joked, laughing whole heartily.
"You make bizarre jokes old man, but... the quality is there," Lyrian said, inspecting the blade himself. He even tried to test its sharpness by slightly touching the edge of the blade, only for his finger to be instantly knicked.
Brokkr took out a large sword from the forge with some tongs, red hot, and orange in color before placing it down on the anvil and grabbing the hammer. "You bet it's there." He said, beginning to clank down on the weapon.
"I heard you traveled to this kingdom for a specific reason. Some... thing? Is that what you're making all these swords for?" Lyrian asked, genuinely curious about both answers.
Brokkr paused, looking up at Lyrian for a second before speaking, "Pentennial Academy Power Tournament. As the name suggests, it's held every 5 years. Academies across the continent compete to see who's the strongest school. It's going to be held next year. Hell, you might be in it if you pass this exam." Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.
Lyrian's interest was slightly piqued on hearing this, "I see..."
"Look, brat. Isn't it time for you to go? How much more of my time are you going to waste." Brokkr suddenly said, continuing to hit the sword with his hammer.
"Oh! Right! Thanks very much for the sword, I won't disgrace your name by using it badly!" Lyrian said, turning towards the exit.
"Also, brat. If you want to learn more about smithing..." Brokkr paused as Lyrian turned around.
Coincidentally, this was exactly what Lyrian wanted to hear.
"Then you can come to learn it in the kingdom of dwarfs, Wverngale. I'll be there, in a few years that is."
A smile appeared on Lyrian's face as he heard this, "I'll be there!" He said before leaving.
As he made his way out of the cavern room of Brokkr, he thought to himself, 'Perfect! After a few years, I'll be able to master the art of smithing. I imagine that will help me use my creation system far more effectively.'
On Lyrian's departure, Brokkr was also intrigued by something, 'That kid... why does the will in his eyes resemble that man...' He thought to himself, slightly perplexed.
As Lyrian was about to exit the large cavern where Brokkr lived and enter back into the Poison Spider's nest, two figures suddenly showed themselves from the exit.
"Alten? Leon?" Lyrian said, confused to see the two pop out.
"Lyrain! We were just coming to check up on you." Alten said, excited to to him.
"You most likely wanted us to stay back, but we made the decision to come. Thankfully, you seem to still be alive." Leon followed.
On hearing this, Lyrian smirked slightly, "That's not all. The job's also done." He said, unsheathing his brand new sword to the awe of both Leon and Alten.