Chapter 557 - Thirst for Knowledge The next week, Kahn and Blackwall stood in Throk's forge room again. After the old dwarf ate his ear for the whole day during the first class… he and Blackwall were instructed by the old blacksmith to do their research first and were handed out over 30 massive books related to the blacksmithing craft. And Throk warned them that he wouldn't start the practical sessions unless they memorized all the knowledge in them perfectly to the point where they could answer his questions even after he suddenly woke them from sleep. But he estimated it would take over a month for both of his new disciples… took a lot shorter than he imagined. As for Blackwall… the reason why he suddenly showed interest in Blacksmithing itself was because he was now a primordial titan and had a natural affinity with earth element as well as metal and minerals ever since Kahn merged him with the mountain titan. Now that Kahn was entering this field of study, Blackwall also wanted to learn and hone these skills as he was the only free subordinate compared to others who had various responsibilities on their shoulders while managing the company. So he wasn't going to miss this opportunity while doing nothing and hence asked the old dwarf to make him his disciple as well. And after a lot of nagging, the old dwarf agreed but warned that he would not show any mercy to either of them. And this morning, both of them appeared in front of Throk to give their end-of-semester viva. "What kind of nonsense is this? It usually takes more than 3 to 4 weeks just to go through all the details of materials, knowledge of forging techniques and properties of the metals and alloys. Are you telling me that you two are more talented than the elves of this empire?" berated the old blacksmith as he couldn't accept the fact that both of his new students managed to finish the whole syllabus in just one week. "No, it's just that they're not as eager as us." said Kahn shamelessly. "Tch! If it's some half-ass knowledge, I'll make you both carry my toolkit over your head for an entire day." scoffed Throk as he felt that both of the pupils were just bluffing. "Normally, it would take even a dwarf more than a month just to remember all these details, memorize the properties of the metals, their melting points and how best to smelt them properly while increasing the quality of the extracted metal." spoke Throk and finally started the questionnaire. Soon, he started questioning them about how to form various shapes using different types of alloys and metals. What kind of casting mold was used and what part of the anvil to use for giving a particular shape to the hot metal rods and bars based on the design of the weapon or armor.𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺 What kind of catalyst is needed to quickly harden them or cool them down in a quenching procedure or whether they used water or oil to do the job. Later, he asked the duo about how best to hammer the metals to get the desired shape and how to solder different parts together perfectly without sacrificing the build or overall strength of the sample in the forging process. "What kind of tools do you use for tampering and how to refine the ore to get the purest metal based on the sample involved. Give me the entire list of all of them." said Throk with ruthless eyes. However, both Kahn and Blackwall recited everything they learned from the books and catalogs without a problem one by one and even when Throk asked them trick questions. The old dwarf was completely shocked and frozen on the spot. Because all the answers were absolutely correct and there was not a single flaw in any of the details they mentioned about the procedures. But little did he know… Kahn already had an eidetic memory and Blackwall also inherited his intellect. Even though it wasn't similar to Ceril who also had the eidetic memory, Blackwall was still many times smarter than normal people since he took after Kahn. Plus both of them were saints, their minds worked many times faster than normal inhabitants of the world so they had no problem with memorizing everything to little details. What took others a month only took Kahn and Blackwall a week to perfect compared to someone of the same rank and levels. And thus, the saint blacksmith himself found this revelation unbelievable and hard to digest. "Fine then. You both pass." spoke Throk with a sense of defeat after there was nothing he could do to discredit both of the pupils since their knowledge was pitch-perfect at this point. "I will start with the basic forging techniques and teach you how to use the tools and manage the forge from tomorrow." said the old dwarf. "What kind of basic techniques?" asked Kahn. "For starters, it will be smelting the ores and taking out the slag. Then casting ingots based on the quantity needed. After that, I will teach you how to perform hammering without wasting unnecessary force or hitting too hard. Plus there are different types of hammers based on the type of materials and product we want to create. So you will need to experience how to use them properly without messing up as well." spoke Throk in an authoritative tone. After reading through all the journals, records and crafting techniques… Kahn had found a lot of mind-boggling information already. That even the hammers had too many different types and based on the metal or alloy at hand or the shape you wanted for different types… you needed to master every aspect of crafting. It wasn't anything like the novels he read where the protagonist mindlessly hammers a metal without managing force or used only a flat surface hammer to create all types of weapons and armors. And it clearly wasn't like a certain MMORPG novel where the MC who regressed 10 years back with knowledge of the future; picked up a random material, hammered it down and voila… a Legendary Rank armor was created. Even the metals and alloys had too many different characteristics to the point that he even had to be careful about not overheating them after a certain temperature or spending an extra minute in the forge otherwise the quality would be compromised. Then there was the issue with tampering them again and again while reheating and giving them shapes. Like before, their properties affected this procedure as well. The more he read, the more he realized that knowledge was one thing… but actual experience required in this field couldn't be skipped or shortened anyway just like how people spent decades mastering weapons, combat techniques and studying magic. And for the first time, Kahn had genuine and wholehearted respect for the Blacksmithing profession that was often neglected or not properly explained in the novels, manhwas, mangas and animes. Nobody ever bothered to do research and explain these things to their readers and fans and just showed the protagonist banging the hammer on the materials at hand without explaining the basic forging process and directly created an entire armor set after some time out of the blue. Blackwall on the other hand, was more curious than him and started asking questions to the old saint blacksmith which even Kahn didn't think of. Because unlike him, who was a jack of all trades… Blackwall had a sense of inkling to this profession because of his affinity and control over metals, alloys, minerals and ores. The more he asked, the more excited Throk became as he thought that Blackwall was the only one who had genuine curiosity and thirst for knowledge for the Blacksmithing profession. Kahn on the other hand felt like a spoiled brat who only perfected what was asked of him and did not have the drive to master the skills on his own unlike Blackwall. "Good. Very good. I'm impressed." said Throk as he nodded in approval after answering Blackwall's questions. He then looked at Kahn and spoke… "I take my words back. He will become my best student. As for you…" he said and continued in a discontent voice. "At least lose gracefully in the competition if you can't win it." ---------------- Kahn and the group now returned to their current living accommodations set inside the main company building that was situated at the very end of this 3 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide property. Just then, not only he but all the other subordinates sensed an intruder coming towards the company building. [Be careful. It's a semi-saint assassin. Nobody reveals their strength.] ordered Kahn to his subordinates. Soon, a yellow foxkin suddenly appeared in his room and was donned in pitch-black attire. Kahn acted all shocked to make the new arrival think that he couldn't sense him. "This is a letter from the princess. Burn it after you're done reading." spoke the foxkin and handed out a blue-colored envelope. Kahn took out the letter inside the envelope after the messenger left and as he started reading it… he was rooted on the spot. Because the very first line of Venessa's letter to Kahn started with the three unexpected words… "I want you."