Master Morry asked Abel, “Have you decided on what you’ll be performing today, Master Abel?!
Abel did think about it when he was looking at the other masters. There were a lot of techniques that he could teach, but he would really like to keep most of them to himself. Well, there was one technique that he’d learned just recently that he could use.
Abel smiled to Master Morry, “I have, Master Morry. Well, since all of you are more experienced than I am, the only thing I can demonstrate, well, is my creativity.”
“Oh, please! Do show us what you have up your sleeve!” Master Morry said excitedly. Even the other master blacksmiths started to stand beside him to watch, which was something that didn’t happen very often.
When the other master blacksmiths were doing their demonstrations, the ones watching would make space for their students and underlings. Now that Abel’s doing his own thing, none of the master blacksmiths were sparing any rooms for others. As desperate as these underlings were to look at what Abel’s doing, they didn’t dare to push past the masters that were standing in front line.
As Abel stood in front of the operation table, he turned to Master Morry and asked, “This hammer. Hmmm. Do you have anything heavier?”
Master Morry raised his brow, “The heaviest one we have here is 200 pounds. Is that still too light for you?”
Abel nodded, “Yes. For what I’m about to show, I need a hammer that’s at least above 500 pounds in mass. Can I get something that’s denser than these ones here?”
That really took Master Morry off-guard. In fact, he didn’t even think that there would be anyone who could use a 200-pound iron hammer. The one that he put there as more of a decoration, really. And swinging a 200-pound hammer was nothing like simply lifting a 200-pound object. Not only would you need a lot more muscles, you would also need at least ten times the amount of body coordination to actually use it. Not even Hoover could manage to lift a 500 pound in such a long time.
Abel wasn’t trying to make a scene here, but he just didn’t want to show off his Horadric Malus here. It was simply too good of a tool to show around in public. Actually, since he was in the master blacksmith’s headquarter, he thought that there would be no problem if he was asking for a 500-pound hammer.
“I’m going to have to ask you to wait for a moment, Master Abel,” Master Morry said. Now that Abel’s made the request, he couldn’t just tell him that the master blacksmith quarter didn’t have what he was looking for. The Blacksmith Union would be a laughing stock if that was to happen. Besides, something was telling him that the young man was just trying to find an excuse to not give any demonstrations.
After the servants were ordered, they went out of the building for a few minutes. There was a pretty muscular dwarven knight that came back when they did, and he was carrying a super-big iron hammer.
Master Morry took over the hammer and said, “She’s a beauty, isn’t it? This, Master Abel, is made from a unique piece I found when I was young. I happened to walk upon it in one of my earlier journeys. Because of its density, even the inferno flame couldn’t manage to melt it. Just when I wasn’t sure what to do with it, I decided to chisel it into whatever tool that it was shaped like.”
“So, I tried to turn it into a hammer, and that took me about roughly several years. What you’re looking at now is a 700-pound hammer. Well, I guess you can tell, but no one could really use it. I just let it sit in my office this entire time.”
“If you can use it, heck, I don’t mind giving it away for free.”
Master Morry had done pretty much all that he could. If Abel could not use this hammer here, it’s not like the Blacksmith Union owed anything to him. The reputation of the guild would be saved.
Abel’s eyes largened as he looked at the giant hammer that was handed over to him. Since the Horadric Malus couldn’t be shown in public, he didn’t mind having a replacement piece like this one. Now that his strength points were at 50, he knew how easy it would be for him to lift 700 pounds.
“I’ll give it a go, Master Morry,” Abel said as he took the hammer over. When he lifted it up in one of his hands, a streak of shadow appeared as he swung it across the air.“Oh, yeah!” the other masters screamed. Since they all trained their muscles since they were young, they knew how hard it was for Abel to move this much weight.
Abel then announced with ease, “Alright, everyone! What I’m about to demonstrate is how you can hammer a rough base.”
Of course, everybody knew what hammering a rough base was like. They also knew how famous Master Abel’s 130-skill base was, so they were really starting to focus on looking at what he was doing. Actually, considering how everyone else was only sharing a portion of their craftsmanship, Abel was being really generous with what he was showing.
Master Robin and Master Thorin were actually pretty worried about Abel. If he showed such an important technique to the others, he might just lose a lot of value as a master blacksmith. They couldn’t change his mind, though, so the most they could do was to hope that he knew what he was doing.
After putting one fine hematite ore into the inferno flame with his left hand, Abel quickly used a thong to pick it up and place it on top of an anvil. Even that part was very surprising for the others. Since it was very hard to manage the heat of an inferno flame, most humans and elves would often make the mistake of over-melting the metals in their first go.
For the dwarven masters, they were certain that it was Abel’s first time to handle an inferno flame. The dwarves possessed of all of the few inferno flames that were on the continent, and Abel was never reported to have visited any of them before.
When Abel slammed the hammer on the anvil, the sound that produced felt like the whole operation table was about to be smashed in half.
“He got it in one!” a master blacksmith screamed. No one could believe it. Abel just made a successful hit with his 700-pound hammer. And it wasn’t the weight that was unbelievable. It was the fact that he got a successful hit in his first go.
