Refining the Heavens 5 (炼天五)

Chapter 86: Magic Augmentation

When Kairos, Relestia, and Circi came to the guildhall, the new recruits had largely recovered from the debilitating after-effects of madness. Most of the people who came in contact with the darkness will make a full recovery thanks to how quickly Kairos defeated the chimera, but an unfortunate few will be permanently damaged. To the cultists who hide in the open, these victims became a source of pride.

In the guildhall, the discussion of what happened was the recruits' coping mechanism for the horrors that they felt when darkness descended. Only Sagrado remained unaffected, trying to divert the conversation topic away.

Even as the three walked in, the discussion did not have any inkling of ceasing. Kairos immediately noticed Sagrado's irregularity but did not put it to heart.

He did not stay for long either. After explaining the situation and asking them to work hard in improving their cultivation, Kairos returned to Edgar's hut. As for Relestia, she did not follow because she knows that this period is when Kairos' creation is about to finish and cannot afford to be distracted.

Kairos may be busy, but the princess is just as occupied with the entire branch now under her management, from logistics to the execution of plans. To save Circi Fer's teammates is a race against time and they will need to recruit more members to make that possible. As most of the potential recruits are still scrutinising the guild and the validity of the Origin Cultivation Method, there is a lot of marketing work to do for Relestia.

By the time Kairos returned to his master's hut, it was already midnight. At this time, the forges should have long ceased for the day, yet there was still one lit furnace at the corner of the room when Kairos stepped in.

Under the lamination of the glittering forge fires, he can see his fellow student, Von Von Arisfon. The elven girl is an outlier for both her race and gender in her career choice as a blacksmith. For the slender elves, most would find it impossible to swing a heavy hammer for long, but Von Von managed to persist under Edgar's tutelage longer than any other student.

Even Kairos is impressed by her dedication, especially when she was given an exceptionally low blacksmith ranking for simply being an elf – and it is not helping her that she has been Edgar's longest understudy.

Yet, no one thought to question why Von Von had not been expelled by Edgar even after so long. In fact, even her fellow students do not understand why she can remain an understudy despite being unable to get Edgar's recognition to graduate. Few knew that the elf's pursuit in smithing simply lies elsewhere, a technique of magic forging that only Edgar had seen because Von Von would forge in secret. Of course, she would also be working during the day where her fellow students are in, but what she shows others are but the standard blacksmithing techniques. Her juniors will laugh at the slender and delicate elf and her incompetency at handling the weight of a hammer, not knowing that she considers that as her daily physical training.

Only when night falls and there is no one to gleam at her secrets, she would practice her art. Because of Edgar's strict rules that no one can leave his hut without permission, or at least until they graduate, Von Von's secret had been safe more or less... so far. Until recently when Kairos, who has consent to come and go, noticed her.

However, the elf nodded at him without shying away. Unlike the others, this junior student is still somebody trustworthy, moreover, his crafting techniques is definitely not beneath hers so it is likely he will be uninterested in her secrets. Von Von, on the other hand, is very interested in Kairos' techniques that caused Edgar to call over four other master craftsmen and to give this junior so many privileges that none other enjoyed.

Granted, she does not know what secrets he held that made him different since the ancient dwarven manuscripts are known only to the five master craftsmen, Kairos, and the dwarven king.