"Whoa" Noah couldn't hold in his amazement at this scene that looked straight out of a fantasy. Well, technically he was in a fantasy world so this shouldn't be unexpected but still, the guy used a freaking magic blade to cut the steel armor in two with a clean slice.

The master had a wide smile on his face as he turned to look at the astonished crowd.

"How do you all like that? Pretty neat, huh?" He said while admiring his creation along with the wrecked piece of armor.

People nodded in response completely floored by the spectacle.

"Now that the theatrics are done, I should stop messing with you all." His words confused the people as they didn't understand what he meant by theatrics.

He then took the metal helmet from the destroyed armor lying on the floor and brought it back with him to the forge. He then placed it on the anvil. Igniting the Mana Blade again, he sliced at the helmet slowly like he was cutting into bread instead of steel.

This time without all the extra aura around his body making the action itself feel a lot less impactful and less powerful. Though, the steel clearly didn't think so as it was cut like butter in front of the mana knife.

The group got even more amazed at the blade's sharpness yet at the same time confused. If it was so easy to cut steel with a mana knife, why the extra performance earlier then.

Perhaps Master Ralvol could feel the questions brimming in their eyes as his smile widened even more while he stated amusedly.

"I confess that I became a bit dramatic seeing you lot behaving like little chicks. Full of wonder and curiosity at this new world." He had a hearty laugh after saying that but the same could not be said for the apprentices.

They were annoyed with the way he treated them like kids. It was irrelevant that his words couldn't be more right as they were indeed behaving like little children visiting Disneyland for the first time.

The apprentices were slightly miffed by the attitude of Master Ralvol towards them.

But Ralvol put a stop to the ruckus before it could even start with his next words.

"Now back to Forging, we aren't done yet."

People again went back to being confused. They had just seen the blade in action and he was telling them that the blade was still incomplete. Many were skeptical of his claim especially with what he said before, they were thinking it was just him continuing to toy with them.

"Now, some of you may be thinking that the blade is working just fine." He accentuated his point by waving the blade at the half-sliced helmet again and turned it fully sliced.

The apprentice's heads were still tilted in confusion because they weren't sure where the master was going with this. They could evidently see the finished blade, what more could be missing.

"As you just saw, the blade is functioning well enough but let me tell you that this is nothing but a front. It may look good right now but it is fragile in nature. A few high-intensity battles and this could snap right in a middle of a deathmatch. And when it will snap, instead of the blade just flying off leaving you with a hilt and broken blade, it will explode with metal shards flying everywhere. Many of which will embed themselves in the body severely injuring that person. You can guess what will be the outcome of the blade's wielder in that situation." He explained while tracing the spine of the blade.

Their faces grimaced as they imagined the miserable condition of the poor fella who was unlucky enough to have that happen to him when facing an enemy.

"Now to prevent such an outcome, we perform the final and most important step in making a great weapon, Tempering. Many of you may have seen me lashing out at two idiots a while ago. It was because they forgot to temper the weapons the city guards ordered for the new Initiates. They actually had the gall to skip such an essential procedure in blacksmithing despite my repeated instructions. AND THAT FOR JUST BEING LAZY."

Master Ralvol finished with a roar while wearing back his angry face. Many people flinched at the sudden change but soon calmed down. They were now getting used to his strange quirks.

"Now that I think about it, I think I was being too easy on them loose with such a small punishment. It should be made sure no one makes such a horrendous mistake again. EVER."

He was boiling in rage from his core as if the two had done some heresy against Blacksmithing. From his looks, they might as well have done it. Everyone felt sorry for the two poor fellows.

"VYLD!!" His shout was harsh enough to grate on their ears. It probably reached the main entrance with how loud the shout was.

"Yes, Master." A familiar voice answered back. Noah was surprised to see the person who he met at the door rushing towards the master.

"Make sure those two do not take a step in the forge unless they complete salvaging the entire monthly batch."

"Sure, as you say, Master." Vyld swiftly replied and rushed back to the front with haste. He wanted no part in this charade. It was much better to just listen to master's demands and get back doing his work.

Master Ralvol's expression calmed down instantly and all traces of anger melted like snow just after hearing Vyld's answer. He then turned to them and expressed regret for his behavior half-heartedly.

"Sorry for the unsightly display. I just get a bit heated when someone disrespects the craft I had put my life and soul into."

Everyone nodded while inwardly thinking they could not afford to slip up while learning here or they wouldn't hear the end of it from him. Well, He would likely chew them raw before that anyway.

"Where were we? Right, Tempering. It is a necessary process if you want to turn your good weapon into a great weapon. It basically requires that we leave the blade in a stimulating environment for the mana inside it to thoroughly finish reorganizing and settle down. By stimulating, I mean in a mana oven where the blade will be given a mana bath while also being heated below its melting point simultaneously."

He took the blade and positioned it in another compartment, likely the mana forge. Sealing it off similar to the other times, he then started adjusting the parameters using the panels.

"If we were doing this for just a normal steel blade, we could just let it bake in an oven and be over with it but we are dealing with magical metals here, therefore the need for a more complex treatment process. After the treatment process is completed, we just leave it to cool down in the air. The blade is then truly finished and can be further enchanted if the need arises in future."

He then began imparting knowledge about enchanting.

"As for Enchanting, just think of it as adding extra abilities in the weapon through the use of mana and runic script. I don't think this one needs any fancy enchantment. It would do fine with just your regular old Toughen and Sharp. Enchanting isn't just done on any weapon. You need to have a proper base for it. Every weapon has a capacity to the number of enchantments it can handle along with affinity towards certain enchantments. This Alloy blade is far more compatible with basic enchants than any of the elemental or esoteric ones."

People were getting befuddled juggling around all the new terms in their minds. He seems to have noticed it and uttered.

"You don't have to worry about it now. First master the non-magical Blacksmithing before even thinking of trying the magical one." He concluded that topic and continued.

"Now, If you have some doubts, I can answer them. Just make sure it is related to forging and what I explained to you."

Hands were raised without wasting any time. Everyone was itching to know about, well, everything. The entire demonstration only further raised their curiosity.

Master Ralvol nodded looking at them seemingly satisfied by this scene.

"It seems the display was quite effective. The passion can now be seen blazing in your gaze. Embrace this passion and strive for greater achievements. Now, present your questions."

People became somewhat bashful at the sudden praise and unconsciously tried to pull back their hands but their overwhelming curiosity stopped that attempt halfway. They stretched their hands straight back up.

Ralvol then randomly chose one of them and the session began. Questions were asked and answers were given with the apprentices learning more and more about Blacksmithing as time passed.

Noah was thankful for this doubt session as many of his previous doubts were dispelled by the explanations. He gained many insights into the different procedures for crafting while also rectifying some mistakes he had in his understanding of Blacksmithing.

Moreover, he also got to know some general knowledge about other interesting stuff like the industrial capabilities and the production chain of this kingdom. Part of the Blacksmithing job apparently included buying ores and checking in for material deliveries. He was thrilled at the prospect of seeing the different types of metals and products manufactured here in this kingdom and the world at large.

Eventually, Noah's turn came and he presented his question without any delay to the master.

"Master Ralvol, I was curious to know what the mana blades are used for besides during fights between high-grade Professionals." Noah's question seemed innocent enough at first glance but there was an embedded question inside it. To answer the question, one had to clarify the existence of monsters or other races and Noah wanted confirmation from him. Though, he was almost sure they existed from what he managed to gather from his Status and Nephra.

Master Ralvol's eyes narrowed looking at him.

He was frowning so deeply that Noah started feeling uneasy under his gaze when suddenly his brows got relaxed. Then, he explained the reason behind his strange behavior.

"Young man, let me tell you something. You and your attitude disgusted me at first. Reminded me a lot of those fake nobles." He looked sickened at the thought of those fake nobles he mentioned.

Some people were snickering from behind at his apparent misfortune. Master Ralvol instantly locked his gaze onto those people which promptly shut them up. He then continued.

"But having seen you being patient and determined to learn this craft the entire time changed my mind. You have impressed me, young fella. Your name was Noah, if I remember correctly."

"You are correct, Master Ralvol." Noah answered respectfully while inwardly he was relieved that there was no SALVAGE LINE coming his way.

"Noah is a good name. Now to answer your question, we need to talk about the dangers to the kingdom. Just to remind you Noah, your attempt at prying is much rough and needs proper work."

He directed a knowing smile at Noah having easily recognized his attempt at prying information out of him from far away.

Noah looked almost comically surprised at his intentions being found out so effortlessly. Master Ralvol had a loud chuckle seeing his expression.

"That was an amusing look. Getting back to the topic, the dangers mainly come from neighboring kingdoms and monsters. Monsters are also called Awakened Beasts or Mana Beasts but the general term is monsters. You can calculate the possible danger that could be posed by groups of them. Knights are dispatched routinely to whittle down their numbers so that they aren't able to grow into a legitimate threat. Unfortunately that isn't enough to completely curb down their threat. Sometimes Beast Hordes which includes hundreds of thousands of Monsters gather under Monster Kings and decimates entire cities in their paths." He paused for a moment to let the information sink in and then continued.

"In those cases, an entire squad of Grandmaster Class Professionals is dispatched to effectively handle the threats. To give you an idea of the danger posed by Beast Hordes, a single Grandmaster can tear down your average city in a short time. Those masters only come out when there is a grave threat to the kingdom." His face was grim while he was explaining and the apprentices sported similar grim looks as they could also imagine the danger a Beast Horde could possess.

"Thankfully, those type of threats appear very rarely and generally takes few decades to occur. At that time, many kingdoms combine their forces to eliminate the Horde, which brings us back to the second threat, Kingdoms."