Chapter 83: Reforged

Chapter 83: Reforged Kieran made his way to the underground cavern where he had met the blacksmith to which he commissioned his weapon.

He had gotten a message to come for the weapon two days ago, but he was so caught up in the activities that the instructor, August had set up for them that he hadn’t seen the message till now.

He and Derrick had spent the last three days training nonstop with the instructor. It was now the fifth day of battles and so far, Kieran hadn’t heard of anyone he knew other than Jake challenging a ranker.

It was like the second stage recruits were dead, but Kieran was sure that they were still out there, stalling for something. Soon they were going to make their move.

That was how the nobles behaved after all — watching until when they felt was best while plotting in the shadows.

Kieran snapped out of his thoughts when he arrived at the small shop which was supposed to be the camp’s official station for artisans.

It was still surprising how much the camp seemed to have ignored this place. It felt like the man he had met a few days ago was the only one managing the place.

Stepping in, he was met with a wave of extremely hot air, he could even feel his lips crack from the heat, his pale skin starting to get red.

Looking towards the source of the heat, it was none other than the man who had sent him the text. He felt like a walking, living oven.

"I sent the message two days ago."

"I was caught up in something"

Kieran gave the best explanation he could offer and the man let out a resigned sigh pointing to the table at the side.

Understanding the gesture, Kieran walked up to the table and removed the cloth cover revealing his scythe which had been reforged.

The look of the scythe wasn’t too far from how it was before. It was still completely black, but it looked a little shorter than before, probably by a few inches.

Picking up the weapon, Kieran was surprised at how well it fit him. It didn’t feel like he changed his weapon. The change in length didn’t affect the weight of the scythe. Inspecting it further, Kieran noticed the added edge to the scythe.

"You made it double edged?"

"I felt it could make things more effective for you"

The man started from the chair on which he sat, the flickering sound of a lighter being turned on wss heard followed by a long drag and the smell of smoke filling the air.

"A lighter?"

There was surprise and amazement in Kieran’s voice as he gave the lighter spinning in the man’s hand a long look.

"It’s an antique, from the old times. Got it off an old friend for huge price"

The man’s proud voice filled the room as he flashed the lighter in front of Kieran with a laugh.

Kieran on the other hand flashed a small smile, ignoring the man’s words. It was rare to see such a thing in the current era, but it wasn’t like it was of any use to someone like Kieran.

Only collectors would bother to give some ancient scrap like that a second glance.

Either way, the man had made his day with his newly reforged weapon, so he could indulge him a little.

Kieran shook his head and made his way out only to pause at the door and turn back to ask.

"What’s your name? I’m Kieran!"

He couldn’t forget to ask for the second time.

"Oh, I’m Marcel!"

The man answe3dd in a somewhat shy tone.

"Hmm, thanks"

Kieran said finally leaving the place.

Now that he had his scythe back, he could start to think of joining the challenge.

Even though August had just said not to, he would rather try and fail than not to try at all.

On his way back to the unit building he received a message, surprisingly from Leora.

During the break of their training sessions, Kieran had managed to watch videos on the recent fights, and so far, it appeared that no one had challenged her. In fact, no one in the top twenty had been challenged at all.

His eyes shifted from left to right, reading through the message and he scoffed lightly.

According to her text, she was wondering when he would join in on the fights. She even sent a list of "suitable" opponents for him to fight, all of them in the ranks 70 and below.

<<For someone who doesn’t care what I do, this is definitely out of character>>

His hand clicked the send button, glancing at the bottom of the message, where she left another piece of information.

<<Your friends are already making their moves>>

It was evident that she now saw Kieran as "someone worth her time".

The smile on Kieran’s face faded a little, thinking about the plots the recruits had been planning. It wasn’t something he felt comfortable with, Kieran shook his head resuming his walk back to the unit hall.

"You’re here, good!"

August’s voice welcomed him into the dojo as he was met with the sitting figures of Derrick and... Richard.

’Are we having a meeting?’

He wondered, naturally taking a seat beside Derrick, a curious light in his eyes as he gazed at the instructor who in turn cleared his throat.

"Ahem!"

"While I still think that it’s too early for you to fight. The willingness and determination shown by the three of you really touched me, so I have reconsidered my decision and decided that you can participate"

August said, flaring his hands in an overly dramatic expression, earning strange looks from the three recruits in front of him.

Their instructor was a rather eccentric one and it was sometimes hard to keep up with him.

"It’s best you place your challenge requests today. I’ll make sure that you guys get placed on the last day. So it’s best you start making your final preparations."

August’s voice took a tall change, becoming serious once again as he gave them his guidance.