Chapter 16: The First Forging
The dust was still in the air.
I was kneeling in the middle of the Qualification Trial arena, and everything hurt. My ribs, my head, my pride. Around me, other students were groaning, bleeding, getting dragged out by proctors.
Nobody was looking at them.
They were looking at me.
Because in my hand, under a pile of broken stone and rust, something was glowing.
Blue.
*[Item Detected: Aetherium Core - Fragmented]*
*[Grade: Unknown]*
*[Warning: Unstable Energy Source]*
My fingers were already around it.
It was hot. Not burn hot. Alive hot. Like holding a small sun. The moment I touched it, the system in my head went crazy.
*[Sync Rate: 15%... 42%... 89%]*
*[New Trait Unlocked: Trash Resonance]*
*[Warning: Do not let go]*
So I didn’t.
"Kael!" A proctor shouted. "Drop it! That’s not part of the test!"
I ignored him.
For 15 Chapters they called me Trash. For 15 Chapters I dug through garbage while everyone else got magic and swords and family names.
This was mine.
The light crawled up my arm and vanished under my skin. The pain was sharp, then gone. The Core went cold in my palm.
The arena went silent.
The old proctor with the scar walked up to me. His eyes were on my hand.
"What did you find, boy?"
"Scrap," I said. And I meant it.
Because that’s what I do. I find value where no one else looks.
He stared at me for a long time. Then he sighed.
"Rules are rules. Anything found in the Trial belongs to the finder. Get out of here before I regret this."
I didn’t need a second invitation.
The walk back to my workshop felt different. The Core in my pocket was pulling at me. Heavy. Insistent. Like it wanted to be used.
My workshop was exactly how I left it. Trash everywhere. A cracked anvil. A hammer with tape around the handle. The smell of rust and oil.
Perfect.
I locked the door and pulled out the Core. Set it on the anvil.
The second it touched metal, the room lit up. Blue light filled every crack, every corner.
*[Do you wish to begin Forging?]*
*[Material: Aetherium Core]*
*[Estimated Success Rate: 3%]*
*[Failure: Severe Injury or Death]*
Three percent.
Better odds than I’ve had my whole life.
I picked up the hammer. The tape was peeling. The head was dented. But when I lifted it, it felt right.
First strike.
_CLANG_
The sound cut through the air. Not loud. Deep. The Core cracked and blue light poured out of it, sinking into the hammer, into the anvil, into the floor.
Second strike.
My arm went numb. The system was screaming warnings about mana backlash. I swiped them away.
Third strike.
The anvil split down the middle. The Core melted, flowing like liquid light into the hammer head. Runes carved themselves into the metal, glowing once before fading to a dull silver.
Fourth strike.
Silence.
I was breathing hard. Sweat was dripping into my eyes. In my hands was a hammer. It didn’t look special. Still old. Still beat up.
But it had weight now. Presence.
The scrap on the floor stopped rattling. Like it was afraid of it.
*[Forging Complete]*
*[Item Created: Hammer of the First Scrap]*
*[Grade: Rare+]*
*[Effect 1: +50% Efficiency when forging from scrap materials]*
*[Effect 2: Can absorb 1 Core to evolve]*
*[Effect 3: ??? - Locked]*
Rare+.
From garbage and one lucky Core.
I laughed. It came out tired and shaky.
*[Hidden Quest Complete: First God-Tier Forging Attempt]*
*[Reward: 500 System Points]*
*[Title Acquired: First Forger]*
*[New Quest: Gather 3 More Cores]*
That’s when I heard it.
Knock. Knock.
Slow. Clean. Not from around here.
"Kael," a voice called from outside. "I felt that. Open up."
My grip tightened on the hammer. It was warm.
I didn’t answer.
The door handle turned. Locked.
"I know you’re in there," the voice said. "I’m with the Guild Appraiser Division. We need to discuss what you just made."
Guild. Of course.
_BOOM_
The door exploded inward. Wood and metal flew across the room.
Standing in the smoke was a man in a clean coat. Too clean. Gloves, combed hair, smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
His gaze went straight to the hammer on my bench.
"There it is," he whispered.
"Don’t touch it," I said.
He held up his hands. "Relax. I’m just here to talk. That was an Aetherium Core, wasn’t it? Do you know how much trouble you’re in? Unauthorized forging is a Guild crime."
"Found it in the Trial," I said. "Finders keepers."
"Technically," he said, smiling wider. "But technically also means we can take it. Unless you sell it to me. Private deal. Good price."
I looked at the hammer. Then at him.
"You want it? Come take it."
His smile dropped.
"Fine."
He moved fast. Too fast. A barrier appeared in front of him as I swung. The hammer hit it and the whole room shook. Shelves fell. Nails flew.
*[Passive Activated: Scrap Efficiency +50%]*
Every piece of trash lifted off the ground and shot at him. He cursed and the barrier cracked.
I brought the hammer down on the anvil. The shockwave sent him flying back into the wall.
When the dust cleared, he was on one knee, bleeding. Still smiling.
"You’re not supposed to be able to do that," he said.
"Yeah," I said. "I get that a lot."
Boots outside. More Guild.
He tossed a card at my feet and ran out the window.
The guards came in a second later. They looked at the mess, at me, at the hammer.
They didn’t arrest me. Not yet.
But they wrote everything down.
When they left, I sat on the floor. My hands were shaking.
I looked at the hammer. Rare+.
And now the Guild knew my name.
*[Quest Complete: Survive the Night]*
*[Reward: 1000 System Points]*
*[New Quest: The Guild is Watching]*
*[Difficulty: Very High]*
Outside, the city was quiet.
Inside, I started planning.
Because if one of them came, more would follow.
And next time, I wouldn’t just have a hammer.
To Be Continued...
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