Chapter 15: Learning How to Forge

Translator:

Exodus Tales

Editor:

Exodus Tales

Since there was no drying powder here, Abel rubbed his hands with some mud he found on the ground. His mind might have been old, but his body still belonged to that of a child. With that being the case, it was very important for him to take care of himself in whatever small ways he could.

Whilst standing in front of the 150-pound lock, Abel had his legs parallel to the middle of the bar. When he tightened his grip, his thumbs were separate from his other fingers. When he picked the lock above his head, he did it in one motion and had his arms completely straight while doing so.

It was a beautiful lift, smooth and well-coordinated. The lock was only 150 pounds, yes, but in Masters Benthams eyes, Abel clearly did it better than Gedon. Not only was he faster, but he also seemed more effortless when he was doing it.

The Knight of Marshall, on the other hand, was more focused on the way Abel used his muscles. He began by setting his feet up as a base, channeled his power through his thighs, waist and upper back, and executed the movement with his whole body moving in one with his arms.

Abel might not know yet, but what he did was the same as strength conservation, which was an advanced technique of the knights. For a child to have such a good understanding of muscle movement, Abel was truly blessed with talent.

After dropping the 150 pounds, Abel walked towards the 200 pounds and easily raised it. His form was the same as last time, and his speed was just as fast.

250. Easy. And just like that, as Master Bentham and Gedon watched in total shock, Abel was already standing in front of the 300 pounds.

This time, Abel had his hands closer to the middle of the bar. After doing a few prep hinges without any weight, he raised the lock and had it locked near his shoulder, meanwhile standing up with his legs slightly bent. His forearms were bent whilst pointing forward, and his chin was parallel to the bar. Then, slowly and steadily, he straightened his arms and raised the lock on top of his head.

As though woken up from a dream, Master Bentham turned to the Knight of Marshall, Where did you find this monster, Marshall?

The Knight of Marshall wasnt too pleased with what Master Bentham was saying, Hey, who are you calling a monster here? Hes a rank four Novice Knight, goddammit! If he cant even lift 300 pounds off the ground, what kind of rank four Novice Knight is he?

Oh, my spirits! Master Bentham exclaimed as he looked towards Abel, A rank four Novice Knight? How old are you, child?

Turning thirteen soon, Sir, Abel replied.

Youre twelve? Youre a twelve-year-old, rank four Novice Knight, Master Bentham threw a dirty look at the Knight of Marshall, Marshall? What kind of madman would send a genius like him to be your son?

Why you looking at me like that? the Knight of Marshall cried out loud, Hey, you. Im an Intermediate Knight myself!

Yeah, but didnt you just become one? Marshall, isnt it better to send him to a commander? Actually, for someone as talented as him, you reckon we can send him to the head commander?

Just Ugh! Dont you worry about it. Just let him stay with you and teach him how to forge, okay friend?

The Knight of Marshall was a good friend with Master Bentham. If it wasnt for that, he wouldve never had him come over to the Harry knights domain. That being said, however, Master Bentham was quite a loudmouth. His straightforwardness has caused a lot of headaches in the past.

So be it, then, Master Bentham agreed but decided to keep on talking, Ill let Abel stay, but are you sure youre the right man to teach Abel how to be a knight, Marshall? Im just saying, the kids got a bright future ahead of him.

Alright Abel, be a good boy for me. Stay here and learn from Master Bentham during the day. At night, Youll learn the techniques of a knight inside the castle.

Having said that, the Knight of Marshall rushed out of the blacksmith shop. For a second there, he looked like he was trying to escape the scene here.

Master Bentham, too, started walking back to his workshop. You shouldve taught him the basics first, Gedon, he said before he left.

Gedon said to Abel as it was just the two of them now, Wow Abel. Youre pretty strong, arent you?

You are pretty strong yourself, Gedon, Abel replied. Even without being trained as a knight, Gedon was already strong enough as a normal human being.

Gedon rejected the praise, But Im so much older than you. Im already nineteen, and youre just twelve. And look at how easy it was for you to lift the 300-pound lock! You seemed so confident when you were doing it. Im sure you can lift more if you wanted to.

You know, you can lift more if you know how to use all of your strength. If you want to, I can teach you how to lift those locks as I do.

Wow. Are you sure? Gedon almost jumped from where he was standing, You think I can learn those techniques? Hey, how about we share what we know with each other? You teach me how to lift, and Ill teach you everything I know about forging. Not just forging. Feel free to ask me about anything that I might know.

It was about one month since Abels arrival at Harry Castle. There were about three days before New Years Eve. For all the time hes been here, Abel pretty much spent all his time learning at the blacksmith shop.

Thanks to Gedon, it wasnt hard for Abel to learn about the fundamentals of forging. He was actually in the middle of crafting a heavy sword for Zach, his beloved older brother. It was meant to be a new year gift for him.

Whilst holding onto a red hot base with a pair of tongs, Abel smashed it into shape with a 10-pound hammer in his other hand. Since the base would start to cool down after a few minutes, Abel had to heat it in the stove every once in a while.

Since this world was not yet industrialized, blacksmiths had to rely on very primitive techniques to forge their metals. To put it simply, their job was nothing more than heating metals, smashing them with a hammer, letting it cool down and repeating the whole process. As dull as that sounded, however, it was, by no means, something that anyone could do.

The long sword Knight of Marshall had was treated 100 times before the fin