MWAHAHA! Surprise! Chapter number 11 is here!

“And Good day to you too young dragon!” the elderly dwarf snorts and turns back to his work.

That surprised me. Usually hominids have one of two responses to me. A: Nearly die of fear and B: Nearly die of fear. Looking the dwarf over once more, I smile, greatly impressed. Even though he is tall for a dwarf at five foot nine, I still tower over him. My scales are jet black and my raw power leaks out causing an aura of pressure. Yet even through all that, he held strong earning my respect.

“I apologize for my rashness Master of your Craft. I was merely excited to create and learn your art.”

Bemusedly, while hammering away, he asks me,” And why should I teach you?”

“Out of the goodness of your heart?”

Laughing aloud, he turns to face me, crossing his burly arms over his chest. Unlike the other dwarves, his beard is closely trimmed forming a sharp lining to his jaw and face. His heavy brows and thick stocky stature are the only reminders of his race.

“Assuming this goodness of my heart, why should I train you and not any of the numerous dwarves who come to me, begging, pleading, and offering me treasures daily?”

Looking at his challenging gaze, I know this is his test. My response here determines whether I learn that beauty or not. Stopping, I think for a few minutes. Surprisingly, his gaze softens, and he looks slightly impressed. Finally, I finish my self meditation and sit before him to look him in the eyes.

“I am a fighter. I have gotten this far with tooth and scale. My earliest memories blazed by, coated in the blood of my foes and missed memories. So far, I’ve rushed through my short life and although I haven’t known it, I’ve been looking for something to slow me down. I do want to grow strong! I want to be mighty and overbearing, but most of all, I want to be remembered for the beautiful things I leave behind. Building the walls was my first attempt to do that. Arcane smithing would be my second, if you will take me as your apprentice. I’ll admit, there is no reason for you to take me over the other dwarves. None whatsoever, but I must still ask.”

Out of breath, I bow my head to him. He is without a doubt, the only dwarf that will be honored in this way by me.

Placing his hand on my shoulder, he speaks,” I’ve lived for two thousand years, and still I’d never thought I would see the day when a dragon bowed his head to any being weaker than him. I will take you as my apprentice, Strange Dragon.”

Looking back up at him, I smirk,” The name’s Terrus old man.  And yes, I’ve been called that many times.”

Smacking me into the ground, he grumpily retorts,” Hmph, Lesson one: Respect your Elders!”

“Yes, Sir Old man!”

Sighing and covering his face with his left hand he sighs and mumbles,” Ah right, and I was wondering why I haven’t taken an apprentice for a thousand years…” Meanwhile, he smacked me out of the carriage with a one handed swing of his forge hammer.

Landing back by his anvil a few moments later, I open my mouth to speak, only to get smacked again.

“Hey what was that I didn’t even call you old!”

“Preventive measures! Anyways, come here, it’s time for your second lesson.”  Excited, I run back over to him.

Sitting on his anvil is a block of metal. Looking at its magic, I see nothing special about it, merely steel.

“What is this on my anvil?” He looks at me, testing.

“Right now? That is a block of steel.” I respond with the simplest response I could find.

“Good. You won’t believe how many will try to give me a two hour long explanation of what this is. In arcane smithing, the simplest answer is often the correct one. Any extra fluff or nonsense will usually add nothing to your weapon. It’ll just take up your time and even waste the weapon’s potential. What is the purpose of a weapon by the way?”

“It depends on the weapon.”

Bemused he looks at me,”Correct! Each weapon has its purpose, heavy weapons shatter armor and bones, light weapons move quickly to bypass defenses, there’s a weapon for each type of combat just like there’s a tool for every job. You have to keep that fact in mind when making one.”

Looking me up and down, he continues,” You for example need a giant war hammer or axe. With about a ton’s weight of metal added to your blows in this form, you could shatter any defense. Meanwhile, your scales can simply shrug off blows from any comparable opponent.”

Returning to his point, he continues,“Anyways, the first step is to find the client’s need. If that client wants, fluff give them fluff, but if they want a weapon, make them a weapon! Second, you pick a material, as a magma dragon with creation affinity you should have no problem procuring these correct?”

Surprised by his knowledge of me, I merely nod in affirmation.

“Good. Then you plan out exactly what you will make, or if you are making a masterwork, you start hammering immediately. A masterwork by the way, is the very pinnacle of your skill. It’ll take you weeks, months, or even years to finish one, but the result will resonate with you perfectly. It springs forth from your very soul, so it is unique to you. You will only make one in your entire life. On a normal job however, you plan out every move before you make it. Once you start to act, you do not stop. Every blow will add power to the metal, if you leave that power uncompleted, it could explode outwards ruining your smithy and potentially killing you. Understood?”

Nodding once more, I store the information away.

“Good, then let's get to work. The first thing you’ll make is your hammer. I’ll let you borrow mine for this and this alone alright?”

“Gramps, I only have two hours in this form. Will I be finished by then?”

Looking closely at me, he replies,” With that much spirit power in you? You should be done in ten minutes. Now come on, let’s get to it.”

After giving me a quick guide on how to hold the hammer and hit the metal, he sits down a few feet away, leaving me alone with the forge. First I plan it out. I’m overwhelmingly strong so I need it to be resistant to my strength. I’m much taller than a dwarf so I’ll need to make it my size. Also, I think I can improve its magic conductivity too while I’m at it.

After planning out my needs, I crush the steel in my claws, it’s too weak for my purposes. Drawing power from the Earth, I pull up a stream of metal and fuse it together to form the strongest mineral I can make. I think I’ll call it Dragonsteel. Shaping it into a block, I set to work.

First I heat it. The old man’s forge is too cool for this, so I use my strongest flames. Once It is glowing white, I begin to hammer it into shape. It had taken me awhile to understand why this was necessary when I could naturally make it take any form I wanted to. If I used my power, it would be quicker, but It would take power far beyond mine to instantly create a useable weapon that wouldn’t shatter. Hammering it adds power over time, giving a weapon meaning and energy slowly. Any flaws could be spotted and corrected as it began to turn into exactly what I wanted.

I made my hammer large. The head was nearly as thick as my leg. I wouldn’t be making any light weapons anyways, so the precision offered by a smaller hammer was negligible. Also, I could also make another, smaller hammer if I wanted fine details. Then, as I’d gotten its size down, I began to push magic into the hammer.

Blow by blow, runes began to form on the sides. Shaping the flows to take the shape of a roaring dragon’s head, with the jaw pointing towards the face, I add an artistic touch. While fluff is unnecessary, I felt that this would make the hammer my own. Meanwhile, Inside the hammer, I arrange its particles in one direction to form tubes that better transmit my power into the metal. After a few finishing touches, I was done, and completely exhausted too.

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The hammer looked like it belonged to me. Nearly four feet long from head to pommel, it stood nearly as tall as a short dwarf. The handle had taken on a scaled pattern, and the roaring dragon head on the hammer’s head finished out the imposing look. Standing up, the old man comes over and gently lifts it from the anvil. Feeling it, he nods in approval and looks over to me.

“Terrus, if I saw something like this made by any other smith, I’d call it a masterwork. But considering you’re not an ordinary smith, I’ll settle for extraordinary quality. It’s very well made and It suits you. Wield It wisely. Now, It’s been nearly two hours. Come back here when you can stay in your drakonid form again.

Returning to my true form, I store the hammer in my rune and nod my thanks to the old man. Launching into the air, I wing my way over to the treasury. Completely out of energy from forging my hammer and staying in my Drakonid form so long, I settle down on my glorious piles of gold to sleep and recover… only to be interrupted by a Goddess.

Hey Terrus, you know, you might want to start absorbing those lava rubies. You may have a 4S growth rate, but if you don’t use those it'll still take you decades to evolve. Also, it looks like I have a job for you in this caravan!

How exactly do I absorb the rubies? Also, what is this about a job? I don’t remember ever agreeing to work for you….  

Oh it’s simple! They’re practically cores. Just eat about a thousand every day. You’ll level up once every two days which is a good rate to grow at. It gives your body enough time to assimilate that power and not give you an imbalance of energy. ANd about that job, You’re my champion. Until you evolve you have to act as my hand in the world. Now, there are two dwarves having a blood feud out in the front tower. Go bring down the law.

Ugh, do I at least get a minimum wage for this? Also, I’m barely half a year old. Isn’t this child labor?

Complaints notwithstanding, I quickly wolf down a thousand of the rubies. As I slowly digest them, power flows through me, giving me enough energy to fly over to the front tower, which has now stopped. Eitri is holding two armed dwarves apart. As I land, the dwarves, who had been cursing each other viciously, interrupt their tirades to stare up at me.

Looking up at me with relief and gratitude, Eitri hollers,” Hey Terrus! It’s good to see you my friend! Could you by any chance help us out here?”

“Of course! As a champion of Justice, my eyes can see through any lie. This should be resolved quickly.”

Surprisingly enough, neither dwarf seems afraid, both convinced of their correctness. A crowd of dwarves has surrounded us, waiting to hear the story.

“Speak one at a time. I shall hear both of your stories, and name the liar.”

The one on the right, a blond haired, thinner dwarf gathers himself and speaks first.

“My Lord Dragon, I am from a family of Merchants. Every day, I work hard in the market to run our business as my only sister, a gentle girl, stays home. She is often ill, and I lack the heart to set her to work. We’re well off enough that we don’t need her to do so anyways. A few days back, I came back to find her crying with her bed and clothes in disarray. When I asked her what had happened, She’d told me that this dwarf, a digger of all things, had forced himself upon her and fled with the caravan!I came all this way to find him and avenge my sister!”

Hmm, he is telling the truth, or what he believes fervently is the truth. Let’s see what the other one has to say though.

“And you, what is your side of this?”

The second dwarf, a simple looking burly fellow speaks up,” Me lord, I be a simple Digger. I ain’t be ashamed of it. Every day I works in dem mines from Dawn to Dusk. On meh way back, I pass by this gentledwarf’s house. I sees his sister in the window, and she is a beauty ser. But I never forced myself upon ‘er! She be too far above me and besides, I be a married dwarf wit me own Tykes to take care of at home! I didn’t run away to this here caravan, I was hired to dig the trenches and foundations for when we stop by a city!”

Hmm, well that’s awkward.

“Both of you speak the truth. Merchant, your sister did have her clothes in disarray and tell you she had been raped, and you digger, you did not rape her. Merchant did she point out this dwarf specifically?”

“Yes Lord. She even gave me a pictur…” He trails of as he begins to realize the direction my logic is going in.

“Did you by any chance, notify your employees that you would be going on a yearlong voyage?”

“No…” the stunned dwarf replies.

“Then go quickly and take back your business. Go on, fly you fool!”

As the dwarf hurries to return to his home, I look back to Eitri.

“Any other conflicts?”

“Uhh, yes actually you see there’s this….”

I ended up spending the afternoon judging disputes between the dwarves. Fortunately, I relocated my court to my trailer halfway through the event. So while, the numerous dwarves were squabbling in front of me, I got to play with my treasures! It was surprisingly comforting to let gold flow off of me.  Also, it helped me look suitably majestic and intimidating. Now if only I had a princess or two….

Eventually, the flow of dwarves slowed to a trickle and I postponed the rest of the cases for tomorrow. Feeling slightly hungry, I fly up and around the convoy, moving out in widening circles to spot prey. Eventually, I spot a pack of felines. Analyzing them, I learn their identity.

Windwalker Lion Lvl 101

Hmm, there’s eight of them. Should be enough for a snack.

Landing before them, I roar out a challenge. Quickly, they disperse surrounding me in a shifting pattern. As soon as I look in one direction, I get clawed from behind. Fortunately, my scales take the brunt of the attacks. To counter their greater speed, I raise a massive dome of stone over us. Slowly I begin to close it in, bringing them closer and closer to my reach.

Seeing the danger, the lions roar in unison and jump me. Sharpening their claws with blades of wind, they tear into my sides. Unfortunately for their plan, I can now reach them. Smashing my side against a wall, I crush the two slowest lions. The rest begin to claw and bite even more furiously. However, their fighting styles can not face mine under these conditions. If they had managed to stay out of my reach, and darted in, they could have won in a few hours. Now? I’m in my element.

Raising my body’s temperature, I force them off of me. After that, the battle was simply a clean up, Using my fire breath and a few well timed spikes of Earth, I finish off three more lions. Then closing in, I rend the other three apart using my claws and fangs. Devouring them, I am again disappointed by how little I grow in power.

Looks like I’m going to stay this way for a while.

Once I finish, I launch myself in the air and return to my hoard of gold to slowly fall asleep.