The city’s gleaming gates swung open, and a chubby figure entered with slow steps and half-closed eyes.
’That bastard!’ Alm cursed, and Bruno didn’t know what to say about the pun Almin came up with to name them. Well... it described them well, and they were immediately identified by the name.
The guard asked them to wait as someone would come to receive them. Half an hour later, a voice echoed, and they turned to see a small woman with hair tied on two sides, looking extremely displeased with them.
"Are you the one who gave yourself the ridiculous name FatFluke?!" The woman spoke with intrigued eyes. "That idiot Valmin swore to my master that you were better than any dwarf. If you have half the skill of the worst dwarf, it will be a miracle. Can a disgusting ogre really work on anything other than eating?"
Almin named himself Valmin, while the whale was named by him as FatFluke; clearly, it was a pseudonym for an eccentric forger. The woman continued speaking, hurling insults and curses nonstop. After two minutes, the whale completely ignored her and, realizing that she wouldn’t stop talking, took steps forward, walking past her.
"Hey! I am the one responsible for guiding you," she turned around, irritated. "I am a disciple along with that idiot friend of yours, under the great master Detue. My name is Alnia."
The whale sighed and said, "Just shut up and take me where I need to go. My patience for dealing with children is limited."
"You... great... I hope you really are everything they promised. Otherwise, I will..." She started talking nonstop again, but the whale huffed and continued to walk, ignoring her.
Then, Alnia realized they weren’t even listening and ran ahead, guiding them furiously.
Bruno couldn’t help but comment with Almin through the array. ’Now I know why you selected this Detue as a master. This female disciple of his is a perfect copy of you before you met us. What was it? Did you feel nostalgic about the way she acts? Like some young master that deserves to become a pet? I shall hereby call her Almina from now on.’
Almin’s mouth twitched a bit. ’It was... a coincidence...’
The central building soon emerged in front of them, so glorious and eye-catching that the sunlight reflected on the golden walls seemed capable of blinding a mortal. Alnia saw the whale look at the building and started talking again. "It seems you finally noticed..."
The whale simply listened to half of it and continued walking toward the building without caring about her. They quickly reached the entrance of the central building, and several attendants opened the doors with judgmental eyes. Soon, Alnia arrived behind, speaking with the attendants, who nodded and asked him to wait in a room.
And to the whale’s no surprise, he was forced to wait alone for half a day, as if it was a message to lower the arrogance of the visitors. In the early hours of the evening, a group of alchemists entered the room with extreme arrogance and saw the whale with closed eyes, meditating inside. He opened his eyes as if he didn’t care about anything and waited for them to speak without reacting.
"Are you really a forger? Can you make furnaces?" A middle-aged alchemist spoke after a few seconds.
"I have never made furnaces for alchemy before, and I thought it was a good idea to come here to learn." He responded slowly. "I heard about what happened from my friend. If there are any remaining drafts or plans for the furnaces, I can make one quickly."
They all squinted upon hearing that he knew everything. However, that disciple asked for permission, saying that his friend would only come if there was a good reason and, of course, a good reward.
"Great, let’s test if you are capable first. The furnace plans were left behind; the dwarves didn’t care about destroying everything, being sure that only they could make something of that level." The elder said, turning and showing the way.
The whale was escorted by a group of alchemists to a place behind the central building, a round auxiliary construction with only one floor. Inside, the burnt smell and the blackened ground confirmed that this place used to be a grand and glorious forge, but currently, everything seemed to have been devastated by a dense firepower. In the center of that place, there was a small furnace that was newly built or restored. It was a giant space, but everything was gone, and now only that remained; still, it was more than Alm and Bruno usually had at their disposal.
An elder tossed a ring to the whale, containing several Jade Slips with information on simple furnaces and ores. Then he spoke. "You have tonight to make one of these simple furnaces."
Alm and Bruno analyzed the Jade Slips calmly. Building a furnace was a task that required the collaboration of united alchemists and forgers. The forger designs the furnace structure, and the alchemist assists by adding mystical inscriptions to amplify its powers and facilitate specific alchemical processes. Both sides should have a high level for something good to emerge; if one of them is below, things get much more complicated.
"Who will assist me with the inscriptions?" The whale said calmly.
"I’ll help myself; I’ve done it a few times with the dwarves." An alchemist with a disdainful look spoke.
The whale then asked, "It says here that there are levels of furnaces? How do they measure that?"
"When it’s ready, the alchemist’s fire runes merge with the furnace inscriptions. The runes that activate simultaneously emit a color corresponding to the heat of the fire, which corresponds to their levels." The impatient alchemist explained. "There are seven levels, the worst ones being red and orange. If you manage to get an orange, it’ll be a miracle, and you’ll be accepted."
The whale then sat on the ground in meditation, analyzing all the information. The Dao of the Forge God’s first level did not cover everything, and furnaces for alchemy were not present. But the knowledge of a forge god was not simple, and they easily cross-referenced various information with that of the Jade Slips.
After almost five hours, they opened their eyes. Then, they saw the alchemists looking at them in extreme fury. Further back, they saw Almin, Alnia, and an old man sitting next to them with a calm expression.
The whale turned around, waving. The Qi in their body circulated, and hundreds of fire runes appeared, immediately raising the temperature of the entire environment. Everyone swallowed hard and felt the cultivation of this whale. He didn’t need to hide anything, and he was only slightly weaker than the leader of the alchemists, despite being so young.
The old man next to Almin immediately widened his eyes; this whale was not just a talented forger, as his new disciple claimed. His instincts clearly told him this whale was also an experienced warrior and could not be underestimated.
"Valmin, you must have been through a lot together," the old man murmured.
Everyone was astonished at Almin’s combat ability, combined with his well-developed alchemical skills. No one had seen an alchemist who could excel in combat at the same level as their alchemy; most completely abandoned fights to dedicate themselves to studies and only cultivated to live longer, usually using pills or other methods for speed.
Almin sighed. If they really knew how abnormal this whale was, he would be considered an insignificant ant.
Hours passed slowly, and everyone watched the whale work calmly. Every move of his was fluid and natural, like the calm and gentle flow of a river. The fire intertwined without any waste, and the metal provided within the ring that the alchemist handed over melted quickly.
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
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Sounds of metal being ’hammered’ echoed, and everyone was left in awe. The whale was... using... his own fists as if they were a blacksmith’s hammer! Not only did he have a high cultivation, but his fists were harder than steel, and he used them with violence without feeling any pain, as if it were normal.
An hour before the end of the night, the whale turned to the silent alchemist with stunned eyes. It took several seconds for that alchemist to realize he was being asked; when he did, he jumped up and reached the front of the furnace. He made several inscriptions on the surface of the furnace using his Qi and fire laws. The whale just watched expressionless, but internally, they were furious.
’This pathetic bastard is ruining our work. We did something at level 80, and they’re going to put ridiculous level 8 inscriptions... what a waste.’ Alm cursed.
Bruno then spoke lightly. ’Well, one thing will compensate for the other by adding up and creating an average of 44. It should be enough.’
The alchemist finished in half an hour, then went back to his place. The whale made the final touches, improving the inscriptions. Then, the night ended with all its time. All the elders approached, and the whale simply waved, telling them to test the furnace.
The most experienced alchemist placed his hand on the furnace, feeling its entire structure a bit shocked. Then, his Qi and fire laws emerged, merging with the inscriptions. The first rays of the sun were illuminating the forge, but immediately, all the light was eclipsed by something much more intense and powerful.
There was no color... it was all white and pure and almost sacred.
Everyone, except the whale, froze in total astonishment and disbelief. The whale then turned to Almin, who was equally stunned from afar. Almin noticed that look and spoke tremulously through the array.
’These... these are the seven levels of furnace from worst to best: Red, Orange, Yellow, Yellow-White... White, White-Blue, and Blue.’ The whale nodded as Almin added, ’No dwarf has ever made anything above yellow... this furnace is at the third-best level, something that neither the head alchemist nor my master possesses!’