Chapter 41: Third Time’s The Charm
Time passed ever so swiftly as Gerald tirelessly perfected his craft.
When news about his new profession circulated among the Leventis Family, many of them laughed and ridiculed him behind closed doors.
Although the Leventis Family had tried to keep a tight lid on the incident, news of the assassination attempt still managed to reach the ears of the members of the Monarch Clans, as well as the Prestigious Families.
Because of this, all of them simply thought that he was too scared to return to Solterra because Death Wish had set their sights on him.
Some thought that he had made a good decision since life was the most precious thing.
His enemies, however, just called him a coward and a turtle.
Those who considered him to be their rival were very disappointed, while the rest simply thought that this was juicy gossip.
In the end, Gerald didn't pay any attention to whatever the world thought of him and continued to hammer away in his forge, day in and day out.
Thirteen, on the other hand, took care of his brother and sisters, training them regularly, especially Mikhail, who would be forced to take his First Wandering in three months.
He had turned thirteen a week ago, and the family celebrated it in a simple manner.
Lady Callista had been present and joined the celebration. The way she looked now was very different from how she looked more than a year ago.
She looked way younger than before, like a lady in her early thirties.
Her long black hair rested behind her back, and her beautiful face, which was the envy of girls her age, was smooth and without wrinkles.
Thirteen's Martial Technique allowed her to harness the poison that had plagued her for many years, turning it into a power that was completely under her control.
This transformation had not only made her look younger but it also made her stronger.
Her current strength had not only returned to the Champion Rank but had also increased, reaching its Peak Stage.
She was now stronger than ever, and many in the family were surprised by the miraculous change that happened to her body.
Arthur was very happy with this development and even told Lady Callista that maybe it was about time that they had another child.
However, she still hadn't forgiven her husband for disowning Gerald, so any talk about having another child was tossed aside the moment it was brought up.
Thirteen, who was now seven years old, looked at his Grandma with a faint smile on his face.
She was still not aware that he was the one who helped her recover from her condition, and he had no intention of telling her about it.
In the end, Hans played his part well and kept his secret from the Leventis Family.
Inside the Smithy, Gerald smashed his hammer on the blade for the last time before cooling it down with water.
He looked exhausted but there was a faint smile on his face as he showed his son his latest creation.
"Eight out of ten," Thirteen nodded. "You pass, Pops."
"Yes!" Gerald did a fist pump out of happiness.
This was the tenth time that he had successfully created a great sword that passed Thirteen's standards. But that was not all.
He succeeded ten consecutive times, which made the seven-year-old confident that his father was now ready to craft the Mythical Sword for the Patriarch of the Leventis Clan, Arthur.
As part of Gerald's training, he had been using low-quality materials at the start. But now that he was considered proficient, Thirteen would raise the bar and let him work on more precious metals.
A year and a half passed like this, and before Gerald knew it, Blacksmithing had become second nature to him.
Thirteen could roughly guess that his Father had already mastered 80% of the techniques from the Martial Technique, Hammer For All Seasons.
He just needed to take that gamble and start using the very expensive materials that came from the Monsters of Solterra.
There were currently Ten Monster Rankings that were known to everyone in Pangea.
Rank 1 up to Rank 9, and lastly Prince.
Many believed that if the highest Ranking Monster was called Prince or Princess, there must be something stronger than it, like a King.
However, since the strongest members of Humanity were the Monarch Rank, which was as strong as the Prince and Princess Rank, they didn't want to think that there was someone more powerful than them.
Because if that were true, then the moment they made their appearance, even the Monarchs would not stand a chance against them.
For the past 300 years, no one had seen a Jinn or Majin with a rank higher than Prince.
Because of this, everyone thought that Prince was the highest.
At least, this was what they wanted to believe.
In order to craft Mythical Ranked Equipment, they needed Rank 9 Monster Parts.
However, Thirteen didn't want to spend too much money on buying those parts since they were very expensive.
If his father were to fail when using these materials to craft, then the losses that they would suffer would be staggering.
Because of this, he settled for Rank 7 Monster Parts.
When using these materials, the Highest Grade of equipment that could be made would be at the Peak of the Mithril Rank.
If one was lucky, then it was possible for the finished product to reach the First Stage of the Adamantine Rank.
The stage after the Adamantine Rank was Mythical.
A Rank coveted by all the Crafters in the world.
'As long as Pops can make a Mid- or Peak-Stage Equipment, I will handle the rest with Rune Magic,' Thirteen thought. 'That way, I can increase the Equipment Rank to Mythical.'
Thirteen gazed at the four-meter-long tusk in front of him, which belonged to the Rank 7 Jinn, Empyrean Boar.
In terms of hardness, it was equivalent to a Low-Grade Rank 8 Monster Part, which Thirteen believed was the ideal ingredient to craft a Great Sword.
Also, he had asked his father to use one of the tusks he had bought a month ago as part of his training.
This gave him the chance to gain familiarity with the item that they would use as the main ingredient for the Great Sword that they were planning to craft.
Since the tusk was big, Gerald was able to use it five times in the past.
In those five times, he failed four consecutive times and succeeded in the last.
Thirteen had already considered the possibility of Gerald failing a few more times before he succeeded.
This was why he bought four Empyrean Boar Tusks just in case his father failed his first few attempts.
Each Boar Tusk cost ten million gold coins. One of them had already been used up in his father's training, so only three remained.
They only had a little more than two million gold coins remaining in their savings, so unless Gerald succeeded once, their losses would simply be astronomical.
Gerald knew this too, and the pressure also made him feel anxious.
However, Thirteen told him that he didn't have to worry about the funds. He just asked his father to work like he always did.
Although he tried to act calm and supportive on the surface, the seven-year-old was also feeling the pressure of his father failing their gamble.
Even so, he believed in his father's potential.
With a determined look in his eyes, Gerald used one of the three Tusks in their possession and tried to forge the Great Sword that they planned to sell to his father.
Unfortunately, his first five attempts failed, making him use the entire tusk.
With only two tusks remaining, Gerald remained positive that he would succeed since he was very close to succeeding in his last attempt.
But the Heavens seemed to be mocking him that day since the next five attempts failed as well.
Seeing that anxiety was starting to creep in on his father's face, Thirteen decided to let him take a break for three hours and asked him to meditate.
The boy knew that the constant failures were taking a toll on Gerald's mind, so he decided to give him a little help, which would further increase the chances of success by a small percentage.
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