020 The Great Conductor
Finally after orienting myself again, I was able to get up from the floor.
I was still in the same room from before.
Here was the confusing thing, I lost consciousness but I was fully clothed. Now that I am getting up from the ground, I'm only dressed in my pants!
"Ven what's going on? Why am I missing my clothes and armor? And where is that old bastard?"
She looked at me with a face full of embarrassment. As she aimed her sight down she gathered enough composure to respond.
"Well, when you fell unconscious we both rushed to see what was wrong. While examining you, the fragment of the sword fell free from its case and Otto practically died of excitement."
"Okay..."
I motioned for her to continue.
"He collected it along with the armor you were wearing and ran off laughing to himself."
Faint banging could be heard in the distance.
"I think I have an idea of what's going on, come let's go."
Very shakily I walked back ever so slowly. I don't know exactly what it was that I had experienced when I blacked out but one thing is for sure, it left me physically weak. I felt drained in a manner I've not experienced before. My legs felt as if they would collapse at any second and my breathing was far too ragged. Almost as if I had been fighting for hours on end while being out of shape.
As we kept progressing forward Ven made sure to stay by me in case I lost my balance or either one of my legs decided to buckle from beneath me.
After pressing on like this for what seemed like forever we eventually made it back to the central room. Before us lay an incredible sight.
The sound of a roaring forge could be heard. It's crackle and blaze illuminated not just our sight but our ears as well. To accompany in its symphony were the pieces of material that were being pounded away with a hammer on the anvil. The echoes of each strike resounded louder and louder as they bounced off of each other.
The Dragon scales were being molded, shaped, and transformed with each strike of the hammer.
One could tell that they were cooling off and needed to be brought back to temperature in the furnace simply by its color however, it's master refused again and again while relentlessly continuing to pound away. Not until the last bit of heat dissipated did he give in to their cry.
By expertly manipulating every technique and skill at his disposal did this cycle continue over and over again.
As I witnessed all this, I turned my head back to the furnace. An array of colors captured my attention. Within the white coals resided a long metallic ingot mold which was boiling away furiously.
It burned an iridescent green. Sparks of purple and blue would occasionally fly from it. Truly it was a beautiful sight. Of course the contents of the mold were no mystery. It may have not been officially confirmed but it wasn't hard to guess what was being melted.
As we took a step back and took in everything that was going on, one couldn't help but notice Otto.
He was masterfully conducting this orchestra of organized chaos. Not a single wasted moment or movement was allowed as long as he was present.
Everything that occurred in this process, from the heating to the hammer strikes, the molding and even the quenching of his work happened with utmost perfection.
This was not the product of years of practice but instead could only be the conclusion of innate talent and vision refined by years of sacrifice, blood, and sweat.
Truly he wasn't just in his element but instead he was the very ruler of this universe. Commanding everything to comply beneath his vision.
It was flawless.
It was breathtaking.
However a combination of Boredom and the long string of questions helped me overcome these feelings.
Not afraid of distracting him away from his rhythm I began.
"Hey! Old bastard! What the hell! Why did you leave us?"
"You really need an answer to that kid?"
"Yes!"
"You really are dense. Were you not paying attention to anything I said earlier?"
"Yes?"
He sighed in exasperation but his work was unafflicted. Otto continued.
"The piece fell from the case. I wasn't gonna miss this opportunity. Especially after waiting for so long. So I took it and began working on my life's dream."
"Oh, well I guess that makes sense."
He grunted.
"Well that answers that question but why the need to take my armor? What's going on with that?"
"You asked me to make you a set of armor as soon as possible right? It would take forever to start a set from scratch so I'm using what you had on you as a base. It's quality is decent enough that I can do that."
"That also makes sense."
"Any other questions or will you let me work now?"
"Whatever old man."
The pounding strikes continued to echo and I turned away having been satisfied with the answers.
I hobbled my way over to the couch in the living area. I sat down to catch my breath and for the first time I could finally feel my body normalizing once more.
Ventus sat beside me.
"So what are we going to do now Em?"
I thought about it for a bit before replying.
"Honestly there isn't much to do for the moment. Otto is working on making our armor and weapons, we have all the supplies we could need. Mayberry just need to relax for the moment? I can't promise you we will have any other moments like this once we begin clearing the floors."
She seemed a bit unsatisfied with my answer. So she came out and gave it to me plainly.
"What about spell crafting or the enchanting you were going to do?"
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that. I guess it would be smart to work on that right."
It felt like a bucket of cold water had fallen on me.
I replied with an embarrassed laugh.
Ventus responded with an eye roll. A particularly sassy one at that.
I reached over into my pocket dimension and pulled out the books I had purchased earlier. As they were laid out before me, I couldn't help but feel a bit excited at the prospect of making powerful spells.
Before me lay the final books I needed.
Light Essence
Dark Manipulation
Tome Of Sealing
Life magic
With these I'll have all the basic elements under my belt.
I picked one up and raised it against my chest.
"Let's begin."