94 Do You Want To Become A Master?

Shocking news erupted out of the Venicular Planet that rocked the outer edge of the Eastern Universe. The young master of the Planet Lord had led a team of experts and hunted down and killed the Nefarious Four pirate group completely annihilating them. The Nefarious Four whose tyranny spread from planet to planet was finally destroyed in the unassuming Underground Empire by a previously unknown young master.

This news spread through countless empires and each sent delegations to first inspect and verify the validity of the statement and secondly congratulate and reward the young master. From the perspective of most of the empires this young master followed the old creed of "working hard and shocking the world in one move".

This previously unknown young master who was a Source Core Earth magic fighter was clearly able to jump ranks and fight as the Nefarious Four were all at the Source Core Metal magic fighter level. While it may have only been one level of separation between Source Core Earth and Source Core Metal, as everyone was fully aware each jump at the Source Core level meant the comprehension and mastery of another element. As a Source Core magic fighter mastered an element and advanced to the next element there was an explosive increase in strength. Only the geniuses among geniuses were able to jump levels and fight a magic fighter who was at a higher element.

Rewards and congratulatory gifts flooded the Venicular Planet especially from those planets that had small cities and ships attacked by the Nefarious Four pirates. Countless common people had been injured by or had their family killed by the Nefarious Four and couldn't contain their excitement and thankfulness to the young master.

"Young Master, this couldn't have worked out any better. All over the Eastern Edge of the universe people are singing the praises of our young lord." This servant had been the one to try and talk his young master out of moving forward with this plan. This servant who had been with the young master since birth was worried that if people found out he didn't have anything to do with the subjugation that it would blow up in his face. It was the young master who told this servant to not worry, the people who were actually responsible for killing off the Nefarious Four were nobodies, even if they revealed the truth no one would believe them anyways.

"I, Lance Vilmore am finally being recognized for how great I am. For so long no one has put me and my family in their eye, but now look at them coming and trying to curry favor. Is there anyone in this outer Eastern Universe who doesn't know my great name? If so, it is only because they are a pathetic nobody and not worthy to know it anyways."

When Lance's servant was first assigned to be a guardian and servant he was particularly upset. He had spent so much time in the military he thought he would be getting his own command and would gain glory and power. Instead his dreams were dashed and he listlessly watched as maids changed diapers and fed the baby. At that time, he felt the world had lost its meaning and reality no longer made sense. Jackson Quinson was raised by his mom as they struggled growing up in extreme poverty. When he joined the military, he was only fifteen, after seven long years of service he had earned countless honors and recognition. It was this service and recognition that caused him to believe he would be able to move through the ranks of the military.

Unfortunately, Jackson didn't understand a simple truth...no matter how good you are, if you don't have the background and strength then you can only be someone else's pawn. As Jackson came to serve Lance he had thought he could use this opportunity to build his own influence through his connection and the closeness he would develop with Lance after raising him. Surprisingly as the years moved on Lance went from viewing Jackson as a father type figure to instead a lowly servant.

As Jackson was more and more exposed to the other young masters, he found that his story was in no way unique as the servants of the other young lords could boast about the same treatment. That air of superiority must have been built into their genetics as each of the young masters developed an indifference towards these servants that had raised them painstakingly.

As Jackson watched Lance gloat about his great accomplishments, he was left baffled 'Do you realize you had nothing to do with the death and destruction of the pirates. At this point it would be impossible for anyone to believe you didn't personally wipe them out, even you believe it yourself. How could anyone be so full of themselves that they can twist reality to this degree?'

Jackson had grown tired of the multitude of underhanded and dastardly ideas that he had to watch and listen to on a daily basis. He felt that his young master was the most wicked and atrocious person in the universe until his young master would interact with the other young masters from other planets. At that time, he would listen in abject horror at the conversations between them.

Now Jackson had given up, the light of life that could be seen when looking at his persona when he was with the military and had a limitless future no longer existed and only a husk remained. Jackson only didn't quite being Lance's servant due to his mom and his life. There was no possible way that Lance or his father would let Jackson leave, he had been privy to countless secrets, and if they were to make him disappear they would certainly make his mom disappear as well. He could only continue on lifelessly and without hope until the day the young master threw him away.

____________________

As Aker swung his hammer he was closely listening and feeling as metal clashed against metal. That sensation of slight numbness in his arm that would happen when the hammer and metal met was a feeling that Aker had come to enjoy.

Aker had reached the point in forging that he was beginning to be able to tell the quality of strike he had with his hammer based on the repercussion of the metal on metal his arm felt.

Strangely enough today Aker had an extraordinary discovery in regards to blacksmithing. He discovered that as he swung his hammer and struck the forged item and anvil it was ever so slightly tempering his muscles, organs and bones. The vibration he felt would spread through and strike against his entire body.

When Aker had first started and was weaker, he could feel his muscles being exercised and increasing in strength, so he used his time in the forge to not only create weapons and other odds and ends such as his dizi but he also used it to train his body. Aker was meticulous about switching hands with the hammer and keeping his striking percentages the same with either arm. Aker had also learned from Mavis how to change the position of his feet and upper body so he could do more focused training on his muscles. Mavis also taught him how to adjust his breathing to steady out his swing and increase his hit percentage. All of these changes not only increased his body training but allowed for Aker's accuracy and capability with the hammer to grow as well.

This slight tempering of Aker's body didn't begin until Mavis tossed him the blue hammer when he showed up this morning. This entire time Aker had never given it much thought but he now realized that the color of his hammers were changing every so often. The first day Mavis tossed him a hammer it was just a plain small black hammer, that hammer was replaced with a bigger plain black hammer. The following hammer was no longer black as it was a dull yellow, and since he moved to his first yellow hammer Mavis had exchanged it for another two heavier yellow headed hammers in the last year.

Finally when Mavis tossed over this blue hammer he had his trademark grin and braggart attitude as his belly bounced in delight "hohoho....let's see how many times you can swing this before you have to give up, I wonder if it will be more than a thousand?" A mischievous smile had been plastered on his face as he spoke.

When Aker first heard these words, he scoffed at Mavis and thought 'I can swing a 45-kilogram hammer tens of thousands of times. So what if you increase it by twenty five kilograms, I should still be able to swing it ten thousand times at a minimum.' Aker who became a braggard when he was around Mavis didn't like to brag, however, Mavis's words and nuanced facial features and actions always led Aker to try and one up this teacher. It was as if his actions were out of his control and he felt the need to pound his chest and not allow anyone to outdo him in the most outrages ways.

With each swing of the hammer and as the "clank" "clank" "clank" sounded out there was a slight tinge of shock he felt as the reverberation traveled through his body, however there was also a slight feeling of accomplishment that made it bearable.

Over and over Aker swung his hammer each time he entered the forge, he had practiced so much swinging the hammer that to say he swung it twenty thousand times each day wouldn't be an exaggeration. Thousands of times the 68-kilogram hammer was raised and smashed down but by the time he reached five thousand his body and arms felt out of his control, he was trying to will his arm up but found himself starting to slouch towards the ground. Sweat was flooding off of him endlessly, Aker knew he had only swung his hammer twenty five hundred times with each arm but he felt like had already completed his fourth set for a total of twenty thousand swings of the hammer…..No, even when he swung his hammer for twenty thousand times he didn't feel anywhere near this weak, drained, and exhausted.

It wasn't just Aker's arm's that were burning from the swinging of this new hammer, it was Aker's entire body from his toes to the tip of his head. His entire body felt as though he had laid down on the anvil as someone had taken a hammer and beat him with it trying to mold his body.

Even breathing became labored, Aker's chest was heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. Due to all the practice Aker does he has extraordinary control over his breathing and would find it difficult to breath heavy even after practicing his combat training for six to ten hours straight. Currently Aker would swear that he was so exhausted that he must have just finished up a twelve-hour battle against hundreds of magic beasts.

Aker could get twenty thousand swings of his hammer done in roughly two to three hours under normal circumstances. Today it took him almost two hours to only get the five thousand swings of his hammer completed. Normally Aker would feel tired but refreshed after a good work-out in the forge, but today Aker felt exhausted and drained. As this was the first time his body had gone through such tempering, he could still feel the vibration in his bones and muscles despite the fact that he stopped swinging his hammer over ten minutes ago.

"Hahahahahaha.....impressive, impressive, this Mavis has not been this impressed in such a long time. To think that I didn't believe that ya would even make it to a thousand swings of that hammer today. For ya to not just clear a thousand but to exceed it so exaggeratedly is a testament to this Mavis's trainin and instruction. It is only because this Mavis has taught ya how to persevere that ya were able to push through the limit and achieve such a feat." Aker who was still trying with so much difficulty to catch his breath was suddenly subjected to Mavis's bravado once again. As Aker struggled to look over at Mavis, his eyes took in exactly what he knew they would. A Mavis who was standing proudly, chest out and chin up as he appeared to be the one to exceed their limit and swing until they could barely stand.

"Wh..y.....am...I..so..wind..ed.......after...only...five...thou...sand..swings....of..the..hammer?" Aker was still trying to catch his breath as he spoke so his question was drawn out. Realistically Aker should have been able to continue on for a much longer time, there was a lot of weight added to the hammer, about 33% more but wasn't this a bit too exaggerated?

Mavis put on his smuggest most braggart face he had ever displayed before Aker and a sense of pride that if let out into the world could fill up a stadium Mavis replied, "Haven't I been forcin ya to use those different stances and change yer breathin? Haven't ya noticed the change in the muscles ya was usin? Blacksmithin ain't just a way to make weapons, armor and trinkets, it's also a way to temper your mind and body like it was a hunk of metal as well. While ya been learnin how to make weapons and armor for the last couple of years, ya also been strengthen your muscles and body so we could use the Forging Body Tempering Art."

"The Forging Body Tempering Art, what is that and what does it have to do with me changing my stances and breathing?" Aker completely ignored Mavis's bragging and smug face and focused on the question at hand.

"Hahahahahahahaha....my boy ya think that anyone can become a blacksmith? Is the world so easy that all ya need is a hammer and some fire and you can create what ya want? In order to advance and truly become a master blacksmith ya have to temper your body like ya would a piece of metal. The body has to become strong enough to forge in the harshest of conditions, with fire's so hot that they can melt the earth and boil oceans. With metal so tough you have to swing so hard that missin a strike and hitting the earth would cause mountains to collapse. Don't ya want to make a magic weapon some day?" Mavis who normally laughed and bragged as he spoke became solemn and earnest as he finished. His voice was serious which from Aker's perspective didn't match the man that he knew.

Aker watched as Mavis pulled out a magic sword and put it in front of him. This was Aker's first time seeing a magic weapon and he couldn't help but be mesmerized by its beauty and charm. The lines of the sword seemed smooth and never ending as though they looped perfectly together. As the light of the fire from the forge bounced off the weapon it created a glimmer that was equal to a moth looking at a flame, Aker found his hand wanting to reach out and take hold of it.

Just as quickly as Mavis pulled out the magic sword for Aker to see he picked it up and put it away. "My dear boy there is a long way from this sword and yer hammer. There will be countless pain and sufferin that ya will inflict on yerself. With each swing of yer hammer ya will strengthen your body and your mind but each swing will cause unbearable pain and sufferin. The exhaustion and bit of pain you suffered today is nothin compared to the future of sufferin ya will inflict on yerself as you practice the Forging Body Tempering Art..."

Mavis watched Aker closely to verify there was no change in Aker's expression. Mavis had watched Aker grow and was fully aware of what kind of person he was. He was already fully aware that Aker wouldn't balk at the idea of suffering and pain so he continued on as planned.

"As ya progress there will be days that each swing of yer hammer will result in blood curdlin screams comin from yer mouth, and once you start swingin that hammer ya won't be allowed to stop until ya have broken through or ya will face absolute death. This is what it means to practice body tempering, this is what it takes to become a master with a hammer. So, my question to ya after experiencing the smallest bit of pain today is...Do you want to become a master?"