Bronze Speed

Central Region, Twelveth Domain, Olympus.

Inside the swirling wall of fire, Iwan was sitting on the floor.

His eyes were wide open as he couldn't afford to take his eyes off the movement Blaze displayed as he hammered the sword.

"Boom! Boom!"

Each time brought down his hammer; it sounded like someone was dropping nukes left and right.

"To perfect a sword, you must give it what it needs."

Blaze shouted while overflowing with energy. Each strike generated a bubble of hot wind that exploded in all directions.

Blaze was wholly absorbed in forging as his robe fluttered just by the pressure of the wind.

Sometimes, he would gently hammer the sword, soul blade with Orhamir, while other times, he would strike with tremendous force. For some reason, the forceful strikes were so fast for Iwan that he couldn't even see the shadow of the red hammer.

"Slow and Fast are part of a person's perception. For a person with a high-level perception, even a fast speed would become average. While a slower speed could become as fast as lightning."

Amongst the loud sound of hammering and the exploding wind, only the voice of Blaze reigned supreme. Iwan heard every word that Blaze spoke to him.

'So, speed depends on how I decide to perceive it. It can be fast or slow without depending on my point of focus.'

Iwan felt like a new world was blooming in his mind. Iwan's eyes were fixed on Orhamir.

After hundred strikes, Iwan could feel the shadow of the fast swings that he couldn't see before.

A thousand strikes later, the fast strikes from Blaze became something that Iwan could see clearly, and just as Blaze had said, the strikes had become slower for him.

'Isn't it just my eyes adjusting to his speed?'

Iwan wondered since it was easier to listen but harder to understand. Not to mention, the knowledge he was getting was from a God.

This was just the start.

'I should focus on the gentle strikes.'

Iwan decided and squinted his eyes.

Every time Blaze hammered the sword gently; there was a subtle 'ting' sound that would reach Iwan's ears.

The speed of Blaze's arm seemed slow to Iwan. That is, only for the first fifty strikes.

'It got faster.'

Iwan realized that after watching the fiftieth gentle strike, he found an increase in the speed.

"Did you increase the speed behind the gentle strikes?"

Iwan couldn't hold back his curiosity and disturbed the forging process by asking such a question.

Blaze stopped after hearing the sudden question from Iwan and turned towards him.

"I didn't mean to."

Iwan shook his head, but Blaze laughed.

"It's okay. I never increased my speed. Even though I am using two different forces to hammer the sword, the speed of both my strikes has been the same."

"But why couldn't I see the strikes with tremendous force?"

Getting an answer brought Iwan closer to this mysterious achievement. Iwan felt very close to grabbing the truth. Thus, he asked another question.

"Simply because that's how you wanted to perceive the difference between the two strike forces, the forceful and the gentle strikes. Since you can't feel the power directly, your mind showed you one slower than the other."

Blaze answered Iwan with a deep smile. He felt glad knowing his explanation would allow Iwan to reach his desired conclusion.

"I understand. Everything's clear now."

Seeing that they had reached the end of the matter, Blaze continued hammering the sword.

While Iwan felt like he was able to open a treasure chest. A chest that allowed him to perceive anyone's speed as he wanted.

But, Iwan could feel his eyes straining beyond what he could handle. Then, to add to his sudden rise of pain, the Foresight Scroll opened up, blinding the already strained eyes of Iwan with its bloody light.

( Perception Has Specifically Affected Your 'Sense' Of Speed. )

( An Active Ability, Bronze Speed, Has Been Acquired. )

'Interesting. I gained an ability by listening to Blaze and watching him forge a sword. Am I a genius or what?'

Iwan felt a great amount of respect for his extraordinarily high mental capacity. While also regretting that he didn't know how much of a genius he was.

Blaze stopped hammering the sword and raised his Orhamir like a general waging war on his enemies.

"Burn, Orhamir."

Blaze mumbled before starting the hammering again.

Each time Blaze hammered the sword, a round flame escaped from Orhamir and enter the Soul Blade.

"The blade is unaffected even after absorbing such hellish flames. Other swords would have shattered under that kind of pressure."

While the sword didn't shatter, Iwan found the color of the sword changing after continuous hammering.

The side being hammered had turned dark red, while the side on the anvil started to emit a misty cloud that had a bone-chilling coldness.

A sword that was already a masterpiece in an incomplete form was being forged through flames and coldness. Iwan couldn't even fathom the result.

'The incomplete sword of the Unchallenged Hero Nawi. Soon, it will be mine in a perfect form.'

Iwan trembled with excitement and could barely wait for the time when he would get to swing the sword.

Thinking about Nawi, the word Hubral jumped into his mind.

'Hubral. That's the name of the world he was from. The millennial priestess is also in Hubral. I would have never guessed that the weapon I would be getting would be from the ancient hero of the world where my partner is.'

Iwan smiled at the coincidence which had fallen on his lap in the form of a blessing.

No matter how old and rude the millennial priestess was, she was still his partner.

While Iwan was lost in his thoughts, Blaze had turned the sword and was now busy striking the other side.

Blaze had a perfect hammering rhythm that never broke no matter how many hours passed as he brought the sword to ultimate perfection through his forging.

Finally came the moment when Blaze stopped causing Iwan to spring up from the ground and walk towards the sword.

"Is it done?"

Iwan asked excitedly as his eyes fell on a crimson snow sword.