100 Chapter 100

Aaron and Rogan knew that the judges would be coming over to Aaron's stall next.

Truthfully, Rogan didn't even care about his evaluation right now. He knew his was an ordinary artifact at the end of the day. The only thing different was perhaps the toughness of the metal used, but that too was proven useless by the young man in front of him.

Yes man, calling such a talented young mage as a boy would perhaps be insulting to him.

He just waited besides Aaron now to make sure he was evaluated to his merit and be biased against.

"Is Aaron Rosil from stall number 444 present here? " asked a man accompanying Azo.

"Yes. I am here. " Replied Aaron.

Azo meanwhile was surprised to see Milano standing besides the boy.

"Rogan, shouldn't you be attending to your stall? Or did you finally bring helpers this year around? Is this boy a student of your perhaps? " The last part was asked pointing towards Aaron.

"Azo. Been a while since I saw you. And no, I infact don't care about my stall this year. And no, this boy here has no relation to me. I just found his work a little interesting, that's all. " Rogan replied without clearly explaining his motive.

Azo was an old fox. He understood why Milano was here. He saw the weapons and tools placed in front of Aaron and could tell the situation.

"Do you doubt my character Rogan? I can see the boy is a follower of the weapon artifacting path, but do you think I will be biased with my judgement? Azo asked in a displeased voice.

"No. I can vouch for your judgement myself. It's not you whom I doubt. But I cannot say the same for people accompanying you. Even you know your opinion can't sway the majority even though you lead the people here. " Rogan replied calmly without a hint of fear.

There were many dissenting voices behind Azo voicing their complaints at what Rogan said. They asked him to apologise for slandering their reputation.

Azo raised his hand to silent anyone.

"You are in the area of the artifact faction. You should watch what you say Rogan. Still, I know your character. I know what you mean. So, I will let this slight slide. But don't say anything again. "

Rogan knew when to back away. He said his thing and Azo knew what to do now.

Rogan wasn't wrong though. There were a lot of factions within the artifact faction. The judges all supported someone behind the scene. It may be a student or a relative of someone important or it might be for money or resources. It wasn't that only the best artifacts were selected, a lot of secret deals were made too which increased the ranking of even average artifacts. And sometimes even the credit for the developement of an artifact was stolen. Although it was rare, it did happen.

Azo also knew that Rogan was here to ensure that the correct decision was made. By saying what he did, he knew he had burnt a few bridges, the old fellows following him would surely hold a grudge against Rogan and make life difficult for him whenever they could.

He had known both Rogan and Milano for a long time and knew their character very well. He knew the simple looking artifact in front of the boy must be something good.

"If we are done with the nonsense, can we start with the evaluation? " asked Azo.

"Actually, could you evaluate this first? " Rogan once again interrupted Azo.

He brought out another fire sword.

"This is not for me. It's for the boy. You don't need to evaluate the performance of this sword. Just judge the strength of the metal used. Trust me, it will help with your further evaluation. "

Azo picked the sword from Rogan's hand. He passed the sword to the people behind him once he was done with the tests.

Everyone came to a conclusion after a while. Even though they weren't happy with Rogan, they had to agree that it was a the sword was well made. The metal had great strength and toughness.

"Now you can proceed." Said Rogan with a hint of a smile.

He handed the sword to Aaron. Aaron knew what Rogan wanted to do.

"So, tell me about your artifact. " Asked Azo.

"It's a simple enchantment actually. I have imprinted a sharpening spell on a mage stone which in turn induces an extremely sharp edge to the weapons or tools. The mage stones are unique in nature, that means they cannot be universally used on everything, they are specifically made for the weapon or tools they need to be attached. " Aaron explained.

" I see. That puts an restriction on the usage of the stones. Could they be used if the weapons and tools are made from the same mould? " asked Azo.

"I think so. If the shape, size and material is the same, it shouldn't be a problem. But I have never tried. " Said Aaron after thinking for a while.

Azo was very neutral in his evaluation. He kept aside the usual disdain people had when they usually saw a weapon artifact. He asked some questions on the technical aspects of the process and how malleable the mage stones were in the terms of usage. Only once he was satisfied did he ask for a demonstration.

This was the moment Rogan had been waiting for.

"Milano. You should come over and see this too. I know you are listening out there. " Rogan said in a loud voice.

" Stop yelling Rogan. I wasn't listening on anything. I just heard your voice right now. " Milano said.

One could tell he was ready to come over. He was there almost the next instant Rogan had asked him to come.

When everyone was there, Aaron began his demonstration.

He did it the same way as before. He picked up a dagger this time though just to make a statement. A dagger against a sword. No swing or whatever, he just pressed the dagger onto the sword and cut though it like hot knife in butter.

"See there is nothing special. Just a sharp dagger which cut through a sword. " Said Milano.

Only after finishing his statement did he realise what that meant.

A dagger cut through a sword like it was made of paper.

"Wh... What... Is that? How is that possible? " Milano shrieked. His brain had a thousand thoughts flashed like lightning. He had understood all the implication of that simple demonstration. He just refused to believe it as true.

"It must be fake. The whole act. That sword obviously is tampered with. This man, Rogan must be on it. I can tell that sword is made by him. "

Rogan didnt say anything. He just stood there with a grin. Feeling satisfied after a long time.

"Stoo acting like a child Milano. It reflects poorly upon you. "

" I have personally checked that sword. Do you doubt my judgement? " asked Azo in a stern voice.

"No. I don't." Milano was a experienced mage after all. He had gathered his composure.

Azo then turned to Aaron.

"Let me test your what you called as Atomic edge. "

Azo tried the edge on different samples. The edge made a clean cut on almost everything.

All the judges eventually picked up every thing on Aaron's counter and began to test it like crazy. Some of them refused to believe a boy so young could come up with something so magnificent. It was an artifact which completely surpassed what they have seen in this fair or several years to be honest.

Some used the spade and pick to dig the ground. It was incredibly easy.

They tested all they could. They all stared at Azo declaring that they agreed with the result. They knew it was too big an achievement to be messed with, specially with Rogan standing there.

"Have you tested your edge at the mage association damage testing stone? " asked Azo finally.

"Yes. I did. I could only cut a few inches. Then my sword got stuck. "

A few inches. Azo knew just how hard that stone was. A few inches was something even the most destructive mages couldnt acheieve. If this boy wasn't exaggerating his ability, he was sure going to be very successful in the near future. As a mage Association representative, he had to make sure he holds onto such a talent, even if he had to offend some people.

"Aaron was it? come with me. "