Skull Crusher

Before anything, I am just dedicating this chapter to my biggest reader, UKIMARIO. Thank you for following the book despite my inconsistencies. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UKIMARIO!!!!

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Later that day, everyone sat down at a large table for dinner. It seemed like the initial tension had disappeared, and everyone seemed closer. The only person missing from the table was Regallas, who was currently working like his life depended on it, but he enjoyed the work. If they asked Regallas which he' would give up between fighting and forging, in a heartbeat, he'd choose fighting. That was the love Regallas had for forging.

The two beasts, Fenrir and Maverick, sat by Sloane and Julius, respectively, and were both munching on a mountain of meat. Gist and banter were being exchanged at the table about their experiences and the challenges they faced before they got here. There were even tales of Licht and Tenebrea before they fought the creator of their world.

"So the Orc emperor has gotten even stronger? That old man is a beast, but I guess everyone here is more beastly than he is." Frances said in exasperation.

"I never got to meet Emperor Shittu. I hope I meet him later on," Midas said with a sigh as he drank from a goblet.

"Elder brother Midas, if you meet the old man next time, I am afraid you'll be too strong to face him." Sloane giggled.

They realized the truth of what she said. Their increase in levels was absurd, and on meeting people they had met in the past, they would realize they had actually overtaken them in level.

Frances could destroy his clan in less than 10 minutes. Sloane could beat ninety-eight percent of the orcs from the Gregorian Continent, and if the Orc emperor was on her level, she would be able to bring the fight to a tie or even beat him. Regallas was the strongest or second-strongest person from Belzoheim, followed by the twins. So, every single one of them, including those without the emperor's potential, was growing faster than expected. To be honest, he felt training his three disciples would have been a bit tougher. He had witnessed academies train budding teenagers, and he saw the effort, time, and resources that were put into training these students.

Tenebrea was the sovereign of an entire race. Resources were not her problem; she was also immortal, so neither was time. Her problem was effort, but her own disciples showed her that even with the little effort she put in, they would grow, and with this, she was pleased.

"What is the next move now?" Tenebrea asked

The entire table became quiet as they waited for Licht to speak.

Licht opened his mouth, about to say something, when the door was pushed open abruptly and a black shadow ran in, oozing black smoke from its body.

The group was about to attack when the black shadow said in excitement, "They are finally done."

Hearing the voice, they realized it was just Regallas, who was covered in soot and smoke. They relaxed as they waited for him to continue. He retrieved several weapons as he showcased them on the tables. Seeing the weapons on the table, the group already knew which belonged to them. Stretching to take their weapons, metal vines like wires grew out of the ground as they flogged them off their hands, telling them to have patience.

"Wait till I tell you what they can do. A blacksmith's second favorite thing to do is brag about his creations, so calm down." Regallas huffed

"Alright Alright. Enough of the suspense. Get to it already." Julius said impatiently as he eyed one of the weapons that looked like it was meant for him but also wasn't.

"So impatient but fine. I'd begin with yours then." Regallas picked up a battle hammer with a handle that was about 8 inches long and a few inches thick. Julius gulped as he heard that the hammer was his. It looked majestic with golden and red markings, but it seemed a bit too short compared to his old hammer.

"Why is it so small?" Julius decided to ask.

"Is it?" Regallas gave a smile to Julius, and the hammer handle extended till the 'handle' became more of a pole. It had transformed from a tiny 7-inch mallet to a glorious 2-meter-tall battle hammer. The hammer head had several markings running around it, and It was as big as Fenrir's head when he was in combat mode; in fact, it looked a bit bigger.

"These markings here help to channel your sound energy. Either spreading it or focusing it at one point." Regallas passed the hammer to Julius, whose eyes had become so big from staring at his new weapon.

"It's so light, yet it seems like it'll do more than enough damage." He swung several times, and the entire hall vibrated as he swung. "Crazy"

"Second elder brother, have you upgraded Goliath?" Sloane had given her axe to Regallas, not really expecting any changes, but looking at it now, she was impressed.

Julius's weapon looked like a paladin's weapon—holy and still forceful—but Sloane's weapon looked like something an actual berserker would use. It was glowing a dark red. The sharp edge looked like it could suck your soul, and even the blunt hammer edge on the other side had been upgraded to now hold spikes, resembling a tenderizer. A person would be clobbered into mincemeat or cleaved in half. Regallas did not try to lift it, as after the forging was done, he could not lift it. He had to use dozens of his ironwood vines to even move the weapon to this point.

Sloane smiled. She walked up to the weapon and held it in her hands. Picking up the weapon effortlessly without even using her gravity energy to lighten it. Licht and Tenebrea had odd looks on their faces.

'When I was at her level, I would struggle to pick that up.

'I wouldn't say struggle, but yes, that would have been heavy.'

They both spoke with their eyes, and they both understood what was said. Sloane was a beast with insane physical strength. Sloane did not bother swinging; she sheathed the axe on her back and smiled as she walked back to where she was standing.

"Your axe's name is Goliath?" Julius whispered to her

"Yeah. Fitting, isn't it? What's your hammer name?" She asked in return.

"I didn't think of naming it, but now that I have seen yours, I am going to name mine."

"What do you think about skull-cracker?" He asked

"It's a bit too generic." Sloane shrugged

"Yeah, you're right. What about the hammer of judgment?" Julius asked with sparkling eyes.

Sloane went on to refuse that and several other ideas he brought up until he focused on one.

"THUNDER. The heavy sound after lightning You know it's coming, but it still catches you unaware."

As soon as everyone saw Julius was naming his weapon, they all decided they would name theirs too. They did not know that there would be an effect due to what they were doing, but they would later find out.