CHAPTER - 144

  Narrator: The next day, Dav went to Kael and knocked on his door.

  He opened it, looking tired and without his glasses he almost seemed like a different person.

  He looked at Dav and asked:

  “Morning, Dav... Don’t you usually have action in the arena at this hour?”

  Dav, with the pose of Buddha and pleading eyes, asked him to take his place for the day in the arena, to keep an eye on the kids during the holographic trials and the training with Selene.

  “Please, my friend! I’ve got things to do with Eldrin and he’ll be coming a bit later.”

  Kael, unsurprised and understanding, agreed without a second thought.

  Dav headed to the academy alone, carrying tools and a shovel.

  “Well, today I’ll take care of what I should’ve done yesterday!”

  He dropped everything gently on the ground, with a demonic smile.

  A few hours later, the students began to arrive and heard noises coming from the arena, with the sun high and perfect weather for training.

  When they entered, they saw Dav covered in dust and ash, building who knows what with thick wood, stones, and bricks.

  Dav yelled from afar so they could hear him clearly:

  “Bastards! Today you’ll have Kael and Selene watching you while I finish this!

  Slack off and I’ll throw double the double of my circles at you, I hope I’ve made myself clear!”

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  Everyone straightened up, frightened, and didn’t move, waiting for Kael and Selene to arrive and tell them what to do.

  After a few minutes, Kael and Selene finally arrived, talking calmly.

  “Today it’s just the two of us, so we’ll have to watch all of them...

  How many will there be, I wonder?”

  Kael, a bit tense, knew that many gathered in the great arena just to train with Dav.

  Selene, quieter, listened without speaking.

  However, hearing Dav brought her a quiet pleasure.

  Once inside the arena, they stood with dull eyes and serious, but comical expressions, watching Dav hammering away and building who knows what.

  They didn’t say a word and guided the students in their training.

  “I wonder when Eldrin will arrive... I need those materials,”

  said Dav, looking at his construction.

  He was trying to build a small house made of thick, heavy wood, large enough to fit a furnace for forging iron and steel without dispersing too much heat.

  Eldrin arrived and, surprised by Dav’s speed, said:

  “Wow, you were fast in building this sort of little blacksmith workshop.

  I brought the materials you asked for: clay mixed with sand, gloves, iron, metal, and a few crystals to try out.”

  Dav, happy and smiling, exclaimed:

  “Then let’s get started!”

  Eldrin began preparing the clay carefully, making it spreadable for the raw terracotta bricks.

  Meanwhile, Dav was building the small circular furnace inside the hut, placing one brick at a time without breaking them with his strength.

  Once done, they both covered the bricks with clay, sealing every hole.

  They also created a not-too-large opening for the smoke to escape.

  “Dav, we need something...

  a temperature that can melt steel, but that requires a really high heat and I’m not sure we can reach it...”

  said Eldrin, looking worried at the furnace.

  Dav looked at him with a confident gaze and replied:

  “With graphite and clay, we’ll be able to contain everything.”

  Eldrin, still concerned about the temperature, asked:

  “I get that... but the temperature?..”

  Dav raised his finger and lit a small flame at its tip.

  “Put the steel inside. I’ll handle the rest.”

  Eldrin shouted:

  “Our furnace isn’t that powerful and it might explode with all that heat!”

  Dav used one of his skills on the furnace and thought:

  “Zeus’s Resistance at 500% for 10 minutes.

  I’ll just have to keep using it again and again every 10 minutes.”

  Eldrin, curious, asked:

  “Will that be enough to make it resistant enough?..”

  Dav dropped the steel into the refractory crucible and began to use another of his abilities:

  “Black Fire Power (Maximum level).”

  Eldrin felt fear as he saw that dark, frightening flame that made his throat tighten and his hands tremble.

  “D-Dav... what is that?”

  Dav, with a demonic smile, replied:

  “My fire, Master Eldrin.”

  Eldrin was stunned by Dav’s impressive and mysterious power, and he knew these wouldn’t be the last surprising things he would witness from him.

  Dav poured all his fire into the crucible and watched the steel begin to burn and melt after several dozen minutes, without rushing the speed or temperature to avoid

  destroying everything.

  “In the worst case, everything will explode, Eldrin!

  Smile!”

  Eldrin, even more worried, resigned himself and waited, watching the process.

  END OF CHAPTER - 144