《The Ascension Age 》Chapter 26: Stellar Smith 17th Faction Branch
Advertisement
Aire made his way to the so-called Smith Faction. Then again, it wasn't as if it was located in a single place due to the school's size. He simply went to the closest one to his dormitory. 'I wonder if there is a way to avoid this...' he thought along the way. Well, he knew it was just his wishful thinking.
Since occupations were also considered part of one's team total score, there were quite a few queues on each occupation faction... except for the Stellar Smiths. As soon as Aire arrived there, he noticed that the counter was completely empty. If not because of the big sign saying that the tests should be taken there, Aire would think he had arrived at the wrong place. 'Sure enough, Risers hate this job.'
"Hello, how can I help you?" Out of nowhere, an attendant of the workshop greeted Aire.
Aire looked at the guy and asked, "I came to take the test for Stellar Smiths. What should I do?"
The attendant smiled back in response as he replied, "Oh, you can come with me. A few Risers are doing the test, but there's more than enough space for you to join." Soon after, he guided Aire towards a different hall.
As soon as the door opened, Aire felt a wave of hot, dry air blowing on his face. He looked at the place and could see multiple machines. Unfortunately, Aire couldn't recognize any of them. Near a few of those machines, some students were going through the test. Last but not least, there was only one examinator who walked around the room as he looked at each candidate's work.
There was only one thing that was similar for all participants even though they were doing different jobs. All of them were sweating buckets as the machines absorbed their Stellar Energy nonstop. The school couldn't possibly spare its reserves to power up the Stellar Smith Equipment, so the students had to do it themselves. It wasn't because the school didn't want to, but because the profession just used way too much of it.
Advertisement
The supervisor then stopped by one table after another during the test.
"Very good. Increase the amount of Stellar Energy infusion by 17%. It should be just enough to concentrate the metal's properties."
"You, move away from there. I told you, don't get too close to the Pinpoint Furnace when you use your Stellar Energy. The heat might follow the cables, invading your body in the process."
"Hey, you can stop the test. Unfortunately, your Stellar Energy reserves and manipulation skills aren't enough for the job. Head back to your dormitory and select another occupation to practice."
"Oh, you there. Your skills in manipulating Stellar Energy aren't that good, but it isn't at the level of being hopeless yet. I can see that your Clearcut Skills are very polished. If you can hold on until you finish this piece of Maren Plate, I'll let you pass the exam and give you a score for your team."
After some time, the supervisor looked in Aire's direction and smiled at him, saying, "Oh, a new player? Come, come. The Smith Faction is open for everyone willing to at least try it out. Just keep in mind that we can't keep anyone without enough Stellar Energy reserves or manipulation skills."
Before Aire could answer, the supervisor pulled him with great gusto inside as the attendant left the room before asking, "Tell me, how good are your Stellar Smith skills?"
Aire scratched the back of his head in response, saying, "The truth is that I only decided on this occupation recently, so I don't know anything. Well, my team members said that this job should fit my aptitudes well."
The supervisor nodded with satisfaction as he responded, "That's more than enough. If you don't know the job, then we can just teach you. However, there's nothing we can do if you don't have the necessary Stellar Energy reserves or manipulation skills. By the way, I'm the supervisor of the 17th branch of our Stellar Smith Faction, Due Xomeu." Due was really amicable, which made Aire feel that their conversation slightly awkward.
Advertisement
Nevertheless, Due ignored the feeling as he continued, "Anyways, I need to know your Riser Level and Stage. Also, it would be good to know your name."
"I'm Aire Ruehnar. As for my level and stage, I'm at the Stellar Body Transformation Level, Stellar Bones Stage. This is my first year in the Ascension Age School," Aire answered straight away.
"Alright. Aire, there's a quick way to see if you have the aptitude to become a smith or not." Due then brought Aire to one of the Pinpoint Furnaces before explaining, "This is a Pinpoint Furnace. From the name itself, it's obviously used to heat up metals. However, only fire propelled by Stellar Energy can be used on Stellar Materials. This furnace isn't as good as the newer models nowadays, but it can still do its job. Besides, it's one of the easiest to operate. You can control the temperature, strength, the position of the melted metal, its form, the layers when creating alloy, and so on."
"Don't look down on this furnace. Even though it's an easier model to use, that doesn't mean the job is easy in any way. It will drain the Stellar Energy in your body nonstop, so it's very taxing on the body. That's why only students with high Stellar Energy Aptitude and control can be accepted."
Aire nodded as he touched the controls, asking, "Alright, how should I operate it?"
Due then looked at one of the Stellar Smiths that was helping him with the test. "Cala, come here. We have a new guy. Teach him how to use the furnace. I'll check on him once I'm finished checking the other candidates." After that, Due left to continue his observation.
Aire was quite surprised, though. He could see that most of the students taking the test and the workshop assistants were men. Cala was one of the only three women he could see in the place. "Is it harder for women to become Stellar Smiths?" Aire asked with a hint of curiosity.
Cala laughed as she calibrated the furnace for Aire's level and experience. "Of course not. However, look at the other Stellar Smiths and me. We're all sweaty and dirty. Do you think most of the women with high aptitude would select such a job?"
Aire bitterly smiled as he apologized, "Guess not. Sorry."
Cala didn't mind it, responding, "Don't worry, that at least means that only women who really like the job would join it." Cala finished the calibration just after she was finished saying that. "Alright, go ahead. I'll tell you how to operate it. We'll start with an easy job so supervisor Due can obtain a good assessment from you."
Advertisement
God Blade (Hiatus)
Theo, a prodigy of sword and an aspiring adventurer, lives in an RPG-like world where everyone has their own level and skill. However, his is a hardcore RPG world where more than half of its human never gets higher than level one. So who is Theo you ask? Was he a ninja trying to be a leader in his hidden village? Was he trying to be a pirate king? Maybe a teenager summoned from another world? A chosen one of the god? A man whose girlfriend is secretly the demon queen? A cook in a journey to make the greatest dish? Or maybe the reincarnation of an ancient Dark Lord? Well, No. Theo is a man born in that world. An NPC you might say. Not only that, he wasn't even the true hero or the main protagonist of his own world. But he does have to meet all those people during his journey to accomplish his dream. ----- 1 chapter every 2 or 3 days. I don't claim the MC of my story to be not cliched. With so many stories on the internet right now, It's almost impossible if not outright impossible to make an original MC. The best I can do is pick the kind of cliched MC I like the most and give it a twist of my own. English is not my first language, so there will be some mistakes in every chapter. Please notify me in the comment if you found one (Or some). I'm still an inexperienced writer, so feedbacks and reviews are very much appreciated.
8 327Unnecessary Evil
(It's a slowburn. Contains 18+ scenes. There will be also smut later...) Vladimir D. Svoboda. A hailed, but troubled genius from the planet Earth. The first person who made teleportation reality. The Rotshields, a mysterious family that ruled from the shadows, couldn't leave it just like that and wanted it for themselves. Needless to say, the operation went terribly wrong. After that our hero, Vlad, finds himself in an extremely hostile metallic city, Koul'E. The capital of orcs, devilish wizards (quite literally) and enslaved goblins. Decadency, greed and brutality rules in their society; even gods steer clear from them. Odds stacked against him, cancer slowly eating him from the inside, he will raze his way through the impossible situation and beings that vastly outclass him. However, he is not completely without friends and alone. An unlikely being decides to help him even though they went through a rocky start. They form a bond that will shake the whole city, and maybe the world. Magic, technology and all the other esoteric powers are just a stretch of an arm away. Editor, cover creator and overall great person: BlancChapters around 2.2K words long.
8 88Defending Mars
14 year old Tory Ciarelli did not want to get stuck on the planet Mars, but here she is, dragged 50 million miles from her home Earth, by her parents to the new frontier. She has a plan to escape Mars, but might not be able to accomplish her goal on her own. 21 year old Gurminder Kalsi is a third generation bornehere Martian, a rig driver working for the planetary clans who were abandoned by Earth but managed to survive and prosper but are now at the mercy of the massive new colonization effort. He too is trapped on the red plane, but not by circumstance, but by biology. Born on Mars he can not leave to go to the world his grandparents came from. But together Tory and Gurminder might be able to find a way out of their traps. If they can work together. If they don't manage to make things worse...
8 205Rising of the Red Tide
Clayton Johnson is an NSA field operative who has spent most of his career trying to determine why two of his colleagues were killed. What he discovers is a mysterious government program, which no one he tracks down seems to have knowledge of. Clayton's life changes when he is saved by Qi Lian, a woman with inside knowledge of the secret program. Now together they are in a race against time to end the program before it destroys the world. Book 1 of a series. Updates daily.
8 206City Goons
Everybody is looking for something in the city ruins. For Haru it’s the loot, the rewards, and one day finding her mother’s pendant after losing it during the Folding, an apocalyptic event where multiple dimensions smooshed into each other and created interdimensional human-monster hybrids. For Kill Death aka KD it’s a rock ‘em sock ‘em good fight to grow stronger. And together, Haru and KD will fight monsters, find loot, meet colourful characters and go on adventures as… City Goons! New chapters every week on Tuesdays and Fridays for now! The story is episodic, with about 4 chapters per episode. So if you like a Saturday morning cartoon, this story is right up your alley. Cover art by yuhkiipop
8 354Daily Dose of Chicklit
Daily Dose of Chicklit brings you daily themes, prompts and recommendations of books for writers and readers alike. Each month we will feature four different themes, each of which will be promoted by the profile. We'll be recommending new books to read, engaging with our followers and posting our favourite comments in our end of the week round-up.
8 151