Chapter 37 : Branding! Evolution!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing into each other could be heard resounding inside the sizzling room. Ragna was hammering the anvil continuously. Sometimes it was slow, and sometimes it was fast. Despite the varying speed, the sound followed a certain rhythm, making it felt somewhat harmonious.

Silver solemnly looked toward Ragna's drenched figure. She was showing a tough front but she was shocked inwardly.

'Two hundred and eighty-one..'

She stopped declaring the number when Ragna's hit count reached a hundred. It was for the purpose of keeping him in the dark. By not knowing how much farther you have to walk, a person's willpower will be tested. Because of the uncertainty, most people usually stopped not far from the hundred marks. Few people reached two hundred, but nevertheless, they still failed to pass the test.

Silver was one of the rare people who could pass the test. Furthermore, she passed it with flying colors.

Five hundred and twenty-two!

It was a number which could make her famous throughout the continent. The number of people who could pass those mark could be counted on one hand. Despite the increasing number of players, it would never reach ten even in the future.

She knew herself how hard the test was. By not knowing how much her hit-count was, she wouldn't be able to know whether if she was hitting it right or not. The accuracy would deteriorate, making successful hits less likely to appear the longer it was.

At first, the accuracy rate may be higher than 60%. But when it reached 200, it would dwindle to less than 20%. Obviously, players wouldn't know about this fact right away, they would only understand it right after they failed the test.

Three hundred and fifty-six!

Ragna kept hitting the hammer with great perseverance. Silver could only stare at him with wide eyes. It wasn't because of his hit count that made her shocked, it was because of his lasting accuracy!

Ragna managed to keep his accuracy at 70%!

It was the first time she saw a person with that kind of willpower and concentration. She herself only managed to barely reach 60% when she finished the test. It shocked his instructor, which made her the star of the Blacksmithing Association in Prawk City.

Dozens of minutes passed and by this time, Ragna had reached a terrifying amount of four hundred and ninety-six!

Silver was panting while looking at Ragna's figure. She had lost the composure she had a while ago. Her eyes were blazing, it was the first time she met someone with the potential to become her rival. She silently made her decision that after Ragna have somehow caught up to his proficiency level, she'd stop being his master and would recognize him as her rival instead.

Four hundred and ninety-eight!

Four hundred and ninety-nine!

Five hundreds!

Ragna had surpassed the threshold which separated the level of elite and genius blacksmith!

At this moment, Silver could only suppress the shock in her eyes. She had to admit that her testing Ragna was to see the extent of his mysterious second profession. But currently, it didn't matter what kind of profession Ragna had, it was eclipsed by his own willpower!

Five hundred and ten!

Five hundred and eleven!

Silver didn't even bat her eye. She wanted to see whether if Ragna could overtake her previous record or not. His eyes were still blazing with determination. She herself didn't know when he would stop at this rate.

It was at this moment that suddenly an announcement showed up in both of their screens. It was the announcement of the server closing in a few minutes.

Ragna couldn't help but stop his hammer when he saw the sudden announcement.

'Damn, what a party pooper!', she cursed inwardly. She was very curious about Ragna's limit.

"So, did I pass the test? What was the hit count?", He asked with clear voice toward Silver. He was panting, but there wasn't the slightest of mental fatigue shown in his face.

Silver suppressed the shock in his heart, restoring his composure, she said, "You passed, with a beautiful mark of Five hundred and twelve hits"

"Wow! I was that great?", He was happy with his result, "How is it? There should be no problem in accepting me as your disciple, right?"

"Hey, don't get cocky! Your result was still lower than mine!", she added, "Nevertheless, that was a great performance. I think I'm not fit to become your master, I should be your temporary mentor. I'm sure that you could catch up to my level in just a few month"

Ragna was amazed when he knew how talented he was. A feeling of grievance started to creep on him. It would be great if he was a full-time blacksmith. Because he had a non-primary profession for Blacksmithing, there should be some drawback to it. He just hadn't known about it, yet.

"Anyway, you shouldn't be too confident. This is but an aspect in determining one's potential. What if you could smash hammer countless times? That will worth nothing if you can't actually make a great weapon", Silver explained to him. She didn't want Ragna to be arrogant with his result, thus hinder his future development.

"There's a bit time left before the server close. Let's finish the ceremony. Come here", Silver asked Ragna to come and stand in front of her, she rummaged through her bag to find a gold colored stone with dazzling splendor.

"This is the signature of every Blacksmith. A golden stone engraving. Every Blacksmith has this golden stone engraved to their personal hammer", she handed the stone toward Ragna, "Put a drop of your blood into it while thinking about an image. That image will be your personal brand."

Silver took a hammer from her bag, right when the hammer left her inventory, the room was brightened with golden splendor. There was also a glint of silver hue hidden. When Ragna looked at the hammer's handle closely, he could see that it was an image of a Cloud, a Silver-colored Cloud.

"This is my personal brand, a Silver Cloud. It represents my desire to be free and unrestrained. Because of that, most of my products have special options to increase movement speed or dodging ability. Come, brand your personal signature into the golden stone."

Ragna solemnly looked toward the golden stone in his hand. He cut a bit of his finger, letting a drop of blood drop into the surface of the stone. He pictured an image in his mind. He wanted it to be something that could represent himself like Silver's personal brand.

I want to be brave, to not waver in front of any challenges that I face!

I want power! But what I NEED more is determination and resoluteness! Something that came right from my soul!

A strong and unyielding soul!

Whooosh!

It was at this moment that the tattoo in his wrist brightened with red color! It was the tattoo he got from his Brave Challenger title. The tattoo vanished from his wrist and reappeared at the back of his hand. The Blood Master's Glove also appeared and they seemed to merge into each other!

A frightening pressure emanated out to his surrounding. Silver was staring at him with wide eyes. To be able to induce a reaction this strong meant that Ragna had an extraordinary image in his mind!

She too was able to induce a bit of pressure when she branded her personal signature. But it was nowhere close to Ragna's level!

The golden stone started to show an image. It was a man bravely fighting against a giant.. it was Ragna's Brave Challenger Tattoo!

At the same time, that exact tattoo also appeared at the back of both of Ragna's Gloves!

When the image was complete, the bright red color and the terrifying pressure subsided. Leaving Ragna with a brand in his golden stone and both of his gloves. The branding process was now finished!

--

Author Note : I wonder what kind of effect the Brave Challenger brand had on both of Ragna's gloves and his golden signature? Let's just find out at the next chaps he he he