CHAPTER 223: A MONTH GONE BY

Riven and Noel finally ended their spar; it was a tie, no clear winner or loser.

"I’m pretty sure if you had gone all out, you would have defeated me," Noel said.

"No, I doubt that. You underestimate yourself, bro, and your strength is really no joke," Riven stated with a soft smile.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Either way, when will you enter the dungeon? Let’s go together," Noel asked.

"Uhm, when I finally get the hang of refining the ores. It’s the only thing on my mind now. Going to the dungeon allows me to get stronger, but that type of strength isn’t what I want to go for now," Riven stated.

"Well, finish your refining quick and let’s hit the dungeon one of these days. Oh, and don’t forget about the gala," Noel said.

He headed back to the town, while Riven, on the other hand, headed back to his smithy. With the knowledge that he had gotten, he was about to refine till he passed out.

[.....]

And just like that, the days went by. Riven remained inside his smithy, and soon, the gala was only in two days. He hadn’t taken a bath in almost thirty days, but he used mana to clean his body.

He didn’t make much contact with anyone outside and spoke mostly to Twilight. They got to know each other better, and they worked perfectly together.

And all this he did in an attempt to create a purely refined piece of metal, something that would be at least up to a certain standard.

He worked through the sweat, aching muscles, and more, and today, all the sweet rewards that one could wish for from hard work started rolling in.

[You have received the title, Blacksmith Apprentice. 10 percent increased chance of success when blacksmithing]

[You have leveled up, 4 free stat points]

[You have gained 10 free stat points]

[Congratulations, you have refined an ore to a near perfect state, 4 stat points awarded]

Riven was stunned when he looked at the screen. He had done it; his work had paid off. All the effort he put, all the sweat he poured, everything finally paid off.

Not only had he gotten stat points, he had also leveled up, something that he had only done before through winning difficult battles.

Because of refining, he had forgotten his own birthday and didn’t even know when it passed. He was fourteen now. He didn’t celebrate, nor did he need any celebration.

Riven looked at the red-hot piece of metal that he had been hitting for a while now. He dipped it into water and brought it out. It was beautifully refined, unlike anything he had succeeded in doing before.

At times he wanted to give up, but stopping wasn’t an option, he needed to see progress. He had started using the flames from his sword to ignite blue flames that purified better. He had done a lot to actually get to this point.

On a table across the room, there were several swords that he had made, shields, and armors. Each one was defective, an issue starting at the beginning of the refining process, which he always had problems with.

They all passed for slightly above-average pieces since they had magic inside them. The average adventurer would jump at the opportunity to buy them.

But to Riven, they were imperfect pieces. The mana could never spread and diffuse well in them for two major reasons: he couldn’t remove most of the impurities to ensure the mana diffused properly, and he couldn’t control his mana properly.

But all that finally ended today.

Riven walked to his chair and collapsed into it. "Ahhhhhh, one month, I’m completely spent," Riven said.

"Taking only a month to come this far is amazing, I can’t lie. Your learning speed is exceptional," Twilight said.

"If I didn’t have you with me, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Thank you, Twilight," Riven said.

It had been a while since he had checked on the system stat screen; he didn’t even know how long remained until his next trial.

"System, show me my stats."

[Riven Von Grave – Status Screen]

[Level: 23]

[Class: Flaming Sword Master]

[Title: Disciple of the Sword, The One Loved by Chaos, Apprentice Blacksmith]

[Race: Human]

[Affinities: Blood, Fire, Hellfire]

[Mana: 3320]

[Second Circle Battle Mage]

[Strength: 35]

[Agility: 35]

[Endurance: 31]

[Intelligence: 24]

[Willpower: 23]

[Perception: 22]

[Charisma: 23]

[46 free stat points]

[Skills:]

Blood Manipulation – Lv1

Fire Manipulation – Lv2

Fist Fight – Lv4

Flame Blast – Lv3

Flame Arc – Lv2

Blood Scythe – Lv1

Fire Wall – Lv2

Blood Bind – Lv1

Sword Mastery – Lv3

Inferno Domain – Lv2

Blood Revive – Lv1

Blood Clone – Lv1

[Next Trial: 4 days]

"Oh shit, four days, that’s two days after the gala. I thought I still had time," Riven said.

"You’ll get to see my sister again in four days. Maybe this time you can get some good answers out of her," Twilight said.

"Yeah, that’s the only good part of the trial. Other than that, her shit is pure evil and out for my life," Riven said.

"Isn’t it because of her help that you buried your past with your mother?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I can give her that, but still, I have this feeling that this trial will be the hardest of them all," Riven said.

Knock knock. "Bro!" Noel stood outside the door of the smithy and knocked.

"Noel is here? What for?" Riven muttered. He got up and walked to the door. He opened it and saw Noel standing there.

"What’s up, bro?" Riven asked.

"You haven’t seen me in a month, and that’s how you greet me?" Noel asked.

"Would you rather I run into your arms for a hug?" Riven asked.

"Whatever, bro. It’s been a month you’ve been holed up here. It’s time you get out. We have to start leaving for the capital soon.

The girls left three days ago. They wanted to see you, but your stupid ass was inside here hammering away," Noel said.