CHAPTER 824: SHOW THEM

Each student placed their creations on a tray, draped it with a white cloth and pushed it to Teacher Viktor’s desk. Most sighed, their gazes drifting from their own creations to Elliot and Adam’s, a burning question that made their throats tight with unreasonable hope and an uncontrollable desire to know.

Did the arrogant new student and the dimwit succeed? Was a miniaturised golem hiding beneath the cloth, or would it be nothing more than a statue of scrap metal?

Viktor leaned forward, squinting at Adam and Elliot’s tray over his interlocked fingers, before shifting his gaze to his disciple.

"Joshua will present his construct first," he said, voice calm enough not to betray his curiosity. But his bushy moustache never stopped twitching.

Disappointed sighs met Joshua’s advance. He faced his fellow students, the serpent devouring its tail encased in a shifting triangle glistening on his puffed right chest.

"I don’t know what got you so inattentive today. The challenge, perhaps? Well, you’ve wasted precious time, then. Because I’ve already won."

He clutched the white cloak that bulged toward the ceiling. "Let me present to you..." The cloth flew with his firm pull, his voice thundering. "The power gloves!"

Students gasped as two nightmares of craftsmanship appeared. They were monsters of dark steel and enchantments, lined with straight lines that pulsed a soft blue from the two azure cores embedded in the back of the gloves. They stretched along square phalanxes and snapped together into thick fingers.

Without another word, Joshua plunged his hand elbow-deep through the comfortable leather wrapped inside, and lifted the torso-sized gloves in front of his face.

The fingers let out buzzing sounds when he clenched and unclenched his fists. Everyone followed him as he returned to his anvil, then gripped it. The azure gems and pulsing light flared to deep red as he pressed down and pulled up.

CRACK

With a shrill cry of shredded metal, he tore the anvil like paper.

Adam leaned over Elliot’s tensed shoulders, chuckling. "A must-have tool if you end up in a tavern brawl."

Elliot raised a stunned brow before refocusing on Joshua, who threw the torn piece up and down with an amused smile. He observed the wide-eyed students, letting the strength boost sink before doubling down on his creation. "They can do much more!"

He gestured to a student his age, and the boy hurled a flaming spear at him.

Joshua didn’t flinch when the heat struck his face in waves of burning air. He simply lifted his right glove, palm facing the spell.

The spear burst against the metal, spreading outward in a circle of wildfire. At the center, a red barrier condensed by the cores flickered out of existence after parrying the strike.

Joshua hammered the students’ shock into awe before it could cool down. "My power gloves are autonomous, react to strain to provide strength, or defend against hostile spells up to the mage rank. In short, they’re artifacts both suited for labor and combat!"

Viktor’s clap silenced the whispers spreading across the eager crowd. His fingers found his chin for a moment before he nodded.

"You mimicked the equipment of our mining golems. Clever. But slightly irregular in their consumption." He pointed at the cores. "Their energy won’t sustain your enchantments for long."

Joshua placed his gloves back on the tray, smiling. "The cores aren’t powerful enough. But I can replace them with fresh ones whenever their energy runs out."

"Which would be after five minutes at full power." Viktor completed as he stroked his moustache. "A bit rough, but creative, Joshua. Continue with the same dedication and you’ll soon overcome such defects."

"Thank you for your fair assessment, Teacher Viktor." Joshua lowered his head, not in shame, but in genuine appreciation for the precise feedback and the promise of solutions after class.

"Now that we’ve seen our top student’s creation." Viktor’s gaze shifted to Adam, who remained impassive, and Elliot, whose eyes remained glued on the gloves. "It’s time to assess our challenger’s craft."

Every student parted before Adam, their clenched fists trembling, their eyes sparkling over their expectant smiles.

Adam pulled Elliot’s thoughts together with a forward nudge and a broad smirk. "Show them."

"But—"

"No buts." Adam interrupted the boy. "You’ve worked on this piece more than I did. You should present it."

He pushed Elliot to the front of the class, then stood behind him.

Faced with his peers’ gaze, Elliot fidgeted with his fingers, his face lowered. His eyes darted left and right as if lost for a moment. Then he felt Adam’s warm hands on his shoulders. It was comforting, gently whispering that he could do it.

Just as Viktor opened his mouth to make them begin, Elliot coughed into his fist. His back straightened as he gripped the white cloth with steady hands. "I’m not eloquent like Joshua. So, I’ll show what most of you are waiting to see."

He lifted the cloth, thundering with all the pride gathered during the crafting. "Let me present to you the coolest and most stylish golem!"

Adam rolled his eyes at the description while the students erupted in loud cheers.

"Show us, dimwit!"

"I won’t call you a dimwit ever again if your golem works!"

"Wow! Look at how it holds itself."

Their cheers turned into a ruckus when they saw the dark snowflake patterns on its cuirass, the blade hilts planted on its pauldrons, and the dark half-sphere contrasting with its silvery armguards. The red cloth unfurling down its leather belt, rimmed with golden threads that caught light and emblazoned with a silver sword piercing a serpent encircled by runes, caught their eyes along with the clinking chains.

But it was the long red feather stretching from the top of its helmet, down to its back, that made them mutter, "What a cool knight."

It stood on the tray, slightly leaning back in a stylish pose for a second, and then two.

Viktor waited patiently, but when ten passed without any movement, someone sighed. "Is it just a statue or can it move?"

More began to doubt. Pathways, protocols, energy management—golems were beyond a student’s capabilities.

Elliot’s vision swam as he felt fire eating through his liver. He lifted two watery eyes toward Adam in a silent plea as the crowd’s doubts turned into dissatisfaction.

"Well... did I forget to tell you how it works?" Adam scratched his head, yet a mischievous smirk curved his lips. "Ask it to move, Elliot."