Even though the old man was only had average power for an A tier, Alex could tell that he was an expert in his own right. It was clear that this man was a very important person in the cksmith association, as Darya looked at him with practical reverence in her eyes as he scanned Alex''s rough creation thoroughly.
''What''s with this old guy?''
Alex still had his reservations though.
How could he not? Ever since he stepped into this ce, it was like it wanted him gone from the get-go. It didn''t make sense in his mind, since no organisation that cared about their future would refuse new members so fervently like they had practically done with him.
However, he knew that it could just be a one off case with Darya simply having it out for him, rather than the cksmith Association itself.
…But from what he had heard about cksmiths, and what he had experienced with the cksmith association so far, he was slowly starting to lose faith in this.
"Hmm… Not bad work. Who created this?"
The awkward atmosphere that had quickly enveloped the room was soon broken by the voice of the old man finally ringing out for the first time since his arrival.
The idea that he didn''t even know who had created that sorry lump of metal was funny to Alex though — was the old man so engrossed in observing the blunt de that he hadpletely disregarded the other people in the room? In fact, this was probably the case.
Alex knew that people so passionate about their work often disregarded any external stimuli entirely, so this old man was probably of that sort.
"That would be me."
Alex replied before Darya could screw him over in some way with her antics, calmly proiming himself as the half finished de''s creator.
In fact, he could see Darya frowning and biting her lips from the corner of his eye, probably annoyed at him taking charge before she could pull any funny business.
While she may have beenpletely narcissistic and arrogant towards Alex from the moment she first met him, she wasn''tpletely stupid.
It was clear to her now that Alex actually had some talents for forging, which was made especially clear from the arrival of this old man, who Alex had yet to learn the identity of.
Instead of looking at Alex after receiving his answer, the old man instead looked toward Darya.
"Is this so?"
Darya still had her brows furrowed, but quicklyposed herself when she realised the old man was speaking to her.
"T-that''s right, P-president!"
''So this old guy is this city''s association president? That exins her reaction to his arrival and his interest in my half baked work, then.''
Alex mused inwardly as he watched the old man scrutinise him up and down for a few seconds.
The old man – now revealed to be the association president – fixed his aged and keen eyes on Alex. Despite his average power for someone at his tier, Alex couldn''t help but feel a tinge of respect for the man.
Sure, cksmiths were quite entric people, but they were also some of the most valued and highly respected individuals in both the Federation and the Primordial Expanse.
Just from looking at the association president, Alex could tell that this man wasn''t just a hobbyist cksmith, like Darya probably was. No, instead he dedicated his entire life to the craft, which Alex could only respect.
His creations had probably helped to save the lives of countless awakened over the span of his career, and would continue to do so into the future even after his death. Someone like this deserved to be respected – he had earned it.
"You forged this?"
The president asked Alex this time, lifting the roughly shaped de slightly as if testing its weight.
Alex nodded, answering the same question for the second time, but he wasn''t bothered by it.
It was already an established fact that cksmiths were entric. Darya was rather arrogant, despite being mediocre both in the craft and her awakened status. This old man was probably more used to forging than interacting with other people. Rothwind didn''t like people disturbing him in general.
All cksmiths had their entricities – though some were worse than others...
*Cough* Darya *Cough*
Alex drew the line at people trying to screw himself, or others, over.
A flicker of something unreadable crossed the old man''s face before he turned his attention back to the unfinished weapon in his hands. He ran a calloused thumb over the uneven edge, feeling every imperfection.
Then, without warning, he lifted the de and struck it against the anvil with a sharp ng.
The depletely snapped in two.
"Hmm. Not bad for a first attempt."
The old man seemed unbothered by what he had just done.
Darya flinched at the harsh impact though, as she was the weakest in the room by far, though she didn''t know that. The old man had just used C tier power to break the de against the anvil, so if some fragments of shrapnel flew in her direction, she could have ended up seriously injured.
"The shaping is crude. The edges are uneven. The bnce is off."
The old man started listing every w without hesitation, which made Alex frown a little, but there was no disdain in his tone.
"But the metal itself is well tempered. No obvious cracks from overheating, no brittleness. It is clear that you had good control over the temperature of the forge in creating this,"
But before speaking further, the old man took a nce around the room now that his focus wasrgely taken away from the de, and a confused frown soon found its way onto his face.
"I don''t see any forge in here… Did you use another ce to heat it before bringing it here? No, that would be counterproductive and you''d risk the metal bing brittle from the cool air cooling it down. Tell me, how did you heat this if there was no forge in here?"
Darya''s face practically turned pale white when the old man suddenly asked this question.
Meanwhile, Alex''s lips formed into a mocking smirk.
''Karma''s a bitch. Though I didn''t expect to deal with her this soon.''