39: Chapter 0039 The Blacksmith

The heavy snow in Gray Mist Mountain Town had fallen for nearly a month, and finally, the seemingly endless snowflakes ceased their momentum.

Perhaps the Brilliant Sun that illuminated the endless planes had defeated the Dominator behind the heavy snow, and the vast white sky over Gray Mist Mountain Town finally welcomed the first golden ray of dawn.

The golden radiance of the Brilliant Sun felt exceptionally comfortable on people, and the air seemed to carry a trace of warmth.

Li Size, who had become a Wizard Apprentice, felt an added layer of comprehension, vaguely sensing some strange changes occurring in the energy particles in the air.

This was the Theory of Energy Tides:

Accompanying seasonal changes and the cycle of day and night, energy particles of certain attributes would undergo periodic fluctuations.

Daytime had a slightly higher concentration of Light attribute particles than the dark night.

Winter had a slightly higher concentration of Water element particles; summer had Fire element particles; autumn had Earth element particles; and spring had Wood element particles.

These were observable phenomena; the core theory of the Tide Theory was:

Influenced by external factors, the concentration of atmospheric energy particles was not constant.

The Theory of Energy Tides was often used by Wizards to locate and analyze the causes behind anomalous concentrations of energy particles in an environment.

This point was very important and was used with particular frequency in Spatial Geometry, Secret Realms, and Plane research.

Li Size secretly slipped out of Instructor Felina's apartment.

With Instructor Felina vouching for him, he no longer had to attend mandatory classes; he only needed to pass the year-end test.

For him, that was as easy as pie.

Enjoying the first ray of winter sunlight, Li Size strolled around to the lakeside behind the academy, climbed over the school wall, and headed toward his family's factory.

His father, Pativ, was a sentimental man; even after becoming the owner of a forge, he hadn't forgotten his original trade.

In his words, the folks in Gray Mist Mountain Town loved the tools he crafted; they were of superior quality, good value, and reasonably priced.

Consequently, next to the factory gate, he opened a new blacksmith shop, also named 'Li Size Blacksmith Shop'.

This old man was turning bad.

Li Size arrived during class time, much to Pativ's surprise.

Although his thunderous voice sounded like a roar, it was actually filled with concern:

"You brat, your old man saved up and scrimped to send you to school.

Now that you've opened a factory, you've gotten conceited, haven't you? You've even learned to skip class. Does Instructor Felina know?"

It seemed his father didn't yet know that the Instructor had become like family. Hearing this, Li Size quickly explained:

"Ahem! Instructor Felina permitted it.

I need to deeply study the more Advanced courses for a Wizard Apprentice now. The courses at the town's academy are useless to me; I'm self-studying everything.

I came back this time specifically to learn blacksmithing skills."

Pativ looked at his son suspiciously. In his memory, his son's grades weren't that good, and he hated his own blacksmithing craft the most.

Once, Old Pativ got angry and beat him severely over this matter, but now Old Pativ never brought it up again.

He tacitly accepted that the family's ancestral Blacksmithing Legacy would end with him.

Did the Brilliant Sun rise from the west?

Seeing this, Li Size explained helplessly:

"With the help of Felina and Gelia, I have actually become an Elementary Wizard Apprentice.

I plan to specialize in the Mechanical Alchemy Domain, and studying Mechanical Alchemy requires learning blacksmithing skills. I have no choice."

Seeing Pativ still looking doubtful, Li Size recited an incantation.

The arcane model of the Wizards Hand quickly formed in his consciousness space, and he commanded the Wizards Hand to casually pick up several items.

Seeing things flying in mid-air, Pativ's face showed astonishment; this was truly the ability of a Wizard Master!

He stood there stunned for a moment, then tears suddenly streamed from his eyes. He happily lifted Li Size up.

His voice revealed ecstatic joy:

"Heaven has eyes!

My old Pativ family actually has a Wizard Apprentice!

I... I... I..."

The man wept tears of joy, his lips repeatedly muttering the word 'I,' momentarily unable to express his excitement, then he roared three times:

"Good! Good! Good!"

The sound was like thunder, echoing across the entrance, causing the surrounding people to look over, inquiring what good news Old Pativ had.

Li Size quickly whispered:

"Father, don't let this get out for now!"

Pativ immediately looked left and right upon hearing this, nodded, and whispered:

"Good! Good!"

The look of pleasant surprise still lingered on his face, and even Li Size was infected by this genuine joy.

He thought for a moment and decided to close the shop, leading Li Size into the workshop inside.

Pativ pointed at the equipment in the workshop:

"This was passed down from your great-great-grandfather.

It is said that in the past, they even hired a Wizard Apprentice to help forge these. I thought this craft would be lost by my generation.

Haha, I never expected things to turn around, and you brat actually got enlightened!"

As for the claim that these were forged by a Wizard Apprentice, Li Size didn't believe it at all. What Wizard Apprentice would have nothing better to do than forge equipment for a blacksmith shop?

This was a story Pativ had been telling since his grandfather's generation, telling it to everyone to puff himself up.

Others who heard it thought it was no wonder Pativ's tools were so high-quality if they were made with the tools of a Wizard Apprentice.

The George family's blacksmith shop reportedly actually believed it; their intelligence was questionable.

Li Size heard this and teased:

"Father, I'm a Wizard Apprentice now.

If you don't work harder, your tools and your Blacksmithing Legacy will still be lost."

Pativ raised an eyebrow at this and laughed, scolding:

"What do you mean, brat?"

Li Size said with a hint of seriousness:

"Am I, a Wizard Apprentice, supposed to come back and open a blacksmith shop? To ensure our family's ancestral skills don't fade away, you should go make me a younger brother."

Pativ stood there stammering, rubbing his head as he thought to himself:

He had been so happy that he forgot about this crucial point.

Realizing the hidden meaning in his son's words, he asked:

"Explain yourself clearly. What do you mean by making another brother?"

Li Size had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on his face, staring at Pativ for a long time. Seeing no abnormality on his face,

he inwardly thought: This man is truly a dense, rough fellow.

He smiled and said:

"I heard from your former apprentice: Sister Mela, who used to be next door to our blacksmith shop in the west of town, still comes to see you every day even after we moved here?"

Pativ was startled by this and opened his mouth to ask:

"Mela? That's impossible. She's not even 30. I'm over 40? Impossible, impossible, don't talk nonsense."

"In the face of love, age is not an issue.

Look at your physique; people would believe you if you said you were a young man in your twenties.

Besides, your son is a Wizard Apprentice now. If he makes some potions to strengthen the body and prolong life in the future, wouldn't that be a small matter?"

Li Size said earnestly; he truly hoped Pativ would be happy.

Pativ glanced sideways at Li Size upon hearing this. Seeing that he seemed sincere, a faint blush appeared on his bronze-like face. He shook his head and said:

"Alas! Let's not talk about it anymore!

How can a son arrange a match for his father?

I'd better tell you about our family's ancestral Blacksmithing Legacy."

Pativ's ancestral Blacksmithing Legacy was ordinary, with no particular features to look forward to.

But after over a hundred years of deep cultivation across several generations, the greatest characteristic of this skill was—rock-solid fundamentals!