Valerian, The Legendary

250 Learning.

Valerian watched the old man perform some basic actions in forging, and he thought, this forge was like a body, and the things related to forging were placed all over the place. If you need something, you can move it to the other spot.

Like the material on the shelf, it can be moved over to the anvil and the furnace. So, if you think of the human body as the forge and the mana inside as the material, it would mean that the mana was stored all over the body and can be moved to different places, like channeling through the eyes, and the muscles.

Valerian understood this, and just as he wanted to try it out Master Fern said, “See, a lot of people say that strength originates from muscles and certain points in the limb. However, they are not completely correct. The most optimal way to draw out strength is to use the entire body in one fluid motion. Observe my movements.”

The prince nodded and observed how Fern moved when he lifted the hammer and then swung it down at the hot metal slab. The minuscule movements of his muscles did not go unnoticed by Valerian. The young man was observing the strength from his back, hips, legs, and recoiling hand to concentrate on his shoulder and then travel down the arm.

This was something that Valerian has always known but was never able to master. He asked, “Teacher, how can someone control the smallest muscles in the body?”

Master Fern did not stop his actions and said, “By training your brain. Muscles have some retaining capabilities, if you are able to trigger them for a specific motion, you will need to remember that feeling your brain will over time learn to control those hard muscles.”

Valerian nodded and said, “Thank you for your guidance, although I think it will be a hard process.”

Master Fern smiled and said, “Smart one, kid. Come on, it is your turn. Use that soil and wood to make a mold for your first project.”

Valerian nodded and got to work. He picked up a few wooden planks, then made a small rectangular shape from it. Then he stuffed some soil inside the rectangular frame. Fern said, “Push it all inside, do not leave any gap between the grains. Put your back into it.”

.....

Valerian nodded and pushed the soil inside the frame tightly and asked, “Teacher, can I use magic?”

Old Man Fern said, “Kid, forging is done to hone physique and control over one’s body. Are you sure you want to use magic for this?”

Valerian thought for a bit and then used his hands. Fern nodded in affirmation. Valerian densely packed the wooden frame with soil. Then he picked up a wooden knife from the side and pressed it against the soil bed. The pressure formed a nice impression of the knife.

Fern said, “Now, you have one side done, the second side will come out of your perception. You wish for it to be symmetrical, then perceive the half side of the impression in your brain.”

Valerian nodded and after some thought, he took the knife off the soil bed. The old man said, “Pick up some lava iron from the shelf and smelt it in the heating bucket.”

The prince nodded and picked up a block of the material pointed out by the old man. Then he placed this block in the heating bucket and then let the furnace smelt it slowly. The metal block melted and the impurities began to surface. The young man was confused and Fern said, “Remove this slag as soon as you point it, or it assimilates with your product and reduces the quality of the weapon.”

Valerian removed the slag that was flowing over the melted metal multiple times until the amount of slag became minuscule. Fern nodded as he found that the child was patient and did not rush to pour the liquid metal into the mold quickly. Patience was a virtue that every forger must have.

Valerian looked for a pair of tongs, clasped the heating bucket, and then carefully moved over to the mold and gently poured the metal into the mold. However, as the liquid filled the shape completely, it spilled out.

The boy sighed and turned his head to look at Fern and asked, “Teacher, how do I hold the form of the metal based on my imagination? Is that not impossible?”

Fern nodded and said, “It is good that you arrived at this question so soon. What you need to do is to remember the form of the mold and when you pour the liquid, use your mana to cast a barrier and stop it from spilling.”

Valerian nodded and after some thought, he said, “It will take some time for me to perfect this. Teacher, these materials seem precious, will it be alright if I help you with some other tasks while practicing this mana barrier?”

Fern nodded and said, “Good, materials are precious, and one must be frugal. If you use a pure material, then you can reuse it, but if it is a compound, then it will be trashed. You will see what I mean in the coming days, but go on and feel free to practice. If you do not understand something, then come to me.”

Valerian nodded and was about to find a calm corner to practice when the old man said, “Valerian, go outside and watch the counter.”

The boy stopped and with a nod, he went outside the forge to sit behind the counter, while meditating. It has been only a few hours since he came here. As he was getting deeper in his contemplation, the doorbell rang and Valerian spotted three people coming inside. He stood up behind the counter, and asked, “Hello, how may I help you?”

The three people were surprised to see Valerian here, and one of them asked, “Aren’t you that human? Why are you here?”

Valerian said, “My name is Valerian, the maiden told me to learn from Master Fern.”

The three people nodded and the speaker stepped towards the counter. He took out a long sword from his scabbard and placed it on the table and said, “I need to get this repaired.”

Valerian glanced at the blade and found the edge to be chinked. He said, “Would it be fine if I showed it to my Teacher first?”

The man nodded and Valerian picked up the blade, he went inside the forge and was about to show Fern the sword when he said, “Return it, I will not help them fix the product from that snake.”

Valerian was surprised, as he did not understand what was going on.