My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

Chapter 398: Black Dagger

Little by little, the half-wolf was losing control, until there came a time when he could no longer hold that gigantic amount of water. It was a task that, as much as it didn't use up the half-wolf's mana, it still made him tired.

The moment Luke lost control of that pillar of water, Erwin took control of the feat.

With a snap of his right hand, the blue-haired wizard made that pillar of water grow much larger. It flew upwards at a gigantic speed. Quickly the pillar surpassed the size of the academy's forge, and then it went higher and higher until it reached the clouds.

After that, with a second slap, Erwin made the entire pillar disappear, turning it into a strange mist. A cloud ended up forming in the clear sky of that beach, at the same time a gigantic amount of salt was falling to the top of the sea.

"You did very well for a beginner boy, very well..." Erwin said, giving Luke a gentle smile.

"It's so confusing, I don't know if we can really call this a success or a failure" Luke said.

"You said you just walked in here. Just the fact that you were able to command the waves to take shape, that already shows that your amazing ability"

"How did you command the salt? Now that was surprising.

"It's something like, imagine the water and visualize what's inside the water. When you think like that you can even remove all the fish from an area."

"Your skill would be quite useful in the harbor I was born in, the smell of spoiled fish is horrible for a half-wolf"

"I imagine, I imagine hahahaha"

Luke and Erwin continued talking for some time regarding sea control magic. This kind of power was something that the half-wolf had not imagined existed and in a way, that thought made sense.

In Broteforge, only an S class skill could do this kind of control over materials. Whereas in Melki's farthest camp, the academy, control by means of magic was possible.

However, a growing doubt appeared in Luke's mind. How did magic develop? When the half-wolf questioned Erwin, the blue-haired wizard only denied it with his head, claiming that he did not know the answer to this question.

Luke then kept this doubt in his chest, after all, there was one person in that place who would have this answer easily. The half-wolf decided to go visit Megan.

**

On the other side of the academy, a small boy with blue hair a little lighter than Erwin's worked incessantly. Using his new tool, Ezra was much more dedicated to his goal of producing the weapons Luke requested.

The small blacksmith was, like Erwin, a wizard specialized in the use of water. For Ezra, manipulating water was the only possibility he had to keep himself in the forge of the academy. With the heat and the gigantic effort required to work in that place, it was necessary for the little blacksmith to rethink how he could continue working without suffering too much physical and psychological wear.

The way Ezra came up with was a bit unusual. Using a large bucket of water, Ezra manipulated the water within that container to become a kind of Golem. At the beginning of his journey, the young man used the water as a sort of armor around his body, however, over the years he realized that the best way was to simply command the water to create a water golem.

As much as manipulating pure water is less complex than controlling seawater, the skill required to keep that golem standing for several hours while working with the forge was something as amazing as Erwin's sea serpent.  When the heat inside Ezra's workroom reached a temperature that he could no longer stand, the boy, in order not to have to stop working, would pour water over his head.

This caused his body temperature to drop a little while he continued to work.

When Ezra was younger, there were countless times that Hephaestus found him lying on the ground, passed out after working for so long. This caused the forge master to form a somewhat unusual habit. Even when busy, she stayed up to the present day checking every three hours how her favorite pupil was doing.

That was exactly what was happening now.

"Ezra, how's your work with the new tool going?" Hephaestus said as he entered the forge room, only to see the boy sitting in a chair.

On Ezra's lap was his hammer. But his arms were loose, and his head was hanging downwards. It was as if the boy's body was completely lifeless. The blacksmith's blue hair was wet with sweat and water, and because of the way it was down it was impossible to see the boy's face.

"Stupid brat..." Hephaestus ran out when she spotted this scene, but this was already a routine sight for her.

The forge master knelt down, and with one hand lifted the boy's bangs. So she could see his face, and surprisingly, this time he had not fainted from heat or exertion. He was just sleeping, tired.

His closed eyes had a serene countenance, he was sleeping peacefully despite the heat and noise of the forge. Ezra's mouth had a small smile on it, and it was possible to see his heavy breathing through the warm air of the room he was in.

"You really gave it your all, your mother would be so proud of you"

Getting up, Hepha continued to observe the rest of the state of that room. With surprise, she widened her eyes as she observed Ezra's desk, taking a step back with fright.

"How? How did you do that?"

Walking over to the desk, the vision became clearer and clearer. On top of that table was a completely black dagger, with red details. To Hephaestus' trained eyes, it was evident the superior quality that that weapon possessed, but what surprised her most was another detail.

"That blade..." Hephaestus turned to Ezra, the forge master was sporting a confused countenance.

It was common for blacksmiths to have coats of arms, symbols that show that a piece of equipment was made by a family or a specific forge master. However, among the proper blacksmiths, there was a unique kind of coat of arms.

When working every day manipulating metal, it is common to recognize patterns and even create customs that are carried over to your weapon. This makes it so that one craftsman can be recognized by the skilled eyes of another craftsman.

The blade that Ezra possessed was extremely similar to the patterns of his late mother. This was something that Hephaestus, in the several years he had guided Ezra, had never observed. He possessed a unique style of producing equipment, but in that particular dagger, everything showed the patterns of Ezra's mother, Hephaestus' master.

Hepha began to slowly twist that dagger, checking every detail, from the handle to the edge of the blade. Gradually, she realized how it was still possible to see the details of Ezra's unique style.

'Watching this is almost like seeing a ghost...' Hephaestus thought, as she turned to the little blacksmith who remained asleep in that wooden chair.

"How did you manage to produce a perfect item in such a short time?" She thought. With memories of her former master running through her head, a bigger doubt arose for that powerful blacksmith.

'How far would you be able to go, if she were still among us'

In Hephaestus' heart, she knew that she never reached the same level of skill as her master. But watching that dagger, she felt that it was possible for Ezra to reach that level of skill.

Maybe because of the mysterious contact between mother and son, maybe because of the blood itself. Something inside that boy made him a prodigy, and watching that dagger gave Hephaestus the final answer.

'That is one of the best weapons I have ever seen. It's amazing to think that it's only been a few days since I came to correct it.

Slowly opening his eyes, Ezra realized the presence of his master.

"Master Hepha... Good morning" The boy spoke, yawning and scratching his eyes he rose from his chair.

"I have to get back to work. Thanks for the guidance, I managed to make a test dagger and the result was very good... Oh you have it in your hand, do you like it?" The boy seemed not to be fully awake yet.

Giving a loud laugh, Hephaestus dropped the dagger on the table and approached Ezra.

The forge master slapped the boy hard on the back, waking him up instantly.

"Of course it's good! You are my student! Hahaha. I'll want to forge with you all day tomorrow, brat!" Hephaestus shouted.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Ezra shouted in shame.

Hepha then said goodbye and walked out the door of Ezra's room.

"How far will this boy get?" she said to herself.