After a few minutes of walking, Shye finally arrived at his designated seat.


    He felt nervous as he walked through the crowded seats, thinking that he would be reprimanded big time by the deans once he arrived.


    Fortunately, it seems that the deans and the instructors were on a different business so they shouldn''t be able to know that he waste, unless…


    ''They wouldn''t rat me out…right?'' Shye nervously thought as he looked at the Colzen students.


    Judging from their smiles, the deans probably wouldn''t know so he decided to stop thinking about it and just sat down to watch the proceedings of the cksmithpetition.


    Based on what thementator said, the second round of matches had just finished; they were now down to the final stage and the sixteen cksmiths who survived were currently the top 16 best cksmiths in Valenzia Region.


    Shye was curious.


    He wanted to know who the sixteen cksmiths were.


    Fortunately, thepetition didn''t make them wait too long.


    "Without further ado, let''s introduce the three judges who will score the contestants'' works."


    Cheers of smithing enthusiasts reverberated across the entire square as three judges of varying ages proudly walked up the stage, confidence oozing out of the pores of their bodies.


    Apparently, these judges were well-known.


    Unfortunately, this was the first time Shye was able to attend and watch such apetition.


    Thus, these judges were unknown to him and he could only wait for thementator to introduce the distinguished individuals.


    "Introducing the first judge, he is currently one of the best appraisers in Valenzia City if not the best. From Oracle Appraisers, Nick Tackton!"


    Thementator said as he gently waved his right hand and pointed it towards a short middle-aged man with short curly ck hair, tan-coloured skin, not-so-endearing eyes, a nose akin to a small pumpkin, and thick lips.


    Nick politely bowed to the crowd after thementator introduced him, making the crowd cheer wildly after such a ssy and respectful gesture from such a distinguished individual.


    He then sat down once his introduction was done.


    Thementator introduced the other two judges in a simr manner.


    Vulcan Smith, a tall old man with long white hair, a hulk-like body, and sharp facial features; Doran''s mentor, former greatest cksmith, and the proud owner of Vulcan Equippables.


    Erwin Freign, a moderately tall young man with brown medium-length wavy hair, a toned body, thick raised eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, sharp nose, and attractive lips; one of the youngest appraisal masters and a visitor from another region.


    As the resounding cheers of the crowd filled the air, Shye''s eardrums began to ache, while the other two judges reveled in the glory, savoring the fruits of their dedicated efforts that had brought them to their esteemed positions in life.


    Seeing how passionate the crowd was, thementator smiled.


    It was now time to introduce the cksmiths who made it to the final stage as the cheers for the judges started to die down.


    The well-crafted wooden stairs of the stage rumbled as sixteen people walked up the stage, their chins raised high as they walked towards their designated working stations.


    All of the cksmiths had simr huge physiques and were male except for one cksmith.


    In Shye''s eyes, two cksmiths stood out from the rest.


    One of the two interesting cksmiths was quite old, he had a huge hulking body like everyone else but he radiated the most dignified, disciplined, and stern aura out of everyone.


    ''So that''s Doran huh?'' Shye surmised before turning his head to the other cksmith.


    The second cksmith was the sole female cksmith out of the sixteen who made it into the final stage of thepetition.


    She had long ck hair messily tied up into a ponytail by some white torn fabric, refined but not overbearing muscles, bow-shaped lips, high nose, and upturned eyes with crimson lotus irises, looking extremely attractive.


    However, she had the same facial expression as Doran.


    Dignified, disciplined, and stern, albeit a little less intense probably due to her young age. After all, how could someone so young go through so much in lifepared to an old man?


    Still, it didn''t look like she was far off though.


    Once all the cksmiths had settled down, thementator introduced them one by one; the crowd''s cheers were divided as each person rooted for the owner of their favorite cksmith brands.


    Thunderous acmations reverberated in the entire square as thementator finally introduced Doran, the crowd favorite.


    It seems that his poprity was still unmatched even whenpared to the other prominent cksmiths of nearly the same caliber.


    When it was time to introduce the young female cksmith, everyone''s ears perked up, curious to know who she was.


    "Next, a promising young cksmith, the champion of the rookie cksmithpetition, and the only female cksmith to make it into the final stages. Hailing from Kossin City, give it up for Meido Chan!"


    Contrary to everyone''s expectations, the cheers for the young cksmith surpassed even those of the more prominent ones, second only to Doran''s.


    Naturally, Shye was among those who were cheering loudly, startling the entire Colzen group of students.


    After hearing the name of the cksmith, Shye subconsciously stood up and cheered at the top of his lungs.


    He was a big fan of Meido Chan''s crafts so he was already cheering hard before his brain could even process what happened.


    The Colzen group of students looked at the rookie cksmith with interested eyes, engraving her name into their minds as they vowed to check her crafts in the future.


    If their respected Senior Crowley was a big fan of this cksmith, then her works must be of high quality.


    Finally, once the introductions were done, a huge dome of transparent barrier suddenly appeared, enveloping the stage and isting the cksmiths inside their own small world–free of all distractions.


    The purpose of the transparent barrier was to make sure that any noise from the crowd wouldn''t affect the focus of the cksmiths.


    After all, one mistake could mean a disaster in such a high-levelpetition.


    Once everything was ready, the administrators finally gave the signal to start, prompting the cksmiths to quickly look inside the huge box of materials provided to them.