Diverse sounds filled the air.


    Different kinds of ores shed with each other making a distinct nging sound, gemstones rolling around, tools hitting metal, and many more as the cksmiths began the tedious and rigorous crafting process.


    The transparent barrier effectively istes external sounds, but it doesn''t impede the transmission of sound beyond its radius.


    Hence, the crowd can easily hear everything transpiring on the stage.


    The cksmiths had different temperaments and styles.


    Some of the more organized ones neatly arranged the materials they needed close to their workstations before starting while some intense ones immediately started heating the ore.


    The theme of this year''s final stage is a steel-ranked weapon, meaning that the main material of the weapon should be steel.


    Each cksmith''s spatial container had various high-quality gemstones for the cksmiths to use in upgrading their steel-ranked weapon into a relic.


    Naturally, this is the part where each cksmith''s prowess will be fully tested.


    Due to the different styles of enchanting a weapon, the weapon quality will be diversified. Those who weren''t good enough would only be able to produce lower-quality weapons while those who were truly skilled would shine like the proud morning sun.


    A few minutes passed and almost every cksmith started to heat their steel ores including Meido Chan who was one of the more organized ones.


    So organized that she was thest to start the heating process.


    Sweat trickled down the necks of the cksmiths as their eyes remained glued on the ores they were heating, their focus as sharp as a sword.


    One by one, the ores turned yellow due to the immense heat of the forge.


    Molten steel gripped by iron tongs plopped on the anvil as the smiths started hammering away, skillfully shaping the ore to the best of their abilities.


    After a good while of hammering, the molten steel started to take shape.


    Most of them took on the shape of swords.


    However, there were around four cksmiths who chose to create a different type of weapon.


    Three of them including Doran chose to create axes while Meido chose to craft a dagger.


    The nging noises of hammers hitting steel grew louder as the cksmiths finished shaping the molten ores, fully transitioning into ttening the des of their chosen weapons.


    Everyone was hooked as they witnessed the blunt and heavy steel ingots slowly turn into killing weapons.


    What the audience anticipated as a tedious and monotonous hammering disy unexpectedly transformed into a visually pleasing spectacle.


    Seeing the blunt edges transform into sharp des was truly satisfying.


    Before they knew it, the ttening process was already done.


    The smiths tightened the grip of their iron tongs on the now cold steel des before putting them back on their forges to reheat, adjusting the heat of the forge ordingly, then, once the steel des had turned crimson, the cksmiths took it out of the forges, letting it cool down at room temperature.


    The forgers had to repeat the same process three times so they couldn''t allow their concentration to slip, else, they would miss the best time to reheat the steel des again.


    The durability of their des depended on these minute details.


    In a hugepetition such as this, the most minor of slip-ups might trante into a lower ranking, thus, the cksmiths couldn''t afford to be careless.


    After all, the skills of these three judges were no joke.


    The fascinating color transitions of the steel des kept the attention of the people from wandering off, some of the people watching were so mesmerized to the point of almost drooling like an idiot.


    Fortunately, before such people embarrassed themselves, most of the cksmiths finished the heat-and-cool process, moving on to the next phase which is sanding the steel des.


    Rough screeching sounds assaulted the spectators'' ears as steel made contact with the sanders.


    Some smiths preferred the mana-powered automatic belt sanders while some preferred to do it manually.


    Either way, after a good while of sanding, the edges of the smiths'' steel des became nice and smooth.


    When the sanding process was done, it was finally time for one of the most important parts of the smithing process–quenching.


    The steel des once again glowed scarlet as the cksmiths returned them inside the forge to reheat and when the desired temperature was achieved, the forgers removed the cherry red steel des from the furnace.


    Hot liquid droplets sshed everywhere as the smiths dipped their scalding steel des in a small drum of water.


    Some cksmiths used in water, some used salt water, while others–oil water.


    Unbeknownst to the viewers, winners and losers were being decided right at this moment as the durability of each de started to differ in ordance with the skills of the cksmiths.


    As for the king of cksmiths, Doran, he used salt water toplete the quenching process of his steel ax de.


    In contrast, the rookie, Meido, used oil-water to cool her dagger-de down.


    The spectators, including Shye, were amazed by the sheer amount of effort these cksmiths were dedicating to their beloved des as if it was their own children, making each and every one of them appreciate the weapons that they had.


    Once the quenching process was done, the smiths once again reheated their des.


    But this time, at a lower temperature to rx the stress inflicted by the quenching process, making the steel des tougher.


    Consecutive nging noises once again rang out from the stage as the grips of the smiths'' iron tongs let go of the steel de, letting it rest on the sidelines as they started another crucial process: creating the hilt.


    Crimson mes roared.


    Subtle crackling noises sounded as smaller pieces of steel ores were melted into the forge, going through a trial of fire before being masterfully shaped into an intricate guard and pommel that deserved to hold the ferocious steel de in ce.


    The entire process was like a hypnosis spell with a hint of time attribute as it toyed with the minds of the spectators, preventing them from realizing that an hour already passed.


    Without realizing it, the once-blue sky has now turned dark.


    Finally, just when the hypnotizing spell of the hilt creation process was about to run out, the cksmiths finished their beloved crafts.


    The ferocious des were now tamed, firmly held by the well-crafted handles be it sword-des, ax-des, or dagger des.


    Now, only the finishing touches remained–enchanting and sharpening the des.


    The exhausted smiths took deep breaths, stretched their sore limbs, and rehydrated themselves in preparation for theplicated enchantment process.


    Not as time-consuming, tedious, and rigorous as the weapon crafting itself, however, it demanded an absurd amount of focus.


    Thus, they only began the enchantment process once they were ready.


    Shockingly, the one who startedst was now in the lead as Meido Chan decisively crushed a high-grade ceruleite into small pieces using her hammer.


    She then put the ceruleite pieces in a small high-grade metal container before putting the container inside the forge.


    Loud cracking noises and blurbing sounds filled the air as the expensive gemstone was melted into a blue liquid before being poured and evenly spread on the edges of Meido''s dagger.


    Once the spreading process was done, Meido lifted her dagger up using her left hand and raised the index and middle fingers of her right hand.


    Subtle blue light illuminated the surroundings as Meido closed her eyes and unhesitatingly glossed her glowing fingers through the edges of the de, unafraid that it would slice her fingers open.


    Astoundingly, it didn''t.


    Instead, the melted gemstone slowly hardened, sapping Meido''s energy at an rming rate.


    After what seemed like an eternity for Meido, the dagger finally glowed purple for a few seconds before returning to its original appearance, only, this time, the des of the dagger emitted thick purple vapor.


    Naturally, Meido now handled the dagger with care, evidently unwilling to get sliced by it.


    Finally, after continuously working for around six whole hours, Meido finished her masterpiece.


    Momentster, simr scenes urred in the workstations of other cksmiths as all of thempleted their weapons one by one.


    Seeing the developments, thementator gracefully walked up the stage.


    It was time to decide who was the king.