Mythshaper

There was a startling contrast in the number of audience members on the second day. Compared to the packed stands for the duels, there were only a few thousand showing up today. Most were scattered throughout, barely paying any attention to the Crafting competition, which was about to commence.

Essentially, crafting was a time-consuming event and boring to observe. Unless one had studied it extensively, they would only find a number of enchanters silently working at their workbenches for hours.

I was once again in white. The enchanted attire was as eye-catching as ever. Mum was most indignant that I had changed it to dark yesterday and strongly persuaded (essentially compelled) me to wear it white. The unnamed sword was sheathed at my waist, despite there being no use for it today. Every once in a while, I infused it with my aura, imbuing its cold edges.

There were two familiar faces presiding over the first round of the crafting competition. Artisan Guild Administrator Aurine was elegant in a more scholarly robe, her hair braided in a style that perhaps took half an hour to finish even for a seasoned hairdresser. Whereas her spouse, Master Luc, who had presided over my Journeyman test, was in comfortable clothing with the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

They waited exactly until it was 10 o'clock before Administrator Aurine told us to reach our designated benches. For the whole crafting category, there were a mere fifty-two participants. The number was lower even than that of the Shaper category.

With fifty-two benches crammed on the eastern side within the colosseum, it left enough space for another competition to take place simultaneously on the other side. I knew Eran's Endurance and Strength would be covered before the lunch break, then Agility and Shaping, whereas the elimination round of the duels would continue on the third day.

Each workbench came with a portable hearth with substantial firepower, hammers, an anvil, tweezers, all kinds of smithing instruments, and two engraving pens of decent quality. The materials would be provided once the test began.

"Before you all begin, we must discuss the few rules of the first round," Master Aurine said.

Unlike many of the other competitions, crafting tended to keep its competitors in suspense, always shuffling rules and introducing something new each time. However, the basis of judgment seemed to remain the same throughout the years.

"For the first round, Master Luc and I will judge your products, choosing only sixteen out of the fifty-two of you for the second round. We will judge on the basis of creativity, practicality, and the integrity and efficiency of the fabricator you craft. Though the judges may change in each round, the judging criteria will remain the same.

"Secondly, the first round has a time limit of two hours."

Immediately, a few grumbling noises echoed from the competitors, while I merely frowned. Two hours might only be sufficient to craft the simplest Prestigious class fabricator. I needed to choose wisely.

"Although it is not within the rules," Administrator Aurine said, smiling, "I would prefer if all of you remained silent and completely invested in the craft in the next couple of hours. Additionally, hindering your competitor may lead to disqualification. It is best if you all stay out of it and partake in the competition honourably.

"Lastly, you may use your personal engraving instrument, but you are only allowed to craft with the material we provide. For the first round, everyone will be given identical materials."

Soon, a couple of regular referees came pushing a rolling bench, delivering a half metre long wooden box to each of us. On the other side, the Strength and Endurance tests were about to commence. I could not find Eran, obstructed by dozens of youths lining up side by side.

Slapping my cheeks lightly, I focused on the test at hand and unfolded the wooden coffer. Inside was nothing extraordinary. Mere common materials, two large bricks of Tier II steel, and half a dozen smaller ingots, each of refined silver and gold, the most common materials for fabricators. Surely, they were making it difficult for anyone to create a Prestigious class fabricator from round one.

While it was not impossible, the three materials did not provide much speciality, save that steel was utilitarian in use, silver efficient at essence transfer, and gold increased the integrity of the fabricator.

The competition began with everyone swiftly firing up their hearths. I joined in, though not too eager to throw any of the materials into mine. Tossing a silver ingot and catching it absentmindedly, I let my thoughts wander, swiftly perusing all the fabricators I could craft with the materials in hand.

Although the materials needed no further refining or reforging, not without something extravagant to raise their total quality, I still tossed all the ingots of gold and silver into separate sections of the hearth and began bracing myself for an accelerated round of reinforcement.

I decided against something too ambitious or creative, instead footing it all on something practical. With these materials, it might not be possible to make it to a Prestigious class, but... Measuring the time in hand, I picked up a steel brick, held it against the anvil, and unsheathed my sword.

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For what I had in mind, I only needed a little of the steel to work as the frame. Implementing the aura of sharpness and penetration to their highest, lest I damage the ordinary blade, I struck the ingot, cutting away less than half a kilogram of steel from its breadth.

****

On the stand, Ashlyn's eyes narrowed.

"What is he planning to make?" Jinn asked.

"Something most essential," she replied, her gaze darting to other contestants. "Hmm, interesting. It seems someone else came up with the same idea as well."

"Just speak in layman's terms, please," Jinn said, munching on a sandwich.

"He's making a kinetic shield. Well, more than one of them."

Wards were not exactly the easiest or the most difficult fabricator to make, though it took greater mastery to craft them so that they would protect the larger part of the body without hindering one's battle prowess. Here was why the Centurion armour sets were so sensational. Whereas a rigid invisible shield would only be a little better than an actual shield.

Down at his workbench, Arilyn had already begun hammering, starting with the steel, while all of his evenly divided threads were refining and reinforcing the gold and silver.

Whereas the platinum-haired girl she had seen before was making something identical and was already moulding the metal into discs. Her gift seemed to be [Craft], allowing her to bend materials to her will. Perhaps she was the one who would give some tough competition to her pumpkin.

Her eyes drifted to other benches, searching for anything worthwhile. Alas, there were merely a handful of Journeyman artisans among their ranks. Most were going for swords, spears, or shields. Two hours were hardly ever enough to make anything masterful, so everyone went for practicality.

She found one youth's hammering to be precise and soulfully rhythmic as he shaped the metal into a sword. Another youth was making a vambrace that could shoot essence darts, nothing too powerful, but handy for any close-quarter fighter. Interestingly, a girl with a monocle in her eye had taken the frame of the hardwood coffer as one of her main materials.

The more interesting part was that she was neither a Shaper nor an Enchanter. An Augmentor at the pinnacle of Noble class gave her no advantage in the field of crafting. The monocle might help a bit in carving the runes, but her actual runework would be limited by the foreign essence she would have to work with. Engraving with your own essence gave a certain intuitive feel that made a lot of the complicated work easier. On top of that, an Augmentor's aspects were all muted before Fabled class. Unless she was a step or two away from being an Auramaster, all she would manage with even the finest engraver was a mediocre intermediate rune formation.

The thing she was planning to make was certainly interesting. She was fully invested in her own work, compared to the few who were looking around at others' work.

Arilyn was already carving the steel into flat discs, wrapping them in strips of enchanted gold. He had made eight of them by the time only a quarter of an hour had passed. The platinum-haired girl carved twelve, two larger, two medium, and the rest the same size as Arilyn's. She was already carving runes as swiftly as her essence threads allowed her, without even using an engraver. Even with her gift, such mastery could only come from severe hard work.

"Looks like our boy has tough competition," Ashlyn said.

"I'm sure he'll do fine," Jinn said, and then his gaze drifted to the other section where his other apprentice was going through his test.

The elimination of the Endurance test was as simple as they came. All four hundred odd candidates were standing a short distance apart, holding a large block of concrete aloft on one arm, weighing over eighty kilograms. Within a quarter of an hour, more than half of the participants were eliminated, while Eran was still holding on, beads of sweat on his face.

Then the referees implemented aura suppression, and immediately, many of the youths' legs gave way.

"Eran will do fine, too," Ashlyn said.

Jinn hummed in agreement.

The Stonecutter family had stayed with them, but to support their son, they were watching from a stand on the other side, which gave a better view of the Endurance test.

"He does remind me a lot of myself," he said. "Handsome, not particularly Gifted, but not afraid of pain or hardship."

Ashlyn pursed her lips, sparing him a glance.

"What?"

"Narcissism doesn't feel good on your lips, even if it has some truth to it."

"Mhm, isn't that how I won you over?"

She snorted. "If that was the case, you'd have a lot more competition than a vain prince."

"Of course, it was my enigmatic aura and mysterious stories of Ta'shin."

She gave him a noncommittal hum, though she could not deny they had played a role. Or else one needed to be out of their blighted mind to be interested in a prisoner. But ultimately, it was the man himself, the man who was honest to a fault, who had won her over, not the fabled heroics or the mysteries.

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" Jinn asked suddenly, eyeing the bump on her stomach.

Ashlyn turned to him. "I can, but I refrain from seeking the answer."

All it would take was a more prying gaze. Ashlyn had to battle with herself every time she checked on her unborn baby.

"A girl will be best," Jinn said, "but a boy good too." He considered for a moment. "Since you haven't checked, how about we make a wager?"

"Again with the sneaky way. You must have something outrageous in your mind."

Jinn scrunched his nose. "Nothing too outrageous, but..."

"You don't think I'll agree if you ask honestly?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. "It can't be more outrageous than a trip to your homeland, can it?"

"No, it's completely safe and..."

"Just tell me already. I'm not half as stubborn or unreasonable as I used to be."

Jinn ruminated on whether he should answer. She could see the war raging in his mind. Ultimately, he let out a breath and decided to play to his strength. His honesty. "You know, we have never married, not in the conventional sense."

"You want to hold a marriage ceremony?" Ashlyn should have felt it outrageous, but perhaps it was the state she was in that made her almost teary.

"Nothing too fancy, just some friends and family."

"A ceremony after we have two babies?"

Jinn gave a forlorn smile. "It would have been outrageous in my culture, but here it's nothing to frown upon."

Ashlyn particularly could not care less about cultures. To her, so long as she had her family, she could not care less about what others thought of her.

After a moment of consideration and sneaking an inspection, she finally said, "I say it's a girl."

Jinn blinked. "I wanted a little cute girl, too."

She glared at him, her expression saying, take it or leave it.

"Fine," he said. "At least I have half a chance this time."

Ashlyn's lips curled up, but she quickly hid her smile, lest she give it away.