The blue light of the portal slowly faded, and a few moments later, Lian and Kain appeared again on the academy’s transfer platform.
Unlike the temporary portals inside the Ruined Realm, this portal was located inside the academy building.
They had not even taken a few steps away from the transfer platform when one of the academy staff members in formal attire came to greet them.
"Please give me your student codes, we need to register your return."
Both Lian and Kain gave their codes, and the staff member entered them into the academy system.
[ Ruined Realm Exit Confirmed ]
[ Exit Successfully Registered ]
The staff member paused for a moment, his eyes shifting several times between the notification and Lian’s face, it was clear that he recognized his name.
"Welcome back... Mr. Lian." His tone was more respectful than usual.
Kain gave a faint smile upon seeing his change in behavior, the news of the Base battle had spread across the entire academy and even a large part of the federation with incredible speed.
Of course, he did not know that it was not just the news of what happened in the Ruined Realm, but Lian had also gained great fame because of the border city.
The students who were waiting for their turn to enter or exit slowly started whispering, currently, the events of the Ruined Realm were on everyone’s lips.
"That’s him..."
"He’s the one they say destroyed a large part of the monster army..."
"I didn’t think it was really him..."
Lian did not even look at them, as if those whispers did not exist at all.
A few minutes later, the two left the transfer building and even the academy, the fresh air of the capital hit their faces.
After a few days in the Ruined Realm, the scene in front of them seemed strange for a moment.
Wide streets full of cars, glass towers reflecting sunlight, massive holographic screens broadcasting the latest news about the Ruined Realms.
In the sky, a few special federation flying vehicles were passing between the buildings.
It bore no resemblance to the world of blood, monsters, and ruins.
Kain took a deep breath.
"We’re finally back, where first?" Then he looked at Lian.
"The blacksmith." Lian did not even think for a moment.
"Then let’s go." Kain smiled.
"Anyway, I never thought I would miss this boring world." He chuckled with a grin.
About an hour later, the two entered one of the oldest neighborhoods in the capital.
Unlike the modern city center, this place had a completely different atmosphere, stone buildings, old metal signs.
Smoke from furnaces rising from the rooftops, this neighborhood was the heart of the country’s craftsmen.
There were no ordinary stores here, every building belonged to one of the great master craftsmen.
Rune Engravers who could carve ancient runes onto equipment.
Artifact Craftsmen who restored legendary items.
Alchemists who made potions worth thousands of dollars per drop.
Jewel Crafters who turned monster cores into jewelry.
In front of most of the stores, several armed guards were standing.
Inside these buildings, materials were stored, some of which were worth more than a multi-story building.
Security here was directly provided by the government and the federation, and these guards, although they looked normal, were professional and very powerful.
Blacksmiths are considered very important people for every country, especially master blacksmiths, of whom there are not many.
After a few minutes of walking, Kain stopped.
At the end of the street, a building larger than all the surrounding buildings stood.
Its walls were made of black steel, and thick smoke was coming out of its massive chimneys.
Above the entrance, a metal sign with raised letters could be seen.
Ironsoul Forge
"We’re here."
Upon entering, a wave of intense heat greeted them.
The sound of hammers hitting metal filled the entire workshop.
Streams of molten metal were passing through stone channels.
Shining runes on the walls were lit, guiding mana throughout the furnaces.
Several apprentices in fireproof clothes were busy making weapons and armor, and in the center of them all... an old man with a tall stature, broad shoulders, and completely white hair, standing behind a massive anvil.
His arms were covered with old burn scars.
While striking a piece of metal without stopping, without even raising his head, he said.
"If you came for an order, turn back."
The sound of the hammer was heard.
"I don’t have time for the next six months."
"Master Magnus, we—" Kain stepped forward, this was not the first time he had come here, he had come a few times before with his father.
But this old man clearly neither recognized him nor cared at all about who he was.
"I said no, I don’t listen to unnecessary words, we have no slots, get lost." The old man did not even let him finish his sentence.
"....."
Kain fell silent, even feeling a little embarrassed, and did not know what to say.
Lian did not say anything, this old man was perhaps the grumpiest person he had ever seen, comparable to and maybe even worse than Rhea.
But they did not leave immediately, he wanted to try something before leaving.
He calmly reached his hand into the storage space, the next moment... a massive black skin spread out on the ground.
The entire workshop fell into silence.
The sound of hammers stopped, the apprentices froze in place.
Even the flow of molten metal seemed to slow down, Magnus raised his head for the first time and at first just looked with impatience.
But... he stepped forward two steps, then four more steps, his gray eyes slowly widened, and he placed his trembling hand on the skin.
For a few seconds, he did not even breathe.
"...Impossible." He finally whispered under his breath.
He almost took the skin from Lian’s hands, pulling out several strange tools from the metal drawers.
One was like a crystalline magnifying glass, another a plate covered with golden runes.
The third was a silver needle from which mana was emanating, one after another, the runes were activated, and blue, green, purple, and golden lights moved across the skin’s surface.
Every time a new result appeared, the old man’s face became more serious.
For about five full minutes, no one said anything, in the end... Magnus suddenly held his breath.
"This..." His throat was dry, even he himself could not believe what he was seeing, as if he was dreaming.
"The skin of a World Devourer Giant..."
"Master... that’s impossible..." One of the apprentices said unconsciously.
The old man turned back angrily.
"Shut up." His voice echoed through the workshop like an explosion.
"If you don’t know something, don’t speak."
The apprentice immediately lowered his head, no one else dared to open their mouth.
A few minutes ago... Magnus wanted to throw them out of the workshop.
But now... he brought two chairs himself, poured tea for both of them, and even personally locked the large workshop door.
The sound of the door locking surprised all the apprentices, no one remembered the last time the master had done such a thing for anyone.
So even their master could show special treatment to others?
They did not know whether to laugh or cry, they had not even seen their master treat the President with such behavior.
The old man sat in front of Lian, his gaze still not leaving the skin, and a few moments later he asked.
"This... where did you get it?"
"From the family." Lian answered without any change in his expression.
Magnus stared at his face for a few seconds, did he think he was a fool? Which family could have the corpse of this monster?
If it was a normal giant, that would be one thing... but a damn Unholy?
In the end, he just nodded calmly, he did not ask anything more, in the awakened world, the origin of some treasures is considered a forbidden question.
If the owner did not want to say anything, continuing would be disrespectful.
The old man ran his hand over the skin again, this time he could no longer hide his excitement.
"With this... maybe I can make an Ancient rank armor." A very small smile settled on his face.
No one said anything, even the apprentices held their breath.
"...Ancient?" One of them whispered quietly.
Magnus nodded calmly.
"If I succeed, it will be the masterpiece of my entire life."
Lian stared at the skin for a few moments, this was exactly what he wanted, an Ancient rank armor, and then he asked quietly.
"What do you need? And how much will it cost?"
"The materials?" Magnus answered without taking his gaze off the skin.
He gave a bitter smile.
"No... the materials are not the problem." A few seconds of silence passed, and then he looked at Lian, a look that held both excitement and regret.
"The problem is... I need a hammer... a hammer that can actually work on such skin."