Hero of Darkness

The heated argument between master Oakenshield and master Tawerik, two of the most prestigious and accomplished blacksmiths of the entire Vulcan empire took a sudden turn as they challenged each other and the former ended up declaring that he could even train a human and make him one of the most talented blacksmiths of the new generation.

And after that daring declaration… Kahn suddenly raised his hand as soon as the opportunity to become the disciple of this master blacksmith arose.

[Boy, what are you doing? You want to get dragged into some industrial espionage?] asked Rathnaar.

[Whatever it is… do you think I'll get another godsend opportunity to become a disciple of a top blacksmith in the empire?

Whatever little problems this company has… I can get rid of them later.] replied Kahn as he was catching the opportunity at hand before he lost it.

"Ha ha ha! A human dares to compete against a dwarf in smithing? I guess that's to be expected from someone belonging to that mentally retarded species." spoke master Tawerik as he insulted Kahn.

[Master, should I rip his tongue out?] asked Jugram.

[Calm down, boys. Things are turning out in our favor on their own.] he commanded.

"You there, human! Don't fall for his words. He has a tendency to ruin things because he can't control his anger. If you get mixed up in this matter… you will have a miserable life." said Helsi.

"Ha! Courageous words coming from a traitor. Don't tell me you're already afraid?" taunted Oakenshield.

"What?! You think I'm afraid? You know what… let's have it your way!" spoke Helsi in an enraged tone.

"Do you dare sign a contract then, Oakenshield?

I'm afraid a hot-headed coward like you will back away from his words." spoke master Tawerik who was donned in red robes.

"You think I'm scared because things have become a little hard for me?

I can make a legendary rank weapon in my sleep, you bald bastard.

If you want a contract, then let's do it!" replied Oakenshield.

Soon, they pulled out contracts from their space rings and signed them quickly.

Kahn on the other end, was stupefied.

[Are all dwarves this hot-headed?

They're making decisions in the spur of the moment.] he asked himself.

"Ummm… let's not go that far, shall we?" spoke Kahn as he felt like things were getting out of hand.

"Shut up! Nobody asked you!" spoke Oakenshield and suddenly, an orange aura was released from his body.

[2nd stage saint!] exclaimed Kahn, Omega and the six generals in their minds.

"Come here, human." said Tawerik and released a green saint force.

Both of them pulled Kahn towards them and signed the contracts.

[Master! We should retreat!] said Omega.

[Wait! If we try to do that… we will have to reveal our ranks as well. Plus I don't think you'll find human saints in this empire.

We can't afford to have a conflict here or my identity could be at risk.] he said and stopped his crew from interfering.

Instead of resisting, Kahn signed the contract to keep his identity concealed and also hoped that he would be able to gain something worthwhile out of their little conflict.

And with this… the contract was signed and date of a year later was set for their challenge.

Things happened so fast that even Kahn was having a hard time accepting the fact that he suddenly got a Saint Blacksmith as his teacher.

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Master Oakenshield then entered his office and sat on his chair across the table.

He pulled a jar of booze and gulped it down in a single go. After a few minutes… his head that was fuming flames of rage finally calmed down and he closed his eyes with a content smile on his face.

Minutes after adjusting his breathing, he opened his eyes and spoke…

"What the fuck was I thinking?!!!" bellowed the saint blacksmith loudly.

His voice was so loud that it echoed in the entire company building.

"Stupid! Moron! Imbecile!!" said the old dwarf and slapped himself again and again as he started admonishing his own self.

Kahn and the crew could hear everything in the 10 kilometers range easily if they focused a bit so all of them heard his self-deprecating remarks.

"Fucking balls of fire!! Why didn't I control myself?

I'm doomed! I'm so doomed!" said Oakenshield and he banged his head on the wall.

He was regretting his actions from earlier because he was angry as everything was going bad for him recently.

And after his pupils and his most favorite disciple also decided to betray him because of what happened a few weeks ago…

He completely lost his mind and made that contract because his pride was challenged and his reputation was at stake.

Knock!

Knock!

Just then, Gloria knocked on the door.

"Master Oakenshield… your disciple would like to see you." said the reception lady.

"What disciple?! Didn't you see how those runts chose to join Tawerik?" he asked.

"Um… I mean your new disciple." she said with a smile.

Clap!

Oakenshield grasped his head in annoyance as he remembered the fact that he just took a random nobody and said he'd teach him.

On top of it… he was a human. A species at the bottom of the food chain in this empire and also with the least talent for blacksmithing and forging.

"Ah… tell him to forget about it. Say that I will take the fall. I'm not going to teach him anything, so no need to waste my time." said the old gray-haired dwarf.

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In the evening… he finally left his office and started walking towards the inner hallway of the building.

Tap!

Tap!

Suddenly, a set of footsteps were heard and he saw a familiar figure.

Step!

Step!

Oakenshield then sped up as if he wanted to avoid this person.

The figure following him started walking fast as well.

Step!

Step!

Oakenshield then walked even faster.

Step!

Step!

The figure behind him also started walking faster.

Sprint!

The old dwarf then started sprinting with his tiny little feet.

The figure in black also started sprinting behind him.

"What?!" shouted the old blacksmith.

To his query, Kahn… the man in black and gray longcoat spoke vehemently.

"Disciple is here to follow your orders… Master!"

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AUTHOR'S NOTE : Before you carry on reading the mass release chapters, I would like to inform everyone that I have fallen very sick again.

If you search 'Sickle Cell Anemia Pain Crisis', you'd know how dire my condition is.

Yet, I have been writing 5 Chapters per day from the past three days just to meet the mark of the mass release quota.

People pay their hard-earned money to read this novel and I owe it to them that I deliver on what was promised regardless of my physical or mental health (because Professionals have standards.).

But I will need a few more days for recovery until my left shoulder and waist aren't going through this excruciating pain and I'm able to walk again. (Currently eating painkillers 4 times a day.)

At best, I will be able to post only one chapter (1.5K words) till that time so please be a bit understanding of my situation since I need to overcome the burnout as well.

After that, we will continue with our daily 2 chapters per day routine and also new chapters for Dracula Reincarnated With A System novel.

So see you around the corner.

-CrimsonWolfAuthor