188 If You Canst Stand the Heat.. (1/2)
Less than a minute after leaving the hall, Daniel, Roley, Jerigh and the father and son couple found themself at the end of a dimly lit corridor.
This corridor was not too large, and allowed only three people to move through at the same time. At the end of it, one could see a large double door made out of stone, and from the chinks at the sides of each slab of stone, people could see a light shine through.
The temperature of the corridor was a huge tell about what was going on on the other side.
Once at the end of the corridor, the temperature had reached a point where Roley's, Jerigh's and Fyro's clothes were tightly pressed against their sweaty backs. Large drops of sweat ran down the sides of their heads, while a thin wet layer formed on their foreheads.
Now in front of the double door,Mr. Tigg turned to look at his three guests, and after smiling faintly, he said ”It will be slightly hot behind this door.. I hope that you will be able to handle it.”
He then turned around, and placed his palms against the two slabs of stone.
The moment his sweaty palms touched the door, the sizzling of the sweat being vaporized could be heard all through the corridor.
The door slowly opened, revealing a brightly lit forge, where an extremely large and muscular man was working on a piece of metal. This man was completely bald, and possessed a thick white beard that could be seen even from behind. His muscles were defined like those of a middle aged man, and yet, the large veins that protruded from his arms and the oddly colored patches on his skin betrayed his real age.
”Father.. We have guests.” Said Mr. Tigg with calm and composure, almost ignoring that his son and two of the three young men beside him were figuratively melting in their own clothes.
The large and muscular old man kept on quietly slamming the hammer he was holding in his left hand against the piece of metal he was holding with the right, flattening it more and more, and reshaping it into an unrecognizable bar of rovent metal.
Slowly but steadily, the temperature in the forge started to increase, and while Daniel, Fyro and Fyro's father were holding up relatively well, Roley and Jerigh were starting to struggle.
The matter quickly started to annoy Daniel. He hadn't come here to play statue and observe this old man forge a weapon, so, he expelled a stream of immortal essence, and moved it towards the molten metal within the forge.
He had long since comprehended the magnitude of heat necessary to melt any form of metal and mineral, after all, he wouldn't have been able to obtain a perfect comprehension of metal and earth if he didn't possess a comprehension of the concept of melting.
The concept of melting was part of the essence of fire, the essence of metal, the essence of earth. It included a comprehension of the melting point of each type of metal, and stone.
So, for one that had comprehended it like Daniel, it was not difficult to melt and reshape metals to his will.
It was not the same for the old man, which even if he possessed a perfect comprehension of fire, he lacked a comprehension of the metal essence. That meant that he was capable of melting objects pretty well, but he couldn't manipulate them as well.
Daniel quietly observed the blueprint of the weapon that the muscular old man was creating, and in a matter of seconds, he manipulated the molten state of metal into a perfect shape of the sword, and made it emerge from the surface of the molten material.
After the blade moved out of the forge, it floated above the old man which looked at it with indifference, and dipped directly into a thin cauldron filled with water, causing a large amount to vapor to turn the previously clear room extremely misty.
”Here, now you can rest for a bit.” Said Daniel with a genuine smile, opposite to his inner state of mind.
The old man turned towards him, and with his ever present indifferent expression, said ”Maybe that's how I like to spend time when I rest.. Ever thought of that?”
”I thought old men were supposed to sip tea in cozy chairs, and criticize the young ones for the behaviour they disapprove..” Said Daniel with a hint of confusion and doubt.
The old man looked at Daniel, and felt immense arrogance hidden within the sweet tone he was using.
”HAHAHA.. A lack of patience.. That's what I would complain about if I were to sit on a cozy chair.. Of course, to survive that boring lifestyle I would need something stronger than tea..” Responded the old man after laughing out loud. He then turned back towards the weapon he was making, and started to hammer it over and over again.
Daniel looked back at Roley and Jerigh, which were now close to fall on their knees from the intense heat. Something clicked in his head.
An intense coldness started to be emanated from his body, which caused the room temperature to drop significantly.
In response, the old man forced the surrounding air to become once again, warmer. He didn't even turn to look back at Daniel.
The room temperature started to increase and decrease by large margins.
In only a matter of minutes, Daniel was forced to eat a black pill that he was keeping within his spatial ring.
The two kept fighting for the control over the room's temperature, until finally, the old man pushed a little too much immortal essence, and caused the temperature of the room to reach unbearable levels.
”Kid.. even though I am surprised about your talent.. If you can't patiently wait before conducting business, I won't be doing any with you.” Said the old man with a hint of anger.
Calmness took anger's place in Daniel's heart, which instead of insisting, simply said ”Very well. We will leave. I only hope that the breach of our deal won't hurt the poisonous rose hard enough to take it up on you.”
He then turned towards the corridor, and started walking.