"Humans?" The old ghost was about to say something derisive, but when Damon stepped out of the blood gate into the smithing building, right in the thick of things, the ghost immediately swallowed his words.

The sheer sight before him stole even the ghost's arrogance.

Several humans filled the sprawling forge hall, each surrounded by a faint aura of mana, sweat, and discipline. Sparks flew like fireflies as molten streams poured into molds, and hammer strikes echoed in perfect rhythm.

The ghost's mouth opened… then closed again. For a long moment, he simply hovered there, his spectral form flickering in disbelief. "This… this is…" He drifted forward, inspecting a few works. Each time, the ghost's face only showed surprise, and he nodded in satisfaction as he turned his attention to the next one.

"How the hell did you manage to find so many talented young ones?" The ghost was utterly shocked.

Damon watched quietly as the old spirit circled a half-finished blade, his fingers brushing through the heat above it. "Their hands are untrained, their hearts reckless," the ghost muttered, "but they will without a doubt walk far in the path of smithing. Especially this one." He stopped in front of Leonel examining his work with wide-eyes.

"This young lad is truly gifted. Look at the way he is feeling the metal rather than forcing it," the ghost whispered. "He listens to the metal. Every strike is guided by instinct, not brute strength. That rhythm.. he's syncing his breath with the metal's pulse."

Damon's lips curved faintly. Of course, Leonel was one of the three greatest smiths in the entire continent. How could the old guy not be impressed?

The ghost then suddenly jumped to another desk. "This one is also equally impressive. Another true genius." The old vampire praised. This time Damon was also equally shocked. How could he not recognize Mathao, the other genius blacksmith of the continent?

The thing was he had not personally recruited him and yet he was standing here right in front of him. How did this happen? It seemed the word of mouth was more powerful than he expected. Maybe it was a friend of a friend situation.

Damon was not complaining. It looked like he had bagged two of the three genius blacksmiths of the light faction continent and this was an impressive result. Now if this old ghost plays along with his plans, then the problem of making sure they stayed would also be solved.

Damon looked at the ghost and he was still going on and on about how talented Mathao was. "This one could reach heights even I did not."

Damon interrupted him and came to the main point. "Then teach him."

The ghost blinked. "What?"

"You wanted disciples, didn't you?" Damon said quietly. "Now you have dozens, and two worth your pride. Guide them. Show them what real forging means."

The ghost floated back, looking at the hall again. Every anvil beat with life, every young smith sweating and struggling, trying to coax perfection out of imperfection. The old vampire let out a long, shaky laugh that carried both pride and melancholy.

It was not exactly a top of the line set up. When he was alive, the old vampire would have definitely scoffed at these low lives. But now everything was different. Times had changed and the two talents in front of him were anything but ordinary. What more could a bored old ghost ask for?

"Hah… You sly bastard. You bring me here to chain me to purpose again. You might or might not be skilled in smithing but you are a conniving little brat, aren't you?"

Damon chuckled and then shrugged.

"Fine, I will do it. But I am going to need some materials. My spirit form is not strong enough to continuously teach these younglings. I am going to need to feed on some things to maintain my appearance and to be able to reach out of them. Also, I am assuming you are not planning to stay with me here the whole time?"

"Of course." Damon nodded. "I have other things to do. Otherwise, wouldn't I be learning this from you?"

The ghost's face twitched. To hear someone speak like this about smithing made him want to give a couple of slaps to Damon but knowing everything happening around, the old ghost let it go.

"You leaving shouldn't be a problem but drop by once in a while. Otherwise, our connection will grow weaker and so will my strength. Also, bring some damned real blueprints and recipes will you? I know of some but I need some of the current era as well. These kids are working with trash. They needed to be tested with something more difficult. More challenging."

Damon smirked faintly. "Don't worry, old man. I'll make sure you have everything you need. You'll have materials, blueprints, and all the toys you want to play with. Just make sure you don't scare the life out of my people."

The ghost scoffed. "Scare them? Hah! I'll forge the fear right out of their bones."

Damon's lips twitched in amusement. "You look like you're back in your element already."

The old ghost turned, a nostalgic smile crossing his face. "Back? No, boy. I never left. The forge is eternal."

He gestured with his spectral hand, and faint runic embers appeared above each apprentice's station. The glowing sigils twisted and burned like miniature suns before imprinting themselves on the anvils. "There," he said with satisfaction. "Lesson one. They'll never forget the sound of their mistakes now."

Damon raised an eyebrow. "You branded the anvils?"

"Correction," the ghost said smugly. "I branded their souls. Every failure will echo back at them until they learn. Nothing forges faster than fully understanding one's failures."

Damon chuckled, shaking his head. "Remind me to never let you teach children."

"Remind me to never take advice from a brat who treats god-tier forging like a side hobby," the ghost shot back.

Damon helplessly shook his head and did not bother continuing to argue with the old vampire. Instead, he paid attention to the few gasps that sounded across the hall. It looked like the new rune and the new effect, finally alerted the many young men to his presence.

Hearing the commotion, Sylvara appeared from another chamber and her eyes immediately shifted to Damon. "Everyone continue working. I will talk with you again in a few minutes." She curtly replied and then signaled Damon to follow her to the inner chamber.

"Damon…" Sylvara hesitantly spoke. "How are you? I heard everything that happened. Kate… is she alright?"

Damon calmly answered. "She is stable for now. And soon she will be back to her old form."

Sylvara wanted to talk to him more but when she saw the look in his eyes, it was clear that he did not want to discuss about this anymore.

"I am sorry. I was useless and unable to help you during the war. Even if I had stepped in, I wouldn't have been of any help. To prevent light faction players from joining your side of the war, the system was handing out massive debuffs left and right. Those who joined the enemy side received buffs instead."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.