The clamor of the HeartForge roared anew as Branthor's group reemerged into its open expanse, the deafening rhythm of hammers, the rumbling of molten rivers, and the low hymn of chanting smiths filling the ears of all the students once more.

After the oppressive silence of the Scrapped Armory, the return to that living heat was almost overwhelming.

Zeus stretched his arms, shaking off the lingering chill from the chamber. "I'll take that tour any day," he said with a wide grin, "But I'm itching to hit something that isn't a pile of dead swords."

Branthor laughed heartily, his voice echoing across the halls like a rolling avalanche, "Then you're in luck, boy. This way."

He led them down a winding path that descended into a vast, open hall carved into the volcanic bedrock, a testing arena.

The floor was made of blackened stone, polished smooth but marred with deep gouges and molten scars from countless battles. Runic pillars circled the space, each thrumming faintly with suppressive enchantments to prevent accidents from getting out of hand.

A dozen Infernus Smiths were already there, testing weapons of their own. Sparks streaked the air like shooting stars as they swung blades that hummed with flame or shattered the air with waves of concussive force.

"This," Branthor declared, spreading his arms wide, "is the Trial Ground, where we test alot of the weapons to make sure they came out well,"

His gaze swept towards the students, landing squarely on Zeus and Albedo. "And I reckon the two of you look ready to prove something yourselves."

Zeus cracked his knuckles and smirked, "Heh. You read my mind, old man."

Albedo didn't answer immediately. His gaze flicked toward Zeus, the Duke's son grinning confidently as molten light flickered across his golden eyes. Then he looked down at the black-glass knives resting at his sides.

Their faint hum was steady now in his grip, "Fine," Albedo said quietly, stepping forward into the open arena. His tone was calm, but his aura sharpened like drawn steel. "Let's test them."

The two faced each other at the center of the Trial Ground, the molten rivers beneath the floor casting rippling orange light across their faces. The others gathered at the edge, Miranda, Elara, Lira, and even Ysvara, forming a loose semicircle of curious spectators.

Zeus was the first to move, flexing his hands. The gauntlets he had taken from the Scrapped Armory gleamed faintly, dark crimson steel threaded with living magma.

They pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, and every motion of his fingers sent faint trails of flame curling from the knuckles.

"Not bad for scrap, huh?" he said, grinning as he slammed his fists together. A low boom echoed out, sending a faint tremor through the ground, "Let's see if your knives can handle this."

Albedo tilted his head slightly, his platinum blonde hair catching the forge's glow. Without a word, he reached down and drew the throwing knives.

The moment he did, the air changed. The black-glass blades shimmered faintly in his hands, their mirrored runes pulsing once as if recognizing the flow of his mana.

A faint pulse of violet mana flowed through him, and the runes along the knives came alive — sharp veins of black light coursing up the edges.

In an instant, the air around him shimmered, and a dozen spectral copies of the knives appeared, orbiting him like shards of fractured starlight.

Zeus let out a low whistle. "Show-off."

Albedo said nothing. His stance lowered slightly, the knives glinting faintly in his hand, and then he moved.

The first knife left his hand like a shadow. Then another. Then six more in a blink of an eye flew forward venomously.

They multiplied mid-flight, the air bursting into a storm of streaking black-glass phantoms that curved and arced unpredictably. Each blade whistled through the air like cutting wind, their trajectories shifting at impossible angles.

Zeus didn't back down either, as he met all the knives head-on with a smile on his face, his gauntlets flaring to life as molten light rippled across his arms as he slammed his fists together.

A wave of crimson flame burst outward, burning away several of the phantom blades, but the moment the fire cleared, three more had already slipped through the gaps.

~CLINK~CLINK~CLINK!~

They struck against his armor, leaving faint gashes that shimmered with residual mana. Zeus grinned through the impact. "Heh! Not bad!"

He lunged forward with a burst of heat, his feet cracking the floor beneath him. His movements were explosive, each strike leaving rippling shockwaves in the air.

Albedo's body blurred, multiple clones appearing to dupe Zeus.

However, Zeus' fierce attacks continued to unleash immense shockwaves that blew away all the clones,

With inhuman precision, Albedo barely ducked beneath one of the swings, his right hand flicking upward immediately.

Two knives flew in perfect synchronization, rebounding off Zeus's gauntlets and reappearing behind his back like living shadows.

Zeus spun, flames bursting outward to deflect them, but Albedo was already there, closing the gap. His movements were controlled chaos: elegant, efficient, unpredictable. Each flick of his wrist sent the knives ricocheting in perfect rhythm, multiplying anew before rejoining his hands.

"Still holding back?" Zeus growled, throwing a straight punch that distorted the air.

Albedo's response was a whisper, "You're too slow."

He vanished, leaving Zeus on high alert as he wondered where his classmate had disappeared off to.

The next heartbeat exploded into motion, a flurry of mirrored blades whirling around Zeus like a swarm of locusts.

They struck from every direction, not with lethal intent but precision, testing, probing, finding the weak points in his defenses. Each impact rang like a bell, sparks raining around them in crimson and violet arcs.

Zeus roared, slamming his fists into the ground.

The explosion of force sent a ripple through the arena, the molten channels flaring bright orange as the very floor seemed to quake. Heat rippled outward, distorting the air, and several of Albedo's illusions shattered into fragments of dark light.

But when the smoke cleared, Albedo stood behind Zeus.

His knives rested inches from Zeus's neck, their mirrored edges glowing faintly with restrained mana.

The room was silent for a heartbeat.

Then Branthor's laughter broke the stillness. "Hah! The boy's faster than fire itself!"

Zeus blinked, then chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright, I yield."

He straightened, rubbing the back of his neck, "Guess those knives aren't just for show, huh?"

Albedo said nothing, only letting the weapons dissipate. The duplicates faded into black smoke, leaving only the two real blades in his hands. He twirled them once before sliding them back into his belt.

Branthor approached, nodding approvingly, "Well fought, both of you. A fine test of flame and precision. The forge accepts you both."

Zeus grinned, slapping Albedo on the shoulder with a gauntleted hand. "Next time, I'll actually land a hit."

Albedo met his grin with a faint, unreadable smirk, "Next time, I won't hold back."

The others gathered around, Miranda shaking her head with a small smile and Lira muttering something about boys and their egos.

The molten rivers pulsed again, casting the chamber in fiery gold. Around them, the smiths had paused their work briefly, murmuring in quiet appreciation of the duel.

No matter what, Smiths always loved to see their weapons in actions, even if these weapons failed to pass the test.

Branthor's booming laughter still echoed through the molten halls when Zeus and Albedo stepped aside, the heat of their clash still lingering in the air.

"Ha! That's the spirit!" the Forgemaster barked, his grin wide beneath the soot of his beard. "Now that's how you test a weapon! Who's next?"

He didn't need to ask twice.

Zeus's defeat had lit a spark in the others. Lira was the first to step forward, already summoning a bestial aura as her new talisman pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

Across from her, Elara tightened her grip on a gleaming staff she'd reforged from scrap and smiled nervously.

"I suppose it's our turn," she murmured.

Miranda drifted past them, her silver hair glinting in the forge-light as she began to channel mana into the sliver of molten crystal in her hand. The shard responded with a radiant hum, streaks of starlight swirling around her fingertips.

Around the chamber, students paired off one after another and dueled with each-other. Sparks began flying all across the testing arena, and the mana auras flared with great intensity during the battles.

The sound of laughter and shouting filled the hall, mingling with the hammer-song of the HeartForge itself.

Ysvara watched it all with quiet pride, her arms folded as the students tested their weapons and showed off their skills, increasing her confidence in this supposed Golden Generation.

Albedo stood off to the side, watching the chaos unfold, the faint hum of his knives still whispering at his belt.

He said nothing, only turned his gaze upward toward the glowing rivers of molten light flowing through the ceiling above.

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