The Ancient Genes

The class hours were over for Max. They had less classes in comparison to the Mage students who had a vast syllabus to study. In Arcane the gap wasn't so vast due various factors, but it could be totally seen here how much importance was being put on mages.

Max walked out of the Academy along with Kevin. The moment he stepped out of the gate, he felt a quiver on his skin and his eyes turned serene.

He turned his head and saw that a vehicle had stopped in front of the Academy. The door of the car suddenly opened and a young and good looking guy walked out of it dressed in a neat attire. The aura around him was tranquil and Max could see the aloof look in his eyes. He looked at the entrance before calmly walking towards it.

He was someone that Max knew about. 

Werner Ovens….

Max grabbed Kevin by his arm and slightly pulled him towards the left. 

"What's wrong?" Kevin asked as he looked at Max. He failed to notice that Werener had just passed by him and if Max hadn't pulled him, he would have knocked into him a bit.

"Nothing…"

Max felt that Werener wasn't going to move and hence, he pulled Kevin away from his path. There was no harm in doing so. Not to mention that nothing good would come to Kevin in getting involved with him. Besides, Max really didn't have a good feeling about it.

The guy finally entered the campus while Max and Kevin were out.

"I heard what happened. Are you sure about the right? I heard that person is strong." Kevin said with a worried look.

Max's words earlier had again led people to discuss the battle between him and Victor. It seems tha Kevin had come to know about ut as well.

But, the main focus was still on the exhibition match for sure.

"Don't worry...I got this..." Max replied with a smile.

"By the way, you sure wanna come along? It might take a lot more time…" Max further said as he looked at Kevin. He was planning to visit Grandmaster and if possible, get his spear fixed by him as well. 

"I don't have anything else to do. Besides, it has been a while since I went out on the hunt for street food…" Kevin replied as he licked his lips.

Max shook his head as he smiled. He then turned his head and opened the chat interface with Lisa.

«Where are you?» Max asked and waited for the reply.

«Lisa: I have got two more class and will leave then, why?» It didn't take long for a reply to come.

«Is Aria with you?» Max asked, he didn't believe that girl would be stopping by his words alone.

«Lisa: Yeah, she is….»

«Good, keep an eye on her. I won't be returning to the apartment soon. I don't want her to be causing any more trouble...» Max messaged with creased brows.

«Lisa: What do you mean?»

Max briefed her on the event last night when Aria came late and injured and also the fact that she had been staying till late outside.

He felt that letting Lisa deal with it was the better option. After all, she was her friend and even Aria might be comfortable sharing her troubles with her rather than him.

…

After a while, Max and Kevin reached the place. It was a smithy. The exterior looked similar to the one which Max had been to, back in Arcane.

"It's open…" Max immediately cheered up. He had already made a few rounds and even had come every morning jogging around the place but still didn't find the smithy open until now.

"Let's go…" Max walked into the smith while Kevin followed behind.

The bell over the door shook as Max opened the door producing the chime.

"Welco-"

The guy at the reception stopped as his gaze met with Max.

'I thought so….' Max wasn't surprised to see Edward here. He had seen in the class that his hammering technique was similar to his. This had led him to believe that he had some connections with Grandmaster and now it seems that he did.

"You can have a look around. If you want to buy anything…." Edward said after the initial pause.

Max really appreciated the fact that the guy still behaved well to him as a customer despite what had happened back in the class.

"I am not here to buy, but to meet someone. And yeah, I have to repair this as well." Max said as he took out his spear walked up to the counter before placing it on the table.

Edward picked one of the pieces of the spear and a frown emerged on his face which slowly turned to shock as the spear bent to a frightening degree on his pressure.

"I-Is this…a f-flexible ore?!!" Edward asked as he started at Max with wide eyes.

Max nodded with a smile.

"I will buy it, sell it to me…" Edward said as he looked at Max with expectation and grabbed his hands.

"I am sorry, it's not for sale…" Max forced a smile on his face as he looked at Edward's shining eyes.

"Tsk…" Edward let go of Max's hand and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

"I can hear you…" 

"I am sorry, but it can't be fixed here." Edward ignored Max's words and continued.

"Why?" Max asked in confusion.

"The old head smith has retired and now I am the one in charge. You can see the board there, repair works are only up to 2★ grade."

Max looked at the board beside and it indeed said that.

"And yeah, you wanted to meet someone?" Edward asked as he remembered Max's words.

"I came here to meet Grandmaster." Max replied.

"Grandmaster?" Edward asked in confusion.

"Umn...the stingy old man who looks like a beggar...h-"  Max was planning to give a bit more detail like the old man had stayed in Arcane for a while and that he must have learned his hammering technique for a while. But, it seemed that he didn't need to.

"How dare you insult my grandpa?!!" Edward glared at Max.

Max really didn't have words to speak. If he could identify the old man from Max's initial description, didn't mean that he thought the same.

"Hmmn? W-Wait!!! You will break the door!!" Edward suddenly looked behind Max screamed realising what was going on.

Max turned around hearing him scream and saw that Kevin was stuck on the entrance and that too when he was trying to enter sideways. Hell, his belly about to break the frame of the door.

Edward immediately jumped above the counter and dashed towards the door and Max followed behind as well.

"I am stuck…." Kevin said as he looked at them.

"I can see that, you idiot!!" Edward screamed.

Max frowned on hearing him scream. It was their fault to make the entrance door so small. But when he looked at Kevin, he shook his head, maybe not.

The door was the same as the one in Arcane. Even the wood smelled the same. This old man was really stingy.  

"Let me help!" Max said as he grabbed Kevin's hand and gave it a pull.

"Crack!"

A crack emerged on the frame as Max gave the pull.

"No!!" Edward jumped on Max's back and stopped him from pulling any further.

"It's just a cheap door, it's even so old. Just get it replaced." Max said with a frown. It wasn't like they had any other option.

"Cheap? Cheap!!! You kidding me!!!! That's the Razel wood!!" Edward screamed in Max's ears almost bursting his eardrums apart.

Max really wasn't prepared for that. He was in his usual sensitive mode. The sound was further amplified in his ears and shook his whole body.

"Get off of me!!" Max snapped. He caught Edward by his collar with his other hand on Kevin. In the state of irritation, he used his full strength and sent both of them flying through the air.

Edward was lucky to have only smashed through stair railings and not crashed into the stand of the blades and sharp weapons.

Fatty was a bit on the lower side than him, he had a huge body after all. It gotta hurt more, that too when he was flung along with the door frame still clinging onto his belly. But, it still turned out to be good. After he was smashed all the way through the reception desk, the door frame was broken into pieces as well giving him freedom once again.

"Sh*t!" Max realised that he had messed up a bit. He immediately went up to Kevin to check. He didn't seem to have any serious injury and was groaning in pain. It seemed the layer of fat on his body was really acting as a protective gear.

On the other hand, Edward seems to have a few problems. Well a day or two of rest should get him back on his feet.

Max finally breathed in relief. He then proceeded to collect the piece of wood from the door.

Like in hell, he was going to leave it here. Razel wood could only be found in the deepest region of Orena. This was exotic and expensive. The nobles were creatures like this, fools who would spend money as long as they could obtain something that nobody else could. 

 When Max was finally done collecting the last piece of wood, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Where did the door go?" 

An old man with white hair and beard entered the place only to see the chaos around and a guy standing in the middle with a smile on his face.

"I missed you, Grandmaster…"