Chapter 172: Chapter 172: The Origins of the Black Gold Long Knife
Now, Charles was increasingly convinced that the rare metal material Byron mentioned was merely a pretext to lure him out of the city.
There was no rush to respond to the news for the time being, so Charles knocked on Hale's office door.
"Come in!" Hale's voice called out.
Charles opened the door and saw Hale engrossed in his phone, playing a video of Benson and Zane apologizing at the Robinson family banquet yesterday.
Upon recognizing Charles, Hale's eyes lit up, and he smiled broadly, saying, "Charles, you were quite impressive yesterday! In front of so many people, you made the Taylor family father and son admit their mistakes. No one else in Genosha Calivia could have done that!"
Charles scratched his head, wishing to remain as low-key as possible, but it seemed that people constantly underestimated him, thinking he was easy to bully.
After last night's events, it was likely that very few people in Genosha would dare to provoke him again.
"Charles, did you come here today for something? Have you become too famous?" Hale said with a smile, fully aware of the fervent fans who could be quite overwhelming, since yesterday, many had been inquiring about Charles.
"Teacher Hale, I now feel that being too famous isn't necessarily a good thing, it makes me feel like a rat in a sewer, always hiding and dodging." Charles sighed, expressing his frustrations.
Hale's smile faded, and his expression grew serious as he replied, "Indeed, every move you make is under scrutiny, and the fact that you are Uncle Ezra's apprentice has already been exposed. I suspect that the people from Constellation will soon take action against you."
Charles pondered for a moment before sharing what had just transpired with Byron: "Teacher Hale, how is the preparation on the dean's side? Recently, some people want me to leave the city."
Upon hearing this, a hint of concern crossed Hale's face, and he slowly responded, "The dean has already made preparations. If you plan to go out, just let me know."
"How about this: I'll leave the city right after classes this afternoon. I want to resolve this matter as soon as possible and return to a normal life." Charles stated firmly. He was determined not to delay any longer.
Whether it was the people from Constellation, the sixth-level Beast Master Winston, or Leo and his crew, anyone who dared to follow him outside the city and make a move would not return alive!
"Alright, I will notify the dean, as well as the others and the students in the academy. I will do my best to keep them in line, and you will need to get used to this life in the spotlight." Hale nodded and said.
Charles took out his phone and replied to Byron with a message:
[I have time this afternoon. Let's meet at the city gate and go directly to retrieve the metal material to avoid any unnecessary delays.]
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As soon as he sent the message, it had barely been a few seconds when Byron replied:
[Okay, no problem!]
The speed of this response clearly indicated that Byron had been waiting eagerly for his message.
Charles could already imagine how excited Byron must be on the other end of the line.
"Excitedly awaiting his own demise, that's quite amusing." Charles thought, unable to contain his curiosity about how those people would react when they discovered it was all a trap.
Everything was prepared, now all that was left was to wait for the fish to bite. He couldn't help but wonder how big the catch would be. Could it be an eighth-level Beast Master?
Charles thought that was unlikely, the chances of it being a seventh-level Beast Master were much higher.
A seventh-level Beast Master would already be a significant force, even the vice dean of Aredale Academy, who was also Grace's teacher, was merely a seventh-level Beast Master.
Lost in thought, Charles activated his Darkness Cloak and made his way to the classroom.
It was already time for class, and the crowd outside had mostly dispersed. As he reached the classroom door, he slowly walked in under the teacher's gaze.
If any other student were late, the teacher would surely say something.
But when it came to Charles, the teacher at the podium remained silent, pretending not to notice.
The scene of a crowd surrounding the classroom door was still vivid in his mind.
Upon seeing Charles enter the classroom, some students could no longer contain themselves and secretly took out their phones, hoping to snap a photo or two.
However, just as they opened the camera, they caught sight of Charles glaring at them. The startled student nearly dropped their phone, which clattered onto the desk, drawing the teacher's attention.
"You, go stand at the back! No one is allowed to use their phone during class!" the teacher scolded with a stern face.
Charles sat down in the empty seat next to Catherine. In Class A, everyone knew that the seat next to Catherine was reserved for Charles.
There were some who were foolish enough to try to approach Catherine, but her cold, indifferent gaze quickly scared them off.
"Have you had breakfast?" Catherine asked in a low voice while looking up at the podium.
Charles replied honestly, "Not yet."
"Then go ahead and eat. I'll cover for you, the teacher won't notice." Catherine said, turning to look at Charles with a hint of concern.
Charles nodded and began to stealthily enjoy his breakfast.
The morning classes were not yet over, and the number of people waiting outside the classroom had decreased significantly.
Perhaps Hale's influence had taken effect, as there were now far fewer fans crowding around.
Charles let out a sigh of relief and, at the moment the class ended, he activated his Darkness Cloak and headed straight for the Forging Masters Guild.
The Flame Alloy he obtained yesterday could be used to enhance the black gold long knife.
He also wanted to check the Forging Masters Guild to see if there were any other metal materials available.
If there were, perhaps with a few more materials for enhancement, he could elevate the quality of the black gold long knife to orange quality.
Otherwise, having just one piece of Flame Alloy felt insufficient.
Sneaking into the Forging Masters Guild, before he even began searching for metal materials, Charles ran into the guild president, Xavier.
"Charles? What are you doing here?" Xavier exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at Charles in the hall.
His exclamation drew the attention of everyone around them, and as those people began to approach, Xavier quickly realized it and hurriedly led Charles to the office on the second floor.
"Charles, you're quite the sensation now. Did you come to the Forging Masters Guild for something today?" Xavier said with a tinge of jealousy in his voice.
He had long intended to invite Charles but had been delayed by various matters. It was only last night that he finally had the time to scroll through his phone and see the news about Charles, which made him feel like the sky was falling.
Good grief, an Alchemy Master and an eighth-level Beast Master are both Charles's teachers, it made him feel like his status as a master-level blacksmith was insignificant.
Charles scratched his head and said, "Mr. Xavier, I was hoping to see if the Forging Masters Guild has any rare metal materials of orange quality."
Xavier thought for a moment and regretfully replied, "Unfortunately, a piece of rare metal material was exchanged a couple of days ago, and now there isn't a single one left in stock."
He then asked, "Charles, you're now a high-level blacksmith, you probably don't need orange quality materials, do you?"
Charles didn't hide anything, his forging experience was far less than that of Xavier, who was a master-level blacksmith.
He took out the black gold long knife along with the Flame Alloy.
Xavier's eyes instantly lit up as he fixed his gaze on the two items and excitedly asked, "I can't believe he actually entrusted this weapon to you. Are you planning to enhance it?"
Charles found Xavier's reaction a bit strange, it seemed like Xavier recognized the black gold long knife.
"That's right. I'm looking for a couple more pieces of rare metal materials to see if I can enhance it to orange quality. Mr. Xavier, do you know this long knife?" Charles inquired.
Xavier nodded and carefully took the black gold long knife, examining it closely. He answered, "Of course I know it. This long knife was forged by my teacher, and I assisted with some of the work at the time."
As he looked it over, Xavier reminisced, saying, "The original quality of this long knife was indeed orange quality, but it was damaged along the way, and after repairs, it only reached purple quality."
"Originally orange quality?" Charles was a bit surprised, he had thought the black gold long knife was only a purple quality weapon.
"It wasn't just orange quality, it had the potential to be upgraded to gold quality. How about this: if you ever want to enhance this weapon, come find me." Xavier said, his gaze filled with nostalgia and regret as he looked at the black gold long knife.
His forging teacher had already passed away, and if he could enhance the black gold long knife back to its original orange quality, it would ease his regrets.
Faced with Xavier's promise, Charles didn't refuse. Having a master-level blacksmith enhance it would certainly be better than him, a high-level blacksmith.
"One more thing you need to keep in mind: the black gold long knife can accommodate multiple properties of energy, but each time there will be a significant wear expense." Xavier cautioned as he returned the long knife to Charles.
Charles was somewhat surprised, he hadn't known this information. Perhaps it was because the wear on the black gold long knife hadn't reached the point where a notification would appear.
It seems that the black gold knife glow with multiple properties can't be used too frequently in the future.
There's still more than a week until the largest auction in Genosha Calivia begins. It might be best to wait until then to see if there are any other materials available.
Participating in the auction will require quite a bit of money. Charles glanced at his current balance, he still had:
[Gold Coins: 47, Silver Coins: 230, Copper Coins: 800]
During this time, he had spent quite a bit on crafting revival pills, great restorative pills, and purchasing materials for super miracle drugs.
Forty-seven gold coins definitely won't be enough, so it looks like he needs to earn some more money.