I Became A Zompirewolf

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A couple of hours passed. Ashton's hands were screaming for relief. But he did not stop. Not even when his hands got full of blisters and cuts.

Usually, these small 'injuries' would have healed themselves, but it seemed the sticks were imbued with magic to prevent it from happening. It almost felt as if Vulcan wanted to give him a taste of misery. Unfortunately for him, the great weaponsmith did not know how stubborn Ashton can be.

In these two hours, Ashton managed to create a small chunk of ember quite a few times. But his hastiness and impatience to get the fire up and running, ruined everything.

He either ended up blowing air with an unnecessary force that killed the ember, or he blew it too softly, which again resulted in the ember dying out. It almost felt the pain incurred from rubbing the sticks was nothing in comparison to watching the ember slowly running out of flickering light.

Thankfully, his pain resistance made it possible for Ashton to continue again and again, no matter how many times he failed.

Vulcan had been quietly watching Ashton. The process of making fire from nothing might seem useless and a waste of time. But in reality, it was filled with morals and lessons that one required to become a great blacksmith.

'He's a lot tougher than he looks. If it was anyone else, they'd have already given up on it.' Vulcan nodded while closely watching Ashton's struggle, 'This brat might turn out to be the child of the prophecy after all.'

"I DID IT!" Ashton let out a wild battle cry, loud enough to shake the forge itself, "EAT THAT SUCKER!"

The wide smile on his face was proof of his efforts. The moment the fire took over the hearth, all of Ashton's fatigue miraculously disappeared and so did the blisters on his hands. Who would have thought starting a fire could give someone a sense of great accomplishment?

"I did it..." Ashton turned toward Vulcan with a big smile.

"Good job,"

Vulcan smiled as he walked up to the hearth, used some elemental magic and... poured water all over it. Just like that, the fire Ashton had spent hours on was gone.

"What the hell? What are you doing!? I spent hours working on it-"

"You got a couple of hours left, so just do it again." Vulcan shrugged and waited for Ashton's next move.

60 per cent. That's the probability Vulcan came up with that Ashton would lash out at him. That was also the probability of his failure to become his 'disciple'.

From the first time he met Ashton, Vulcan knew the kid was too arrogant for his own good. Sure he was strong, but one should refrain from showing a shred of arrogance until and unless they become the strongest.  After all, arrogance was a trait not suited for the weak.

The first lesson of starting a fire was to let Ashton feel helpless and weak. In other words, it was the first step to breaking his arrogance. The second and final step was to make him feel despair by destroying something he had grown attached to, like the fire he had created.

If he was able to push through it all, only then would Vulcan give him the knowledge of forging that had been kept as a secret till now. But Vulcan wasn't too optimistic about it.

Ashton wasn't the first one to try and become his 'disciple'. Thousands have tried over the years and failed miserably at the same test. Eventually, Vulcan made peace with the fact that no one was capable of qualifying his simple test.

That was the actual reason why he spent years in solitude. So that no one would waste his time by attempting to become his disciple. Although Ashton had the characteristics Vulcan desired in a student, he was pretty confident that Ashton's arrogance would blind his vision. Which in turn would make him lash out.

However, much to his surprise, Ashton did not argue. Instead, he picked up the sticks and got to work again.

"What are you doing?" Vulcan asked.

"There's no point crying over spilt milk... or in this case spilt water, now is there?" Ashton shrugged it off and got back to clashing wood until Vulcan stopped him, "Since I have two hours, it should be enough to light up another forge."

"It's enough, you've passed."

"What?"

"It was a test and you passed. Barely so... but you did."

"... I see." Ashton nodded, then kept rubbing the sticks, "Either way, we'll need some fire to carry on the lesson so I might as well keep going."

"I appreciate the sentiment, but as I said.." Vulcan snapped his fingers and the next moment the hearth was back on fire, "It's enough. Now before we continue, tell me what problems did you face during your... test. That'll be your first and only lesson for the day."

Ashton was a bit confused. He faced a lot of difficulties, but he couldn't see a way for those difficulties to turn into lessons. But since he knew it was better than to question Vulcan, he did as he was told.

"The slipping of wood as I put it," Vulcan continued after Ashton finished listing the difficulties, "symbolises the need to think out of the box and is the first law of this palace of creation. Simply doing as you are told to, won't make you a proper weaponsmith, let alone a decent one."

Similarly, Vulcan listed down every lesson that could be drawn from the process of creating fire. For example, the blisters in one's hand could be seen as the driving force of success.

The embers dying out, teach the importance of patience in the art of forging. Even him pouring water all over the hearth was a lesson in itself.

A lesson that taught them, that even if a person did everything correctly, it won't ensure success. One has to be willing to repeat the painful process over and over again. All the while accepting failures with open arms and learning from them.

The disappearance of the blisters was also a symbol. A symbol that teaches how success can make someone forget about all the pain they had to endure to get there.

"So you see, everything you did today will act as the foundation for you to become a good weaponsmith. Although it might seem useless." Vulcan concluded his speech, "Now, get out and rest up. because you wont get any once your training starts."