Though the words the man had spoken to the crowd echoed in Valyr's ears, the young man's focus was currently as far as it could be from the memory that was before him. Instead, his mind was completely occupied by the forging process the man used to forge the crude dagger earlier.
Compared to the current forging process, as well as his level of skill when it came to forging, Valyr was more than experienced enough to say that the man's forging skills were incredibly crude, allowing him to create subpar outputs at best. However, as the one known by many as the First Forger, the young man had no doubts that it was only like that at the beginning, only for it to reach a level far beyond him as many years passed.
Then again, even though the forging process Valyr had witnessed was incredibly crude in nature, there was an inherent sense of complexity within it that attracted the young man's attention. Mulling over the forging process for a bit more, the young man began to think about his current forging process, only for his train of thought to continue onto his first attempt at forging in his new life.
Not long after, this train of thought extended to the final piece of equipment he had forged in his previous life, eventually stopping at the exact moment he had first stepped on the path of being a blacksmith. In his mind, he was currently reliving the past where he had successfully forged a piece of equipment at the first time, the feeling of multiple possibilities opening in front of him inundating his body.
With the experience he had accrued towards forging, as well as the crude forging process the First Forger had shown him, Valyr felt like he had gained a greater understanding of the entire process, slowly closing his eyes as he did not want to let go of the feeling he had just gained.
As more and more time passed, the memory he had been viewing all this time eventually ended as the entire space surrounding Valyr had turned pitch black. Nevertheless, his attention was still focused on grasping the feeling, the depth and breadth of his understanding slowly increasing with every passing minute.
Briefly feeling like his body had been transported to another space, the young man's deep introspection on the forging process eventually yielded results, with the world affirming that his level of understanding had reached the minimum threshold to forge another connection. However, the world did not only form one connection…
But two!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Faintly smiling at his gains, Valyr thanked the memory he had just seen for allowing him to delve deeper into the forging process, opening his eyes sometime later to see that he had been returned to the Gates of Enlightenment's trial grounds at some point.
Seeing that the path to the Gates of Enlightenment's Blacksmith Knowledge Repository still remained a fair distance away from him, the young man closed his eyes for a bit before standing up. Letting out a faint sigh filled with satisfaction, he commanded the system to bring up his notification after hearing a series of notification sounds go off in his mind.
Ding!
[Forging can take on many different forms. Some rely on magic to transform raw materials into products, while some rely on the dexterity of their hands to achieve the same result. Nevertheless, whether one is a beginner or a veteran in the world of the forge, the goal remains the same.]
[Your understanding of the forging process has deepened and crystallized, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]
[You have awakened the Intent Seed of Forging.]
[Initially an element known for its inherent properties of destruction, the flame has turned into an important element for human's survival, transforming into an element of protection. As a blacksmith, the flame has taken on a different meaning, allowing those skilled enough to harness the power of flames to create new items never before seen before. Under your hands, the flame has taken on the element of creation.]
[Your understanding of the flames of forging has deepened and crystallized, reaching a culmination point. The world has taken notice of this, allowing you to borrow a portion of its nigh-infinite power.]
[You have awakened the Intent Seed of Flames.]
[Due to your deep understanding on the usage of flames in blacksmithing, the Intent Seed of Flames has transformed into the Intent Seed of the Forger's Flames.]
"I had a feeling this was the case." Reading the notifications he had received, as well as recalling the sensations he had felt earlier near the end of his deep introspection, Valyr let out a boisterous cackle as he commanded the system to bring up his progress on Intents.
Ding!
Intents:
[Intent Seed of Shadow Energy First Stage] - 22% progress to the Second Stage
[Intent Seed of Forging Nascent Stage] - 12% progress to the First stage
[Intent Seed of the Forger's Flames Nascent Stage] - 11% progress to the First stage
[Intent Seed of the Spear] - 77% progress to the Nascent stage
[Intent Seed of the Four Elements] - 51% progress to the Nascent stage
Looking at how he now had three Intent Seeds under his belt, Valyr thought about how the other four were faring in their respective trials. Sending a message to their party chat to see how the others were progressing, the young man faintly grinned after seeing the others being shocked that he was already done with his trial.
Then again, the others were not far off from completing their respective trials either. In his response, Hal told him that he was only a few challenges away from completing his own trial, while the other three that had been given three trials were already halfway done to completing their third trial.
Faintly wondering whether or not the five of them would appear at the campsite they set up after all of them had finished their trials and received their rewards, Valyr put the thought at the back of his head for the meantime as he decided to access one of the other rewards he had gained from completing the Trial of Myriad Aberrations.
"Hopefully this answers some of the questions I have."
Taking in a deep breath to compose himself, the young man went ahead and told the system that he wanted to check information regarding the Gates of Enlightenment's structure and goals. With a screen popping up in front of him filled to the brim with texts and figures, Valyr assiduously read through the entirety of what was contained on the screen, only to frown after he was finished.
"You're telling me the Gates of Enlightenment is just the beginning?"
