In the blink of an eye, Vicente and Landon finished producing their shields with a difference of 10 minutes between them.
Landon had finished his shield earlier because he was more experienced than Vicente and had used his special ability for a large part of the process.
But Vicente didn't take much longer than his opponent. He finished his shield after a few minutes, an item with 87% efficiency.
That was a very good level of efficiency, something that only 10% of the blacksmiths in this guild in Millfall could achieve while they were in the 2nd-stage producing 2nd-grade items!
However, Vicente lost the first competition to Landon, who managed to produce a shield with 90% efficiency!
That was Landon's victory, but neither this blacksmith nor anyone else around the competition platform saw it as an easy victory for him or a guarantee that he would win.
Seeing his student get so close to Benson's student, Henry became a few degrees more serious, looking at Vicente with different eyes.
'This boy really is a monster. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins one of the next two fights.' The old local blacksmith thought to himself. 'If he had used his skills, Landon might have lost...'
Then, he advised his student in the middle of the break for the next fight.
"Go all out against your opponent in the next round. I feel this young man could win the third fight, so you should finish this contest in the second challenge. If he beats you now, there's a real chance he'll win twice tonight."
Landon swallowed his saliva, not believing that his master was worried about his situation. 'Is this young man really all that?'
Landon hadn't paid any attention to Vice during the previous match. After all, he was mostly focused on doing his own job. Not only that, but this guy had a hard time accepting that a rookie was as skilled as he was, although he had been doing his art for over 25 years!
Even though Vicente's score was so close to his own, he felt that his experience would ensure his victory.
But when he heard his master's previous words, he couldn't help but look in Vicente's direction and reconsider his opponent's level.
Vicente stood next to Benson, receiving advice from his master as he waited for the potion he had just ingested to take full effect.
When it did, he returned to the competition platform before Henry signaled the start of the second round with a sword as the object of interest in what could be the final match of the evening.
As the two got down to business, Benson looked at his fellow board members and made a suggestion. "I wanted to use this challenge as an examination for Vicente. Since we're all here to see his skills, I don't think he needs to waste his time retesting. His ability speaks for itself."
Nobody saw a problem with it, and one of them said. "I'll take care of it tomorrow. Vicente can pick up his 2nd-grade blacksmith card in the afternoon."
But then Henry said. "If he loses the next fight, he'll enter the annual blacksmith tournament that starts in a few days. He'll be one of our 2nd-stage representatives at that event."
Benson couldn't say anything else and just smiled. "Okay. If he loses, he'll do it. He promised himself he would represent the association for years to come."
So they went back to watch the second round of this bet and saw Vicente and Landon fight even harder in this match than in the previous one.
Many were impressed when they saw the beginning of Vicente's movements in this second round, noting he looked better after just one fight!
While Landon had improved by about 10% to 20%, Vicente seemed to have suddenly grown by 20% to 30% compared to the previous round.
Shelby watched the final moments of this second round with interest, being one of the few in the area who knew who Vicente was and what his magical abilities were like.
'He is really good at forging. I didn't think he was that good.' She looked at Vicente's strong arms, which were visible as he pulled the sleeves of his shirt over his shoulders.
Sweat trickled down Vicente's body, making his muscles look much more defined than they usually did, even though they were currently swollen from the work he was doing.
Seeing him like that, Shelby couldn't help but smile. 'This is perfect. Those who have more than one profession often find it easier to raise their magic level.'
As she smiled, imagining that this man would lead her plans to success, Nova looked at her but also at Livia, who also had a look of interest on her face as she watched Vice.
'Those two... Are they really my rivals?' Nova worried, once again suspicious of these women's intentions.
She clenched her fists tightly as she turned away from her boyfriend to look at the two beauties. 'If you want him, you'll have to go through me first. I don't mind Vicente seeing other women when he's away from me. Yet, I'm not going to take it easy on a woman like that if I find out about your affair with him.'
She had already thought a lot about what Eve had told her. She felt she could accept Vicente seeing other women as long as it happened away from her and without her knowledge. However, she had come to the conclusion that when she was with him, she had to be the only one, or it wouldn't work.
'I will investigate both of you. If you have any dirty secrets...' The blue beauty's eyes narrowed, while the people beside her couldn't imagine what she would do to be her boyfriend's only one.
While some misunderstandings developed, Vicente and Landon finished the second round of the evening.
The Council of Elders of this association took the artifacts created by the two 2nd-stage blacksmiths and quickly evaluated them.
"Vicente's sword is 92% efficient!" One of the old elders said, causing the audience of blacksmiths to stir as this was a significant improvement over the last artifact.
Then Benson announced the result of Landon's sword, which could end this dispute.
"This sword is 91% efficient! Vicente Fuller wins this fight. We will now proceed to the third round of this competition!" Vice's master said loudly and clearly, stirring up the crowd in the area for the next match, which could be Vice's victory or Landon's reaction.
Either way, this bet had just gotten livelier and more interesting to watch!
