CHAPTER 825: CHILDREN OF THE FORGE

Elliot leaned over the tray, hands trembling, face almost touching the small golem’s cold helmet. "Please, move."

Everyone watched with bated breath. For three heartbeats, nothing. Snorts began to spread through the students, all silenced by a metallic groan.

Their eyes widened as the golem’s armguard caught the classroom’s light. It moved its arms, crossing them over its cuirass. Two red lights burst from the visor before they fell on Elliot.

Pupils constricted, the students watched the golem bend the knee, fist on its right chest as a knight would before its lord. A graveyard silence settled. Not a word—just disbelief etched onto youthful faces more clearly than the golem’s engraved armor. Even Viktor’s hand froze mid-brush on his moustache, a question tearing through his mind.

Did Adam and Elliot achieve the impossible despite their lack of knowledge and modest materials?

"THE... THE GOLEM... IT MOVES!" A student’s scream cut through the silence like a blast in a crypt.

The screams spread like a trail of wildfire.

"The dimwit... No, Elliot made something incredible!"

"Wasn’t it that challenger, that Adam, who did everything?"

"Elliot handled most of the tasks. I’ve seen it all as well!"

A student’s voice overwhelmed the others—one of Viktor’s personal disciples. "A golem, really? Hahaha!" The teenager locked eyes with Elliot, his lips curving into an acknowledging grin. "Elliot! Elliot! Elliot!" He clapped rhythmically as he chanted the boy’s name.

Elliot shuddered, his watery eyes unable to hold warm tears from rolling down his cheeks. His chest warmed at everyone’s smiles. For the first time in two years, during which they had called him a dimwit and mocked him at the slightest chance, they were praising him.

He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest as he cried out the frustration, the sadness, and the shame that had been silently building up into poisonous whispers. ’Why do you continue? Crafting isn’t for a foolish boy like you. Cool toys? Abandon your futile dream.’

But now, he only heard Adam’s gentle voice saying, "Childish dreams are worth pursuing. Mine is style above all."

Yes, Adam! He had to thank him for this moment.

He tried to lift himself, but two gentle hands met his shoulders, and a voice resounded beside his ear. "You’ve earned it."

Adam helped him up, his lips curving into a smile. "Dry your tears and puff your chest for me."

"Thank—" Adam pressed a finger against Eliott’s lips, then waved while passing through the crowd.

The students made way with respectful nods as Adam said, "Keep the golem. I’m sure you’ll craft the coolest artifacts soon enough."

"W-wait!" Elliot extended his palm as if to stop him.

But it was Viktor who restored silence in his class. He slammed his desk with his thick palms, his eyes locked on Adam’s retreating figure. "Wait! You had a question. No, I have an offer." He paused, moved to the golem. With a touch, he felt the intricate channels that distributed mana from the core to the limbs perfectly.

His eyes lit up. "You’ve proven yourself worthy. Become my disciple."

The students gasped. This was what they all dreamed of. But not Joshua. His eyes darted between his power gloves and the kneeling golem. He begrudgingly nodded. If the golem could do more than kneel, Adam would have beaten him—no shame in that. Even better, a skilled fellow from whom he could learn and with whom he could share his passion for enchanting.

"Elliot has found the answer I sought," Adam started, a brow raised at the apprenticeship, especially the privilege that came with it. "Can you grant free access to the campus libraries?" He asked plainly.

"That..." A deep furrow creased Viktor’s brow.

"Never mind if you can’t. If you really want a disciple, there is someone else worthy in this room." Adam shook his head, then pointed at Elliot, the meaning clear without a single word. "Don’t ruin his moment. I won’t, at least."

Just like that, his steps echoed against the stone floor of the classroom. He had nothing to prove, no need for recognition. Even the wagered points became afterthoughts compared to the happiness of a diligent ten-year-old boy. Staying would only dull his moment. Therefore, chest warm and his crafter’s soul smiling, he left.

Everyone watched him disappear through the door in almost ritualistic silence.

When his steps faded in the distance, all dams broke loose. Everyone rushed to Elliot, praise and questions erupting around him and his kneeling golem.

The boy wiped his tears, grinning as he raised his fist. "You want to see what it can do?"

"YES!" The students shouted back.

Elliot pointed at an ore on the closest workbench. "Grab it."

The golem rose to its feet, red light pulsing through its visor. It turned toward the workbench and extended its right palm.

WOOSH

Mana blasted from within its arm, propelling its palm to the ore. It closed around it, the golden chain connected to its forearm rattling. The mana shifted into a suction force that drove its hand back, but not without Adam’s personal touch.

The golem leapt into a flip, swinging its forearm aside as the hand slotted itself back. It landed on its feet. Its forearm rose in front of its helmet, and its left hand twisted it left, then right, with a metallic snap.

The students erupted into loud cheers, shouting about how stylish and cool the golem was. Elliot took in the praises, feeling as if he were dreaming.

And the sensation only deepened when Viktor walked toward him.

"A wonderful creation. I can hardly find any defects. If I truly wanted to nitpick, I could point out its lacking strength, but we both know that’s not the purpose of the golem." Viktor said, his bushy moustache now fully lifted to reveal his bright smile.

"You’ve worked well, Elliot. Perhaps we’ve all underestimated your dedication. I want to give you a chance." He reached his palm out. "Will you become my disciple, perfect your craft and silence everyone who called your dream naïve, me included, with pure skills?"

"I will, Teacher Viktor." Elliot bowed, voice grateful. "You won’t regret giving me this opportunity."

Congratulations fused like shooting stars in a cacophony of claps and whistles until the chime of the bell echoed throughout the college.

"We’ll pick up from the assessment tomorrow. Class is over. But there is still something I need to do." When he waved his palm, Elliot’s emblem brightened on his chest. "For your flawless work at Adam’s side, I reward you with a thousand points."

"That much?" Elliot gasped at the surreal number. So did the students.

But Viktor continued. "Adam challenged Joshua for a thousand points. But he did more than defeat my best disciple. He reminded us that even though we pursue different aspirations, we’re all children of the forge. I grant him double the promised reward—and my gratitude. You are dismissed."

As the students surrounded Elliot and his golem on their way out, Adam frowned at his glowing emblem in the lounge of the exorcists’ dormitory.

"Guess Viktor is honest." He sank onto the soft sofa, the corner of his lips curling. "I’m almost out of debt with these thousand points."

But he was far from imagining the stir the doubled reward and his new reputation caused among the House of Exorcism.