Alex was quite startled not only by the man's rather sudden question that ca out of nowhere, but at how fast he was.
'A tier!'
Alex could tell he was A tier just from his movents, but he wasn't quite sure what Class he was yet.
But this did leave him a little worried.
If he couldn't detect the man's level of strength, then it was likely that he was stronger than Alex. This caused him to heighten his sense and cautiousness, especially considering how weird and out of it the man seed just a few monts ago, but he wasn't too worried.
Even if the man was stronger than him, Alex still have full confidence in himself to be able to escape in the event that sothing happened.
And if by so miracle he couldn't escape, he still had his biggest trump card, Brontes.
If all else failed, Alex could still count on his trusty Divine beast Brontes.
Keeping this in mind, he kept his stance relaxed, but his mind still process his thoughts at racing speeds.
The sudden shift in the man's deanour, from dazed and absent minded, to sharp and inquisitive, sent warning bells through his mind.
But what shocked him the most was how the man knew he ca there to inquire about Mikhail?
'No, the tables are actually flipped. He's asking about Mikhail instead!' Alex thought internally.
The man's gaze bore into Alex like a drill, filled with curiosity but also containing a hint of sothing else – sothing unreadable. It wasn't hostility, but it wasn't exactly welcoming either. It was as if he were evaluating Alex, assessing his worth before deciding how to proceed further.
"I asked you a question, boy." The man's voice was steady now, almost casual, as he reminded Alex.
Alex t his stare, and without hesitation, replied. "How could I know soone so ancient and legendary? Surely you must be joking, sir?"
The man's expression remained unreadable, but Alex could tell that his reply had stirred up so unsettling emotions within the strange fellow.
"Joking?" The man finally responded, carrying a subtle undertone of amusent and threat in his voice.
"Boy, do you take for a fool? No one speaks the na of Mikhail so casually unless they have a reason. Now tell , what did you co here for?"
Alex held back a sigh. It was clear that dodging or skirting around the question any further would only raise further suspicion in the man's mind, and the more Alex spoke to him, the more he felt like he wouldn't like to ss with him.
Instead, he decided to test the waters, giving just enough information while withholding enough to not expose too much of his secrets.
"Why, I ca here for the sa reason as everyone else – to learn more about forging," he stated plainly, without an ounce of worry in his voice. "I was told that his is the best place in the Primordial Expanse for that. As for Mikhail, I have no connection with him — I've only ever heard the stories, just like everyone else."
The man studied Alex for a mont, and then, surprisingly, let out a dry chuckle. "Hah. A half truth it is then. I can respect that. If you are indeed here to learn that is… then perhaps you'll find what you seek. But I would advise caution. Mikhail is not a na to be thrown around lightly in these parts. There are those who revere him, those who despise him, and those who would kill to keep his secrets buried."
Alex furrowed his brows slightly at the man's words. His curiosity, already piqued by the cryptic ssages he had received so far, only intensified. He knew Mikhail was a legendary figure, as even the Primordial Expanse itself acknowledged that, but he had never stopped to consider that the re ntion of his na could incite such reactions.
In fact, now that he did think about it, he clearly rembered that those people he did ask earlier in his journey to Eternal Forge city all had surprising and quite vibrant reactions to him ntioning the legendary figure's na.
"Why would that be the case?" Alex asked, unable to keep his curiosity to himself. "Why is Mikhail's na so dangerous to speak?"
The old man exhaled slowly, as if weighing his words before speaking.
He turned away for a mont, gazing past the vast but empty floor of the Blacksmith Association headquarters.
In fact, Alex was so enthralled in learning more of Mikhail's history from the old man that he had failed to notice, or consider, that the entire bottom floor of the Blacksmith Association was empty except for himself and the mysterious old man.
"Mikhail was not just a blacksmith," the man began, locking onto Alex's gaze with his own as if to make his point clear about how serious the topic was.
"He was THE blacksmith. A man whose craft surpassed mortal understanding, whose creations were spoken of in hushed whispers even among the gods themselves."
Alex's eyes widened slightly at that.
'Gods?'
That wasn't a word that was thrown around alot in recent tis.
Mostly because people had largely stopped believing in religion, but also because the previous concepts and definitions for gods actually fit the definition of Awakened themselves quite closely.
Alex had no doubt that if an Awakened from present ti went back a few thousand years to when humans still road the Earth, and had barely even gotten a kickstart in civilisation yet, that they would be treated as such a god.
But to hear the ntion of 'Gods' from the mouth of soone so powerful held an entirely different aning to it.
Were there really gods?
If so, just how powerful were they?
Alex's mind went back to the mysterious man, Phoenix, he had t and who had consequently wiped out the Red Demon race, saving the Federation.
If anything, he was the most powerful being he had ever t.
Would he be a god?
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