The midday sun beat down as Karim walked through the nearby fishing village after training.
That's when he heard it—clang. Clang. Clang.
Not the sound of battle. Something heavier. Measured. Forged.
He followed it to a squat, soot-stained building at the edge of the village: a blacksmith shop.
Outside, a tall, barrel-chested man was striking hot iron against an anvil, sparks bursting like stars.
Karim's eyes narrowed.
> "That... is hammer mastery."
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🔨 The Blacksmith
The man was Master Hao, a former Spirit Master who had long since given up soul rings for the simplicity of metal.
He noticed Karim staring and grunted.
"You're not from around here. What's a brat with eyes like a soldier doing standing in my sun?"
Karim bowed his head slightly.
"I want to learn how to strike. Properly. Cleanly. You do that better than anyone I've seen."
Hao raised a brow. "And why should I teach you?"
Karim stepped forward and raised his arm—summoning the Abyssal Tide Hammer.
Even the old blacksmith flinched slightly at the spiritual pressure.
"Because my hammer's alive," Karim said. "But I don't know how to speak its language yet."
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đź’Ş A Job Earned
Hao laughed—a deep, rough sound.
"You want to talk to your hammer? Then grab that bucket of coal and get to work. You earn lessons in sweat."
And so it began.
Karim started working at the forge every evening after Academy training:
Hauling ore from the docks.
Pumping the bellows to keep the forge burning.
Hammering metal under Hao's sharp eye.
And slowly—he learned.
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🧠The Technique of Impact
Master Hao didn't give lectures. He showed through repetition.
"Feel the weight shift in your wrist before the strike."
"Use your hips. Not just your arms."
"Let the hammer fall—don't force it."
Karim applied these lessons to the Abyssal Tide Hammer at night.
Soon, his swings became tighter, cleaner, and faster.
Less wasted motion. More focused power.
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🧲 Iron's Whisper
Handling raw iron taught Karim something unexpected.
Metal wasn't just dead material. It resisted. Responded. Remembered.
> "When I strike my hammer, it changes the world. But it also changes me."
He learned about temperature, hardness, rebound, and balance—how even the best hammer could cripple its user if wielded wrong.