The next day, Asher stood in the forge's backyard, staring at Nero, who donned the new armor, which Ark called the Ark armor set, courtesy to his name since he was in charge of it, while Dan focused on Asher's armor.
The dark silver armor was indeed three-layered, with plate armor on top, tightly meshed chain mail beneath the plate armor, and leather at the end. The armor had more pieces than the old Ashkelon armor, allowing it to cover more areas.
Asher could see faint silver lines connecting to each other like an intrinsic network. These were the silver meridians that amplified the durability of the armor through the battle force flowing from the wearer into it.
Standing about 50 meters away from Nero was a Stormbringer, aiming her Thunder Bow at the young BloodBlade, her eyes unwavering and emotionless.
Nero couldn't imagine how she could be so cold-hearted toward her fellow soldier. This made him wonder what kind of training Eritrea made them go through.
The moment the arrow left the bow with a thunderous sound, it appeared before Nero almost instantly and struck the armor with a great sound. Asher saw a spark, and he turned to the arrow only to see that the arrowhead had broken from the shaft.
Not even a scratch could be seen on the chestplate.
"How many can we get in a week's time?" Asher turned toward him.
"Maximum of 5. Producing the Ark armor set isn't easy, Your Lordship. We only have two so far."
Asher furrowed his brows.
His eyes suddenly twinkled as he thought of something.
'System, I need a water-powered trip hammer forge. Our current one won't be able to handle the current project.'
[To upgrade this forge into a water-powered forge, there has to be a water source. In order to restructure the land, there will be requirements: 3 peak-grade earth elemental crystals and 5 peak-grade water elemental crystals.]
[Ding! You have these in your Treasury. Should I proceed with the upgrade? Yes or No?]
Light engulfed the entire bastide, and it began to expand to match the forge's upgrade. By the time the light came down, Asher saw that the forge had been distanced from the major part of the town.
It was now in an excluded area, and there was a crystal clear stream flowing by the newly enhanced forge.
A wheel made of oak wood was by the side of the forge, attached to the building. Inside the forge were several hammers controlled by the movement of the wheel. The hammers were quite big, and they all had brand new anvils.
Upon seeing this, Ark was confused. He had never seen such machinery in his life but it looked so gigantic and grand that his soul trembled.
[Blacksmith Ark White has fulfilled the criteria to be upgraded to become a senior-grade blacksmith. Would you like to upgrade him? Yes or No?]
When the light came down, Ark took a step forward. His muscles were bulging, and his skin glimmered like shining bronze. There was a special kind of goggles that protected both his eyes, and a brand new apron was draped over him.
The size of Ark's bulging biceps would make one tremble or even feel intimidated.
"Your Lordship." He said with a thick voice as he went on one knee.
He nodded and got to his feet. "Your Lordship, I know how to operate the water-powered trip hammer. It's excellent machinery that I don't think exists in Tenaria. My superiors usually use a large amount of workforce, but with this machine alone, I believe we should be able to produce 200 Ark armor sets in a week!"
"Good. How many apprentices do you have now?"
"Three," Ark replied.
"Just three."Asher raised an eyebrow.
Ark gave a slight nod. "Others are too frivolous. Too focused on either women or food. I'll be honest, food is the most distracting thing in this dominion. No youngster doesn't dream of one day purchasing a Hexakad or stuffing their bellies with Moonlit Starhorn milk."
Asher chuckled at Ark's complaints.
"But the milk is good for your kind of work."
"It is and I do encourage my apprentices to take it before, during and after work but your love must be your work and not the milk."
Ark responded deeply.
"I see. Well then, where are your apprentices."
Ark was confused as to why Asher wanted to see his apprentices, but he sent for them. A short while later, 3 men with outstanding statures that revealed their origins as barbarians came to the forge. Their eyes were wide as saucers as they beheld the water-powered forge.
The moment Asher set his eyes on them, the system's notification popped up.
[Sensed host's intentions. All three have fulfilled the criteria to become journeyman-grade blacksmiths after diligently learning under Senior Blacksmith Ark. Would the host like to upgrade these three blacksmiths? Yes or No?]
After the upgrade, all three of them looked bigger, but they did not have the goggles their master had, and their muscles were lacking compared to Ark's.
While there wasn't much increase to their physical appearances, there was lots of information uploaded into their brains, making them one of the best journeyman blacksmiths any lord could find on the continent.
Along with the knowledge of Boundless, the water-powered forge was also inputted into their minds, giving them the know-how to operate the machine.
"Ark, you now have three journeymen-grade blacksmiths to work with you. So, they must accept apprentices, and you shall also train new ones. We need enough blacksmiths, and as you train them, you will see some hidden flaws, fix them, and maybe reach a higher grade."
After enticing Ark with his words, Ark didn't see a reason to reject or grumble. "We shall go explore the forge."
With this Ark and his journeymen left. Asher approached the stream, squatted and scooped water in the palm of his hands.
Looking at the sparkling water trickling back into the stream, his eyes flickered.
'Where did this stream come from?'