Chapter 23: The Task
Meliodas turned around and saw that it was the old man who had awakened from his nap and was looking at Meliodas. Now that the old man was standing straight up, Meliodas got a good look at his figure. Despite his old age, he had a large amount of muscle mass, especially around his arms and chest. His hands were heavily callused, from the wear and tear of forging weapons for many years. He had long silver hair that flowed down to his shoulder and a long beard that was tied at the end.
"Sorry, I was just a bit interested." Meliodas apologized.
"Hmph! What do you want?!" The old man snorted. He was annoyed that someone had just come to his house and started browsing through his things. 'Wasn't this kid taught any manners?'
"I heard you were the best blacksmith in the country. They call you "The Legendary Blacksmith." Meliodas responded.
"And what of it?"
"Well I came to see if you would craft me a sword."
"If you heard about that through rumours, then you must also know that I don't take personal requests. If you want one of my swords, I'll send another few out in a few days. Now get lost."
"If you moved out here, then it clearly isn't because of money. Is there anything in particular you are looking for..?" Meliodas continued.
"Look brat, I didn't come out here because I was looking for something. I came here for the peace and quiet. I just want to perfect my craft."
Meliodas didn't argue back and stood there in silence.
"Alright, then you won't mind if I just stand here do you?" Meliodas replied, with a cheeky grin on his face. Musica glared at Meliodas but quickly shook his head and sighed.
"Do as you wish brat. But don't get in my way." Musica replied as he turned around and started walking towards his house.
'I guess we're playing the long game.' Meliodas smiled and walked a few feet away from the forge, towards a patch of grass. He laid down on the ground, with his hands behind his head and looked up at the clouds. He closed his eyes and before he knew it he fell into a light nap.
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Meliodas fell asleep on the grass but was awoken as an image of Elizabeth popped into his head. Suddenly, he saw the giant gaping mouth of Cath swallow Elizabeth whole. Meliodas quickly flung up from his laying down position into a sitting position. He rubbed his eyes and looked around.
"Elizabeth…" Meliodas said silently to himself. He thought about it again for a moment. He's been gone for over a month now and has not found a way back. Meliodas thought about the situation the others were left in with Cath but relaxed, having absolute faith that his friends would be able to deal with Cath without him.
Meliodas stood up and saw Musica, hammering away at a molten piece of steel. He began walking towards Musica but Musica stopped hammering down as he noticed Meliodas.
"Get out of here brat. I'm not your babysitter."
"I already came this far. You're not getting rid of me so easily, gramps." Meliodas responded. Musica shook his head and continued hammering down on the molten blade, then proceeded to soak it in a tub of water, creating a high pitched sizzling noise and some steam. After the molten blade cooled down, he placed it back on the anvil and looked at Meliodas.
"If you're just going to keep standing there gawking, then make yourself useful brat. I have a task for you. I'm running out of iron. Go into the mountains and get me some more ore. I have a pickaxe over there." Musica pointed to a pickaxe leaning against the forge.
"Sure thing." Meliodas replied. He walked over to the pickaxe and picked it up, mounting it over his shoulder as he walked away.
"That should keep him off me for a while." Musica mumbled to himself as he turned back around to face his anvil.
Early the next morning, Musica fanned the flames of the forge and wiped the beads of sweat off of his face. He looked up at the sky as the sun began to rise. 'So that brat isn't back yet. Couldn't handle hard work and ran back home most likely. Shit...he still has my pickaxe huh…'
As noon approached, Musica sat down on his rocking chair, polishing a blade. He momentarily stopped polishing the blade and looked up at the clear blue sky. 'Will there ever be a swordsman worth crafting a sword for…'
Musica looked back down and began polishing the blade again but stopped as he heard the sound of creaking wheels approaching. He looked up and his eyes widened in shock. There he saw a young blond boy with a large wooden cart behind him. The cart itself was filled high with piles of iron ore stacked on top of each other that were at least three meters tall. 'He did this by himself?! No he couldn't have. Did he use magic? Even so, he's hauling all of that ore with no assistance…'
Meliodas continued dragging the heavy cart towards Musica. Musica stood up from his seat as Meliodas approached.
"Sorry that took so long. I would have come back earlier but I needed something to haul all of this back in so I had to go into town to buy this wagon." Meliodas laughed as he stopped pulling the wagon. The wagon creaked as Meliodas stopped it. A moment of silence passed and the wheels suddenly gave way as the wagon was crushed under its own weight. Meliodas stared at Musica, who had a dumbfounded expression on his face. Musica quickly shook the expression off and walked up to Meliodas.
"You did an adequate job getting this, brat. But where's my pickaxe?" Musica asked, looking at the pile.
"I think I lost it somewhere up in the mountains, I don't remember…" Meliodas put his hand on his chin and looked towards the mountains beyond the forest. Musica slapped his forehead with his palm.
"Then go and get me another one. I can't break down this iron ore into manageable chunks without it."
"Oh that shouldn't be a problem then." Meliodas grinned and drew his iron sword.
Meliodas quickly swung his blade, cutting up the large pieces of ore into smaller ones. As Meliodas was about to finish cutting the last of them, the blade of his sword snapped. The blade of his sword fell on the ground, with only a small portion still attached to the hilt.
"Well I guess this will do for now." Meliodas commented, putting the remainder of his iron sword back into the sheathe. Musica's eyes widened at what he just witnessed. 'This brat...how many sword slices did I just see in that instant? Fifty? A hundred?'
Musica's expression suddenly turned serious as he turned to Meliodas.
"Hey brat." Musica said, getting Meliodas's attention as he was staring at the pile. "Stay right where you are." Musica walked into his house as Meliodas looked at him confused. 'I wonder what he wants from me?'
Less than a minute later, Musica returned with two finely crafted identical iron swords. He approached Meliodas and handed him one of them. Meliodas accepted the blade and as he felt it in his hand, he instantly knew this one was far superior to the blade he was previously just using.
"Follow me." Musica ordered as he began walking around to the back of the house. Meliodas silently followed him. As they walked around to the back of the house, the grass transitioned into an empty dirt field.
"I'm going to test you. If you pass my test, I will forge a sword for you as you had originally requested. There's only one rule: No magic." Musica said.
Meliodas looked at him and noticed that he was completely serious. He nodded and the two of them walked into the middle of the dirt field and stood a few meters across from each other. Musica leaned down and picked up a pebble from the ground.
"Are you ready, brat?" Musica got into an offensive stance, holding the sword in one hand to his side, pointing at Meliodas. "Land a single blow or disarm me."
"Try and keep up." Meliodas smiled at Musica as he held his sword out in front of him. Without another word, Musica threw the pebble into the air. Both Meliodas and Musica watched the pebble carefully. The instant the pebble hit the ground everything around them stopped. The birds stopped chirping. The wind stopped blowing. The flames in the forge withered out. The only sound that could be heard, was the sound of two blades clashing against one another.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone