"Bang!" The centaur lost his balance after getting caught on the railing, and his two front hooves failed to land perfectly, causing him to fall flat on his face. His head plunged directly into the soft earth, while his hindquarters, carried by inertia, continued forward, folding his body into a fallen 'V' shape. It was an ungraceful position that left him looking utterly disheveled.
"Pfft, hahahaha!" Hog immediately clutched his stomach and burst into laughter. "Ronan, you finally got what was coming to you! You dared to laugh at me for not being able to jump over the last hurdle, but look at yourself—you fell even worse than I did. How about it? Does your face hurt?"
Not content with just verbal taunts, Hog charged straight at the fallen Ronan, bouncing and jumping right in front of him to show off.
"Oh, isn't this Ronan, our self-proclaimed first warrior of the centaurs? What's up? You fell so miserably you're not showing off anymore? Not so awesome now, are you? Should I go publicize your exploits today throughout the camp?" Hog circled Ronan, scolding him gleefully and laughing hysterically, as if determined to infuriate him.
The fallen Ronan struggled to his feet, angrily patting the dirt off his face. He looked at Hog, who was mocking him from below, and flushed with embarrassment. "How did you get here? You really pick your timing."
Since following Alan, Hog often ran to the Forbidden Forest to play, and because he was not human, he got along very well with the centaurs. Moreover, they all shared a dislike for the werewolf wizard Fenrir Greyback, so Hog had a strong bond with Ronan, Firenze, Bane, and several other young centaurs who had suffered in the past. Besides joking around, they often hunted together in the forest.
After this training ground was built, Hog had tried the course himself. His physical fitness was good, but the last hurdle was incredibly difficult, and he had struggled with it. Ronan had mocked him for it then, never expecting karma to come so quickly.
"What? You're embarrassed and afraid of being seen? Then I must help you spread the news properly." Hog grinned at Ronan and then rushed toward the nearby camp. As he ran, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Oh no! Ronan made a huge fool of himself today! You didn't see how ridiculous he looked—his face is all swollen…"
"You come back here!" Ronan was already mortified, but Hog's antics pushed him over the edge. He grabbed his longbow and chased after the husky-like wolf. Although Hog wasn't as fast as a centaur in a straight line, his movements were incredibly agile. A few sharp stops and turns left Ronan struggling to keep up, and with his loud clamor, Hog turned the entire camp into a chaotic mess.
Brandwaldden, the Centaur Elder, watched the chase alongside several other young centaurs and Alan. They were all amused by Hog's antics; several young centaurs even covered their mouths to stifle their laughter.
"Alan, you're here." Brandwaldden watched Ronan and Hog disappear into the distance and then turned to Alan.
"Yes." Alan put away his smile and nodded. "I'll have to trouble you this time. Let me know when it's convenient."
"Haha, your business is our business. There's no trouble at all. Let's set off now." Brandwaldden laughed heartily, then looked at the young centaurs nearby. "Today's training is over; you are free to go. Firenze and Bane, come with me."
Brandwaldden dismissed the others and led Alan, Firenze, and Bane out of the camp toward a nearby hill. They proceeded in silence until they reached the summit. The top of the hill was flat, and a large yurt had been set up on the open ground. Through the entrance, one could see it was arranged like a medieval blacksmith's shop. Inside was a massive furnace, an equally large bellows, and a large iron anvil over a meter high.
On the surrounding tables were hammers of various sizes, along with half-finished hunting knives, spearheads, and iron pots. This was where the centaurs forged their equipment. Since centaurs are large, their tools were much more massive than those used by humans, giving the space a strong sense of weight and power.
Alan had come today specifically to use the strength of the centaurs to forge a piece of equipment. These centaurs were incredibly strong and possessed exquisite forging techniques; the ironware they crafted was remarkably durable.
Brandwaldden entered the yurt first and called out to the two young centaurs. "Bane, hurry and start the fire; raise the furnace temperature as quickly as possible. Firenze, you'll handle the tongs. Both of you, be careful."
"Yes, Elder."
The two centaurs sprang into action. Bane filled the furnace with fuel and worked the bellows until the entire yurt became stuffy and hot.
"Alan, bring out the materials you need." Brandwaldden led Alan to the workbench and picked up a large stone scoop.
Alan didn't waste any time. He had arranged this trip with the Elder long ago, waiting only for the dragon heartstring to finish soaking. He took out several pieces of metal from his spatial ring. Two silver pieces, one large and one small, were goblin-wrought steel; the other two smaller pieces, glowing with a fluorescent light, were refined mithril. These were his most precious possessions, acquired from the Rowle family and the Ministry. He had been saving them for this very moment.
"The equipment I want to forge has a rather special metal structure. I'll fuse them first before we begin," Alan said.
He used his magic to manipulate the metals, transforming them into molten streams using Transfiguration. According to the fusion ratio he had studied in the Ministry's Alchemy Room, he slowly merged the two magical alloys into one. Once the structure was stable, he allowed the mixture to solidify in the stone scoop.
"Alan, I've always found it hard to understand," Brandwaldden said, watching with a puzzled expression. "Your alchemy is already at its peak. You could clearly shape equipment directly with magic. Why insist on using this traditional blacksmithing method?"