The golden dunes of the desert stretched endlessly under the relentless glare of the 100-hour sun. Amidst the shifting sands lay Blacksmith Gram, a village that breathed fire and echoed with the rhythmic clang of hammers. Here, the air itself tasted of soot and sulfur.
Lam, Faizan, and Saad entered the village, their footsteps heavy on the scorched earth. The atmosphere was thick with the sound of creation—thousands of "Genius" smiths working in unison to shape the raw materials of the desert.
"This place is alive," Saad remarked, his tech-sensors spiking from the sheer heat of the forges. "It's like the whole village is one big machine."
"A machine without a soul is just scrap," Lam said, his eyes fixed on a figure standing near the central forge.
A young man was leaning against a stack of raw iron, his arms crossed. He didn't look like the other smiths; he looked like a warrior waiting for a war to begin. This was Nehal.
"You guys look lost," Nehal said, his voice cutting through the noise of the hammers. "Or maybe you're just looking for someone who can actually handle a hammer. I'm the guide here. Names Nehal."
The Exploration: For the next 100 WC Hours, the trio followed Nehal through the labyrinthine streets of Blacksmith Gram. Nehal showed them the ancient forges and the hidden techniques of his family, but Lam noticed the subtle tension in Nehal's hands. He wasn't just a blacksmith; he was a man holding back a storm.
As the "first day" came to an end, Lam stopped in the center of the village square.
"You're good with a guide's words, Nehal," Lam stated, his Endermite hand glowing with a low, violet hum. "But your heart is dreaming of something bigger than this village. Join the WORLD CHAMPIONS. Help us hunt the dreams that this desert can't hold."
Nehal's eyes sharpened. He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached for a heavy, soot-covered cloth, revealing a weapon that radiated a Thouro-level heat.
"I don't join anyone who can't outlast me," Nehal challenged, the sand swirling around his feet. "If you want a blacksmith in your guild, you'll have to prove you're a Champion first."
CLIFFHANGER: The desert wind howled as the two stood off. The battle for the fourth member of the WORLD CHAMPIONS was about to ignite.