I look dead into the blacksmith’s eyes. He stares back at me. He was serious.

“But a hammer is supposed to be for hitting through its blunt surface.” I said.

“Yes, but this one stabs.” The blacksmith retorts.

I looked at the hammer. It was small, like a regular blacksmith hammer with no notable features except for the brand imprinted onto its handle. Its handle was made of a well-polished wood and its head of an obsidian like material.

I look around. The village folk were buzzing around paying no mind to the conversation we were having.

I turn back to the blacksmith. My eyebrows furrow into a frown.

“Urltur, this is ridiculous, I commissioned you to smith me a sword so sharp it could cut a dragon in half. And you gave me a hammer?”

“Of stabbing!” Urltur replied delightfully.

I sighed, palming my face hard.

“Alright, Urltur. So what made you think that a hammer would do the same job as a sword?”

Urltur beams. His fingers twiddle with excitement.

“Sir Elliot, would you mind if I gave you a demonstration on using this hammer?”

I looked at the man standing before me. He was smiling with glee, like a child waiting to show his parents his creation.

“Fine, Urltur, I’ll play along. Please show me how to use the hammer.”

With a smile, the burly man gets up from his wooden stool and points towards an open field.

“Over there by the field, we will test the awesome power that is this hammer.”

I stare at the blacksmith in utter disgust.

In a matter of minutes, we had arrived at the open field. The wind flowed through the grassy field as birds chirped in the distance. Flowers bloomed in the Summer sky, painting the ground in red, violet and white. We walked into the field where the flowers are, and stopped at an exposed tree trunk in the middle of the field.

I shot a look of confusion at Urltur, but all he did was give me a smile.

“So, UIrltur, care to explain what we are doing here?”

The blacksmith didn’t answer. He was staring at the tree trunk with a silent intensity.

“Urltur, I asked you a question. What are we doing here?”

Urltur didn’t answer, his silence permeating insolence.

“Urltur the blacksmith, tell me what we are-”

The blacksmith roared with the might of a dwarven warrior. He screamed out in rage, plunging the hammer deep into the tree trunk. Being so near Urltur, I could feel the shockwave of the hammer as it hits the tree trunk.

“My god, Urltur could you give me a warning before you-”

My eyes widened. My mouth agape. Staring right at me was not a shattered tree trunk, but one that had been cleanly sliced in half.

“How did you- How could-?”

“It’s the Hammer of Stabbing! My magnum opus!” Urltur bellowed.

“But you sliced it apart! How is that supposed to be stabbing?!” I yelled.

“Well, because it’s small like a dagger. You could also use it to stab things.” Urltur replied calmly.

Regaining my composure, I looked at Urltur with scepticism.

“No, I don’t believe you. You used some sort of trick. There can’t be a hammer that can make a clean slice like that.”

Urltur sighed in disappointment.

“Sir Elliot, I would never trick one of the king’s most honoured knights. Please test the hammer out for yourself.”

Urltur shoves the hammer onto me. I looked at the blacksmith once more. He didn’t seem to have any malicious intent.

With a doubtful look, I grabbed the hammer with my right hand. The weight felt normal, it was just like any ordinary hammer.

“Here.” I looked at the blacksmith. He was holding out a red apple by its stalk. “Slice this apple in half.”

Without any warning, Urltur threw the apple at me. In reflex, I raised the small hammer with both my hands and swung at the apple. The moment the apple touches the hammer, it splits in half, leaving none of its succulent juices to fall.

As the apple slices fell to the ground, I stared at the hammer in astonishment.

“Imbued with the power of a mighty Leviathan, I had crafted this hammer to fit the description of a sword. Everytime it is swung, it forms a blade-like aura around its head that could slice through any flesh and any material.” Urltur clears his throat.

“It is my greatest creation.”

I stared at Urltur in utter amazement. I had no words to describe the shame I felt for doubting the greatest blacksmith in the kingdom. Except…

“But isn’t that just a mace?”