Chapter 66 - 64: Forging the Sword

Chapter 66: Chapter 64: Forging the Sword

"Lu Wei, where’d you get that Obsidian? Did you buy it today?"

"And that One-handed Sword! The material feels like Mola Crystal Steel!"

"That can’t be cheap. It must’ve cost at least three Gold Coins!"

"No wonder you’re broke... Huh? Wait a minute."

"Didn’t you have that Gray Gemstone? You didn’t sell it?"

A few minutes later, Furen was standing outside the wooden door, chattering away excitedly.

Although Bai Ya had an exceptional memory, knowledge gained from books has its limits. She could only "recite from the text," so to speak, when it came to identifying things with obvious characteristics like plants, monsters, and insects.

She was useless when it came to things like gemstones or weapon materials.

Furen, on the other hand, had recognized the Mola Crystal Steel at a glance.

He was a noble, after all. He must have seen plenty of that sort of thing before.

"I already sold the gemstone, but I used all the money to buy this Black Gemstone."

Casting another worried glance at the wooden door, Lu Wei turned his head and said with self-righteous confidence:

"So, I’ll have to owe you your share from the Gray Gemstone for now."

"Oh, oh, that’s fine."

Of course, Furen didn’t mind, and Bai Ya immediately nodded to show it was okay with her too.

"You can just keep my share... By the way, what did Sister Mirana talk to you about just now?"

’What a clumsy way to change the subject.’

’You’ve been holding that in this whole time, haven’t you?’

"Tock and Storm are dead."

Lu Wei didn’t hide anything, and his first words made Furen and Bai Ya’s eyes go wide.

"Why!"

"How could this happen!"

"Sigh. Mirana said they ran into a bear goblin on their way back."

Lu Wei sighed. "It was probably attracted by the Divine Blessing. After all, a bear’s sense of smell is very keen."

"That must be it."

Furen agreed with a pained expression. "A bear’s sense of smell is even keener than a dog’s. And since the Divine Blessing could attract Kobolds, it’s perfectly reasonable that it would also attract a bear goblin."

Lu Wei nodded. "Indeed."

Furen shook his head. "That’s such common knowledge. They should have been more vigilant."

Their expressions grew more regretful than the last. Like a pair of armchair generals, the two suddenly began to analyze the situation in hindsight.

Meanwhile, Bai Ya stared at them blankly. After a long moment, she finally couldn’t help but quietly correct them:

"Um, Kobolds aren’t dogs. If you have to make a comparison, they’re more closely related to Dragons than dogs."

"And a bear goblin isn’t a bear, either. It’s actually a type of goblin-like monster. It’s just called a bear goblin because it looks a bit like a bear."

"..."

"Bai Ya, of course we know that. We were just using dogs and bears as a metaphor, right, Lu Wei?"

"Exactly. Who would think a bear goblin is an actual bear?"

"That’s what I’m saying! Haha, AHEM AHEM..."

...

...

"I already agreed. She’ll be going into the forest with us the day after tomorrow."

"That’s the gist of it."

Half an hour later, Lu Wei had given them a simple rundown of the situation.

After hearing everything, Furen couldn’t help but remark:

"I have to say, my impression of her has changed for the better."

"But if you think about it from another angle, it seems she’s only loyal to her own companions."

"After all, the Kobolds that night were clearly after them. We would have been fine even if we had run away."

"But she never told us that... Wait a minute!"

"So she was just using us the whole time!"

His eyes suddenly shot open. Furen had finally, belatedly, realized something he should have realized long ago.

If Bai Ya’s slow reaction time was due to low Perception, then his was definitely due to low Intelligence.

Lu Wei glanced at the furious Furen but couldn’t be bothered to say anything.

He’d already realized it the moment he learned the Divine Blessing attracted monsters.

Charging an exorbitant price for the Healing Potion later was his way of getting a little subtle revenge on Mirana.

As for how angry he was... not really.

After all, being used just meant he wasn’t crafty enough himself.

One had to admit when they were outplayed. That was the understanding a Crafty Merchant should have.

Hmm... Furen was right about one thing, though.

Mirana seemed to only be completely devoted to companions she approved of; she wasn’t so benevolent toward others.

She would even deceive and use others for her own and her companions’ benefit.

’Her moral compass might not be perfect, but isn’t that what makes for the most perfect teammate?’

’She’s powerful, trustworthy, can always stay calm, and won’t drag her companions down by being too much of a Holy Mother.’

’Her only flaw is that she’s too naive.’

’How could a big shot like a Count possibly care about the life or death of some random Adventurer?’

’Also... hey, why isn’t it done yet??’

’Don’t tell me he took the gemstone and ran!’

Lu Wei pressed his eye to the crack in the door to peek inside again, growing more and more anxious.

According to Old Fenris, inlaying a gemstone wasn’t a major undertaking; it could usually be done in half an hour.

Although it had only been a little over half an hour, the man’s appearance made it hard not to worry that he might do something driven by greed.

Fortunately, he could still faintly hear the "DING DING" of a hammer striking metal.

But...

’Then again, do you need a hammer to inlay a gemstone?’

...

...

"GLUG GLUG~"

Inside the forge, Kas threw his head back and downed the last of the strong liquor. He casually tossed the empty bottle into a corner and took a deep breath, feeling a long-absent, fiery energy churning within him.

Any friends who are heavy drinkers know that once alcohol becomes a daily routine, it no longer brings excitement, only a sense of "comfort."

Therefore, this energy undoubtedly originated from the "Star Core" that was now lying quietly in a pair of tongs.

"How I’ve missed this..."

His thick beard twitched slightly. Kas gently caressed every facet of the Star Core, his eyes seemingly filled with excitement.

Ever since returning to Heitai Town, he hadn’t touched a Rare Level gemstone.

Even back in Kalin Port, as a moderately famous Weapon Smith, he had inlaid fewer than five of them.

And to this day, he could clearly remember the feeling every single time—

The feeling of personally forging the most perfect Weapon.

"WHOOSH!"

Another wave of heat, mixed with sparks, shot out from the mouth of the furnace beside him. Kas turned to look at the One-handed Sword lying in the forge, and his expression immediately turned to one of disgust.

In the eyes of an Ordinary person, Mola Crystal Steel was already a top-tier material.

But in his eyes, it was utterly mediocre.

Not to mention, it was a Re-cast Sword.

"A waste of a fine treasure."

Muttering to himself, Kas reached out with a hand crisscrossed with scars, yet exceptionally steady, and began to rapidly pump the bellows.

Immediately, the charcoal buried under the ash burst into a crimson glow. The temperature in the entire workshop soared, quickly reaching a suffocatingly high level.

Kas, however, seemed completely unaffected. He just silently watched the One-handed Sword, which had already turned a dark red in the furnace. When it looked as though molten lava was beginning to flow within the blade, he immediately pulled it out with a pair of stone tongs and placed it on the anvil, beginning to strike it repeatedly.

Amidst the crisp "DING DING DING" sounds, the blade was gradually narrowed, eventually reaching the width of a standard one-handed sword.

However, correcting its external flaws was only the first step.

After a brief pause, Kas produced a small vial of "Mithril" with a watery shimmer from somewhere and poured it evenly over the junction between the hilt and the blade.

Then, it went back into the furnace to be reheated.

"DING! DING DING DING!"

"DING DING DING!"

"DING! DING DING!"

Heat, add a material, forge.

Reheat, add another material, forge again...

To the sound of the hammering that had Lu Wei wringing his hands with worry, Kas worked quickly, soon completing three repeated forging cycles.

And with each successive strike, the impurities within the sword were completely removed, and the entire blade even took on a deeper color.

At this moment, the sword had finally, barely, reached Kas’s standard of being "worthy of a Rare Gemstone."

However, after a moment’s hesitation, he did not quench it.

Instead, he sent the sword into the furnace for a fourth time.

"WHOOSH!!"

With the help of an accelerant, the temperature inside the furnace rose by at least 30 percent, to the point that it even made the air distort.

About ten minutes later, Kas took the sword out again and quickly, carefully, affixed several thin, dark-gray sheets to the blade’s edge with iron tongs.

These sheets were likely metal, but they were so thin that they had a translucent sheen, like the wings of a cicada.

And this was none other than the number one metal in the Octavia Kingdom: "Saracenic Steel."

Although it was only one rank above the number-two Mola Crystal Steel, the price difference between them was dozens, even hundreds, of times greater.

Otherwise, Kas wouldn’t have been so "stingy," only willing to use a tiny bit on the edge of the blade.

"DING~ DING~ DING~"

The rhythm of the hammering slowed by several degrees. The forging hammer in Kas’s hand fell with precision, carrying a strange vibration as it gradually embedded the layer of Saracenic Steel—worth enough to buy five or six Mola Crystal Steel Weapons—into the blade’s edge.

"VMMMM..."

A strange resonance echoed through the room. The sparks no longer flew about chaotically; instead, they danced gracefully around the blade like an orderly swarm of fireflies.

Fine beads of sweat finally appeared on Kas’s forehead.

His breathing grew heavier and heavier, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if he had entered some kind of trance.

When the final hammer blow fell, he dropped the hammer directly. Without making any further adjustments, he immediately plunged the already perfect weapon

into the mineral oil he had prepared long ago.

"HISS—!"

A violent plume of white steam shot into the air, and a roar from a bygone era seemed to echo through the room.

And when the white steam cleared, a brand-new One-handed Sword appeared before Kas’s eyes.

Its entire body was still a deep black, but it was no longer a lifeless black. It was a restrained, profound black, as if an undercurrent were surging within.

The blade’s edge shimmered with the unique, cold luster of Saracenic Steel, like a river of stars in the night sky, faintly visible against the black base.

But it wasn’t finished yet.

Finally, Kas picked up the Star Core, aligned it with the groove on the sword’s guard, and pressed it in gently.

"CLICK."

With a soft click, it fit perfectly.

Like a heart that had resumed beating, in that instant, the suppleness of the Mithril, the sharpness of the Saracenic Steel, the undercurrent of the Mola Crystal Steel, and all the other materials seemed to fuse together in absolute perfection. And it gave Kas, once again, that ultimate satisfaction only a creator can experience.

Mithril, Agate Powder, Living Iron, Saracenic Steel...

He had already lost track of the value of the materials he had added.

Gold Coins? 10 Gold Coins?

Who knew?

In any case, it far exceeded his payment of 1 Gold Coin.

If it had been Lu Wei, such a money-losing transaction would have absolutely set him off. He probably would have immediately pocketed the sword, or perhaps forced the customer to pay for the "unauthorized modifications."

But to Kas, money wasn’t important. The feeling of "creation" was what he truly craved.

Perhaps this is what sets a genius apart.

They yearn for perfection, pursue perfection, and create perfection.

Hmm...

Looked at that way, Lu Wei seemed to be a genius as well.

Yearning for Gold Coins, pursuing Gold Coins, creating Gold Coins.

Er, that last one was probably impossible, unless the Kingdom’s laws one day no longer defined "private minting" as treason.

Or unless Lu Wei became the King himself.

In any case, when it came to "taking advantage" of a situation, Lu Wei was indeed a man of extreme pursuit.

Correspondingly, any "loss" would make him feel incredibly uncomfortable; it was something he absolutely could not tolerate.

So...

"When we rush in, if he tries to run, Furen, you and I will grab him and hold him down!"

"Bai Ya, you go report it to the town guard immediately!"

"Is everyone clear on that!"