My Girlfriend is an S-Class Adventurer

“What do you mean?” Ezra questioned.

“It was like to control the magic circle I only needed to direct my mana to it. Whereas in Sleepy Rain I needed to really master all three circles, let me check the other weapons, just to make sure the others have the magic circles lined up” Luke said.

This test was essential, after all, if this Sleepy Rain problem was also present in the other swords, that means the problem was in the way Ezra was producing his swords.

So Luke and Ezra retested the other swords, channeling the mana into the weapons and checking how the flow of mana was happening. This process was much faster than the first tests.

With that, the two finally got an answer.

“All the other swords have the magic circle aligned. They are working perfectly fine” Luke said.

“Could it be that the problem was me? I mean, to produce a magic sword you have to wedge a magic circle inside the boiling iron. It makes sense that Sleepy Rain’s problem happened because of me” Ezra said, his face showing a clear annoyance with the situation.

“Try talking it over with Hephaestus, I don’t understand forging. I’m not the one you should be discussing this with” Luke said, letting out a short laugh. The half-wolf then extended his hand up to above Ezra’s head, he then released the weight of his hand and began to shake the little blacksmith’s hair.

“You are right, thank you very much Master Luke!” Ezra said.

“By the way, I believe it is best to leave the forge for today. I will go back to my room and rest some more, we can talk about my weapon another time” Luke said.

The half-wolf then finished giving feedback to Ezra and returned to the academy dormitory. It was just any afternoon for Luke.

However, for the little blue-haired blacksmith, what happened that day, after Luke left, would be one of the most important memories of his life.

*

Luke said goodbye to Ezra and walked alone out of the building, he took the flying sword that Hephaestus had given him. A few minutes after that and Ezra was already isolated again inside his room.

The boy was in front of a large wooden table, where several diagrams of weapons were arranged. The focus now was only one, to study how he could produce a katana.

Ezra was reviewing everything he had already produced, trying to understand what processes he could already guarantee. After this period, when Hepha was free, Ezra would go to her to get some new diagrams and forging books from the Zhao region.

The little blue-haired blacksmith had also heard rumors about an apprentice who was born in Zhao, so it would be ideal to also go and ask questions of him. This way Ezra would be sure that he could produce a weapon that was relatively similar to a Zhao katana.

But this was not something that was shaking Ezra, in fact, he was excited to learn and test something new. His vision of how to handle the project was being divided into four major steps.

The first part of the project would be to study the two problematic issues of the weapon. That is, its shape and its enchantments. Since Ezra did not have much insight into how to solve these two problems, he would take advantage of Hephaestus’ free time to answer his questions and begin the development of the weapon’s design. Once he fully understood what would be needed to produce the sword, he would move on to the next step.

The second part of the project would be to develop a stable magic circle. This would undoubtedly be one of the most challenging parts, for this Ezra would need to verify which magic circles could balance themselves. It was as if it were really a scale, on the two main sides of the sword, they needed to be in balance of weight, so that the mana would not have problems flowing through the weapon.

This part of the project would be mostly complicated by the testing required, Ezra’s idea to solve this problem was actually relatively simple. He would engrave several magic circles on small daggers, so he would be able to check which ones worked best together and how to balance them when it came to the main weapon.

There was also a way to check this by the structure of the spells, in this case by the type of magic circle. This was a complex task that Ezra had not mastered, so he figured he could clear these doubts with Hephaestus and the other experienced smiths in the academy’s forge.

Once he could create a diagram for the magical part of the weapon, this step would be completed.

The third part of the plan was the most stressful. Since the little blacksmith had not mastered the production of Katanas, ideally he would train by forging a few before setting out on the final project. So he decided that he would produce one katana a day. This way he could get a feel for how this process works, and it would also ensure that the final design would be of good quality.

Producing a sword a day was not such an unusual task for Ezra, it was almost like a habit for him. During his lifetime there were even years when he made three swords a day, all year long, without once making a mistake.

Most of these items ended up being sold outside the academy, while only the better quality ones stayed within the academy. Many of the swords in the academy’s arsenal, as well as some used for training, were part of these almost one thousand weapons that Ezra made in one year.

This boundless production meant that even though Ezra was not recognized within the academy, he possessed an abundance of points and even money. For his age, the little blacksmith already possessed enough wealth to live quietly for a few decades.

Producing so many swords gave Ezra much more than money. He was one of the blacksmiths with the best sense about the choice of materials, so in the third stage he would also take the opportunity to test what materials would be used in the process of making the weapon. This way he would be sure that that katana would have maximum strength and quality.

The last stage was divided into two parts. The first would be to group the production of the Katana with the magic circles, Ezra would have to produce a test katana with the chosen effects. This way he would be able to check how the weapon would react. Once the sword was stable, he could finally move on to the second stage.

The last process would be to make sure to fix any errors that had happened in the test katana. In this way Ezra would solve the problems that might have appeared during the production of the weapon.

He would first create a weapon that was not completely perfect, and then produce a better sword, a work of art.

Once this masterpiece was complete, it would only be necessary to finish the finishing touches. Create a quality handle and sharpen the weapon.

This production process was long, so Ezra figured it should take at least two weeks. But once he put down on paper everything that would be needed to complete that weapon, he finally understood that much more time was needed, at worst a month and a half.

But obviously, Ezra was going to do his utmost to complete that weapon in the shortest time possible. That was his focus, his goal.

The boy was looking at that gigantic amount of paper, wondering how he could solve it. Until Hephaestus came through the door. She had an apprehensive face, something that was not very common for this woman.

She was always confident, funny, domineering, and capable. But this time she was visibly confused, it was a sight Ezra had never had before.

“Master! Is everything all right?” Ezra said.

The forge master was holding a wooden box with her hands, this box possessed an amazing beauty. It was carefully decorated with blue details, while the wood had a beautiful white color.

Hephaestus then raised his head and looked Ezra in the eye. The face of that powerful blacksmith was full of tears, which streamed down her delicate face.

“I kept this from you for a long time, but it was on a promise. I always promised to take care of you, to teach you. I know it took me too long, but now it’s time” Hephaestus said.

She then slowly approached Ezra, who was visibly confused by the situation. Until he finally understood what had happened, once his mistress was close enough, he was able to understand what that box meant.

On the front of the box was a coat of arms that Ezra knew very well. The mark of the blue moon, the forging crest that his mother used.

“That box, that crest. What does that mean master?!” Ezra cried out, confused.

“That is the last request from my best friend, from the most amazing woman I have ever met” Hephaestus said, as he opened that box.

“Who?! And why does this have to do with me. Wait, my mom!” Ezra said, shaking his head. Everything had finally made sense to him.