24 Forging

Kael took out the sword that he used in the Black Line Drake expedition out from his item bag. He then placed the sword on the anvil, preparing to forge it.

Wayland the Smith chuckled. This young man must be a newbie. Usually, when forging items, it was best to forge it out of raw materials. To re-forge a weapon would affect the structural integrity of the weapon; the effects of tempering the item would be reversed.

Furthermore, Kael didn't take out any Heaven and Earth treasures, which made Wayland the Smith think that Kael was just an upstart who didn't know anything about forging at all. How was a Common Rank Item going to be forged without any of Heaven and Earth treasures? Wayland the Smith secretly sighed. He thought he was going to see a good show, but the first few seconds of the show had caused him to be sorely disappointed.

Kael held the sword with his left hand, and picked up a hammer by the side with his right hand. He circulated spiritual energy into the tip of the hammer and began hammering the sword on one of its side.

It was nothing off the norm. Forging items required one to use spiritual energy to temper the weapon or armour. That was a given. Wayland the Smith thought that Kael was just going through the motion.

After 15 minutes of hammering the sword on both sides, Kael stopped. Wayland the Smith frowned. It was too short an amount of time to temper the weapon efficiently. Normally, it would take him half a day to a full day just to get this process of tempering with spiritual energy right.

Furthermore, a blacksmith's skill would be revealed through his consistency in tempering the item. If he was not consistent, then his skills must be lacking. Wayland the Smith found that Kael's hammering was consistent, however it was too short a time to judge his proficiency in blacksmithing. His conclusion was that Kael was just bluffing his way through for unknown purposes.

However, Wayland the Smith would be proven wrong in the next few moments.

Kael put down the hammer and opened his right palm facing upwards. He then muttered some incantations. Following that, golden light began glowing on his right hand's fingertips. The fingers started dancing on the sword, moving through the sword's body in a smooth fluid fashion. Wherever the fingers passed through, there would be signs of magic inscriptions characteristic of mini Spirit Arrays being held in place on the different parts of the sword.

Gradually, the sword began glowing in a dark golden colour with many mini Spirit Arrays engraved onto the sword. The glow then began to dim and the mini Spirit Arrays receded back into the sword.

This process exhausted Kael of all his spiritual energy in his magic reserves in his aurasea. His face was a bit pale and he was sweating profusely.

There was a reason why he needed to hone his cultivation in the Black Heart Forest before coming back to Fledgling City. He needed to have sufficient spiritual energy before he could inscribe Spirit Arrays that had a lasting permanent effect (instead of a temporary one like the Yellow Light Array) onto the weapon.

Kael picked up the sword, satisfied. The onlookers outside of the shop were murmuring to themselves.

"What was that golden glow?"

"It looked like rune arrays. However, are rune arrays really compatible with forging of items? I've never heard of that."

Wayland the Smith was stupefied. Though the onlookers didn't know what Kael did, he himself was clear about what Kael did. Kael was using the long lost secret art of forging using Spirit Arrays to enhance the prowess of the weapons and armours.

The lethality of the weapons forged using Spirit Arrays instead of Heaven and Earth treasures could be said to be even more, depending on the quality of the Spirit Arrays.

Kael walked towards Wayland the Smith, whose mouth was opened wide. He then extended his hand and passed the sword to Wayland the Smith, who received it with his trembling hands.

"Inspect it. You can test its durability against any Common Rank Item."

Wayland the Smith's eyes opened wide in bewilderment at the sword in his hands. It looked like any normal sword to his eyes and touch, however he knew that it wasn't the case. He inserted spiritual energy into the sword, and the Spirit Arrays on the sword activated, showing itself and covering the sword in a dark golden glow.

"Someone come over and pick up that green colour axe by the side!" Wayland the Smith shouted for someone to test the weapon.

A curious onlooker hurried over and held onto the green axe. It was a Common Rank item as well.

Next, Wayland the Smith ordered the onlooker to use the axe and clash with the golden sword in his hand. The onlooker complied and did so.

"Ha! Take this!" The onlooker waved the axe and clashed against the sword with all his might.

"Crack! Crack!"

Cracks began to appear on the head of the axe. Following that, the head crumbled into pieces.

Wayland the Smith and the onlookers were all shocked at the result. A Common Rank Item forged from precious Heaven and Earth treasures was broken with one strike? What kind of power did this sword contain?!

Kael smiled to himself at one side as he saw the result he expected. He then said, "A sword forged from the proper Spirit Arrays can have exponential power surpassing that of same rank items made from Heaven and Earth treasures. Of course, the drawback is that one has to consume spiritual energy to activate the weapon. However, with its added strength, it more than compensates for this drawback."

This art of forging was actually something Kael learnt when he was the Invoker through an ancient forging scroll. However, it was only useful for Common and Uncommon Rank Items. Items of higher ranks wouldn't experience benefits from these Spirit Arrays.

Wayland the Smith looked at Kael and stuttered, "What's your purpose of showing me this wondrous forging technique?"

"As I said, this sword is yours. My intention? I want to start a business."