18 The Forge

I made my way to Devil Ancestor's mansion. When I got there, the servants escorted me back to my guest room. It didn't take long for Kogthoz, the Devil Ancestor, to visit me.

"Boy, I know you should be able to create Soulflame qi if you are back. Quickly show me what you have learned," said Kogthoz.

It was my time to show off. I created a match size bit of Fire qi on my index finger and waved it around.

"This young noble has already stepped into the Fire Dao." I boasted shamelessly as I showed off my pea-sized flame.

"Magnificent boy, you are ready to learn blacksmithing. You have not let me down after practicing for so long," said Kogthoz.

"I believe you are wondering why the [Lumiid Serpesco Scripture] seems so amazing?"

"It is far above a normal Devil Knight Scripture. I created that Scripture myself from the study of this dilapidated artifact," said Kogthoz as he showed a book.

"It contains information on Soul Dao. I found it during my travels to other realms. I believe I have gained all I can from studying this book."

"From slowly studying this you could gain insight into the Soul Dao. It helped this old devil's craftsmanship skills to study the formation that went into this artifact."

"I do not specialize in Soul Dao so it has no more usage to me other than being a neat archaeological find."

"Boy, if you can work hard on your crafting skills impressing this old devil the next few weeks then I will gift this artifact to you."

"Maybe you could return this artifact to its peak state. Then you will have a brilliant support tool. So are you ready to learn to craft properly?"

Devil Ancestor is forcing my hand with a stick and carrot! He dangled a damaged artifact that's useful to my Dao right in front of me. A damaged artifact is above the items I could gain access to myself. This item would be a great boon to this young noble. I must work hard in the next few weeks!

"Yes. Devil Ancestor, I would never let you down!" I said.

"Hehe, boy, you won't be sneaking out again with such a delicate treasure as the stakes. Now let's go to the forging room," said Kogthoz.

My old Devil Ancestor and me a dashing young devil noble headed to the Devil Ancestor's forge.

It was an enormous drab room in the mansion's basement. I could tell it was heavily used from the smell of sulfur and ash permeating from the very walls. The Ancestor had packed the room with various tools and equipment for forging.

"Blacksmithing is part of the Craftsman Dao, which is also a part of the Creation Dao. Learning to forge and create metal weapons and armaments is the core of this art," said Devil Ancestor as he began his grandpa speech.

"The most basic requirement to be a blacksmith is having Fire qi. Fire qi is the fuel source used to power a devil forge. Metals depending on their Tier require different levels of Fire qi to forge."

"The basic tools you need are a forge, hammer, chisel, tongs, fuller, and a slack tub. With these tools, you can create any basic devil armament."

"We separate the Devil Arts necessary for creating a devil armament into forging, welding, heat-treating, and finishing."

"Forging has six basic techniques: drawing, upsetting, bending, swaging, punching, and forge welding. Once you have understood these techniques properly, you will forge your first item. The most important things to a good blacksmith are his understanding of Metal Dao, his control of Fire Dao, and his precision with his tools."

"You do not need an understanding of Metal Dao to practice blacksmithing, but to move forward in the blacksmith ranks it is a requirement."

"We denote blacksmiths into tiers just like Devil Titles, and they correspond to the level of devil armament one can make. I can make Devil Duke Armaments so I am Devil Duke Smith."

"Even though I'm only a Devil Count, my understanding of Metal Dao and Fire Dao is very comprehensive. With my understanding of the Daos, I can forge Devil Duke Armaments with special techniques."

"Your own Devil Wraps are a Devil Duke Armament using Sleysium a Tier-2 abyss metal known for its darkness and malleable properties. They are only a support type Devil Duke Armament, formed with a low-grade metal."

"Unless someone used them personally, it would be impossible to tell that they are a Devil Duke Armament. Your armament is a Devil Duke Armament because I forged it with the Fire Essence of a Devil Duke Smith."

"Here you will find [Kogthoz Duke Smith Scripture, Volume 1 - Esquire] and an Esquire storage ring filled with Esquire Devil Smith tools."

"Boy, you better be glad your old Devil Ancestor is feeling generous today. A Devil Scripture is much more valuable than an individual Devil Art. A Devil Scripture compiles a devil's knowledge on a subject."

"This Devil Scripture is for Esquire smithing. It includes information on all Tier-0 and Tier-1 metals that I know about, their physical descriptions, their usages, and where you can find them. It also includes my understanding of Esquire Metal Dao and Esquire Fire Dao with many Devil Arts for forging using these Daos."

"This old Devil Duke Smith dare not say he has written the best Devil Smith Scripture, but Volume 1 -Esquire is a best-seller haha."

"If you weren't a member of the Hudson clan, you'd have to pay a lot of fel shards to get your hands on this. Hudson clan devils who have gained insight into the Fire Dao are given Volume 1 free of charge, however."

"Even if they don't want to become a blacksmith, the Fire Dao information is very helpful. [Volume 2 - Knight] is different, however. Like all Devil Knight Scriptures, it requires clan contribution points or fel shards to exchange for."

"I can't go around giving everything for free to unfilial descendants."

"Now boy I've talked your head off again, I apologize. You will have to further your understanding of the Blacksmithing Dao by studying the Scripture."

"I will now forge an Esquire Armament. Though you do not understand blacksmithing yet, it will be helpful for you to have seen an Armament forged when studying the Scripture."

Kogthoz then went in front of his forge and picked up a ruby looking metal.

"This is Kufril, a Tier-1 metal with soul properties. It is a good metal for making resentment weapons."

"Boy, watch me work!"

He imbued Fire qi within the forge and threw in the Kufril on his tongs. The metal quickly turned into a blood-red color.

He withdrew the metal from the forge and placed it on top of the anvil. He then executed several skillful hammer strikes, remaking the metal into the form of a small dagger blade.

He then picked up the small dagger blade and ground it into a sharp dagger blade. Kogthoz took out a common dagger hilt and attached the small dagger blade to it.

I thought it was some skillful use of devilry. From grabbing the metal to completing the dagger, it only took around 15 seconds. I felt my Devil Ancestor slowed down so I could see all the steps.

The mortal rule of thermodynamics means nothing to a devilry practitioner!

They taught devils mortal rules that govern the universe as elementary knowledge. Devilry practitioners cared nothing about these rules as they were beyond them.

Kogthoz quickly shooed me out of his forging room after showing off such supreme skill.

~~~

A Devil Ancestor always has to maintain a bit of mystery, shock, and awe when doing things. This old devil got a few respect points from that unfilial brat. I should have time to complete a few new Duke Armaments while he is digesting that scripture.

~~~

I got back to my guest room and immediately dove into the scripture. After my Devil Ancestor showed off how cool blacksmithing could be, I had to learn it!

I definitely can pull the ladies which such skills.

'Hey baby you need a magic wand, this young noble has the thickest and longest wand you have ever seen. My rod can go all night long baby!'

My daydreaming didn't last long as there was much to learn. I could not become an Esquire Smith overnight. I needed to gain a proper understanding of metal properties and how to work with them before attempting my first forging.

I dropped the scripture, absorbed a few fel shards, and practiced my old dependable [Flint & Steel Art] before heading to bed.