Chapter 39- FlameFlume Embergeist

Abel had been reading all sorts of different records for the past 3 hours.

He had learned so much about the world of Faeron and read many things that could never be found online.

Just the information he currently had about the world's history and the many perilous regions was enough of a reward for this arduous quest. He had learned about many secrets that were only known to the more powerful NPC's.

He had learned of the Arcane Twins.

It told of the Legendary Mage siblings who had been blessed by the elements ever since birth. At the Legendary realm, they had harnessed the elements to such a degree, akin to the gods and created a floating city in the sky.

The city vanished mysteriously one day not long after their death, only showing up for those destined for it, leaving only whispers of its magical secrets across the realm.

He read about The Oracle.

It told of an enigmatic oracle who roamed the realms, offering cryptic prophecies that shape the destinies of people and nations alike. Some believe the oracle was an immortal being, the first oracle of the profession while others believe it's merely a title passed down through the ages.

Branthor had apparently met this oracle throughout his travels many years ago. In fact, it was this very oracle that set him on his path to seek out his chance for advancement. Abel marked this passage among the many, in case it might be of some use.

He had found out about the lost city of Iridia, once home to the powerful Aasimar Race that disappeared long ago.

Branthors notes portrayed it as a fabled city said to be hidden between dimensions, accessible only to those who possess a mystical key. He claimed it holds ancient knowledge and artifacts from a forgotten era and it was a path he was pursuing for the birthplace of weapons.

He had also come to figure out that the world had passed through many eras. 

He wasn't sure how long an era was or how many have passed exactly but he had read of 3 distant eras already.

The era of celestial convergence was so long ago that there was only a mention of it in a tattered old scroll that seemed to be on the brink of collapse.

The era of the Elder Mage was also long forgotten. It seemed to be a time when a single mage dominated all those across the realm. While the era of Divine Schism seemed to be a few tens of thousands of years ago. It was an age where the pantheon of gods had divided itself into 3, each faction warring with the other.

As to what for and why?

Abel had no clue but the records mentioned that this era was rife with wars. Human against human, elf against elf.

During those days, race was inconsequential. The belief in their gods dominated certain domains and multi-ethnic powers rose depending on the faith they believed in. In fact, the few multi-ethnic powers of today are a remnant of this bygone era.

There were also several Dark Ages, the records would mention eras when chaos descended.

It would either give birth to a new era or push the mortal realm down a path of darkness for many years. Abel didn't quite understand these parts, but he was missing a lot of information.

The records weren't complete and sometimes they were just the thoughts and musings of their writer.

When he was taking a break and rubbing his tired eyes, he caught sight of a thin, leather-bound journal tucked away behind heavier volumes. It only showed itself because he had gone through many more records that were before it.

Its cover bore a faded emblem, an exquisite hammer that reminded him of the key to the legacy crossed over a quill.

Intrigued, he gingerly opened the pages, revealing a series of cryptic annotations written in Branthors elegant hand writing.

"Flame's Bright Birth – The Taboo Flames"

"The Heart Chamber – Always Shrouded in Light"

"The Forge of Kin shall lead the way"

Abel reached to grab an old diary he had read an hour ago and flipped the pages, where he came across a passage written right before Branthors departure.

"The first weapon… the first weapon… It is not the first, but the first of its kind."

'Hmm what if he's not talking about the weapon type, but the grade…?'

Abel mused to himself as he thought about it further. He then reached out to an old journal Branthor must have written in his younger years.

"Damn those arrogant Merfolk! All I asked for was a fire seed from the Magma Serpent, yet they threw me out of the palace without a word. How am I to re-forge my ancestors hammer without a strong enough flame?"

'It seems the higher level the item, the more stringent the requirements in its forging… I recall the hammer's description saying it was forged in a flame of a bygone era. So, he obviously found a flame to use after this encounter with the Merfolk… Hmm could the bright flame be something taboo. But what sort of flame could be considered taboo in this world...'

Abel looked over the 3 annotations and thought about it for a few minutes. He felt like he was on the edge of connecting the dots but the answer would elude him the next second.

'I should take a break. Maybe if I take a step back and think over it slowly, it'll come on its own'

He slowly got up and started packing up the mess around him. He kept the scrolls and diaries he marked out together on one side and put everything back in order.

He had gone through about 60% of all Branthors records which was a feat in itself. But he hadn't yet touched any of old man Rye's books.

He could have never imagined reading so much yet remembering most of it just a week ago.

After eating some black bread and swallowing it down with water, he made his way out of the study.

He crossed the long hallway and found the forge old man Rye had told him about.

Blacksmithing in game was much simpler than traditional blacksmithing in real life. Although it basically followed the same steps, just the stats increase for a player's avatar would ease the process immensely.

First you would have to heat the ingot to make it more malleable, this was known as normalizing the metal.

Next you need to taper it, drawing out the metal to make the basic shape of the weapon. This was a time-consuming task in reality but was much easier in-game.

After tapering, the tang would be created. This was the part that was used to attach the weapon to its handle and was made before you shape the rest of the metal.

The shaping of the blade was the most difficult aspect in reality, as the blacksmith would have to pay attention to the bevels and edges of the weapon, reheating it regularly within the forge to maintain the metal's malleability.

The quenching process comes after, either quenching it in oil or water after heating the shaped metal to its critical temperature. This would also harden the metal and allow for a smoother tempering process which came next.

After quenching it, you would re-heat the weapon at a lower temperature and temper it further, helping reduce the brittleness and enhance its toughness. Abel guessed the tempering process is what decides a weapons durability in-game.

Finally, you would start the grinding process to further shape it while also removing the smaller impurities that were missed in earlier stages.

The final step would be to attach the handle or pommel depending on the weapon type and carry out the assembly. You could secure it in place with rivets, threading it or peening the tang through a premade hole in the handle.

An armor would follow a similar process except certain steps were a little different. The tempering stage would need a lower critical temperature and you would have to spend a longer time shaping the metal as well as assembling the joints.

Xiaowen hadn't actually made an armor before since they weren't really in demand but he knew the basic principles behind its craft.

Abel recalled the Xiang family would go a step further and decorate the end result with engravings or etchings, making it more appealing to the eye.

'Maybe when the advanced skills are unlocked I'll be able to do the same. It might be the way to add enchantments.'

Able looked around and was about to get started when saw there wasn't any ingots in stock and neither was there any fuel available to start a fire in the forge so he awkwardly back peddled to the study.

'Damn it! I'll have to purchase these supplies when I come back from my dungeon run'

Just as he was about to re-enter the study, he saw old man Rye walking out of another room.

"Why didn't you try your hand at forging child?"

"Uhh… I don't have any ingots and there isn't any coal in the forge. I plan on getting some supplies later on when I head out."

Abel awkwardly replied but he couldn't just lie to a Legends face so he bit the bullet and told him the truth.

"Ah yes, you'll indeed need some ingots but there's no need to get any coal. My brother had come across a Flameflume Embergeist in his travels and placed its heart in the forge. You just need to supply it with a bit of mana to activate"

Abel's eye's widened in surprise and ecstasy!

He had read many records in the study and understood there were certain creatures beyond the known races that were special and couldn't be categorized as a species. There were also many objects in the world that would be deemed as natural treasures, especially to certain professions.

A Flameflume Embergeist was a spirit of flames that would often cause trouble in towns and villages that were close to volcanos. They were birthed from the fiery mountains and wished to spread its influence further so they would cause spontaneous fires in the surrounding areas without warning.

If an alchemist or a blacksmith ever got the heart of such a creature, then it would save them a tremendous amount of time and energy in creating the necessary flames for their craft!

Abel felt pretty silly that he hadn't actually tested it out but he couldn't be blamed.

He kept thinking of the "traditional" way a blacksmith goes about forging and forgot he was in a virtual fantasy world that doesn't follow his common sense.

"Thank you for the reminder sir! I'll purchase the ingots and have a try after I'm done with my tasks"

Abel felt pretty embarrassed, the old man had already told him to call out to him if he needed anything but he didn't want to bother a Legend with mere trifles.

It seemed the old guardian could read Abel's mind as he shook his head with a smile and made his way to another room.

'I should log out and have dinner, move my body a little. Yeah I'll log out to exercise and eat then come back and clear the dungeon.'

Abel changed his plans considering the current circumstances and went back to the study, intending to log out for now.