Chapter 3: Sword Art

"Hmmmmgmm. . ." I wake up and stretch, letting out a long groan as I do so. Opening my eyes, I stare up at the ceiling for a few moments before slowly sitting up. Seeing the room around me brings a smile to my face as I confirm that yesterday was not a dream.

I throw off the covers and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take a shower in preparation for the day ahead of me. I decided that I want to hold off on going into the dungeon until I at least have proper gear to protect myself and what better gear to use than ones I make myself.

I get out and dry myself off before getting dressed and going to the kitchen and making myself some sandwiches. I make two for myself and another two for Hephaestus in case she's gets hungry while working. After making them and putting them in a lunchbox, I leave the room and make my way to her office.

On the way there I ponder about what I should make today. I want to make something that looks cool but isn't too complicated. I can't go for anything overly powerful or that has special effects but there are plenty of weapons I can think of that are just fine without any of that. After thinking for a while on my walk, I decide I want to make some weapons from Sword Art Online.

Elucidator has always been one of my favorite weapons of all time, at least in terms of appearance. It's also not a overly special blade, just being more durable and sharper than most. Then there is also Dark Repulser. While I can admit it's a beautiful blade, I'm personally not too big of a fan of its appearance. But if I make one I have to make the other, It just wouldn't be right otherwise. While I'm at it, I can make a few more blades from the series and make my first blacksmith series, the Sword Art Series.

Other than those two weapons I can make Asuna's rapier, Lambent Light. Since she is Kirito's love interest it's only right. Then I can make the blade of my favorite girl from the series, Strea. Invaria is a pretty looking blade that will probably be popular amongst females alongside Lambent Light.

Lastly, The blade I want to make the most, Fragrant Olive. This one I don't have too much hope of being able to successfully make since unlike the others it does have a special ability. But It'll be a good test to see if I can make some of the weaker special weapons I want to make in the future. Even if I can't get it to fully work, Fragrant Olive is still a great weapon being even heavier and sharper that Elucidator.

As a normal blade It should be good for Third and Second Class Adventurers like the other four. However, If I can make it to it's fullest then even First Class Adventurers will want it. At that point I'll only make one since having too many fully released Fragrant Olives would definitely not be good.

If I can fully make Fragrant Olive, then I'll also make Alice's Integrity Knight Armor to go with it. As for the other four Armor's I'll make for the Sword Art Series, I'll think about that later since I want to focus on the weapons for now.

Those five would be good for the first series but none of them will be my personal weapon. The weapon I want is Diane's Gideon. Not full size mind you, at least not yet. I want to try an make a Gideon my size but one that can shrink to the size of a blacksmith's hammer so I can use it as such and carry it on my hip.

I can't make it grow to Diane's size or have the ability to manipulate earth just yet since that's beyond my current skill level, but if {Divine Flame} works the way Hephaestus and I think it does, I should be able to make it shrink just fine. Wielding a blacksmiths hammer with the weight of a war hammer will be fine since I have Divine Body from {Demi-God} but once I get it to full size. . . that's for the future. If I ever get there though maybe I should make it so I can wield it with my mind like King does with Chastiefol. Slamming a giant hammer down on monsters with my mind sounds pretty badass, not gonna lie.

I realize that during my thoughts I have already arrived at Hephaestus's office. I open the door and walk in with box in hand and see Hephaestus sitting at the desk writing something.

"Hi Hephy!!" I call out with enthusiasm making her freeze and look up at me with slightly reddened cheeks.

"Good morning, Heine. I see you're energetic today. You can place the sandwiches on the side of my desk. Thank you for making them for me." she says with a gentle smile.

"Aww, I wanted it to be a surprise. Can you hear all my thoughts?" I ask while pouting and putting her two sandwiches on her desk.

"No I can't. It seems only thoughts about me or ones you direct towards me are the ones I can hear. which is good, who knows how much of a headache I would have if I could hear everything you think." she says making me nod and feel relief. While I plan on trusting her with the fact that I'm not from this world eventually, I'm not ready to do that just yet.

"So. . . I plan on making some weapons today to practice my smithing and have a blade to use when I go into the dungeon but I don't know where I can go to make them. I have my forge back home but it's a bit far." I say and she gets a look of excitement on her face.

"In that case I can take a break from work today to accompany you while you make them. I want to see you at work in the forge. As for where you can make them, one of my two personal forges is on the floor where are rooms are. You can use it whenever you like." She replies, surprising me.

"Are you sure I can use your forge? I don't want to intrude or anything." I ask and she smiles in response.

"We are. . . I guess you can say partners for now. So you can use any of my stuff if you like. Besides, don't you wanna woo me? The best way to do that is to keep impressing me with your works. I already am amazed at what you accomplished without skills or magic, now I want to see what you can do with it." she says while blushing slightly. I also go a bit red at her words but nod with determination.

"Alright, I guess we can head over there now?" I ask and she excitedly gets up grabs the sandwiches I made for her and pulls me out of the room and back up to our floor. Along the way I notice people bow their head toward her as she passes by before look strangely at me and her hand pulling mine as they whisper to each other.

After the relatively short walk back, she takes me to a different part of the floor that I haven't been to yet and we stop before a set of large Iron Doors. She lets go of my hand, making me sad for a moment, but that sadness disappears as she opens the door revealing her personal forge in all it's glory.

The red stone brick floor, the raging flame in red brick forge in the back of the room with the large bellows, the Oricalchum Anvil a bit in front of it near the center of the room, and a quenching trough to the side of the anvil. The walls on both sides sporting racks with a variety of tools for smithing, plenty I have seen and plenty I have never even heard of. I notice two doors on the back wall on either side of the forge near the corners of the room and ask Hephaestus where they lead.

"The door on the left goes to a small resting room where you can take a break from work and the heat of the forge while the door on the right goes to a storage room filled with materials that you'll need for making your weapons. Normally I don't give away materials since I prefer my children use their own but I also don't normally let my children use my personal forge so I'll make an exception this time. Especially since I want to see more of what you can do." she says.

"Thanks Hephy, In the future I'll definitely pay you back even though I know you don't mind. I'll be farming lots of materials from the dungeon for the both of us anyways so it's not like I'll be going too far out of my way." I say and she smiles before replying.

"Alright, if that's what you want to do then I won't stop you. Lets head into the storage and grab what you need to make what you want to make today." she says and I follow her into the storage room before explaining what I want to make.

"I want to make four swords, a rapier, and a war hammer. The four swords and the rapier I want to make as part of my first series of weapons while the war hammer will be my personal weapon. For the first sword, It needs to have a pretty decent amount of weight to it while also being very durable." I say and she nods and leads me to a rack with large ingots on it before grabbing one.

"This is Adamantite, It's the second strongest material that we know about. You can find it pretty much anywhere in the dungeon but the deeper the floor the purer and better it will be. This specific piece is from the middle floors. It will fit your requirements for the weapon without being too rare or expensive. Even so, Mostly only level 3-4 adventurers will buy it as it might be a bit expensive for most level 2's. It's usually a bit harder to mass produce Adamantite weapons but you just so happen to have a skill that solves that problem." she says and I think for a moment before realizing.

"{Forge Library}!! With replicate, I can make copies of the sword without needing more materials. But that seems a bit too convenient though. . . " I say making her nod.

"Yes it is, there is most likely a drawback such as the replicated weapon not being as strong or requiring a large amount of mind to use but we'll have to do some tests to find out. Now, what do you need for your other weapons?" she asks.

"For the second weapon I need something almost as durable as the first, but much lighter. The third weapon doesn't need as much durability but it has to be even lighter and more flexible. The fourth weapon doesn't really have too many requirements except not being too light but also not too heavy. The fifth and final weapon of the series is probably going to be the hardest to find the right materials for of the five." I say making her raise an eyebrow before moving and grabbing another three large ingots.

"The first ingot is Dir Adamantite, it's a processed version of Adamantite that doesn't lose much of it's strength but is quite a bit lighter. The second is Light Metal, it's light, flexible, and resistant. The third one is Damascus, It's a bit on the heavier side but it's durable and strong. Now, what's this fourth weapon you seem so unsure about?" She asks and I pause for a moment to think about the requirements for Fragrant Olive.

"It's what you could call a Divine sword in a sense. Both in terms of appearance and ability, even if it is weaker than some of the others I want to make in the future. If it was just a blade then making it wouldn't really be tough but. . . It's the ability I want it to have that makes it difficult to make. When activated, the blade of the sword will split into hundreds or even thousands of golden flower petals, each one less than a centimeter long. The petals have to be ridiculously heavy and sharp to be able to inflict damage but also have to be able to move at high speeds otherwise it would be useless. As for controlling the petals, I want it to be done through moving the grip that remains in hand when the blade splits." I say while looking down with one hand on my chin and the other supporting that arm by the elbow. After a while of silence, I look up and see Hephaestus staring at me in shock.

"You. . . you. . . do you realize how much of a freak-out that kind of weapon will cause when it's revealed!? And you say it's one of the weaker ones you want to make!? Don't we still have to make your personal weapon after that? Is that also a divine weapon too!?" She asks me and I have to take a moment to appreciate her adorable surprised face.

"Not now mister! You wont distract me with your thoughts." She says and I let out a sigh.

"My personal weapon is technically a divine weapon as well, but it's not as strong." I say and she relaxes in relief. "At least not yet." I continue and said relief quickly vanishes. She stares at me for a while before shaking her head with a hand on her face.

"Whatever, I should have expected this once I saw your status." She says exasperatedly before continuing. "Since you want it to have weight and durability, a Damascus and Orichalcum Alloy will work. However, that's when you don't take into consideration the blade splitting which will involve magic. Mithril has a high magic conductivity as well as a high resistance making great for what you need. It being very easy to work with helps as well. So a Mithril and Orichalcum Alloy would work better but that will diminish some of the magic conductivity making harder to control the petals. . ."

I watch her as she stands there deep in thought, the expression she makes when in deep thought makes me want to kiss her. She glares at me making me blush, but I don't look away. If I want to be with her I'll have to get used to these kinds of things. I'm a man, I won't back down. She shakes her head with a smile before going back to thinking.

"Oricalchum is necessary so we can apply the Durandal attribute making it virtually indestructible, and the Mithril is needed to make passing mind through it easier. Having Seiros would be good too to increase the power of the magic which would also reduce the amount of mind needed to achieve the same effect. Since we are using the Grip as a controller of sorts, most of the magic will be done there so we can use a Mithril case with a Seiros core for that while using the Mithril and Oricalchum alloy for the blade." She says and I look at her in confusion.

"Why a Mithril case with a Seiros core for the grip instead of just an alloy of the two?" I ask.

"The conductivity of the Mithril and the enhancement of the Seiros would interfere with each other if we make them an alloy. So rather than trying to do both at once, we should have a Mithril casing to make it easier for our mind to pass through to the Seiros core which will act as both an amplifier of our magic as well as an intermediary between the Mithril in the Grip and the Mithril in the blade." she says and I nod my head and take a second to admire Hephaestus's knowledge. She has a lot of experience I don't have and it seems even with all my skills I still have a long way to go before I can call myself a master blacksmith.

"Alright, I guess we should grab Mithril and Orichalcum for my war hammer since I need it to be durable and have high magic conductivity. Sweet, Lets do this!" I say and rush out to the forge making Hephaestus laugh at my excitement as she grabs the last of the materials and some few extras before following me out.

Once in the forge, I grab the tongs, hammer, a few ingot molds, and the crucible and place them by the anvil before grabbing an apron and putting it on. Hephaestus comes out and places the materials by me and steps back to watch me work.

The first thing I want to do Is make the alloys. From what I know, this usually is difficult with minerals like Orichalcum and Mithril and it takes a while but I have an idea to solve that. I head to the forge and put out the flame making Hephaestus look at me weirdly for a moment until she sees me ignite it with my {Divine Flame}.

Now in place of the orange flame from before is a bright golden flame that moves in a way that makes it seem alive. The both of us admire the flame for a bit but eventually I go and grab the crucible with the tongs and place an Orichalcum Ingot and a Mithril Ingot inside. I move the crucible into the flames and watch as the flames move towards it and dance around it as if happy to see it.

After a short while, in the crucible is the molten combination of the two metals. I Pour the molten liquid into the large ingot mold and let it sit there to cool before repeating the process a few more times with the other molds. Afterwards, I use the tongs to heat up the Adamantite ingot for the first sword.

Once hot enough I bring it to the anvil and get to work. Using measured and calculated strikes, I hammer away at the metal under the watchful eye of Hephaestus. Her gaze puts a bit of pressure on me but I do my best to power through it and work on the task at hand. Eventually, after a few more repetitions of heating it up and hammering, the shape of a sword is made. I place the sword in the trough to quench it then place it off to the side as I work on the smaller pieces of the sword. After they're all done, I use the grindstone to smooth the blade and sharpen it with a whetstone before putting it all together.

It's a shame I can't get it to have the same colors as the original but It's still a good sword. I hold the blade horizontally in my hands and am about to speak when it suddenly sets aflame with my {Divine Flame}. The golden light it emits becomes so bright the both of us have to close our eyes but once it recedes, we open them and look at the blade.

In my hand lies a pitch black sword with trims of gray. It has a black hilt connected to a hand guard that drops down on the right side. Attached to this elongated area of the hand-guard is part of the blade, so as to better aid the user in retaining their grip on the sword when being used. The blade is completely black like the rest of the sword and is outlined in a light gray trim.

Hephaestus quickly runs up to me and grabs the sword to examine it.

"Hmmmm, the properties and shape of the blade are exactly the same as before it caught fire, the only difference is the colors." she says and I blush before explaining what happened.

"I was just thinking it was a shame I couldn't get it to have the same color scheme as what I envisioned in my head when it happened." I say making her laugh out loud.

"Well I guess at least you'll never make an ugly sword." She says between giggles before continuing. "The blade is definitely beautiful. The weight is a bit on the heavier side for a one handed sword but it shouldn't be a problem for the stronger level 2 adventurers and onwards. Overall, It's a good sword and you can easily see the consideration you put into having it be available for the lower level adventurers. It should last up to Level 4. Technically it's plenty usable for a level 5 but since it will become almost completely obsolete at level 6, it's better to switch to a better weapon at 5 and get used to using it." she says making me smile with pride. Although the design is something made by someone else it's still a sword I made.

"What's it's name?" she asks to which I reply. "Elucidator."

"A good name, at least you're not like that brat Welf in that regard. I should introduce you to him, maybe you can help him with his naming sense." she says with a laugh.

With the first blade done, I move on to making the second one. This time I repeat the entire process with the Dir Adamantite and soon enough the golden flames erupt once more, this time revealing an aqua-colored sword with a grip that is darker than the rest of it and is completely straight. The grip leads to a cross-guard that is exactly perpendicular to it and is designed to look like a pair of conjoined dagger blades. At the center of the guard is a large aquamarine gem. The blade itself is a deep aqua color and the base of the blade has a light-aqua attachment that causes the blade to have a natural indentation when one traces its length due to the angle that the attachment bends at. Once again Hephaestus examines it before speaking.

"A blade even more beautiful than the last one. The strength and durability is roughly the same as the first one. However, this one is much lighter. Gaining the advantage of swifter strikes while sacrificing the power provided by the weight. Like the other sword, this one will be best up to level 4 but due to the decreased weight, even a level 1 should have no problem wielding it. This one has also only had a change in color. Now what's its name?"

"Dark Repulser" I reply and she smiles at the name.

"This one is going to be more popular just from the name alone." she says making me nod.

Once more I heat up the next metal, this time being the Light Metal and get to work. I use different hammering techniques this time due to it having different requirements but I eventually finish with no hassle and we go through the flames again.

In my hands lies a rapier with a flat silver blade and an aqua colored guard and grip. The grip has a small silver pommel in the end and at the top is an aqua colored ring that serves as a hand-guard. there is an attachment at the base of the blade that wraps around it diagonally. both the guard and attachment have a silver trim.

"Light and flexible while still being durable. A weapon designed for speed as a rapier should be. In terms of usability, it won't go as far as the other two. Level 3 being the latest the weapon will last but in exchange, level ones can easily wield it. With it being made out of Light Metal, they can afford it too. As for the post-flame changes, its the same thing as the other two so far. Name?" she asks.

"Lambent Light" I reply already knowing what she'll say.

"Another winner in the name department." she chuckles.

After another smithing session, this time taking quite a bit longer due to the much larger size of the blade, a new weapon rests in my hands. A large, purple two-handed sword with silver edges. Its blade has a small curvature on each side and on the tip to allow both slicing and squashing at the same time. A light pink motif is inlaid on the blade. Hephaestus examines the weapon carefully once again.

"A great sword this time. Quite heavy compared to the others so it won't be able to be wielded by anyone except those with high strength. It'll be hard to use it at level 1 but shouldn't be too bad at level 2 as long as the stats are there. It should last until about halfway through level 4. You can push it till the end but I wouldn't recommend it. Nonetheless, so far you have a good variety of weapons available for your first series. What's the name this time?" she says before asking the name once more.

"Invaria." I say and she replies, "Not as good as the last two in my opinion but a good name nonetheless. Now. . . It's time for that bullshit sword of yours. Before you start though, I suggest you make a normal version using Adamantite for mass production to get used the crafting process. It is more complicated than the last four after all."

I listen to her and do just that. First making the Adamantite Casing for the grip followed by the Adamantite Core that will fit inside it. It might be redundant but it will give me practice. After sliding the core in, I place the casing into the fire to let the two pieces bond. I pull it out after a while and turn it upside down to check it. After seeing that the core doesn't slide out, I move on to making the blade using the alloy I made in the beginning. Once the blade is complete, I make the guard and then assemble the entire blade together.

"Not very Divine looking so far, but I guess that's going to change in a moment huh?" she asks and I nod my head as the sword is engulfed in flames. after a moment, the flames disappear to reveal a longsword with a slender form. Every part of the sword from the guard to the pommel seem like they are made out of dazzling gold while the blade itself is dyed in a bright golden yellow distinctly more intense than the rest of it. A cross-shape flower design decorates the sword's guard.

"Wow. . ." I hear her say "That. . . definitely looks like a divine weapon. Quick try to make the true one now. I want to see it." she asks in a way that almost sounds like. . . begging?

"I am not!" she pouts making me smile as I move to make the real version.

I follow the same process as before, this time swapping out the Adamantite for the Mithril/Orichalcum alloy for the blade while using Mithril for the grip casing and Seiros for the core. In a short while, the blade is finished and the flames alight but this time things are different.

The blade floats out of my hand and an aura of divinity spreads out from it, quickly filling the room. The flames are brighter and hotter than before, and soon enough we're closing our eyes and waiting. After what feels like forever we are able to open our eyes and lay them upon the golden blade.

There in the middle of the room, floats the sword perpendicular to the floor with the tip of the blade point downwards. It slowly rotates in place while letting off a soft, gentle, golden glow and an aura of divinity. The other five swords I made are gently trembling, as if happily welcoming their master.

I reach out and grasp the grip of the sword and marvel at how comfortable it feels to wield it, like it's an extension of myself. I give it a few test swings and find nothing wrong before pouring my mind into the grip. The blade fragments and becomes what seems to be a golden stream of dust flowing from the guard. I twist the grip and the tiny petals spread throughout the room and fill it, gently falling like golden leaves in autumn.

I see Hephaestus laughing and twirling around, her beautiful red hair waving about, as she looks everywhere in the room at the petals and I let out a small smile at seeing her so happy. I twist the grip again and all the petals return and condense back into a single solid blade making the sword complete once more. Hephaestus runs over to me and I hand her the sword which she gently takes out of my hands.

"The Durandal attribute is there and it seems there's no problem with activating the blade so far. It's far better than the other blades, able to last to level 9 and maybe even 10. I definitely don't recommend mass producing this though, this is far to powerful to throw around like candy. What's its name?" she asks and I smile as I reply. "Fragrant Olive."

She smiles while looking up at the golden weapon in her hand before looking up at me.

"It's the most beautiful yet." she says happily.

"I don't know. . . I'm looking at something even more beautiful." I say as I look directly at her. She blushes as the brightest smile I have ever seen appears on her face and she leans over to me to give me a kiss on the cheek. My face goes red as she speaks.

"What are you going to name your first series?" she asks me, looking at me with curiosity in her eye.

"The Sword Art Series" I reply and she smiles.

"Quite a good name, now go make your war hammer, I'm looking forward to it even more now." I nod and take a moment to remember the hammer in my mind. The other weapons I remembered as I went so while they turned out great, they could be better. The only exception being Fragrant Olive since I made a practice one first.

After organizing my thoughts, I start making the head of the hammer using the Alloy, one side being a round hammer head while the other being a pick. Afterwards, I make the conical, spiral-like, piece that will connect the shaft to the bottom of the hammer head. Then I make the shaft, doing my best to work out all the bumps and rings along it and finish it off by making the pommel. I get to work placing and fusing the pieces together and after it's complete, the same as before happened. Since we saw Fragrant Olive we knew what to expect. . . or so we thought.

The large war hammer refused to leave my hand as it caught fire and soon, the flames spread from the hammer to myself. Pain wracked my body as I screamed at the top of my lungs. An aura of divinity spreads out like before but this time covering the entirety of Orario. I feel Hephaestus come running to help me so I yell at her.

"STAY BACK!!" I shout and she stops while looking at me worriedly. "Don't come closer, I'm fine. It just hurts a lot. Don't worry, I can feel the flame so I know it will be over soon." she keeps watching me, clear distress on her face as I suffer trough the pain the flames are inflicting on me without actually burning me. After a few more minutes that feel like hours to me, the flames disappear and I sit there with my hammer in hand.

A mostly bronze war hammer with a round hammer head and pick combo connected at the center by a cube. At the bottom of the cube is the conical spiral that connects to the shaft. A small part of the shaft near the top is dark brown with a diagonal grid pattern etched into it for better grip. The shaft is topped off at the bottom with a pommel.

I focus on the hammer and the bronze length of shaft disappears leaving only the main grip and the hammer shrinks to the size of a blacksmith's hammer. As I get up, Hephaestus slams into me and wraps me in a tight hug. I melt against her warm body and wrap my arms around her, returning the hug. After a few minutes she lets go of me and looks at the hammer as I hand it to her.

"Oooff, It's heavy! A bit of warning next time. It seems that despite shrinking, it still retains the weight it has as a two-handed war hammer. The hammer let off a bigger surge of divinity than the sword did but looking at it right now I can't tell it's a divine weapon, at least in terms of appearance. There's no glow like the sword but the aura it gives off is stronger. It's incomplete isn't it? And what's its name?" she asks.

"Its name is Gideon. Your right about it being incomplete, there's still more I want to do with it but I don't think I can do it just yet. I almost died making this one after all. For now it's just a powerful hammer that can change size." I say with a chuckle making her worry again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asks me and I see the worry in her eye as she hands me back the hammer.

"Yeah, I'm fine. The pain was from the hammer bonding to me. At least I have a better understanding of {Divine Flame} now. It's all about intent. Whatever you intend to make when you're smithing is what the {Divine Flame} draws off of to make it into reality." I say and I see her eyes widen in understanding.

"That means you can make just about anything, but after seeing what happened with the hammer, It's clear not everything is without a price." she says and I nod.

"True, but sometimes the price is worth it." I say as I smile at her and she blushes after understanding my meaning.

"You flirt. . ." she says with a shy smile before continuing. "You must be tired after all that, go rest up. Don't worry about cleaning up in here, I'll take care of it" I nod my head for the door while speaking.

"By the way, you can keep Fragrant Olive. Hang it up in your office or something,. It's all yours." I say and she stops me, turns me around, and gives me a quick peck on the lips before pushing me out the door with a red face and closing it shut.

I stand there in a daze as I bring my fingers to my lips. After a few moments, a wide smile spreads across my face and I walk to my room as I remember the brief moment of her soft lips pressing against mine. God I love that woman.

'I know.'

- ----- Line Break ----- -

- A/N: Wow. . . this chapter is twice as long as the last two. I had fun writing this one and I hope you guys have fun reading it. Thank you to BigStig97 for giving me the inspiration to have Heine use a war hammer instead of the normal sword I was originally going to have him use. I'll definitely be using some of those other Ideas you gave so thank you once again in advance.