Chapter Ten:Forging And Projection

"Wow, what are we eating for breakfast? It smells amazing."

"Good morning. Shirou made soup for everyone."

"Wow, that sounds great! I'm so tired of Mama Mia's breakfast. Mama…Mama Mia, when did you get here?…"

"Where's Anya?""

"Anya's being dry on the clothesline by Mama Mia for stealing fish."

"Is Shirou not here too."

"Shirou got up early and went to the Hephaestus Familia. He seems to have a lot of work today."

"Shirou, I'll be cheering for you!"

In the morning, the,**Hostess of Fertility**  was as lively as ever, with the girls chatting away while enjoying their breakfast.

Of course, Shirou didn't cook the entire breakfast, but he did manage to make a pot of miso soup before leaving, since all the ingredients were readily available and was quick to make. 

When he's doing chores or cooking, Shirou, for whatever reason, found his mind unusually relaxed, a mood perfect for organizing his thoughts and planning his day.

"Ryuu, Shirou's cooking is really good, isn't it?"

"Umm(yea). I want to drink Shirou's soup everyday." The elf girl said softly.

Suddenly, the room fell silent for a moment.

Girl A whispered, "Doesn't that sound like a marriage proposal?" 

Girl B: "Yep, that's a marriage proposal alright."

Girl C: "Too bad Shirou isn't here~"

Syr gently patted Ryuu's shoulder. "Ryuu-chan, you might want to be a bit more careful with how you word things from now on'."

Ryuu tilted her head in confusion. "?"

Once again, the "hopeless/useless elf" of the **Hostess of Fertility** showed her lack of social awareness.

…..

"Achoo!" Shirou rubbed his nose.

"Did you catch a cold, or is someone talking about you?" 

"I don't think so….."

At this time, Shirou was at Tsubaki's workshop, learning the basics of blacksmithing. 

Maintenance, repair, polishing, recycling…only by learning these basics can you become a skilled blacksmith.

Tsubaki's workshop was huge. As the strongest blacksmith in the Familia and the best in the city, her workshop occupied an entire floor of a building. Including Shirou, there were six other assistants, three of whom were Level 2 blacksmiths.

The Hephaestus Familia had almost monopolized the city's equipment production and manufacturing market. The competition within the Familia was fierce. Generally, only those who reached Level 2 and acquired the development ability [Blacksmith], could get their works marked with the Familia's crest and be sold in official stores.

Works that didn't meet this standard were either sold at low-level shops or given to the Adventurer's Guild at low prices. As a side note, the Guild often tricked rookie adventurers into buying subpar equipment at high prices, but that's a problem with the Guild.

Some blacksmiths worked very hard to reach Level 2 but couldn't gain the [Blacksmith] development ability. If they didn't want to switch to being an adventurer or continue making low-level equipment to get by, their best option was to assist other blacksmiths, hoping to participate in the production of a high-level equipment to gain enough high rank excelia, betting on a brighter future.

Even if someone joined a top-tier Familia, it didn't guarantee an easy and smooth sailing ride. Even in top-tier Familias like the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia, there were many examples of once proud geniuses, who in the end, only became mere gatekeepers.

However, the fact that Shirou was able to start as an assistant in Tsubaki's workshop from the very beginning already gave him a massive edge over many others.

"Shirou-kun, you learns so quickly. For a beginner, being able to repair a damaged blade so well is truly unbelievable."Tsubaki praised. "It was as if you were born to be a blacksmith."

This was indeed the truth. While Anya and the others believed Shirou had a natural talent for combat, that was actually false, a result of cheating, in reality, his skill came from years of training and experience in his previous life, making it seem like he was gifted.(Mind's Eye(True) B)

In fact, Shirou was just ordinary in terms of fighting talent outside of swordsmanship and archery. It was because he had witnessed the pinnacle of human technique that gave him an illusion of being incredibly talented.

But blacksmithing was different. In his past life, he had never even touched a forge, and yet the moment he stood by the bellows, he demonstrated extraordinary talent.

He could determine the quality of the materials with just a light touch; he could mentally construct the blueprint of a piece of equipment with a single glance. He could even gauge the state of the furnace just by feel alone.

My Goddess, Hephaestus really had a keen eye for talent, Emiya Shirou was born to be a blacksmith, if he didn't joined the Hephaestus Familia, it would have been a complete waste of his talent. In terms of blacksmithing, Shirou's talent was among the very best in the lower world.

Tsubaki thought the same. Even without considering Shirou's magic, **Unlimited Blade Works**, his natural blacksmithing talent was on par with hers. So after Shirou completed the polishing of a long blade, she invited him to help her review a blueprint for a magic sword, hoping he could offer some insight.

Shirou carefully studied the blueprint and then casted his magic.

"Trace, on."

A "magic sword" appeared in his hand. Of course, it didn't contain the immense amount of magical energy of an actual magic sword, and the material was nothing more than projected iron. However, the shape and structure were identical to the real thing—this was the model Shirou had constructed based on the blueprint.

Tsubaki stared intently at the magic sword in Shirou's hand, and after a moment, she exclaimed in realization.

"I see!"

"This blueprint has a flaw. The inscription at this connection point is too thin, this will become a problem once the mana transfer begins to operate at maximum capacity. It needs to be thickened ." Tsubaki immediately grabbed the blueprint, and started making adjustments.

Blueprint and the physical object are two entirely different things. Some things that may seem reasonable on paper, but in reality, become a glaring flaw in the final product, so skilled blacksmith always created several model before forging the final product, which can be extremely time consuming.

"But if we thicken it, won't it cause mana leakage and reduce the shelf life of the magic sword….?" Tsubaki muttered to herself. "What if we add another connection inscription? Two parallel circuits to increase flow while maintaining the same size for each… Like this, Shirou—"

"Understood." Shirou responded.

"Trace, on." 

A new sword appeared in his hand.

"This solves the previous issue, but wait, there's a new problem. If the mana transfer is too high, this might compromise the stability of the blade….How about we make the blade wider and thicker, like this?"Tsubaki adjusted the blueprint again.

"Trace, on." Shirou projected the new sword once more.

"No, this design waste too much material, it cost 50% more than the original design Hmm… how about we hollow out the center?"

"Trace, on."

"Yeah, this does save on material, but the difficulty of forging a hollow magic sword is way too high."

"Then why not increase the power? As long as the power matches the amount of material used, it won't be wasteful. Like this." Shirou suggested, "Trace, on."

"Oh, that's a great idea." Tsubaki nodded. "If we added more material here, we could increase the power even further."

"Trace, on." The shape of the magic sword changed, allowing more material to be used.

"Trace, on." 

The length increased.

"Trace, on."

The material was upgraded, allowing more magic stones to be incorporated into the final blade.

"Trace, on."

Tsubaki and Shirou were completely immersed in their own world, until—

"I'm feeling a bit dizzy…"

Shirou's mana was nearly depleted.

Due to his thorough understanding of the blueprint and the fact that the projected objects was a sword, the cost to project each item was very little. 

However, after doing it so many times, small amounts add up, especially given Shirou's current 0 magic stat.

If not for his strong mental fortitude, he would have collapsed long ago. 

Once his mana run dry, he will likely fall unconscious, he was on the brink of collapsing.

"Tsubaki-san, I need to rest for a bit," 

Shirou said as he sat on a chair and closed his eyes.

Tsubaki glanced down at Shirou's face and then at the "finished" product on the table that they had worked so hard on together.

After hours of brainstorming, the original design had been transformed beyond recognition. 

A little change here, a tweak there—shape, length, blade, hilt—they're all altered. In the end, even the sword's attribute was changed.

"With this shape, it would be better suited to the lightning attribute. Let's just make it a lightning magic sword instead," Tsubaki said, despite the fact that the original design was meant for a fire magic sword.

A fire magic sword that now, when activated, could unleash powerful lightning magic…

"The blade has a spiral shape, so let's named it the 'Spiral Sword.' Shirou, I'll engrave both our names on this magic sword." 

Umm, this would be the first fruit of our labor.

"As for the actual forging, leave that to me!"

What Shirou had projected was merely a sample for reference. The real magic sword would still require a master blacksmith's craftsmanship and dedication.

In Tsubaki's eye a passionate flame was ignited.

To any blacksmith, Shirou's **Unlimited Blade Works** was an invaluable tool, she had a feeling that, with Shirou's help, she could finally achieve her long-held aspirations of—

Creating a weapon that surpassed her goddess!

——————-

Shirou Blacksmith Talent

https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Senji_Muramasa

Blacksmith Shirou Vs Past Shirou

https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/89454957#big_0

Tsubaki with a fire sword

https://danmachi.fandom.com/wiki/Tsubaki_Collbrande/Image_Gallery?file=Tsubaki_Cross_Istoria_2.jpg#Cross_Istoria

Spiral Sword

https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Caladbolg?file=Caladbolg+1-2.png