Chapter 43- Original Design

Bang

Bang

Bang

Abel was currently on his third attempt at forging after completing the first iron dagger. The following 2 attempts also yielded good results but he would always make a small mistake that would prevent it from yielding a perfect product.

Perhaps he was being too harsh on himself, but he was adamant in achieving a perfect iron dagger as stipulated in the blueprint. His persistence was due to the simple fact that this was the lowest weapon blueprint possible in the game.

If he couldn't achieve perfection with such a low threshold, then he shouldn't dream of achieving good results with higher leveled weapons. He was cultivating the habit of doing his best even in the most meager of weapons he could craft.

If NPC blacksmiths were aware of what Abel had achieved on his first few attempts at forging then they'd have to pick up their jaws from the ground in shock. Although the hammer aided in his craftsmanship, it was mostly due to his own memories and prior experiences as Xiaowen.

This time, he was giving it 110% of his concentration and effort, not allowing his mind to wander at all.

When he was quenching, he barely blinked as he looked at the temperature gauge. When he tempered, his eyes never left the bright red iron blade. When he grinded the end result, he was careful with every movement against the edge.

After affixing the tang to the pre-made pommel, he took a deep breath and checked the final result.

"Inspect"

[Iron Dagger]

Attack: 12-14

Durability: 20/20

Description: A straightforward dagger with a double-edged iron blade and wooden hilt. Forged by Xiang to perfection.

'Finally…'

Abel let out a sigh in relief as he looked at the perfect low-grade dagger. He took a peek at his blacksmithing skill and saw it had jumped by 5%. His first few attempts brought it up to 8% of greenhorn while this perfect result brought it up to 13%.

This single attempt was worth nearly as much as his previous 3 put together!

'Even the EXP gain is greater. There's a benefit to forging a perfect weapon, even if it's the lowest and easiest weapon type.'

As he thought of the benefits to forging according to the blueprint's expected stats, he couldn't help but think of whether he could forge something on his own.

A design that wasn't in the game, something from the real world… something from the other Earth.

He still remembered his very first blade he forged as Xiaowen.

He was only 13 years old and it took a lot out of the then youthful boy. It had a different design from the iron dagger, with a small fork in the middle of the curving sharp edge, akin to an eagle's beak.

'I should try it out, the most I'll lose is a little iron.'

He first rested and recovered his low stamina and mana. He had been forging for more than 4 hours and the sun had long set over the city.

His mind was also starting to get fatigued due to the constant concentration while hammering but once the idea took root, he couldn't get it out of his head. He felt like he owed it to himself to at least test it out.

'I'm not sure I can succeed on the first try, but let's give it a shot anyway'

He decided to use similar parameters in each of the steps as the iron dagger. But that only worked for certain parts like the critical temperature of the quenching stage.

While he would try to use his own experience, he couldn't predict the end result due to the difference between forging in reality and in-game.

The only plus point he had going for him was the enormously realistic immersion the NeuroNex pod provided. He wouldn't follow the other prompts and would try to follow his own intuition in this attempt.

'Here goes nothing'

He got another iron ingot out of his spacial bag and started normalizing it in the forge.

Once he pulled it out, he got to tapering the metal. This time, he hammered it out in a different way, trying to get the blade to curve instead of making it straight.

He struggled at first, but after recalling his previous experiences as Xiaowen, he took and deep breath and adjusted his technique.

Bang

Bang

Bang…

He took a much longer in the tapering stage due to the added complexity, but he didn't notice the passage of time as he was concentrating on his work.

Slowly, the ingot was hammered in a different way than before. The dagger's shape was very different, with a curved and forked blade tip.

After 20 minutes, he stepped back to take a look and nodded to himself.

He quickly made the tang, since he was using the same pommel, he shaped the attachment in the same way as the iron dagger. Once he got the tang out of the way, he started shaping the blade further.

This time, he took much longer than before, a full 40 minutes.

He had to be careful when hammering the edges as they differed greatly than a simple straight dagger. While he would have to re-heat it very often to not risk breaking off the tip with a hammer strike.

His stamina and mana were going down at a constant rate and he had barely gotten through 70% of the forging process. He didn't want to risk it during the tempering stage so he activated Harmonic breath after quenching the blade.

Bang

Bang

Bang…

Once he re-heated the curved dagger at a lower temperature, he started tempering.

He entered a trance due to his concentration and lost himself in the process. If felt like a few seconds had passed but in reality, he had hammered the blade dozens of times over the span of 20 minutes.

'Oh shit… did I blank out, am I too tired… did I even temper it properly.'

When he snapped out of it, he took a look at the time in his panel to see how long he'd been tempering when he realized how much time had passed.

'I hope I didn't mess it up after all that earlier work.'

Left without a choice, he stopped to allow the blade to cool down.

He sat on the side as he tried to recall what just happened. He felt like he traveled back in time to the Xiang family forge, back then he'd often intuitively hammer depending on his feeling.

Xiaowen's father had told him it was normal as smithing ran in the family, it meant he had a good talent for the trade and he would make a fine blacksmith once he was older.

As Abel was lost in thought recalling those day, the curved and forked blade was slowly cooling down naturally.

He shook his head and cleared it of these otherworldly memories, those times had long passed and he now had a blade to finish.

He took his time slowly grinding the edge and sanding its flat side. He didn't want to risk it at the last step so he was extra careful with each swipe on the grinding wheel.

Once he was done with the sanding, he carefully peened the tang into the pommel.

The overall look seemed paradoxical. While the blade looked fierce and sharp, the pommel was cheap and obviously of a low-grade.

He laughed out loud to himself and just as he checked the final result, it's information came up along with the system notification!

"Inspect"

[?????]

Attack: 16-18

+2 AGI

+5% chance to cause bleed, -5 HP every 10 seconds for 30 seconds.

Durability: 20/20

Description: This dagger has a sharp, forked edge best used in stabbing quickly. Its design aids in attack speed and may cause a bleed status in enemies. The weapon was designed and crafted by Xiang.

*Ding*

+2500 Blacksmithing proficiency points

+500 EXP

User has created an original weapon design; would you like to name it?

Yes/No

"Yes!"

Abel replied as soon as he read the notification. He didn't want to give the naming rights to the system this time. He had been stupidly dazed the last few times a similar situation came up but he wasn't going to let go of this chance.

The problem was… he had no idea what to name it!

Please enter blueprint name: ______________

'I should keep it simple, since it looks like an eagles' beak then I'll name it Eagle Beak Dagger.'

He entered the name in the blank space and the system changed the stats of the dagger before him, incorporating its newly christened name.

He was about to take a look at his blacksmithing skill when he heard the forge rumble, as though there was something inside it.

At first, he was slightly scared of having broken the forge and ruined it.

The sound was getting louder and louder, the flames were roaring as though trying to subdue something within that kept bouncing around.

He had no idea what was going on until a papyrus was seemingly spat out in a shower of embers from the mouth of the forge!

Before he could reach out to it, he felt the old guardian materialize beside him.

He didn't know how else to explain it, he was either beside him from the beginning and using some cloaking spell to hide himself or he appeared so fast that it seemed like he teleported to his side.

"Th-thi… This is…"

"Sir…"

Abel called out but the old man didn't even hear him. All he had in his sight was the papyrus before his eyes. It was much thicker than average parchment and seemed to be stitched together through thousands of threads.

When the old man tried grabbing it, his hands slipped through as though it was immaterial. He finally turned to Abel and gave him a complicated look.

"Go on child. Big brother obviously left this behind for you."

Abel nodded stiffly and reached out to grab it. It was then he heard the system notification ring out in his ears.

*Ding*

Quest: The Prophecy's Riddle +50/100

+1,000 EXP

+1,500 Blacksmith skill proficiency 

'I was right about the forge… but what the hell kind of difficulty is this? Without Xiaowen's memories, who on earth could make an original design and it seems I'm still not done yet! Right, I need to figure out the location and then explain it all to old man Rye for the quest to be considered finished. As for this map, I don't think it will activate until I'm at a much higher level.'

He still remembered the writing in that thin book that was stuffed behind larger volumes,

"Flame's Bright Birth – Taboo Flames"

"The Heart Chamber – shrouded in light"

"The Forge of Kin shall lead the way"

The papyrus in his hand was obviously a map but it was blank, as though he hadn't fulfilled the conditions for it to project the way to the final destination.

He was brought out of his musings by the old guardian by his side. It was difficult to think when space itself was getting affected by the old mans' mood.

Thankfully, he wasn't angry, merely a little agitated and excited at finally finding a clue.

"Sir, I believe I've pretty much understood the prophecy. There's just one last piece of the puzzle I have yet to figure out. If you'd like, I'll explain my thought process now"

"Go on child, you have my undivided attention."

"Very well then, lets start from the first line…"

Abel went on to explain his understanding of the prophecy line by line.

"In caverns deep where shadows breed, A monster's nest, a young apprentice seen." 

The cavern is obviously the dungeon, Stonebinder's Cavern, it bred both an ore of the shadow element as well as a monster that evolved towards the shadows. He was obviously the apprentice seen.

"Through winding paths, the legacy shown, To where the smith's inheritance was left to be sown."

The winding paths weren't simply the paths within the dungeon, but his own winding paths- the choices and decisions he made that led him towards the quest and eventually, where the Battlesmith's inheritance was sown by Branthor.

"Beneath the roots of an ancient mine, Find the hammer that is enshrined."

This part was quite self-explanatory, the hammer was enshrined underneath the ancient mine. The path leading to that small room inclined downwards, it was the easiest line to understand.

"Through echoes of hammers and anvils loud, To the forge of kin, where secrets shroud."

There were a couple of interpretations here and they all fit the narrative. Abel wasn't certain which ones were correct, maybe all of them were.

Through his own self-made design, the echoes of his hammer and anvil within the forge of Branthors kin, Abel found the secret it was shrouding.

He also explained how the forge was technically Bryen's and he was shrouded in secrecy. In fact, the entire forge was shrouded in secrets. It was secretly here behind the shabby shop, taken care of by a secretive guardian of the kingdom and also holding a secret papyrus within.

"A guardian awaits with a gaze of steel, Seek the entrance with a craftsman's feel."

He slowly explained how at first, he thought the guardian with a gaze of steel was Bryen but later understood that the location the papyrus would lead to was probably protected by a guardian with a steely gaze. He'd only pass it with a craftsman's touch, otherwise they would be barred from entry.

"Past the flame that flickers bright, To the birthplace of weapons, shroud in light."

It was here that Abel's voice carried a hint of uncertainty but he still explained his thoughts to the old guardian.

He figured this location was deep within a forbidden zone, it was a place with a taboo flame and in the past, it was probably behind the birth of the first divine weapon which is why it was shrouded in light.

"Unlock the door, with knowledge profound, To claim the treasure, hear the ancestors sound."

He then explained that he probably had to have a much higher level as a blacksmith, he needed profound knowledge and understanding of the craft to unlock the entrance to wherever Branthor went.

Finally, to claim the treasure that Branthor was after, Abel would need the aid of his ancestor… him- Bryen Stonebinder. He might have to go with him and speak out or something, but his presence was definitely needed.

Once he finished explaining it all, Abel felt a little parched as he had spoken quite a lot. Fortunately, the feeling of thirst in game wasn't as excruciating as it was in reality so he could easily hold himself back.

He didn't dare pull out a canteen and take a sip of water until old man Rye broke out of his own thoughts.

"So that's it… and this location, I presume you have yet to figure it out?"

"Yes sir. Otherwise, I would have said so, even if I wasn't certain I would have voiced out my thoughts on which locations are likely but I truly have no idea at the moment."

"Mmm… you've done very well child, we're at the last step now. I'm sure you'll eventually figure it out"

The old man spoke chokingly out of excitement, finally understanding the majority of the prophecy.

Abel fully relaxed and was inwardly thrilled at the notifications in front of him.

*Ding*

+800 EXP

Quest: The Prophecy's Riddle +90/100

*Ding*

Legendary Guardian Bryen's favorability towards you has increased. Favorability has reached Friendly.