Forging...?

The Aetherium Forge was nothing like a regular forge... There were no traditional anvils, no traditional smelter, no traditional anything... It was more akin to an all-in-one factory with a 3D printer embedded into it that had an AI built into it... At least, that's what the group could tell.

Michael had been tempted to call over Eorlund Gray-Mane to see what he could make of it, but threw away such ideas as it'd mean revealing the location of this place to him... Michael couldn't and wouldn't risk any chance of someone else discovering this place. Not only because it contained the incredibly powerful Forge, but also because it could act as a safe house for him and his friends should it ever be required.

No doubt it was shielded from even the Daedric Princes, so he was sure it could act as a base of operations in the event of another invasion from Oblivion, despite how unlikely such a thing would be.

Anyway, the Aetherium Forge was far too complicated for the group to even begin to estimate how it worked. The only clue they had was the fact that the Aetherium Crest was used somehow, judging by the crest-shaped hole that was present.

...

"Just put it in and see what happens." Illococoo says at the side, getting bored of staring at the Aetherium Forge, similar to how everyone else was feeling... It was fair, they had been studying it for many hours straight now.

...

"Fine... But if this fucks it, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so'." he retorts before shoving the crest into the hole.

Immediately after this, the machine bursts to life, steam shooting from many valves as gears get to work. A slot in the Forge opens up, revealing something that looked remarkably similar to a pin art board, only this one was far more intricate and delicate than the one you'd shove your hand in.

There looked to be three preset options as well, one that looked like a shield, one that looked like a staff, and one that looked like a tiara or some sort. Michael ignored all of that however, instead electing to shove some of the Aetherium crystals that Enthir had given him into the open input slot, afterwards experimenting with the designer-thing.

Now that he'd inserted the Aetherium, he could colour the individual pins in the device blue, which would probably produce Aetherium thing in that shape.

He inserts some ebony and grins as he gets a 'Black' option. With this, he creates two items, one being a Aetherium tipped ebony pickaxe, and the other being an exact replica of the Aetherium Crest he'd just inserted.

The Aetherium Forge churns to life as he pulls down the lever that popped out of the ground, the loud thrumb of metal being pounded, the occasional sound of shattering, and the ever-present groans of gears turning.

The group watched with rapt attention, and an hour later, another slot open up while pushing out a metal platform with both of the objects he designed placed on it. The Aetherium pickaxe along with the Aetherium Crest.

He tries to pick one up but drops it upon finding it still hot from the forging process. After waiting for it to cool down, he takes them and looks them over, grinning to himself at how good they were despite this being his first time using the Forge.

"Why did you produce a Crest as well?" Megumin asks from the side, swinging the pickaxe in the air as if it were a baseball bat.

"Well, the Forge doesn't seem to work without one being deposited so, it's probably like a key that dissolves once put in the lock. Hopefully, that pick can mine Aetherium so we can mass produce crests and not have to micro-manage it." Michael explains.

Saya crooks a brow in thought, "Where does the original crest go though? Does it melt and get integrated with the other Aetherium objects?"

Michael shrugs, "Don't know, don't care to know. Just let things be, for now at least. If something goes wrong in future I give you permission to tear the Forge apart."

"Do you think the pick will work? I mean, this isn't a game. Having a better pick doesn't mean being able to mine the ore... Do you even know where more Aetherium is"

He nods, "Potential weakness of the pick aside, Blackreach has a shit ton of Aetherium just sitting around. The only problem is that it's all in the form of giant crystals, making it all but impossible to transport it as it is, hence the pick..."

Saya shakes her head, "Whatever, let's head home. I'm starting to feel the heat get to me..."

Megumin scoffs, "You're making that up to excuse how sweaty you got during the fight." the explosion girl accuses, pointing at the dark spots ay Saya's armpits and cleavage where the grey robes had gotten moist with sweat.

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Not long after the successful clearing of the ruins that held the Aetherium Forge, Michael could be seen in a corner of Blackreach swinging his new pickaxe at a large crystal of Aetherium that was sticking from the wall.

*Clink!*

*Clink!*

*Clink!*

He seemed to be doing nothing whatsoever, leaving him grimacing as he looks down at the seemingly ineffective tool. "Come on, just work..." he mutters, swinging it again at the crystal, this time harder than before.

The failures steadily amount, and he was only further aggravated by the Falmer that'd occasionally patrol by, forcing him to kill them before going back to his mining. In a bout of anger, he lost control of his magic while shooting a stream of fire at an annoying flying Chaurus that'd decided to pester him, only for his Aetherium Pickaxe to glow slightly and actually chip part of the crystal.

...

"Huh... I'm dumb... Of course magic would enhance this shit!" he exclaims, inwardly kicking himself for wasting so much time on this.