Forging and Chanting

(Third Person POV)

Somewhere 4 kilometers east of Orario City, two goddesses sit on horse carriages while being guarded by their children. It was goddess Iduun and goddess Artemis who were heading to Orario to attend Denatus, which will start four days from now. Iduun met Artemis when she came to Tein town to investigate the source of the piercing light that Artemis saw that night.

"I still can't believe you willingly left your hunting ground, Artemis."

"I just want to know who is responsible for that light piercing the night... That light almost looks like an arrow, which makes me feel curious. I hope you can tell me who…"

Iduun shakes his head.

"I can't. I already made the promise to hide the true identity of the one responsible, but Loki and Freya probably have a picture of who is responsible."

Artemis is annoyed that Iduun is not willing to reveal who is responsible, but she can understand why the anonymous hero who killed the evil gods wants his true identity not to be revealed.

"I can promise this Artemis that a hero is a kind-hearted person; even with such power, that hero does not look down on or disrespect god or goddess."

Artemis already knows that whoever fires that light has a kind heart. There is some feeling that she wants to meet the one who fires such a beautiful light because it reminds her of the arrow; she is a fire in heaven.

"sigh… If you said so."

While each goddess talks to the other outside the carriage, there are the children, all of them female, because Artemis has a strict rule that forbids any male to join their Familia.

"Hey, Sera."

"What is Rethusa?"

"Are you okay leaving your hometown? From what I know, abandoned worlds were infested with monsters."

When Rethusa met Sera, they were drawn to each other because of their similar hair colors and the principle of protecting the weak.

"Thank you for your concern, Rathusa; it's fine. After the battle with Apophis Familia, we managed to clear up and secure the town from the monster, plus I left my trusted person to guard the town while I was absent."

"That anonymous person is safe in your homeland, isn't it?"

Sera can't help but smile. It is difficult for her to not tell the full story about Oberon, the savior of the abandoned land, but she is always reminded by her goddess that it will be dangerous for Oberon's homeland if the other god or goddess knows about Oberon's identity. For that, Iduun sent a letter to the two most influential goddesses for not investigating the one responsible.

"Yes, we should concentrate on protecting our goddess now. From what we heard, the forest surrounding Orario was not safe."

"For that, I can't argue. Hm, the closer we are to Orario, the more guards post each kilometer."

Sera is well aware of the situation in Orario from the information that Loki gives to her goddess.

'I hope Oberon was alright.'

----

(Oberon POV)

"huff. Huff… hyaa."

(Clank)

It is morning, and the sun is already shining. Throughout the window, I can see young Ais being trained by Orstrid, as I promised her. The training she received was the same as mine, but not as hard because her body needed to adapt and improve first, and if she had any injuries, Orstrid could heal her in an instant.

"Oberon?"

"Hm, Riveria-san, it's still 5 minutes before the class starts."

"Thanks to your new schedule for Ais, I have free time to spend... Are you sure she is not going to hurt herself?"

"I guarantee she Will not get hurt. Orstrid has healing magic that can heal Ais if something bad happens."

I have an idea to create an underground practice ground where I can draw a magic healing circle, but I need to ask the goddess Loki for permission first.

(Clank)

'I can see Ais was a fast learner and had good motivation; she has a great chance to become a strong swordsman, but...'

"I hope Ais can find another reason to become strong other than revenge."

Oberon knows what lies ahead for people only consumed by revenge; he doesn't want Ais to suffer the same fate as he did in the past.

"I hope the same, Oberon."

Then I could hear the last student arrive in the room. It was Cynthia, as promised, who participated in the lesson I started this morning. Sadly, Alicia cannot join because she was on a mission with Captain Finn and Bara to guard the road heading to Orario. After all, there are gods and goddesses from outside of Orario who want to partake in the Denatus this week.

"Oberon-sama, Riveria-sama, good morning."

"Good morning, Cynthia. Now should we begin?"

We used the library, which is rarely used by others, so we closed the library until the study session ended. There is a green board that I can use as a presentation.

"Let's start with the basics. What did you know about magic? First Riveria-san."

Riveria has deep thought for a second before she answers Oberon's question.

"Magic is a system that allows characters to use spells and abilities. Magic can be divided into about six categories, with Falna being the most common type. Falna is part of the character's status, allowing up to three spells per person, and is given based on Excelia or via a Grimoire. Falna magic is activated by a set chant and usually scales in power according to the magic stat. Some spells have a magic circle made of light that appears underneath the caster and can determine the range of the spell, give the user knowledge of what's inside, and..."

"Okay, that's good enough, Riveria-san. I know your perspective of magic is..."

'If I do not stop her she probably explain in detail and will consume a lot of time.'

I can see Cyhnthia feels hesitant most likely she was worried her explanation would be similar to Riveria's.

"Don't need to be worried Cynthia I asking your opinion about what magic is."

"I had the same thought as Riveria-sama did, but I know that magic there is magic that only can be used by specific races so I thought magic either you are born with it or you had to earn it."

'Hm, magic is something you were born with or you had to earn it… almost the same opinion people think about my previous life."

In my former world, magic is whatever the output of manipulation of mana is, mostly based on either enhancing physical strength or creating offensive magic through manipulating the element that exists, but of course, there is unique magic that is hard to understand.

"Both of your knowledge of magic was incredible, but you left out one important part about the Mind or Mana that can make you create magic. We are the elven race born with a great amount of mana compared to other races. That is why, for thousands of years, our homeland was safe without the help of the gods and goddesses."

"Why did you call Mana not Mind Oberon?"

"Hm, because I think it's the most convenient thing for me, I think. To cast a spell, we must have sufficient mana to make the spell stronger. How strong The effect of the spell depends on how much mana or mind is consumed. If you can recall the sensation exactly when you cast the spell, you can do this."

Then I called a fireball into my hand on the right, and on the left was a water ball. Seeing this, Riveria and Chyntia try to observe the magic more closely.

"I will teach magic that is different from what elves do; we will ignore the magic you get through Falna because my understanding of it is still limited, so I don't know the risk both of you get hurt. We start with casting magic by chanting first until you can feel the mana throughout your body."

I teach them to start with elementary-level water magic. Then I write the incantation on the green board.

"Hm, I never read any book that has the same incantation as you wrote... Did you create that magic, Oberon?"

"No, I learned it myself from someone. I will be happy if Riveria-san does not ask me for details."

She looks like she is not satisfied with my answer and releases a heavy sigh. Then I asked both of them to memorize the incantation before starting to cast the magic. It did not take long for Riveria to memorize it. Then I asked Riveria to stand beside me and follow my hand gesture.

"Just point your palm at that target and start enchanting the spell. Chyntia tried to watch closely."

Cynthia nodded and watched closely while Riveria closed her eyes and started to chant.

"Let the great protection of water be on the place thou seekest. I call a refreshing burbling stream here and now. Water Ball."

Then a bubble of water appeared in front of the Riveria palm. She can't help but feel excited and amazed that she can cast the spell on the first try.

"Amazing Riveria-sama."

'It looks like she can reach Sage level in no time. From what I heard, Riveria is already level 4, so her mana pool should be sufficient to reach Sage level or maybe above.'

"Yeah, she is. Riveria-san, can you feel the sensation when you cast the spell?"

Riveria was a high elf, so she was more sensitive to the mana flowing around her. Then I created an earthen bucket to contain the water.

"Yes…. But I need time to remember the sensation."

After an hour, Riveria managed to learn the fourth element of magic on the 'Elementary', the same as Cynthia. Their progress was amazing. Teaching them made me remember the time I taught Eris and Ghisheline how to cast magic. Compared to them, Riveria and Cynthia were more quick to absorb my lessons.

"Good job everyone. We will continue the study the next day; it will be healing magic. You both need to learn that if you can master it, you can heal any wound, even regenerate or reach a lost limb."

They all nodded, and I could see that Riveria and Cynthia were excited to attend the next lesson after all the magic I taught had given them a new perspective on magic. For the water magic, when they learn that the water that regenerates from the 'Water Ball' could be drunk or consumed, it is convenient for expeditions where the water source is rarely found.

Cynthia was the one who left the room, while Riveria was beside me, watching Ais from the window. It looked like she was resting on Orstrid's lap.

What are you going to do next, Oberon?"

Today Goddess Loki gave me a day off. To be honest, there are plenty of things I want to do, but there is one thing I want to do...

"I want to meet the goddess Hephaestus to ask her to teach me about forging."

When I was still in Japan, I was not really into other countries' mythology, but there are some gods or goddesses that are so famous because they appear in my favorite RPG video game. When I learned that the famous god of forging was a goddess, I was a bit shocked. Maybe I shouldn't, after all, expect Loki to get a gender bend from the mythology that I know.

"Why do you want to learn forging?"

"It's a secret project of mine."

Riveria frowns a bit because I keep a secret from her. When I did my first dive into the dungeon, I learned that I couldn't use my most powerful magic spells, like lightning, meteors, and every powerful fire magic that I had. I need to have a trump card that I can rely on other than magic.

"Okay, just be careful. I need to short some documents so I can't go with you, but I believe Orstrid is enough to protect you. Hephaestus Workplace is located southeast of here, and Oberon, can you bring Ais to my room?"

"Sure Riveria-san."

Then I headed to the training ground, where I could see Ais sleeping peacefully on Orstrid's lap.

("Let me take care of her, Orstrid, and clean yourself, Orstrid. We will head outside.")

("I understand, master.")

I pick up Ais gently so as not to wake her up.

'Hm, she was so light; did she eat well?'

I head to Riveria's room while carrying Ais with both hands. Along the way, I met some Loki Familia members who were patrolling and greeting me along the way. When I saw her face, I could see her innocent face. There was a familiar feeling that I felt when I was carrying my child.

'I hope you can find your happiness, Ais.'

----

(Hephaestus POV)

((Clank))

.

.

((Clank))

"Hm, this not it…"

(Thud)

In the workshop, there is a single goddess who forges a sword using a burning flame that is so bright and hot that it makes anyone feel like they are inside an active volcano, but it is a normal thing she has to deal with every day just to create her masterpieces of work that are known in the Gekai world and heaven. Before she continued hammering hot steel in front of Hephaestus, she heard knocking on her door.

"Wait a minute!"

Around her was her masterpiece of a sword she created for people's requests, but now there is an increase in the price of material that makes fewer customers use her service as a blacksmith. After cleaning herself up, she changes her clothes to the usual ones she wears every day: a white blouse and dark pants with an eye patch covering her right eye. When she leaves her workshop, she is welcomed by one of the Hephaestus Familia members.

"Hephaestus-sama, there is someone who wants to meet you."

"From which Familia?"

"Loki Familia; their names were Oberon and Orstrid."

'Hm, Oberon and Orstrid, I did hear that name before.'

"Let them in."

Then she took to sitting on her comfy chair while making the same gesture to welcome the guest who wanted to visit her.

When the guard opens the door, she sees two elves that she has never met before.

"Greeting goddess Hephaestus."

She nodded and let them sit. The male elf has beautiful gold hair with the same eye color as her, but somehow it is a far brighter red, like a beautiful red gem that has been polished by a great artist, and the female elf beside him has a beautiful look, with her white hair and blue eyes making her look gorgeous. They both have a look that can catch anyone's attention, but the most interesting thing that caught her eye was the two blades that were carried on the gold-haired elf's wrist.

"I never met both of you before; can you introduce yourself?"

Hephaestus really wanted to look closer at the blade that the gold-haired elf was carrying, but she knew the introduction was important.

"My name is Oberon Aendryr Wishe, a high elf, and beside me is my trusted servant named Orstrid. We are from the Loki Familia. We just joined a few days ago. It is a pleasure to meet you, goddess Hephaestus."

'Hm, a high-elf, did he relate to that elven princess Riveria? At least I know that he was from an elven noble family from his name and race.'

"Nice to meet you, Oberon, Orstrid. I am sorry it's sudden, but can I see the blade that you carried on your wrist, Oberon?"

"Sure."

Then he put the blade on my desk, where I could inspect it more closely. When I picked it up, the blade was not too heavy and had a 72-cm length; each was the same size and weight. She could not help but admire whoever created this blade. Then she put it back on her desk.

"*sigh* You are not a great swordsman if you can't take care of your weapon with great care, Oberon. We will talk about that later. Now, can I ask the reason why you want to meet me?"

I want you to teach me to become the blacksmith goddess Hephaestus."

When I heard her reason, I couldn't help but be surprised that an elf wanted to learn how to forge. At first, Hephaestus thinks he is joking, but when she looks at his expression, he is serious.

"Why should I teach you the way of forging? Is there any benefit for me?"

I can see that Oberon has deep thoughts about what he can offer, but when he looks at my face, he looks curious about something.

"I am sorry to be impropriated to ask goddess Hephaestus what happened to your right eye."

I flinch a bit and feel uncomfortable answering his question.

"If you think you can offer to heal my right eye, forget about it. I already do whatever I can to heal it, but no one can cure or fix it."

"Can I look at it? I can heal most fatal wounds like an arm getting cut off; I can cure it, or, to be exact, regenerate it, and I can cure any poison or disease with my magic. Maybe there is a chance I can fix it."

Hephaestus knows he is not lying to everyone; everything he said was true. Hephaestus still feels hesitant to let that elf see her right eyes after all because her deformed eyes make other gods look down on her as a woman.

'There is maybe a chance…. Maybe.'

"I understand, but I want you to be the only one who can look at it."

"I understand."

Then Hephaestus stands up, leaves her chair, opens her secret workshop, and asks him to follow. When they are inside the room, the name Oberon looks amazing when they look at my work and the furniture and tools in my workspace.

"Amazing, so this is what a blacksmith workshop looks like, and I can feel the heat too."

She can't help but chuckle a bit, and seeing his reaction makes her feel more at ease.

'He does not look like a bad person... If I give him a closer look, he looks more handsome and intelligent compared to the other gods I met.'

"Ehem, Oberon, have you forgotten the reason why you are here?"

"I am sorry... Wherever you are ready, god-"

"Just call Hephaestus."

"I understand Hephaestus."

Then I stand up where light can shine through my head so he can see more clearly. For some reason, Hephaestus feels it is okay for her to let this mortal see the most embarrassing scar that she had in her head, maybe because of the hope that the scar that has been bothering her for more than she can count can get healed.

"Before I show you my eye, can you make a vow not to tell anyone how my eye looks, even your goddess Loki?"

Without hesitation, Oberon answered.

"I promise that as the heir of the Wishe Forest noble family, I will never reveal it to anyone, not even my parents or my goddess."

Then she opened her eyepatch and let Oberon see. She couldn't help but close her left eye because she didn't want to see whatever horrible reaction was written on his face, but...

After minutes of waiting, no word was spoken, and the room went so quiet that Hephaestus could hear the fire flickering from her workshop. Can help her feel her curiosity when Hephaestus opens her eyes.

"Hm,… eh."

Oberon's reaction was neither disgusting nor hateful; what Hephaestus saw was only surprise and pain in his reaction.

"How is this possible? ....No, it is a coincidence, yes, it is coincident."

"Oberon?"

When I called his name, Oberon tried to calm himself. He put his hand on his chest and tried to calm his breath and heart.

"I can heal your eyes, but I need to make preparations first. After all the magic I will use, it will consume a lot of my mana, or, as your people know, was mind... Now I understand why healing magic in this world can heal your eyes. Hephaestus: It is not a wound, but a curse or disease that I know."

"Y-you… inhale, exhale,… When will you be ready?"

"Days before Denatus began, after all, I needed to draw a long incantation that took time and create an altar... You can bring one of your trusted Familia members, and we will head to my secret base."

"I understand."

"Then I will come again when it is ready. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hephaestus."

Before I asked him for more details, he left the room in a hurry.

"Oberon Aendryr Wishe... Who are you?"