After Aldrian created the dagger, the next phase was what we could call his 'intensive training' to become a blacksmith. However, calling it "intensive" might be an exaggeration—at least that's how Duke Valiard saw it. To Aldrian, it was more like another typical Monday morning activity.
Once Aldrian finished crafting the blade for the dagger and completed the hilt according to the blueprint, Duke Valiard presented him with a new blueprint for a different artifact. This time, it was for a middle sky-grade sword, forged from a mixture of dark steel and blue iron—rare materials that can only be found in icy regions.
As before, Duke Valiard demonstrated the process, showing how to create a more complex, higher-grade artifact. He melted the dark steel and blue iron together in the furnace, using his energy to perfectly balance the materials. The steps after that were not too different from creating the middle earth-grade dagger.