Chapter 26: Amazing

Chapter 26: Amazing

Scales glowed in the flames of the hearth, heated as far as the [Soul Flame] could take them. Arwin hefted his new hammer, adjusting his grip on the haft. The rough metal wasn’t the most comfortable, and it was a good bit heavier than his previous hammer.NewW novels updates at novelhall.com

Sitting around and staring at the scales isn’t going to do anything, though. Only way to learn is to try.

Arwin arranged two of the scales so that they overlapped slightly, leaving them within the hearth. He then hefted his hammer, holding it near the head to avoid getting a little too much momentum in the swing and risk damaging the hearth.

Maybe I need to find a way to super-heat the surface of my anvil instead of working inside the hearth? That could work as well, but it’s a problem for a different time.

The hammer fell, striking the scales with a loud thud. Sparks flew up and a powerful vibration raced down Arwin’s arms with such force that he nearly dropped the hammer, even though he hadn’t even hit the scales that hard.

“Shit,” Arwin muttered. “Forgot that metal carries the vibrations far better than wood. That’s going to be a pain in the ass.”

Arwin activated [Scourge] and steadied his grip on the hammer before striking the scales once more. The vibrations still slammed into him like a runaway horse, but he weathered them and swung the hammer once more as they faded.

With every strike, Arwin could see the material of the scales start to meld together. It was far from perfect, but it was working. His idea had been correct – so long as he tried to forge them within the fire, they could connect.

It didn’t take long for Arwin to completely connect the two scales, but he was far from done. As soon as he’d confirmed that their material could be connected, he set about building a set of greaves.

Even though he was distributing his usage of [Scourge] to withstand the hammer, Arwin’s magical reserves couldn’t last forever. He continued working on the project until his energy expired, then rested – leaving all the scales within the flame – until he’d built up enough to get to work again.

In that cycle, Arwin continued to work on the greaves. The ring of his hammer echoed through the old smithy, each strike another step toward his lofty goals. Sweat rolled down Arwin’s face and dripped from his lips as the heat caressed his body.

Even with his magically enforced strength, soreness and exhaustion bit at Arwin’s body. His arms ached and his back groaned with every swing. While he was far from weak, he didn’t have the muscles he once did as the Hero – and that was just how he liked it.

Every blow was another step toward power. His own step. Not granted to him by the guild. Not given to him by someone that had already supposedly thought through every inch of his progression to ensure it would be ideal for the future of the Kingdom of Lian.

There was none of it.

All that remained was Arwin’s body, the roaring hearth, and the scales within it. Blow by blow, hour by hour, Arwin forged.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he worked. At some point, he was aware of Reya passing through behind him, but Arwin was so focused on the greaves that he barely registered it beyond a passing thought.

His ears rung violently, and the smell of steel and cinder filled his nostrils. He’d stopped sweating at some point, his body no longer possessing the water to lose. The temptation to stop was there – but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the siren call of success.

Arwin’s fingertips tingled with power from the Mesh as it swirled around him and the pair of glowing greaves that were steadily coming together before him. They guided his movements, just as eager to become whole as he was to make them.

And then, tremors running through his entire form from the repeated shocks the hammer had delivered unto him and with just the dregs of his magical power left, Arwin found that there was nothing left to do.

All the pieces of the greaves he needed were finished. He wasn’t done yet, though. They had to be connected and slotted together before the pieces were fixed in their proper places whilst inserting hinges to avoid limiting movement.

“Light. Effective,” Arwin said, well aware he was complimenting himself. His smile stretched even wider and he ran his hands through his sweat-soaked hair.

I feel better than I’ve felt in years. This is amazing.

Arwin walked in a circle around the smithy, then hopped from one foot to the other. Everything about the greaves felt completely natural. He picked his hammer up, giving it a few test swings to see how it felt.

An eruption of soreness in his muscles quickly made Arwin reconsider that decision. He stumbled, nearly dropping the hammer in his haste to lower it. There was only so far that his adrenaline and elation would take him.

Exhaustion had been knocking at the door for longer than Arwin was aware, and he was suddenly reminded of just how thirsty and drained he felt. He blinked heavily, bracing himself against the wall and weathering the wave of weakness that passed over him.

Once it passed, Arwin sent a thought to his greaves, causing them to hide their properties from any prying eyes. If anyone figured out he was strolling around in two Unique items, he suspected that he’d be in trouble.

There had been a time when he hadn’t thought much of it – Unique items varied greatly. They were barely even a proper rarity, as they could both be better than Legendary items or worse than Garbage ones. But the more Arwin realized that not many people actually possessed magical items, the more he realized that it wouldn’t matter what his items did. What would matter would be the fact that he had them.

Arwin licked his parched lips. Even though he didn’t have to eat anything other than magic, a nice drink sounded fantastic. He sent a glance around the smithy, but it was empty. Based on the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wall, it wasn’t quite nighttime yet either.

It was time to see what rewards all the achievements he’d earned over the past few days had earned him. He called out to the Mesh.

Name: Arwin Tyrr

Class: Living Forge (Unique) (Tier: Apprentice 3)

New Skill Choice Available.

[More than Average] has been consumed.

[Shoe Thief] has been consumed.

Two of your Skill options have been upgraded.

You may select one of the following skills.

[Bleeding Heart] (Passive) – Repeated attempts to protect your allies grants all the armor you wear faint magical properties. All those you consider an ally within a set radius of yourself will receive a portion of the defenses your armor grants you, scaling based off your Tier.

[UPGRADED] [Arsenal] – You live and die on your equipment, so you might as well make it part of yourself. Bind yourself to [3] pieces of equipment, summoning and dismissing it at will. The number of equipment you can bind to scales with your Tier, up to a total of 10. Unbinding a piece of Equipment will make this skill inactive for 1 day.

[UPGRADED] [Firewrought Blow] – You have spent so much time within the flame that it has become a part of you. Spend a portion of magical energy to empower your next hammer strike, releasing a burst of Soul Flame upon impact.