When Kaizen returned to the Library of the Magi earlier than he had expected, the librarian Alina was pleasantly surprised.
Before explaining to her what kind of book he was looking for, the Psyker did as he had told her and offered a gift of thanks. This gift was not physical, but a promise that he would make a powerful staff for her once he learned how to make one.
Alina almost laughed at his proposal. After all, the best staffs in the world could be found right in the Wizard's Tower, if she dared to look for them.
However, when Kaizen revealed that he trained with an Ironstone, she was frightened by the possibility. Still, she doubted it and said it was impossible as no Ironstone had been seen for over a hundred years. This forced Kaizen to clarify what had happened to the legendary family of blacksmiths.
Alina listened to the story attentively. In the end, she just asked for proof that what he was talking about was true, so Kaizen showed her the Dagger of Obsession. The dagger was literally a masterpiece. Even a librarian like Alina could understand this. A refined power emanated from the blade of the dagger. And there was also the rightful mark of the Ironstones, a mark that even the best counterfeiters could not copy in the right way.
After accepting the truth, Alina began helping Kaizen search the entire library for books on blacksmithing, production methods and diagrams. This task was a challenge, not because Alina couldn't remember where the books were or if there were any, but because the library was huge and confusing.
In the end, they found a few books about what they were looking for. However, one book in particular caught Kaizen's attention. This was an old book, written several hundred years ago. Its cover was old, its pages yellowed, and the letters on some pages were a little faded. It was a blacksmithing manual written by a man named Wen Chiu.
'That name is not strange to me...' Kaizen thought as he read the author's name. 'If I'm not mistaken, this Wen Chiu guy is the same guy who made that sword that's in the main display case of the dwarf Zahir.'
Alina told him that this was one of the first books on the subject that arrived in that library, as a gift from the blacksmith Wen Chiu himself, and that it was a unique book. She did not allow Kaizen to take it to read, as it was a very old and valuable book, however, he could read the book in the library if he wanted to, and the Psyker accepted without hesitation.
*
<strong>~ Seven days left for the challenge against Taznaar. ~</strong>
Wednesday. 7:30.
Kaizen rose from his bed while yawning and stretching. While bathing and even after dressing, Kaizen thought about the diagram he had gotten the day before after much searching for diagrams in the Library of the Magi. He still could not believe that he had gotten something with so much potential.
When he logged into Rise Online this time, instead of visiting the Library of Mages as he had been doing for the past few days, Kaizen went to his private forge. He was more excited than ever to start forging.
The moment he arrived at his workshop, he ran into Og'tharoz, the demon, looking at a pile of Swift Arrows in the corner of the room.
The demon looked at him and, pointing at the arrows, said:
"These arrows are not bad at all.... Did you make them yourself?"
"Yes, it was. If you are in doubt, you can stay here and watch me work. I don't mind." Kaizen replied, walking over to the barrel where he left the iron ores.
"Okay, then I will watch you forge. I have nothing more interesting to do." The demon levitated in the air, like a ghost, looking down on everything Kaizen did. "What are you going to do today? More arrows? I know you want to set up a store, but don't you think you have enough arrows already?"
"Um. Rest assured, I won't be making any arrows today."
Og'tharoz's eyebrows arched, surprised. "No? What are you going to do then?"
"I will forge a sword."
"A sword? Oh, that sounds simple to me then."
"Maybe." Kaizen said, instigating the curiosity of the demon who began to watch Kaizen work intently.
Using <Telekinesis>, Kaizen heated the furnace and began to feed it with dozens of coal fragments. Meanwhile, he also placed the sword diagram scroll on his bench so that whenever he needed to, he could consult the diagram.
The flame in the furnace rose quickly and Kaizen controlled it skillfully. After placing some iron ores to melt, he did not stand still and began to prepare the sword mold. Using earth and an ordinary sword, he created the silhouette of the mold and finally just waited for the iron ore to melt. When this had happened Kaizen took the liquid iron and poured it into the sword mold.
Gradually the iron hardened and took the shape of the mold. After waiting for the iron to cool, he began to work on the sword with a hammer and file.
The work was hard and monotonous, but Kaizen did not mind. It was the first time he had ever forged a sword so seriously, and consequently the first time he had ever looked at a weapon like this as a work of art.
As he worked, Kaizen forgot about everything around him. His focus was on the blade and the process. Everything needed to be perfect. The sweat that dripped down his forehead fell onto the blade and helped the tempering process.
An hour passed and Kaizen was still not finished forging, which left Og'tharoz impressed, both by the Psyker's strength, but also by the care in the process. He had never seen that before.
Kaizen was obviously already tired, and when his breathing became very labored, that was the signal he needed to say that it was finally time to use the skill he copied from Tonwor precisely for forging.
'Use <Giant's Lungs>.'
[The Skill <Giant's Lungs> was activated].
When Kaizen's arms were already starting to become slow and heavy, he suddenly gained an otherworldly vigor and the hammering on the sword iron became even more intense and powerful. The clanging of the iron hammer shaping the iron plate echoed throughout the street, drawing the attention of the neighbors.
"Is someone living here?"
"It must be the ghosts!"
"I heard that someone bought the land, but the person hasn't introduced himself yet. I wanted to know who the brave person was who did the crazy thing of buying this house..."
"But the person is doing what? Rebuilding the house from the inside?"
"It must be a murderer sharpening his knives! It has to be!"
"Don't talk nonsense... That knocking noise, I have no doubt it's a blacksmith working!"
"A blacksmith?!"
Just like that, rumors about a new blacksmith in the business district began to spread.
No one knew who the person was who was living in the most famous old haunted house in the Royal City, but many were already curious because the resounding pounding of the hammer did not stop for hours at a time.
In the late afternoon Kaizen finally finished his new weapon.
The sword had a different blade than other swords, because at its base, at the top of the black handle, the sword was an ordinary size, but as the blade got longer, it also got thinner, adopting the shape of a needle at the end of the blade. On the handle, blue runes were engraved, which read, Næġling Falske. Basically, that meant fake Næġling.
Næġling was a legendary sword, and it was also the weapon that was on the diagram that Kaizen obtained from the Library of the Magi.
Since it would be absolutely impossible to make a legendary sword with the components Kaizen currently had, he just thought wisely that the copy of a legendary sword would be better than the best of the swords he could make using Mutant or Epic sword diagrams. And since he used Mutant Classification materials, the result could not have been any other after so much time invested.
[Item: Copy of the Næġling Sword
The legendary Næġling sword was forged after an unlikely union between two races that hate each other: the elves and the dwarves.
The real Næġling remains lost in history, but its diagram was kept secret by the mages of the Wizarding Tower until the arrival of a determined man.
Because this copy was produced by a blacksmith who uses dwarven and giant techniques, this sword will protect its bearer, even if it must create life of its own to do so.
Class: Epic.
Item Level: 1 of ?
Attack: 130
Defense: 60
Physical Fitness Level needed: 47
(The effort applied to the sword will be rewarded in the sword's resistance. Every attack that exceeds 800 damage, the sword will halve it.)]
The sword's statistics were great, but Kaizen was still not satisfied.
"It's time to experience the potential of these little beauties." Kaizen thought as he looked at a bag filled with enhancement crystals.
…
Edited by: DrHitsuji
If you want to see original illustrations of Rise Online characters, consider helping me on pa treon: Pa treon.com/NandoFalske
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