(√) Ridasu’s rough fingers hovered over the iron blank, not daring to touch it directly.
Faint dark red lines flickered on the surface of the black iron, as if it were breathing.
A faint scorched smell lingered in the air, a trace of fire element magic being forcibly crushed and sealed inside the metal.
“What did you just…
do?” Ridasu asked again, his voice kept very low.
Aether gripped the hammer handle, his palms drenched in sweat.
He stared at the iron, his mind equally in a muddle.
There was no blacksmithing skill in Bennett’s memories; he had just instinctively pressed the fire element down his arm, trying to control the force of the hammer’s strike.
“Paimon,” Aether called out in his consciousness.
The white fluffball popped out of the Akasha with a “whoosh,” flew in a circle around the anvil, and said with a smug look on his small face, “Hehe, surprised?
This counts as your hidden Talents too.” “Hidden Talents?” “Yeah!
Did you forget how you forged weapons back in Teyvat?
As long as you have the blueprints and materials, you just stand in front of the forge, and with a few clangs, you can hammer out a Sword.
That perception of materials and control over the heat has long been etched into your soul!” Aether was stunned for a moment.
Of course he remembered.
In the game, it was just a progress bar completed with a single click of the mouse.
“So you’re saying the forging station from the game has been moved to reality?” Aether complained in his mind.
“You could say that!” Paimon nodded.
“And it’s not just forging.
You have base bonuses for life skills like cooking and alchemy.
Your intuition for heat and materials right now is definitely master-level!” Aether’s eyes lit up.
If cooking and alchemy were also brought over, wouldn’t he be able to make a fortune by cooking dishes and crafting potions?
Paimon’s eyes darted around, immediately seeing through his thoughts, and poured a bucket of cold water over him: “Stop dreaming.
This is Fairy Tail, not Teyvat.
You can’t get Sweet Flowers, Mushrooms, or Lizard Tails through gacha here.
Without Teyvat’s exclusive materials, your cooking Talents will at most make your food taste a bit better than others, and your alchemy Talents will make it less likely for your potions to explode.
Want to create dishes and potions with special attributes?
Not unless you pull characters with exclusive Talents like Xiangling or Sucrose later.” Aether silently snuffed out the thought of getting rich.
Without materials, no matter how good the skill, he was just a high-end cook.
But forging was different; what he lacked most right now was a weapon that could carry the elements.
“Hey, kid.” Ridasu’s voice pulled Aether’s thoughts back.
The old blacksmith straightened up, and the look behind his goggles had completely changed.
The previous disdain and playfulness were gone, replaced by a fanaticism as if looking at a monster.
“That move of yours just now poured fire attribute magic directly into the iron blank.
Not only did it not explode, but it actually changed the internal structure of the black iron.” Ridasu took a deep breath.
“Intuition?
Or did someone teach you?” “Intuition,” Aether said without changing his expression.
Ridasu stared at him for a full ten seconds.
Suddenly, he ripped the towel from his neck and slammed it onto the edge of the nearby sink.
“Some intuition indeed.” Ridasu strode aside, took a brand-new hammer off the wall, and threw it to Aether.
“That one is too light, use this.
From now on, this secondary forge is yours.
Before dark, I want to see a finished Sword.” Aether reached out and caught it.
The hammer handle had an oily feel from years of use, and it was twice as heavy as the previous one.
“What?
Too heavy for you?” “I can.” Aether walked to the secondary forge, picked up a new piece of black iron ore, and shoved it into the glowing charcoal fire.
Pulling the bellows.
Observing the heat.
Taking out the iron blank.
Striking.
“Clang!” This time, Aether didn’t deliberately suppress the fire element.
Instead, he followed that mysterious “intuition,” letting his magic and muscle power explode in sync.
Sparks flew.
The iron blank rapidly deformed under the hammer.
Ridasu stood aside with his arms crossed, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
“Too fast.” The kid’s movements were as awkward as an amateur touching a hammer for the first time, his posture entirely learned on the fly.
But with every strike, his landing point was terrifyingly precise.
He didn’t need extra hits to level it out, nor did he need to repeatedly check the temperature.
It was as if he could hear the iron’s wail and knew exactly which strike would produce the best curve.
“Raise your wrist!
Use your waist!
Do you think you’re chopping vegetables?!” Ridasu couldn’t help but roar.
Aether didn’t reply.
Drenched in sweat, he gritted his teeth and adjusted his posture.
Bennett’s stamina was depleting rapidly.
Every time he swung the heavy hammer, his shoulder muscles felt like they were being torn apart.
But he didn’t stop.
Teyvat’s forging instinct told him that this iron hadn’t reached its limit yet.
“Clang!” “Clang!” For the entire afternoon, there was only the monotonous and heavy sound of hammering in the blacksmith shop.
From guiding on the side at first, Ridasu eventually went back to his own main forge, working while stealing glances out of the corner of his eye.
He had lived for over forty years and seen countless genius Mages, but a lunatic who used magic Talents for blacksmithing like this was a first.
Evening.
The afterglow of the setting sun passed through the workshop’s shutters, casting dappled light and shadows on the floor.
“Sizzle—” The scalding blade plunged into the cold water tank, sending up a thick cloud of white mist.
Aether leaned on the edge of the tank with both hands, gasping for breath.
His shirt was completely soaked, clinging to his back, and his right arm spasmed uncontrollably.
The white mist dissipated.
Aether reached out and lifted the Sword from the tank.
It was an extremely plain Sword.
It had no crossguard, and the hilt was only wrapped in rough linen.
The blade body appeared a dull grayish-black, but the edge glinted with a cold light.
Ridasu walked over and snatched the Sword away.
He scraped the blade with his rough thumb and flicked it with a finger.
“Hum—” The Sword’s ring was crisp and long.
Ridasu was silent for a long time.
He took the Sword to the scrap pile, picked up a piece of scrap iron as thick as a wrist, and swung the Sword down.
“Clang!” The iron bar snapped.
The cut was smooth.
There wasn’t even a notch on the blade.
“One day.” Ridasu turned his head to look at Aether, a sense of frustration in his voice.
“Ordinary black iron, without any magic crystal powder added, and in one day, you forged a standard longsword at the near-knight level.” He threw the Sword back to Aether.
“You’ve finished your apprenticeship.
There’s nothing more I can teach you about the basics.” Aether caught the Sword.
The moment the hilt landed in his palm, a burst of golden light exploded in his vision again.
A translucent panel appeared.
[Mission: Tempered into Steel] Completed.
[Mission Evaluation: Amazing intuition and perseverance.
You have proven that you are not only a swordsman but also a qualified blacksmith.] [Rewards: Primogem ×50, Sword · Dull Blade (Blueprint), Dull Blade Exclusive Forging Materials (Rough Iron Chunk ×10, Broken Hilt ×1)] Aether looked at the jumping Primogem numbers on the panel, and his fatigue instantly halved.
50 Primogems.
Adding that to what he already had, he was one step closer to the next single pull.
But more importantly, it was that blueprint.
Aether opened the inventory interface and gave a thought.
“Old man,” Aether suddenly spoke.
Ridasu was about to grab a wine bottle when he stopped at the words.
“Show some respect.
Call me Master or Boss.” “Let me borrow your main forge for a bit.” Ridasu frowned.
“You’re still forging?
You don’t want to be able to lift that arm tomorrow?” “Just one last one.” Aether raised his right hand.
In his palm, several irregularly shaped iron chunks appeared out of thin air, along with an old hilt full of nicks on its edges.
Those were the [Rough Iron Chunks] issued by the system.
Ridasu’s gaze fell on those pieces of iron, and his originally impatient expression instantly froze.
He lunged forward, grabbed Aether’s wrist, and put his face almost right against the iron chunks.
“This…
what kind of ore is this?” Ridasu’s voice cracked.
“No magic fluctuations, but the density is ridiculously high.
This texture…
this color…
this isn’t something that can be produced near Magnolia!
Where did you get this?” “It’s a secret.” Aether pulled back his hand.
“Can I borrow the forge?” “Borrow it!
Use it as much as you want!” Ridasu’s eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the iron chunks.
“But on the condition that you forge it in front of me!
I want to see how you handle this material!” Aether nodded.
He walked to the main forge and threw the [Rough Iron Chunks] into the fire.
Unlike the black iron ore, this material from Teyvat showed no signs of turning red or softening in the ordinary fire of the Fairy Tail world.
Aether took a deep breath, and a ball of crimson flame suddenly flared up in his palm.
Bennett’s fire element.
He pressed his hand against the bellows, and the fire element poured directly into the hearth along with the airflow.
The furnace fire instantly turned from red to white, and the terrifying high temperature made the air in the entire workshop distort.
Teyvat materials must be smelted with Teyvat elemental power.
“Clang!” The first hammer strike fell.
A dull echo vibrated within the workshop, making the window glass hum.
Night fell.
The streetlights of Magnolia lit up one by one.
The sound of hammering in the blacksmith shop continued until late at night before finally stopping.
When Aether pushed open the door of the blacksmith shop and walked down the street back to the guild with legs that felt like lead, there was an elongated cloth bundle on his back.
Inside the cloth bundle was a Sword.
A weapon that was ignored by everyone in Teyvat, but truly belonged to him in this world.
Dull Blade.
Back at the Fairy Tail Guild.
The hall was pitch black, with only a dim magic lamp left at the bar.
Aether walked quietly up to the second floor and pushed open his room door.
He didn’t even take off his clothes, collapsing directly onto the bed, not wanting to move even a single finger.
“Good work, Traveler.” Paimon floated in mid-air and gave his head an imaginary pat.
Aether closed his eyes, and his breathing soon became steady.
The night passed in silence.
The next morning.
Sunlight had just begun to shine into the room through the gaps in the curtains.
“Bang!” A loud crash.
The already flimsy wooden door was kicked open, the door panel slamming hard against the wall with a painful groan.
Aether snapped his eyes open, his right hand instinctively grabbing the Dull Blade by the bed.
At the door, the blond boy stood against the light with his hands in his pockets.
His blue eyes were full of impatience, and faint golden lightning flickered between his strands of hair.
“The sun is already hitting your backside, and you’re still sleeping?” Laxus raised his chin, his lips curling into a provocative arc.
“I told you, this morning, I’d show you what real magic is.
Bring your pathetic little spark and get out here.” Aether sat on the bed, looking at Laxus outside the door.
He looked down at the cold, heavy, newly sharpened iron Sword in his hand.
The corners of his mouth slowly pulled into a grin.
“Sure.” Aether stood up and pulled the Sword out of the cloth bundle.
“I was just worried I wouldn’t have anyone to test the Sword on.”