"What’s that blue substance?" Bram asked, stepping closer to get a better look.
Arthur didn’t want to hide everything from Bram. He was his master, after all, and had already helped him a lot, giving him rewards such as the cloak and the passives.
"It’s something special about my class," Arthur said. "Soul Artisan, or something like that."
Bram froze.
"Soul Artisan? Are you sure?" he asked.
Arthur stared at the mold, waiting for the molten metal to reach the right consistency. Then he glanced to the side and noticed Bram’s strange expression.
’Something is wrong. He knows about my class.’
"Yes, I’m sure. Why?"
Bram shook his head.
"It’s nothing. I’m just curious about the name. I’ve never heard of it before. Keep crafting. I’m watching."
Arthur knew Bram was lying. His expression said it all, but Arthur didn’t pressure him for answers.
If Bram didn’t want to tell him, then he must have had a reason.
At least, Arthur hoped so.
After around a minute, the metal was ready to be worked into something far less crude. The system helped stabilize the material, making that part of the process much less tedious.
Arthur removed it from the mold and placed it on the anvil. Then he raised the hammer and began striking it, making sure not to use too much strength.
Each blow landed on a different part of the metal as he slowly shaped it into a sword.
A sword was the first item he wanted to craft.
He held the crude weapon in place with his other hand while continuing to strike it. He was wearing a special heat-resistant glove, of course. His fire resistance was decent, but grabbing heated metal with his bare hands was still a terrible idea.
The process was harder than he expected.
Even with the system helping the players, turning a crude piece of metal into a proper sword was difficult. Still, thanks to the passives granted by his title, Arthur had some advantages during the crafting process.
[Title: Scaled Disciple]
[You are the apprentice of Bram, the Scaled Heart.]
[After observing him use the forge, you acquired a portion of his knowledge.]
[+20% Crafting Speed.]
[+20% chance of increasing the grade of a crafted item by 1.]
[Crafting costs reduced by 10%.]
The increase in crafting speed directly affected the process he was performing. It allowed him to shape the weapon faster, but that didn’t mean the work became easier.
Bram remained silent, simply watching him.
Perhaps he wanted to see how Arthur would perform without receiving any guidance, or maybe he was still thinking about the Soul Artisan class.
Either way, Arthur continued hammering the metal, slowly turning it into a sword.
Its shape was much better than he had expected, although it was far from being the most beautiful sword ever made. He was working with ordinary iron, after all. There was only so much he could do with common materials.
Once the shape was good enough, Arthur stopped hammering.
The blade, the tang, and the basic structure of the weapon were already complete. The edge was still thick and blunt, but the metal now had the proper form of a sword.
Arthur carried it to the quenching basin on the other side of the room, far from the furnace.
The basin was filled with a pale alchemical liquid used to stabilize heated materials. It wasn’t cheap either. Filling and maintaining one of those basins cost a considerable amount of money.
Arthur slowly lowered the blade into the liquid.
The moment the hot metal touched its surface, a loud hiss filled the room. Steam rose from the basin as the liquid began absorbing the heat.
Several runes carved along the edges of the basin lit up.
[Material stabilization initiated.]
[Estimated completion time: 10 minutes.]
[Keep the blade fully submerged.]
[Removing the item before completion may reduce its durability and structural integrity.]
Now, all Arthur had to do was wait.
"This process should take around ten minutes," Bram said. "Higher-grade materials take much longer."
Arthur was beginning to understand that forging items wasn’t easy.
It required skill, decent materials, time, and even luck. Sometimes, even when a blacksmith performed every step correctly, the finished item still wouldn’t have the best possible attributes.
It was common for blacksmiths to forge the same item many times before obtaining one good enough to use or sell.
"Are you going back to the dragon kingdom, Master?" Arthur asked.
"Probably." Bram crossed his arms. "I still have a few things to do there, and it’s not like I can abandon my shop. Not to mention that I... have some enemies in these lands who might want me dead."
Bram didn’t elaborate on the enemies, and Arthur didn’t ask.
While the blade stabilized inside the quenching basin, Arthur started working on the hilt.
A notification appeared before him.
[Weapon type detected: One-Handed Sword.]
[Compatible hilt measurements generated.]
[Required components: Guard, Grip, Pommel.]
Arthur gathered a few basic materials from the nearby workbench.
Using a small amount of iron, he forged a simple guard and pommel. The system showed him the correct measurements, but he still had to shape the pieces and make sure they would fit the sword properly.
[Basic Iron Guard completed.]
[Basic Iron Pommel completed.]
Next, Arthur carved two pieces of wood to form the grip.
He created a narrow opening between them, just large enough to fit around the sword’s tang. After a few adjustments, the system confirmed the result.
[Grip compatibility: Excellent.]
Arthur applied alchemical resin to the wood and prepared a strip of leather to wrap around it later.
A sound came from the quenching basin.
[Material stabilization completed.]
[No defects detected.]
Arthur removed the blade and carried it to the workbench.
He slid the guard over the tang first, then secured the wooden grip around it. After wrapping the handle tightly with leather, he placed the pommel at the end and used a few careful hammer strikes to lock everything together.
[Hilt assembly completed.]
[Weapon balance: Good.]
[Grip stability: Excellent.]
Only the edge remained unfinished.
Arthur moved to the grinding wheel and began sharpening the blade. Sparks flew through the air as he carefully maintained the angle shown by the system.
It wasn’t perfect, but after a few minutes, the dull edge had become sharp and even.
[Sharpening completed.]
[Crafting completed.]
[Item successfully created.]