Master Of None

The method started out the same as the first, the wandering blacksmith started with coal and a slower addition of Midnight's decaying flames. He had Walker use his black flame bolt spell more than before to boost the temperature. The things he had learned before were more than meets the eye. The control of the heat had become much more fine and even the movement of the metal was slower and more careful. The entire process seemed like it was taking longer but since the flames kept a very steady pace they did not have any fear that anything would go wrong.

The metal was pulled out and the wandering blacksmith started with the hammering, he had reduced the amount of hits to the metal this time and used more strength to get the same shapes. The metal was thrust in to the flames having barely cooled down at all. This led to Midnight and Walker not needing to add their flames as much as the previous time. There was also less coal used. The entire process has already become double as efficient than before.

The metal was already being shaped by the smith and the familiar shape of the necklace was starting to take shape. The pointed tools that had made the chain links had been dipped in to oils before being used causing bits to burn off and stain the metal. However this did not seem to influence the temperature in any negative way, only speed up how fast the shape came to be.

After just a short time back in the flames the wandering blacksmith was already cooling the second necklace in the oils. The process took longer to cool than before but the results were already much different. The shine of the grey silver iron was much brighter and instead of a black hue there were black thin lines through the entire piece. They were all perfectly spaced without an error in their pattern

The filing had begun and this time Midnight who had some remaining energy was watching the entire process. The burrs were removed and even some of the edges on the larger parts were sanded away. The wandering blacksmith even started to polish the pieces directly after, it was clearly still holding some temperature but the polish made it shine even brighter. After some time the wandering blacksmith had laid the necklace down on the work table.

Walker could say this was a completely different piece of great than they had seen before, it shines with a splendor that spoke of high quality skills and effort. The black colored lines and deepened through the polishing making the chains look like two different metals had been woven together like thread. Walker worried that this too would have the strange lifetime that the other one had so he hesitated a bit using his all around appraisal skill.

' Shadow iron necklace

+8Mdef, + 4Def

Strong decay resistance

One slot available for mana crystal gem'

There was no lifetime! They had definitely succeeded, there was stronger magical defense and even some regular defense. Not only that but the decay resistance was strong. The new thing that struck him was that the necklace said that it had a slot open for a mana crystal get. What was this?

Walker tried to sift through his memories but the only thing that seemed close to what a mana crystal gem would be were the crystal shards he had. He pulled a handful from his inventory and asked the wandering blacksmith, "Are these at all related to the mana crystal gems that could fit in to the necklace?" Without even a hesitation the wandering blacksmith snatched the shards from Walker and grabbed a small mold from his stack of tools.Â

The work had started again but this time instead of heating anything the wandering blacksmith was taking the shards and placing them between the two parts of the mold. There were many carvings on the molds that glowed as he worked. The patterns glowed stronger or weaker when the wandering blacksmith would adjust the shards he was flashing within. Soon a small clack and click sound reverberated through the forge that signified that the two parts of the mold had become one.Â

Hammering away to make sure they were firmly together the wandering blacksmith then lift the entire mold in to the forge. This sight was worrying since Walker expected the crystal shard to be damaged by the flames. However to his surprise there were not cracking sounds at all, instead it sounded like someone had just brought a kettle to a roaring boil.Â

The wandering blacksmith was using various tools to take the mold here and there causing the glowing runes to brighten or darken. This was the strangest process in a forge that Walker had ever witnessed, he had yet to hear of this technique and figured that the shards would just be fitted in to a piece of equipment or melted in to it to add a mana storing effect. Instead they were somehow being molded on to a new shape.

After almost a full hour of this the wandering blacksmith hefted the mold from the fire and dropped it on the floor. The coal dust around it slightly burned and his gloves had smoked a bit too. The wandering blacksmith grabbed the high water elemental crystal from the box and softly touched the mold. The heat within it vanished in mere minutes. The sounds of metal groaning were fairly loud but did not seem to be causing any damage at all.Â

Putting away the high water elemental crystal the wandering blacksmith approached the mold with a large hammer he had used to forge before. He wound up and let the hammer slam in to the mold with a deafening clang. The vibrating metal separated from each other again becoming two pieces of the mold. Inside a small multi faceted gem was visible.Â

This gem had the same clearness and appearance as the crystal shards before but Walker could feel the draw of mana in the air. This gem was already absorbing mana even though it was not attached to anything at all. The wandering blacksmith worked fast affixing the gem to the necklace. Walker was curious how the necklace had changed and checked the appraisal. The only difference that had shown one once simple line in the description.

'Mana storage: 0/20'

The gem had given the necklace the ability to store away a whole twenty mana! The wandering blacksmith had just shaped the crystal shard Walker had shown him in to a mana storage gem. This was exactly what Walker wanted in their gear so that they would not need to worry about using up all their mana while fighting any battles. If all of the gear the wandering blacksmith made came with this mana storage gem inlay then they would easily double their party strength.

"Good" The wandering blacksmith stared at the shadow iron necklace giving it a soft nod. He had said his second word in approval of this creation. The previous problems that caused the decaying effect on the first test were gone and how they could craft using Midnight flames. Walker was even included which seemed to remove a lot of stress from Midnight who had not gotten used to the use of her decaying flame breath. Crafting all of these gears that they wanted would take a much longer time than he expected but would be well worth it by the end of their time before their journey.

Walker looked at the wandering blacksmith who held out the necklace to him, "You want me to wear it?" his question was greeted with a shake of the head. "Then you want me to give it to someone?' Another shake of the head. "Sell it?" There was a nod this time. It seemed that the wandering blacksmith wanted this to be sold so that the party could get better material for the auction. This was not necessarily out of the wandering blacksmith's good faith but instead came from his desire to craft with more materials. He had discovered a new way to forge that he had yet to use and wanted more. It was almost like an intense addiction.

Walker smiled knowing that in the end he would see many more amazing things. This would only be the start of their crafting experiences but for now it was time for them all to rest. Surprisingly after Walker had stored away the necklace the wandering blacksmith followed him in to the mansion. The three headed toward the bathing area in the mansion. It was a fairly large area made out of man water mana crystals to promote the flow of water. The fire crystals had been worked in to the bath as well to maintain proper temperature.Â

For the first time since he arrived the wandering blacksmith would be scrubbing away the layers of ash and coal dust. Seeing that this was a chance to get clean himself the three of them got rid of the ash and coal dust in turn. Walker helped out Midnight who could not shrub at the scales between her wings. Normally she was much cleaner but today there was no avoiding the dust that seemed to get everywhere in a blink of an eye. Feeling refreshed and clean Walker had changed in to some basic clothing. He also had found that the wandering blacksmith had put on a second pair of identical clothing he was wearing before, although these were spotless.Â

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