Supreme Magus

Instead of being smooth, the surface of the hammer looked like it was comprised of perfectly overlapping scales that only the presence of the black edge between them betrayed.

"Is that…" Lith couldn't bring himself to finish the phrase.

"Yes. I made it from pieces that we Guardians shed and shared. After I was done testing mine, I crafted one for Leegaain and Tyris as well. Always remember that only an idiot never shares.

"No matter how brilliant a mind is, there's always something that you can learn from others and flaws in your creations that you can't notice simply because you look at them with the loving eyes of a parent."

Salaark charged her hammer in a way that wasn't any different from the technique that Lith had developed on his own. Yet, instead of summoning a Forgemastering circle out of the world energy like he would, she struck at the Forge instead.

Her mana flowed inside the Davross, where the magic metal stored and amplified it thanks to its own ability to channel the world energy. Lith could see with Life Vision that, somehow, the Forge converted the world energy into Salaark's mana.

Yet the more time passed, the more diluted her energy signature became. Lith expected the Guardian to charge her hammer again so that with the next hit she would recover the amplified energy and imbue a second pulse into the Davross.

Salaark used that time to recover her focus and relax her body instead, hitting the Forge with a completely empty hammer only when her energy signature was about to fade away.

The hammer retrieved the mana and the Lord of Forgemastery used just enough power to restore her energy signature over the mana it was now imbued with before striking at the Forge again.

With each cycle, the power that Salaark had originally infused in the hammer grew at the expense of the world energy that the Davross naturally channeled without any further effort on her side.

"By my Mom!" Solus started to cry as more memories that she had considered lost flooded her mind. "That's why in my dreams I always use an Adamant hammer and an Adamant forge."

"Well, I hope it was at least purified Adamant." Salaark showed them her hammer that was now filled to the brim with so much mana that any more and even such a powerful artifact would shatter.

"As you can see, with this technique the stress on the Forgemaster's body and core is greatly diminished. Also, once part of the energy has been consumed, you can make a few more cycles during the crafting process.

"The timing is a bit tricky for every piece, but it's something you learn with experience. Always remember to never push your hammer beyond its limits or you will lose it along with whatever you planned to enchant."

The Guardian then let the mana stored in the hammer disperse before putting it back inside her omni pocket along with the Davross Forge.

"Why does the Forge need to be purified?" Lith was half inwardly jumping with joy and half cursing his endless need for Adamant.

"A Forgemaster can use any magical metal for the technique I just showed you." Salaark said. "Orichalcum, Adamant, Davross, they all work according to the same principle."

"Well, that's a relief. Orichalcum is way easier to get." Lith sighed.

"And also much less effective." She chuckled at his naivety. "The bigger the forge, the more world energy it channels. On top of that, the quality and purity of the metal both greatly affect the amplification process.

"Orichalcum has the slowest amplification rate and is the quickest to lose your energy signature. Which means that the same process that you have just witnessed would have taken much longer and required much more focus from me.

"Instead of having the time to rest and focus, I would have been forced to imbue and retrieve my mana non-stop."

"Are you kindly telling me not to use Orichalcum?" Lith whined.

"Correct. Orichalcum is good for stingy Awakened who have already mastered this technique, but it's a nightmare for someone who has to learn it. Use regular Adamant if you are really bad with Origin Flames, purified Adamant otherwise." Salaark said.

Solus felt Lith's mood turning so sour that she had to conjure a seat for him.

"Look at the bright side." Solus said. "We have learned something amazing that will greatly improve all of our future crafts."

"Look at the dark side." He grunted in reply. "Now there's one more thing that we have to master and I've basically wasted Zolgrish's shapeshifting Forge. To make matters worse, I'm now in desperate need of huge amounts of Adamant.

"Even if I were to use the metal that the Royals gave Tista to make an armor, it wouldn't be enough. Grandma, do you mind adding insult to injury and telling us how crappy our hammers are?"

He handed to her both their Forgemastery tools that they had spent weeks planning, months perfecting, and years mastering.

"They are very good. The same quality I give my kids as toys to play with." Salaark tried to be nice, but she ended up making Lith emit a high-pitched whine.

"Grandma!" Solus scolded her. "You are not helping."

"I'm sorry, but what was I supposed to say? They are just made of Orichalcum and mana crystals, there's not a single amplifier in them. Even a monkey can make one of these." She shrugged.

"That's because I have no idea what works as an amplifier and I am always short on Adamant." Lith sighed. "I had barely enough for a purified armor, let alone making hammers!"

"That's because you are rushing too much. A purified Adamant hammer is not an expense, it's an investment. It saves you the need to craft the same thing over and over again the moment your mana core or your Forgemastery improves.

"Thanks to the combined effect of the technique I just imparted to you and of your tower, unless you make a major breakthrough in the Forgemastering arts, the difference in quality between your crafts will be minimum." Salaark said.

"Point taken." Lith pinched his nose to repress the childish tantrum that he had made up to that point and not make a fool out of himself further.

'Relax, you idiot. Grandma just gave me a huge gift, she showed me how to step up my game, and yet here I am crying uncle.

'Quylla was right. I'm such a sourpuss that instead of appreciating what I have gained, I'm whining because I didn't get it earlier.' He thought.

'Well done, Lith. Progress, not perfection.' Solus hugged him both physically and telepathically, glad to have her humanoid form with its almost accurate sense of touch. 'We'll take our time and improve bit by bit. There's no need to get discouraged.'

'Did you just think of me as your Grandma?' His thoughts had moved Salaark to the point that her eyes were veiled with tears. 'From what I heard about you, I assumed that you just called me that just to sweet talk me into giving you free stuff.'

'Grandma!' Lith and Solus said in unison.

'What?'

'Personal space, dammit!' They replied at her intrusion in their allegedly private mind link.