episode_0005

The process by which an Awakened Blacksmith makes equipment is largely no different from the process of a regular blacksmith. However, there are quite a few differences in the details.

First, heat the magic stone with a flame made of mana.

Unlike ordinary iron, the mass and shape of the magic stone do not change significantly no matter how high the heat is applied. However, when heated with flames created from mana, the impurities disappear and it becomes a pure mana crystal.

If heated for a longer period of time, these mana crystals will slowly melt and turn into a thick gel, which visually resembles a lump of clay or melted fish glue.

But its intensity and viscosity are beyond imagination.

It can only be changed by hitting it hard with a mana-coated hammer, and it is difficult to separate it unless you use a pair of tongs coated with a special chemical.

The mass-produced Awakened weapons that are mass-produced in factories are usually finished by pouring them into a mold and letting them cool and harden. So what makes Awakened Blacksmiths different?

The answer was now revealed in Shihyuk’s actions.

Shihyuk poured the melted mana crystals onto a wide shelf and repeatedly hammered them hard to continuously apply mana and impact. This process helped increase the durability of the equipment.

Even as he hammered until his soul was lost, he never forgot to shape it as he had imagined in his head.

By repeatedly striking with this much heat and passion, the crystal transformed into [Magic Iron], which had elasticity and strength several times greater than that of ordinary metal. By striking and bending it into the desired shape, equipment made of [Magic Iron] was completed.

Not stopping there, Shihyuk carefully tapped the mana crystals he had separated into very small quantities as if he was soldering them onto the equipment.

The reason for this additional process is that the engraved mana crystals can provide special effects or additional options to the equipment.

And this was the standard that distinguished [rare grade weapons] from [common grade weapons].

It is impossible for Sihyuk, who does not receive assistance from [Skill Window], but excellent awakened blacksmiths can carve magic crystals into patterns, and some masters even show off detailed techniques such as digging out a certain part and filling the space with crystals.

It was a very distant path for the immature Sihyuk.

“Failed.”

And this time, Shihyuk failed to create a [rare grade weapon]. The equipment he was striking turned pitch black, and the mana crystals crumbled into black powder like brown sugar and fell.

He sighed as he threw the now dull equipment into the corner of the forge.

It’s not like it’s completely unusable, but if it becomes like this, no matter how much you reheat and melt the equipment and try again, it will become just ordinary, normal equipment. It would be right to start over from the beginning with a different magic stone.

Infusing mana crystals into equipment is an important step toward becoming a master. Shihyuk has spent over a dozen years swallowing nothing but bitter water during this process.

He had invested the most effort in his life into this, but had failed time and time again. That was why he felt more calm than disappointed about this failure.

“If only I had this skill… .”

The thought that it might have been different crossed his mind for a moment, but he shook it off. This too was a familiar regret.

As a child, he would cry his eyes out against this wall until he fell asleep. In his dreams, he would freely use skills like [Attribute Granting] and [Additional Processing].

But dreams always ended as dreams. He, who used to wake up and be disappointed in reality as a child, grew up, grew thicker, and became accustomed to the current situation. He became skilled at giving up because he had become accustomed to repeated failures. But it was okay.

This process was only the beginning of his finishing, and Shihyuk had a lot of time left.

Yes. There was plenty of time. Sihyuk put the next magic stone into the furnace and calmly closed the lid.

If you think about the amount of time left before you die, there is no need to become frustrated and break down here.

At that time, it would be the right decision to use all of Shihyuk’s remaining strength as a blacksmith.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This failure was simply one step towards his death.

—

…..bang!!

…bang!

..Kakak.

How long had it been? Shihyuk suddenly felt as if his legs were going to fall down. His vision was tilted, and parts of him were sparkling like stardust.

The area under my eyes was squelching as if worms were crawling. Instead of my legs falling, I felt like I was floating above my neck. From below my shoulder blades, it felt as if I had been poured with ice water, but my head felt as if it was burning hot.

‘Are you feeling dizzy?’

It was a familiar phenomenon to him. Sihyuk stopped working for a moment and calmly observed the state of his body.

Just like the sensation of the lower body being plunged under the mantle, the sensation of the skin that had been stinging like sandpaper due to the heat of the mana flame was also fading away. It was a symptom of paralysis.

Because he had been exposed to the extradimensional particles and heat from the furnace for a long time, Shihyuk’s entire body was soaked with a mixture of sweat and fluid that made it difficult to distinguish between the two as his skin gradually crumpled.

Shihyuk wiped his forehead with his forearm. A pinkish liquid mixed with white pus, blood, and sweat came out. This was still not a big deal.

How’s your hand? Shihyuk fiddled with his fingers for a moment and felt slightly relieved.

The feeling in his hand still remained. Although his hands were sweaty inside the gloves from having swung the hammer with so much force for so long, and some of his fingernails were loose and tangled in the empty spaces of the gloves, he was still able to move as he wanted. This was good enough.

The biggest problem was the three-pronged pain that stretched from the wrist, elbow, and shoulder, even while the senses were numb. This was a triple whammy that made even Sihyuk, who was accustomed to pain, grit his teeth for a moment.

My waist, which was about to burst, was somewhat relieved by wearing a corset-like waist belt and leaning against a shelf to work, but my arm and shoulder joints, which had to keep swinging the hammer, were so miserable that I sometimes wished my arm would just be torn off.

There were other symptoms, big and small, such as tinnitus in the ears, salty blood flowing from the nose to the chin, and bitter lips that were cracked here and there.

To Sihyuk, it was just a minor issue.

‘Still alive.’

It’s okay. I’m alive anyway. That’s enough. Shihyuk muttered as if he was thinking to himself.

There were still a lot of magic stones left, and although his body was in pain as if he was going to die, he was not dead. If he could just move, even if it was by force, that would be enough.

What if I die?

‘If you die, that’s the end.’

From the beginning, Shihyuk’s crazy behavior was not for the sake of living. On the contrary, if he died like this, he could close his eyes in satisfaction. Death was not a fear to him, but an escape. In fact, it was something he had hoped for.

Shihyuk grabbed the hammer again, but lost all strength and dropped it. With trembling arms, he took off his upper garment with great difficulty and tied the hand holding the hammer with it, securing it in place.

The heavy body, weighing thousands of pounds, was looking for rest, but when forced to move again, it began to tremble and show a rejection reaction.

Shihyuk intuitively realized that his end was near. Since it was a very happy thing, he put the magic stone into the melting pot without hesitation and lit the mana furnace again.

He put the magic stone back in, heated it, took it out, and laid it out on the shelf. The mana on the hammer was glowing very faintly, unlike the first time. This was also something he had squeezed to the limit.

If so, it would have been right to use it meaningfully until the end. Shihyuk struck down the mana crystal.

“uh-”

To be precise, he was about to strike. Until the head of the hammer broke with a cracking sound.

The broken pieces of the hammer rolled across the floor. Ironically, it was the hammer that had been with his master before Shihyuk’s body that reached its limit.

His face was distorted like a demon’s. The end, the end was near!

Just a little more and it would be his last, truly the end!

Feeling like his best moment was interrupted, Shihyuk naturally felt like cursing.

“Fuck!!”

Sihyuk, who momentarily forgot the pain, sprang to his feet and began searching the inside of the forge.

Hammer, no hammer? I need something to pound on. He mumbled incoherently, staggering around like a sleepwalker, looking around and knocking over drawers.

As his anger took over, he gained strength that he had never had before and tore open a cupboard that he had never been able to reach and threw it. The sound of the contents inside being shattered and torn, as well as the sound of them breaking, struck his eardrums all at once.

He kicked and turned over the debris, and messed it up. Then he found a wrapped cardboard box. Feeling a sudden pull, Si-hyuk opened the box.

hammer.

Yes, it was a hammer. There was a hammer there. There was no way it wouldn’t be there! Shihyuk was delighted. It was a place that his master had turned into a blacksmith shop even though it was a resort. There was no way there wouldn’t be a hammer there!

The hammer didn’t look like it had a great design, but it had a sophistication that came from its functionality. When he held it in his hand, Sihyuk felt as if his body was somehow energized. It was an extraordinary object.

The conductivity of mana was also excellent. Even though he looked around at the mana that was as small as a rat’s tail, it faithfully responded by shining. Seeing that, my anxious heart became much calmer than before.

Until I saw the name engraved on the top of the hammer’s handle.

this

city

hyuk

“Why?”

That hammer already had an owner a long time ago.

As the creator had wished, it was finally in the hands of its owner, albeit late.