Leveling up the World

Chapter 822: Magic Forging

Getting ready to forge felt slightly unusual. The realm had a special location for that, but Dallion decided to stir things a bit by forming a temporary forge in the sea itself. This was just a practice sessionthe real thing would take place in the real world.

Anvils and ingots were summoned and arranged neatly with a host of other instruments. The sky silver hammer was also there, but the moment Dallion took hold of it, the guardian shook his head.

You wont be using that, he said.

Why not?

Big man, Onda crossed his arms.

One brief glance from Dallion quickly told him that it wasnt the best time to mess around. And just to make things more ominous, Harp was also there, sitting a short distance away atop a seat of water.

You need to learn how to splice magic. Bronze is the easiest. When you get the hang of that, you can move on to more unfriendly metals.

Unfriendly metals, Dallion repeated, amused. Never heard that expression.

Its because the other races cant do it. Humans are good at magic, dwarves are good at forging, but only we do both.

The boast sounded wrong on a few levels, to the point that even Harp sighed. Still, Dallion could understand what the teen nymph was going for.

What about furies?

Close and yet so far away. Besides, they still only use natural magic. Anyway, watch carefully.

Taking an ingot of bronze, Onda proceeded to melt it in the furnace Dallion had created in the temporary sea forge. All of the realms inhabitants had gathered, observing the process with interest. Even Vermillion rose up from the sea, water splashing off the massive island that was his head.Geett the latest novels at wuxiahere.com

Molten bronze poured into a crucible of aether. The nymph then took it with his bare hands and glanced at Dallion.

This is the important part. Magic threads extended from Ondas hand, slowly falling into the crucible, like a line of syrup.

This wasnt the first time Dallion had seen magic threads extending out of someones body. It wasnt even the first time he had seen them transferred into something else, yet the method was not what he had expected.

Just like potions, he said.

Err yes, lets go with that for now. The first step is to just get the magic there and form it. In my case, its easier since Im casting the spell as the threads fall in. Youll have to make your spell before you let it mix with the metal.

Seems simple so far. Mentally Dallion repeated the process. Each of the separate elements was easy to perform. Because of magics nature, there was no difference if he was mixing it with water or with molten metal.

Yeah, right, Onda didnt sound at all convinced. You cant let it dissolve freely, nor can you constrain it. Making potions is simple: the threads can become their own thing in the liquid. With this, you have to keep the spell as you harden it.

Hundreds of markers appeared everywhere around the molten metal. There were purple ones, showing the state of the spell and how it could be modified, silver onesindicating what Dallion could bend it into, and finally goldindicating how to thread and weave one into the other while maintaining its integrity. For all intents and purposes, it was like looking at the lighting of a foldable Christmas tree.

Ill show you the quick way, the nymph said, scooping out the gooey metal with his bare hand.

Looking closely, Dallion could see the thin layer of magic covering his skin. On closer inspection, he found that it wasnt a layer, but a fine mesh of magic threads.

Almost like a dwarf, Onda stretched and folded the cooling metal. Initially, it seemed as if he were creating a blob of nothingness, but with each modification an object gained shape. After a while, the blob was replaced by a glowing red origami.

Keeping up? A note of smugness was audible in the nymphs voice. Bam! Spells still intact. Now I just finalize the final form and...

Onda waved the dagger through the air, using a magic spell to steal away all its heat. In less than a second, the final item was complete.

Here, he offered it to Dallion. Take a close look.

With his current magic trait value, Dallion didnt need to. He could see the thread clusters within the hardened metal. What was more, he could also read the instructions they contained, rendering the material around them flexible.

So, this is how you make origami weapons, he said, slashing the air with the dagger. One thought was enough to instantly transform the weapon into a sickle. One more, and it was a fork.

Each night, when Dallion stopped to take a rest, hed spend the time chatting with his familiars and guardians. It was almost like in the past, as if he was reliving things from his awakened childhood. For the blink of an eye, he could forget his cares and the outside world. Alas, at some point, even the endlessly stretched moment came to an end.

Once Dallion mastered the process of creating magic weapons out of sky silver, it was time to complete the final step.

Thats actually cool, Onda said, fascinated by the latest weapon Dallion had made.

The weapon itself was a whip blade that used an aether thread instead of a physical one. It wasnt hard to guess who the weapon was intended for, just as there was no denying that shed like it.

So. Dallion brushed the sweat off his forehead. The final step?

A final step, Onda said, suggesting it wasnt. A major step in any event. Changing this is like acquiring a new skill. Youll be able to forge magic in the real world with just a hammer and a bit of effort.

Even with a normal one?

When you learn the process, there will be no normal hammers. Youll be able to thread your magic through all of them and maybe not bust them in the process.

That can happen? Dallion was amused.

Theres a reason blacksmiths hated me, the guardian grumbled. Anyway, summon your sky silver hammer.

Dallion did so.

Thats your skill, so you cant melt it. Instead, you have to push the magic threads through.

Sounds easy. Dallion looked at the hammer. Mixing magic with molten sky silver was difficult; this was likely going to be ten times as tricky. Yet, he didnt feel it to be in the least impossible. Any spell I choose?

No spell. Onda took a step back. You need to make a hammer.

Huh? What do you mean?

You can see magic threads, right?

All the time.

If you ignore the physical outline of their container, can you tell what they are?

The past Dallion would have come back with a quirky answer of sorts. Now, though, he kept his mouth shut, considering the question. It was undeniable that the threads in every magic entity, be it item, area, or creature, were unique. What was more, with enough practice, one could distinguish the object by magic alone.

No spell. Dallion extended the magic outside of his fingertips. No metal.

The entire reason that Onda had trained him for weeks wasnt for him to create a new hammer with metal, but out of magic and then place it into a shell he already owned.

Here goes

Ignoring the physicality of the hammer, the magic threads went inside. Dallion had to be careful: the threads werent supposed to get stuck, just as they werent supposed to pass through the object entirely.

Like vines in a bottle, they continued, twisting throughout the middle of the hammer, though never going beyond its outer limits. Twisting and turning, they went in further and further. Feeling the magic within him decrease, Dallion reached out, taking a few strands from the realm itself.

For several minutes, he went on, changing the position of the threads so they acquired the form he wanted them to. Only then, when everything was perfect, he severed them, releasing the magic within the hammer.

MAGIC FORGING obtained.

Youve broken through your eighty-sixth barrier.

You are Level 86.

Choose the trait you value the most.