Rise of the Living Forge

Chapter 26: Amazing

Scales glowed in the flames of the hearth, heated as far as the [Soul Flame] could take them. Arwin hefted his new hammer, adjusting his grip on the haft. The rough metal wasn’t the most comfortable, and it was a good bit heavier than his previous hammer.

Sitting around and staring at the scales isn’t going to do anything, though. Only way to learn is to try.

Arwin arranged two of the scales so that they overlapped slightly, leaving them within the hearth. He then hefted his hammer, holding it near the head to avoid getting a little too much momentum in the swing and risk damaging the hearth.

Maybe I need to find a way to super-heat the surface of my anvil instead of working inside the hearth? That could work as well, but it’s a problem for a different time.

The hammer fell, striking the scales with a loud thud. Sparks flew up and a powerful vibration raced down Arwin’s arms with such force that he nearly dropped the hammer, even though he hadn’t even hit the scales that hard.

“Shit,” Arwin muttered. “Forgot that metal carries the vibrations far better than wood. That’s going to be a pain in the ass.”

Arwin activated [Scourge] and steadied his grip on the hammer before striking the scales once more. The vibrations still slammed into him like a runaway horse, but he weathered them and swung the hammer once more as they faded.

With every strike, Arwin could see the material of the scales start to meld together. It was far from perfect, but it was working. His idea had been correct – so long as he tried to forge them within the fire, they could connect.

It didn’t take long for Arwin to completely connect the two scales, but he was far from done. As soon as he’d confirmed that their material could be connected, he set about building a set of greaves.

Even though he was distributing his usage of [Scourge] to withstand the hammer, Arwin’s magical reserves couldn’t last forever. He continued working on the project until his energy expired, then rested – leaving all the scales within the flame – until he’d built up enough to get to work again.

In that cycle, Arwin continued to work on the greaves. The ring of his hammer echoed through the old smithy, each strike another step toward his lofty goals. Sweat rolled down Arwin’s face and dripped from his lips as the heat caressed his body.

Even with his magically enforced strength, soreness and exhaustion bit at Arwin’s body. His arms ached and his back groaned with every swing. While he was far from weak, he didn’t have the muscles he once did as the Hero – and that was just how he liked it.

Every blow was another step toward power. His own step. Not granted to him by the guild. Not given to him by someone that had already supposedly thought through every inch of his progression to ensure it would be ideal for the future of the Kingdom of Lian.

There was none of it.

All that remained was Arwin’s body, the roaring hearth, and the scales within it. Blow by blow, hour by hour, Arwin forged.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed as he worked. At some point, he was aware of Reya passing through behind him, but Arwin was so focused on the greaves that he barely registered it beyond a passing thought.

His ears rung violently, and the smell of steel and cinder filled his nostrils. He’d stopped sweating at some point, his body no longer possessing the water to lose. The temptation to stop was there – but it wasn’t nearly as strong as the siren call of success.

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Arwin’s fingertips tingled with power from the Mesh as it swirled around him and the pair of glowing greaves that were steadily coming together before him. They guided his movements, just as eager to become whole as he was to make them.

And then, tremors running through his entire form from the repeated shocks the hammer had delivered unto him and with just the dregs of his magical power left, Arwin found that there was nothing left to do.

All the pieces of the greaves he needed were finished. He wasn’t done yet, though. They had to be connected and slotted together before the pieces were fixed in their proper places whilst inserting hinges to avoid limiting movement.

Arwin was exhausted, but he would be damned if he waited to do that later. He grabbed a handful of the nails he’d forged, dropping his hammer and setting to work with his hands. After the nails were heated to molten temperatures, he got to work working them into the scales in the same manner that he’d woven them with, pressing the nails into the tough material and then warping them into clasps so the greaves could close around his legs.

He worked over every single piece of the armor with painstaking effort, connecting joints and testing them to ensure they functioned properly. And then, once he’d finished one leg, he moved on to the other.

Arwin wasn’t sure where the energy to continue came from. Part of him suspected that he just hadn’t realized how tired he was, but it was a moot point. His mind had made the decision that he would continue until the work was done, and his body would obey.

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But finally, his work came to an end. Arwin finished the last touches on the second leg and, even as he let his hands come to a rest in the curling flames, he felt the Mesh come to life within the armor.

[Forest Lizard Scale Plate Greaves: Unique Quality] have been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Your Tier has raised by 1 rank.

Arwin waved the Mesh’s words away. He’d deal with the advancement in a moment – right now, the most important thing to him was seeing if his work had yielded results. There was always the potential of a detrimental trait that could completely ruin all his efforts. Information shimmered to life in golden letters before Arwin as he watched with bated breath.

Forest Lizard Scale Plate Greaves: Unique Quality

[Heat Resistance]: The wearer of this item gains heat resistance.

[Shock]: The tremors of a thousand mighty blows run through this item, attuning it to kinetic energy. This will passively store a portion of any impact it receives, lessening the damage to its owner.

[Awe]: The tremors within this item long to be released. Upon reaching its limit, this item will free the kinetic energy within it at once, empowering its owners next movements for a short amount of time. The timing and duration of this effect cannot be controlled.

[Unique]: Once donned, this item will bond with its owner. It will change sizes so long as material permits to fit them perfectly, and anyone else who attempts to wear it may suffer retaliation. Information about this item may be hidden from others after it has bonded.

Arwin let himself have a relieved smile. He hadn’t just gotten greaves. He’d gotten exactly what he needed. He’d have to test just how much energy the armor would absorb, but even a small amount would go a long way in making him considerably tougher to injure.

The extra effect of speeding him up was also interesting. It was clearly partially detrimental without the ability to control its activation or duration, but power was still power. It just meant they would be harder to use. Beyond that, the skill was incredible. It was an alternative to using [Scourge] to empower his legs, which would save him a huge amount of magical energy.

On top of that, getting movement skills for a non-combat class was probably borderline impossible. Arwin hadn’t spoken to any smiths extensively before, but not once had he ever seen one of them sprinting at the speed of a warrior, even for a short amount of time.

“Absolutely fantastic,” Arwin breathed. The armor had kept the heat-resistant properties of the scales and was already cooled off, so he started to pull it on. He couldn’t bring himself to leave them off any longer and risk somehow letting someone else don them first.

Arwin didn’t imagine there was someone sitting around and waiting to put his pants on, but there was no need for paranoia when the problem was already solved. As soon as he fastened the final clasp, he felt the armor shift and tighten around his legs.

He moved his weight from one foot to the other, then raised a leg. The armor shifted seamlessly, perfectly melded to his form. He could still feel its weight, but they weren’t nearly as hefty as metal would have been.

“Light. Effective,” Arwin said, well aware he was complimenting himself. His smile stretched even wider and he ran his hands through his sweat-soaked hair.

I feel better than I’ve felt in years. This is amazing.

Arwin walked in a circle around the smithy, then hopped from one foot to the other. Everything about the greaves felt completely natural. He picked his hammer up, giving it a few test swings to see how it felt.

An eruption of soreness in his muscles quickly made Arwin reconsider that decision. He stumbled, nearly dropping the hammer in his haste to lower it. There was only so far that his adrenaline and elation would take him.

Exhaustion had been knocking at the door for longer than Arwin was aware, and he was suddenly reminded of just how thirsty and drained he felt. He blinked heavily, bracing himself against the wall and weathering the wave of weakness that passed over him.

Once it passed, Arwin sent a thought to his greaves, causing them to hide their properties from any prying eyes. If anyone figured out he was strolling around in two Unique items, he suspected that he’d be in trouble.

There had been a time when he hadn’t thought much of it – Unique items varied greatly. They were barely even a proper rarity, as they could both be better than Legendary items or worse than Garbage ones. But the more Arwin realized that not many people actually possessed magical items, the more he realized that it wouldn’t matter what his items did. What would matter would be the fact that he had them.

Arwin licked his parched lips. Even though he didn’t have to eat anything other than magic, a nice drink sounded fantastic. He sent a glance around the smithy, but it was empty. Based on the sunlight filtering through the cracks in the wall, it wasn’t quite nighttime yet either.

It was time to see what rewards all the achievements he’d earned over the past few days had earned him. He called out to the Mesh.

Name: Arwin Tyrr

Class: Living Forge (Unique) (Tier: Apprentice 3)

New Skill Choice Available.

[More than Average] has been consumed.

[Shoe Thief] has been consumed.

Two of your Skill options have been upgraded.

You may select one of the following skills.

[Bleeding Heart] (Passive) – Repeated attempts to protect your allies grants all the armor you wear faint magical properties. All those you consider an ally within a set radius of yourself will receive a portion of the defenses your armor grants you, scaling based off your Tier.

[UPGRADED] [Arsenal] – You live and die on your equipment, so you might as well make it part of yourself. Bind yourself to [3] pieces of equipment, summoning and dismissing it at will. The number of equipment you can bind to scales with your Tier, up to a total of 10. Unbinding a piece of Equipment will make this skill inactive for 1 day.

[UPGRADED] [Firewrought Blow] – You have spent so much time within the flame that it has become a part of you. Spend a portion of magical energy to empower your next hammer strike, releasing a burst of Soul Flame upon impact.