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Chapter 194: Competent

Arwin squinted through the waves of heat rolling off the hearth as the temperature in the smithy started to rise. Even with his resistance to his own fire, the sweltering flame was enough to cause droplets of sweat to roll down his forehead.

The top of the Brightsteel rippled and started to turn liquid as it grew hotter and hotter. Tiny patches of relative darkness stood out amidst the glowing yellow-white. Arwin turned the piece over, keeping the metal cupped in his palms as more of it turned to liquid.

Several small dots and tiny chunks of glowing debris littered the molten metal pooled in his hands. Arwin glanced around, then cursed. There was a little more liquid than he’d expected there to be, but he didn’t have anywhere to put it while he fished out the debris.

Arwin transferred the metal to one hand, spilling some in the process, and then started fishing out the little chunks with the other. Once he’d gotten the biggest parts out, he did his best to pour it out into the other hand, leaving the majority of the debris behind.

It was far from the most effective strategy and he lost more metal than he would have cared to in the process, but it worked. At least, it looked like it worked.

He took the metal away from the flame and held it out in the air, waiting as it cooled and solidified back into a blob in his palms. Arwin studied it, then blew out a breath. Even if this method technically worked, he was going to end up with a bunch of little nuggets instead of workable ingots.

Then again, I can re-heat them with [Soul Flame] and merge everything back together at the end. Not the most efficient way by any means. I should try to get my hands on a mold I can pour metal into. A crucible as well. Something that can withstand the heat of the heightened [Soul Flame] because I’m not so sure my current hearth will hold up against that.

There was always the option of asking Madiv to try and find a crucible, but Arwin had already gotten started and he still didn’t know if his idea would even work. There was no point investing too much effort into getting supplies if it ended up a dud.

With that in mind, he got another chunk of Brightsteel and brought it to the molten blue [Soul Flame]. He was going to need to cook quite a few more pieces of metal if he wanted to get enough to work with for a whole pair of gauntlets.

***

It took Arwin about two hours to form enough “purified” chunks of both Brightsteel and Ivorin to be satisfied. Once he was pretty sure he had enough raw material, he took to using [Scourge] and a significantly weakened [Soul Flame] to press all the Brightsteel back together, kneading it like playdough before bringing it over to the anvil and hammering away at it with Verdant Blaze to make a single, workable sheet.

Once he finished, Arwin repeated the process with the Ivorin. It was a lot of work to get just a single pair of metal sheets, just barely enough for one pair of gauntlets, but it would be worth it if it worked.

At least, I hope it will be. If this isn’t the issue, I’m going to be pissed. I don’t even know if this has completely purified the metal. Is it even possible? I’m sure some impurities are still there, even if I got a lot of them.

The only way to find out would be to put the metal to use. Fortunately, even if all his efforts hadn’t completely purged every last scrap of impurity from the metal, it had come with one extra, unexpected, benefit.

After working the metal for so long and so extensively, he almost felt an innate connection between himself and the two metal sheets. It wasn’t a connection that could be attributed to the Mesh or any form of magic — they’d just had the equivalent of a two-hour long conversation.

He’d never spent that much time getting to know any of his materials before working with them. There hadn’t been a reason to. Even though he wasn’t going to get any direct benefits from the understanding, as both the Brightsteel and Ivorin had been amicable to being gauntlets before, he could already tell that this pair of gauntlets would come together far more easily than previous versions.

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Arwin took an hour to rest and gather his magical energy back, but his mind didn’t leave the topic of the gauntlets once. He went through every step he’d be doing in his mind, repeating it over and over until it felt like he’d made them a thousand times over.

As soon as he had the majority of his magical energy back, Arwin went right back to work. He brought the white gemstone and Wyrmling tooth back over to the anvil and set them down beside the sheets of metal, trying to think on if he’d missed anything else.

Nothing came to mind. He’d taken all the steps he could to make sure that this attempt succeeded. All that remained was to actually take the plunge and make sure his intent was correct.

Arwin moved everything other than the Brightsteel to the side, then got to work. He separated the sheet into segments and went back through practiced motions, making every segment of the gauntlets.

He then repeated the process with the Ivorin, working the two metals together and slowly starting to make recognizable segments for the gauntlets. Arwin quenched the segments as he finished them, then stacked everything up on the anvil.

As before, he ended the fingertips in points — not too long, so as to avoid accidentally cutting his own palm open every time he clenched his fist, but enough to let the gloves actually have a way to rip into his targets.

He made sure to avoid accidentally making the gauntlets too stiff and hindering his movements, but he also put in more than adequate amounts of plating over the stiff portions to make sure they’d be able to block a blow without shattering.

The gauntlets steadily came together. He connected the pieces with rivets, testing and moving each segment before moving right on to the next one. Through the entire process, he continued to pour magical energy from himself into the gloves.

Energy tingled within the metal as he worked it into shape, making small adjustments with his hands and [Scourge]. Once the bodies of the gauntlets were completed, Arwin added the gemstone to the back of the left gauntlet.

He went to add the Wyrmling tooth to the right one, but paused as he was preparing to press it into the back of the palm.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to use a claw as an actual claw? Or at least put it in the spot of where a claw would be? A gem on the back of the hand is fine, but claws should actually be used for what their purpose is.

Arwin’s brow furrowed as he split his attention, keeping his intent as best he could while thoughts flashed through his mind.

Changing what he was doing midway through didn’t seem like a good idea. He already had a plan laid out — but that plan wasn’t really based on anything concrete.

If I put the claw in a fingertip, it feels wrong to just have one. Every finger should have one. But that would mean I’m working with six monster parts instead of just two. Given the huge increase of difficulty of adding in a single extra item… five could be too much.

But they’re doing the same thing. That might make the extra draw more manageable.

He didn’t have the mental capacity to fully consider the decision and keep his focus at the same time. The only thing he could do was act. After one more instant of hesitation, Arwin hurried over to his pile of Wyrmling parts and scooped up four more teeth.

Working them into the fingertips of the right gauntlet was simple enough, and soon had one of them firmly lodged and buried within the metal at the end of each finger. To Arwin’s relief, it didn’t seem like the draw of magical energy or focus had changed significantly by using more teeth.

Now there was a new problem. If the claws were based on Wyrmling teeth on one gauntlet, it didn’t make sense for them to be normal on the other glove.

Why would it even have claws at all? That’s just stepping in the first gauntlet’s territory. They’re meant to be a pair. One rips, the other stores.

Arwin removed the pointed tips from the left gauntlet’s fingers, rounding them out. He brought the white gemstone out a little, making sure it was visible on the back of the gauntlet, then started carving jagged designs into the gauntlet with a nail and [Scourge].

Once he finished, he swapped over to the clawed gauntlet and repeated the process, drawing identical designs. He didn’t really have a reason for it other than it felt right, but that was as good of a reason as any.

His brow knit in concentration as he put the finishing touches onto the gauntlets. His reserves of magical energy were dwindling to alarming levels, but it didn’t matter. He polished the gauntlets off and sharpened each of the claws on his whetstone.

Arwin then looked over them with a sharp eye in search of any mistakes. The gauntlets glistened, a mixture of silver and ivory. One ended with wicked claws, short but razor-sharp. The other bore a pale white gem like a milky eye lying in wait for promised power. Energy swirled within the gauntlets, waiting for release.

There was nothing else to do.

He mentally acknowledged that his work was done, letting his hands drop to his sides. The Mesh didn’t wait a second longer. Power erupted around the gauntlets and swirled down the grooves he’d carved into their surface.

[The Ivory Executioner’s Hands: Epic Quality] have been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

[Getting Competent] – Awarded for forging your first Epic Quality item completely from scratch. Effects: Upgrade one of your existing skills. This achievement will be consumed immediately.