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Chapter 82: Forging Techniques
With Lefiya's naturally chatty and friendly demeanor, the journey was filled with laughter, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.
It didn't take long for Aiden and the two girls from the Loki Familia to reach the Hephaestus Familia's storefront on the bustling Eighth District Main Street.
Unlike standard weapon shops, this place looked more like a colossal citadel of steel.
The massive front doors were wide open, blasting a wave of intense heat into the street—a suffocating mix of burning coal and molten metal. From deep within the shop came the rhythmic, deafening clang-clang of heavy hammers striking anvils.
The walls were lined with an endless array of weapons and armor, ranging from practical, unadorned short swords to brilliantly decorated plate armor. Every single piece gleamed with a cold, deadly luster.
"Oh? If it isn't the Sword Princess and Thousand Elf. What a rare treat."
A loud, booming voice cut easily through the chaotic clatter of the forge.
Turning toward the sound, the trio was greeted by a striking woman with short, choppy black hair and a single piercing crimson eye.
She wore a distinctive black eyepatch over her left eye. Her healthy, honey-colored skin was coated in a thin sheen of sweat, and a layer of simple white bandages was wrapped tightly around her chest, doing little to hide her impressive curves. Tall, athletic, and fiercely beautiful, she exuded the undeniable aura of a master artisan.
"Ah, Miss Tsubaki! Good morning," Lefiya immediately greeted with a polite bow.
Aiden recognized her instantly.
This was the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, a Level 5 First-Class Adventurer known as the "Cyclops," Tsubaki Collbrande. She was widely considered one of the greatest mortal blacksmiths in all of Orario.
She's seriously tall, Aiden noted. He guessed she had to be at least five-foot-seven.
He had heard she was a half-dwarf—a mix between human and dwarven blood. Between her and Mia Grand, the towering dwarven owner of the Hostess of Fertility, the dwarves in this world were really challenging his preconceptions.
Lefiya quickly stepped forward and explained the purpose of their visit.
"Oh? So this kid is here to sell a weapon?"
Tsubaki's single crimson eye swept over Aiden with blatant curiosity, then flicked to Ais and Lefiya. "Are you from the Loki Familia too? I don't think I've ever seen you around. A rookie?"
The Hephaestus and Loki Familias had massive business dealings. Sometimes, Tsubaki would even accompany the Loki Familia on their deep-floor expeditions. She knew almost every notable member of their faction, but this white-haired boy didn't ring any bells.
"You're mistaken, Miss Tsubaki," Aiden shook his head with a polite smile. "I'm not in the Loki Familia. My name is Aiden, and I'm the Captain of the Focalors Familia."
"You're not?"
A look of genuine surprise washed over Tsubaki's face. To be hanging out so casually with the Sword Princess and Thousand Elf while belonging to a completely different Familia? Now that was interesting.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter." Tsubaki waved a hand dismissively. While she loved a good bit of gossip, nothing commanded her attention quite like weapons and forging. "We do buy weapons here, but the price might not be what you're hoping for. Just giving you a heads-up."
"I understand. Please, name your price." Aiden smiled, holding out the White Tassel he had been carrying.
Selling weapons directly to a shop always resulted in a markdown, and if the origin of the weapon was shady, they might refuse to buy it altogether. Fortunately, the White Tassel was completely clean. He wasn't worried.
"Oh?"
Tsubaki's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly.
With just a casual glance, she had already made an initial assessment. "A Second-Class Weapon? And it's completely brand new… Which smith made this? I haven't seen anything like this on the market."
She instantly recognized the weapon's grade, noting the complete absence of wear and tear. It looked like it had just been pulled from the cooling trough.
"Since it's brand new, and considering the Sword Princess and Thousand Elf are vouching for you, I suppose I can offer a premium price—no, wait. Hold on."
Just as Tsubaki was about to throw out a fair number, her gaze snagged on something. She froze, her crimson eye locking onto the White Tassel as if she had been hypnotized.
The deafening roar of the forge seemed to fade into the background. All that existed in her vision was the reflection of the white spear.
"Sorry," she muttered, her entire demeanor pulling a violent one-eighty. The casual, boisterous attitude vanished instantly, replaced by the terrifying, hyper-focused intensity of a master artisan. "Can I… take a closer look at this?"
"Be my guest." Aiden calmly handed the spear over.
Tsubaki took it with a delicacy that bordered on reverence.
The hands that effortlessly swung hundred-pound hammers now traced the grooves of the spear shaft with feather-light gentleness, as if she were caressing a priceless artifact or the cheek of a lover.
Her fingertips glided from the base of the haft to the tip of the blade, feeling the seamless, unified flow of the weapon and its impossible center of balance.
"These patterns… This material… I almost missed it…"
Tsubaki muttered under her breath, her voice low and laced with sheer disbelief. "And this… I've never seen a forging technique like this before. How is this possible? This… this is unbelievable!"
As the premier blacksmith of Orario, Tsubaki had seen every forging technique under the sun. Human methods, dwarven techniques, elven enchantments—even the occasional divine techniques casually displayed by the God of Forging herself. She had studied them all.
But the craftsmanship displayed in the White Tassel was utterly alien. It was something she had never encountered in her entire life.
Hearing Tsubaki's breathless muttering, Aiden nodded inwardly.
The experts really do have sharp eyes.
Ais could sense the weapon's combat value, but Tsubaki had instantly seen through to its core essence.
To her, this weapon from another world represented a completely revolutionary approach to metallurgy. Aiden didn't understand the finer details of the White Tassel's construction, but he knew the world it came from possessed highly advanced forging techniques, churning out genuine 'Divine Weapons' on a regular basis.
While Orario had Gods of Forging, they strictly sealed their Arcanum and rarely crafted true divine armaments with their own hands. The absolute pinnacle of weaponry in the lower world was Spirit Weapons—rare artifacts forged from the remains of ancient Spirits.
Even Bell's Hestia Knife, which was technically classified as a divine weapon, was ultimately forged by Hephaestus without her divine powers. It was essentially a specialized growth-type weapon bound to Bell's status. Unless it reached the absolute endgame, it couldn't hold a candle to a weapon infused with genuine divine authority.
How high would Bell even have to level up for that little black knife to rival a real divine weapon? Aiden wondered.
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