Seeing that Ren Isana had no objections, Hephaestus sprang into action. She fired up the forge, tossed Ren's Tang Dao straight in, and immediately gathered some materials to get to work.
Watching her operate, Ren silently activated [Jianjigu] to learn. What a rare opportunity this was! If he didn't study her techniques now, when would he? Paying ten million Valis to have her personally forge his weapon was an absolute steal.
Just as Ren was staring intently, Asuna, Megumi Kato, and Yukino Yukinoshita walked in from outside. They had finished paying their bills.
They were already wearing the armor they had just purchased. When Ren saw Asuna, a strange glint flashed in his eyes. *If she changed her inner clothes too, she'd look exactly like she did in SAO.*
The three girls walked up to Ren. Asuna looked at him curiously, then glanced at the busy Hephaestus. She was a bit puzzled—what was Ren doing?
"You're having your weapon reforged?" Yukino Yukinoshita was much more observant. She immediately noticed Ren's weapon in the furnace, which surprised her a little.
"That's right. It's the perfect chance to observe the Goddess of Forging's techniques and learn a thing or two!" Ren nodded. His last few words instantly made the three girls realize his true intentions.
Ren planned to learn forging from the Goddess of Forging herself. Realizing this, they all understood—he was here to steal her skills. Given Ren's terrifying learning talent...
Good heavens, he was going to completely absorb her techniques, wasn't he? The three of them instantly threw their full support behind Ren. Hephaestus might not know what Ren was capable of, but they certainly did.
"How much did it cost? Do you have enough?" Asuna leaned in close to Ren and asked in a whisper. In her eyes, having Hephaestus personally forge a weapon must cost an astronomical sum. Did Ren have enough money on hand?
"It's fine, I have enough." Ren didn't mind at all. He definitely had enough money, and from Asuna's tone, it sounded like she was ready to cover the cost if he fell short.
*Just how much gold did Asuna bring with her?* Ren couldn't help but feel curious. In the two days before they arrived in this world, Asuna and the others had been out and about. They must have gone out to buy a massive amount of gold during that time.
"I'll go tell the others to wait a moment," Yukino said after glancing at Ren, who was still fixated on Hephaestus. She then turned and walked out.
The other students were still paying, and Ren's forging would take some time. It was best to have everyone wait for a bit, as this wouldn't be finished anytime soon.
Ren nodded without saying a word, his eyes glued to Hephaestus's movements.
His and Asuna's conversation had fallen clearly into Hephaestus's ears. After organizing some materials, Hephaestus turned her head and asked Ren, "Are you interested in forging too?"
The sudden question made Ren pause for a moment, but he nodded. Of course he was interested. How could he not be? If he wasn't interested, why would he spend so much money?
"In that case, I'll teach you!" Seeing his response, Hephaestus smiled warmly at Ren.
She didn't mind teaching Ren as long as he was interested. Besides, forging wasn't something you could learn overnight. Perhaps if she taught him now, he might join her Familia in the future?
Hephaestus had her own little ulterior motives. While she wouldn't actively poach him, there was nothing stopping Ren from coming over on his own accord, right? If that happened, even Hestia wouldn't be able to complain.
Even if Ren didn't join her Familia, building this kind of relationship with him was still a good thing. The talent this boy possessed was simply too incredible.
Otherwise, why would she be willing to reforge his weapon for a mere ten million Valis? What a joke. Did anyone really think the Goddess of Forging's craftsmanship was only worth ten million?
That was pure delusion. She only offered that price out of respect for Hestia and because of Ren's immense potential. Otherwise, one would need to prepare hundreds of millions of Valis before even thinking about approaching her.
And even then, it would depend on whether she was in the mood. So, since Ren wanted to learn, she didn't mind doing him another favor. *If he wants to learn, I'll just teach him.*
Ren hadn't expected Hephaestus to offer that, but after a moment of thought, he roughly understood her reasoning. Since that was the case, he wasn't going to hold back.
With that in mind, Ren immediately spoke up, "Then I won't be polite. I'm genuinely very interested in forging!"
Saying that, he stepped forward. Seeing this, Hephaestus began her instruction. She started by asking Ren a few basic questions about forging.
Ren didn't know much about the practical side, but he had watched plenty of videos and read many books, so he knew a little bit. Discovering that Ren had some foundational knowledge, Hephaestus said, "The forging techniques of your world are a bit different from ours, but the general principles are the same."
As she worked, she explained some of this world's forging knowledge to Ren. Ren acted like a sponge, frantically absorbing everything Hephaestus taught him through his [Jianjigu].
Once the materials were ready, Hephaestus said, "I'm going to reforge your weapon now. Doing this without destroying the weapon's original structure is what we call 'Refining' in this world."
As she spoke, Hephaestus used a pair of tongs to pull Ren's glowing red Tang Dao out of the furnace and placed it on the nearby anvil.
Next, she grabbed a handful of powder and sprinkled it over the blade, then directly placed the materials she had prepared onto the red-hot Tang Dao.
As she applied the materials, a magical scene unfolded. The materials began to slowly melt like ice cubes, seeping directly into the blade itself.
Taking advantage of this, Hephaestus picked up her hammer and began striking the blade rhythmically. At the same time, she didn't stop talking, continuously explaining the principles behind her actions to Ren.
The materials born in the Dungeon were the best forging materials. Some of them would slowly melt when exposed to high temperatures, but at that exact moment, one had to use special techniques to completely fuse them with the weapon itself to complete the process.
Furthermore, this step required immense patience and a sharp eye. The slightest mistake would completely ruin the entire weapon. It was highly technical work.
Ren kept his eyes glued to Hephaestus's operations the entire time. In an instant, his [Jianjigu] allowed him to perfectly copy her forging techniques, and a massive amount of related knowledge flooded his mind.
Hephaestus's forging system was undoubtedly vast and complex; otherwise, she wouldn't be known as the Goddess of Forging. As she continued her explanations, the amount of knowledge Ren absorbed grew exponentially.
One taught, and the other learned. Asuna and Megumi Kato watched this scene in silence, not saying a word. They both knew very well that Ren had entered his zone.
Yukino, who had gone out, quickly returned. She had already informed everyone about the situation. Hearing that Ren was in the middle of learning, the classmates immediately understood and didn't rush him.
Instead, they decided to take a tour around the Hephaestus Familia's headquarters. After all, this was the first time they had visited another deity's Familia, so there was no harm in looking around.
"So, how much of that did you absorb?" After finishing her hammering, Hephaestus placed Ren's Tang Dao back into the furnace. Taking advantage of this brief downtime, she couldn't help but ask him.
"I absorbed all of it. I have to say, it's truly amazing," Ren couldn't help but praise. In reality, he had already mastered about eighty to ninety percent of it.
Even the things Hephaestus hadn't explicitly taught, Ren had managed to comprehend on his own. In the face of his terrifying [Jianjigu] talent, learning these skills was like child's play.
Hephaestus hadn't expected Ren to answer like that, which made her freeze for a second. She looked at him with a hint of uncertainty. "You're not just bragging, are you?"
She suspected this guy was full of hot air. She had only explained it once, and he was claiming he had absorbed it all?
Standing to the side, Hestia instantly grew displeased hearing Hephaestus say that. Just as she was about to retort, Asuna tugged on her sleeve.
Then, Hestia heard Asuna say, "Hephaestus-sama, Ren actually has an incredibly good memory. He can remember most things after just hearing them once."
Asuna didn't mention his monstrous learning talent, but instead framed it as having a good memory. These words made Hephaestus suddenly realize what was going on.
Hestia fell silent at this moment. She understood why Asuna had pulled her back. Although she didn't want to lie to her best friend...
For Ren's sake, she had to keep his true talent a secret. After all, if word got out that he possessed a heaven-defying learning ability, it would likely put other Familias on high alert.
She knew very well that Ren had come here with a mission. So... *Sorry, Hephaestus. I'll find a way to make it up to you later.*
Hestia silently made up her mind. She decided she would absolutely keep her mouth shut about Ren's talent from now on, allowing him to learn as much as possible.
"I see. But just remembering it isn't enough. Memorizing it doesn't mean you've mastered it. Later, I'll give you a copy of my personal forging notes. You can read it, but you are not allowed to share it with anyone else. How much you can memorize is up to you." Hephaestus didn't suspect a thing.
*A good memory, huh? No wonder. It'd be weirder if he didn't have a good memory.* However, she was very confident in her own techniques. If they were that easy to learn, the members of her Familia would have mastered them long ago.
Instead, they had only scratched the surface. Only Tsubaki had learned the most, and that was largely due to her half-dwarf bloodline.
After all, dwarves were naturally gifted at forging, and Tsubaki's talent was the best she had ever seen. Yet, even she had only managed to learn about a tenth of Hephaestus's forging techniques.
Hephaestus resumed her work, continuing to reforge Ren's weapon. Seeing that she didn't pry any further, Asuna breathed a sigh of relief.
Noticing this, Yukino turned to Hestia and said, "Hestia-sama, let's go take a walk outside. It will still be a while before things wrap up here."
She felt it was necessary to have a chat with Hestia. If Asuna hadn't stopped her just now, Hestia would have blurted out Ren's secret.
While Ren's talent wasn't a secret among their class, it was absolutely a top-tier secret in this world. Not a single word of it could be leaked.
Megumi Kato also spoke up at this moment, "I'll go with you. It's a good time for me to go talk to the other classmates too."
Megumi understood the same logic, and she planned to give the rest of the classmates a heads-up about the situation.
The three girls exchanged a glance, reaching a silent understanding. Seeing this, Hestia nodded. She roughly understood that Yukino wanted to talk to her.
With that in mind, Hestia didn't refuse. She followed Yukino and Megumi out of the forging workshop, leaving only Asuna and Ren inside to watch Hephaestus work.
Ren had his [Perception Magic] active, so he naturally noticed everything Asuna and the others had done. He had to admit, they were truly excellent teammates. Even without him saying a word...
They all knew exactly what to do. Having teammates like them was undoubtedly reassuring. Therefore, Ren didn't pay any more attention to Yukino's group and instead continued to silently study Hephaestus's forging techniques.
Asuna glanced at the deeply focused Ren and quietly stayed by his side, listening in. Although she couldn't understand the technical jargon, watching the Goddess of Forging craft a weapon was an absolute treat in itself.
*Maybe this is why guys love watching bladesmithing competitions?* Asuna felt like she finally understood. Even as a girl, she found it fascinating to watch—let alone a guy.
It took Hephaestus over half an hour before she finally stopped. She had successfully finished reforging Ren's weapon.
The length remained the same as before, but the color had become much deeper and more profound. The moment it was pulled out after the final quench, Asuna could feel the sharp aura radiating from the blade even from a distance.
This Tang Dao, which was considered merely decent in Ren's original world, had its quality forcibly elevated by several tiers after being reforged by Hephaestus.
It could even be passed down as a family heirloom now, couldn't it? This was a weapon personally forged by Hephaestus, the Goddess of Forging.
Asuna's eyes sparkled. She even felt the urge to ask Hephaestus to forge a weapon for her too, but she quickly dismissed the thought when she remembered the price.
After all, it wasn't something she could afford right now. It was better to save the gold she had brought along; it might come in handy for something else later.
Besides, Ren had probably learned enough by now. She could just ask him to help her forge one later. There was no need to waste money here.
"Not bad at all. It can already be considered a top-tier weapon. It's just a pity that it can't be improved any further due to the limitations of the materials." Hephaestus looked at her masterpiece and nodded in satisfaction.
Her skills hadn't rusted one bit; she was still as amazing as ever. After her reworking, this Tang Dao had nearly stepped into the ranks of top-tier weapons, but this was also its absolute limit.
Hearing Hephaestus's words, Ren nodded. However, Ren knew there was one thing she hadn't said. Based on the vast amount of knowledge he had just acquired, this Tang Dao actually still had room for improvement.
But... the condition for that was a bit troublesome. It required the blood of a deity. If it could absorb a god's blood, its quality would definitely advance another step. After all... divine blood was also a type of material.
Naturally, Hephaestus wouldn't mention such a thing. The blood of a god? That wasn't something easily obtained. If she told him, she was genuinely afraid that Ren might lose his mind one day and try to ambush a deity.
Unfortunately, what she didn't know was that Ren already knew. Because he had completely copied her forging techniques, Ren was currently seriously considering whether he should go find trouble with some god and use their blood to take his weapon to the next level.
In this world, there were definitely some disgusting gods. For example, a certain Apollo who swung both ways? Or perhaps those guys from the Evils... If the opportunity arose, he wouldn't hesitate to strike from the shadows!
As for Orario's rules about not harming deities? What did that have to do with an otherworldly visitor like him? At worst, he could just make his move right before they returned to their own world.
Ren wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt taking out those obnoxious bastards. That's exactly what he would do. In fact... Ren might not even need to actively provoke anyone. Trouble would naturally come knocking on their door soon enough. After all, the current Hestia Familia was simply too eye-catching!