After a few minutes of continuous effort and pouring, we finally finished pouring the steel into molds.
Nordri acted how I was feeling and three the empty bowl to the side and laid on the grass.
I was obviously exhausted as well.
"Ha ha!", I heard Nordri chuckle a bit.
I looked at him and we both then started laughing at the same time.
[You crazy idiots]
"You brilliant child, when I took you as an apprentice I was hoping for something new but this is not even close to my expectations Loki!" He said slamming his hand. "This converter and other contraptions you thought about can revolutionize forgemastering. We just produced one ton of purified steel within 30 minutes and that was us trying a smaller amount."
"I really can't take all the credit for this Nordri. Your the one whose been teaching me. I'm standing on the shoulders of giants," I said quoting a man much wiser than I.
He then looked at me and smiled. "If we combine this converter with a huge hearth, that heats the iron to pour into the converter, and another machine to mold the steel, we will be on the precipice of a revolution!"
Seems like I've infected him with the industrial frenzy.
"Master Nordri, I think we need to look long term here. Your business has only one employee, you. I have only a small clinic but plenty of workers. These contraptions we have can't serve everyone without the man power. I say we can combine both our businesses into one company with my workers (Valkyries) organizing all of it. We can start small with using non-combatants to help with the forging process in one store. We can make our machines easy to use without a forgemaster present. Then as we expand we can recruit proper forgemasters and move onto the forging side of the business." I told him in glee while telling him some of my plans.
This will also be one of the first businesses that is headed by both races. Weapons, raw metals, medicine, lotions, spas, hygiene, and now recently toothpaste (I made it using fluoride crystals); we would have a conglomerate of products.
Bringing the industrial era to the Lost woods is a slow but fun process. The only thing is I have to have the basics for the business to grow by itself set up before I leave.
"This is all great ideas Loki but there's something you need to do first before we get to ahead if ourselves," He said while standing up and looking at me to follow him.
"Yes master Nordri?"
He looked at me in a way that gave me another bad premonition.
[Honorary title achieved: Misfortune Bringer]
"You need to really learn how to forge steel well if you want any credibility to sell it".
You would think I'd be used to forging after a few months but no, certain metals have more of a strength requirement on the forgers part.
Steel is still extremely hard to forge for me. I've only been practicing on iron.
As I was lost in thought Nordri's voice sounded in my ears, "let's see what you got. Take some of the ore, smelt it into workable iron and forge it all the way until you have a steel sword."
Looking at him, I don't complain at all as since I know he's doing this to help me.
"What purification?"
"Whatever amount you want."
"Any conditions?"
"Strong as possible."
"Hmm okay"
Walking to the forging room I am preparing myself mentally.
In the room I ignore the fact that Nordri is looking around me intently.
I first look to the furnace or brass clay brick kiln with a lever on the side.
Some forgemasters use runes to heat up their furnaces but Nordri is one of the those old fashion guys that heats up the coals using a lever that expands and blows air into the furnace using an air sac of sort to blow air into the coals to heat them.
The coals were already hot so all I needed to do was raise the temperature in the furnace. Iron melts at a higher temperature than the impurities besides carbon and a few other elements so all I need to do us literally melt everything else until I am left with a low quality iron rock.
I grab the ore with tongs in my spare hands and place the ore straight onto the coals. I start grabbing the lever and pushing air to raise the heat.
The ore starts to melt down separating the raw stone slag out. This process takes a bit of time.
This is the equivalent to a test from Nordri since I normally don't do the smelting from ore to iron. I usually just pick up from the leftover Iron so as to not take too much time.
After a few minute of heating I can spot the large chunks of iron in the furnace and use a shovel to take it out. I use my tongs to fish out the rock and place it onto the anvil. I'm holding it steady with my left hand and I have my mini hammer in my right hand. There's sweat going down my brow. I focus my will and mana fills my hammer.
This black stone is almost prepared for refining. I then slam the hammer lightly against the ingot and my mana flowed into the ingot to check its quality.
I sensed several large chunks of impurities. These are likely chunks of carbon and other elements.
This is where refining begins. Its very simple. I bombard the ingot forcefully with mana breaking up the clumps of impurities.
In essence I am making the impurities more evenly mixed and closer to the surface. Depending on the purification, you can even forcefully expel impurities from the core but only masters get to this point since they can use mana very finely to push the impurities out rather than break them apart.
Technically my refining currently does not actually change the percentage of impurities. It actually either mixes them evenly like an alloy or slightly pushes them outside for removal physically. In regards to the purity rating that blacksmiths look at, I am currently not that good to only use hammer of Will to purify.
As I get more skilled at using mana, I'll be able to forcefully expel impurities using mana only like master Nordri.
Sometimes I get lucky though and in the process of breaking up some of the clumps at the surface, I expel some impurities and end up with something closer to steel.
Normal physical pressing of the ore will also remove impurities like in medieval times.
A combination of these techniques has led me to about 80% purified steel.
Although iron in high concentrations of carbon is brittle, steel which is technically an alloy of iron with 2% carbon is way stronger than pure iron. It's all about how you use the impurities.
I begin hammering the rock slowly driving my mana to the impurities. Some of them are easier to break up than others. Soon enough, my muscles are clenched and my brow is sweating bullets.
As I press the iron rock, bits of the rough slag slide off revealing a hot iron underneath.
The mana is also slowly making its way through the ingot and pointing me to areas with more impurities.
Pieces of dust and rock surround the anvil.
My arms hurt. After what seems like 30 minutes of straight hammering I can feel with my mana that I cannot break up anymore impurities and that I'm left with a smaller square iron ingot.
I put down the hammer and look at Nordri. This was step 1 which is mostly about purity. The next part depends on what I'm making.
Maybe I'm making a type of tool so I'll need to alloy the iron with another metal to give different properties or I am just forging out a small dagger.
I don't believe he will make me alloy today though.
Nordri goes ahead and takes a small pick, and pokes the ingot. He doesn't require a hammer anymore to test for quality.
"Not too shabby. Although small this iron has about 82% purification. All you need to do is get to 95% and we will be at low grade steel. Remarkable improvement. Now make a dagger out of this."
I look at him and I nod. First I leave for a moment to take a break. I go chug a cup of water in the kitchen. Nordri didn't follow me so I'm currently look at a sand contraption. It's how this world tells time. It's basically an hour glass set for around 24 hours and automatically turns upside down everyday.
It's almost night. I better finish up soon or I'll miss Sif and Nix for dinner.