The next step was deciding on the material and here in Ashen there were only two types of materials one would usually smelt to forge into swords with: Arken Crystals, more commonly known as Arcane Crystals and Ashen Ores. If one decided to make sparring ones, wood would perfectly suffice.
Odo explained that no matter what material you use, even wood if it derives from the giant white oak tree, it may be enchanted to higher one's magical offensive attributes.
"Take Risa for instance, I take it she has explained how body enchantments work for you?" Odo looked at Nagisa.
Nagisa nodded and a reminiscing thought popped up in his head. Risa had explained that every stage increases the absorption output of the protective magical infused shield which protects you from any magical harm.
In addition it also absorbs most of any physical inflicted damage, linear to one's defensive stage ability and allows one rapid and periodic healing. The mana required increases as well, however one would still be able to physically move an opponent with the force of one's weapon. For one to break the shield, one needs to either deplete the user's mana entirely or the mana put into the magical shield itself before they become vulnerable.
Therefore it is advantageous to be of a higher stage, not only for the output damage upon breaking one's shield, but also for defensive purposes. Another reason being that one's mana might exceed the one required which would make it a waste if you are using a lower stage outer enchantment.
"Her Engulf Exterior is at Stage-6, you would need to strike her a substantial amount of times, correct?" Odo carried on.
He did not need a reminder, a memory was deeply rooted in Nagisa charging into Risa to strike and upon impact, it seemingly did nothing apart from the physical knock-back and she knocked him out with a single strike.
"Here is where the beauty kicks in, both Arcane and Ashen forged swords can seep the magic from their opponents, decreasing the amount of strikes needed to deplete their shields," Odo beamed at the thought of the wonders of enchanting.
This took Nagisa's immediate interest and he persuaded Odo to inform him more on the matter. The difference between Ashen and Arcane ones was that Arcane were lighter and depleted less mana when enchanting one's body, meaning it was less taxing.
Also the Arcane ones had a higher percentage of seeping the magic out, making it a stronger and clear choice between the two.
In addition, some weapons even managed to yield a second enchant, increasing its effects and your outer magic usage.
Odo explained that the enchantment was coined penetration, and if one could forge a "+2 pen weapon", it would surmount to a fortune. Only a few existed and they were all scooped up by the noble and royal families.
"+2 pen, people enjoy shortening things here as well, huh?" Nagisa laughed.
Step three was to acquire a surplus of the selected material and smelt, hammer away, reforge and do it all over again, little by little until it gives the shape of the final wanted product. Every little structural molecule needed to be shaped and reshaped until its strongest form to properly enchant its bonds.
The final step remained, and it was the enchanting, one would need to feel the magic around oneself, and act as a conductor to lead the magic that surrounds all into the sword itself. Odo described this as "World Magic", magic that flows naturally in the air we breathe and anyone could potentially do it, however all blacksmiths train for years on end.
Even veterans or highly accomplished ones fail to properly enchant swords. It is said only one in thousands make it through, and the +2 would be in the millions. Therefore they re-make swords in an attempt and hope for the next one to succeed.
"It is a blacksmith's dream to witness the glow manifesting upon a successful enchant, one is enough to seduce you for a lifetime's pursuit to only see it once more," Odo's explanation was finalized.
Nagisa was told not to get his hopes up. For even Odo had only once managed to enchant for a +1 weapon. It was enough for him to pay and create this shop on the outskirts, outside the capital and devote himself in pursuit for many more. However reality set in and he has not managed to create another one for a couple of years now.
"Enough of that, how about I show you one, and then you can start off with a few wooden ones before moving into Ashen ones, unfortunately I cannot afford any Arcane Crystals," Odo clapped his hands.
They started working with Nagisa closely watching every step. It was masterful work and took until the afternoon before it was forged and ready for enchantment.
Odo gulped while his hands were put down slightly above the sword and fueled magic into the sword. After a few minutes, nothing came of it and he let out a large disappointing sigh.
"Another failure," Odo walked away.
The sword got tossed into the re-make pile. He turned to Nagisa.
"Reality is harsh, however a man's romance is hard to give up on," Odo laughed and called it a day.
The sword he had been working on had taken an entire week and was in its final stages. It was long work, although tiresome, the allure of it being enchanted was always rewarding for the briefest moment right before failure. Nagisa made a scrappy wooden one and Odo laughed hard.
"If you managed to succeed on your first attempt, you would break my heart, at least we both got ways to learn," An attempt to cheer the two of them up.
Both shared lunch and Nagisa waved good-bye to fetch the herbology book and put in a few hours into training before heading home. There were no signs of his Arcane powers showing up during training.
Although seeing Risa's welcoming face upon entering home managed to make all the difference for the much fatigued Nagisa. She had heard him going up the small hill and decided to greet him with a smile.
"Welcome home," Risa smiled.
"Glad to be home," Nagisa responded likewise.
They shared a smile and filled in each other about their day. Nagisa sat down soon right after and pulled out various herbs from a small pouch. Prior to his training, he managed to hit the village's market and find just about all the right ingredients.
Risa gazed quietly upon the much focused Nagisa. He reached out to the vial and opened a new batch up, spilled a drop on his finger and licked it, only to spit it out right away. A hunch, perhaps a vision of some sort had immediately hit Nagisa and he saw a molecular structure being formed through mixing the herbs and enchanting them into a liquid vial before him.
Quickly did he search through the herbology book on the herbs and their properties then grind and mix them altogether. A voice was seemingly heard inside the vision, it was like the magical structure reached out to Nagisa for its finalizing touch.
"Blood-price," Nagisa grabbed a tiny needle.
Nagisa then pricked his right index finger and dripped but a single drop into a much identical-looking dark vial to her usual one. As soon as the blood had dripped, it seemed to almost condense within the vial, and the vial's color started transitioning into a fading black color instead.
"Here, try this," he urged Risa who seemed hesitant at first.
However after a minute's thought, Risa decided to trust Nagisa on it. He stared at her to see if there were any immediate effects. Risa's eyes began to appear less fatigued since the incident occurred, and the paleness turned into a more natural color in her cheeks.
"I feel great," Risa stated energetically.
"Yeah?" Nagisa responded to her remarks.
"Yeah!" A thrilled Risa broke out of character and screamed while fully embracing Nagisa.
"Thank you, I have not felt this energetic all year!" Risa thanked him.
The two of them hugged it out and she asked him to explain how he managed to figure out the faulty formula in a more detailed manner. Nagisa explained that he could sense the bonds within the vial, how they intertwined, were formed and shaped together, grinded and enchanted fully into its faulty structure.
From then on out it felt more like a puzzle, how to connect them in order to utilize them fully to combat the curse since he felt a remnant from kissing her lips and tasting it, as it gave off its own magical structure.
It was hard for Risa to grasp the entirety of it, but she believed in Nagisa and therefore every word of it. The two of them quietly spent the night together, and after dinner decided to settle in early for her to have a full recovery.
Upon morning Nagisa crafted another liquid vial for Risa and promised to purchase more herbs to make more of them and teach her the recipe upon return. Today Nagisa was excited for two reasons, creating more liquid vials for Risa and giving sword making another shot. Perhaps his Arcane Insight as he came to name it would come in handy.
Two weeks had passed and Nagisa was in full focus of completing his third and final wooden sword before moving onto Ashen ones. Risa also managed to learn the recipe. Nagisa was even secretly using his Arcane Insight to modify the structures within the wooden sword to harden more properly.
Nagisa's Arcane Insight sharpened the more he used it and ever since he modified Risa's medicine. And each day the magical bonds and their structures in any material Nagisa came across appeared more natural to him. He could sense their desired natural state. Odo almost shedded tears when he witnessed Nagisa's finalized craft.
"How? You are a prodigy!" Odo exclaimed.
"You jest! Stop embarrassing me!" Nagisa feigned ignorance for more admiration.
"I think we can receive a hefty price in the capital if we put them onto the market!" Odo excitedly added.
"This means I can purchase more Ashen materials on my way back, how about it, Nagisa?" Nagisa nodded with a broad grin.
"Alright, how about we engrave them with a large unique N, to mark them as Nagisa's swords!" A suggestive Odo smiled back at the grinning Nagisa.
This made Nagisa think, "How about we engrave them with S? I have got another thing in mind," he cunningly grinned.