The pillar shone with a new quest as it had several years ago. Ezio walked to the column and checked out the quest just posed by this mysterious room.
"Forge your first dagger; Earl Rank or above!
Reward: Melkor's Creation Manual."
"What the -" Ezio flabbergasted.
The Mysterious Room wants me to forge an Earl Tier dagger?
One had to know the Earl Tier Weapons were considered Artifacts in Duke II Tier Powers. There were 10 ranks of smiting, starting with the unofficial name of "Farmer Weapons."
Farmer Weapons could be forged by Blacksmith Apprentices who started to learn this art, but they had to be in Qi Force Opening Realm at least, with some mastery over the force. These weapons were without any special attribute and were most common, that is why cultivators disdained to use them, hence the name the Farmer Weapon.
After that came Baron Tier. A real one-star Blacksmith could forge these weapons at the first rank of the occupation. And these blacksmiths must be in Qi Solidification Realm, First Layer at least. Although strength was what really counted, so even without breaking through this realm, one could forge this level weapon if they had proficiency, but oftentimes the strength wouldn't be enough if cultivators haven't advanced yet.
Ezio could still accept it, after all, he was not a normal cultivator, and he had Qi Force since birth that could support the power requirement of the Baron Tier weapon forging, but what quest asking was not Baron Tier either.
After Baron Tier, came Viscount Tier. A Rank II Blacksmith with the strength equal to Qi Crystallization Realm, First Layer could forge this tier crafts. After that came the Earl Tier and the strength required must be higher than the peak of Qi Crystallization Realm, Third Layer.
Quest was asking Ezio to jump three levels, which was practically impossible. After all, even though Ezio was strong and could unleash power equal to those at Qi Solidification Realm, First Layer, his proficiency at the occupation was not even close to forging a Farmer Weapon let alone an Earl Tier one.
Okay, calm down. The quest wouldn't ask for something impossible for me to do. The tier of a weapon is determined by four criteria. The metal used to forge the weapon, the technique used on the metal, the Qi Force used while hammering, and the special flame. He didn't know the fourth condition before, the fourth option that could increase the quality of the weapon, special fire, but Elder Solon already taught him that.
Since Ezio had a puny amount of Qi Force, he couldn't rely on it and had to use metal well enough to miraculously upgrade the tier of the weapon. Ezio looked around and found a black ingot, absorbing the light around it.
Holy cow! Isn't this Umbra Neque? Ezio looked at the metal lying on some inconspicuous corner in disbelief. The air around the ingot was breaking, and illusory black holes were sucking the light. Ezio stared at the ingot in admiration. Metal that can only be found in dark attributed places. With this ingot, I am sure I can forge an Earl Tier dagger.
Ezio grabbed the ingot to pummel to the ground. He thought he could carry the light-looking ingot but obviously, this piece of metal was weighing more than it looked. Activating his Mana and Qi force together to the limit he carried the ingot to the furnace that was still burning like the seventh floor of the hell. Even though he didn't aim for it, the forge was burning hotter than he ever hoped for, it was hot enough to melt the Umbra Neque Ingot as it was.
As the ingot was getting hotter and cracking the flame with its darkness, Ezio started to look around for a stone mold where he would pour the molten ingot. But there was none. 'Of course, Aodhfionn is a master blacksmith, he can just hammer the ingot to shape it. But how the hell am I supposed to do it without being even a Blacksmith Apprentice?'
Ezio sighed deeply and surrendered to his fate. Who asked him to work on a high-tier metal? If he melted Pristine Iron as he initially planned, at least he could hammer it and forge a dagger even if it was disproportionate, it would still make him pass the test Aodhfionn put for him.
As Ezio was struggling, the ingot in the forge was ready to be hammered. Ezio reluctantly took it out with the tongs he found near the forge. The hot metal was bending light, but there was a red sheen on the ingot as well, it was like a piece of artwork. He placed it on the anvil and grabbed the relatively light-looking hammer which still was as heavy as mammoth poop.
Being at loss as to what to do, Ezio squeezed the hammer in his hand and powered it with his pitiful, Qi Force, to create an artifact, but as soon as the hammer was above his head, a jolt forced his soul into the Mysterious Room. He stood in front of the column where the quest scroll was hanging, and a book flew out of it. He was ready to summon it to look for anything that could help him in this desperate situation, but the book was oblivious to his summon and flew towards one of the rooms.
At the top of the window of the room, letters read, "Creation." It was the same room where Alchemist Ezio was residing. The room was for crafting such as blacksmith occupation as well. And to answer his doubts there stood another version of him in a blacksmith apron, studying the book that just flew out of the quest scroll. Ezio could see the title of the book matching the reward of his quest, "Melkor's Forging Manual."
I got the reward before completing the quest?
The Ezio in the Blacksmith apron looked at his eyes and vanished, with it he was forced out of the Mysterious Room but he was like a spectator in his own body. He saw the hand holding the hammer started to move without him willing it, and the hammer flipped in his hand before it clashed with the ingot. But unlike he had hoped, the pointy tip of the hammer hit the ingot and made it flatten in the middle and the sides were still erected, it took a bowl-like shape.
His other hand grabbed a few crystal-like looking stones from around and threw them into the now bowl-like ingot and threw this bowl to the furnace once again, which was still blazing like Dante's utopia. After a few minutes, the crystals were all melted and he took the ingot out once again and started real hammering. The melted crystals merged with the ingot with every strike of the hammer, and the darkest black ingot now had pinkish-red veins running all around it.
The will possessed his body started to hammer the ingot with a rhythm as if it was a dance. Ezio had no control over even a single muscle, and all he could do was spectate from his eyes. His hands moved as he had never thought they would, his legs started to spin around, and the momentum he created with this dance unleashed on the ingot.
Ingot started to take the shape of a dagger after constant hammering. Of course, there was no handle yet, but just the blade. After 30 minutes of hammering, it was time to quench the metal. Ezio felt as if every muscle in his body was in pain, but he could not stop his movements.
His hands grabbed the tongs and inserted the blazing metal in the water near the forge. After a few seconds, the dagger was in the forge again. The Fire Qi Stones lost their sheen, and the last heat was about to be dispersed, but it was enough to heat it again.
This cycle repeated itself a few times, and after another half an hour the dagger was ready in his hands. His soul was once again forced into the mysterious room, and the room that just opened up was closed by pull-down shutters.
***
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