He had previously learned that Ash was related to the elements of fire and death, and after applying the new body enchantment, he reasoned that since his HP had also acquired Ash attribute, he might have gained greater resistance to these elements. And he was right in what he believed. Even though the black flames were meant to harm him, he couldn't help but feel like they were healing him.
Raydon waited until the black metal had turned gray, and then he removed it from the fire with his bare hand once more. With the hammer in his hand, he set it down on an iron block next to Forge and began to pound on the gray metal.
What he was doing was the traditional approach to making armor out of iron. As a means of shaping the iron, he was forging it. He continued to hit the gray metal until it began to turn black and harden once more, at which point he placed it back into the fire, waited for it to turn gray again, and continued the process.
