Inside the grinding tool, there lay a hiltless sword body, covered by a thin, translucent green film resembling tree sap. It perfectly enveloped the entire sword body, emitting a faint blue glow with scattered twinkling star-like dots.
Sean had already disassembled the handle and guard of Charles' sword, leaving only the blade portion.
Carefully, he made a small incision on the film layer and slowly poured the Rockskin Elixir from the opening. Instantly, the pale green film seemed to react to the potion, creating countless protrusions against the blade, as if it would burst at any moment.
If an ordinary person witnessed this situation, they would likely stop pouring the liquid into the film. However, Sean did not halt; instead, he accelerated the pouring.
At this moment, in Sean's line of sight, he could clearly see a spectrum chart appearing on the blade. The leftmost end was green, the rightmost end was yellow, and there was a red pointer in the middle of the white section.
If we compare this spectrum chart to a 10-centimeter ruler, the leftmost two centimeters would be green, the rightmost two centimeters would be yellow, and only the middle section, less than five millimeters wide, would be white, while the rest would be black.
If this strengthening magic could keep the pointer consistently in the white section, it would successfully maintain the enhancement effect.
If the pointer moved to the far left or right, it meant the composite had failed, and only one effect would be retained. Of course, if the pointer landed in the black area, it would naturally be a failure.
So, even if the film on the blade was fluctuating strangely, as long as the pointer didn't deviate, Sean didn't need to pay it any mind.
His hand was incredibly steady, without a trace of trembling, and the pale yellow liquid pouring out from the potion bottle was astonishingly controlled—it flowed in a thin, silky line.
All the liquid went into the film through the incision, without a single drop spilling or the thickness of the line fluctuating due to the decreasing amount of liquid in the bottle.
Sean kept his gaze fixed on the changes in the spectrum chart.
Although he hadn't made equipment in a long time, these fundamental details seemed to have become a part of his instinct, requiring no excessive thinking.
A brief recollection was enough to recall everything clearly.
Soon, all the liquid inside the bottle was poured out, leaving none remaining.
Sean glanced at the spectrum chart, which remained within the white range. He massaged his slightly sore right shoulder and couldn't help but chuckle.
He remarked that the difficulty of his first attempt at six-element composite enhancement was much greater than now, yet he wasn't as nervous back then. It was ironic that he was so tense at this moment.
Shaking his head to dispel the slight fatigue from his mind, Sean, without needing to look in the mirror, knew that his complexion must be extremely pale.
Using life skills and combat skills made no difference; as a blacksmith, it naturally consumed his energy and stamina. If energy or stamina were insufficient, all life skills would be unusable.
In other words, he wouldn't be able to see the spectrum chart, which could also have an impact on other aspects.
Sean glanced sideways at the furnace. The flames inside the iron bucket had diminished significantly.
He operated the mechanical arm to retrieve the bucket and checked inside.
As expected, the raw ore had melted into molten iron, and the effect of the accelerant was still active.
It wasn't a problem.
He took out another bottle of alchemical elixir, containing a deep blue liquid. When he opened the bottle, a light mist emanated from it.
Fire extinguisher.
A peculiar alchemical elixir whose sole purpose was to nullify the effects of the accelerant. It couldn't extinguish regular flames.
Usually, after this step, purification would be carried out.
The blacksmith shop had the necessary purification tools, but it was an activity that consumed both stamina and time.
Of course, Sean wouldn't engage in such a task now. Instead, he took out another prepared potion and poured it into a slightly smaller iron bucket.
Soon, a layer of clear and transparent liquid formed inside the bucket.
Purification elixir, one of the most commonly used alchemical potions by blacksmiths, was slightly expensive. It wouldn't be used for crafting ordinary equipment, only for rush jobs when creating enchanted equipment.
If it weren't for time constraints, Sean wouldn't be willing to use the costly purification elixir. It was an expensive potion worth a gold coin!
Once the flames from the accelerant in the iron bucket were completely extinguished, Sean poured all the molten iron into the smaller iron bucket containing the layer of purification elixir.
The originally bright yellow molten iron instantly lightened in color, but it appeared denser visually.
The layer of purification elixir, which was originally only a thin film, now increased by several centimeters in height. It contained numerous fine black particles, creating a chaotic mixture of colors.
Sean reached out and grabbed the layer of discolored liquid mass, disposing of it directly into the furnace to burn it.
He didn't want to leave any evidence behind.
Then, he smoothed out the crack on the sword blade with his hand. The sword body was no longer visible through the thin green film; it was now a pale yellow.
Using the mechanical arm, Sean repeated the previous action of pouring the purified molten iron, being careful and meticulous, into the mold containing the sword body.
He ensured that the molten iron and the film combined completely.
This time, the spectrum chart appearing in Sean's field of vision was no longer green and yellow. It still resembled a long ruler, but the end was blue, while the top was red.
The original white section in the middle had turned green, and there was no fourth color. The pointer on the spectrum chart was floating in the red region, almost reaching the top.
Whenever the pointer was about to reach the top red position, Sean would pause his action until the pointer slightly descended.
Only then would he continue pouring the molten iron into the mold.
In this spectrum chart, red represents high temperature, blue represents low temperature, and green represents perfection.
After pouring the molten iron, a countdown begins. For weapon forging, this step can be skipped without any concern.
However, for enchanted equipment, it's crucial to lower the pointer to the green zone before the countdown ends. Otherwise, two outcomes can occur.
If the pointer remains in the red zone, it will affect the weapon's performance.
In the game, there were players who forged enchanted silver weapons with worse attributes than average bronze ones.
On the other hand, if the cooling process goes too far and the pointer ends up in the blue zone, the durability and quality of the weapon will significantly decrease.
The weapon becomes brittle, and it's even possible for a high-quality weapon to be broken by an opponent.
Although these failure experiences are from the game, Sean has no desire to test how they translate into reality.
He simply glanced at the countdown and casually took out the pre-prepared cooling spray. He started spraying it onto the molten iron in the mold.
This spraying technique also requires skill because as time passes, the pointer on the spectrum chart gradually descends.
If the cooling spray is applied too early, the pointer will definitely end up near the blue zone when the countdown finishes, affecting the equipment.
This step is one of the two dangers faced when crafting enchanted equipment.
The higher the level of the enchanted equipment, the smaller the green zone becomes.
For a special effects gold-level enchanted equipment, the green area is less than a millimeter, requiring extremely precise judgment and control to achieve perfection.
In the game, Sean had crafted several special effects gold-level enchanted equipment, but only one reached the perfect standard.
Of course, this step doesn't pose a challenge for Sean. He easily identified the rhythm of the pointer's descent and managed to keep it within the green zone.
The two most dangerous stages for many people were no big deal for Sean.
At least until the gold level, he couldn't be troubled.
He flipped the mold, poured out the long sword, and grasped it with a pair of tongs. Taking a medium-sized hammer, he struck the sword blade forcefully.
"Ding!"
The hammer struck the upper part of the sword blade, and a faint green halo accompanied by a pale yellow radiance bloomed from the point of impact.
The rich elemental aura of wind and earth instantly filled the air, while the hammered area became visibly flattened.
Afterward, a series of "ding" sounds followed as Sean, wielding the medium-sized hammer, struck the entire length of the sword blade.
It was precisely eighteen strikes, marked by eighteen green spots on the spectrum chart.
Each strike caused a corresponding green spot to disappear, turning red.
When the eighteen strikes were completed, the spectrum chart on the sword blade had turned completely red, with no other colors remaining.
At this stage, Charles' ceremonial sword reinforcement was considered complete.
Sean used tongs to hold the sword blade and placed it in a water trough.
A burst of white mist erupted, drawing the elemental aura in the air as if attracted to something.
Within a few seconds, the elemental aura that had filled the room vanished without a trace.
Due to the use of purification potions, there was no need for repeated pounding or quenching to remove impurities.
The sword could be considered fully formed.
After completing this step, Sean reassembled the sword edge and hilt, and the long sword once again emitted a blue glow, albeit more dazzling than before, with hints of green and yellow within the radiance.
[Charles' Ceremonial Sword (Unsharpened), Low-grade Enchantment (Bronze), Hardness: ???, Sharpness: ???, Piercing: ???, ???]
[Item Description: This is the ceremonial sword bestowed upon General Charles by King Eld III of the Serian Kingdom on the eve of the Northern Frost Campaign. This sword accompanied General Charles throughout his military career and was once considered a symbol of honor for the Charles family. However, due to power struggles within the Charles family over succession rights, the sword's whereabouts became lost. Now, although you have fortunately obtained this ceremonial sword, its magical power has greatly diminished, no longer carrying the prestige it once had.]
"Next, once it's sharpened, the data will be revealed," Sean said, holding the ceremonial sword, feeling a slight increase in its weight.
His eyes lit up with anticipation because this was his first attempt at forging since arriving in this world, and so far, the results seemed promising.
With these thoughts in mind, Sean walked toward the only grinding machine in the smithy. He couldn't wait to see the weapon's attributes.