After successfully incorporating Mikoto into the Familia, Aston's protagonist luck increased by about 0.5. Although there was an increase, Aston couldn't really feel any change.
The next day, Aston dove into the forge, crafting weapons for Reed and the others. During this period, Tsubaki joined the forging lineup, helping Aston share some of the burden.
Tsubaki's forging skills had some breakthroughs, and she thought of forging weapons alongside Aston, hoping for guidance and corrections from him on the spot.
Surprisingly, Tsubaki truly had a talent for forging.
Although Aston's guidance in forging wasn't profound, it was significantly more advanced than Tsubaki's previous skills.
In just a few days, Tsubaki managed to apply these techniques.
While not all attempts were successful, Tsubaki indeed managed to forge higher-grade weapons from lower-grade materials.
Materials intended for third-grade weapons were forged into second-grade weapons using techniques Aston taught her, albeit with a success rate of only about fifty percent.
This achievement thrilled Tsubaki immensely.
In this world, forging is strictly tiered: materials of a certain grade are used to forge weapons of the corresponding grade.
Tsubaki had always dreamed of forging higher-grade weapons from lower-grade materials but had never succeeded in her attempts.
She even began to wonder if her idea was too far-fetched.
Until Aston appeared and forged the weapons she envisioned, Tsubaki realized her ideas were not mistaken.
Lower-grade materials could indeed be used to forge higher-grade weapons; her previous failures were solely due to inadequate forging skills.
After that realization, she began seeking guidance from Aston.
Whenever possible, she would learn techniques from Aston and then spend time mastering them.
Over a week, leveraging her exceptionally high innate ability in forging, Tsubaki successfully learned the technique from Aston and managed to create her first piece of weapons that disregarded the grade of materials.
"Look, Aston, I've finally forged an ideal weapon."
"After this, it's time to forge even more advanced weapons." Holding a long sword in her hands, Tsubaki looked at it intently, her face showing signs of fascination, and then spoke.
"Seeing this, your talent in forging is indeed quite strong," Aston praised with a smile.
"It's all thanks to your guidance. Otherwise, it would have taken me several more years to develop this technique on my own, if at all possible," Tsubaki said in gratitude.
She knew her own limitations. Without Aston's teaching, it would have taken her years to achieve any results, if she could have developed this forging technique at all.
The technique Aston taught her seemed simple, but it was actually very sophisticated. Without Aston's enlightenment, she wouldn't have had a chance to grasp it. She was well aware of this.
"If you want to thank me, then forge a few more sets of weapons," Aston said with a laugh.
"Ah, leave it to me!" Tsubaki responded enthusiastically, placing her hand on her chest and laughing heartily before diving back into the craft of forging.
Tsubaki's involvement shortened Aston's originally planned forging time by a third. Aston had planned to spend five days forging the equipment for the Xenos, but thanks to Tsubaki, it only took three days to forge the equipment needed by Reed and the others.
"Ah, that was so satisfying!"
"It's been a long time since I've had such a fulfilling experience." Three days of intense forging not only failed to exhaust Tsubaki but actually invigorated her. She felt refreshed and spirited, and after completing the last piece of equipment, she couldn't help but shout out loud.
This amused Aston, who was watching from the side.
"Hey, hey, Aston, is there anything else you need forged?" Tsubaki came over, looking at Aston expectantly.
It seemed she wasn't yet satisfied and wanted to continue forging.
"No, there's nothing left that needs forging. What I plan to forge next, you won't be able to make," Aston replied with a slight shake of his head.
"Really? Is there something even you think I can't forge? Is it some kind of new technology or equipment?" Tsubaki's interest was piqued even further by Aston's response.
"The unbreakable magic sword, the one I was commissioned by the Loki Familia to forge," Aston explained with a smile.
There was still time, two days until the appointment with Riveria. He planned to spend these two days forging a few unbreakable magic swords for Eina and the others as a trump card against strong adversaries.
After all, apart from himself, there were no level one adventurers in the Familia. In his absence, encountering hostile level one adventurers would be problematic.
"Ah, in that case, I can't help," Tsubaki's enthusiasm waned upon hearing this.
She knew about the unbreakable magic sword when Aston first forged it and caused damage to the surrounding area of the forge. She had asked Aston how he did it, but the response was disappointing because it was something she couldn't achieve.
The magic sword required a special magic that Aston possessed for processing, and it was impossible for her to have such magic since everyone's magic was different.
Well, that's not entirely correct. The magic corps Aston trained seemed to use the same magic. However, that didn't change the fact that she couldn't perform that magic, unable to forge such an unbreakable magic sword.
"Let's go, we'll forge that kind of magic sword tomorrow. Let's call it a day," Tsubaki said, patting Aston's shoulder and suggesting they go have a drink instead, forcefully leading him out. Aston smiled slightly, not resisting.
Soon, they were in the room that served as Hephaestus' base of operations.
Tsubaki prepared some snacks in the kitchen, and they started drinking in the room.
"Let's make it clear, we'll only drink one bottle. I'm not good at drinking," Aston made a rule before they started drinking.
Indeed, Aston's tolerance for alcohol wasn't great. Despite being a master brewer, his ability to hold liquor was surprisingly poor.
"Got it, got it," Tsubaki casually agreed.
However, later...
"You really can't drink," Tsubaki, with slightly flushed cheeks, looked at the sprawled Aston, speechless.
Then, getting an idea, her face turned a mischievous shade of red. She picked up the drunken Aston and headed towards the bed.
"Hey, Hephaestus, let me do a little evaluation first."
***
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