"This... this is are all fragments of weapons and armor... Damn... where did you find all these treasures?"
Atlas was so shocked that he shouted like a madman.
"Hehehe... I rob... ugh... I mean... I bought them from the kind merchants and cultivators who visited our Village."
The old Dwarf tried to correct himself, but Atlas heard it clearly.
'This... old thief... He is more sinister than a greedy dragon... There is undoubtedly good stuff in there. Maybe I should snatch some of them...'
Atlas truly wanted to snatch all these god-sent gifts, but he knew better than anyone else about the old Dwarf's character.
Seeing the young man looking at his treasures like a desirous wolf, old Mold threw the first object within reach against his head, bringing him back to the real world.
"Ah!!"
"Hey... Little fellow, there are only ten minutes left. So, start searching the gemstones..."
That blow caught him unprepared, so Atlas still held his head when the old Dwarf spoke.
"Uhg... What the hell are you doing?"
"Next time... hide those ridiculous thoughts better. I could even smell your intent from afar..."
Atlas was shocked by his words. Indeed, he found them so ridiculous that he shouted: "You smelled my thoughts? What the hell are you talking about? This place stinks so much that even a fart would be well hidden here..."
Old Mold wasn't affected by his provocation, but as Atlas expected, a moment later, a strange noise echoed inside the room...
Pruuu...
Sniff... sniff...
"Hmm... I can't smell anything other than smoke and burned meat... indeed!"
Atlas looked at him briefly, but he spared no more words for his disgusting attitude.
Turning back to the barrel, the young man searched inside for a while and, a moment later, found some of the required gems embedded in pieces of metal.
The gems were fused into some dissolved ornaments and portions of Chaos Runes, but the lab had the right tools, so Atlas extracted them without any trouble or damage.
When the time was almost over, all the necessary materials were prepared for the next stage.
"So... this will be quite interesting. You are not allowed to use the instruments in the lab for the next process. Only your Chaos Energy is allowed."
Atlas already expected something like that, and without further ado, he prepared his body for what would happen.
He had all the necessary knowledge about this process, but this was his first time doing it like a true refiner.
Sensing some nervousness in the young man, Old Mold neared the table and stood by his side, showing his support: "Don't worry, even if you didn't acquire a Chaotical Core akin to the fire element. You can still do it at your current level. Use the Chaos Energy flowing inside your body and generate enough flames to cover the tips of your fingers, as I taught you. The Godly Crafter Refiner manual is an ancient crafting technique that I didn't even grasp entirely, so show me what you can do..."
Atlas heard his words clearly, but his mind was still calm and collected.
All the energy inside his body was flowing toward his hands.
The process appeared simple, yet some obscure and complicated passages were necessary to operate this ancient Technique properly.
If one could look under his skin, the scene below that thin layer was beyond ordinary.
Indeed, the power was moving around each of his bones, burning his palms and fingers from the inside.
The process was clearly dangerous and painful, but Atlas was definitely a stubborn and fearless young man.
He didn't let that pain win over him and kept moving forward.
In a few seconds, the heat was so much that Atlas could feel his skin burn slowly.
"Keep going... you are almost there. Once you pass this stage, the Godly Crafter Refiner will enhance your bones. You must resist..."
The pain was beyond description, yet the young resisted the torture and stepped forward, following the Technique's instructions.
He let the fire pass all over his hand's bone for a whole minute and then moved all the power precisely above his fingertips.
"Ugh... Damn... it's so hot..."
"Focus... it's almost done... only one last step and..."
Puff... Puff...
... Puff... Puff.
One of the other, small flames appeared around his fingertips.
They were small, yet that golden color that emanated from them showed how powerful they were...
"HAHAHA... you did it... That's a miracle... Who could have imagined that a young man without a Divine Chaotical Core of the Fire Element could do it... HAHAHA..."
Old Mold was euphoric, yet his words were not so pleasing for Atlas...
"Hmh!?... What did you say? You told me that anyone could use this technique... Old Mold... What are you talking about?"
"Hahaha... well, maybe I lied to you, but what about it? You did it... that's the only thing that matters."
"You are unreasonable... What if something went wrong? I could have lost my hands, or maybe something more dreadful could have happened... You can't do something like this..."
"Well..." this time, Old Mold paused for a while before replying: "... Come on... don't be like that. If you had lost your hands, we would have solved it easily with healing pills."
"Crazy bastard..." Atlas was clearly mad, but what could he do about it?
Well... actually, there was something he could do...
"I'm going to tell Grandma River about this whole thing... so you'll know what it feels like to be treated like this..."
"Ugh... Ugh... hey... little Atlas, calm down. Everything went well, no?! So why bother that granny about all this matter?"
A thin trace of dread was hidden between those words, and Atlas used this fear to his advantage.
"So... you called Grandma River... granny... well, she will surely be glad hearing about this..."
Feeling the situation was becoming more dangerous, Old Mold changed the topic and warned: "Hey... little brat... the mineral is almost ready, don't let your mind wander too far from your true target. Use the Godly Crafter Refiner Technique to complete the jewels..."
Atlas focused on the molds, yet he let him know his thoughts with a disdainful snort: "Don't think that I will forget about all this... hmph!!"
After the minor accident, the room turned quiet, leaving the young man in the perfect atmosphere to complete the following procedure.
"Hmm... follow the same order as before... start with the necklace on the left and then move faster to the next one."
Atlas held the small ruby with his flaming fingers and sealed the gem between the narrow socket below the black chain.
"Faster... don't waste time... otherwise, the mineral will be too hard to meld it..."
Atlas's hands moved faster than before, and the shiny gemstone found its rightful place one after another.
That ancient Technique was genuinely marvelous.
Atlas could move and deform the mineral easily, giving each artifact a unique form around the gem.
Truly a remarkable and refined piece of work.
Even Old Mold was surprised by his excellent manual dexterity.
"Done... they look pretty good."
Feeling satisfied by the result, Atlas looked to the side with a wide grin: "What do you think about them?"
Old Mold pulled out a small device from his space ring and examined the artifacts.
"Hmm... That's not bad; they are all martial chaos artifacts. Alas, most of them still have some imperfections. The value will be reduced because of this, yet it's still within the medium quality."
The old Dwarf was still a crafter before being his grandpa, so he spoke out his conclusion without any restraint.
In this field, giving the customer the best product was the most important thing, so he couldn't let his personal affairs meddle in the business.
"Shit... only medium quality?" Atlas was stunned by his words: "How is that possible? I followed all the instructions properly..."
"Don't be surprised... Using my lab instrument can significantly increase the artifact quality, so this result is still acceptable without using my special tools. You are still a novice, after all."
Old Mold tried to placate the young fellow's spirit, yet his words only boosted his determination: "I can't let something like this happen... I must do them again until I reach the advanced quality or better results!"
Old Mold was quite satisfied by his attitude, so he let him do as he wished, sure that in a couple of days, all the orders would be completed...