"I still don't understand why you chose me out of all the Gods you could've joined. All this potential in you wasted, just because you don't like what their Familia's offered you?" Hephaestus scratched her head in confusion as she looked at the High Elf lying on her lap with squinted eyes that revealed his inner satisfaction.
"You know... where I come from, the saying Hestia is Bestia was ringing through my ears so much I felt like they completely ignored the whole Divine beings descended the world to not just be admired. I'd see people comment about the fact that she's some possessive hooligan that couldn't accept she wasn't the main heroine, and wondered if these guys forgot deities could just say fuck it and be done with their existence. Then, at some point I decided that people don't need to understand why other people do things, after all if you needed a reason to be a hero, heroes wouldn't exist. Case in point, I liked you more than others. Not only do I hate following someone else's own expected path for me, I also hate competing with others for a goal that isn't unique. The Idea of creating dozens of records while breaking dozens more is more appealing to me, but the most appealing thing is living with someone whose greatest value they offer being affection. In essence, the only Familias suited for me were Yours, Demeter's, Miachs, Hermes', and if they were still here Astraea's Familia. Personally though, Astraea's Familia had the same problem as Lokis, they're too ambitious for me. I've tended to cows long enough to know that while milking them is fun, it's also tedious if you aren't careful. Hermes also moves around too much for me, and I thought that while Miach is cool, I didn't like the idea of Two Men and One Women under the same roof... that was an easy rumor dodge."
"So in a toss up between me and Miach, you chose me because you didn't want to face weird rumors?"
"Oh totally. But not completely true either. I probably wouldn't have chose him if he didn't have that nasty debt. It's obvious to choose a better life for yourself when you have the option, but sometimes you'll look yourself in your reflection and scorn yourself for making a decision you know you could've done better but deliberately did worse. My reason for joining you couldn't end on a moral level for me, It would fuck me up quite a bit if I did things that way. So I picked out things I liked about each of you, tallied them up, found you slightly more suitable for me, and inwardly sent my metaphorical Falna to Miach. And it's not like I can't support him on the down low right? Cool people are under appreciated, I could imagine him saying thank you for petting his cat with him because his cat would've been super hyper otherwise."
Hephaestus noticed and stopped her fingers threading through her new child's hair to simply think over what he said, before running them back through the squinty elves scalp as she asked. "Does that mean you do want to be a blacksmith, and didn't just choose me to get everyone else's backs off of you?"
"I'm definitely interested in learning, I'm not here to freeload off of you now. I get freebies being a gift from the seniors, and the fact that they could support a civilians life without so much as a blink of indecisiveness, but I'm not a social distancing Elf who fears physical contact with another being. Dwarves are proud they are Dwarves, but that doesn't mean they tell a human to suck their dick just because they can drink more wine than them. Only the exceptions do that, and lucky for you, I'm the Elvish Exception and not the Dwarfish One."
"You really aren't proving your point by insulting Dwarves."
"Pfft, Dwarves are super chill, they know how to differentiate between playful snipes and heated banter. Elves need more training there, but one day they might learn." By this point, Hephaestus and Arthur had entered some unofficially owned forging chambers and she changed the subject of course to fit their current whereabouts.
"Cool, so what exactly do you know about blacksmithing."
"Nothing further than stereotypical caveman knowledge."
"Do I want to know?"
"OOH Fire! GLOVEYS ON! ROD GRAB. ROD IN FIRE. Rod Out Of Fire. Rod Settled Down. GRAB HAMMER. HAMMER AT ROD. WHERE METAL? METAL MELTED IN BUCKET! POUR Bucket Of Metal! METAL In Rod Circle!"
"I didn't want to know. I'm very glad we moved on from that point in life. So obviously what you are forging is important to know, because there are lots of different things you can forge, and the best method for forging one thing is obviously not going to be the same, like the difference between forging a Nail, and forging a Spear. The Structures are different, and so are their daily purposes."
"Right... so let's say a Longsword, I was obviously joking about the stereotypes, I know you should heat metal up, and after it's warm and malleable you knock down on it with a hammer into a specific shape of your preference. But there are obvious standard variances where you say this shape has greater value here rather than over there."
"Yes. A Longsword is primarily a slashing weapon, and the surface is always flat, but not all Longswords are Double Edged. Odachi's from the Far East technically count as Longswords, a Rapier as well. You'll need to be a bit more specific to get the type of weapon you want alongside a standard variation of how to make them, and edited variations that can be made or have been made to suit your preferences."
"Ah well, I meant something like a One-Handed Sword about 17 Kilograms, 3.8 feet long, a flat double edged blade, similar to a claymore but with a sharper tip."
"Ho? You don't see many people in Orario looking for such weapons, normally It's the standard broadsword and shield, a short and long spear, or a dagger and a smallsword."
"Ahahahaha… Those aren't suitable for me." Hephaestus just smiled at his statement, acknowledging the truth in it but also knowing there was more to what he said.
"Well, first you'll want to heat it up until it's at this level of brightness, then you'll carefully place it on the Anvil here, grab a hammer that should be placed on the side beforehand at a safe distance away from the metal, and slam it on the metal directly at the center, not hard enough to make any splattering but also not soft to the point you don't change anything. From here you are going to carefully hammer away while paying attention to the shape of the metal. If the shape is satisfactory you can move on to the next step, quenching the blade and sorting it out to a hilt. If not, you can push it back into the fire and try again. Remember that not every tool you make is for yourself, and that your preferences will almost always be completely different from someone elses."
Pushing the perfectly shaped sword to the side, and picking up another piece of iron to push into the fire, Hephaestus smiled at her child and ordered him to, "Make one yourself. practice makes perfect and it's time for you to practice what you've learnt!"
"Right. Pull iron out the fire, set it down… smash it with a hammer, reheat it if it's garbage, pick it up and polish it if it's a pearl." He looked at the beautiful painting to the side, then looked at his disfigured piece of paper, and threw it straight back into the fire, inwardly vowing to not try to copy the imagery and intending to focus on the iron itself.
"Pull the iron out of the fire, set it down, grab a hammer and slam it, lighter this time no… too light, I like this pressure let's use that. Hit it like this a few more times, flip it over and hit the sides, flatten it out again, and polish it out in the quenching medicine. Hm I like this, this is what I wanted." Casually letting his inspiration fly, his iron bar evolved from a deformed metal to a solid Blade, Definitely suitable for a Second Class Adventurer- though he didn't know that, and Hephaestus didn't care enough to tell him of how impressive his first time was… forging a blade that is.
"Hmm yes, you pass. Now take a look at your status."
"I can read Hieroglyphics, for future reference. You don't have to translate for me unless you want to." Casually laying his first sword to read his statistics, seeing the casual I0 for every stat as one would expect, and looking further down to see a magic ability that was definitely overloaded with words....
Unlimited Blade Works- Project and Reinforce your ideals, Create that Reality... Or Destroy it.
Chant- My Body Is Made Out Of Swords. My Blood Is Made Of Iron and Fire, And My Heart Of Crystal Glass. I have Made Countless Blades. Not Ever Once Being Understood, Not Ever Once Facing Defeat. Never Retreating, And Never Yielding. My Life Has No Meaning. And My Life Will Never Have a Meaning. This Body Certainly Is Made Out Of Swords.
He selectively ignored the fact that he got this stupid ability, one because he knows exactly how he got it, and since he knew that the reason was bullshit didn't look into it further. Another being because it's bullshit that he got this spell out of all spells... especially as a Blacksmith named Arthur Penndragon.
After moving onto his 5 other skills, he decided right then and there that it was the perfect time for him to remember the wise words of Ballsdeep6-9.
'No. No! You were so close! You were almost a person! YOU WERE SO CLOSE!!!'
Absent Humanity- The more stressful the situation, the more likely you are to close off that core emotion in your heart. Massively Reduced Growth when absent of Emotional Bonds. Reduced Growth when Lacking Emotional Bonds. Massive Increase in Growth when your mental state is average. Super Massive Increase in Growth when your mental state is positive and near stressless. Immunity to Abilities that are Spiritually Positive.
True Rationale- Intellectual prowess is increased. Perfect Memory. Opponents Flaws, Weaknessess, and Negative Aspects can be discovered by stating 'Lock on'. Lock On only works when target has hostility towards you, or you have hostility towards the target.
Promised Victory- All Special Abilities, Magic and Physical Aspects are all Permanently Quadrupled. Reflexive Action Speed is quadrupled. Information Retention is Tripled. Information Debunking Efficiency is Tripled. In combat, these effects double. Mortally dangerous situations can be detected and avoided in advance.
Unwavering Dedication- As long as you persist, all of your efforts will be rewarded.
Chosen One-The more stressful the situation, the more likely you are to close off the core emotion in your heart. Supremely Super Massively Increased Growth when absent of Emotional Bonds. Super Massively Increased Growth when lacking Emotional Bonds. Massive Increase in Growth when mental state is average. Massively Reduced Growth when emotional state is positive and near stressless. Immunity to Abilities that are Spiritually Negative.
"Huh... better than I thought."
"You practically radiate talent. Of course it's going to be way better than you thought. But with these skills could you really be called a High Elf? You've got no Skill solely focused on Magic, and you're missing the whole Archer specialization."
"Hey, that's pretty racist. Just because I'm an Elf I have to be supremely talented on Archery and Magic? Way to play up on the stereotypes. Not to mention Elves are appalled by forging, haven't I already showed you that nearly anything Elf related seems to be absent from me?"
"Cool... did I mention to you that you're on your way to becoming my Favorite Child?"
"Yes. In fact you did it just now."
"Awesome! Make sure you don't tell anyone that, and I'll teach you to craft something of your choice. For now, I need to give the guild an update on how my child has the most powerful skills in Orario."
"So that is an obligation... Alrighty then, see you later. In the meantime, I'm going to keep practicing to make this sword. Get home soon!"
The door to the forging chambers closed, and the High Elf named Arthur Penndragon turned and started hammering away.
6 Hours later, around 630 Iron Swords Were Made, and the Forging Room ran out of Iron Ingots.
He moved on to making Steel Swords.