Chapter 90 – Help, Master
The heat emanating from the workbench was truly staggering, and despite protecting the body with mana, the heat was unbearable.
If you are an ordinary person who is not trained, you will probably get used to it in an instant.
—Hwaaaaak!
In the middle of the blast furnace, molten iron, heated to the limit and boiling, was red-red, almost emitting a bright orange light.
Its appearance reminded me of a small sun, and I thought I could understand why people misunderstood a blacksmith as a type of magician in the distant past.
“Senior. It’s this hot. Do you live here every day?”
“Then! If the blacksmith isn’t in front of the furnace, where would he be?”
The appearance of a mature craftsman naturally felt from the inspiration of Eitri.
It was hard to believe that he was the same person as the eccentric old man who usually shouted loudly.
“Devil’s horns. Ha! Since ancient times, it has been a very difficult to obtain, top-notch material. It makes the blood boil after a long time. This thick magic trace that remains. It must have come from a fairly high-ranking demon.”
“I did use space teleportation close to the power, but it wasn’t a very strong opponent.”
“You say you’ve gotten weak with space movement? That’s nonsense! Well, he could have been really weak. That’s probably because he was still young or in a state where he couldn’t show his full potential.”
Old Man Eitri muttered with a serious expression as he put the devil’s horns and huge greatsword on the workbench.
However, listening to the story quietly, it seemed that he had experienced this kind of work quite a lot before.
It was a strange thing. As a knight, I knew more about popular weapons than anyone else, but I hadn’t even heard of a weapon that used parts of the devil’s body.
Aroused by curiosity, I hinted at old man Eitri.
“You seem to know a lot about demons, don’t you?”
“You little guy. Didn’t your teacher, the monster old man, teach you history? Jangsaengjongs can still see the days when demons were roaming about. They’re different from the short-lived humans.”
“It seems demons roamed the earth a lot in the past.”
“Of course! Well, since the emperor of the prewar era almost erased the history of that time from the records. A blue kid like you wouldn’t know.”
There was a hidden history of demons roaming freely, erased from the records.
It’s hard to believe easily, but it was also a convincing explanation.
Hehe… How long has it been? I never thought I’d be grateful to the devil’s disciple. Anyway, I’ll do my best to take care of your weapon. From now on, just keep an eye on it.”
“Yes, old man.”
Looking at that attitude, which went beyond obsession and showed a glimpse of almost strange madness, it seemed that old man Eitri, who had been through that time, had something troubling behind him.
It was rude to ask about this ideal, and there was no reason to do so.
If I was able to obtain a better weapon unexpectedly, I would be satisfied with that.
—Ground, land!
That’s how I got to see a rare sight in front of my eyes where the best technology refined over hundreds of years was unfolded.
‘It’s truly amazing.’
The flow of mana fluctuates mercilessly with one hammer stroke.
Certainly, the devil’s horn has properties close to organic matter rather than metal, but the blacksmith’s technical skills, which have reached the limit, can freely transform even the basic properties of matter.
The devil’s horns, which have been mercilessly crushed, crushed, and broken by the hammering of hatred, do not burn away due to the heat, but melt as they are and change into a form close to molten iron.
—Chiyi…
When old man Eitri slowly poured it into a very fine groove that he had dug in the center of the greatsword’s blade, the greatsword absorbed rainwater like a droughty land.
Then, the dark aura stretched out like a spider web, wrapped around the entire sword body, and began to emit a friendly light…
‘They said that the purification work had been completed. Where is that Magi… ‘
“No way!”
— Kwak!
The attempt to contaminate the sword was silenced by the blacksmith’s powerful hammering.
The huge sword burned for a long time while being engulfed in flames, and then returned to its original form with a flashing and brilliant radiance.
Old Man Eitri, who was looking at the situation with a satisfied expression, muttered, wiping the sweat on his forehead with his sleeve.
“Come on, that’s all done. There were quite a few rough corners, but in the end, you can’t move with just one hammer.”
“Thank you for your hard work, sir. Is this the end? If so…”
Before I could ask him what to say, the old man intercepted my words in the middle and took a cigarette from his pocket and answered in advance.
“What has changed? I don’t know that. Some of the powers he used may have melted, or his durability may have gone up. One thing is for sure, it’s much better than before.”
Of course, I didn’t doubt old man Eitri’s skills.
However, when the story came out that he only vaguely said that he had improved, and that he did not know what the specific effect was, I couldn’t help but spit out the sound of shame.
“…What is it, that. It didn’t seem like there were any difficulties during the work. Is it like that?”
“You greedy little guy. Aren’t demons originally creatures that are extremely hostile to the children of the Celestial Gods? It’s not an ordinary thing to just suppress that nature, forcefully submit it, and draw out a beneficial effect.”
As I listen, something more and more serious comes out.
“Then, is there any possibility that there will be some side effects during use?”
“Sueup, puha… Useless worries.”
When I asked this question out of uneasiness, old man Eitri took a deep breath in the smoke, then exhaled it, then chuckled and said,
“Geuk… I swear on my forearm that no harm will ever happen to you.”
“Why?”
“It hurts to talk about the exact process, so to sum it up roughly, we twisted the remaining demonic nature and infused it with powerful anti-magic power.
“Yes?”
What do you mean?
This was an incredibly unbelievable story. No matter how much it is purified with divine power, the weapon strengthened with the devil’s horns rather has the property of anti-demon.
No matter how great a craftsman Eitri was, he couldn’t help but look suspiciously at him.
Right now, isn’t that old man in a state of being slightly overconfident due to the aftermath of a satisfying job he’s been through for a long time?
“What nonsense is that…”
“Hey, you fucking big boy! How many sets of armor and weapons I’ve made and brought to you since you were a snorer, don’t you believe me? Then maybe I’ve got dementia?”
As he looked at him with mischievous eyes and showed weak distrust, the short dwarf jumped up towards the ceiling and burst into anger.
I think I jump higher than my height. Where did you get that leap forward?
“No, that’s not it. Haha… Fix it.”
“Anyway, after wielding it a few times, the true value will naturally be revealed. What is the reason for me to tell useless lies? Anyway, I only learned bad habits from the old witch. You bastard…”
I smiled awkwardly at Old Man Eitri, who grumbled as if his sarcasm had gone bad.
Apparently, I just made a little mistake. No matter how close you are, it’s only natural that you feel bad if your pride is touched.
— Kwak!
With an apologetic expression on his face, he secretly held the sword imbued with new power, and felt that it contained unprecedented power, unlike before.
Should I say that it feels like it has been reborn as something more than an artifact from a well-made weapon?
Regarding exorcism, it would be worth experimenting with later.
I thought so and cautiously spoke to old man Eitri, who seemed to have calmed down to some extent.
“Senior. You have done a greater job today than I thought. How should I pay you?”
“Remuneration has been completed. Are you satisfied enough just by having fun for the first time in a long time? Just, from now on, please don’t just place large orders like the first time. How annoying is the process of inspecting each one…”
My God, the dwarves refused to pay the fair price of labor. This wasn’t just generosity towards longtime customers.
It means that I was deeply satisfied with the process itself.
What does the work using parts of the demon’s body mean to old man Eitri?
—Ground, land!
The old man, who had been hammering behind me for a while, held out unusual-looking metal pieces to me within a few minutes.
“Now, just looking at the arm, the scabbard for that large sword seems to only hinder movement, so instead I made a holder that attaches to the armor. Take this too. It’s an artifact, so if you’re good at it, it’ll attach itself.”
“Thank you, old man!”
Alas, this is another very convenient tool.
How can you make something like this in just a few minutes? Even though he speaks harshly, he is an old man with a lot of affection.
“Then let’s go. See you next time.”
“Do not come!”
I thought as I left the smithy late at night.
Thanks to this, he received a special strengthening job for free that no one else could imitate, but at the same time, there were not one or two new questions.
Aside from the addition of an unknown function, I have no idea how the exorcism, not divine power, will work when fighting enemies.
‘The history of demons has been erased.’
And above all, the hidden history of the demons, who are the main enemies that threaten the peace of the current empire. I needed more information about it.
Knowing the enemy in advance will make it easier to respond in the future.
It would be nice to visit the priests, but the person who knows more about erased history than anyone else…
‘Master.’
After all, he was my teacher, a high elf who had lived for a long time, equal to the history of the empire.
He has repeatedly told me to come and visit him when he has time, and since he likes to stay awake until late at night and stay active, there won’t be a big problem if you visit him now.
At this time, he would probably be in his office or official residence. The two places are almost next to each other, and neither is very far from here.
Let’s go see Master.
