Bastion rode the carriage back to Castle Diamondhart with a sulking face. The Mages Guild only accepted materials they at the location used and they barely used any which meant he had to sell his goods lower than market price. It was a deal that was highly favorable to the guild, so Bastion simply gave up 6 magic crystals for the sake of his new skills.
Still, looking at his updated status, he felt the purchase was justified. He now had 11 new skills to raise to level 7 from level 1. It was a daunting task but well worth the results in the future if he had to fight against similar enemies again.
Now his mind was focused on crafting Rank 2 armor and weapons, with the only clear lead being the knowledge that he needed both a Rank 2 flame and Rank 2 strength.
Strength wasn't a problem. He already possessed more than enough, and all he needed to do was continue working out. Given time, roughly a century, he could reach the necessary requirements, especially with the help of a hydraulic press to compensate for any remaining gap. The Rank 2 flame, however, presented a far greater challenge.
Earlier, before leaving, he had stopped by the Mages Guild library to study how smiths typically worked with Rank 2 metal. When it came to generating the flame, he had several options. He could master level 7 Fire Arts, acquire a Rank 2 living flame, attune his Fire magic to a special flame like Seraphina, or summon or tame a creature capable of producing Rank 2 flame. Many possibilities existed, but the most straightforward ones were effectively out of reach unless he devoted a millennium to training his Fire Arts to level 7.
His flame wasn't special on its own, since it was his raw mana that was attuned to Corruption. That left him with the options of summoning or taming, so he chose the obvious path and went with summoning.
As for using modern methods like blast furnaces, induction heating, or welding, they worked best with standard Apprentice ranked materials such as iron. However, they had unpredictable effects on higher-ranked metals. These materials were ranked higher either because they were inherently stronger or because they contained mana that added to their mystical properties. Forcing Rank 2 blood iron to melt in a furnace could easily reduce it to Apprentice rank steel instead, which would be a significant waste.
Of course, he could try developing new forging techniques to preserve the metal's strength during shaping, but that was a research project better suited for an institute, not something for him to tackle personally. It made more sense to rely on established methods for now, focusing on building his arts and skills before attempting problems that required the resources of a full research center.
Once Bastion returned home, he demonstrated his new skills to the girls, who mostly approved of his choices. They were surprised, however, that he hadn't spent more on additional skills, especially since the finances were there to support it. They only relented when he explained that he already had too much on his plate.
Bastion then headed to the summoning chamber, a special room in the castle designed to focus magical energy, where the most mana in the property was concentrated. He placed multiple fire-related materials, honored the symbolism and desires of a fire spirit, and activated the summoning ritual with his mana.
It flickered to life as searing heat and flames swirled around him, but then his mana was suddenly drained, followed by an explosion of dust that snuffed out the fire.
BOOM!
The summoning ritual failed, the materials losing their energy as it was dispersed by the sudden eruption of his own Earth mana.
He forcefully calmed the dust, letting it settle to reveal a ruined ritual and a rather angry earthen statue of an old man standing in the center. The figure was small, dwarf-like in appearance about a foot tall. It was wide-set, with a long beard and a pointed hat perched on top, resembling a miniature dwarf or short gnome.
"Rararah rah rah ra," it complained, raising its earthen fist in defiance.
"Pebbles?" Bastion asked, recognizing the familiar mana signature and the uncanny understanding between them.
"Rah!" it said, nodding sagely.
"Oh, right! You reached Rank 2 just like me," Bastion said, finally remembering.
Summons that weren't truly alive, unlike Seraphina's phoenix Akari, grew in rank and power in proportion to their summoners. That meant the figure standing before Bastion was a Rank 2 earth spirit rather than the pile of rocks Pebbles had been at Rank 1.
"Why did you disrupt the ritual?" Bastion asked. "I need a fire spirit or a fire summon to melt metal and shape it."
"Rah!?" it gasped, utterly flabbergasted by the words that reached its ears before hurriedly explaining, "Rarara Rara Rah!"
"Really? You can do that?" Bastion asked in shock.
"Rah!"
"Alright, then," Bastion said, taking out a lump of Rank 2 blood iron from his Inventory. "Shape this into a spear tip."
"Rrrrrrrrah!" Pebbles focused, causing the metal in Bastion's hand to hum and grow hot.
Slowly, it shifted and reshaped itself into the item he had requested. It was a simple spear tip, diamond-shaped, with a hole on one side for attaching the shaft.
Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that the piece was below the standard he could achieve with a proper forge and a specialized flame. Impurities marred the surface, suggesting that the interior was likely flawed as well. The shaping was flawless, yet its durability remained questionable. There was still potential for improvement, however, if he could train Pebbles to purify the metal and control which materials it focused on during the crafting process.
On the bright side, the spear tip was indeed Rank 2, meaning whatever Pebbles had done had preserved the ore's qualities instead of wasting them, as modern methods would. Judging by the strength of the mana signature Bastion sensed, it even appeared superior to his own creations, since there was always some degree of loss during the forging process.
Unfortunately, Bastion noted the significant drop in mana as Pebbles completed the request. By his calculations, he could produce roughly a hundred spear tips in a day, far too slow for his needs. After all, he was planning to make thousands of Rank 2 bullets in a continuous assembly line, not craft each one individually.
"Pebbles," Bastion started to say in an apologetic tone.
"Rar Rah ra… Rah!" it replied, begging, pleading for a chance.
It promised to improve and prove its worth, unwilling to endure the humiliation of being replaced by a fire spirit like every other blacksmith's companion in history. It wanted to show that the domain of metal belonged to earth and therefore must be mastered by an earth spirit.
Bastion sighed deeply, knowing he couldn't refuse. The little guy was simply too desperate.
"Fine," Bastion said. "But you're going to work hard. We have a ton of Rank 2 metal to process, and I have a ton of Rank 2 armor and weapons to create."
"Rah!" it shouted, ready for the challenge.
Bastion sighed again, dreading the sudden recalculation of his mana regeneration. Most of it had been devoted to training his arts and skills, with only a small portion going to the golems. Now he would have to reverse that, dedicating the majority to crafting Rank 2 armor and weapons while his arts and skills took a back seat. All because he couldn't bring himself to say no to Pebbles.
He could only hope that the little spirit would eventually improve, increasing both the mana efficiency and the quality of the weapons and armor it produced.
For the next several years, Bastion and Pebbles worked together to develop a new forging process. Since the ore could neither be heated nor conventionally purified, Bastion had to give precise instructions, directing Pebbles to isolate and manipulate specific elements within the material.
There were early successes. Iron bars emerged with levels of purity higher than anything Bastion had previously achieved. However, complications arose as new materials were introduced. Pebbles had to familiarize itself with each one individually before it could consistently produce satisfactory results.
Shaping proved far more manageable. Bastion assisted by hammering the metal into the desired form while Pebbles vibrated it at a controlled frequency, increasing its malleability and making it easier to shape without the use of heat.
The process consumed a tremendous amount of Bastion's mana, but in exchange it allowed them to fabricate objects far larger and more complex than a simple spear tip. His primary focus became a Rank 2 cannon to replace the one he had given to Ariel.
Unlike the cannon Hammerfist had forged, this version carried far greater potential. A standard cannon already functioned at roughly Rank 2 destructive output due to its mechanical force alone. When Hammerfist constructed one using Rank 1 materials, the structure could withstand and channel enough power to push its effective output to Rank 3.
Now, built entirely from Rank 2 materials with far superior mana retention and structural integrity, the new cannon could theoretically handle even greater force. With sufficiently powerful Rank 2 explosive pucks supplied by Seraphina, it would be capable of breaching the defenses of Rank 4 beings.
As for the enchantments, they were straightforward. He and Lilia had already replicated the Rank 1 autocannon design, though integrating and stabilizing the greater mass of Rank 2 metal required additional experimentation.
In the end, they succeeded. The cannon emerged dark red in color, absent the luminous blood-vein patterns that had marked Hammerfist's work. It was noticeably heavier, a reassuring indication of superior structural integrity. More impressive still was its mana retention. There was virtually no detectable loss in its signature, as if the metal had been perfectly purified and shaped by hand without ever once being exposed to flame.
"Not bad," Bastion said with a smile, holding up his hand to Pebbles.
The little spirit floated up and smacked it with surprising force, completing a triumphant high five between them.
"The enchantments are humming," Lilia said in amazement. "The metal is far more receptive to enchantments. I think we can layer a few more to significantly increase the durability."
"Let's not tamper with Hammerfist's original design," Bastion replied. "We'll experiment on the next one. This cannon will serve as a backup for both Ariel and me. More importantly, how's your preparations for the Rank Up going?"
"Hehehe," Lilia said, placing her hands on her hips. "After all these years of studying, it's finally ready to go."
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