Gilbert waved it off. "The material has a price. The Thousand Refinements do not. By blacksmithing law, regardless of who provides the metal, the first Thousand Refined work belongs to the one who forges it. Besides, that tungsten hammer no longer suits you. This Heavy Silver is perfect for forging two hammers. Before you leave for the intermediate academy, finish them. I want to see what special quality your first Thousand Refinement awakens."
"You're really giving it to me?" Ray asked, eyes shining.
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Gilbert snorted. "It's late. Go back and rest. Come again tomorrow."
"YES! Thank you, Master!" Ray exclaimed, bowing deeply before clutching the Heavy Silver to his chest.
The moment he held it, he felt its terrifying weight. Though it didn't look large, this piece of Thousand Refined Heavy Silver weighed nearly one hundred and fifty kilograms. Yet what struck him more was the sensation Gilbert had described. It truly felt like a part of him, as if his blood resonated faintly with the metal.
What kind of hammer would this become?
In the following days, Ray immersed himself entirely in forging. Each strike brought satisfaction, each refinement a sense of accomplishment.
What he didn't know was that only after completing the Thousand Refinements had Gilbert truly accepted him as a disciple. From that moment on, Gilbert slowed his own work and devoted himself to guiding Ray personally.
Three days later, the forging was complete.
Ray stood before the anvil, gazing at the hammer resting upon it, his heart swelling with pride. The Thousand Refinements had only been the foundation. This… this was his first complete masterpiece.
The Heavy Silver hammer was similar in size and shape to his Thousand Refined Tungsten hammer, yet its weight was several times greater. Without Ray's monstrous strength and the enhancement of his spirit soul, lifting it alone would have been nearly impossible.
This was his hammer.
His very first Thousand Refined creation.
At first glance, the pair of Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers did not look particularly striking.
Their dull gray surface made them resemble ordinary forging hammers. Yet a closer look revealed something different.
Dark, wave-like patterns flowed across their bodies, layer upon layer, as though tides had been frozen into the metal itself. Along the handles, those deep ripples seemed to nurture a boundless, latent strength.
A spiral pattern wound tightly around each handle, extending all the way to the base, where it ended in a sharp, pointed tip.
Ray had spent three full days forging these hammers, refining them bit by bit.
Throughout the process, he could clearly feel that the work went unusually smoothly, as if his blood and the metal were cooperating with one another. Even so, despite this sense of efficiency, it had still taken him three whole days to complete them.
"It's finished," Gilbert said, his gaze fixed on the hammers. Even for a master blacksmith like him, there was anticipation in his eyes. "Let's see what special effect the Thousand Refinements have awakened."
"Mn." Ray nodded and firmly grasped the pair of Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers.
He had already measured them carefully. The hammer in his left hand weighed 152 kilograms, while the one in his right weighed 166 kilograms. Despite their modest size, their weight could only be described as shocking.
As his fingers wrapped around the spiral-patterned handles, Ray felt his soul power surge.
In an instant, it flowed into the two hammers. Without this connection, even his monstrous strength would not have been enough to wield them with ease. Yet once his soul power linked with the metal, the weight seemed to lessen slightly, and his grip became incomparably steady.
Ray retrieved a prepared piece of metal from the forging furnace. His eyes sharpened, and with his left hand, he gave it a light, testing tap.
Ding ding ding!
Three crisp sounds rang out.
Ray froze. Gilbert's pupils contracted sharply.
"Test it again," Gilbert urged.
Ray tapped the metal once more.
Ding ding ding.
Again, three clear notes echoed, even though he had struck it only once.
"Use a heavy strike," Gilbert said in a deep voice.
Ray's right arm moved in a powerful arc as he brought the hammer down with force.
DANG! DANG! DANG!
Three explosive sounds thundered out. This time, both Ray and Gilbert clearly saw it.
At the instant the hammer struck the metal, two blurred afterimages appeared behind the hammerhead, as if phantom copies had struck in succession. The additional two impacts came from those spectral strikes.
"This is…" Ray turned to Gilbert in disbelief.
Gilbert stared at the scene, momentarily speechless. "Stacked Hammers effect."
"Teacher, what is the Stacked Hammers effect?" Ray asked.
Gilbert looked at him with a strange expression. "You little monster… even I have never forged hammers with the Stacked Hammers effect."
After taking a few deep breaths, Gilbert finally calmed himself. He had expected Ray's first Thousand Refined work to produce a good special effect, but he never imagined it would be something this outrageous.
"This is precisely why blacksmiths perform a Blood Sacrifice on their first Thousand Refined work," Gilbert explained. "It often produces an excellent special effect, and the Blood Sacrifice pushes that effect to its peak by binding the metal to your blood. That's why nearly every blacksmith's first Thousand Refined creation is a pair of forging hammers they use for life."
Ray quickly realized something. From the moment Gilbert had taken out that chunk of Heavy Silver, he had intended to give it to him. Ray didn't know its exact market value, but he understood clearly that such a large piece of purified Heavy Silver was priceless.
Gilbert continued, "Many special effects can appear from the Thousand Refinements, but only an effect perfectly suited to its user can be considered ideal. I told you before, the first shaping of a Thousand Refined metal is its peak state. Any later reshaping will damage its internal structure and lower its quality. That's why it's exceedingly rare for the first forging to awaken a truly suitable effect."
Ray nodded in understanding. "So the Stacked Hammers effect is a peak effect, and it's perfectly suited to my Heavy Silver Hammers?"
Gilbert smiled and nodded. "Exactly. To be honest, I'm a little envious. After the Blood Sacrifice, these hammers can only be used by you."
"The so-called Stacked Hammers effect," Gilbert continued, "means that a single strike resonates within the hammer itself, producing additional phantom strikes. Yours is a Thrice Stacked Hammer, the highest possible form of this effect. In simple terms, when you perform Hundred Refinements in the future, your forging time will be cut in half. The second strike carries about seventy percent of the original force, and the third about fifty percent. Once you fully master this effect, you'll truly achieve twice the results with half the effort."
Ray asked, "Can the Stacked Hammers effect be controlled?"