Andrew awoke, performed his morning stretches, and got to work.

He had smelted ten ingots yesterday, and he still had five of the axe heads left to melt down. While he let the metal melt he set his usual hammer aside and picked up one of the other two in his collection. They were all the same to start, simple cylinders of iron bonded to a short wooden handle. His empowered hammer had a longer handle, was shaped to inflict wounds. Not exactly what he was looking for to begin hammering out sheets of metal.

If I was able to make that mana smelting skill by transferring mana into the metal as it was being forged, then maybe I can get some kind of bonus for transferring my mana into the metal as I hammer it out.

He took the mundane hammer in both hands and began to concentrate as he pulsed his mana into the material.

You will become more durable. You will transfer mana as though an extension of my body. You will shape metal and feel natural within my hand.

The hammer ate up his mana and when he opened his eyes it didn't bear as significant changes as his last hammer. The metal head now had that polished glassy look to it. The metal flowed naturally into the wooden handle below, which now resembled roots growing up and into the metal hammerhead. This hammer also featured little hand grips. Very important.

He took the hammer in hand and tried channeling mana into it. It wasn’t nearly as efficient as his chisel had been, or even the ingots he had smelted but it flowed all the same. He scrapped the blackened bits of melted slag out of the furnace and threw them into his makeshift crucible. Then set that back inside of the still hot furnace using the long wooden tongs he had formed yesterday. This time he took one of the ingots he had already formed and set that inside as well.

He watched the ingot closely as it steadily heated up. After about a minute it was glowing a bright orange. He pulled it out of the fire with his wooden tongs and set it on the flat top of his boulder.

With one hand he held the ingot in place on the boulder using one of his wooden tongs, with the other he channeled mana into his newly crafted smithing hammer and struck the ingot. The squished slightly under the force elongating a little. It also jerked to the side more than a little, as his sloppy wooden tong was not up the challenge of holding it in place.

It was slow going work, fighting the shifting bouncing of the metal with his wood stick while hammering out the ingot and drawing out the length. He originally had planned on making all his metal sheets this way, but decided he sorely needed a set of Iron tongs first. A real set of tongs that could actually grip the metal in front of him.

He drew the length of metal out until it was a little longer than his forearm, flattening and thinning it out as he went. He had to reheat it several times during this process. He tried to hammer the metal on its side, to create a rounded handle and flat grip, but couldn't hold it in place well enough with his wooden stick.

He set the first half of his Iron tongs in the dirt. Little more than a long flat Iron rectangle. He then drew another, only pausing to pour the melted Iron into his ingot mold and throw another axe head into the fire.

When he was finished he took the two and pressed one end of each together, forming a narrow V. They still had a slight reddish glight to them. He held one in each hand and began to focus on empowering them.

You will join where you are touched. You will curve to form a set of tongs. You will grip metal and will resist heat. You will round near the end and remain flat at the tip. You will join where you are touched and curve to form tongs.

The mana flowed smoothly and naturally through the metal and he could feel it shifting in his hands. When he opened his eyes the tongs were complete, the two ends joined in a tight U shaped curve stretching about as long as his forearm.

Perfect. It felt a little easier to shape the tongs with empowerment that time. I'm not sure if that's due to the fire infusing from the forge, the effect of transferring mana as I strike the metal, or just because it's something I made myself. I'll have to keep working on it.

With the help of his new tongs it became much easier to manipulate the ingots. They were also big enough to pick up the crucible as well and the wooden axe handles he used before were tossed into the fire pit. They were empowered to resist flame, but he supposed they would break down eventually.

He set to hammering flat sheets of iron out of the ingots. He was able to get the sheets of iron thin enough that he could draw two sheets out of each ingot. He used the sharp bladed end of the last pick axe he had set aside to separate the sheets when they reached the proper size.

[+1 Strength for performing physical labor that pushes your limits]

[+1 Strength for performing physical labor that pushes your limits]

[+1 Strength for performing physical labor that pushes your limits]

He spent hours drawing out sheets of metal, occasionally taking a break to get a drink and wash his face and arms with cold river water. They felt a little warm and he was sure he had small burns basically everywhere.

[+1 Strength for performing physical labor that pushes your limits]

[+1 Vitality for pushing the limits of your endurance]

[Skill Created Blacksmithing]

[+1 Strength for creating a power based Skill]

[+1 Dexterity for creating a precision based skill]

When the final sheet of metal was drawn out the day had stretched well into the afternoon. His arms ached and his ears were ringing. Thirty two sheets of iron sat neatly stacked by his boulder, Each about a quarter inch thick and a little larger than his hand. He channeled mana through his hammer while working on about half of the sheets, but there was no visible difference between them. The metal did seem more pliable when under the channeled hammer though, it took less time to work and flattened more under the same amount of force.

He had two more ingots left.

One of those is reserved for a spearhead, If I can poke at that bear a safe distance outside of the circle I'll be in a lot better shape. The other… maybe a little bracer or arm guard. I've been using my right as a chewtoy for the past couple fights and that sleeve is looking a little ratty.

For the spearhead I'll have to rely on Item Empowerment to sharpen and refine it. I don't think I have the skill or tools to make a quality one here.

He grabbed his tongs and hammer and got to work forming the spearhead. It was a clumsy affair, he had plenty of experience drawing metal out flat at this point, but realized that the ingot he had was far too much metal to form the spearhead he wanted to make. He had to form it into a sheet, split it off from the ingot and begin shaping that smaller chunk of metal. He pounded it flat before turning it on its sides, hammering it into a stretched oval shape with a tip at one end. He began to work on the opposite side, hammering the sides until it curved into a conical metal tube. That flowed into the speartip.

[Blacksmithing lvl 1-2]

Now to find a good stick.

He searched through the forest for his branch, thoroughly enjoying the break from pounding metal. It was nearly noon by the time he found what he was looking for. A long straight stick. About as thick as his forearm and four feet long.

It's no pike, but it’s the best I can do for the moment. I'll have to see how far I can push empowerment with this one.

He returned to his camp with the stick, reheated the spear tip, and stuck one end of the stick in it's mount. He then hammered the mount tight around the end of the long stick. He had to admit it looked rough. A branch, with a dull point hammered onto one end.

It's not much, polish it up with an empowerment and throw some mana in there and I bet it'll surprise me though. Still, pretty good work for no training and homemade tools anyway.

He took the spear in both hands and began to pump pulses of mana into it. They flowed with ease into the wood, slowing down only slightly when they reached the metal tip.

It's probably easier to empower branches and things because of my nature affinity. Huh, wonder if I'll lose that when I stop sleeping under a tree.

Your wood will smooth, extending into a rounded shaft. Durable but flexible. The metal will meld with the shaft forming them into one. The metal tip will sharpen, gain an edge and pierce. It will become more durable.

When he opened his eyes the spear looked, well like a spear. The rough barky shaft was smoothed into a straight shaft of bare wood. The cylindrical mounting of the spear tip now flowed seamlessly in to the shaft of wood, and small rootlike tendrils seemed to snake a short way down the shaft. The tip was sharper now, a clear triangular point of metal, unmistakable as a spear.

I wonder what I would be able to do to a properly formed weapon? Especially one I created myself, with this mana conductive metal.

[Empower Item lvl 5-6]

Holding the spear in both hands he practiced stabbing out with it. One hand outstretched held loosely allowing the spear to flow past it while the other hand thrusted forward across his body. When he tried pushing mana into the spear he saw the tip glow faintly red, with small veins of green crisscrossing here and there.

That will be interesting at the very least. Not at all sure what It'll do though. Maybe once I reach level 10 I'll pick up that mana sense. See If I can get any more information out of what I make.

It was well past noon now and he set the spear aside to have a meal. He only had a few biscuits left, and already had to throw a few moldy ones out of the sack. He had about half the bag of dried fruit, and around a fourth of the bag of dried meats left. The rations were getting old in more ways than one.

Once that bear is dead I'm going to have to learn how to hunt properly. This metal circle should last me a while. I'll be able to set the crafting aside for a while and focus on exploring and leveling up. Building strength now that I have the right tools for it.

His break finished he grabbed his chisel and leaned against the rock next to his pile of metal plates. Carving into the metal was easier than the stone was, though he had to be careful not to break through the thin metal. It took him a few minutes to find his groove, but once there he did the work was easy. He had a lot of practice working at these runes.

He worked late into the night, inscribing by the light of the campfire before retiring to his burrow. When he awoke the next morning he went straight back to it. Eager to leave his little hole and crafting behind for a while.

[+1 Dexterity for performing precision work]

[+1 Wisdom for sustaining constant mana control]

[+1 Dexterity for performing precision work]

[+1 Wisdom for sustaining constant mana control]

[+1 Intelligence for pushing the limits of your mana control]

[Mana inscription lvl 2-3]

Andrew flopped onto his back as soon as he finished the final binding rune in his third circle. The binding circle had been easy. The heat trapping and fire mana gathering circle, both inscribed on the same plate of metal, had been far more complex.

Finally. Finished. Still have most of this afternoon. Its' about an hour and a half walk out to the bear. If I want to be sure to trap it on it's way out of the crevice then I should wait for night. Draw it out and into the trap. An area large enough I can lay both circles and run away if I need to.

Status:

Name: Andrew Neilson

Race: Human

Catalyst: None

Class: Scavenger lvl 8

Profession: None

Titles: Pioneer

Status:

HP: 240/240

SP: 240/240

MP: 220/270

Attribute points: 35

Strength: 24

Dexterity: 33

Vitality: 27

Intelligence: 30

Wisdom: 30

Skills:

-Perception lvl 5

-Camouflage lvl 1

-Mana Control lvl 5

-Woodcarving lvl 4

-Rune Inscription lvl 3

-Adaptive Weapon Mastery lvl 2

-Empower Item lvl 6

-Rune Modification lvl 1

-Blood Infusion lvl 1

-Stone Carving lvl 2

-Mana Inscription lvl 3

-Mana Smelting lvl 2

-Blacksmithing lvl 2

He laid back and inspected his status. He should be much stronger than he was before. Much faster, technically smarter, though he made enough mistakes he wasn't quite as convinced about the affects of that. His attributes had increased significantly since he arrived and as he dozed off into a restful nap he imagined becoming strong enough to take the bear out with a single swing of his hammer.