Thomas started with two possibilities for enhancing the sword. The first was to try and add space magic to it. If he could make a thin line along the edges of the sword it would be possible to slice just about anything by severing space itself. That seemed like an extremely badass idea to him. The problem was he hadn't really experimented with Space magic just yet and didn't want to waste his work by making a mistake. Besides, even if the sword was made of Origin Steel it was still just steel and he probably wouldn't be using it for very long.

His second idea was to enhance the sword with the wind element. Using wind blades was a very common thing and he had a fair understanding of the wind element itself. However, just a simple blade of wind enhancing the edge of his sword was just as boring as making a flaming sword. He thought about it for a little while and started to smile broadly. He had a much better idea. Wind would still be the element of choice but he had a thought on how to make it more interesting.

Before he could do anything else though, he needed to get the sword to the point where he could easily assemble it. He already knew that using his 'Transmutation' and magic at the same time would hurt like hell so he needed to use as little of his 'Transmutation' as possible to assemble the sword. He started putting the sword together loosely, not a final assembly but a dry run.

With the unfinished handle in place, he picked up the strips of Elder Lizardman hide. He laid them out end to end and used his 'Transmutation' to fuse the separate strips into a single long strip. The fusion was so perfect that he could only tell where two pieces had fused if he could see a scale that had been cut. He draped the hide strip over the handle making sure to start at the middle. Instead of glue, he used his 'Transmutation' to fuse the hide to the wooden handle for a much better permanent bond.

He started wrapping the hide around the handle with the scales facing out. He chose a simple criss-cross pattern similar to how katana handles were wrapped. Though the pattern he used was much simpler and less time-consuming. Each time the hide strips crossed over each other he would fuse them together and then fuse them to the wood. This would prevent the wrap from ever moving or shifting while giving him an excellent grip. Once he finished with the wrap he took a step back and started to focus his mind.

He was going to attempt something new and wanted to have his mind completely focused on the task. When he felt ready he stepped up to the workbench and picked up the main body of the sword. His mana appeared on his hand and slowly shifted to green in color. He didn't just picture simple wind. His mind was focused on a very specific image. He imagined the wind energy flowing up one side of the blade, along the tip, and down the other side. He imagined the wind being fast and violent with the ability to slice and rip things to shreds. His inspiration for this was a classic science fiction weapon known as a chain sword!

With the image of the desired effect firmly planted in his mind, his mana began to infuse into the weapon. He picked up the crossguard and slid it down the tang until it was firmly pressed against the shoulder of the blade. His mana infused into the crossguard as well. He continued infusing his mana as he slid the wrapped handle into place followed by placing the pommel on. He was not looking forward to the next step.

While still infusing his wind magic into the sword he started to use his 'Transmutation'. His head instantly began to throb with pain as he immediately got a headache. He was still incapable of using two magic abilities at the same time without consequence. He held the pommel tightly in place and began to spread the tip of the tang to 'mushroom' it out. This would add pressure to hold all the pieces of the sword tightly in place. Once the pieces were tightly held he fused the pommel to the tang so it would permanently be attached.

The moment he finished the fusion process he stopped using his 'Transmutation'. The moment he did the intensity of his headache dropped several notches but he still felt a somewhat painful throbbing in his skull. He continued infusing his wind magic into the weapon until he felt the familiar sensation that let him know it was done. He stopped channeling his mana to finish the creation process.

System Notice: You have created a Magical grade Short Sword. Quality: Excellent. You have gained 289 Magitech Engineering experience. You have gained 72 experience. Weapon Type: Short Sword Rarity: Magical Quality: Excellent Description: This is an excellent short sword made from a material that the creator has dubbed 'Origin Steel'. As insane as he is the creator has used the techniques of a Magitech Engineer on a non-mechanical item. When mana is channeled into this sword it will convert to wind and swirl around the blade to greatly increase the cutting ability of the weapon.

+10 Power when wielded.

+25 additional Power when wielded with Mana

Thomas read over the description of the sword and grinned broadly. If he understood it right then the sword alone added ten power to his attacks with the sword but if he put mana into it like an enchantment the bonus would increase to thirty-five total. This was impressive as hell considering that it increased his Power by nearly fifty percent when he used it and added his mana to it. This proved he'd made the right choice in deciding to work on making items to overcome his weaknesses.

He studied the blade for a bit longer before storing it inside of his inventory. With the sword finished he started working on his next project immediately. He picked up one of the Origin Steel ingots and set it into the coals to start heating it up. Thanks to the fan he made the coals easily maintained a high temperature and got the steel glowing orange rather quickly.

Thomas plucked the steel out of the flames and used his hammer to start working it. Like he had done for the sword he worked it into a long thin bar. Unlike with the sword though, once the bar was formed he used a hot cut tool to cut it in half. He started to work each piece independently but did his best to keep them as a matched pair. Whatever work he did on one he did matching work on the other. Every strike of his hammer was infused with his mana to get the best possible result.

He quickly and efficiently worked the steel into twin daggers measuring approximately 35 centimeters in total length. The blades alone would be 25 centimeters long. As he worked them into shape he did his best to match them to the sword he'd created. He wanted the weapons to match each other. Though there wasn't too much of a point to it, he also hammered fullers into the center lines of the daggers.

When he finished the hammer work he moved onto the grinding step to get the weapons into better shape and make them match each other better. He ground them into a similar shape as the short sword he'd made previously. All three weapons would match. It wasn't necessary for him to make them all match, he just thought it was neat. When he finished the grinding process it was nearly noon so he stepped away from his work and sat on the floor near Snowlily.

The entire time he'd been working she'd just lounged around on the floor and relaxed. She'd stayed quiet and made no trouble for him. He really appreciated how well behaved she was and rewarded her with some delicious reheated monster meat. Together they enjoyed a decent meal and some quality time. When she was done eating, Snowlily crawled into his lap and deigned to let him stroke her soft white fur. He spent a good half hour just petting the adorable little ball of fur. He eventually had to return to his work though.

After separating from the bundle of fluff he went back to work. The next step was hardening and tempering the daggers. While the two daggers were heating up in the forge he selected a block of wood that felt hard yet light. He easily cut off two sections that would be big enough for the handles. He carried them over to the workbench where he started cutting them down to a more appropriate size. Before he could finish the daggers had reached critical temperature. He plucked them out of the fire and dunked them into his barrel of quenching oil.

Once they were quenched he set them to the side to finish cooling in the air and returned to working on the wood for the handles. When they reached their preliminary shape he put them to the side to finish later and retrieved some of the Elder Lizardman hide. Just as he had for the sword, he cut the hide into thin strips and then fused them together into one long single strip. The rest of the work for the daggers was the same as for the sword. He tempered them, ground them some more, and then brought them over to the workbench.

He had deliberately not made crossguards or pommels for the daggers. He arranged all the pieces on the table and started the dry assembly while using his 'Transmutation' to make sure the wooden handles would fit the tang of the daggers perfectly. With them sitting on the tang he went about grinding and sanding them into a comfortable shape that would fit well in his hands. When they were done he went through the processes of adding the criss-crossed pattern of Elder Lizardman hide to the handles for improved grip.

The final step was to perform the final assembly while infusing his magic into them. He was tempted, briefly, to use the same image as he used for the sword. He dismissed that thought though. He had a very different purpose in mind for the daggers. He picked up the first dagger and started to channel his mana while converting it to the wind element once again. This time the image he used was completely different though. He pictured the dagger in flight with wind helping to balance the blade while providing additional thrust to give it more force when thrown.

His mana turned green and began to sink into the first dagger. When he slid the handle onto the tang his mana sank into it as well. He couldn't contain a sigh as he mentally prepared himself for what was to come next. If there ever came a day when he could do this without pain he would praise the heavens. Well, not really. He activated his 'Transmutation' to bind the tang to the handle. The headache came on quick and sharp. Every beat of his heart during the few moments it took to perform the fusion felt like someone was smacking him inside of his head.

System Notice: You have created a Magical grade Throwing Dagger. Quality: Excellent. You have gained 211 Magitech Engineering experience. You have gained 52 experience.

Though the headache faded when he stopped using 'Transmutation' there was still a bit of pain. It was slightly worse than the last time and he wondered if doing this repeatedly would make his condition continue to worsen. Back at the academy Professor Fulin had warned him that dual casting was rather troublesome. If you considered death troublesome. Well, a death or two wouldn't stop Thomas from getting his work done.

With the first dagger completed he set it to the side and picked up the second dagger to go through the same process with the same intent and magic in mind. When he was adding his intent and using his 'Transmutation' at the same time again to finish the weapon the headache became much worse. When the pain first came on he actually stumbled from the shock. He managed to finish his work and set the dagger down on the workbench.

System Notice: You have created a Magical grade Throwing Dagger. Quality: Excellent. You have gained 211 Magitech Engineering experience. You have gained 52 experience.

Thomas placed his palm on his forehead and groaned. The pain had receded some when he stopped using both magics at the same time but the cumulative pain had become much worse. He lost control of his legs and fell down to the ground with a groan. He held his head in his hands as he tried to relax his body and let the pain pass. As he sat there he felt like his nose was running. When he reached up to wipe away snot he saw a streak of red on his hand. His nose was bleeding.

Thomas wiped at his nose and sighed. He'd learned his lesson. Pushing the limits like that could help show him where the limits were. Now that he knew he could stop before he went too far in the future. He wasn't completely done with the sword and daggers though. The next step, after he recovered, would be to try enchanting them. Not yet though. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes to try and relax. He needed to wait for the headache to go away.