Chapter 20: The birth of a legend

The days continued moving forward, which turned into months and then into years.

Under the tutelage of Mr. Fas Nesel, I have learned to identify and forge a large quantity of metals and other materials.

The vast majority of metals are the same as those on Earth, but there are many others that would make scientists going mad with their properties.

However, such metals are rare to obtain or difficult to process; in fact, the most used due to their abundance and practicality are the copper and the light metal. Iron, although abundant, is used only in the production of coins, or so it is in Eralgia.

Things have changed a lot, the war has spread and two other countries have joined the enemy side, in addition, it is suspected that the Eastern empire is involved, there have been some incursions into the mountains of Tulser, but all were frustrated by the monsters and the Naga sentries. However, in the words of the chief of the village, it is the first time that the invaders entered far into Tulser, it must be because the mountains are increasingly safe thanks to the Naga.

But thanks to supply and strategic aid from the kingdom, the incursions have been repelled.

Unfortunately, Captain Almond and his men were sent to the front at Timancera. His eldest son was appointed as a surrogate to care for this part of Tulser and he looks as dependable as his father.

However, all this is nothing compared to the worst catastrophe of all: the absence of Fortuna.

Due to the great success of his company, Mr. Allan decided to open a second branch in a more distant region and took his family with him. Success brought more work, and therefore, less time to travel here. Naku and I have not seen her for almost a year and we miss her a lot; last time we saw her, Fortuna was reaching puberty and was becoming very beautiful, I am sure that by now, she must be even more so... I would not be surprised that there were parasites trying to woo her.

"CALM YOURSELF, BRAT! WHAT'S WITH THAT BLOODTHIRST?!" (Fas Nesel)

Eh? Bloodthirst? Again?

"Do not tell me that you were thinking about your other girlfriend? Despite being a great blacksmith, your personality is very problematic, you should worry first about taking care of the one that stays close to you." (Fas Nesel)

Mr. Fas Nesel scolded me. Despite being working, my thoughts rambled and made me release a deep thirst for blood to my surroundings, how many times have been with this one?

"I'm sorry, Teacher! It's just that I miss her." (Aruh)

The good thing is that Master haven’t got near Naku, her thirst for blood is even higher than mine, and she usually gets angry with the same worries I have... If there is a Naga close to her, the pressure makes them fall to the ground and pray.

"And I thought that humans were the only race to have more than one wife. I never understood that custom, as if one were not enough troubles." (Fas Nesel)

"At first I refused to have Fortuna as my wife, but now I feel I need to have her close to me..." (Aruh)

"Well, it's your life and you decide how to live it..." (Fas Nesel)

True, it could be my second life, but I am responsible for it. I do not know what new things this destiny is bringing me, but I must be ready for whatever is presented to me.

"Now go back to your work, when you finish that piece you can leave and go with the elf doctor to continue with your other studies." (Tes Nesel)

...

"So this is the machine you made, Aruh... You mean you can produce ink with this?" (Spencer)

"Just one of the ingredients of it, Professor." (Aruh)

"Enough with ‘Professor’, please. You're already much better at alchemy than I am, and it feels strange to be called so by a superior." (Spencer)

"Sorry, it's the habit." (Aruh)

"Well, I'd like you to correct it... So, how does the machine work?" (Spencer)

The machine we were talking about is for extracting the smoke by burning wood in order to create a black pigment that will be used to create ink. The method is unknown because there are monsters from which the ink is extracted, such as the ‘terrestrial octopus’, so there has not been a development in is this type of techniques. However, animal inks are difficult to get and its price is expensive, so it is not accessible to a large amount of the population.

While this might pose some problems initially for traders who specialize in ink, an increase in production would allow them to expand new frontiers for Eralgia. This method is a continuation of the charcoal pencil that gives Fortuna, I am sure she will be able to take advantage of it.

"You are no longer surprised by my experiments as before." (Aruh)

"After all this time I have become accustomed... I reached than point with your method to increase the duration of the oil for lamps..." (Spencer)

It seems that several of my implementations ended up changing the teacher's way of thinking. I'm sorry.

...

One day, I decided to start with my main project, the reason I decided to learn to become a blacksmith.

Mr. Fas Nesel told me that every blacksmith has some secrets they do not share and are saved for his descendants or successors, so I decided to get mine. To do this, I entered a clearing of the forest that only I, Naku and Arachne use to visit. Since Naku claimed that place as a base, the other Naga took as an order to not get close.

"Okay, time to start." (Aruh)

My goal was to produce and forge steel.

After building the furnace and getting the two key materials, iron and coal, I started with my experiments. My first goal would be to obtain it, and then I would dedicate myself to work it.

There is a difference in having knowledge in how something is produced and in putting that knowledge into practice. There were many my mistakes, even with the teachings of Mr. Fas Nesel.

The time went by and with good progress, after much experimentation I have managed to create several pieces of steel that are of good quality. Unlike pure iron, steel accepts the craftsmanship of the hetros like no other known material, although I am not as good as my master and the other dwarves, my technique was praised by him as superior among the other races; yet, it depresses me a little to know that if it were a dwarf the one doing this work, it would be far superior.

The only two witnesses of my work are Naku and Arachne, to the latter I asked it to serve as a watch so that no one else could see my work. I may sound paranoid, but I can not allow this knowledge to leak, as it would be one of the advantages during my trip with my two wives.

"So beautiful!" (Naku)

Naku admires a small dagger I made for her, it's my best work to date.

"It's my first job done, it's small, but I did it thinking in a versatile and fast weapon." (Aruh)

"Haa! Haa! Haa! Haaa!... It's lighter than one made of bronze..." (Naku)

Her movements while testing the dagger were fast and precise, with almost no sound. Then, Naku grabbed a dry branch from the ground and threw it into the air.

"Haaaaaa!" (Naku)

The branch was cut into minuscule pieces, Naku’s speed was such that it seemed like she did a single cut, but in fact, they were several. After finishing the attack, she checked the blade.

"It has a cutting edge and power like I've never seen before. This is the capacity of the metal you've been working on ... Amazing!" (Naku)

The one surprised is me! Those movements were spectacular!

Although the dagger was to Naku's taste, I still have to work harder on improving the steel until it is to my liking.

Trying to remember my old world, I remember the history of when the civilization was not different from those of Maltras, and I remember that there was a very famous and feared steel: the steel of Damascus.

A type of crucible steel, feared by the Crusaders and worthy of legends, its technique was lost with the passage of time.

It may be impossible for me to recreate it, but I will try to make a steel as close to the original as possible.

The technique begins by crushing and melting the iron together with the carbon at high temperature to produce a wootz. I decided to use white coal from a very rare wood that I got from teacher Fas and that is used to melt an equally rare metal called Orihalcon.

With a process of forging and tempering very meticulous, trying to follow the concentration of my teacher when working metals, my intentions were to create two swords, one for me, and one for Naku.

There is only one weapon that I imagine could exploit the full potential of Naku, a sword used by an ancient empire that reigned in Earth's antiquity, one of the most deadly and versatile weapons in combat: the gladius. It is a short sword ideal for stabbing but also good for cutting, its short size makes it very maneuverable and easy to use along with a shield.

In my case, I decided to use its successor, the spatha, since my style requires a greater range of attack, and therefore, a longer blade. Thanks to the craftsmanship of the hetros, the steel is likely to be strong enough to withstand the strength of a Naga, but I would like to be absolutely sure that it will withstand even with a long blade. Although such a concern will not be necessary after leaving the mountains, I would like to have a sturdy weapon; which is why I decided to use the method of using a heart made of softer and more flexible metal covered by two steel plates.

It was a laborious process, full of errors and repetitions, but in the end I managed to create the two swords that met my expectations.

The blades did not have the characteristic pattern of the Damascus steel, but had a brilliant silver-white color. By adding the handles, guards and knobs, made of wood and fur, the swords were finished.

Two beautiful weapons, my best works as a blacksmith, I can not help but admire them. For the dangers we face, for the enemies who come for our lives, Naku and I will depend on these two swords.

With those thoughts in mind, I put them in their sheaths.