《Ninth World Lia's Struggle》ch 14

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The story begins with a blacksmith, one of great skill at that. He lived a somewhat nomadic life spending no more than two or three years in each kingdom. However, that wasn't a problem, his skills were already well known and some even followed him around to keep a steady supply of his products. He lived a happy life with his daughter and wife, who were supportive of him and his passion for blacksmithing. One day a letter arrived from the king of the country he currently resided at. It was well ornated and had the royal crest in it proving its authenticity. It was a commission with a handsome reward. Despite having his hands full with other projects he decided to accept. After all the conditions of the job were extremely tempting.

The king spent a small fortune gathering expensive materials for this one job, all were at the blacksmith's disposal if he were to accept. As skilled as he was he had very few chances to work with these materials much less with all of them at the same time. He wrote letters to his usual customers apologising and asking for their patience, he also proposed a discount as an apology. All of them accepted the apology as they knew this particular smith had a free spirit and getting on his bad side for such a trifling matter was not worth it.

The king came in person to the smithy alongside his daughter. The request was to make a weapon of her choice after all. The second princes of the Ekathian kingdom was a beautiful young lady with a well-proportioned face and body. Her golden hair and cyan blue eyes gave off a holy feeling, but that was no surprise. She had trained her entire life to become a paladin of Gaia's church since that was the custom of her beloved kingdom. The second princess of each generation would become the maiden of the blade, a special paladin ranked reserved for this tradition.

As they discussed what would fit the next maiden of the sword it was decided a short sword would be the best option. As a paladin, she would more than like have to use a shield alongside her sword. For this reason, any weapon too heavy to be used with a single hand was discarded. However, she still wanted a weapon that would be imposing when wielded alone, therefore this short sword would be slightly longer than usual. In the end, the blacksmith took her hand measures to make sure the hilt would fit perfectly within her grasp. And so, after the king and princes left he began his work. It was due to a year from that moment since by that time the ceremony for the maiden of the blade would take place.

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The blacksmith lost no time on planning and designing what he was sure was going to be his best creation yet. As soon as he finished designing every single detail he began his work. First, an extremely thin film of adamantine was made, an extremely hard task as its hardness made it difficult to handle. The purpose of this film was to be the core of the blade, this way it would not bend and its sharpness would be guaranteed. Why was the blade not crafter purely of this material? adamantine is heavy, extremely so, moreover, it's magic conductivity is the worst amongst all metals. For that reason, a thin film with holes in it made from adamantine was the best core as it helped balance the blade's weight while giving it rigidity. Next was crafting the rest of the blade's body, which would be made from a metal called guilezanite. The name of the metal comes from its weird properties, one of the softest metals out there and its poor magic conductivity make it seem useless, however that is in its natural state. When heated up while being exposed to mana before cooling it abruptly will generate a reaction between the metal and mana. The result is a crystalline structure that, while light as a feather, is as hard as tempered steel. Moreover, it's magic conductivity is second to only orichalcum. These properties gave it its characteristic name.

With this, the blade portion of the sword was almost done, now came the hardest part. With extreme care, the blacksmith carved out a portion of the guilezanite while it was still malleable. This step had to be taken with extreme care. If the smith made a mistake with either his mana output or the smith's heat, the metal would either crystalise too quickly or lose its shape again. However, the work continued without a hitch and soon a beautiful pattern was carved in the blade. This pattern wasn't for mere decoration instead its purpose was to house thin orichalcum filaments which would give the sword a massive boost to its already high mana conductivity. Orichalcum is a metal with an absurdly high mana conductivity however its mana retention and hardness leaves something to be desired, for this reason, its best usage is in creating powerful magic tools such as wands and staffs.

Looking at the finished blade that took almost three months to make the craftsmen couldn't help but smile. It emitted a faint white glow a result of the guilezanite that when exposed to mana would have such an effect. An extremely thin line of black could be seen at the edge thanks to the adamantine and the golden pattern created by the orichalcum when superposed over the white background gave a sense of holiness, just what the blacksmith wanted. Next was the handguard, also an important part as its whole purpose was to protect the princess's hand.

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Mithril was the metal chosen for such an important role. Its hardness was above that of steel while being lighter than it. Mithril also possessed a high magic conductivity but most importantly it possessed the best magic retention amongst all metals. Meaning it could work as a battery if needed. Another month of work went by as the blacksmith moulded the handguard. Its final shape? that of the soft flow of water as it intertwined with itself, with the carvings of the most beautiful flowers you could ever think of.

Finally the hilt. With four months gone the smith still had a bit over seven months to work. This was because he had spent most if not all of his time at the smithy working the days out. No other products were made during this time and he barely spent any time with his family as he was too engrossed with his work. However, he wasn't going to stop now, he took a piece of wood that had been provided. It belonged to an elder treent, truly a wonderful material. Treents are trees that gain consciousness after absorbing mana for hundreds of years, this made their wood a valuable material as it possessed a high magic conductivity and retention. This piece, in particular, possessed a magic conductivity that could rival that of orichalcum and magic retention slightly below that of mithril. It took no time before the smith was at his work again after admiring the piece of wood. Carvings were made at an amazing speed for its absurd precision. Almost as if wanting to pay homage to the creature this material came from all the carvings were that of forests and plants with even the smallest detail of each leaf taken care of.

Two whole months went into the carving process after which with a precise and special technic he wrapped the handle in the leather of an elemental wolf. The end result, thanks to this special technic, was that the carvings could clearly be seen through the leather, almost as if a piece of latex had been vacuumed over it but even better. The leather provided a steady grip while being immune to deterioration from the elements for obvious reasons. The last part was the pommel. Despite his tiredness from not sleeping or eating well for the last half-year, the blacksmith pushed on. From a sack with brute gems, he picked a blue diamond and began his work. Cutting it with the skills of a professional the end result was that of a blue diamond with a square cushion cut. Next was the part of the pommel that would hold such a gem. Using both orichalcum and mithril the smith created root-like patterns that were attacked to the diamond and held to it, like the roots of the world tree holding a planet.

With this, his masterpiece was done. Exhausted after the eight-month-long work he fell asleep with a satisfied expression. He slept for two whole days before waking up and eating a meal that equalled to the portion of four grown men. A well-deserved reward after all his work. The end result was a short-sword of seventy-five centimetres in length which hi decided to cal Naruventi. Not too long after he sent a letter to the king, announcing the completion of his work. The king along with his daughter excitedly headed towards the smith's location. Despite being a king he would be there and then when his daughter received the gift he spent so much money on, after all, she was his favourite child. It took them a mere two days of travel despite the distance thanks to the royal carriage and horses.

As soon as the carriage could be seen in the distance the blacksmith took out the newly crafter sword covered in a velvet blanket and waited for them. No words were needed as all parties involved knew why they were there. The blacksmith gave the royals a simple respectful nod before uncovering the sword. The eyes of the princess were instantly glued to it and with a trembling hand she reached out for it. As her skin connected with the leather of the hilt, she could feel all the work that went into such a magnificent weapon. She took a step back and made a few swings, the balance was perfect and its weight was just right too. Its sharpness was frightening as she easily cleaved a rock in half with a swing that despite being full of technique could never accomplish such a result with normal weapons.

The blacksmith's face turned a bit red as he saw the princes bow at a ninety-degree angle. Many would say such an act is unfitting of the princess however to her father and the soldiers it was more than fitting in such circumstances. Her smile couldn't be contained as she thanked the smith over and over again for creating such a treasure just for her. After a while, her father managed to calm her down paid the blacksmith what was promised and even let him keep the remaining materials as a bonus for his marvellous work.

However, not everything could go well every time.

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