Chapter 66: Learning to Forge 2

Elaria observed both his work and the flow of his energy.

"Don’t hold your breath when you strike."

Adam continued.

Inhale during the preparation.

Exhale at the moment of impact.

Clang.

Clang.

Clang.

His movements gradually became more regular.

The piece of metal lengthened.

"This technique is called stretching," Elaria explained. "You reduce the thickness to increase the length."

She took another piece and demonstrated a different movement.

"Conversely, compression allows you to thicken an area by compressing the metal upon itself."

Adam observed.

"Stretch. Compression. Bend. Twist. Pierce. Cut. Weld."

Elaria nodded.

"These are the fundamental operations." But each one has several variations."

She then taught him how to use different surfaces of the anvil.

The flat face for general hammering.

The rounded edges for creating certain curves.

The horn for forming rings or curved pieces.

The holes for using drilling or cutting tools.

Adam learned how to hold the tongs correctly.

How to rotate the metal without losing control.

How to strike with the face of the hammer.

Then with its thinner peen to move the material in a precise direction.

Elaria corrected his every move.

"Wrist too stiff."

"Incorrect angle."

"Rotate the piece before it cools down."

"Don’t strike an area that’s already too thin."

"Warm it up."

Adam obeyed.

The session was less like Selene’s brutal training.

But she was no less demanding.

Every movement had to be precise.

A mistake didn’t necessarily cause immediate pain.

It could simply weaken the metal and only become visible much later.

After finishing the first demonstration, Elaria led him to the various cooling tanks.

"Cooling is just as important as hammering."

She pointed to the first tank.

"Water cools quickly. It can produce great hardness, but it also increases the risk of warping or cracking."

Then the second.

"Oil cools more slowly. The process is generally less harsh."

Adam looked at the cloudy solution.

"And this one?"

"A brine enriched with mineral salts and mana. It draws heat away very quickly and more evenly than ordinary water. But it’s dangerous for some metals."

She then indicated several smaller containers.

"There are also baths of clay, ash, heated sand, crystal powder, or alchemical fluids."

Adam observed the different liquids.

"The choice depends on the material and the desired properties."

"Yes."

Elaria took a small demonstration blade.

"Quenching generally increases hardness, but a metal that is too hard becomes brittle."

She lightly tapped the blade against the anvil.

"That’s why tempering is often performed after quenching."

"Reheating the piece to a lower temperature to reduce internal stresses."

Elaria turned her head toward him.

"You already know the principle?"

"It existed in my old world."

"Good."

She set down the blade.

"There’s also annealing. The metal is heated and then allowed to cool slowly to soften it, reduce stresses, and make future work easier."

"And normalizing?"

Elaria gave a small, satisfied smile.

"Heating and then letting it cool in the air to obtain a more regular structure."

Adam looked at the bar he had just worked on.

"So two objects made of the same metal can have very different properties depending on how they are treated."

"Exactly."

Elaria raised a finger.

"The raw material is only one part of the object. The manufacturing method often determines the rest."

She then walked over to a long, reinforced cabinet.

When she opened it, Adam discovered dozens of compartments containing various ores, ingots, and metal fragments.

Each one was carefully labeled.

Elaria picked up a dull gray piece.

"Iron." Common, relatively easy to work with, strong, but susceptible to corrosion if left unprotected.

She then picked up a reddish piece.

"Copper. Softer. Excellent conductor of heat and low mana. Very useful for simple circuits, pipes, and certain magical structures."

Adam took it between his fingers.

Eyes of the World activated almost automatically.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Copper

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Thermal Conductivity: High

Magical Conductivity: Medium

Physical Resistance: Low to Medium

Mallability: High

Enchantment Compatibility: Good

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Elaria then took out a golden fragment.

"Gold. Very malleable, not very strong on its own, but exceptional for precise magical circuits. It hardly oxidizes and readily accepts certain enchantments."

"Hence its use in high-quality magical items."

"Yes. But its price limits its use."

She took a very light, silvery metal.

"Mithril."

Adam immediately felt a faint vibration of mana.

"It’s much lighter than iron."

"And stronger for the same weight. It also has excellent magical conductivity."

Elaria showed him a thin plate of mithril.

"Mages appreciate mithril armor because it protects without hindering movement or the flow of mana."

"But it must be difficult to work with."

"Its forging temperature is narrow. Too cold, and it resists. Too hot, and it loses some of its magical structure."

She then took out a dark gray ingot.

Adam immediately felt its weight.

"Adamantite."

"Very dense. Extremely strong. Difficult to melt and even more difficult to shape."

Elaria placed the ingot on the table.

"A weapon made of pure adamantite would be nearly indestructible, but far too heavy for most people."

Adam thought of Selene and her two gigantic swords.

"Most people."

Elaria followed his gaze.

"Selene could probably wield two. But even she would prefer a more balanced alloy." "

She then picked up a fragment with reddish-orange reflections.

"Orichalcum."

The material seemed to absorb the light before reflecting it back as a faint glow.

"Very stable against mana," Elaria explained. "It’s used in important artifacts, barrier cores, and certain weapons capable of channeling a large amount of energy."

Adam activated Eyes of the World.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Orichalcum

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Physical Resistance: Very High

Magical Stability: Exceptional

Magical Conductivity: High

Thermal Resistance: Very High

Forging Difficulty: Extreme

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Elaria put the fragment away.

Then she showed him an almost black metal.

Its surface absorbed some of the light from the hearth.

"Black Iron."

Adam examined it.

"It seems much denser than ordinary iron."

"It is. Black Iron is naturally resistant to magic and temperature changes."

"A poor conductor of mana?"

"Very bad."

Elaria nodded.

"Which can be an advantage. A cage made of Black Iron can disrupt certain spells. A blade containing it can more easily penetrate a poorly designed magical defense."

Adam immediately thought of military applications.

"But it would be bad for an object requiring complex enchantment."

"Unless it’s combined with a conductive material."

She then took out several other samples.

Moon silver, particularly effective against curses and certain creatures.

Sun bronze, capable of retaining heat.

Star iron, from meteorites and possessing an unusual structure.

A metallic crystal, almost transparent, used in certain magical circuits.

Gray titanium, light but difficult to purify.

And several monstrous ores recovered from the bodies of creatures that had accumulated metal in their bones or carapaces.

Adam examined the collection with growing interest.

"This world has far more naturally magical materials than mine."

"But their properties are often harder to predict."

Elaria closed several compartments.

"Two pieces of ore from different regions can react differently to mana, even if they look identical."

"Because of the environment in which they formed."

"Yes. Mana veins, nearby monsters, prevailing elements, and even certain ancient events can alter an ore."

Adam thought for a moment.

"We’ll need to establish more precise classification methods for the Runic Calculator."

"I’ve already considered that."

Elaria took out a notebook.

"Magical conductivity. Physical strength. Thermal stability. Reaction to elements. Storage capacity. Sensitivity to interference."

Adam smiled.

"You’ve already started a database without a computer."

"You have to start somewhere."

They then moved on to alloys.

Elaria placed several small ingots on the table.

"An alloy combines several materials to obtain properties that none of them possesses on its own."

She pointed to the first sample.

"Bronze. Primarily copper and tin. Harder than copper alone, corrosion-resistant, and relatively easy to cast."

Then a second.

"Brass. Copper and zinc. Very useful for mechanisms, decorations, and certain instruments."

Finally, she placed several pieces of steel.

"Steel. Iron and carbon."

Adam took one of the samples.

"The amount of carbon greatly alters its properties."

Elaria agreed.

"Too little, and the steel remains soft. Too much, and it becomes difficult to work or too brittle, depending on the treatment."

She showed him several variations.

Mild steel.

High-carbon steel.

Spring steel.

Corrosion-resistant steel.

Rune steel.

Adam examined it.

Fine particles of mithril seemed to be distributed throughout its structure.

"Iron, carbon, and mithril?"

"Yes. Mithril improves mana flow without making the object as expensive as one made entirely of that metal."

Elaria then placed a dark ingot down.

"An alloy of black iron and adamantite. Very strong. Extremely heavy. Primarily used for fortress gates, magical prisons, or certain weapons intended for warriors with exceptional strength."

Adam asked,

"And orichalcum?"

"It’s rarely used in large quantities. A few fragments are often enough to stabilize a magical alloy."

She took out a small plate.

"Steel, mithril, and a small proportion of orichalcum. Light, strong, conductive, and capable of withstanding multiple enchantments. But extremely expensive." »

Adam looked at the plaque.

"An ideal material for the critical components of the Rune Calculator."

Elaria shook her head slightly.

"Perhaps for an advanced prototype. Not for initial testing."

"Because we risk destroying many parts."

"Exactly."

They returned to the furnaces.

Elaria then showed him the magical forge.

Unlike an ordinary hearth, this one used almost no fuel.

A core of fire powered a series of runes.

Other symbols controlled the airflow, temperature, pressure, and heat distribution.

"A magical forge allows us to reach temperatures impossible for a normal hearth," Elaria explained. "But more importantly, it allows us to maintain them with precision."

She placed a small ingot in an enchanted chamber.

Several runes lit up.

A red light surrounded the metal.

"Here, the heat penetrates evenly from all directions."

Adam observed the flows with World Eyes.

"There’s also a barrier that prevents the heat from escaping."

"Yes. And another that controls the oxygen to limit oxidation."

Adam stepped closer.

"It already looks like an automated system."

"Very rudimentary compared to your computer, but yes."

Elaria pointed to the different runes.

"This one measures the temperature. That one increases the mana flow if the metal is too cold. This other one reduces it if it gets too hot."