Chapter 507: The Art of Making

Several hours later, night had fallen, and the temporary lights outside had flickered to life, illuminating the streets with a soft glow. Inside Hilt’s workshop, the forge was finally cooling down, and the sound of hammering had fallen silent.

Hilt set down her hammer and stretched her arms, letting out a long sigh.

"Finally."

Alice wiped the sweat from her forehead and placed her hammer on the workbench. Azrynn carefully set the last piece of metal aside before releasing a tired breath of her own.

Ignis, meanwhile, stood beside the forge with her hands on her hips, looking rather pleased with herself.

"That was fun!"

Alice turned toward her with an incredulous look.

"Fun? We’ve been working for hours!"

Ignis tilted her head.

"Really? It didn’t feel that long."

"Of course it didn’t. You spent most of the time melting things while we had to hammer them into shape!"

Ignis puffed out her cheeks.

"But I helped a lot!"

Azrynn smiled as she wiped the soot from her face.

"She’s right, Alice. We wouldn’t have finished half of this without her."

Alice clicked her tongue, but she didn’t argue. Instead, she glanced at the neatly arranged weapons and metal components on the workbench.

"...I suppose she’s not completely useless."

"Hey! I heard that!" Ignis protested.

Adam, who had been watching them from nearby, chuckled.

"Come on, Ignis. That’s enough praise for one day. Let’s get you cleaned up before you start melting the entire workshop."

"I wouldn’t do that!"

Hilt wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to the workbench. She picked up the two daggers she had been working on and turned them over in her hands, inspecting every edge and curve.

"Alright," she said. "Time for the final step."

She reached beneath the counter and pulled out a small wooden box. Inside, nestled on a bed of dark cloth, was a single Spirit Essence Stone. It pulsed faintly with a soft, internal light, like a heartbeat trapped in crystal.

"This is the last piece," Hilt said. "The material you gave me was stubborn, but with Ignis’s help, I managed to prepare the base. Now I just need to fuse the essence into the blade."

She placed the first dagger flat on the anvil and set the Spirit Essence Stone on top of it. Then she picked up her hammer with a head carved from pale silver.

"Stand back," she said.

Adam and the others stepped back.

Hilt raised the hammer and brought it down.

The moment the silver head struck the Spirit Essence Stone, light exploded from the crystal. The light wrapped around the dagger, coiling up the blade, sinking into the metal.

Hilt struck again.

The light pulsed. The dagger trembled on the anvil.

A third strike. A fourth. Each one sent ripples of blue light cascading across the workshop. The dagger began to glow, its surface shifting, warping, as if the metal itself was being rewritten.

Then, with one final strike, the Spirit Essence Stone shattered.

The light surged, swallowing the dagger whole, and for a moment the entire workshop was bathed in pale blue radiance. When it finally dimmed, the dagger lay on the anvil, transformed.

It was no longer the simple steel blade Hilt had forged hours ago. Its surface was now a deep, abyssal black, like polished obsidian, with faint veins of violet light pulsing beneath the surface. The edge seemed to cut the air itself, and when Hilt lifted it, shadows curled around the blade like living things.

Alice’s eyes went wide.

"...Whoa."

Hilt turned the dagger in her hand, studying it with a critical eye.

"Good. The essence fused cleanly."

Adam walked over and picked one up. He turned it in his fingers, watching the violet veins pulse beneath the black surface.

"So this is how you make an artifact," he murmured.

Hilt nodded.

"Spirit Essence Stones are rare. They contain the condensed essence of a living spirit, usually one that died with strong emotions. When you fuse them into a weapon, that essence becomes part of the blade. It changes the metal, gives it properties it never had before."

She tapped the dagger’s edge.

"These two are now void-aspected. They’ll cut through magical barriers, disrupt mana-based defenses, and leave wounds that are slow to heal. Not bad for a pair of daggers."

Adam set the dagger down and looked at Hilt.

"You did good work."

Hilt crossed her arms and gave him a flat look.

"I always do good work. Just don’t break these like you broke my shop."

Adam winced.

"...I said I was sorry."

"You didn’t, actually."

"I’m saying it now."

Hilt stared at him for a long moment, then let out a short breath and turned away.

"Whatever. Just take them and go. I’m tired."

Alice stepped forward and carefully picked up both daggers. She held them like they were made of glass, her violet eyes bright with excitement.

"These are mine now, right?"

Hilt glanced back at her.

"That’s what you paid for. Try not to lose them."

Alice grinned and twirled one dagger experimentally. Shadows curled around the blade, trailing after her fingers.

"Don’t worry. I won’t."

Adam watched her for a moment, then looked at Hilt.

"We’ll be leaving soon. Are you going to be alright here?"

Hilt shrugged.

"I’ve survived worse. Just try not to destroy any more cities on your way out."

Adam crossed his arms and gave Hilt a flat look.

"Don’t make me sound like someone who goes around destroying things for fun."

Azrynn, who had been quietly wiping down her new arrows near the workbench, glanced up at him. Her expression was calm, but there was a faint, knowing smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Can you really say that with a straight face?"

Adam turned toward her. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Azrynn set the arrow down and leaned back against the workbench, crossing her arms. Her eyes studied him with quiet amusement.

"Well, let’s see..." Azrynn tapped her chin thoughtfully. "How many buildings have you destroyed so far?"

Adam’s expression stiffened.

"That’s a very specific question."

"Because I remember quite a few."

Alice, who had been putting away her tools, snorted.

"Quite a few? That’s putting it mildly."

Adam turned toward her.

"You’re supposed to be on my side."

"Who said I was?"

Ignis burst out laughing, her tail swaying excitedly behind her.

"Hahaha! Adam destroys things all the time!"

"Hey! Whose side are you on?"

"Yours, of course!"

"Then why are you making it worse?"

Ignis tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand the problem.

"But it’s true!"

Adam stared at her for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

"Wonderful. I’m surrounded by traitors."

Azrynn giggled, clearly enjoying herself.

"Don’t worry, Adam. We still appreciate you."

"Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better."

"Well, you are reliable when things get dangerous," Azrynn continued. "It’s just that sometimes, after you’ve dealt with the danger, there’s nothing left of the place you were protecting."

Alice nodded firmly.

"Exactly!"

Adam opened his mouth to argue, but no words came out immediately. He glanced between the two women, then looked away with a faint scowl.

"...That’s happened, what, twice?"

"Three times," Alice corrected.

"Three?" Adam frowned. "Which was the third?"

Alice and Azrynn exchanged glances.

Then both of them smiled.

Adam narrowed his eyes.

"You’re making that up."

"Maybe," Alice replied sweetly.

Ignis laughed even harder, nearly doubling over.

Adam looked at Hilt, hoping for at least one person in the room to show him some sympathy.

Hilt merely shrugged.

"Don’t look at me. As long as you pay for anything you break in my workshop, I don’t care what you do elsewhere."

Adam let out a long, defeated sigh and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Whatever. Let’s just go back."

He turned toward the door, already done with the conversation.

Ignis burst out laughing, her tail swaying wildly behind her.

"Adam gave up! Hahaha!"

"I did not give up," Adam said without looking back. "I’m just choosing to ignore all of you."

"That’s the same thing!" Ignis skipped after him, still giggling.

Alice smirked and tucked her new daggers into her belt. "He always does this when he knows he’s lost."

Azrynn gathered her arrows and followed, a quiet smile on her lips. "Let him have his dignity."

"Don’t come back again," Hilt said lazily, one hand resting on her chest as she leaned against the doorframe. Then the door closed with a soft click.

Alice stared at the closed door, then let out an annoyed huff.

"She’s really something, huh. We helped her all day, and that’s the thanks we get?" She glanced down at the daggers resting in her belt. "But... since my weapons turned out this good, I’ll forgive her."

Azrynn adjusted the bundle of arrows under her arm, her expression thoughtful.

"It was a good experience, though. I got to learn a lot about weapon-making—different from how Dark Elves usually do it. Their methods are really something else."

Alice nodded absently, then paused mid-step. She sniffed the air once, then looked down at herself.

"All I can remember is the heat from Ignis’s fire. She kept trying to burn me the whole time." She wrinkled her nose and turned toward Adam, stepping closer. "Hey, Adam. I don’t smell like charcoal, do I?"

She raised her right arm and held it up near his face, showing him the sweat still glistening on her skin.

Adam blinked. He leaned in slightly and sniffed.

His expression immediately twisted.

"Yeah... you smell terrible. You should take a bath."

Alice’s eyes went wide.

"Really?! Do I smell that bad?!"

She quickly pulled her arm back and sniffed herself, her face shifting from disbelief to mild panic.

Azrynn, watching from the side, hesitantly lifted her own arm and gave herself a quick sniff. Her expression didn’t change, but she subtly stepped back and turned her head away.

Ignis, standing a few paces away, blinked in confusion.

"What? You guys smell fine to me."

Alice shot her a glare.

"Of course you’d say that. You’re the one who made us stand near a forge all day!"

Adam let out a quiet breath and rubbed his temples, already feeling the familiar headache creeping in.

"Can we just get back to Selena’s headquarters? You two can argue after you’ve both taken a bath."

Alice crossed her arms and turned her face away with a huff.

"Okay. But I’m taking the first bath."

"Whatever," Ignis said, already walking ahead. "I don’t need one anyway."

Alice and Azrynn exchanged a look.

Then, without a word, they both moved to walk on either side of Ignis, ready to drag her into the bathhouse the moment they got back.