The blacksmith took Alex over to the working area with a large metal anvil and multiple hammers for Alex to choose from. Alex went through the hammers and found one that he thought fit well in his hand.
The forge roared with heat, and while it was not hot enough to melt anything, it could still get the metal to a range where it was malleable enough to be forged.
He looked at the forge, slightly confused about something. “What are you burning here?” he asked. “This place doesn’t have that much wood, does it?”
“We get some wood,” the blacksmith said. “But the forge is mostly powered through the decaying Sunhearts.”
Alex paused for a moment. “Decaying Sunhearts? They can decay?” No one had told him about that at all.
“Of course they do,” the man said. “A Sunheart grows along with a beast. When the beast dies, the Sunheart stops growing.”
“But a Sunheart keeps drawing in Yang even after the beast dies, doesn’t it?” Alex asked.
“It does, but only for a few decades at most. At some point, it stops taking in Yang, and then some years after that, it begins to decay, leaking out its energy. We are using that energy to run this forge.”
Alex found that quite fascinating. “So you’re using the Yang and heat that comes out of the Sunheart to make use of the forge?” he asked.
“Well… not exactly,” the man said. “The forge is still active, so I’ll show you once it cools down. Now, will you be making the sword yourself, or do you need my help? You should take my help if you think you’ll screw it up.”
“No, that’s fine. I can do it.”
“Very well. Everything you need is right here. You should take off those clothes just in case they catch on fire though,” the man said.
“That’s alright. I will keep these on.”
The blacksmith narrowed his eyes. “If you’re worried about showing your skin, you don’t have to be. The chief told me about your condition. That’s why I’ve made the other workers and apprentices come in later during the day today.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? Then don’t mind if I do.”
He stripped out of his excessive clothes, wearing just a single trouser in the end with his upper body bare naked. His body wasn’t so muscular that one could see individual abs and pecs, but it was still well-defined enough that anyone could tell that he was fit.
The blacksmith shook his head silently. “I pray you get your curse lifted someday.”
Alex nearly laughed upon hearing that. He walked over to the forge and saw the burning metal inside. He reached in with a bare hand and, even as the blacksmith screamed at him to stop, pulled out the red hot iron ingot.
“It’s alright,” Alex said, bringing the iron ingot over to the anvil where he began hammering it slowly. He used his Dao of Malleability to make the metal more accepting of his hits.
He was only looking for a simple sword, so he didn’t need to do much more than that.
With repeated hits, the iron changed shape, elongating to a rough shape of a blade. With each hit, the iron gave off ember, becoming more and more refined.
Alex kept on hitting the red hot metal again and again, slowly falling into a rhythm. Each strike gave out a clear ring, which in repeat formed a sort of symphony that forced the blacksmith to keep watching in awe.
He continued watching, failing to understand just how the metal hadn’t cooled down at this point. When he did this, he would always have to place the metal back in the forge every few minutes, but Alex continued without any further need for the forge.
Alex’s metal also changed shape quickly. Far too quickly. This was beyond the realm of what was possible through strength alone. The man now believed that Alex was using some technique to make this happen.
But then, wasn’t he supposed to be someone who made pastes? What was he doing with this sort of knowledge of forging?
Alex continued shaping the metal with each hit, which was now beginning to look like a proper sword. He just needed to give it some definition and then add the sharpness, at which point he would be done.
Alex thought of adding Qi lines too, but he couldn’t decide which ones to go with. He didn’t want to add the ones that allowed him to use Midnight’s technique, since that wouldn’t work in Hell. Any attack would get torn to shreds by the Intent of this world.
So, he instead chose simple Qi lines that would just allow him to strengthen the sword beyond the normal limit. He didn’t have any other needs anyway.
As he placed the finishing touches on the sword, Alex failed to bring up the harmonic sound that came when a metal was fully tempered. He couldn’t fathom if he had made a mistake, or if the sound that came from a tempered metal was a way for heaven to let them know that it was tempered.
He didn’t think he had made any mistakes, so it had to be the other reason.
Once the sword was finally ready, Alex plunged it into a vat of oil next to him, letting it cool there. When he brought it back out, the iron sword shined in the forge’s pale orange light, appearing quite amazing.
“Wow!” the blacksmith let out a small sound of surprise. “I have never seen a sword that good.”
Alex swung the blade around, trying to gauge its balance. The sword had the shape that Midnight had, lacking only the weight. It was also not as sharp, but that was how he had made it. Regular iron lost durability if it became any thinner.
“How did you do it?” the blacksmith asked.
“Which part?” Alex asked.
“Everything.”
“Well, that’s a long explanation, of which the majority you will never understand,” Alex said. “Still, if you wish to hear it, I will explain it to you.”