Chapter 1796

Taang, taang, taang…

A body and mind tempered through hammering tens of thousands of times—it was a term used by the world to describe Grid and was one of the basic pillars that made up Grid’s mental world.

Tens of thousands of times. It was too little for Grid. Only tens of thousands of times? At first, it was a bit absurd when seeing this message.

Usually, achievements were exaggerated, but he felt that his epic understated things. Others felt the same way. The Overgeared members watching from beside Grid, the subjects of the empire who watched from a distance, and even those who only heard about it from far away thought that Grid’s story was too abbreviated.

There was no one who didn’t know that the number of items Grid had created was well over a thousand. It was also well-known that it took days for him to make an item. Who didn’t know that Grid’s hammering couldn’t just stop at tens of thousands of times?

It was from this time on. Grid’s epics started to be interpreted in a more exaggerated manner than they actually were. Every time people saw and heard Grid’s feats, they naturally overestimated it. They recalled the mistake of the epic in describing Grid’s hammering as only tens of thousands of times.

They rated Grid higher than the epic since they had doubts or objections about the way the epic evaluated Grid. This was why there were victims such as Zeratul and Baal. It was also proof that humanity trusted and loved Grid. In any case—

Taang, taang, taang…

For Grid, tempering was more familiar than eating. Even so, it was always new and thrilling. Every time he hit it with a hammer, the shape of the metal changed.

Ultimately, he felt a great sense of pleasure when he got the look he wanted. To some extent, it resembled the heart of a parent facing a newborn child. Basically, he was amazed. It was a sentiment that was difficult to understand for players who simply clicked on the ‘production’ button to create items automatically.

Grid was a creator in the truest sense of the word.

‘It is nice to hear.’

The smile didn’t leave Grid’s face as he tempered Trauka’s bones and scales.

Ttang!

The sound of tapping metal with a hammer. There were inherently many variables. A different sound resonated every time depending on the material, strength, thickness, and temperature of the metal and the angle and strength of the hammering. Sometimes it echoed as clearly as the sound of birds deep in the mountains, sweeter than most melodies.

The hammering sound that Grid heard today was especially beautiful.

Taang, taang, taang…

Basically, it rang three times. The sound wasn’t spread due to the metal. It was the aftermath caused by the combination of three hammers striking.

Ttang!

Grid, Khan, and Hexetia lined up in front of a long anvil. Their hammers struck the bones of the giant dragon at the same time. Their hammering was different, just as the swordsmen who wielded swords for a long time had different sword trajectories, reflecting the different trajectories of their lives.

They were all using the same hammer shaped from Hexetia’s mental world, but the way they held it in their hands, the way they wielded it, and the things they pursued were different. There was also a difference in the results. Trauka’s bones struck by Grid were sharpened to the extreme, while the bones struck by Khan became wider and thicker.

‘Greatsword…’

Grid’s heart warmed again.

Khan’s work—it resembled the Dainsleif made by his ancestor, Albatino. Khan was still unable to forget it. His first encounter with Grid, who protected him by swinging an heirloom gathering dust in the house because no one could use it. Ever since then, the weapon that symbolized Grid for a while became the greatsword. Surprisingly, the greatsword was a weapon that was specialized more in defense than attack. It was possible to use such a large and thick sword as a shield.

Khan recalled Grid’s origin and prayed for his safety at the same time. Relying on the help of Hexetia’s mental world and Grid’s mental world, the dragon weapon Khan was able to create was likely to have a different texture from Grid’s works. Due to the differences in dexterity and skills, Khan’s abilities were clearly below Grid’s. Therefore, Khan’s work was bound to be somewhat inferior in performance to Grid’s, but it had the potential to have advantages that Grid’s work didn’t have.

Hexetia knew it was an area of thorough calculations.

‘He is filling in the gap in abilities with these differences. It isn’t something that anyone can do.’

First of all, they needed to be able to objectively evaluate their skills. Additionally, ‘different’ meant a slight deviation from the norm. It wasn’t something that easily came to mind, so a lot of anguish preceded it. The greatsword made by Khan wasn’t a result of improvisation. It contained too many traces of thinking to be a mere manifestation of his subconscious.

‘Grid’s intent can change the properties of metal, so he came up with this inspiration as the last puzzle piece.’

Khan’s greatsword inherited the shortcomings of the greatsword. It was crude. Due to its large and long size, its trajectory was inevitably limited. It was very old and simple compared to the sword made recently by blacksmiths. Instead, the inherent strengths of a greatsword were highlighted to the extreme.

There was a greatsword from a very old era that even Grid wouldn’t have come across easily. It was a disaster in the form of a sword. It was possible to pour the user’s power into it, so there was no limit to the sword’s power.

Khan decided to believe in the creation made from Grid’s intent. It would solve the shortcomings of the greatsword in the form of a transforming sword. In the first place, the main agenda was Grid’s production. As long as there was no Intent Production, objects made in the mental world were just concepts and couldn’t be taken out.

For now, Khan was just trying to inspire Grid. He didn’t think he could do anything to help, but he did his best to recall moments when he was inspired by Grid when he was still lacking. Still, he couldn’t help blushing from embarrassment.

Grid fully accepted his heart. Right now, their mental worlds were combined. Grid could feel the thoughts and feelings of Khan and Hexetia.

Ttaaang!

Grid’s intent was added as he hammered. The anomalies of the transforming sword weren’t just limited to the trajectory, but the volume as well.

Ttaaang!

Trauka’s bones, which were hammered by Grid, repeatedly increased its volume and turned sharp again. It was a fantasy-like scene where a longsword turned into a greatsword and then a greatsword into a longsword.

‘There is nothing I can add to the sword.’

Hexetia watched silently and stopped hammering. Trauka’s bones were left entirely to Grid and Khan while he took an interest in the scales.

‘Armor.’

From the beginning, Hexetia was bothered by the armor Grid was wearing. It was old and worn armor, and the performance wasn’t very good either. He couldn’t understand why the creator of dragon gauntlets and gaiters was wearing such armor. Of course, the answer was solved the moment he stepped into the canyon of metal. It was armor containing Khan’s heart. It was the source that was sustaining the mental world. He could understand why Grid stuck to it and didn’t throw it away.

‘It will be like that forever.’

Grid’s armor, made by Khan, would continue to support Grid’s mental world. However, there was no need for that to be the case with the armor Grid was actually wearing. Hexetia was going to change it.

‘I must make it.’

Hexetia was the Blacksmith God from birth. From the beginning, he took it for granted that his battle gear would become myth rated. Nevertheless, he was well aware of the importance of experience. He knew about Grid long before meeting him.

Shamefully, he was jealous and wary of the human blacksmith. He was the main culprit of the mortal sin of encouraging demons to invade the surface.

‘The armor that Grid and Khan will make is inevitably inferior.’

Grid had been sticking to the armor Khan had made, so his experience had stopped. Of course, he had a lot of experience making armor for other colleagues, but his experience in ‘making armor for Grid himself’ had already stopped for many years. It was the part that Hexetia had to fulfill. For now, only Hexetia could do it.

‘Until you gain experience, I will defend you for a while.’

Ttaaang!

Hexetia finished smelting the scales in an instant with the help of Grid and Khan’s mental world and started the tempering.

“……!”

Grid’s eyes widened. An armor mixed with the bones and scales of Fire Dragon Trauka, as well as leather and Greed. Hexetia’s technique was amazing enough to distract Grid, who had been expecting the birth of a treasured weapon that integrated all of Khan’s experience and advice, as well as his own skills and experience.

Trauka’s large, thick scales were divided into many threads and woven together in an instant? It was at the level of knitting with metal.

Grid was feeling shock beyond admiration when Hexetia confessed, “I learned from you.”

He found the temperature of the flame that ‘cracked’ along the grain without melting the scales. He took advantage of what Grid and Khan thought was a ‘failure.’

“However, you need to finish it.”

Hexetia’s judgment was changing in real time. He decided that Grid’s skills should be added rather than him making Grid’s new armor alone. It was because he valued Greed more than divine stone. Simply in terms of strength and power, the divine stone was a bit better than Greed, but Greed was much better than the divine stone in terms of compatibility with Grid.

Greed implemented Grid’s will in real time. Braham’s magic tempering added additional effects, and it also contained the Insane Dragon Iron. Nevartan’s magic had a good compatibility with Trauka’s scales and bones, potentially strengthening it further.

“…I understand.”

Grid barely suppressed his excitement and nodded. The mental worlds of the blacksmiths who trusted and relied on each other became stronger. The sword and armor at his fingertips were gradually emitting a mysterious light. Of course, it wasn’t just easy. In between, the flames of the Fire Dragon threatened the three of them.

Trauka’s scales and bones still contained the remnants of Trauka’s intent. Just—

Do you dare to play tricks on me?

It resembled its master and ran around with an arrogant feeling. Still, it was fine. The Red Phoenix protected them. The Red Phoenix’s flames blocked the flames of the Fire Dragon that were attacking the blacksmiths in real time.

[Kuoh…]

At last, the Red Phoenix felt its limit and groaned.

Ttang!

The sound of the hammering of the three blacksmiths stopped simultaneously. Silence came unexpectedly to Winston’s smithy in the past, and it perfectly resembled the scenery that Grid remembered. It was a scene of the moment when guests left and he sat down with Khan at the end of the day, smiling. The only difference was that Hexetia and the Red Phoenix were present.

“It is… over.”

“Good work.”

“It is pretty good.”

Then the scenery started peeling away. The hammers in the hands of the blacksmiths dispersed like grains of sand. The smithy faded and the canyon of metal disappeared.

The group returned to reality. A notification window popped up.

It was a message that reached heaven and hell. It helped Braham, who almost lost ten years of his life.

‘I am saved thanks to you.’

It was because the angels, who had felt something strange and strengthened their guard, heard the news and started to make a fuss from shock. Grid and Hexetia worked together? The shocked angels made a fuss while Braham was able to make his move.

The Prison of Eternity was the destination. It was shortly after receiving the news that they couldn’t bring out the angels who were imprisoned because they lost the ‘key.’

The isolated angels—they were the perfect target for Braham.

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