Chapter 57 – Iron Crafting

“Hm…”

“Something wrong?”

“Well… it’s not as easy as I thought it would be…”

“It takes time to master the craft. You’re already doing better than most apprentices.”

Rusty grumbled in a manner similar to a human while examining the large sword he had made. It was on the larger side but not quite as massive as the one the dungeon boss had used. He had gained some respect for his last enemy and wondered if he could emulate that power. His new body might not have the weight to wield a blade of such colossal size, but a regular greatsword like this was still feasible.

“I know… Do you think I will have more time to practice?”

“That’s plausible. If my memory is correct, the Soul Forge was growing with me to a certain extent.”

Alexander confirmed Rusty’s theory, but he wouldn’t know for sure until this space threw him out. Previously he had been given enough time to forge many bronze weaponry and other pieces. He needed to do the same with the iron weapons and remake his arsenal like before. This was troubling as creating weapons through the use of molds was much simpler and quicker. However, through his work he noticed his smithing skills going up once more.

Just like with his battle skills, it was probable that these would turn into better versions once leveled past the ninth level. There was also one new skill that presented itself to him, one that increased his proficiency with the main blacksmithing tool.

‘I wonder if blacksmiths gain any active skills?’

Within this space, he was allowed to gain these skills but he wasn’t sure on how he was acquiring them. This one just popped up during one of his crafting attempts just as he was getting used to the new smithing methods. Some of the others he gained through reading books and none of them were gained through leveling.

‘Well, I need to get back to work!’

Rusty continued his work, with Gleam and her grayed status constantly on his mind. He had started his journey with a drive to become stronger and combat powerful foes. Although his focus had temporarily shifted, he still knew that to complete this rescue mission, he needed to gain more power. The reason might have changed, but he was still walking a similar path.

As the days went by, his skills continued to improve. He crafted more swords, axes, and even some defensive gear like shields and armor plates. The forge’s endless supply of iron allowed him to experiment and learn without fear of running out of materials. Alexander provided constant guidance, sharing his knowledge from his past life as an adventurer.

They discussed different weapon designs, the balance between weight and durability, and the intricacies of each weapon type. Rusty absorbed all this information, applying it to his creations and making steady progress. However, at best, Rusty was only able to produce uncommon weaponry of slightly above intermediate rating.

“This is probably the best I can do for now…”

He had created knives, short swords, longswords, axes, maces, and even a bow for iron-tipped arrows. This iron halberd was the last main weapon type he desired, but it was not the end of his crafting spree. While he had all the weapons, smithing wasn’t only about offense but also about defense. Ever since he saw adventurers with their unique armored plates, he started wondering if he could adjust his body in some way to make it even stronger.

“What do you think?”

“Not bad. Are you going to try to adjust your armor now?”

Rusty nodded at the question posed by his smithing coach. Alexander had stayed with him the entire time, and the two were starting to form a bond. Aburdon sometimes peeked in to comment on their work and complain about how bored he was. He had been the one that brought up the possession skill and to make this plan work, some changes to his body needed to be made, or at least some other parts.

“It’s probably best to keep the base of your body as it is. With your current skills, I’m not sure if you can make it any better.”

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“You’re probably right, Alexander…”

Rusty looked over a piece of armor plating he had created while training. It was a wrist protector, similar to the ones he had seen some adventurers using. They attached it to their bodies with leather straps and wore thicker clothing underneath. He did not have the luxury of using such things, as he needed his whole body to stay connected in some way.

“I don’t think placing layers above my original body will work too well…”

“Probably not. With one quick look, they would notice that you are a monster…”

Rusty’s base body wasn’t quite the same as the full plate armor the adventurers used. There were some gaps in the joints that revealed the emptiness inside. To alleviate this problem, he could try riveting some leather on the inside to mimic human clothes, but still, the shape wasn’t quite the same. Something built from the ground up needed to be made if he hoped to fool them.

“Well, how about you use the new storage?”

“Ah, there’s that. I almost forgot!”

The Soul Forge had slightly expanded, and one of the new features was the extensive storage. Everything that he had been storing from the outside ended up in this space, and it was quite close to the crafting chamber. He just needed to take a few steps and open the door.