Chapter 625 – Forging With Soul.

“This looks peculiar… but what am I to do with it?”

Bernir asked himself as he approached a strange-looking hammer. It did not appear much different from any other ball-peen hammer, but there was one problem with it: he could not pick it up. Whenever he reached for the pure white handle, his hand passed straight through.

On the workbench lay many hammers, some even made for goldsmiths. He had a wide selection to choose from, including those crafted from mithril and steel, since he could still choose another tier-one or tier-two class. If he had not lost his arm, he would likely have chosen the hammer that granted the master armorsmith class, but at this moment, he was far more intrigued by the untouchable hammer.

“Why would this be here if I can’t even pick it up…”

He scratched his beard with his good hand, then, out of habit, tried to grab the white hammer with his right hand. When he did, something strange happened. He felt something in the fingers that no longer existed.

“How in the god’s name is this possible?”

To his astonishment, he was able to lift the hammer, not with his working hand, but with the one that had been destroyed by the abyssal creature. He did not need his prosthesis, as the hammer seemed to respond to whatever residual energy remained from his lost limb.

“Is it the mana phantom? The boss said it had something to do with souls… what kind of class could use this?”

Bernir was both baffled and fascinated by what was happening. He had expected to be unable to use his right hand during the ascension trial, yet somehow he could wield this hammer. His hand remained invisible, but faint white outlines of phantom fingers appeared on the handle he was gripping, barely visible to his eyes.

“What about the others?”

He remembered his boss’s advice to always plan ahead. Instead of rushing forward, he tested his phantom hand on the other hammers. As expected, none of them reacted. Only the white hammer remained responsive.

“Should I quit and ask the boss about it first?”

For a moment, he considered it. It was possible to leave the ascension trial without a penalty. He would not lose any attempts if he withdrew before making a choice, but since the memory device was recording everything, continuing would provide more data for his next attempt. It would not truly be a waste.

“Well… might as well try it out. I won’t pass any of the other ones without retraining myself first.”

Originally, Bernir had planned to test his limits in one of the trials using only his left hand. He doubted his chances now, as he was still used to relying on his right, the one replaced by a prosthetic. He would likely need months, perhaps longer, to become proficient with his left hand. Yet the white hammer felt natural in his grasp, and curiosity began to outweigh hesitation. He wondered what kind of class could wield such a mysterious tool.

“Here goes nothing…”

After pacing around the recreation of his old home, he finally made a decision and grabbed the white hammer. It floated in front of him, its handle resting in his hand as if it belonged to a phantom. He raised it high and brought it down onto the anvil. The moment it struck, the entire place turned white, just as it had on many other occasions. The scenery shifted, and he found himself within the proper ascension trial.

His first class was granted to him for free, and it shaped the course of his entire life as he became a blacksmith. Later, he chose to become a carpenter and was faced with his first true trial. The skills he had gained allowed him to build a small shed, which was enough to clear the test. Then came the first tier two trial, where he had to forge a full suit of armor for a knight. He failed several times but eventually succeeded. The final trial required him to repair and forge multiple weapons for soldiers defending themselves from a monster attack, which he managed with ease thanks to his exceptional craftsmanship.

“Aye… this one looks a bit strange…”

Bernir squinted as the glare around him faded. Instead of the familiar forge, he stood in an open void filled with distant, shining stars. Beneath his feet stretched a vast floating platform surrounded by empty space. Stairs led upward, and narrow bridge-like paths extended to the sides, connecting to other platforms. On those, he could see piles of raw materials and tools, some unlike anything he had ever encountered.

“That’s a peculiar-looking ore…”

Every facility a smith could ever need was present, but whether he could use them remained uncertain. He moved forward carefully, climbing the stairs while trying not to lose his balance, as the place had no safety rails. At the top, he found a massive anvil that looked as though it were made of orichalcum, though in a lighter shade. Instead of stepping closer, he looked up at the wall before him.

“You have forged with flame. You have tempered with sweat. But can you forge with your soul?”

Bernir stared at the inscription, mouthing the words slowly as they echoed through the endless space.

“Forge… with my soul?”

He laughed nervously as he was starting to notice what this trial was about.

“But… how do I use my soul to forge things?”

The forge did not answer him. Instead, something else began to happen. A strange buzzing sound came from his right side, and the white hammer in his phantom hand began to glow faintly. Its light pulsed in rhythm with the beating of his heart. A moment later, a notification appeared before his eyes, and he quickly began to read.

“Ah, it’s one of these trials…”

Bernir felt the knowledge of the skill flow into his mind. It was a technique for using soul energy to create effects similar to enchantments on crafted items. The initial information was vague, but he understood what he needed to do.

“This might be interesting… and better than a regular Master Blacksmith of any kind!”

He remembered what Roland had made him study about class ranks not long ago. This class seemed to be a unique one, and that usually meant he could still gain all the skills of a Master Armorsmith, which stood below it. The difference was that he would need to unlock them through specific tasks or by purchasing skill books, which the dwarven union likely had plenty of.

“Soul Infusion… Sounds like the kind o’ thing the boss would love to study. I just hope it doesn’t burn me from the inside.”

The skill description warned that he would suffer drawbacks if he overused it and that his vitality would decrease. He hoped this did not mean his life was in danger. Fortunately, even if he died in this trial, it would not affect his real body, so it might actually be a good opportunity to test his limits. For now, though, he wanted to focus on the ores and other materials around him.

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He turned to inspect the items scattered across the floating platforms. Some ores shimmered like starlight, certain pieces of wood seemed to breathe softly, and crystals of many shapes and sizes pulsed with faint light.

“All of these… they have something inside them…”

“Woah!”

He almost dropped the glowing crystal he was holding when another window appeared before him. A new skill had been granted, one that let him feel the presence of soul energy, and almost every material here contained it.

“Why do these things have souls in them? What even is a soul or soul energy?”

He was already confused before the trial had truly begun. The materials before him pulsed with soul energy, waiting to be used. There were also more ordinary materials like dwarven steel ingots and pieces of mithril, both familiar to him. It seemed this trial required him to infuse soul energy into something in order to succeed.