Chapter 164: Ward of Bad Luck
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After starting a fire in the furnace, Lin Li casually took out an iron embryo from a pile of metals.
The old blacksmith leaned against a recliner with his eyes closed as he sucked on the pipe intensely. The thick smoke that filled the Blacksmith Shop did not affect him at all. If he was only a little curious at the beginning, then he would be a little surprised now…
He had been a Blacksmith for decades. How would he not know the difficulty in forging a dual-attributed magical weapon? Just the selection process for the materials alone would be long and arduous. The two different attributes were fated to clash with each other. Therefore, a special magical metal such as the valuable rainbow adamantine would be required to forge a multi-attributed magical equipment.
Although this man is a young mage, he is familiar with the characteristics of Abyss Fiendish Iron. Not only that, he also knows the special qualities of my furnace. Hence, he might have some knowledge in forging. But why would one use an iron embryo as material in forging? Can’t he tell that that is only a normal iron embryo that cannot withstand the clashes between the different attributes?
The old blacksmith could only think of two possibilities…
The first was that Lin Li was trying to act smart: after hearing about the characteristics of the Abyss Fiendish Iron, Lin Li went to him to act like he knew everything. That reason, however, was less likely. Normal human beings would not be so natural and composed when lying…
The second reason would be that Lin Li had extreme confidence in using a normal piece of iron embryo to create a magical weapon that would have two attributes.
Frankly speaking, Hoyer was still skeptical…
He had lived in Alanna as a Blacksmith for decades, and was thus fully aware that there would only be three to five people who were able to use ordinary iron embryos while forging dual-attributed weapons in the whole of Alanna. Lin Li’s occupation as a mage, and his young age, however, did not seem like a person from the Master-level…
“Dong, dong, dong…!”
A rapid and clear noise sounded out as the red iron embryo transformed quickly under the hammer.
Lin Li used a different technique when he was knocking on the metal. Although he was very gentle, the frequency of the knocking was extremely high, like never-ending raindrops.
Under that crisp and rhythmic knocking, the red iron embryo turned into a thin sheet in a short amount of time. After cooling the metal by folding it around for a couple of times, Lin Li placed it back in the furnace again.
While he winded the bellow with one hand, he wiped the sweat on his forehead with another.
“H-hundred-Folds Forging Technique… ” The old blacksmith gasped through the pipe that he left in his mouth. His cloudy eyes immediately became sparkly as he stared at Lin Li with amazement.
T-t-that’s… how is that possible?
The old blacksmith was dumbfounded at what he saw…
This thin and weak-looking young mage is indeed a blacksmith… and a proficient one!
And he used the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique!
Hoyer had been a blacksmith for decades. How could he not know about the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique? It would be no exaggeration to say that the mastery of this method would make one a guru of the smithing industry.
The Hundred-Folds Forging Technique required countless knocks onto the iron embryo to turn it into a thin metal sheet. Then, it would need to be folded repetitively.
Although the weapon created with such a technique would appear thin and flat, within, it would be like a thousand-layered cake. With that, not only would the edge of the blade be sharp, it would also be malleable and tough. This technique was especially vital for weapons like single-handed swords, machetes, and daggers; they would be powerful, and not be destroyed during battles.
Seeing that, the old blacksmith knew that he had met a guru.
For such a weapon, its craftsmanship would be enough to turn it into a top quality equipment—not forgetting its magical properties. It had been ages since the old blacksmith had last seen the real Hundred-Folds Forging Technique…
Elijah was completely stupefied too.
He was not a professional like the old smith, and he had never heard of the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique. To be frank, he was absolutely unskilled in forging.
Yet even this amateur could tell that Lin Li was definitely a forging expert just from looking at his swift and precise movements. With such craftsmanship, anyone could tell that it was not Lin Li’s first attempt at holding a hammer.
If someone were to tell Elijah that the young mage outside was actually an old and experienced blacksmith, Elijah would accept the saying without questioning it.
And that was the reason for him to be utterly surprised.
How could Elijah not know who was that man outside their shop? He was a genuine mage, a mage that could kill a level-18 Shapeshifter in the blink of an eye—just like a Skeletal Warrior with flesh!
At this moment, another person entered the blacksmith shop.
He was a burly middle-aged man around 40, and had a squarish face with a majestic beard, and short and bold blond hair. His mere presence radiated a strong sense of righteousness!
It had to be the appearance…
However, this decent man looked a little disconcerted. Lin Li could find five bruises on his bronze complexion that seemed to be left behind by a woman’s slap due to its slenderness…
“Hoyer, help me…” Upon entering the blacksmith shop, the man looked around frantically with no sense of composure a gentleman should have.
“You bastard…” the old blacksmith chided him in exasperation. Then, he sighed and pointed behind him. “Scram to the back…”
“Okay…” The honest man entered the blacksmith shop and walked towards where the old blacksmith pointed to immediately as if it were his own house.
“Crack…”
After pushing on one of the bricks, a secret passageway appeared.
“Thanks, Old Hoyer!” the middle-aged man said as he lowered himself and sneaked into it.
“Scram!” the old man replied in anger; the pipe in his hands almost dropped.
Right after the honest man left, a hot and sexy female adventurer stopped by the blacksmith shop. One of her arms rested on her hips as she pointed at the old blacksmith with another. “Old Hoyer, did that darn hooligan come here to hide?”
Lin Li did not know what grievances the female adventurer suffered for her face to turn so red in fury. Amidst the big breaths she drew, the mountains on her chest rose and fell.
Only after the old blacksmith puffed out a mouth of smoke from his pipe did he open his eyes groggily to ask, “What hooligan are you referring to? I didn’t see any…”
“Is he really not here?”
The tone of the female adventurer became less harsh. Since the blacksmith shop was not huge and had a simple interior, any human would know there would be no place for any man to hide. After all, the shop only had a pile of metals, the old blacksmith’s recliner, and a desk near the entrance…
“If you want to, you can come in and search…”
Perhaps due to the wariness toward Old Hoyer, although the female adventurer did not really believe his words, she did not enter the shop. After standing at the entrance in rage and looking into the shop suspiciously for awhile, she left unwillingly. She was still in rage when she left, and… the mountains on her chest moved as usual.
The old blacksmith sighed as he shouted into the secret passageway, “You can come out now…”
“Thanks, Old Hoyer, I will treat you to a meal next time,” the honest man replied, and came out of hiding after hearing that the coast was clear. He had a dignified expression and solemn aura, none of the unsettledness like before.
“What did you do this time…?”
“I noticed that her boobs were exceptionally huge and wanted to see if they were fake. Who knew I exerted too much force when I pinched them. Damn, she not only gave me a tight slap, but also chased me here. Need to be more careful next time…” the middle-aged man responded with much righteousness.
What an honest man…
He was filled with righteousness even when talking about touching women’s breasts. Despite being able to concentrate on his hammering previously, Lin Li could not help but lose the focus that he nearly hit his breasts— err, hands.
At that moment, it was as though Lin Li could see the black vertical lines born of speechlessness on the old blacksmith’s forehead.
“Eh…” After replying, the middle-aged man saw Lin Li outside.
Under Lin Li’s rapid and rhythmic hammering, the iron embryo turned into a thin sheet of metal on the working desk once more.
“Old Hoyer, who’s that child…?” the middle-aged man inquired casually, but his words stopped when he saw what Lin Li was doing. He exclaimed, “Hundred-Folds Forging Technique!”
“You’re right…” The old blacksmith’s gaze was still fixed on the hammer in Lin Li’s hand.
“Your disciple?”
“I don’t have that honor…”
“Then what is he doing?”
“That interesting fella made a bet with me. He said he could create a dual-attributed magical weapon.”
“Dual-attributed?” The middle-aged man glimpsed the anvil, and gasped. “With a normal piece of iron embryo?”
“That’s right.”
“That fella is indeed interesting…”
When the two men talked, Lin Li had already created 20 layers within the metal, and was molding the metal into a dagger now. Actually, if he was willing to, he could increase the total number of layers to a hundred. However, it was meaningless to do so as 20 layers were enough for the dagger to tolerate the dual-attribute force. Furthermore, why should he tire himself in something he was not going to be paid for?
While the dagger was still red, Lin Li reached into his pocket for a bottle of navy sand. While hammering the dagger with one hand, he lifted the cork stopper of the bottle with his teeth. Then, Lin Li gently poured a layer of navy sand over the red dagger…
The navy sand melted the instant it came into contact with heat, emitting a faint magical wave that filled the blacksmith shop.
After all these, Lin Li could finally take a breather. Then, he took his staff and pointed it at the bucket of water beside the furnace. What followed the rapid recitation was vapor that rose from the water bucket. The cold water within it turned into floating ice instantaneously.
Subsequently, Lin Li picked up the dagger with metal pincers and dropped it into the bucket gently.
“Szzz…” Mist filled the blacksmith shop.
The old blacksmith was stunned upon seeing the mist.
“How did it get quenched by that single layer of navy sand?” the confused blacksmith muttered as he stared at Lin Li skeptically. “Does he intent to coat the dagger with just a layer of martensite?”
“That’s weird…” mumbled the middle-aged man beside him suspiciously.
While the two men were occupied with their doubts, Lin Li had finished the last act of quenching. When he picked up the dagger that had been cooled with the pincers again, he did not rush to pass it to the old blacksmith. Instead, he reached into his pocket once more, and took out a crystal pen. After dipping it into the navy sand, he drew a few strokes on the dagger.
“Here’s the dual-attributed magical weapon you wanted.”
“Dual-attributed?” the old blacksmith asked in a daze.
The middle-aged man beside them asked in astonishment, “The Ward of Bad Luck?”
“Yes.”
Lin Li nodded his head calmly, but his ‘yes’ was like a clap of thunder that boomed from the top of the head of the middle-aged man. He stared at Lin Li in shock as if he had just met a ghost…
“You could use the Hundred-Folds Forging Technique to build the structure of the Ward of Bad Luck?!” The voice of the middle-aged man trembled.