Rise of the Living Forge

Chapter 108: The forging of a bow

Verdant Blaze sang. Arwin had – as usual – lost track of time entirely. All that remained was the strike of crystal on metal and the beat of his own heart. Hours had gone by. Of that much, he was certain.

The time hadn’t passed in vain. He’d formed the sleek arms of his new bow, twisting strands of Maristeel through the Brightsteel in a swirling pattern. He’d kept the ratio heavily in favor of the Brightsteel so the bow wouldn’t be so difficult to draw back that even [Scourge] would struggle.

Mixing the two steels would give it what Arwin hoped to be the best of both worlds. Flexibility from the Brightsteel and immense resilience from the Maristeel. The closer to the ends of the bow limbs the metal got, the more of it became the glistening blue metal. Its tips were pure blue, hardened from repeated forging and quenching in oil.

The grip of the bow was still unfinished. Arwin had left it wide open, leaving space for the Heart of the Devouring Prism. It was to be the last piece he added. The time for that was rapidly approaching.

Arwin checked over his work, making sure there weren’t any glaring flaws. The bow was coming together spectacularly. The Mesh seemed just as excited about making it as he was. It had guided his strikes, but he hadn’t followed it entirely.

Some of the designs at the bows ends and the spot to hold the crystal were entirely his own work. Finding a balance between relying on the Mesh’s guidance and using his own ideals was the way to make the best equipment. Everything that he’d learned over the last few weeks had gone into the weapon on the anvil before him.

One last step.

Arwin picked up the Heart of the Devouring Prism. It felt lighter than he remembered. He’d never actually managed to damage or cut up the crystals before, but he’d have to find a way to do it if he wanted to make it fit.

“You’re going to have to work with me here,” Arwin informed the Heart. “You want to join me, then help me make you into the best weapon that I can. There’s only one shot at this.”

The crystal didn’t respond. It had finished speaking. All Arwin could do now was hope that he’d gotten through to it and do his best to ensure the final weapon was the best it could possibly be.

He set the crystal into the slot he’d carved. It fit perfectly, but that was the easy part. The next one was figuring out how to carve away nearly half of it. He chewed his lower lip, then grabbed Verdant Blaze again.

I’ve never been one for subtlety. I’ll just –

A tiny click split the air. It was so faint that it was almost lost into the crackle of the [Soul Flame], but Arwin managed to just barely pick it up. His eyes focused on a tiny node at the top of the crystal. It had cracked – entirely of its own volition.

Arwin grinned.

The Heart was helping him.

He swung Verdant Blaze. It struck the crystal with a loud clang, splitting off a small portion of it. The piece shattered into dust that rained across the grip of the bow. And, in the process, a new crack formed.

Arwin struck that one too. Every blow broke away another portion of the crystal and scattered faint green dust across his anvil and the bow’s surface. Verdant Blaze rose and fell faster with every strike. Coils of [Soul Flame] rose off its head and infused into the weapon.

Excitement built in his chest as he worked. The crystal grew smaller and started to resemble the picture he’d had in his mind. Even though every strike he made only took away a tiny portion of the crystal, it was still progress.

Hours passed. The crystal smoothed and shrank further. Its dust fused with the metal around the grip, welded into place by Verdant Blaze’s [Soul Flame] until it resembled a green stary sky surrounding a moon at the bow’s center.

Tingles of the Mesh danced within the bow and prickled at his fingertips. Power built with every hammer strike. The last pieces of the puzzle slotted into place. The Mesh no longer recognized the Heart of the Devouring Prism as its own being. It was part of the bow now, for better or for worse.

Arwin lowered Verdant Blaze and brushed the weapon off. He brought it to his hearth and plunged it into the flame once more, letting it heat for just a short while before taking it over to the oil barrel and dunking its tips in.

He didn’t want to overwork or harden the center of the bow – that part needed to be flexible. The ends, on the other hand, were best off being resilient. Oil hissed and flamed as fire danced across its surface.

Arwin waited until it had died down before taking the bow out and working at removing the crud that had formed on the portions of the bow that had been quenched. He polished it off with [Scourge] empowered fingers, rubbing it smooth.

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And, finally, he was done. What remained before him was a metal bow. It was devoid of a string, but the power within the weapon was evident. Glistening silver and blue intertwined, speckled with stars of green surrounding a matching grip carved from pure gemstone. The whole bow was almost as tall as he was and thicker than his arm. It was laughably large – or it would be up until he actually shot something with it. Arwin doubted anyone would be laughing then.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed.

The Mesh appeared to agree. Golden letters burst forth in the air as power hummed through both him and Verdant Blaze. The hammer shuddered and a feeling of deep satisfaction invaded Arwin’s mind. It was getting more powerful with every new piece that Arwin made. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

He didn’t have time to consider it. The Mesh’s writing had completed, and his attention was fully upon it.

[Prism’s Reach: Unique Quality] has been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Achievement: [Armed and Dangerous] has been earned.

[Armed and Dangerous] – Awarded for forging a weapon whose rarity was overwritten by its own desires. Effects: You may select an item to join this weapon’s Set, regardless of its quality. This achievement will be consumed upon selecting an item.

Arwin swallowed. He couldn’t muster thoughts, much less words. The Mesh had given him the ability to make a Set from nothing. He’d still yet to unlock any of the hidden properties from the one set he’d completed for Lillia, but he knew all too well just how powerful Set synergies could be. Being able to force two items together into a single set was an incredible boon so long as he chose the right item.

The string – or an arrow, I’d assume. It depends on if the Mesh counts the string as part of the bow or as an entirely separate item. There’s only one way to find out. I was hoping that forging the bow would give me more insight into the [Hungering Maw], but it looks like I might have to advance my Tier or finish the bow before that happens. Even still, this thing is incredible.

Barely even willing to breath, Arwin turned his gaze to his bow to see its status. It had turned out Unique, which could be either a blessing or a curse. The Mesh had said that its desires had overwritten its rarity. That was mildly concerning. The bow wasn’t fully his own to control.

Prism’s Reach: Unique Quality

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. With every death it causes, it will grow slightly more powerful. Upon reaching [Unknown] threshold, it will be able to bond with its wielder.

[Power for Power]: Prism’s Reach can only be drawn when infused with magical energy from its Wielder. A portion of the spent energy will be transferred into its shots.

[Corrupted Shot]: Arrows fired by Prism’s Reach will infest their target with crystal upon impact, consuming any uncontested magic whenever possible.

[Immense Hunger]: Prism’s Reach can absorb magical energy from its wielder in exchange for empowering its next shot. The amount of magical energy it draws will increase exponentially with the amount of time it spends drawn. Overfeeding Prism’s Reach may modify its attributes temporarily.

[Incomplete]: This item and its abilities cannot be used until it is finished with an appropriate string.

[Unique]: This item has formed a treaty with Arwin Tyrr. It has not yet acknowledged him as owner, but it will obey his commands until deciding if he is worthy of its service. Information about this item may be hidden from others.

[The Left Arm]: This is a set item of [2] pieces. When the entire set is used, a concealed property will be unlocked.

It was, without a doubt, the longest description for an item that Arwin had ever seen. He read over it several times. Most of it was good. Most, but not all. The bow was definitely powerful. It seemed he’d convinced the Heart to give him a trial period.

I’m a bit worried about what it means by temporarily modifying some attributes by overfeeding it, but that’s something for me to worry about later. I’m going to need to find a string strong enough to actually withstand the draw weight this thing is going to need. I’ll also need something to shoot from it.

Arwin hadn’t managed to reach the next tier from making the bow, but he was relieved for it. He hadn’t gotten all that many Achievements at his current one. While advancing would definitely be useful and would have given him another spot to bind to a weapon with, getting an extra Achievement or two would go a long way.

Still, he wasn’t sure he wanted to walk around with the bow just sitting loose at his side. Arwin took a moment to hide its status from any prying eyes. It was already eye-catching enough as it was. After a moment of thought, he unbound his leg armor.

The rest of his armor appeared on his body as [Arsenal]’s power vanished for the rest of the day. Arwin didn’t mind that. He didn’t have any more plans, and he wanted to bond to the bow as soon as possible.

His greaves were powerful, but they were probably his weakest item right now. They were the only pieces he had that weren’t part of or didn’t have the potential to eventually be reforged into a Set piece.

I should be able to reforge the Ivory Executioner Chestpiece so it fits the set with the helm, and I figure my greaves will probably be expected to be part of that set too. Maybe gauntlets and boots as well. Either way, the pants will be the next piece I replace for myself when the time comes.

Arwin slung the massive bow over his shoulder with a grunt. It really was heavy. The sooner he could bond to it, the better. He headed over to the door and poked his head outside. To his surprise, night had already fallen.

“Could have sworn it hadn’t been that long,” Arwin muttered to himself. The moon rested in the sky above, uncaring. Arwin shook his head and drew the fire from his hearth before walking over to the tavern.

First things first, he needed to take a bath. A small grin pulled back across his face. After he finished cleaning up, he could show Lillia his new bow. Even if it wasn’t done yet, he couldn’t wait to see what she – and the others – would think of it.

And, after that, he greatly looked forward to completing the weapon and putting it into action.

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