The Black Iron Crafter
I was so preoccupied with the Black Iron Stone that I completely forgot to ask Baroness Helene about artifact crafting. It’s always the same—I tell myself I need to learn, I need to gather information, but the moment minerals get involved, I get completely buried in them. After spending days rubbing shoulders with goblins on the 4th floor, I must have gone crazy over the sight of that ore.
"Reflect on yourself, Jaeil." Next time, I’ll make sure to learn artifact crafting. For mass production, I melted down all the Black Iron Stone I’d acquired and poured it into molds to create uniform ingots. Black Iron Stone is essentially an upgraded version of iron ore; it has superior corrosion resistance and is much stronger. Most importantly, it has better cold resistance than iron and a lower melting point, making it easy to process even within the Tower, where the technology level is stuck in the Middle Ages. Since I’ve secured a mountain of it, I plan to craft a variety of weapons and armor.
The first up is a crossbow. I haven’t encountered any enemies that strictly require ranged attacks yet, but for a "walking tank" warrior like me, my biggest weaknesses are enemies that fly or rain down attacks from a distance. Winged monsters are the prime example.
Clang! Clang!
I put the Black Iron ingots into the furnace, melted them, poured them into a mold, and after waiting for them to cool, I pulled them out with tongs and hammered away at the chunk that would become the bow limb. I pounded the rectangular block until it tapered toward both ends. Once the shape was set, I threw it back into the furnace for heat treatment to restore its elasticity. After heating it until it glowed a bright orange, I quenched it in prepared oil to boost its strength and springiness. Usually, when making metal crossbows, people use 5160 alloy steel or automotive leaf springs, but since Black Iron Stone is a superior material, that doesn't really matter.
The limb work was mostly done, and then...
Grade: High
Details: Stronger than steel. When used as firewood, the flame lasts for a very long time.
I decided to use this wood, which isn't rare but is widely used, to craft the body. I carved a groove in the front to fit the bow limb and precisely hollowed out the center where the bolt would travel. Once the groove and the limb were perfectly aligned, I shaped the stock to fit my shoulder.
"Body construction complete."
I drank some water to replenish my fluids and kept working, chewing on beef jerky to satisfy my hunger. I held the stylish limb and body together, then pulled out a 5cm refined Black Iron ingot to craft the trigger mechanism. I decided on a roller sear design, similar to modern firearm firing mechanisms. I smoothed the surface of the Black Iron, carved a deep groove on one side to hold the bowstring, and created a notch on the other side to link with the trigger. After cutting a slot in the top of the body, I fixed the sear on an axis so it could rotate smoothly. I installed the trigger to support the bottom of the sear and added a tension spring at the back so the trigger would return to its original position. Finally, I firmly fixed the limb to the front of the body and connected a string made of monster tendons to both ends. Done!
"The tension is incredible."
Metal crossbows have such high tension that they usually require a loading aid, but...
"A climber doesn't need that."
I pulled the string back, loaded a sample bolt I’d made, aimed at the target in the corner, and fired.
-THUD!
The bolt slammed into the dead center of the target with a loud crack.
"Not bad for a first attempt. Appraisal."
I muttered the command and checked the crossbow's info.
◈ Attack: 132
◈ Destruction: Automatically imbues bolts with mana, breaking mana shields.
◈ Thunderbolt: Projectile speed increased by 3x.
◈ Mark: Damage increases by 25% when attacking the same target consecutively.
◈ Compression: Effective range increased by 3x.
◈ Piercing: Ignores 30% of the target's defense.
◈ Stagger: Hits push the target back.
◈ Restriction: Strength D, Stamina D or higher.
"This is pretty damn good."
It’s heavy for a small crossbow and hard to load, but that’s not really a problem for a climber. I made a few bolts to go with it, then moved on to the axe, carving the handle out of ash wood. I plan to use up the 4 tons of Black Iron I brought back from the 4th floor until I’m sick of it. I heated the Black Iron in the furnace until it turned from bright orange to yellow and began to melt, then pulled it out, placed a punch in the center, and hammered away. I used a drift to shape the eye for the handle, then hammered one end until it was wide and thin.
-Clang!
Considering it’s a heavy weapon, I kept the thickness substantial to maximize destructive power.
-Hiss!
After shaping it, I heated only the blade and quenched it in oil. "It’s similar to a sword." Aside from the eye of the axe head, the process was mostly the same, so it was quite easy to make. -Shhhk. I used a whetstone to sharpen the edge, fitted the head onto the handle, and drove a Black Iron wedge into the top to keep it from flying off.
◈ Attack: 97~137
◈ Contempt: 50% increased damage against targets with low defense.
◈ Gravity: Weight can be increased up to 2x.
◈ Hunt: Critical hits tear into wounds, making recovery difficult.
"Not bad."
I tossed the axe aside and went back to melting more Black Iron. As I watched it cool in the mold, I fell into deep thought. How are the grade, durability, and attack power determined? Is the assignment of traits random? It’s highly likely that the system assigns them by reflecting every aspect of the crafted equipment. I hammered and forged the metal to compress it and align the structure, resulting in superior tensile strength and durability, which likely led to high ratings for durability and attack power. If it’s made with a special mineral, the mineral’s properties are reflected in the gear, granting it stats and traits. Maybe that’s why casting results in lower stats than forging, even with the same materials.
I lifted the edge with tongs, placed it on the anvil, and began forging. -Clang! I hammered it hundreds of times to remove impurities and increase durability. Metal undergoes 'work hardening' as it’s hammered, which can cause cracking and splitting, so I periodically threw it back into the furnace to soften it up. I forged the armor in sections—shoulders, breastplate, backplate—and used a specialized anvil to shape the curves. By alternating between quenching, tempering, and shaping, I created metal plates with a subtle, black metallic luster. I carefully punched holes in the connection points to avoid stressing the metal, then used leather and rivets to join them. After wiping the surface with a cloth soaked in rust-preventative oil, a magnificent suit of armor was complete.
◈ Defense: 118
◈ Mana Resistance: 16
◈ Sturdy: Durability does not decrease unless subjected to heavy impact.
◈ Resistance: Absorbs mana to reduce damage from mana-based attacks by 18%.
◈ Darkness: Presence fades at night.
◈ Exclusion: 12% damage reduction from iron weapons.
"This is great!"
The stats of the gear I was churning out were so good I couldn't help but hum. Casting is only good up to steel; anything beyond that is a waste of materials. I pulled a Vitality Potato I’d bribed out of Emily from my bag, skewered it, and shoved it into the furnace. After waiting for the surface to char black, I pulled it out, waited for it to cool, peeled it, tossed the skin back into the furnace, and took a huge bite.
"Hot, hot!"
As soon as I ate it, I felt my stamina recover slightly. Could I grow these on Earth? I could probably use a greenhouse for the temperature. After satisfying my hunger, I got back to work. I was determined not to leave the Dimension Workshop until I’d used up all the Black Iron, so I crafted gear without a break. I’d set the stake for the open-pit mine I found on the 4th floor to the Dimension Workshop, so the Black Iron was being refilled little by little every day. Because of that, I gave up on armor, which took too long. Axes, bows, and crossbows used a limited amount of Black Iron, so I eventually started churning out swords, which were simple to make, consumed a lot of material, and were something I was very familiar with.