"Reinforcement Stones?"

Gremori held out a box filled to the brim with reinforcement stones. There had to be at least several dozen at a glance, and they weren't just low-grade ones—mid-grade and high-grade stones were mixed in too. Of course, the low-grade ones made up the bulk.

"That's right. It might be tough for you to use them right away, but once you've grown a bit more, you'll need them desperately, so I figured it'd be good to gift them early. And..."

"?"

"If it wouldn't offend your master, I'd like to offer some advice on how to use these reinforcement stones. Your master seems like quite the talent, but I'm called a reinforcement master myself, so I can at least help with this part."

"Ah, so you're not just skilled in item reinforcement, but also in handling reinforcement stones?"

- Hmph! The nerve of this arrogant punk...!

Gremori even made a cautious proposal to Vulcan. If it was okay, he'd share tips on using reinforcement stones. Item reinforcement skills varied wildly depending on the item's intent, abilities, and desired direction, making advice tricky—but reinforcement stones had just one method, so it could be plenty helpful.

'But is there some trick to using reinforcement stones?'

Vulcan couldn't quite grasp what he meant. Weren't all reinforcement stones the same? He'd always thought of it as pure luck—a random gacha reliant on probability, succeeding or failing by chance. Still, no reason to turn it down.

"Of course! No problem at all. My master would be thrilled to allow it."

- When did I ever—!!

'Quiet! I'll buy out Black Bakers afterward.'

- Ahem. Learning is a fine thing.

Tud grumbled a bit during the process, but promising a trip to the bakery specializing in chocolate treats smoothed it over.

"Then let's move. Follow me."

With Vulcan's okay, Gremori smiled and led him to his workshop.

"Whoa, this is your personal workshop?"

"I don't use it often, but it's for occasional work. My real dedicated one is elsewhere, but this place is equipped for just about anything."

His private workshop in the basement of the Artisan Hall was impressively large and ornate—a scale befitting Smell's true lord. Unique-grade items and higher, likely his personal creations, hung on the walls. Vulcan's eyes sparkled as he scanned them with Dragon Eye, but stealing was out of the question. Ruining their budding rapport would be idiotic.

Instead, he steeled himself to master the item reinforcement secrets Gremori offered, watching his every move intently.

"Hand over a reinforcement stone and your weapon. Words alone won't cut it—I'll show you directly."

"Reinforcement stone and weapon?"

Vulcan wished he'd use his own stones, but he couldn't say it. Gremori's expression was the most serious Vulcan had seen.

"Um, will this do?"

What Vulcan offered was the Blessed Sun Sword. If they were reinforcing anyway, why not something usable? But anxiety lingered. He'd confirmed the Item Reinforcement skill wouldn't work on it, and he'd never even tried on a regular Sun Sword. It was solid for level 200s early on, but plenty of gear matched its ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠base stats post-reinforcement—why waste stones?

He worried about a "cannot reinforce" verdict, but luck held. Gremori took it gladly, grabbed a low-grade stone Vulcan offered, and headed to the forge.

"Watch closely. This is the beginning—and end—of item reinforcement."

'What're you talking about?'

Gremori's grand words puzzled Vulcan, who focused anyway. All he did was toss the stone in the forge and melt it.

'What am I supposed to see?'

But he couldn't ignore the man, so he activated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dragon Eye and strained to spot something.

- Idiot, the fire!

"...?!"

When Vulcan still looked lost, Tud smacked his mental backside in frustration. Melting ore like reinforcement stones wasn't special. What mattered was how you melted it.

Vulcan snapped to, alternating glances between Gremori's expert bellows-work and the forge, scrutinizing temperature shifts down to 0.1 degrees.

"You've got talent. Some think you just melt and smear it on for reinforcement, but the key is extracting the stone's power as purely as possible. Master this, and low-grade stones can match mid-grade efficiency—or botch it, and mid-grade yields worse than low-grade."

"I see."

Now Vulcan saw it. The pure white molten metal dripping from the stone was worlds apart from what he'd witnessed before.

'I just prayed for luck like some superstition... Turns out skill matters here too.'

He realized how stupid he'd—and other users—had been. Splurging on mid or high-grade stones only to waste them worse than low-grade? Rankers often paid top blacksmiths for better odds, but they were pricey and hard to book. So people hit up random smiths, chased "lucky" spots tied to superstitions, or piled on temple blessings first. Vulcan had done it plenty.

'Didn't care 'cause it's level 200-locked... but you can't trust just anyone.'

Probability wasn't everything? Specialized skills and knowledge for reinforcement? Even high-grade smiths could underperform without it. He'd assumed level 200+ meant competence. Laughable.

And then, a grin bloomed.

'Wait, that means...'

Low-grade matching mid-grade? Boosted odds? He could rake in cash. Item prices skyrocketed with reinforcements—mass-produce popular ones to decent levels and auction them?

'Gotta learn this. No matter what!'

Flames ignited in Vulcan's eyes. More eager than ever, he memorized every temperature shift and motion. Gremori, sensing the passion if not the motive, taught freely.

"Extracting the pure essence covers over 70%. Now, transfer it to the weapon."

His words were casual, but his actions reverent. He gathered the molten essence and slowly poured it over the pre-heated Blessed Sun Sword in another forge.

"Methods to infuse essence vary by smith. Some use special molds that don't absorb it, fill 'em, and dunk. Others spread it razor-thin, dry, repeat."

'...Never seen that.'

Vulcan couldn't relate. He'd seen stirring in quench tubs, splashing on top, even smashing stones to powder against gear without melting.

"None are outright wrong—it's all about transferring mana essence. But our family's generations of focused research say this is best."

With explanation, Gremori hammered the sword like reforging it, fusing heated blade and essence.

'Does that change anything?'

It seemed ordinary—many smiths Vulcan used did this.

- Think, moron. Why does it matter?

"...Uniformly?"

But it wasn't just fusing. Slow yet precise, Gremori's strikes guided the essence, spreading it wide and even before absorption kicked in.

'Insane.'

Easy to say "just spread evenly," but Vulcan knew better now. He saw near-perfect uniformity on the blade's surface. Hesitate, and it'd pool unevenly—but precise timing and spots spread it flawlessly. Every inch absorbed equally.

'Needs deep weapon knowledge too...'

Obvious now: technique mattered, but without understanding the gear, such precision was impossible.

"Spread and absorb evenly across every surface. You can succeed without, and it looks similar, but thin, uniform infusion shines in the next phase."

"Next phase?"

"Another stone?"

Gremori, fresh off the first success, extended a hand.

Vulcan handed one over. Free reinforcement and lessons from a master? No brainer, even if the sword's specs already rivaled high 200s gear.

His stones, sure—but profit if he learned the secret. He passed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a low-grade with trembling hands, not expecting miracles—just no destruction.

"Reinforcement's like stacking a stone tower. Solid early absorption stabilizes later layers."

"Wait, so odds change?!"

"Exactly. It's absorbing the stone's energy. More forced infusion means more strain."

"If it can't handle the power or balance shifts, it shatters."

"...?"

"A solid base reduces strain, eases further absorption."

"Huh?"

"Whoa..."

To +2, +3, +4, +5. First tries risked failure or destruction, but Gremori took stones and nailed them all. At +5, blue energy rippled around the Blessed Sun Sword, gaining a self-emitting glow effect. Toggleable via system, but +5/+7/+9 glows were standard flex.

"Gear saturated with mana awakens new power—massive stat jumps, even new options sometimes."

"?!"

Satisfying enough, but Gremori kept going. He melted a pre-stocked low-grade stone and pushed +5 further—usually mid-grade territory.

'Pushing it again?'

'...It worked.'

Expecting failure, Vulcan just blinked at the hammering. +5+ risked explosion; he wanted to stop it but feared breaking focus.

'Crazy.'

Before he knew it, Gremori hit +7—with low-grade stones.

"Mid-grade."

"Yes?!"

"Give me a mid-grade this time."

Still going. Vulcan hesitated, breath caught. Odds plummeted, destruction overflowed. Even a reinforcement master had limits.

"H-here."

Trembling, he handed it over—maybe a special event? Worst case, compensation? But intact was best; divine blessing made it irreplaceable spec-wise.

"Low, mid, high-grade differ by mana purity. Higher grades yield purer essence easier, less strain."

Ignoring Vulcan's turmoil, Gremori hammered on.

+8 success. No visual shift from +7, but Vulcan sensed deeper power.

"At +9, fully embracing it transcends origins, reaching new heights."

Undeterred, Gremori took a high-grade for the finale.

And moments later...

"Like this."

+9. Item level irrelevant—a mad rarity few wielded—shone white from Gremori's hands.