Fundamentals of Magical Metallurgy
The Fundamentals and Understanding of Magical Metallurgy project had begun. It kicked off when Ya-geumsul-sa uploaded a massive volume of videos.
No fundamentals? I've got years of blacksmithing experience under my belt. Just as I was about to retort, Ya-geumsul-sa clicked her tongue from beyond the status window.
Why use mana for hammering? The idea of channeling mana into forging work had never crossed my mind. Even if I knew about it, I probably wouldn't have bothered. My strength's plenty as is—why waste mana?
Ya-geumsul-sa took a bite of something before continuing.
That bad? The Damascus dagger was one of my better swords by my own metrics. I could've sold it for a pretty penny.
Ya-geumsul-sa told me not to feel bad, but she kept sharpening her knife without mercy.
Ya-geumsul-sa said my swords had limits. Thinking it over, she had a point. My first enhancement work, the Legendary dagger, had cheat-level options, but the sword itself was poorly made. The Damascus dagger had great craftsmanship but lacked options. If I compared their performance, the Legendary dagger would crush it.
In the end, I was relying on enhancement luck rather than my forging skills. Might as well buy kitchen knives in bulk from the mart and roll the enhancement gacha. That's why Ya-geumsul-sa explained that the sword itself needed to hold magical energy.
Ya-geumsul-sa didn't reply anymore. She really just dumped it on me to figure out... I played the video she'd uploaded.
[Fundamentals and Understanding of Magical Metallurgy]
A crude font spelled out the lecture title. It hit me like a punch to the gut, but since it felt kinda like being a college student, it wasn't all bad.
A petite woman stood before a massive screen. Her deep dark circles and striking orange eyes left an impression. Her loosely tied hair and lab coat slung carelessly over a sweater amplified the exhausted vibe.
"This is Ya-geumsul-sa?"
The Ya-geumsul-sa on screen looked too young for a professor—maybe college age at most.
"Thought she'd be older."
Ya-geumsul-sa staggered into the lesson.
"Uh... yeah, nice to meet you... I'm Eponine Roshe, handling Fundamentals and Understanding of Magical Metallurgy."
"You all know what you're here for, so no orientation needed? See you next week. Go home."
The first video ended. This was a professor's lecture? It shattered my common sense. Clutching my shivering body, I queued up the next one.
Just a week later, her dark circles were even deeper. Otherwise, same loose ponytail and sloppy outfit. Ya-geumsul-sa on screen let out a deep sigh before speaking.
"Alright, straight into the lesson. What is metallurgy? And how does mana..."
Despite her overworked appearance, Ya-geumsul-sa lectured with passion. Unlike the first video, her eyes sparkled at times. She answered students' questions sincerely too.
But there was a big problem: the professor was boring. Her soft, slow voice made me drowsy.
"Good thing I skipped college."
My deep-seated academic inferiority complex eased a bit. For Ya-geumsul-sa's lectures... I'd fast-forward the theory parts. Skipping all that left just a little behind.
"Depending on the material, the magic you use changes. Even for handles—wood, plastic, or..."
"Say wood, like red oak. Then you control mana more precisely..."
Oh, finally the practical part. All the teaching aids were prepped in the workshop. I grabbed a red oak log from the forge corner.
"Don't skimp just because you're shaping with a grinder."
"Remember what we've learned? Focus on the flow— you'll see mana pathways, called nodes. Inject mana steadily there while working."
My eyes still saw just a plain log. Mana pathways, huh.
Focus. First, I sensed mana flowing around my body. Not great—mana mixed hazily with air and particles.
Closed my eyes to block vision. After a while, mana circulating in my body sharpened. Detecting internal flow let me distinguish external mana too. Like the moon pulling tides, my mana drew in the outside stuff. Slowly opened my eyes.
Things invisible before appeared. Countless glowing points lit up the cubic log. A blue aura wrapped around it too.
These must be the mana pathways. And that's ambient mana.
Mana yearned to seep into the wood, but the wood ignored it. That's why infuse mana.
I moved my third arm, awakened with my Awakening. Blurred the hand image like clouds. Split five fingers into five each. Then those into five more. Needle-thin fingertips now touched the points. Plenty of nodes left untouched, but couldn't split further.
Blue mist coiled around the needles. Soon, my third arm like a syringe injected mana into the wood.
"Maintain that while finishing the rest. Got it?"
This is fucking hard. Like juggling with left hand while dishwashing with right. Sigh, but let's try.
Cautiously stepped to the grinder. Powered it on—the surface ground away fast. Nodes twisted simultaneously. Hurriedly wiggled needle-fingers to realign them.
"Shaping changes surface nodes, obviously. Don't drop touched nodes—keep mana stable and steady. That's key."
"This decides weapon or artifact performance."
"Until crafting's fully done..."
Yeah, I get it. Couldn't let go of the nodes until finishing.
"Haaah—!"
I clutched the completed grip and collapsed on the sofa. Exhausting. Making this one grip took more energy than a full Damascus sword.
And I have to do this for blades too? A simple dagger might take forever now.
But still...
Held the grip to the light. A subtle warmth emanated. Weapons with this would definitely be better. Gotta brag to the prof.
Opened the gallery—posts everywhere, more active than usual. Looked like Ya-geumsul-sa had stirred up a storm.
She'd officially claimed me as her disciple. Felt oddly proud. Wonder how shocked they'll be at my grip. Instead of DMs, I posted my results on the board.
Made based on Prof's node theory. Will trade if you want.
My post unexpectedly drew interest from other gallery users. They trickled in, commented, and left.
Explaining my node method sparked a frenzy. Even Ya-geumsul-sa chimed in. Baffled that everyone acted like I was missing something obvious.
According to Prof, everyone has their own mana image. Mine manifested as a third arm. Guess others found it freaky. To me, it was just smoke stretching in a pyramid MLM structure—nothing weird.
Moment of silence. Then comments exploded.
Sheesh, loud. Even reading hurt my eardrums. Left the noisy thread and DM'd Ya-geumsul-sa. Time to get to work.