The transformation was instant. The red flame in the furnace merged with Davey’s mana to become a brilliant blue flame. The temperature hadn’t changed, but it was as if something fundamental had transformed.

“Hm… This should be good enough for the temperature.” Davey didn’t care about the dwarves’ shock or confusion. He just silently waited for the furnace’s temperature to rise.

Once it reached his desired temperature, Davey immediately stuck in the metal he had prepared and only pulled it out after it had become bright red from the heat. Then, he placed it on the anvil with a practiced gesture and secured it in place using a few clips. He could hold it if it were small enough, but the base of it was quite big.

“What are you doing? Combining cadmium and mithril into an alloy is forbidden! It’s common knowledge!”

“We shouldn’t have let that damn human in!”

Feeling stupid for hoping for some kind of miracle, the dwarves expressed their displeasure out loud. However, their great unhappiness went as quickly as it came when they heard Davey speak.

“Who said that methods beyond common knowledge can’t be used?” Davey asked.

Clang! The dwarves went silent as they heard the resonating sound of a hollow echo.

“Did your ancestors say that? Or the ‘Thousand-day Blacksmith’?”

Clang! It was unusually clear for the sound of a dull hammer hitting a piece of hot iron.

“Aren’t you just binding yourselves to the rules that you have made?”

With every hit from Davey’s hammer, a large ripple seemingly traveled across the piece of metal. The transformation was taking place. As the hammer hit the surface, a blue wave enveloped the metal, then scattered away.

There was no such thing as common sense; everything depended on how a technique was utilized. Cadmium and mithril could be combined, depending on the crafting method. One example would be the method that the dwarves called deviant.

First, Davey mixed the forbidden reagents when mixing types of metals. He then allowed the reagent to be absorbed by the steady flame fused with mana and twisted the metallic layers. Among the acts that were not to be done during crafting, some new methods existed. It was kind of like a difference in perspective.

‘Anyway, mithril is a pretty expensive metal…’ Davey thought that this workshop was quite high class.

Clang! Clang!! A blue wave spread out, rippling with each strike of the hammer. The metal began changing.

Since it was difficult for ordinary craftsmen to find the layers of iron and strike them, it was quite surprising that Davey was able to find the layers that changed with every strike and hit them with precision.

Perhaps the transformation of the shape of the metal was so rapid, or because Davey hadn’t hammered in a long time, but he was engrossed by the task for a long time.

When he finally snapped out of his work, he saw that the metal in front of him had roughly become the shape of a large sword. The sword was so sloppy and dull that it would seemingly take a long time to be completed, but its waves of mana were similar to what the dwarves had been desperately trying to hold on to. Actually, the mana seemed much stronger than that, but that was unsurprising since it was made by Davey, Surtr’s student.

‘Hm, was I too focused?’ Davey realized that quite a long time had passed, but no one had stopped him. He acknowledged the fact that he was able to be this focused because no one was bothering him.

As he lightly tapped the incomplete sword-shaped metal that was on top of the anvil, a faint light shone to reveal its existence. The mana that he had arranged into a pattern were interacting with each other and reacting.

Davey gently turned his head before holding up part of his work to the dwarves who were staring at him in shock. Then, he said with a smile, “How easy is that?” Even he thought what he said was ridiculous.

* * *

Ordinary magic swords were made by engraving a magic circle on the completed weapon, then either embedding a mana stone in a regular sword or getting help from a mage. However, instilling a will in a sword required a different process.

“H… How did this…” The dwarves looked extremely shocked, staring at a weapon that completely broke the commonly accepted knowledge. No one ever imagined that Davey would show them something like this. To them, he was a boy who had suddenly visited from the Rowane Kingdom.

It was a little misleading to call Davey a boy, since he was an adult by human standards, but he was still a mere child to the dwarves. They didn’t know what his ultimate request was, but he had entered the village by borrowing the king’s authority; however, he didn’t show any of his intentions at first. Of course, the dwarves looked down on him; although there was a promise, Davey was an unwelcome guest who had come without sending word beforehand. On top of that, they were busy with their own troubles.

The Eighth Elder Goulda looked out for Davey, since he saw Davey as an amiable human who knew the manners and etiquette of dwarves quite well. However, the other dwarves could care less about him. But now…

“H… How… Without a mana stone, the sword…” Incapable of completing his sentence, the Sixth Elder Perdom’s gaze shook in disbelief. He probably expressed what the others also felt.

A magic sword was powered by an intricately attached mana stone; it produced multiple types of mana from connecting to the stone’s mana. But there was a problem. A sword that used a mana stone for power could only be used for a certain number of times, since it couldn’t continuously produce mana like the Primordial Inferno or the divine sword.

As such, the dwarves who had lost most of their ancient skills were unable to do anything; even if it was the same power, a power that replenished itself and one that had a certain number of usages were fundamentally different. It was sort of similar to how a magic stone was much more advanced than a mana stone.

To the dwarves, the Primordial Inferno was probably the ultimate symbol of the pure skills of a craftsman. However, a magic artifact without a mana stone, something that they believed couldn’t be crafted anymore, was made in front of their eyes, and it only took a craftsman’s hammer and anvil. The dwarves stared at Davey, the human boy who was hammering as if he had forgotten about his surroundings. As he picked up part of the enormous sword and showed it to the dwarves, their jaws dropped.

“So? Now do you understand?”

How could they understand when something unbelievable was happening right in front of their eyes?

* * *

-I think I saw mana thinly spread every time you hammered it, but…

‘Spreading mana can easily be done with the power of a mana stone. I’m talking about the layers.’

-Layers?

‘The sword absorbs mana on its o… Simply put, it circulates mana through itself.’

“Elder Golgouda.”

“Hu… Huh?!” Startled by Davey, Golgouda ran over toward Davey with his eyes wide open.

“Can you tell what I did?” Davey asked.

“Th… That is…”

As Golgouda struggled to explain, Davey grabbed his hammer and lightly tapped the surface of the sword. Clang! Clang! The sound was as clear as a bell. It definitely sounded hollow, but the sword was strangely sturdy.

“Like the divine sword, there are extremely rare objects that replenish their own power without a mana stone, and they have a nucleus made from metal,” Davey explained.

“Y… Yes.”

“Most magic artifacts die when the mana stone runs out of stored mana. So, for something to release a strong power while enduring a long period of time like the Primordial Inferno, it must be able to circulate mana on its own.”

A mana arrangement and magic circle could be used to make something circulate mana on its own, but these people were craftsmen, not mages; they didn’t craft objects based on magic.

“Do you see these layers?” Davey asked Golgouda.

“Layers?”

“Yes. Whether it be the Primordial Inferno, the divine sword, it absorbs mana, devil mana, or holy power on its own. The exact details might be different, but the point is that the crafted item itself must have the shape of a magic circle.”

“B—but then it can’t be a weapon! The shape of a magic circle is…” Golgouda was flustered and tried to explain, but Davey just grinned.

“So, we change the layers of the inside of the metal. We delicately create hundreds of layers and change them to take on the form of a magic circle.”

As far as Davey knew, the only thing that could constantly store and release power like a mana—no—magic stone, was Caldeiras, the divine sword, possessed by Illyna de Pallan, the imperial princess of the Pallan Empire. When he first saw Caldeiras, he couldn’t even dare analyze it because of how advanced it was.

“Then… If you randomly change the layers of the inside, the sword won’t be able to last; it’ll break even at the slightest impact.” Golgouda argued.

‘Of course, the durability won’t be strong if it’s hollow.’

“So, that’s why the craftsman envelops it in a thin layer of mana using an artifact or his own power and makes a buffer. That is the main point of the mana crafting method.” Davey answered.

“Buffer?”

-But you were quite aloof when you first saw Caldeiras and me.

‘A man who maintains their poker face when seeing a pretty girl is much more attractive than one who drools at her.’

-For me, it doesn’t matter if they drool or not if they are my type.

‘What about me?’

-You are too much of a stick. How do you feel about bulking up?

Davey was pretty muscular; since he ate and worked out a lot during his spare time, he had gained a lot of muscle. As he complained, Perserque giggled.

“Most skills disappeared with time. As war changed from life and death between species to war between humans, the skills probably degenerated inevitably.”

It was honestly disrespectful to compare this time to the past when all humans had to unite to match them.

“Let me ask you a question: are the dwarves now less skilled than the ones before?” Davey asked Golgouda.

“That is… Sigh, yes. Our skills are nothing compared to our ancestors.”

“Is it impossible by your nature?”

“Definitely not!!” Davey glanced over at the other dwarves as Golgouda shouted loudly. Their hostility was long gone, and their eyes were filled with vitality. It was like they had discovered something new, some newfound hope.