True Smithing: A Crafting LitRPG Series

by Jared Mandani

  As she pondered the fact, she noticed a player pop into existence close to her. After the login process was completed, and textures finished loading, she was surprised to see the blacksmith standing before her. “Ah, look who’s come back! Ain’t grounded no more, Hephy?” Smirking, she added, “or should I say ‘Mr. Bjornson?’”

  “Oh shut it, Altara. I doubt that’s your name too.” He sighed, looking troubled. “I guess I owe you an explanation, no?”

  She shrugged. “Why’d you? You’re some fella playin’ a virtual space, your reasons and story are your own, besides,” she shook her head, “You’ll tell me when you’re ready, yes?”

  Hephaestus guffawed. “I may, yes.”

  Two more people logged in, appearing at Baratus’ forge: Hephaestus’ children. Altara crossed her arms over her chest, expecting another tirade against her. “So,” she said sarcastically, “back to fetch your pa to the world of the livin’?”

  The woman, Falcata, took a step forward “Listen you bi...” she took a breath to calm herself. “Look, for some reason, my father trusts you. But be very wary, I don’t. This,” she said, turning around to point at the forge, “is more important to him than you realize, and if he wants to be with the likes of you, fine, it’s his choice. But if you so much as do anything that hurts him or his character in any way, so help me god—”

  Altara lifted a hand, placating Falcata. “Look, ain’t got no clue what you heard about Baratus, and what happened, but it ain’t what you think. Hephy’s fully safe to do what he wants, to be the blacksmith he wants to be.” She grinned, “So long as you don’t pull ‘im off, of course.”

  “Only if necessary,” the woman said. “Talwar?”

  “Yes, right. Ah, we’re going to help too, our own way.”

  “And how may that be?” Altara asked.

  “By getting him materials, components, and the like. We enjoy the player-versus-environment aspect of the game over the crafting, so well, we can work well together.”

  “Sounds fine to me. Hephy?”

  “Hm?”

  “You ready to see Rothmund, talk ‘bout his commission?”

  Hephaestus closed his eyes, cracked his neck, and said “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Good, then let the world know!

  Baratus’ old forge’s back in business!”

  Chapter X. Commission Details

  “No matter how life-like, how realistic, hell, even how great an emulation is, it’s still that: An emulation. People need to realize that a virtual world is not real, and at some point, the dream must come to an end – that’s the danger of what Imperium Games is doing, it’s creating these impossibly good scenarios for people to live in, without taking into account the perils of coming back to the real world – a real world much unlike what they’ve experienced within their virtual space.”

  -Miranda Kuriz, PhD., in “Psychoanalysis of a Dreamworld – Risks of Virtual Reality.”

  The forge had been brought into top-working condition in the few in-game hours Hephaestus had been gone. He had to hand it to Altara: Even if she didn’t do the forging herself, she knew her way around a forge, and could really tend to it. Hephaestus was both eager and nervous at the same time, just as he had been in the outside world, when he had gotten his first commission—a simple broadsword, he recalled—which he figured made sense, as in a way, he was getting his first true order in this world.

  All that was left, for now, was to iron out the details with Rothmund, agree on the bonus details for the weapons, and the forging itself.

  Time seemed to crawl by, and though not even a couple hours had passed since Hephaestus logged back in, it felt as an eternity. He wondered what kind of weapon the champion of Arken would request. He had mentioned something about wanting gear such as Hephaestus’, but he couldn’t be sure, considering the type of items he had been using. Perhaps, the blacksmith mused, he could spark a revolution in weapon and armor design in Alterwelt? He could only wonder.

  A jolly man in a loose tunic and breeches walked towards the forge. Hephaestus recognized him immediately, as he whistled the same tune he had last time he saw him. Next to him, Altara said “Well, here he comes. Nervous?”

  Hephaestus shrugged. “Of course. Though I guess I shouldn’t be. Done this a hundred times before.”

  “But never within Alterwelt.”

  The smith chuckled, “No, never here.”

  “Well, you’ve got skill Hephy, ain’t no doubt about that. You’ll be fine, just do what you always do.”

  “And what would that be?”

  “Why, bein’ a cantankerous, stubborn old goat!”

  “Hm, sounds like me, alright.”

  “Don’t it? Now, let’s greet your customer!”

  They left the forge, walking ahead to greet Rothmund. The man was especially happy as he headed towards them, greeting them with a “Good mornin’ both of you! Ah, Blacksmith,” he said, emphasizing the title, “Are we ready to discuss the details of the items?”

  “Of course we are,” said Hephaestus, before saying, “Shall we?”

  Rothmund nodded, following Hephaestus and Altara into the forge. The place wasn’t cozy by any extension of the word. It was filled with iron shavings, greasy tools, vats of oil and water, and a layer of dust on everything, despite Altara’s tending. Still, a good forge, in Hephaestus’ mind, didn’t have to be a comfy lounging spot, but a functional, almost primal workspace, and Baratus’ place fit the part. They found a couple stools by a workbench; Hephaestus produced a pencil and some paper, looked towards Rothmund and said “Well, let’s talk.”

  “Right-o! Should we start with the weapon?”

  “By all means.”

  “Right, so this,” he said, equipping his axsword, “is the weapon one of the guilds forged for me. Ask me why is it an axsword?”

  “Uh, why?”

  “BECAUSE,” Rothmund yelled exasperated, “That’s the only damn thing close to a battleaxe they had available!”

  “Pardon?”

  “Oh, my bad, I forgot you’re not fully acquainted with this world. Right, so, each Crafter’s Guild has its own designs, the type of stuff and feel they offer, right? So, I had to use the cheapest guildshop—a tiny front in Baldera, go figure—because that’s all I could afford.”

  “Wait,” Hephaestus interrupted, “That’s all you could afford? I’d figure you had a heap of gold, what with being the champion of Arken.”

  “Psh, dude, I’m sorry to say that’s not precisely the greatest achievement. Arken is a major city, sure enough, but it’s considered to be ‘low level,’ and though I’ve grinded my way to the top, well, two things: One, after a certain point, the game throttles the experience you get, and two, well, I don’t get any ‘real’ opponents, only creatures and crap; why do you think I was so eager to accept your challenge?” He shrugged, “But I digress. Point is that guilds have a monopoly on crafting goods, they charge a ball and a half, and put out, well, items.”

  “Somehow,” Hephaestus said, “You don’t seem too fond of the items you have.”

  “You think? They’re damn legendary, yet crappy, how the hell does that work!?”

  “Hm. Well, I have no idea. All I know is how to work the materials, and design the weapons.”

  “And that’s all I could ask of you. Now, shall we?”

  “Mhm,” The blacksmith took his pencil, and doodled the shape of an axe, “You said you want an axe, yes?”

  “Yes! Is that so difficult to understand? Now, that axe you drew there, is that a hand axe?”

  “It is. Would you rather something different?”

  “I do, as a matter of fact. See, my build is geared towards dealing large amounts of damage, so I would like something I could use with both hands.”

  Hephaestus took his hand to his chin, weighing options. “Well, if it’s meant to be wielded with both hands, you have a number of options: a tabar, a bardiche, a poleaxe.
”

  Rothmund lifted a hand, saying “Sorry man, I ain’t no history buff, you’re the one who knows about that, no? So, what do you think?”

  “Hm. I would go for a bardiche,” he drew the general shape of the axe—a long pole with a single, thin blade, meant for chopping as well as cutting. “This would be the weapon. Top heavy, meant to be used, well, brutally.”

  “Could it have two blades?”

  Hephaestus blinked rapidly. “Well, yes, it can, but—”

  “And be tipped by a sword blade.”

  The smith’s eyes narrowed. “It’s possible, but you’re exiting practicality.”

  “Well, Blacksmith, I beg to differ, you see, there are different resistances in the game, for piercing damage, slash damage, blunt, and so on, so I’d like a versatile weapon. A sword on the tip, well, it’d give it a good piercing power, yes?”

  “Hm, in that case,” said Hephaestus, “you will need something to balance it out. See,” he paused, drawing a new design, “two heads, and a sword tip will make it too heavy in the front, unwieldy even, but, lucky for you, we can counter that, with this,” another drawing followed—a flanged mass at the bottom of the axe, “by adding a metal mass at the bottom we can balance the weapon right here, in the middle, allowing you to twirl it around with both hands, while giving it some blunt damage on the bottom. How does that sound?”

  “That, my friend,” Rothmund said gleefully, “sounds wonderful! It’s balanced, and it looks wicked. Much better than anything the guilds produce. So, about the bonuses?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I need them as follows: Ignore armor, extra damage, bonus strength, and bonus attack speed.”

  “No ice damage?” Rothmund shook his head. “You’re the boss.”

  “And you are the master smith!”

  “Any name?”

  “I’ll leave that to your discretion, Hephaestus. Now, the armor?” The smith nodded, Rothmund continued “I really liked the design of your armor, it was classy, functional, and quite frankly? Looked badass. I would like one just like it, the same if possible, plus helmet and greaves.”

  “Hm, that would make it six pieces, will take little over a day because of crafting limitations.”

  “That’s alright, ain’t in no hurry! Only,” Rothmund said, “please don’t make the items out of steel; since you’re level five, could they be made out of Azuraneum?”

  Hephaestus’ eyes widened, as he had never heard the term before. Regardless, he said “Sure, I’ll make them out of... azuritium.”

  “Azuraneum. Well, for the armor, I’d like the bonuses on each piece to be damage reduction, bonus health, bonus endurance, and bonus strength.”

  “As you wish, Rothmund.”

  “Wonderful! Please contact me when the pieces are ready,” he extended his hand, shaking Hephaestus’. “Well, it’s a deal, then! Ah, before I forget,” he said, bringing up the trade interface, “Here are the permits, and materials. Have a good time!”

  “Thank you,” Hephaestus said, accepting the items, and closing the trade interface. Rothmund left with a smile on his face, leaving Hephaestus to turn around towards Altara, saying: “Well, that went well. I only have one question.”

  “Yes, Hephy?”

  The smith shook his head, “Just what the hell is azuraneum?”

  Altara was dumbstruck, before laughing her heart out. “It’s one of the materials in the game, Hephy! You gotta learn how to work it for Rothmund, though. He gave you some pieces?”

  “Mhm.”

  “Well, it’s a good time to take it to that machine, the... ghostoscope?”

  “You’re messing with me. Spectroscope.”

  “Sure, that. Come on!”

  Hephaestus followed her to the machine; when they reached it, Altara said “I assume you know how to use it?”

  “I can learn.”

  He saw a container by the side of the spectroscope. The machine itself was unlike any he had seen before, as it was, in his mind, “fantasy themed”. It had a blue crystal connected to the larger battery in the forge, powering it up; the container itself had a crystal array above a receptacle, arranged in a cross-like pattern. When he came close to it, it prompted him to introduce a material; from his inventory, he took an azuraneum ingot, and placed it into the chamber. A button lit up by the side of the machine; he pressed it, making the blue crystal glow as it sent power into the crystal array above the material; a laser-like grid scanned the azuraneum ingot, before a screen popped up, showing Hephaestus the composition of the material:

  Azuraneum

  -crafting component-

  Steel-Azurite-Nickel

  The blacksmith’s face lit up “Now, that I know how to work!”

  “Really?” Altara asked, “you know how to work whatever those are?”

  “Of course. Steel, I know by heart, nickel is used to increase toughness and resistance, and azurite, that’s the fun one: It’s copper oxidized into a rich blue pigment.”

  “Huh, Rothmund does have a fascination with the color blue. But enough yappin’! Get to workin’ you lazy bum!”

  Hephaestus saluted. “Aye, aye, cap’n!”

  As Rothmund’s first request had been his weapon, Hephaestus decided to begin working on it. The idea was fresh in his mind, as he had helped Rothmund design it, so what followed was him working the metals; the ingots Rothmund had given him would suffice for the axe and a few pieces of armor, so he didn’t worry about producing more for the time being. Instead, he donned a leather apron and heavy gloves, setting himself to work.

  When he reached the furnace in the forge, he placed in an azuraneum ingot, heating it up as if it were steel. A loud crack startled him, prompting him to take out the metal ingot; he was upset at seeing the ingot neatly split in half. “Crap,” he said out loud, thinking: This azuraneum, it has a lower heat threshold than pure steel. He didn’t chastise himself over an amateur’s mistake; after all, it was the first time he worked the metal. Hephaestus scrapped the useless metal, putting it aside for smelting later on. Instead, he focused on a new ingot.

  He lowered the heat output in the furnace, constantly looking at the metal to make sure it hadn’t cracked; when it glowed white, Hephaestus removed it and took it towards the power hammer. The smith began by drawing out what would become the blades of the axe, extending them sideways, leaving a central block to insert the haft. When he finished elongating the two sides of the ingot, he heated the metal up again to begin working on each blade, drawing them out into two thin, long pieces of metal.

  When the shape of the blades was ideal, he used a metal piercing tool on the central block, piercing a five-centimeter wide hole in the center to slot the shaft in. He took the finished piece to the forge, heating it up evenly before quenching it in a wide vat of oil; pleased at seeing no cracks or cold spots, he nodded to himself, setting the head aside to work on the upper blade.

  He repeated the heating process for the metal, drawing out a thirty-centimeter long blade; he made it straight and thin—at a mere three centimeters wide—so it could slide into armor plates and flesh alike. He drew out a tang twice the length of the blade to give it further mechanical resistance. The blade was followed by Hephaestus cutting a piece of metal, drawing it out into a crossguard; though the smith usually disliked the idea of having unnecessary spikes, he curved the ends of the quillons upwards, making them end into two sharp spikes, so they would pierce into flesh, giving them offensive properties, rather than defensive only. He finished by heat treating the blade, setting it aside to work on the details later on; meanwhile, he weighed the top pieces of the weapon. The whole build weighed four kilograms, a fact he kept in mind as he began working on balancing the bottom.

  Hephaestus proceeded to heat another piece of metal, taking it into the power hammer to begin shaping it; he began folding the metal into itself until he formed a roughly cubical shape, pounding it into a spheroid. Using a cutting tool,
he shaved off a piece to make a tang to slot into the haft, before boring eight holes into the spheroid to heat-weld as many spikes; he heated up another azuraneum ingot, cutting into eight pieces for the spikes, and four smaller pieces he would shape into metal bands to reinforce the unions. He worked the spikes with the power-hammer, shaping them into semi-conical shapes; Hephaestus took a blowtorch, heating up the metal sphere and spikes, hammering them into place and heat-welding them together, forming a well-shaped morningstar, weighing at a satisfying four kilograms, too.

  As the weapon would have a lot of impact force, Hephaestus decided on a thick, dense wood for the haft. He took a large block of holy-wood, using a brush to shave off the outer bark before taking it to the lathe; he worked it into a five-point-three centimeter wide shaft, before covering it in resin-based oil, protecting its grain from deteriorating. Satisfied with the shaft, as it was simple but effective, he returned to working on the top blades.

  He began working on the sword blade, as it was a straightforward task. He used a fullering tool to add a small groove into the center of the blade, before taking it to the grindstone to form its edge. The axe blades were more elaborate, as he didn’t only grind the edges, he also took a chisel and a hammer to work an engraving into them; he decided to engrave his signatures into the axe: a Celtic-pattern of a roaring bear, its mouth taking the shape of the blade. He grinned, as he realized he hadn’t lost his touch. The bear, though stylized, bore his mark proudly for any who would recognize it.

  Hephaestus proceeded with the construction by drilling two slots into the shaft for the two tangs, the blade and the morningstar. Before he inserted the blade, he heated the block of the axe, dilating the metal before hammering it into the shaft, knowing that the wood’s slightly wider size would lock into the metal once it cooled down. Then, he heated up each tang before inserting it into the haft, smelling the smoke as it burned its way into its final resting position. He took the four metal bands, heating them before hammering them around the shaft where the tangs were at, further reinforcing the hardwood.