Ezra was jumping for joy, but when he heard that something seemed out of place, the little blacksmith's face became much more serious. He then took a notepad and a pencil from his pocket.
"Please Master Luke, explain to me what you felt was missing from this weapon" Ezra replied.
"Actually it's more of an idea that came to me, I don't want to be limited to just one type of element or one feature of the weapon, what do you think about creating a sword with all kinds of elemental circles" Luke said.
The little blue-eyed blacksmith took a step back, his face was completely surprised, but soon he gave a gigantic smile in response to Luke's challenge.
"I've never heard of any weapon like this, but of course I can" Ezra replied.
The little blacksmith then began to draw and scribble on the notepad he was holding.
Luke noticed how he was making several notes of what seemed to be ideas, although he couldn't understand what Ezra was doing, it was still possible to recognize some magic circles.
"That is a really interesting idea, we will need some magic crystals, I will need to distribute the magic circles over the handle and blade. I don't know if that would fit on a Katana" Ezra said, while biting his thumb.
[HE IS VERY CUTE, HE LOOKS LIKE A BABY].
'Don't scream inside my head, Balance'
[I'm sorry]
The little blacksmith didn't seem to be talking to Luke, but still the half-wolf remained listening to what that blue-haired boy had to talk about.
It was a bit like Megan and Adrian's conversations, where he couldn't understand the real subject, but it was interesting to try to learn something he hadn't mastered.
Luke had a brief and simple idea of how the art of forging worked, but it was just the basics that anyone would eventually learn over time.
The whole part of using magic within equipment production was something new, at least the way it was done at Melki's academy. He remembered the use of Runes and how some items had effects, but the manipulation of magic circles was something completely new.
"Look Master Luke, I believe I can make a sword like this. But it will take me more time than is normally needed to complete a weapon. I will also need Master Hepha's help, which may make the sword take even longer to complete" Ezra said.
The small blacksmith had left his notebook open on the table in front of the window in the testing room. He stood with his arms folded, looking at his notes with a thoughtful face.
"How long do you imagine it will take to complete this weapon?" Luke said, imagining that it would take months to complete such an ambitious project.
"I believe around two weeks, really, I won't be able to complete such an ambitious project in any less time" Ezra said in a difficult voice, as if disappointed in his own blacksmithing abilities.
'There's no way this kid is saying this, this is too fast'
[He really is unusual, there are famous blacksmiths who take that long to produce an ordinary sword]
'Yeah... that doesn't make sense, and the way he's saying it would be. Is he really disappointed that it takes two weeks for this?'
"But two weeks is very little time, don't worry about it Ezra" Luke said, petting the little blacksmith's head.
"But it usually takes me two days to finish a magic sword, obviously that's plenty of time Master Luke!" Clamored Ezra.
"I've known smiths much older than you who take weeks to make a weapon that doesn't even come close to the level of your works. You need to compare yourself to the common sense of your trade" Luke replied.
"I see... Really, that makes sense. Although it's been a long time since I've been out of the academy. I'm used to only comparing myself to Master Hepha" Ezra said.
"Master Hephaestus really is amazing then. I wonder what a magic sword made by her must be like" Luke said.
"After you complete the tests, we can borrow a sword from the master, so you can get a better sense to differentiate my equipment with something of better quality" Ezra said nonchalantly.
These words surprised the half-wolf. How great would be the difference in quality between Ezra's and Hephaestus' swords. That was something hard to imagine.
Ezra was a skilled blacksmith, and so far, the weapons Luke had wielded were all of extreme quality. It was confusing to think that he was far behind his master.
'If Hephaestus is really that much better at the art of forging, I wonder what my flying sword will look like.'
[I imagine it must be a formidable result, you should approach master Hephaestus]
'How so?'
[She was hitting on you. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to let her fall in love, so you'd have two skilled blacksmiths working for you]
'You're a bad woman Balance. Are you sure you're a Goddess?'
[Okay, that was a little insensitive of me]
'Hahaha, I think over-consuming my memories is making you ill'
[Maybe, I can't stand to see you fucking the elf and the dragon girl anymore]
'Balance...'
[Ehehe]
Ezra then lifted his face a little and looked into Luke's eyes.
'Please keep testing my swords' the blue haired blacksmith called out.
[He's so cute? How can he be so cute?]
'Balance you really are charmed by him'
[Yes! I am]
"Sure, sure. I can test these two" Luke said, turning to the purple sword and holding it with one hand.
"What's the name of this one?" Luke said.
"Sleepy Rain, I don't like it much, but it's one of my best magic swords" Answered Ezra, who was writing completely focused on his notepad.
'I wonder why he doesn't like that weapon?'
[Maybe it's just perfectionism, don't worry]
'Just go into the room Master Luke, I'll replenish the mannequins now' Ezra said.
'This sword is really beautiful'
Sleepy Rain possessed a distinctive appearance from the other two weapons Luke had tested. The strong shade of Purple of the sword while giving an exotic appearance to the weapon, was also beautiful and eye-catching.
'I couldn't use this sword in stealth combat, it draws too much attention'
[Yes, purple and green are not the best colors for an assassin]
'Green can be used in forest environments. The biggest problem is Purple, it stands out in the daytime. And at night, its unusual reflection can draw the enemy's attention'
[You really have experience in the art of killing]
'I'm just good at stealing and taking on whoever I need to steal from. But that's all in the past.
Luke then walked to the test room, which was now empty, with only the soot marks of the test dummies he had annihilated.
Ezra then activated a lever on the other side of the room, and in front of Luke, several wooden dolls fell from the ceiling. A trap door of sorts opened at the top of the room, releasing the test objects.
'I had no idea it would be so fast'
[This was really surprising]
Luke then began to swing that sword a bit, the feeling of holding Sleepy Rain was very distinctive. It didn't have the same balance as the other weapons, it was like something was out of place.
Swinging the sword from side to side, the sound of the blade cutting through the wind was furiously loud.
*Wuuush*
*Booush*
That sound caught the half-wolf off guard.
'Something seems out of place, that movement, that sound...'
[Hmm, Balance is missing from this weapon]
'Nice pun'
Luke then began to channel his energy into the sword. That was a weapon with three distinct magic circles.
As Luke's mana filled the inside of the weapon, the half-wolf soon realized another problem within that sword. The paths that the flow of mana was supposed to take were much more confusing.
It was hard to explain, it was as if the sword instead of taking the fastest path from one point to another, it chose to make a complete loop around the entire city.
The mana flow paths were disoriented, this aligned with the strange weight of the weapon, made the sword far from the perfection achieved by the other blades he had tested that day.
When Luke finally finished powering the sword, his mana simply disappeared from within the equipment.
A small burst of energy occurred, all the mana dissipated out of the sword. Surprising Luke and Ezra with the noise.
Mastering this sword was more complicated than Luke had imagined. The half-wolf then left the room to talk to Ezra.
"Please explain to me how you imagined this sword... I just can't control it properly" Luke said.
A small burst of energy occurred, all the mana dissipated out of the sword. Surprising Luke and Ezra with the noise.
Mastering this sword was more complicated than Luke had imagined. The half-wolf then left the room to talk to Ezra.
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