Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
As the sounds of metal colliding against metal faintly resounded through Theraldine's portion of the stage, the young woman eventually put the hammer she was wielding to the side, wiping off the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead as she looked at the item she had forged with a wide smile.
"Finally… my crafts can now be elevated to a higher level."
Ding!
[You have successfully forged the item: Phoenix Forging Hammer (Emulation). Quality has been rated at Great.]
[The heavens have seen the effort you have put into your craft and thus rewards you accordingly. Your item has successfully gained part of the original properties of the artifact 'Infernal Hammer'.]
With the smile on her face only growing wider as she took a look at the notifications she had received, Theraldine took a close look at the forging hammer she had forged, which she was more than certain she was going to use in forging from now onwards.
Most of the hammer's head were covered in grooves and veins that faintly gave off a pulsating light that alternated between shades of red and orange, emanating the feeling of slight heat whenever one got close to it. Attached to the head was a finely crafted shaft made out of wood that could bear the constant heat being emanated by the head whenever it was used actively in forging.
With the wood carved in a way that it would be a perfect fit under Theraldine's grip, as well as a few additional touches on the handle here and there, the Phoenix Forging Hammer she had forged was not only a work that had a lot of aesthetic value to it, but also a lot of functionality behind its beautiful exterior.
"I was able to emulate 3% of the Infernal Hammer's original properties…" Examining the hammer she had just forged with her identification skill, an ecstatic expression swiftly appeared on Theraldine's face as she focused on the part she was most interested in. "I… actually did that?"
As the significance of her craft gradually sunk in her mind, the thought of Theraldine winning the forging duel between her and Valyr felt more certain, considering that she had successfully emulated what was basically one of the most well-renowned artifacts amongst blacksmiths.
However, when she turned her head to look at the audience and see if they were in awe of what she had done, almost all of them were instead staring at the item Valyr was forging, with thoughts of the young man's skills possibly not being up to par to Theraldine's already gone from their minds.
Slightly annoyed at how not even one of them spared a single glance that she had finished forging her item, Theraldine decided to take a look at what Valyr was doing for herself. "What is he even forging for everyone to stare at it so… intently…"
Thump!
At the very moment Theraldine laid her eyes at what seemed to be the skeletal structure of the artifact replica Valyr was forging, a heartbeat far stronger than she was normally accustomed to resounded within her body, causing her expression to become somewhat wide-eyed as she felt a feeling of familiarity towards the item.
No.
A feeling… that she was the rightful owner.
"What is going on…?" Not used to the feeling that she had just felt, Theraldine slightly shuddered as she gradually forgot about the feeling that had engrossed her into watching Valyr's forging process.
Taking a look once more at Valyr's item that was still a work in progress, she still felt a sense of familiarity towards it, as if she had seen it somewhere before. However, the feeling had now become less intense, prompting her to try and forget the weird feeling in the first place.
"So, he was actually creating a forging hammer all this time." Breathing deeply a couple of times to make sure the feeling thoroughly vanished, Theraldine finally noticed the general structure of the artifact replica Valyr was forging. "Though, I don't recall any of the top legendary forging artifacts having properties that suited the four basic elements."
"Well, I'm already done with my replica, and I'm pretty sure I'll win this duel..." Briefly scratching the back of her head, the young woman brought the chair to a spot that would allow her to see Valyr's process better before sitting down.
"Guess I'll watch him finalize everything."
…
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
"Finally! I can finally move onto the final step!" Letting out a long yet exasperated sigh, Valyr dropped the forging hammer he was using to the side as he took a look at the item he had been hammering all this time.
Heating up the Boundless Origin Alloy he had created and refined earlier in the furnace, the young man gradually hammered the entire block of alloy down into the shape of a forging hammer, having to contort his arms in various ways in the process to make sure that some areas were perfect.
Fortunately, with how high his DEX was for someone at the peak of Rank 2, as well as with both [Gambler's Discerning Eyes] and [True Prodigious Blacksmith's Sight] active, he was successful in shaping the block into a rough yet exquisite-looking forging hammer, with only thirty minutes to spare before the sun began to set.
Taking a few deep breaths as he recuperated some of the energy he had expended in forging the hammer, Valyr took a brief glance at the audience, only to notice that all of them were staring at his portion of the stage. Faintly wondering what was going on, he shifted his gaze towards Theraldine's workshop, only to see that the young woman was watching him as well.
"All of us are waiting for you to finish your item," said Theraldine, conveying through her words that she was done with her item. "Don't mess up."
"I'll try." Bitterly smiling in response to the young woman's words, Valyr let out a low sigh as he took a look inside the furnace, specifically the only item that was in the furnace.
"Let's get this over with." After making sure that the Primeval Origin Crystal was at the ideal temperature to fuse it into the hammer made out of Boundless Origin Alloy, the young man went ahead and used a pair of tongs to pick up the crystal before inlaying it into the groove he had made on the hammer earlier, which was unexpectedly a perfect fit.
After that…
Whoosh!
…
…
…
Ding!
[Your title 'Forger of Epics' has activated, enhancing the properties of your forged item by one level.]
[You have successfully forged an artifact.]
