Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
"And that's one down."
Landing the final hit on the item he was working on, Arcaelus wiped the sweat off his forehead as he placed his finished product to the side.
Admiring the shortsword he had forged for a bit, the man took in a deep breath before taking out a few items from his furnace, reminding himself that he was in a fight.
"I think that took about five hours or so," muttered Arcaelus to himself, proceeding to hammer out the item he had taken out.
"Taking into consideration slight breaks I might take and reduction in speed due to lack of sleep, I might be able to forge around 20 items or so."
Nodding in satisfaction at the figure he had come up with, Arcaelus put even more gusto into his strikes, each hit causing a sonorous clang to resound throughout the area.
While doing so, the man faintly reminisced over the past, allowing his body to move on its own as he delved into his own thoughts.
Recalling how he had gotten to the latest achievement he could recall as a memory image, Arcaelus reminded himself that he did not have an easy journey.
Being born as an orphan, he remembered having to fight for everything he needed to survive, whether it be the clothes that covered his back or the food that would satiate his hunger.
Fortunately, all of that changed on one fateful day where an old man had taken pity on him, teaching him the basics of blacksmithing.
At first, Arcaelus struggled with each lesson the old man gave him, seeing as the latter was unreasonably strict and harsh.
However, as more and more time passed, he gradually grew to appreciate the strictness of the old man as his blacksmithing skills grew at an alarming pace.
Eventually, he was able to make a name for himself as a blacksmith, renouncing the struggles he used to have as an orphan.
In fact, with the skills he had shown at the time, he was even personally invited by an elder of the Gates of Enlightenment due to his potential.
"It would have definitely been satisfying to see that old fart look at me with shock once he knows how far I've gone," muttered Arcaelus as he let out a faint chuckle.
"Then again, knowing him, he would have probably just given me a hug."
Clang!
Just as he was about to continue reminiscing over his fond memories, a dissonant sound from afar broke him from his reverie, frowning as he looked at the sound's origin.
Though, at the very moment he did so, his mouth went agape with shock.
After all, the sight he saw was definitely something he had not expected to see.
"What in the world…"
…
"Ahh… I'm gonna die."
Though he continuously muttered these words to himself, Valyr continued to move his hands at great speeds, his eyes keeping track of the strikes he had landed with his hammer.
Every once in a while, he would also keep an eye on the strikes the two pairs of arms on his sides were doing, making a few slight adjustments here and there.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
"And… done."
Having finished forging what looked to be the fourth item in a row, Valyr felt like now was a good time to take a break, dispelling the mana arms for the meantime as he took a seat.
After that, he took out a couple of potions from his spatial bracelet, as well as a vial of rousing.
Consuming all of the potions he had taken out in one go, the young man swiftly felt a sense of relief course throughout his body, prompting him to let out a light sigh.
Unfortunately, those potions barely alleviated the strain he had put his mind through so far.
"Now I remember why I don't use a lot of mana arms in the first place," muttered the young man to himself, taking a brief glance at Arcaelus to see how he was faring.
Surprisingly, the man was looking back at him with shock, though he did not know the exact reason why.
Deciding not to think about why Arcaelus was shocked, Valyr returned his thoughts towards the mana arms.
Of course, there was no doubt in the young man's mind that the mana arms were undoubtedly helpful in forging.
After all, having an extra pair of mana arms more or less meant that one now had two blacksmiths working together in a sense.
With the fact that both pairs of arms were of the same mind, then the benefit the mana arms was more than just a simple 1 + 1 = 2.
Naturally, the same could be applied to the two additional pairs of arms Valyr had control over, as well as the sole additional arm over his shoulder blade.
What would have originally taken him around 10 hours or so had been cut to around a quarter or a third of the time, all thanks to the cooperation and coordination the arms exhibited.
However, having to use multiple mana arms at once also brought along a whole host of its own problems, such as the fact that he was basically controlling seven of his arms simultaneously.
Adding on the fact that each item he forged needed to reach at least Rare grade in terms of rarity, he needed to equally divide his attention and focus on all three pairs to make sure no mistakes would happen.
Then again, he had [Hunter's Tracking Eyes] and [True Prodigious Blacksmith's Sight] to rely on to make sure the quality of the item wouldn't deteriorate.
But that also brought a level of strain that only added to the madness.
Nevertheless, having used the mana arms for quite some time now, it went without saying that the young man was gradually getting used to the strain he was experiencing.
"Alright, time to continue."
Feeling like he had taken a long enough break, Valyr stood up once more and conjured the mana arms that aided him earlier.
Taking out a few items from the furnace before chucking in a few more, the young man took in a deep breath before allowing his mana arms to start roughly shaping the materials.
While doing so, he took a brief glance at Arcaelus, whose attention had finally returned to the item he was forging.
"[Superior Analysis]."
Curious as to why the man had brought up the challenge in the first place, Valyr decided to use an identification skill to see what gave Arcaelus his confidence.
Ding!
Fortunately, it did not take much for the young man to understood why Arcaelus was confident, his status screen more than enough proof of what he was capable of.
"Holy shit."
