Chapter 48:Failure is the pillar of Sucess

Now the time for the test of fate for the blade has come. He picked it up with a tong to above a container containing yellowish mud. Picking up the ladle in the mud shirou stirred it till it was homogenous and then poured it on the blade.

Rin and kiritsugu watched with fascination as smoke rose from the blade and mud fell back into the container. Shirou repeated the process multiple times and the blade was covered in mud, so he went to the forge, slipped the mud-covered blade inside, and then covered the blade with charcoal.

The furnace roared with the rhythm of the Fuigo box being pumped. The flames roared and the colour slowly sifted to bright yellow, flames turning yellow is a sign of iron being roasted hence after 5 minutes shirou smoothly removed the blade from the forge and dipped it inside a tank.

Fate was not in the favour of shirou as soon as he dipped the blade inside the quenching tank a sharp crack was heard. Shirou immediately understood that the blade had cracked due to an internal defect.

Pulling it out shirou found that the fractures had spread from the tip to the edge of the blade. The fracture will make carving the circuits that he had planned to carve impossible hence this blade is an utter failure. 

Rin and kiritsugu looked at shirou who just shook his head after matching their gaze, all three of them released a sigh and shirou helped Rin retrieve the gem but the topaz had already cracked and the curse had dissolved.

Looking at this rin said that this gem had brought shame to her and her family name hence she will not give any gem to shirou until she has perfected the production method of these cursed jewels. Kirtsugu paid Rin the price of 20 gems she had waisted while trying to make this one for shirou.

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A few days later shirou and Tatsuo could be seen discussing the issue of the mystic code and Tatsuo said 

"I can't realy help you much because I was born without magic circuits hence I can't even feel magical energy hence I have no concrete idea what went wrong but with my experience as a smith I can tell you that whatever you put this blade through was beyond its capacity." 

"Blades have an inherent capacity and amount of stress they can take and I can see you made this blade through Maru the worst process and very lacking in refinement. I can only advise you this"

"Sword smithing is an art shirou and swords have spirits so rushing them is not possible, a blade is a product of patience and meticulousness, not haste."

After saying his piece the master Smith left the emiya residence leaving behind his apprentice in a pause standing in the forge feeling the heat waves on his skin. Shirou processed this information slightly and smiled as he cleaned up the forge.

Inside the house, he found Taiga dressed in a kimono and her hair pulled back making her look like a different person. Her rushing forward and pulling him as well as her cheerful dementor affirmed that it relay was taiga. 

A person`s image is built by the clothes and style you regularly see them in, seeing his spartan instructor and lazy elder sister in this get-up was a shock for shirou. Laughing alongside her he also got ready for the outing and the emiya, Fujimura and Ryuudou family met at the temple and New Year's Eve was celebrated happily.

Looking at the fireworks shirou remembered inviting Rin to join them but she said some gibberish about keeping the identity of a mage secret is a basic skill and she is not like him to fail in that and ran off.

The explosion of light across the sky sent the boy into a trance, he suddenly felt as if something had clicked in his mind and he thought 

< I am neither skilled nor experienced enough to make a mystic code out of basic materials, jewelled steel is a good material to make mystic code out of but its characteristics make using only that a challenge and pointless.>

< I can make the whole process of forging a ritual as making a sword considered a divine vessel and an object of worship is itself a ceremony hence using a ritual should be possible.>

< I am unable to imbue mysteries in items by my skill as a craftsman then I can use materials already containing them to make up for my deficiency.> 

(A/N: let's take an analogy of common fantasy stuff for what Shirou here is saying. if his skills as a craftsman are not enough to put a fire enchantment on the iron sword to make it a fire sword he can use powdered core a fire spirit along with iron and then just put a basic absorption and release enchantment on it to make a fire sword.

It is a waste of material but heavy he just wants to learn as it's not like angry mango will wait for him to learn.)

Shirou noted this inspiration and concluded that it would realistically take months for him to prepare for the production of his 1st mystic code. He also understood that by that time his smithing skills would have improved enough to be called a smith, a mediocre swordsmith but a smith nonetheless.

3days after the new year shirou went to bed after exhausting both his body and mana in the forge. As he fell asleep he was pulled into a vision from the void that was slowly gaining colour over time.

Saber`s tense expression came into his view, she was looking around completely tense and nodding to herself she said 

"…Mana is dense here. This is just like ten years ago. I expect…The summoning of the Holy Grail has begun or it's already over."

"I'm going to make sure, Saber after we reach the top, all that's left is to fight. You take care of Gilgamesh, so I'll take care of his Master"

"Kotomine.We won't assist each other. …We just have to beat one of our opponents." said shirou with conviction visible in his voice.

Red light filled the mountaintop. The blowing wind was getting stronger and it seemed the source of it was that light that was coming from the back of the temple. This Ryuudou temple was incomparable to the temple that shirou had visited days prior red phosphorescences were scattered across the wind, and the grounds were too bright even though it was nighttime.

Fire razed across his field of vision and the blaze was very similar to the blaze that covered parts of fuyuki during the 4th Grail War. This made shirou sure about the presence of grail mud and hence the grail.

The two rapidly ascended the stairs and saw the lake covered in a black darkness oozing in the bright red. If this clearing is like a clear lake, that mud is like an oil spill. There standing in this desolate landscape was the heroic spirit archer clad in his shining golden armour and accessories. He said 

"You are finally here. I have been waiting for you, Saber."

Looking at Saber he said 

"And the time is about right. The Holy Grail has finally moved into action and the void has just opened."

"This curse is the contents of the Holy Grail, the Third Element which keeps us Servants in this world. This is what you splashed me with ten years ago."

Then he looked at shirou with disgust and scorn as he ordered him 

"I do not want any intrusions. You lowlife, disappear right now if you want to see Kotomine. He is waiting for you at the altar."

Saber turned towards shirou and she nodded her head with a smile that said best of luck. Shirou`s body turned around and ran past the confronting servants. He ran by the once vibrant lake that now looked desolate.

(A/N: this is my plan for having shirou make swords this early as realistically it's impossible for him to make good mystic codes before going to the clock tower and having lessons in the department of creation.

So I had the idea of being a whale and later I can write some chapters of him collecting materials for his craft when he goes to the tower. This also gives a reason to visit Albion and Atlas Institute as they can be his suppliers of materials.

And for this scene we have the priest with naked children again, this priest becomes more sus the farther you go. First, he wanted to have that dad killed then goes after a married man by trying to off his wife.

They have a skeleton in his closet, have orphans in the basements kill, his teacher and then attack the man`s daughter. Now he is after little girls, somebody please call the burial agency man a priest is ruining their reputation.

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THANKS FOR READING:)