Chapter 90 - Help Me, Master

The heat radiating from the workbench was truly overwhelming, and despite protecting his body with mana, it felt unbearable.

An untrained ordinary person would probably get cooked in an instant.

—Hwaaak!

In the center of the furnace, the boiling molten iron was so hot that it was almost a bright orange.

The sight somehow reminded him of a small sun, and he could understand why people in the distant past mistook blacksmiths for magicians.

"Elder. In this hot weather, do you live here every day?"

"Then! Where would a blacksmith be if he wasn't in front of the furnace?"

The appearance of a mature craftsman naturally felt from Eitri.

It was hard to believe that he was the same person as the eccentric old man who usually made noises and shouted loudly.

"Devil's horn. Ha! Since ancient times, it was a very hard-to-obtain top-grade material. It's been a while since I've had my blood boiling. This thick magic mark that remains. It must have come from a fairly high-ranking demon."

"He did use a teleportation technique that was close to power, but he wasn't a very strong opponent."

"He was weak despite using teleportation? That's ridiculous! Well, he could have really been weak. That's probably because he was still young or couldn't show his true abilities."

Eitri muttered with a serious expression while placing the devil's horn and the huge sword together on the workbench.

But as I listened to his story, it seemed like he had done this kind of work many times before.

It was strange. As a knight, I knew more about the weapons that were popular these days than most people, but I had never heard of or seen a weapon that utilized a part of a demon's body.

Suddenly, I became curious and asked Eitri.

"You seem to know a lot about demons?"

"You little brat. Didn't your teacher, the old monster, teach you history? The long-lived species still remember the days when demons were rampant. They're different from the short-lived humans."

"There were a lot of demons on the surface in the past."

"Of course! What do you mean, the Emperor of the past almost erased the history of that time from the records. It's not like a green brat like you wouldn't know."

There was a hidden history that was erased from the records, where demons ran wild.

It was hard to believe, but it was an explanation that made sense.

"Kekekeke… How long has it been? I never thought I would feel grateful to that devil's disciple. Anyway, I will do my best to take care of your weapon. Just watch from now on."

"Yes, sir."

Judging from his attitude that seemed almost strangely mad beyond obsession, it seemed that there was something unusual behind the scenes for Eitri, who had experienced those times firsthand.

It would be rude to ask more, and there was no reason to.

If I had unexpectedly obtained a better weapon, I would be satisfied with that.

—Thump, thump!

And so I witnessed the rare sight of the best technology refined over hundreds of years unfolding before my eyes.

'This is truly amazing.'

With each blow of the hammer, the flow of mana fluctuated without mercy.

The devil's horn is clearly not metal but rather organic in nature, but the blacksmith's extreme skill can freely transform even the basic properties of matter.

The devil's horn, which is mercilessly crushed, crushed, and broken by the hammering filled with hatred, does not burn away due to the heat, but melts into a form similar to molten metal.

—Chii…

When Eitri slowly poured it into the very fine groove he had dug in the center of the greatsword's blade, the greatsword greedily absorbed it like a drought-stricken land that accepts rainwater.

Then, a dark energy stretched out like a spider web, enveloping the entire blade and starting to emit a strange light, but…

'They clearly said the purification process was complete. Where did that magic come from…'

"No way!"

—Kwaang!

The attempt to contaminate the sword was silenced by the blacksmith's strong hammering.

The giant sword was engulfed in flames and blazing for a long time, then it flashed and returned to its original form with a brilliant light.

Eitri, who was looking at it with a satisfied expression, muttered while wiping the sweat that had formed on his forehead with his sleeve.

"Okay, it's done. It had some rough edges, but in the end, it won't budge with just one hammer blow."

"Thank you for your hard work, sir. Is this the end? Then..."

Before I could ask him anything, the old man interrupted me and took out a cigarette from his pocket and answered in advance.

"What's different? I don't know. Some of the power he used might have melted into it, and its durability might have increased a bit. What's certain is that it's much better than before."

Of course, I'm not doubting Eitri's skills.

However, when he said that he only vaguely felt better and didn't know what the specific effects were, I couldn't help but let out a loud groan.

"…What is that? It didn't seem like there were any difficulties while working. Is that how it's supposed to be?"

"You greedy little brat. Aren't demons inherently hostile to the children of the gods? Suppressing their nature and forcing them to submit to you to bring about beneficial effects is no easy feat."

As I listened, something increasingly ominous began to emerge.

"Then, is there any possibility that there will be any side effects while using it?"

"Ssup, s ... "

"It would be a pain to explain the exact process, so let me summarize it briefly. The remaining magic nature was twisted and a powerful anti-magic power was injected. It was possible because a significant portion of it was purified by divine power."

"Huh?"

What on earth is he talking about?

This was a story that was simply hard to believe. No matter how much it was purified by divine power, the weapon strengthened using the devil's horn actually had an anti-magic property.

No matter how great of a craftsman Eitri was, he couldn't help but look at him with suspicion.

Right now, isn't that old man a little overconfident due to the aftereffects of a satisfying work he's had for a long time?

"That's ridiculous..."

"Hey, you damn big brat! I've made several sets of armor and weapons since you were a runny nose, so you don't trust me? Do you think I have dementia?"

As I looked at him with sullen eyes and showed slight distrust, the short dwarf jumped up towards the ceiling and became angry.

It seemed like he jumped higher than his own height. Where did he get such a leaping power?

"No, that's not it. Haha... Hold on tight."

"Anyway, after swinging it a few times, its true value will naturally be revealed. Why would I tell useless lies? After all, I only learned bad habits from the witch hag. You little punk..."

I gave an awkward smile to Eitri, who was grumbling as if his feelings were hurt.

I certainly felt a little rude just now. No matter how close we are, it's natural to feel bad when your pride is hurt.

—Kkwak!

With a very apologetic expression, I secretly held the sword imbued with new power. I could definitely feel that it was imbued with an unprecedented power that was different from before.

It felt like a well-made weapon had definitely been reborn as something more than an artifact.

I could experiment with the anti-magic later.

Thinking that way, I cautiously spoke to Eitri, who seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"Sir. Today, you did something even more amazing than I expected, so how should I pay you?"

"I've paid you. I'm satisfied enough just by having fun after a long time. Just, please don't just place bulk orders like you did last time. The process of inspecting each piece is so annoying..."

Oh my, a dwarf would refuse fair compensation for his labor. This wasn't just some kind of kindness toward a long-time customer.

He really meant that he was deeply satisfied with the work process itself.

What on earth could this work utilizing a part of the demon's body mean to Eitri?

—Thump, thump!

The old man, who had been hammering away for a while, held out some oddly shaped pieces of iron to me a few minutes later.

"Now, no matter how I look at it, a scabbard for that large sword seems like it would only hinder my movements, so instead I made a stand to attach to my armor. Take this too. It's an artifact, so if you just put it on roughly, it'll attach itself."

"Thank you, old man!"

Oh my, this is another really useful tool.

He made something like this in just a few minutes. As expected, the old man is very affectionate, even if he speaks harshly.

"Then I'll go now. I'll visit you again next time."

"Don't come!"

I thought as I left the blacksmith shop late at night.

Thanks to this, I got a special enhancement that no one else could do for free, but at the same time, there were more than a few new questions that arose.

Aside from the unknown addition of a feature, I have no idea how the anti-magic power, not the divine power, would work when fighting enemies.

'The history of the demons has been erased.'

And above all, the hidden history of the demons, who could be said to be the main enemy threatening the peace of the current empire. I needed more information about that.

If I knew about the enemy in advance, I would be able to respond more easily in the future.

It would be good to go to the priests, but the person who would know the erased history better than anyone else is...

'Master.'

As expected, it was my master, a high elf who had lived for as long as the history of the empire.

He has repeatedly told me to come visit him when I have time, and he is someone who likes to stay up late at night, so it won't be a big problem if I go now.

At this time, he is probably in his office or his official residence. The two places are almost next to each other, and they are not too far from here.

Let's go visit the Master.

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