Chapter 6: Self-Forged

The Association medical staff discharged Bron on the fourth day, once they were satisfied the last traces of Reaper Mantid neurotoxin had cleared his system. He left with a small container of follow-up medication and a temporary pass that exempted him from immediate registration decisions—Director Kaplan had granted him an additional week to consider the offer.

When Bron arrived at his forge, the full extent of the damage became apparent. The rear door hung from a single twisted hinge where the looters had cut through. The workshop itself had suffered from the violent shaking during the Mantid's rampage—tools scattered across the floor, shelves collapsed, and a long crack running through one wall where the building's structure had shifted.

Most concerning was the forge itself. The chimney had partially collapsed, bricks and mortar littering the workspace below. The main furnace appeared intact, but would need thorough inspection before he dared light it again.

Bron stood in the center of the chaos, mentally calculating what he could salvage and what needed replacement. The task was daunting but not impossible. He still had his emergency funds and, more importantly, his knowledge and abilities.

A soft knock at the front door interrupted his assessment. He opened it to find Elena, the café owner he had rescued during the breach.

"I saw you return," she said, holding a large container. "I thought you might need this." She handed him the container, which proved to be filled with homemade stew, still warm.

"Thank you," Bron said, genuinely touched by the gesture.

Elena glanced past him at the damaged interior. "How bad is it?"

"Repairable," Bron replied. "But it will take time."

She nodded. "The whole district is rebuilding. That's why I came by, actually. A few of us local business owners are helping each other with repairs. We could assist with the heavy lifting, at least."

Bron hesitated. He valued his privacy, especially with his forge, but recognized the practicality of the offer. "I'd appreciate the help with the structural repairs. The specialized equipment I'll need to handle myself."

"Of course," Elena smiled. "We'll start tomorrow, if that works for you? Dario from the hardware store has already offered materials at cost."

After she left, Bron ate the stew while continuing his assessment. The fundamentals remained sound—the building's primary structure, the anvil, his material storage (thankfully locked and secure during the breach). With community help for the basic repairs, he could focus on the specialized aspects.

But first, he needed to decide on the Association's offer.

Bron activated his status panel:

[Name: Bron Black]

[Class: Sovereign Forge Master]

[Rank: SSS]

[Level: 4]

[Health: 155/155]

[Mana: 190/190]

His recent combat experience hadn't been enough to level up, but he had gained valuable insights. Most importantly, he understood now how vulnerable he was without proper equipment of his own.

After careful consideration, Bron made his decision. He would accept Kaplan's offer of E-rank registration. It would provide cover for his activities while giving him access to resources he couldn't otherwise obtain. The key was to appear ordinary—a modestly talented crafter with occasional flashes of brilliance, nothing that would attract undue attention.

With that resolved, he turned his attention to planning his repairs and, more importantly, designing his first piece of personal equipment.

True to Elena's word, the next morning brought half a dozen local business owners to Black's Forge, armed with tools and materials. They worked with the efficient cooperation of people accustomed to adversity, clearing debris, reinforcing the damaged wall, and rebuilding the back entrance with improved security features.

Dario, the hardware store owner, personally supervised the chimney repairs. "You're lucky the whole thing didn't come down," he commented as they reset the bricks. "Must've been built solid to begin with."

By late afternoon, the major structural repairs were complete. The group shared a meal of delivered food in the partially restored workshop, trading stories of the breach and its aftermath.

"They're saying it was unprecedented," said Marcos, who ran a clothing shop three doors down. "A Class-A breaking through multiple Buffer Zone barriers without detection until it was already inside the Safe Zone."

"Association's investigation team is still trying to figure out how it happened," added Elena. "The timing with those looters targeting businesses seems suspicious too."

Bron listened quietly, contributing little to the conversation. These people had accepted him as one of their own—a local business owner, a neighbor, someone who had risked himself to help during the crisis. He felt a surprising warmth at being included, despite his natural tendency toward solitude.

When they finally departed, promising to return if he needed additional help, Bron was left with a functioning structure. The specialized forge repairs would be his responsibility, but that was as it should be. No one else could understand what his unique needs required.

Over the next three days, Bron worked methodically to restore and improve his forge. He reinforced the furnace with materials from his storage—monster-derived components that could withstand higher temperatures than standard construction. He rearranged the workshop layout based on lessons learned during his months of operation, optimizing workflow and energy efficiency.

On the fourth day after the community repair effort, Bron visited the Eastern District Association office to formally accept Kaplan's offer. The registration process was mercifully brief—they already had his basic information from the hospital, and E-rank status required minimal testing. He submitted to a standard mana measurement, carefully suppressing his true capacity to register within E-rank parameters.

"Welcome to the Association, Crafter Black," the registration officer said, handing him his credentials. "Your business has been tagged as a registered establishment. You'll receive the standard resource catalog and supplier access within 48 hours."

Bron thanked her and left quickly, the credentials feeling strangely heavy in his pocket. He was now officially part of the system he had been avoiding since his awakening. But the benefits outweighed the risks—for now.

Back at his forge, Bron turned his attention to his most important task: creating his first piece of personal equipment. He had spent his evenings sketching designs, considering and discarding dozens of options.

Traditional weapons—swords, hammers, axes—didn't align with his class specialization. He was a forge master, not a warrior. His strength lay in creation, not destruction. What he needed was something that would enhance his natural abilities while providing protection against future threats.

The answer had come to him during a dream: gauntlets. Extensions of his hands, the primary tools of his craft, that could also serve as defensive weapons if needed. Not just any gauntlets, but ones specifically designed to channel and amplify his unique forge master abilities.

Bron began by selecting his materials with utmost care:

For the base structure: High-carbon steel from his premium stock, providing durability without excessive weight.

For the joint articulation: Flexweave tendons from a Serpent Striker, allowing natural movement without sacrifice of protection.

For the palm inlays: Heat-resistant scales from a Magma Crawler, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures.

For the power core: This was his masterstroke—the Evolved Shadowfang materials he had been working with before the breach, combined with small fragments from the red stone shard that had awakened him, carefully shaved from the edge of the piece still embedded near his heart.

The crafting process would push his abilities to their limits. Creating equipment for himself meant he could use his full range of skills without holding back, but it also meant the final product would need to resonate perfectly with his energy signature.

Bron spent a full day in preparation—refining the materials, calculating precise measurements, and meditating to align his intentions with the work ahead. When he finally lit the restored forge, the flames burned with unusual intensity, responding to his focused mana.

"Forge Dominion," he murmured, channeling power into the equipment. The fire took on a reddish hue, heating the metal to precisely the temperature he required.

The crafting process was unlike anything he had experienced before. As he worked, Bron entered a state of perfect flow, each hammer strike and fold executed with unconscious precision. His skills activated in spontaneous combinations—Material Fusion merging the diverse components, Material Enhancement pushing their properties beyond normal limits, Attunement binding them to his specific energy pattern.

Hours passed unnoticed. When hunger or fatigue threatened to break his concentration, the shard near his heart pulsed with supportive energy, keeping him focused on the task.

Near dawn of the second day, Bron applied the final touches to his creation. The gauntlets gleamed in the forge light, their surface exhibiting a subtle pattern reminiscent of flowing metal. They extended from fingertips to mid-forearm, with articulated joints that allowed complete dexterity. The palms featured inlaid scales in a spiral pattern, while the backs displayed an integration of steel and shadowfang material that seemed to absorb rather than reflect light.

As he lifted them for final inspection, Bron's Material Insight activated:

[Sovereign's Grasp (Masterwork Gauntlets)]

[Materials: Refined Steel (62%), Serpent Striker Tendon (14%), Magma Crawler Scales (12%), Evolved Shadowfang Essence (10%), Awakening Shard Fragment (2%)]

[Durability: Exceptional]

[Special Properties:

Extreme Heat Resistance (Forge Manipulation) Enhanced Tactile Sensitivity (Material Analysis) Impact Absorption (Defense) Mana Conductivity (Skill Amplification) Resonance Enhancement (Shard Synchronization)]

[Crafting Quality: S-Rank]

[Compatibility with Bron Black: 100%]

[Note: Specialized equipment keyed to creator's unique signature. Unusable by others.]

Bron stared at the assessment in shock. S-Rank—higher than anything he had crafted before, approaching the theoretical limits of what even high-ranked crafters could achieve. And the special properties exceeded what he had consciously designed, particularly the "Resonance Enhancement" linked to the shard fragments.

A notification appeared:

[Experience Gained: 1,250]

[Level Up! Level 4 → Level 5]

[New Skill Unlocked: Forge Mastery (Passive) Lvl 1]

[Description: Reduce mana cost of all forging skills by 15%. Increase effectiveness of all created items by 10%]

With trembling hands, Bron slipped the gauntlets onto his hands. The fit was perfect—not merely in physical dimensions, but in a deeper sense. The gauntlets seemed to merge with his awareness, becoming extensions of his will rather than separate objects.

On impulse, he activated each of his crafting skills in sequence, testing their interaction with the gauntlets. Each activation felt smoother, more controlled, requiring less conscious effort than before. The mana conductivity property was functioning exactly as intended, streamlining his power usage.

When he touched raw materials with the gauntlets, his Material Insight provided significantly more detailed information than before, revealing aspects of molecular structure he had previously been unable to perceive.

Bron walked to his anvil and placed both gauntleted hands upon it, channeling his Forge Dominion skill. The anvil's surface rippled like liquid, far more responsive than in previous uses of the skill. When he shaped it with his thoughts, it held the new configuration perfectly—a subtle refinement that would improve the precision of his hammer strikes.

But the most surprising effect came when Bron deliberately channeled mana into the shadowfang components. The gauntlets momentarily took on the same shadowy quality as the fangs themselves, his fingers elongating into tapered points with armor-penetrating properties. A defensive feature he hadn't consciously designed, yet perfectly suited to his needs.

Exhausted but deeply satisfied, Bron finally allowed himself to rest. He had created something truly special—equipment worthy of an SSS-rank Forge Master, combining crafting utility with combat potential.

As he drifted toward sleep, the shard near his heart pulsed with what felt almost like approval, and a notification appeared at the edge of his fading awareness:

[Shard Resonance: 42%]

[Threshold for Permanent Skill Acquisition: 50%]

Bron awoke to knocking at his front door. Disoriented after his crafting marathon, he noticed he had slept through to the following morning. The gauntlets remained on his hands, having adapted to his movements even in sleep.

He hastily removed them and placed them in a secure drawer before answering the door.

Elena stood there with her usual friendly smile. "The Association delivery team is here with your supplier catalog and access credentials. They need your signature."

Behind her, Bron saw an official Association vehicle parked outside. Two uniformed personnel waited beside it with a sealed container bearing the Association emblem.

"Thanks," he said, quickly composing himself. "I'll take care of it."

The delivery was standard procedure for newly registered crafters—a comprehensive catalog of approved suppliers, access codes for the Association's material database, and a small starter kit of premium materials as a welcome gift. Nothing suspicious or concerning.

After signing for the delivery and bringing the container inside, Bron began organizing his now-repaired workshop for reopening. His regular customers would likely return once word spread that Black's Forge was operational again. With his new E-rank registration, he could also accept official commissions from the Association itself, providing another revenue stream and source of materials.

But most importantly, he now had Sovereign's Grasp—his first true masterpiece, created for himself rather than others. The gauntlets would enhance every aspect of his crafting while providing protection if he ever faced another combat situation.

As he arranged his tools, Bron contemplated the notification he had seen before falling asleep. The shard's resonance was increasing, approaching a threshold that would apparently unlock permanent access to new skills. The Material Embodiment ability that had saved his life against the Mantid was likely just the first of many abilities waiting to be discovered.

The path ahead was uncertain, with both opportunities and dangers. His E-rank registration provided some protection but also placed him under Association oversight. His growing reputation as a skilled crafter would bring more business but also more scrutiny.

Bron flexed his hands, feeling the phantom presence of the gauntlets even when they were stored away. Whatever challenges came next, he was better prepared to face them. He had taken the first steps toward mastering his true potential as a Sovereign Forge Master.

The forge awaited. It was time to begin anew.