Forged in Storm and Flame

Classes were boring.

Leo sat through them as usual, tossing erasers with perfect ricochet angles, subtly tying someone's shoelaces to a desk leg with a string of spirit-thread, and leaving a fake love letter on the math teacher's podium—standard prank quests. Nothing noteworthy, except the reward: +85 System Points.

"Nothing worth noting today either."

His finger flicked the reward window away as he exited the school gates, the sun casting long shadows across the emptying campus. Just as he adjusted his bag strap and was about to turn the corner—

He froze.

High above, on the third-floor window, Rias Gremory stood like a crimson statue. Her arms were crossed, her gaze locked on him, intense. Not curiosity. Not boredom.

Suspicion.

"...What the heck? Did she find out I killed that devil? Nah, no way... And even if she did—"

"Not like I care."

With a shrug that could've been mistaken for arrogance, Leo turned on his heel.

"Time to shop."

"Hey, System."

[Yes, Host?]

"Got anything that can help me with weapon forging?"

A mechanical chime echoed in his ears.

[Forging Kit Pack – 100 SP]

Includes:

Forging Knowledge Implant

Portable Forging Bag (an enchanted satchel with infinite metal workspace and spatial compression)

Elemental Merge Core – Allows combination of otherwise incompatible metals. The more varied the mix, the higher the power and melting point of the resulting alloy.

Storage Space Expansion

"Damn. Buy it fast. That sounds very very good."

–100 SP

System Points Remaining: 20

An odd sensation hit him as the forging knowledge seared into his brain. For a second, he stumbled, like he'd just binge-watched a century of blacksmithing tutorials in 3 seconds.

"Whew... I'm an expert now? That's a actually cheat ."

Before leaving, he called his parents.

"Yeah, I've got group project stuffan sleepover at my friend's place. Don't worry, I'll text."

They didn't object, as expected. Trust was a powerful tool.

He visited cheap metal yards,shops, rummaging through bins and haggling like a broke alchemist:

Iron

Aluminum

Copper

Zinc

Tungsten

Tin

Nickel

Manganese

Magnesium

By the end, his wallet was gasping.

"I've gone almost broke buying these And I didn't even buy expensive ones."

Everything was thrown into the system bag, vanishing into spatial compression.

He walked past the city's edge until he found it—a crumbling, graffiti-tagged abandoned warehouse, rust eating through the beams and silence clinging to the air like dust.

"Perfect. Time to play blacksmith."

"Man, I have to do so many things to achieve my dream."

He stepped inside, cleared the center of the floor with a swipe of his foot, and summoned the Forging Station from his system. The Elemental Merge Core looked like a miniature star

"Let's start."

He poured all nine metals into the core.

Light exploded outward. It wasn't just heat or magic,it felt like space itself was cracking open for a second. A blinding hum filled the air.

Then it calmed.

Hovering before him was a glowing ingot, pitch-black and veined with violet arcs of electricity.

[New Material Discovered – Thermium]

Melting Point: 6973 °C (12,563 °F)

Hardness: 12.5 Mohs

Arc-Stability: Supreme

Conductivity: Extremely High

Leo blinked.

"...That's a cheat. 12.5?! That's above diamond. And I used cheap junk."

"If I had rare stuff like diamond or rhenium,hell, ... I could probably make a god-tier weapon."

"Looks like I'll need part-time jobs. Or better quests."

He reached out, pulled the Thermium ingot from the forge. It was cold to the touch, but he could feel the violent energy thrumming under the surface.

"Alright, let's do this."

With knowledge encoded into his brain and the gear summoned beside him, Leo began hammering. The Thermium didn't bend easily, but every strike felt right. Sparks flew. Lightning surged through the hammer's impact point, welding, reshaping, reinforcing.

He channeled his lightning to heat it, then molded the blade into a sleek, slender weapon with a serrated edge near the hilt and a high-frequency groove that would allow arcane current flow.

Hours passed.

Finally, he lifted the weapon.

Obsidian black. Smooth, gleaming, and unnaturally light.

"My first weapon."

"Man, I'm so damn proud."

"Let's name you... Zevarn."

A soft glow emitted from the blade. A system notification popped up.

[Weapon Registered – Zevarn]

Type: One-Handed Sword

Base Material: Thermium

Melting Threshold: 6870 °C (12,438 °F)

Hardness: 12.5 Mohs

Weight: Light

Special Trait:

Lightning Channeling – Automatically disperses excess energy

Heat Surge – Can enter a heated overdrive mode on impact.

"Looks good."

Suddenly—

[System Quest – Alert]

A low-level stray devil has been detected nearby.

Eliminate Target. Reward: 560 SP

Leo grinned.

"Perfect timing . Let's test this thing."

He pulled out a bottle marked Devil Bait, sprayed himself lightly, then spilled some water near the doorway.

He stood in the center of the warehouse, gripping Zevarn lightly, blade resting against his shoulder.

Minutes later, he heard it.

Wings beating.

A low growl echoed.

"A puny human… with a stick? You lured me here on purpose?"

The creature stepped onto the water-slick floor.

Leo didn't answer.

A spark danced on his fingertip.

The water flared—the devil screamed, convulsing.

That was all the opening he needed.

Lightning surged down his arm.Leo blurred forward, a single horizontal cut tearing clean through the devil's chest.

"Aghhhh!!"

Another step,he severed its head before the body even hit the ground.

[Quest Complete – +560 SP]

"That was... fast. Way faster and easier than last time. i used so much tricks and time to defeat the last one"

"Zevarn's a beast."

"Anyway, upgrade regeneration."

System Menu – Upgrades

– Regeneration Upgrade: 320 SP?

"Yep, yep."

[Regeneration Upgraded → A]

Regeneration (A) – Rebuild missing limbs or organs within minutes. Recover from otherwise fatal wounds in seconds. No visible scars or lingering weakness.

''Now for the next thing.''

[Stat Upgrade Shop]

+1 Strength Grade – 160 SP

+1 Stamina Grade – 100 SP

+1 Charisma Grade – 100 SP

+1 Agility Grade – 90 SP

"Strength and stamina. Buy."

[Strength B → B+]

[Stamina C+ → B-]

Status Window — Updated

Name: Leo Walsh

Title: Narrative Blocker

Age: 17

Strength: B+

Agility: D+

Stamina: B-

Charisma: A+

Abilities:

Regeneration (A) – Rebuild limbs/organs in minutes. Fatal wounds recover in seconds.

Lightning Control – Manipulate lightning freely. Scales with stamina. Capable of channeling into attacks, movement, and weapon enhancement.

System Points: 0

Gear:

Sword – Zevarn

Forged from Thermium. Ultra-high durability and heat tolerance. Optimized for lightning channeling.

Leo collapsed backward onto the dusty floor of the warehouse.

"Stats and skills look sick. Zevarn's done. But… I'm broke again."

The moonlight filtered through the broken ceiling.

"Anyway… it's super late."

He yawned, using his jacket as a pillow.

"Guess I'll crash here for the night."

"Good night."