“What the hell was that?” I asked after recovering enough to ask about the black line that seemed to follow behind the sword I had casually picked up.

It had looked like the sword was cutting through space, but that was impossible, right?

But then, what was that void which followed in it’s wake?

However, after I asked that question, Bea only looked confused.

“What are you talking about? You swung the sword.”

“No, the black thing that trailed after the sword.”

“Black thing? Oh, wait—Are you one of those people who are extremely sensitive to mana?”

Not knowing where this was going, I nodded.

“Yeah, I am—But what does that have to do with the…”

Bea held up a finger, forestalling my next words.

“I said that the metals name is Tunnel Iron, right?” Again, I nodded.

“Well, Tunnel Iron has a few unique properties. The first of which, is that it repels mana in all forms. It’s used to break through mage wards, and can also be used to cut through spells themselves.”

I pondered that for a moment.

Ah, so that’s what it was.

I was so curious about the sword, and the metal it had been made of, that I had activated my sight when looking at it.

That black line was the result of the blade pushing away mana from its edge, which registered to my sight as a void, since there wasn’t any mana in that space.

Bea continued explaining the metal to me, and I listened with rapt attention.

“On top of its ability to repel mana, it can also be used as a devastating poison, since the person would be unable to use mana after it’s ingested. The only problem is, that Tunnel Iron is fairly rare, and also isn’t the best material to make swords out of.” She said, shooting a glance towards the young blacksmith, who was still simmering angrily behind Bea.  

What did they say to each other, to get this riled up?

“What do you mean, it isn’t the best material?”

“Even though this iron has the ability to repel mana, a half-way decent suit of armor would be able to stop it. And, it’s still iron, after all. It doesn’t have the strength or flexibility of steel.”

“But, what if you use Tunnel iron to make steel? Wouldn’t that solve the issue?”

Bea seemed at a loss for words with my comment, and turned to the boy, presumably asking him the same question. He looked at me, surprised. He forgot his anger towards Bea and I for a moment, and rattled of a quick answer.

“He says that the process of turning the iron to steel negates the special properties of the metal.” Bea translated.

“Can you ask him why the metal was folded together? Was there a reason to do this, beyond style?”

Bea nodded, and again translated my question to the boy. He nodded after she had finished, and Bea translated his response.

“Tunnel iron is normally found in extremely small ore veins, and tends to flake when mined. To smith the Tunnel iron into a sword, it needs to be consolidated into a billet first, and then it’s folded a few times to cement the various bits of iron together.”

I nodded, understanding why he had done that.

I walked around the shop, with Bea and the boy following me.

I didn’t see any other blades made of Tunnel iron, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t exist. There were, however, quite a few swords made from high quality steel. These were spread around the room, in various states of completion. I picked one up, and was happy to see the quality it held.

While the forging techniques used to make the swords were nothing special, the quality of the steel they were made of was impeccable. Seeing this made me a very happy person, since I had been using lots of lower quality steel on the continents. They hadn’t had a sufficient level of technology, to support the making of higher quality metals. Their steel had been but a single step above that of normal iron.

Here though, I could tell that the steel was approaching the quality of that which had been on Earth—The most developed world I’d been to so far.

It was a little terrifying, thinking about the blades I could make using such good steel. And this was before even considering the special metals that must be here, like the Tunnel iron. I didn’t think for one second that the Tunnel iron had been the full extent of their rare metals. There were more, with various abilities and strengths, I just knew it.

And, the thought of a blade made from these materials nearly had me laughing madly—Nearly. I didn’t laugh, but I did accidently let out an evil sounding chuckle that had both the boy and Bea looking at me oddly.

“Is something wrong?” asked Bea.

I shook my head.

“No. I’m just looking forward to something. By the way, who’s the boy that keeps following us around angrily?  I’ve been wondering that for a while now.”

“Ah, Freid? He’s the forgemaster.”

“Oh, he’s one of those that don’t age? Interesting.”

“Not exactly. Apparently, when he was young, he had an encounter that got him immortality, and halted his aging process. Since then, he’s never changed.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Dunno—maybe a few hundred years ago? Anyway, he was the son of a blacksmith, and determined to spend his eternity crafting weapons of the highest quality. Of course, he’s nowhere near the level of craftsmanship he wishes to obtain. Oh, and in case you hadn’t yet figured it out, he’s a little angry that we had ‘barged in on him, interrupting his work.”

“I thought that had been what had happened. Then, can you tell him that he’ll have to put up with me intruding for a while longer? I would like to use some of his steel.”

“Oh boy, he’s not going to be happy about that.” Said Bea, while smiling.

She translated, and Freid got even angrier, as expected.

However, he made no move to block me.

His was the sort of anger that seemed habitual, like that of a cranky old man’s. In other word, he wouldn’t stop me, but he —would— glare at me the entire time that I stayed here, letting me and everyone else know of his displeasure.

Not harmful, but annoying.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I picked up a few nice looking bars of steel, and set them side by side, comparing the inherent qualities of them all. Generally speaking, the darker steels were softer and more flexible than the ones with the lighter tones, which were more brittle, but better at holding an edge. The key to making a good blade was to find a balance between the two, a steel which would hold a good edge, but still be flexible enough to withstand heavy impacts as well as the wear and tear of use.

There were a few good-sized bars of steel like that, which would make my visit here quicker and easier.

You see, while it is possible to make a blade more or less brittle after it had been forged by a process of tempering, this would take more time than simply forging out a blade from already ideal steel.

Even better, one of the ideal bars of steel was just big enough to allow me to forge a decently sized sword. I wouldn’t have to weld together several different bars, which would also take time.

I smiled, and not caring to explain what I was doing, I walked over to the forge, sticking the bar of iron into it. I was in a good mood, and decided to refrain from heating the metal via my mana. I would do this without magic.

Well, mostly.

As the steel started to glow lightly, brightening to a sharp orange color, I pulled it out of the forge, and delicately dropped it onto a nearby anvil. Grabbing the nearest hammer, I started hitting the metal, and watched as little sparks flew from the impact area.

They were like little comets flying from the crude bar of metal, providing brief illumination of the surrounding area. As I worked, the world around me faded, until all that was left were the sparks, the metal resting on the anvil, and the hammer ringing out it’s merry tune. With the strength that is mine, the metal bar quickly gave up it’s crude form, flattening out, and lengthening into what looked more and more like a sword. I began laying delicate little mana circuits into the blade, trying to make them as thin and durable as possible, seeking to emulate Iris’s impossible circuitry.

While it was easy to forge out this sword, the mental component quickly wore me out, what with all the precise circuitry I was putting into it. In fact, my mind went on some kind of auto-pilot when doing things like beveling the blade, drawing out the tang, and working the point into the tip of the sword. Before I could even realize what had happened, I had a nearly finished sword in my hands. It would only need a handle, hilt, and some sharpening, and it would be fit for battle.

I noticed that Bea and Freid were both looking at me, Bea with astonishment, and Fried with appreciation.

I selectively ignored them then, deciding instead to inspect the finished product in front of me.

The blade at least looked fairly normal on the surface, like a standard longsword. The only thing that seemed to stand out, was the material it had been made of.

There was so much lurking beneath the surface of it, though.

I inspected the mana circuits inside the sword, wondering if they would really do what I wanted them to. Even with how complex these one’s were, the sword was only intended to have a single function. Sure, that function should make the sword completely overpowered, but only if it worked.

Well then, moment of truth here.

I channeled a bit of mana through the sword, observing it’s reaction. Knowing that the sword’s function was activated through movement, I swung it lightly.

…

…

…

…

Huh.

Well. Something went wrong there.

I turned back towards the others, and noticed that Bea now seemed confused, and Freid looked astonished.

“Ah, Kai? Was the sword meant to do that?” Asked Bea while looking at the slender, sword shaped hole in the ground.

Yep, a failure. I must have forgotten a few circuits, which caused the sword to continue it’s downward swing, even without me.

Deep below us, I felt a muffled boom, and the ground shook slightly.

Ah well. At least nobody got hurt, right?

Wait. Isn’t there a large bunker full of questionable materials and inventions under the….

Crap.

Paling slightly, I looked Bea straight in her eyes.

“Not a word about this, to anyone, understand?”

Bea nodded quickly, while Freid started speaking excitably. I, of course, still had no idea what he was saying, so Bea forgot her confusion for a moment in order to translate for me.

“Uh, he’s wondering where you had learned the skills of a master craftsman? Something about cur-cuit-ry?”

Oh? So the people here are at least marginally aware of mana circuits? I knew that Joan could make them—Iris was a masterpiece after all, but I didn’t think that others would have the knowledge to.

“Can you ask him what he means by circuitry? I want to see if it’s what I’m thinking of.”

Bea and Freid talked for a few minutes, with Freid imparting what seemed to be some fairly heavy information. Finally, Bea translated it all for me in one big info dump.

“All the top craftsman are able to use something called a circuit to impart abilities to their creations. The abilities are limited by only the imagination and knowledge of the craftsman. Apparently, the technique to use them is only passed down from the most skilled craftsman in a certain discipline, like the most skilled carpenter, or the most competent blacksmith. In this generation, Freid is the best blacksmith, so he’s the one that would be passing down the technique. However, he doesn’t know you. Never even heard of you before, in fact. I think he wants to know why you are able to use the circuits, and where you came from.”

I thought for a moment, before answering.

“Tell Freid that I’m from a place far away, and came here due to a magical accident. And, I found out about the mana circuits through my own efforts.”

Hey, it’s not even a lie!

----------------------------------------

Author's Note:

Never underestimate Murphy's Law. Never.

It will find you, and screw with your week.