Cole stepped through the door. Inside it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen.

It was a broad room, easily as large as a whole house. Bronze braziers that held angry red flames lit up a five-walled room made of polished marble. More bronze lined the corners and edges of the room with the same scribbles that made up the tattoo. Runes, the mythology nerd inside him whispered. They were runes, and they were absolutely overflowing with magic. It was almost the same feeling as the not-blood running through him, but slightly different.

A different kind, type, flavor, whatever you wanted to call it. The tattoo seemed to use affinity. The stuff that was running through Cole was a mix of five other kinds and seemed to correlate with what the tattoo said he had. Something hot, stubborn, and angry. Fire. Something indifferent, cold, and unyielding. Metal. Something that wanted to hit things hard, nothing more and nothing less. Kinetic. Something creative, that wanted nothing more than to build and forge forever. Conjuration. A pompous asshole who thought he was better than you and was right. Enchantment. Together, they formed a terror of a feeling that seemed to have the feeling that it was rather busy, so he could tell it what to do or fuck right off.

A kindred soul.

The kind in the forge runes was both more nebulous and more simple. There was still a bit of enchantment in there, but that was likely because the runes were an enchantment. The main part of the mana was grand. Big and then small, long and then short, twisting and then straight. Either distance or space. This did seem to be some kind of pocket realm, so that made sense.

The wall he exited from held the door. Or used to. Once he had stepped inside, it had disappeared. But it was likely that he could summon it back just as easily as he had the first time. The wall directly to his left was a bookshelf. It was made of the same wood the door had been, although this piece was even more heavily adorned. Instead of the abstract swirls and geometric shapes on the door, the reliefs here specifically depicted spiders. All over the shelves were engravings of arachnids collecting books and scrolls. In the very center of the shelf, the design transitioned to a grand web full of tomes, which could likely rival most libraries.

The actual titles of the books were fairly impressive as well. "Enchantment Runes and Their History", "Spacial Storages and Their Limitations", "A Thesis on Affinities", "Metals of the Realms", "The Mana-Smith's Guidebook", "Magic for Dummies", and "The Effects of Mana on Natural Resources."

Those were just the most important-looking ones.

The wall directly to the right had a cubby excavated out of it, with only a fancy table and a seat inside. The table was covered in concentric spirals, and he could feel the mana in the room being dragged to it. A small chisel sat on the table, and there was a copy of "Beginner's Enchanting" resting on the seat. A rune-carving table, and a good one if it worked as well as it looked. He had no idea what effect magic would have on weapons, but if it made his swords better then he needed to learn.

The far wall on the right side was the workshop itself. Inside the forge, a silver-red flame was flickering, and Cole could feel that it was based on his own personal mana. Mainly a mix of metal, fire, and kinetic. It flickred and danced like flames, but seemed solid as well. You could probably pick up a piece and shape it with your hands. If the raging heat and pulses of pure kinetic energy didn't kill you first. He decided to call it forcefire.

The anvil and hammer were both bare of runes but were made of some kind of metal that was white bordering on blue. He walked back over to the bookshelf, and after skimming through a few books on magic metals, found his quarry on page seventy-three of "Affinity Metals and What to do With Them". The tools were made of an affinity metal, which was just a metal with large amounts of a certain mana type infused in it. Specifically, they were made of Arctic iron.

Arctic iron was a curious metal that got softer with cold and harder with heat. If used in the flames of a forge, it was practically unbreakable for anyone who just gained mana. Interestingly, the book also contained a reference to Arctic steel, which was an alloy of artic iron and mithril. Apparently, Mithril was the most mana-conductive metal in the universe. Most magic metals had an alloy with it, which generally just increased the amount of mana strengthening the weapon by an unnatural amount. And that was without any runes or other boosts.

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The hammer also had a translucent silvery gem inset at the bottom of its handle. Another trip to the bookshelf found "Storage Gems and How to Use Them". Mithril was the most conducive to mana, but gems were the best at storing them. This particular gem was storing pure kinetic mana. It was not as good as forcefire mana, but it could hold a lot more than Cole himself right now. Having a backlog of force to put into strikes while forging would be incredible, and this was just his starting gear. In a few months, once he got a handle on all the magic bullshit, he was certain he could do better. He was Cole Vance after all.

Sadly, the gem seemed limited to kinetic energy, so no forcefire hammers were in his future unless he found a gem or crystal that could store it. Or made one.

The rest of the forge was standard, and although his heart and soul longed to try it out, he decided to finish exploring first. The final wall's centerpiece was a massive mirror, polished to such a standard that the smith didn't see so much as a speck of dust marring its surface. On either side of it was a stand for armor, fully adjustable to a variety of sizes and number of limbs. Any space not taken up yet was covered in dozens of weapon racks, ready to display all future creations. There were stands for all kinds of blades from daggers to glaives.

Cole looked at himself in the mirror. Whatever change had given him mana and his tattoo seemed to have improved his appearance as well.

Despite his cantankerous attitude, solitary nature, and obsession with forging, Cole was no dwarf. In fact, he was practically a giant. Six foot five, shoulders broad enough that he had to turn to enter most doorways, and enough muscles to send bodybuilders running and screaming. All throughout high school, he had been practically begged to join different sports. His time in the forge had given him hands so calloused they could be used as sandpaper, and a soot-stained visage that made him generally unapproachable. He liked it that way.

His hair was black, although it was hard to tell where the natural color began and the soot ended. His eyes were a dull gray with no piercing gaze or shining hope. Just steady stubborn determination. His nose, before the system, had been crooked from one too many breaks. Now, it was perfectly straight. The rest of his body had been touched up as well. He saw no pimples, freckles, or any other blemishes. Thankfully, whatever had facilitated the change left his callouses and scars. If they hadn't, tires would be slashed and bones would be broken.

His signature scowl was looking great too. Never underestimate a man who can stare daggers. It's a good and reliable skill to have, along with all other forms of 'You're pissing me off, go away.'

On the topic of changes, he wanted to get a feel for his forcefire, or really just his magic in general. The mana flowing through his body was still setting in, and Cole believed that getting a feel for its use would help speed that along. Weapons would obviously be his preferred medium, so he strode across the room to grab the hammer. Once he was only a few steps away, he held out his hand to grab it- and a small tendril of red and silver flame shot out and pulled it the rest of the way into his hand.

Just from that small display, Cole felt drained. An eighth of his mana, maybe a ninth? Just gone. All for a tiny tentacle that pulled a hammer two inches. But he felt good too. Like the burn after a good session at the forge, he could feel his body improving. Except instead of muscles getting stronger, it was whatever channels held mana getting larger. Magic was just another muscle. One that could be trained.

He summoned it again on his other hand. Just a small marble floating above his palm. The silver and red intertwined beautifully, and he could feel how it was ethereal like flame and solid like steel at the same time. And with the kinetic mixed in, it was energetic. The whole thing struggled against his control, but it didn't burn him. It just wanted to be in use, not to genuinely rebel. But for all that destructive power, it was also a thing of creation. Conjuration and enchantment were woven in. Its heat was even and steady, perfect for forging.

He needed to forge with this. He needed to forge with Arctic steel, and with storage gems, and with runes. He needed all that this new reality had to offer.

But now that he had tried forcefire, he wanted to try conjuration for itself. He held up his hand and imagined a sheet of steel appearing. The mana first probed his mind, drawing from his focus and his knowledge of the material. Then, the mana rushed up his arms and began to coalesce into metal. It was incredibly inefficient, he could tell. It felt like trying to pour water into a cup using an oil drum. But he was successful. There, in his hand, laid his victory. A grand, amazing, glimmering-

"A fucking marble?"

All the mana in his body had only been enough for a chunk of metal the size of a pebble. Cole's disappointment was immeasurable, and his day was ruined. That, along with the darkness at the edge of his vision and the floor rapidly rushing up to meet him, gave credibility to the idea that spending all the mana you had at once was generally not good for you. Of course, he knocks himself out making a fucking marble.