God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 1148: Hammering Away (2).
The {Draconic Blast Furnace} roared to life with the sound of a thousand furious dragons roaring to life.
Cain stood within the massive structure, feeling the heat wash over his body in waves. The dragon heads that spat fire within the furnace were a marvel of magical engineering, capable of reaching temperatures that would reduce most ordinary materials to vapor, while simultaneously allowing for precise control through mana manipulation.
Except he couldn’t use his traditional mana manipulation techniques here. Not with these materials at least.
He glanced at the enormous piles of ores and stones Pudding had retrieved. Each marvelous piece glowed with its own internal light, pulsing with the chaotic energy of this strange universe.
The weight of just one chunk had nearly pulled his arm out of its socket. Such density was absurd, he could tell despite his weakened standards. It was far beyond anything he’d worked with on Urbus for sure.
"Right," Cain muttered, rolling up his sleeves.
"Let’s see what you’re made of."
He selected the first sample—a piece of that impossibly heavy ore with a dull grey sheen. Using a pair of enchanted tongs, he carefully placed it into the furnace’s main chamber.
The moment the ore touched the heated surface, it began to react.
Not melting, exactly. More like... unraveling. The solid metal seemed to break down into individual threads of matter, each one writhing with purple-black energy. Cain watched intently, his enhanced senses cataloging every single detail of the transformation.
The Chaos Ether within the ore was responding positively to the heat, but not in a pattern predictable to himself.
His version of metallurgy relied on consistent phase changes mixed in with the flux of the Mana flow patterns. The basis of it was still rooted in the fundamental laws of the world he was familiar with still.
This, on the other hand, was a fair bit different.
The energy within the hunk of metal was indeed very chaotic, despite being so similar to mana.
In and of itself, mana was by no means calm. The mana flow patterns were a direct result of this after all.
But the Chaos Ether was much more volatile. It fought against itself, its patterns forming and collapsing in microseconds.
"Fascinating," Cain breathed heavily.
He felt his mind open at the revelation.
Although he probably would never be able to use such a chaotic energy, it surely was eye-opening to witness.
He let the sample cook for precisely three minutes, then he pulled it out. The ore had transformed into a liquid form, slushing slowly in the crucible he had prepared. The thing gave off a slightly warm hue, much different from its original state.
He set it aside to cool and immediately started on the next sample.
The hours blurred together.
Sample after sample went into the furnace. Cain tested different temperatures, different durations, and different combinations for hundreds upon hundred of different ores and stones.
Normally, such a thing would have been rather strenuous to pull off, and considering he was burning through time, it could even be seen as quite wasteful.
However, it wasn’t at all.
By cataloging all his findings, Cain was very much creating his own reliable compendium of materials with which he could always rely on when crafting new items.
Sure, it could be time consuming.
However, with his newly, extraordinarily enhanced mind and spirit, it felt like a walk in the park.
Being able to focus with extreme precision on so many things at a time was quite helpful.
Plus, with the ability to create metallic arms to do multiple things ag the same time... The world was merely a stepping stone.
As he continued his experiments, Cain noted down the peculiar details he observed,
"Each ore and magic stone behaves differently. Hence, each one demands its own approach."
For example, certain stones reacted quite positively to extensive stress and heat. Meanwhile, others spontaneously decayed under similar stimulation.
More so than anything, each one was completely incompatible with traditional mana-forging techniques.
That meant he literally had to invent news ways to deal with them along the way.
He had an inkling someone in the wide universe had some of this already figured out as he certainly wasn’t the first to set foot in this strange universe. However, when he asked the system, it had told him the information was carefully guarded. Safe for a few unimportant things, he could get much out of it.
"Of course it is," Cain grumbled, examining his latest failed attempt. The metal had cracked the moment he’d tried to infuse it with mana and ki from his mana pool. The two energy types had rejected each other violently, causing the entire piece to shatter.
He needed a different approach.
Cain pulled out a chunk of steel from Urbus. This was good quality material, infused with metal elemental mana.
Then he grabbed one of the ores filled with Chaos Ether.
If he couldn’t make them work separately, maybe he could make it work by roughly throwing them together like a caveman.
The key would be in the ratios. And the timing. And probably a dozen other variables he hadn’t figured out yet.
This was going to take a while.
***
The unique property of the {Draconic Blast Furnace} that made extended crafting sessions possible, its time dilation feature, was one of the most wonderful and useful tools Nero had in his possession.
The first combination was a disaster. He’d tried a simple fifty-fifty mix of Chaos Ether ore and Arcane Steel. The result was a blob of a solid fluid that would only hold its shape when he cooled it to a specific temperature.
When it rose or fell beyond that, it would collapse into its more fluid fluid state.
To think it had been created from two huge chunks of metal was absolutely outstanding.
"How chaotic," Cain muttered to himself, making notes in his mind. "If the structure is compromised, then does it perhaps need more or less?"
A whole lot of gibberish, he muttered...
His second attempt was much more tempered as he’d learned from his past mistake.
Seventy percent Arcane Steel, thirty percent of the raw, smelted ore. The results turned out better, but this time, at the stable temperature, the material became too brittle. It shattered under the slightest touch. It certainly wouldn’t be useful for much.
For the third attempt, Cain tried something new and added a crushed up magic stone he knew could act as a stabilizing catalyst. Then he proceeded to add in the smelted ore little by little.
This time, the steel accepted the foreign energy more smoothly, but the final product was still too unstable.
Fourth attempt...
Fifth attempt...
Tenth attempt...
Cain lost count somewhere around the fiftieth combination. His hands moved with mechanical precision, testing ratios, temperatures, cooling rates, even his hammering techniques.
Every variable mattered and every small change produced could create dramatically different results.
The furnace’s heat was relentless, but he barely noticed since he was covered in a few layers of magic shields or he would get burned to a crisp. Despite that, it was still baking hot.
Sweat soaked through his robes, his muscles ached from the constant work, but his mind remained sharp and focused.
He was onto something. He could feel it.
