The tools were unlike anything I'd ever seen. Tongs shaped like dragon jaws, their grip textured with scales that felt disturbingly realistic. A hammer with a star-iron head that seemed to contain actual starlight, its ivory bone grip worn smooth by countless hands.
Everything was heavier than it should have been, but balanced perfectly, as if these implements had been waiting for someone who understood their true purpose.
I hefted the hammer, feeling its weight, and turned toward the centre of the room where a massive anvil waited. It was a work of art in itself, metallic surface engraved with swirling constellations that seemed to move when I wasn't looking directly at them. This was where the real work would happen.
"Okay," I said, approaching the anvil. "Now I just need a forge. Can't exactly work cold metal with divine tools, can I?"
The moment I spoke, a magic circle appeared beneath my feet, runes spiraling outward in complex patterns that made my eyes water. The air hummed with potential energy, and for a moment I thought I was about to witness something truly spectacular.
A system voice echoed through the chamber, speaking with the same divine authority that had brought me here:
"Would you like to summon the Astral Crucible?"
"Yeah," I said eagerly. "Sure. Light it up."
The circle pulsed once, twice, and then fizzled out like a wet firecracker.
"Summoning failed. Mana not detected in host."
I stared at the space where my magical forge should have been, then at the tools in my hands, then back at the empty space. The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity before I finally found my voice.
"Seriously?" I said to the empty air. "You couldn't mention that little detail earlier? 'Oh, by the way, you'll need mana to use any of this divine crafting equipment.' That would have been useful information!"
I sat heavily on the edge of the anvil, my head in my hands. Of course it couldn't be simple. Of course there would be prerequisites I didn't know about. I was starting to understand why this was considered a trial, it wasn't just about skill, it was about figuring out an impossible puzzle with incomplete information.
["Tip: To gather mana, seek basic mage scrolls."]
The system's helpful suggestion appeared in my peripheral vision like a post-it note from hell.
"You couldn't start with that?" I demanded, glaring at the floating text. "Fucking dumb system."
I took a step toward the treasure piles, then paused and looked up at the vaulted ceiling.
"Hey," I called out. "Any more 'tips' before I waste my time again? Because I'm starting to think you're making this up as you go along."
There was a moment of silence, then a much larger window appeared:
Forge Activation Prerequisites:
Mana Gathering ✗ Basic Flame Affinity ✗ Magicsmithing I ✗ Ether Handling Compatibility ✗........
I squinted at the list, feeling my hope drain away like water through a sieve.
"I'm going to die here, aren't I?" I asked the room at large.
The system, in its infinite wisdom, chose not to answer.
What followed was the most educational and painful few hours of my life. I dug through the treasure piles like a man possessed, searching for anything that looked like a scroll or grimoire or instruction manual for "Mana Gathering for Dummies." Most of what I found was either too advanced, resulting in painful rejection shocks when I tried to read them, or completely incompatible with whatever I was supposed to be.
One scroll promised to teach me sword saint techniques, filling my vision with images of impossible blade work that made my eyes bleed. The system rejected it immediately: "Incompatible Skillset."
Another tried to download the complete works of divine magic theory directly into my brain. I lasted about three seconds before throwing it away, my skull feeling like it was going to split open.
But slowly, painfully, I began to find scrolls I could actually use. Basic mana theory. Elementary flame manipulation. The absolute fundamentals of magical smithing. Each one was like drinking from a fire hose, information flooded my mind in torrents, burning new pathways through my consciousness as my brain tried to accommodate knowledge it was never designed to hold.
I screamed. I clawed at the ground. I bit my tongue until I tasted blood. But I pushed through it, driven by the simple truth that the only way out was forward.
Hours later, or maybe days, time had lost all meaning in this windowless tomb, I finally heard the sound I'd been waiting for:
[Mana Circuit Activation: Complete.]
[Magicsmithing Level 1: Acquired.]
[Flame Affinity: Basic – Stable.]
[Astral Crucible: Now Available.]
I lay on the floor, bathed in sweat, trembling from the aftereffects of forcibly expanding my consciousness beyond human limits. But I was ready. I could feel the mana flowing through my body like liquid fire, could sense the potential for creation that thrummed in the air around me.
With tremendous effort, I pushed myself to my feet and walked toward the anvil with purpose. This time would be different. This time, I had everything I needed to begin forging my way out of this divine prison.
I reached for the anvil, my fingers inches from its starred surface,
And my knees gave out.
I collapsed to the floor like a puppet with cut strings, my vision swimming as exhaustion finally claimed me. The mana I'd worked so hard to gather felt like poison in my veins, and every breath was a struggle.
Is this... my limit?
The thought echoed in my mind as consciousness slipped away, leaving me alone on the cold stone floor of a tomb that might just become my own.