In Ren's mind, the blueprint of the Primary Grass Pheasant Sword appeared.
[Primary Grass Pheasant Sword:]
[Forging Difficulty: ☆☆]
[Required Materials: Mojo Crystal, Gold Wood Sand, Ruby, Refined Star Steel, Heavenly Red Copper, Wujin Stone]
[Skill: Randomly enhance 1-3 chakra attributes]
Another two-star forging blueprint! The last time he forged the blueprint of the two-star Primary Ninja Pouch, Ren learned something from the system: two-star weapons and above all had the ability to recognize a master. After successful forging, simply smearing one's own blood on the weapon would allow a contract to be signed, making one the owner of the weapon. Only the contracted master holding the weapon could unleash its true power. Conversely, if these weapons fell into the hands of others, they would be nothing more than ordinary objects. This was the biggest difference between two-star weapons and ordinary ones. With this contract in place, Ren felt a bit more confident. This way, even if he encountered an opponent stronger than himself in battle and the weapon accidentally fell into enemy hands, he wouldn't have to worry.
"The process of making this Grass Pheasant Sword is really complicated," Ren whispered to himself. Although it was also a 2-star difficulty weapon, the forging difficulty of this Grass Pheasant Sword was more complex than the last Ninja Pouch he made. Even the materials needed amounted to six different kinds. Among them, two types of ore, Heavenly Red Copper and Wujin Stone, were quite expensive. For a mere 100 grams, the price reached as much as 200,000 Ryo, equivalent to the commission for a C-rank mission in the village. Ren scoured his family's shop and finally gathered all six types of ore. The combined price of these ores exceeded one million Ryo! Ren felt a little embarrassed. It seemed that being a blacksmith... was still a very expensive profession! Fortunately, his family was relatively wealthy, and one million Ryo was still affordable.
In the forge, before Ren, lay enough materials for three attempts. In other words, Ren had only three chances to experiment in total. If he didn't succeed within these three attempts, the construction of the Grass Pheasant Sword would have to be put on hold until his parents returned from the Land of Iron.
Ren closed his eyes, concentrating all his spiritual power on the forging table in front of him. After mentally reviewing the entire process of forging the Grass Pheasant Sword again, he suddenly opened his eyes. In his dark pupils, the red ore, glowing from the flames, reflected. He injected a large amount of chakra into his hammer, clenching it with both hands as he struck repeatedly. The entire process was unusually calm.
Clang~Clang clang~~
A constant and rhythmic sound filled the air.
[Ding! Forging failed. Forging result: Ordinary long sword]
[Ding! Forging failed. Forging result: Ordinary long sword]
Failed again? Ren frowned and stopped his forging. In two consecutive attempts, he had encountered a bottleneck at a critical moment. The most difficult part of forging a Grass Pheasant Sword was the fusion of the two ores: Heavenly Red Copper and Wujin Stone. They needed to be controlled at different temperature levels, yet forged together simultaneously, so that the two ores could fuse perfectly. But in his previous two attempts, each time Ren tried to fuse these two burning ores, they would have a rejection reaction, cracking into several pieces of debris.
How could this be? Why can't the two ores be successfully merged? Ren diligently recalled many details of his forging process, stroking his chin, and fell into contemplation for a while. Is there something wrong with his previous understanding? No, it shouldn't be. Every step of the forging process he had performed before was done in accordance with the steps in the blueprints, without any mistakes. Is the blueprint wrong? Ren quickly ruled out this idea too.
So, is there a possibility... that it was because of the wrong way of injecting his chakra that the two kinds of ores were mutually exclusive?
"I've figured out a way!" A small light suddenly flashed in Ren's mind. Perhaps if I try this method, I can solve the problem I just had! Ren looked at the last remaining forging material. If he failed this time, he wouldn't be able to create a Primary Grass Pheasant Sword anytime soon.
But hesitation was not Ren's character. If he didn't try, how could he verify that what he had just thought was correct? Ren re-entered his mind, sorting out the entire forging process and ideas. His heart became firmer and firmer.
"Let's start!" He took a deep breath, picked up the hammer again, and began forging. One ore after another was thrown into the forging table by Ren. After heating to the right temperature, they began to fuse continuously. Throughout the entire process, Ren's eyes were as calm as still water, undisturbed. Only the hammer in his hand skillfully struck the ore before him.
For two hours, Ren had already completed the fusion of the first four ores. He took a deep breath, not daring to relax his focus in the slightest, because they would soon come to the most difficult step of this forging: the fusion of Heavenly Red Copper and Wujin Stone!
This time, Ren was not in a hurry. Instead, from his Ninja Pouch, he took out a previously forged Clone Kunai and injected his own chakra.
"Boom!" A puff of white smoke rose. Next to Ren, a material clone identical to him appeared. Although the chakra in the material clone wasn't as plentiful as a shadow clone's, it was enough to help him complete this forging. All preparations had been made. Next was the most important highlight of the entire forging process!
Ren calmed himself and refined his body's chakra. While controlling his clone, he separated his chakra, sending it into two scorching ores. Then, the two pieces of ore were gradually brought together and fused. Whether the two pieces of ore could truly fuse together this time depended on the reaction after the hammer struck. This step was the most crucial part of creating a Grass Pheasant Sword, and he couldn't be sloppy. If these two minerals couldn't be successfully fused, then this forging would fall short and become a failure.
Ren, who had failed here twice before, couldn't help but feel a little nervous and anxious at this moment.
"Drink!" A low cry escaped his mouth. Ren clenched the hammer tightly in both hands and thumped the minerals on the forging table in front of him.
"Clang~~"
The sound of mineral fracture did not come. Instead, it was a crisp, bell-like percussion sound, pleasant to the ear. Ren's eyes suddenly filled with joy, and he almost leaped up from the ground with excitement.
This time, he had succeeded in forging!