The forge flared as he entered, reacting to the ten glowing alloys in his bag. The soul of the blacksmith hovered in place, a faint smile tugging at his translucent face.
"You've done what none in a hundred years could. Perhaps... even my master would have been proud."
Kaito stepped to the anvil altar and placed the alloys one by one.
The ground trembled.
A sealed pedestal near the forge cracked open, and from within, a jet-black tome rose. Bound in darkened steel, etched with veins of ember red. It hovered toward him.
[You have received: Codex of Embersteel]
Its presence felt heavy — not in weight, but in meaning. The moment Kaito touched it, something clicked within his system interface.
At the same time, a second pulse followed. This time not from the book — but from within.
[Hidden Talent Acquired: Embersteel Heart]
The soul began to fade.
"Forge not what is needed... but what is worthy. That is the only path that survives time."
And then, he was gone.
Kaito stood alone in the Ashen Hollow, the heat of legacy still lingering around him.
The Codex of Embersteel still hovered before him, glowing faintly with ember-tinted veins. As he accepted it into his inventory, the forge's heat cooled subtly, like the forge itself had sighed in relief. A prompt shimmered in his vision.
[Codex of Embersteel – Bound Item]
Crafting Relic
Properties:
• Grants bonus Forging Success Rate by tier:
Common: +70%
Bronze: +50%
Mysterious Iron: +30%
Silver: +20%
Gold: +10%
Dark Gold: +5%
Epic: +1%
• Reduces forging stamina consumption by 20%.
[Forging Talent Acquired – Embersteel Heart]
Passive Talent – Bound to Character
• Adds additional effects to the item forged when triggered.
• Increases forging proficiency gain by 100% when triggered.
Kaito blinked in surprise. Even in his previous life, there was only a mention of this codex in the NPC background story but he didn't know that, this was what that blacksmith had got, and even there was no news of this forging talent.
While he was contemplating about this, another memory had surfaced into his mind
[Codex of Verdant Bloom]
An ancient crafting relic believed to enhance potion success, increase potion efficacy.
Compared to codex of embersteel this codex was considered a famous item in his previous life as it was the reason for a war between major super guilds in his previous life.
He didn't get to see the properties of that in his previous life but if his guess was true then it should not be much far from this embersteel codex.
He knew how to get that codex but before that he'll have to transfer to the city which could only be done after level 20.
So he decided that for now he'll focus on his forging skills and go back to potion making when he gets that codex also.
...…..
Kaito returned to SouthGlade satisfied from what he had achieved as now not only can he amass power but also wealth in the game.
Ordinary forging apprentices didn't touch bronze-tier gear, as even forging a common gear came with barely a 10% success rate for them. Starting with bronze? Practically impossible. Failure meant total loss and bronze gear materials weren't cheap.
To avoid waste, most guilds forced their forging life-skill players to stick to common gear at the beginning, grinding skill levels and success rates slowly before ever attempting higher tiers.
But Kaito didn't need that caution.
He had the Whisper Flame—which cut his material cost to a fraction—and now, the Codex of Embersteel, which catapulted his success rate skyward.
Kaito first went to his vault to retrieve the stored Grainrock chips, as for flintsteel cores it would have to wait until he gets the whetstone blueprint ready.
His team was already grinding for the fire-infused ore and the molten ember shells, besides those, large amounts of Copper Ore and Bronze Ore were also needed. These ores were scarcely available, and all the large Guilds bought them in bulk. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to get a hold of them.
But for him it was unnecessary to purchase them instead he can directly refine the grainrock chips with the whisper flame. So
[Materials Retrieved: 435 Stacks – Grainrock Chips]
They'd piled up quite a bit during his alloy-focused refining marathons.
He poured in the first batch. The Whisper Flame hissed.
Stack by stack, the process began.
Batch 1: 100 stacks - 2300 Copper, 200 Bronze
Batch 2: 100 stacks - 2200 Copper, 150 Bronze
Batch 3: 100 stacks - 2400 Copper, 160 Bronze
Batch 4: 100 stacks - 2100 Copper, 180 Bronze
Final 35 stacks - 805 Copper, 70 Bronze
[Total Acquired:]
Copper Ore × 9805
Bronze Ore × 950
Kaito was really tired mentally, it was a relief that on average a stack of grainrock chip gave him 23 copper ore and 2 bronze ore, and this amount would last him a long time.
If he calculated the cost a stack of grainrock chip would cost him 10 copper coins while the copper ore and the bronze ore refined from it could fetch around 83 copper coins if he calculated it based on the price that NPC offer for buying these i.e 3 copper for Copper ore and 7 copper for Bronze ore.
Gazing at the ores spread across the table, Kaito couldn't help but marvel at the Whisper flame. Even in its sealed state, it was anything but ordinary. It was no wonder kingdoms had once rallied their armies, waging war just to claim it. With this flame in hand, one essentially held a boundless treasury. And for any nation, possessing such a tool would all but guarantee prosperity. It wasn't just a relic — it was a symbol of power, wealth, and national dominance.
" This whisper flame is really a gold mine"
While he was taking a short rest, he pulled up his team interface.
[Team Chat – Raen]:
"I need someone to bring back all the fire-infused ore and the Molten ember shells we've gathered so far. Just drop them off and head back."
Within seconds, a reply came through.
[Hiroto]:
"I'll handle it. Be right there."
A few minutes later, Kaito went down to get them from Hiroto.
Hiroto's casual demeanor couldn't hide the curiosity in his eyes.
"Well, Brother" Hiroto said with a grin. "How's the armor coming along?"
Kaito "Just going to forge it and don't worry — you've got a share. "
He stepped forward and handed the materials over — a clean count: 10 stacks of Fire-Infused Ore and 10 of Molten Ember Shells, Kaito nodded and deposited them into his inventory without delay.
"Thanks. Head back and keep grinding. I want as much as we can get."
"You got it," Hiroto replied
With that, he was gone.
Kaito turned back towards forging room.
Following which, He pulled up his interface and navigated to the design tab, selecting the [Forging Blueprint: Echocore Emberplate]
Required Materials:
Fire-Infused Ore ×1
Molten Ember Shell ×1
Copper Ore × 10
Bronze Ore × 8
Without wasting time, he immediately chose to learn it.
System: You have learned how to forge the Echocore Emberplate.
Kaito as a Basic level Forging Apprentice he had a base success rate of 5% for bronze gears , 3% from the intermediate forging room, 50% from the codex and 10% from the whisper flame, Kaito now had a 68% success rate for making the Echocore emberplate. Not to mention Bronze Equipment, even if Common Equipment had a 60% success rate, it would still make Forger Life-skill players dance with joy.
Following which, Kaito started slowly making the armor according to the Forging Design's requirements. He first smelted the Copper and Bronze Ore in the fire. After being in the fire for five minutes, the ores started to melt and form a lump.
Afterward, Kaito added in the fire-infused ore and the molten ember shell, letting them burn for another minute before removing the red-hot ore and placing it onto the metal felt.
The ore's scorching hot temperature caused Kaito to sweat. However, he did not dare be careless, as the following process was the most important part.
After finishing the preparations, Kaito held the Intermediate Forging Hammer provided by the Life guild and readied it to hammer the fiery ore.
Dang… Dang… Dang...
The bronze ore on the anvil had already been folded and purified several times. Each strike from the hammer echoed in the chamber like a heartbeat—sharp, clean, and deliberate.
Not a single one wasted.
His arms ached faintly, but his movements remained stable. The Codex of Embersteel glowed quietly in his inventory window, syncing perfectly with the rhythm of his forging
In his previous life, Kaito did not learn Forging. However, he still knew quite a lot about Forging. After all, he had conversed with various Forgers quite often, so he was knowledgeable to the degree of not making certain low-level mistakes.
After One hundred strikes, Kaito checked the temperature levels, adjusted the alignment by two degrees, and finally tapped the Complete button on the forging interface.
The molten metal pulsed.
A faint glow surged across its surface before the red heat faded—revealing a newly-formed piece of armor, cool gray with subtle crimson veins along the edges.
It looked flawless on the surface.
But Kaito knew better.
Surface didn't matter. What mattered were the internals—Attributes and it's rank.
Bad forging will not only make it's attributes decrease but also it can downgrade it's rank.
Kaito narrowed his eyes and reached forward, opening the system panel with a single mental command.