Chapter 60: Forging Ushiwakamaru's Magic Sword – The Boon Brought by the Karma Flame!
Shirou successfully leveled up to Lv.2 during this trip to the dungeon.
He also gained a development ability that only becomes available upon leveling up.
Though this ability, named [Karma Flame], was a rare skill never before seen, it undoubtedly brought a massive improvement to Shirou's forging capabilities.
However, despite all this good news piling up, the goddess Hestia did not look the least bit excited. Instead, she wore a deeply serious and anxious expression.
"Shirou, if you're willing, could you tell me everything that happened in the dungeon?" Hestia looked at Shirou with a grave face. "I'm not asking to pry into your private matters, I just need to understand some critical issues."
"Of course."
Shirou wouldn't share much with outsiders, but when it came to Hestia, the goddess who had taken him in, he held nothing back.
He told her everything that had happened during his time in the dungeon — including how he obtained a golden magic stone, absorbed the golden blood within it, and subsequently leveled up.
"A golden magic stone?"
Bell and Lili were both confused upon hearing this. Neither had ever seen or heard of a magic stone like that.
Hestia was also unfamiliar with such a strange magic stone. After thinking for a moment, she decisively said:
"Whatever Shirou just told you — you must not let anyone else know! Especially the fact that he leveled up without my help. No one can find out about this!"
"Leveling up without using the Falna..."
Bell and Lili then realized the most critical problem with Shirou's recent level-up.
Normally, adventurers require the help of their God to level up, and their attributes are adjusted through the divine blood of the gods.
Even learning skills requires divine power. Yet Shirou leveled up entirely on his own, without any assistance from Hestia.
To put it bluntly, this could undermine the very foundation of Orario's system and shake the structure of the gods' blessings. If some of the more conservative gods were to find out the truth, they might do everything in their power to eliminate an anomaly like Shirou.
"We'll never tell anyone!" Bell and Lili swore to keep the secret no matter what.
Hestia said she would publicly claim that Shirou leveled up after a formal blessing ceremony, to cover up the fact that he had done it on his own.
Shirou was naturally very grateful for the help from Hestia, Bell, and Lili.
Still, he was extremely curious about that golden magic stone — what exactly was it? Why did absorbing its golden blood allow someone with his unusual constitution to level up?
In other words: if Bell or another adventurer had absorbed the golden blood, would they also have leveled up? Or was it only possible because of Shirou's special nature?
Shirou had no answers, but he knew he had to dig deeper into the mystery.
That said, Shirou didn't have any real expertise in analyzing the golden magic stone.
His only lead was the Apollo Familia members who had been present at the time. According to them, they had ventured into the lower levels of the dungeon on direct orders from their god, Apollo.
Which meant that the only way Shirou could find out more about the golden magic stone was to confront Apollo, the mastermind behind it all. But Apollo was a god — Shirou couldn't simply approach him so easily.
This was going to require long-term planning.
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That same night, back at the familia home, Shirou got a good night's rest. Compared to the harsh conditions of the dungeon, even the cold floor of the basement felt gentle.
The next morning, Bell and Lili set off again for the dungeon.
Bell, clearly stirred by Shirou's leap to Lv.2, began training desperately in an attempt to catch up.
Shirou himself wasn't too concerned about his own level. After leveling up, he noticed that his attribute values barely changed.
The only real change was the acquisition of the skill [Karma Flame].
Although Hestia had said even Hephaestus likely wouldn't understand the full nature of this skill, to Shirou, the Goddess of the Forge was the only one he could rely on to find out more.
So, Shirou headed straight to the Hephaestus Familia.
Originally, he planned to walk straight to the inner sanctum of the familia like usual — but instead, he paused in the main public weapon exhibition hall outside.
What caught Shirou's eye was the display case of the Hephaestus Familia's weapons.
As a familia centered around forging, their most important metric was the quality of their weapons.
Periodically, the familia would hold exhibitions, with Hephaestus herself selecting outstanding works to be showcased.
These were meant to encourage the smiths and also were put on sale — essentially free advertising for the familia's blacksmiths.
The reason Shirou had stopped was because — one of his own swords had been placed in the display of excellent works.
This deeply surprised him. The sword in question had only been a practice piece, something he hadn't even poured much effort into.
Even so, this sword was still displayed, and it was even marked at a price of 150,000 valis—a level that only third-tier weapons could reach. Shirou felt that this was Hephaestus encouraging him, as in reality, this prototype of his did not reach the level of truly excellent work. The fact that no one had shown interest in this weapon and it had yet to be sold was proof enough.
"What a lack of vision." As Shirou admired the weapon, a young man's voice unexpectedly sounded beside him.
It was a red-haired youth, dressed in coarse black hemp clothing, with a giant greatsword about half a person tall strapped to his back.
From his broad hands and the callused texture on them, Shirou quickly deduced that this person was also a blacksmith from the Hephaestus Familia.
"What did you say was lacking vision?" Shirou curiously struck up a conversation. The red-haired youth pointed at Shirou's forged prototype and said, "I'm saying those buyers lack vision. Among this batch of weapons, this sword is clearly the best. Yet just because the blacksmith is an unknown figure, no one is willing to give it a chance. That's just plain foolish."
"Is it really that exaggerated?" Shirou didn't expect such high praise for his weapon and responded, confused, "I actually think this sword is just average."
"Hmph, that's exactly why this world is full of people like you who lack vision," the red-haired youth replied bluntly, showing no sign of politeness. "Although it doesn't look special on the surface, this sword's forging technique clearly imitates the craftsmanship of Hephaestus and
several top masters. It even incorporates elements of the Goibniu Familia's forging methods. In terms of sharpness and durability, this sword clearly outclasses the others here."
"Really…" Shirou showed a surprised expression. He didn't expect the other to see through his forging approach so clearly, even recognizing that he had referenced the Goibniu Familia's forging techniques.
The Goibniu Familia was a name equal to the Hephaestus Familia in the field of blacksmithing. Its god, Goibniu, was also known as a god of forging.
However, compared to Hephaestus, who specialized in weapon forging, Goibniu worked in various fields—even in civilian areas like furniture and architecture, he was willing to create suitable tools.
The Goibniu Familia was more inclined to accept custom commissions rather than selling items publicly like the Hephaestus Familia. This made the Goibniu Familia far less well-known than the Hephaestus Familia.
Because of his obsession with forging, Shirou had studied every blacksmith's weapons in Orario, and by using his own special insight, he managed to replicate the techniques of those masters.
By imitating others' forging, he rapidly improved his own forging skills.
Only because of this was he able to earn Hephaestus's recognition and have his weapon displayed in the case of excellent works.
"But this guy named Emiya Shirou is a weirdo too." The red-haired youth curled his lips at Shirou's weapon. "Most people will only study one forging technique and take that path to its extreme. But this guy—he's like a complete beginner—he learned every single forging technique. What's more, he learned each one quite well. I can't understand his thinking."
"Is there a problem with that approach?"
After some interaction, Shirou realized the other guy was straightforward and was willing to hear more of his thoughts.
The red-haired youth nodded silently. "Of course there is. A blacksmith must forge unique weapons. That requires a personal touch, and that touch must be reflected in every step of the forging process. If you keep imitating others' techniques, in the end, you'll always be stuck on the path of imitation, never able to create a weapon truly your own."
"I see." Shirou nodded. The youth's words struck a chord with him and even gave him some inspiration.
The red-haired youth was also pleased with Shirou's attitude.
Smiling, he patted Shirou on the shoulder and cheerfully said, "You're a fun guy. I didn't expect there to be someone like you in the Hephaestus Familia. It's a pleasant surprise. My name is Welf Crozzo. If we get the chance, let's talk more about forging. By the way, what's your name?"
Seeing that Welf was trying to be friendly, Shirou hesitated a bit. But when Welf's face showed a puzzled expression, Shirou realized that if he didn't answer now, the other would get suspicious. So he quickly said, "My name is Muramasa. Yeah, just call me that."
The name Muramasa was something Shirou made up on the spot. But strangely, when he said the name, it didn't feel wrong—in fact, it felt entirely natural.
"Oh? Then I'll be counting on you, Brother Muramasa." Welf smiled and shook hands with Shirou. Then, carefree as ever, he turned and left.
As Welf left, Shirou's expression suddenly became serious.
Because at the moment he touched Welf, he felt a strange boiling sensation in his blood, and he even saw a stream of golden blood flowing within Welf's body.
Since he had just encountered something similar, Shirou immediately linked it to the golden blood seeping from that golden magic stone.
Did Welf have that same golden blood in his body too? What was that all about… Caught in this confusion, Shirou couldn't figure it out and could only set it aside for now as he made his way to Hephaestus's office.
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Hephaestus had clearly received news ahead of time about Shirou finishing his dungeon exploration.
So she greeted him without surprise and asked plainly, "So? How was the joint expedition this time? You must have gained a lot of experience, right? Any signs of leveling up?"
She was just casually asking, not really expecting Shirou to level up after just one trip. After all, leveling up for adventurers was extremely difficult, especially going from Lv.1 to Lv.2—it was a wall that blocked most adventurers.
"Yeah, I've already leveled up." However, Shirou's response left Hephaestus completely stunned.
Especially when she confirmed that he had not only leveled up, but also obtained a Developmental Ability—
"You actually leveled up? One dungeon expedition and you already leveled up? Even with the help of high-level adventurers, that's hard to believe."
Hephaestus was deeply shocked by Shirou's level-up. It took her a long time to accept the reality and start studying Shirou's newly awakened Development Skill.
She sent Shirou to the forge and asked him to perform a forging session in front of her.
At the start of the process, Shirou didn't feel much different from usual. But when he took out the forged sword blank and prepared to strike it, every hammer blow caused glaring flames to burst from the blade, even though there was no external condition that would create fire.
"So this is your ability," Hephaestus said in amazement. "Out of hundreds or thousands of blacksmiths, occasionally there will be someone born with fire-type magic. That lets them use magic during forging, making the resulting weapons tougher and sharper."
"So my skill is something like that?" "No, I can't quite see it clearly, but your skill isn't just ordinary fire magic," Hephaestus said, frowning as she looked at the sword Shirou had just crafted. "Even though it looks similar to fire magic in form, in essence, it's… something else entirely."
Hearing her explanation, Shirou was completely bewildered. Since even the goddess of forging couldn't understand it, he of course had no clue either.
Hephaestus said she would try to research it and figure out the true nature of Shirou's awakened skill.
Until then, she told him to treat it as ordinary fire magic and use it that way. After all, even basic fire magic was incredibly useful for forging.
Compared to manually adjusting the furnace temperature, being able to summon fire by will made forging more convenient and allowed a higher ceiling.
For this reason alone, [Karma's Flame] already far surpassed the usual [Blacksmith] skill by an unknown margin.
After Hephaestus left, Shirou began forging on his own.
His task now was to fulfill the commission from the Takemikazuchi Familia—creating a weapon for Yamato Mikoto.
Shirou remembered Mikoto's request clearly, and during the dungeon expedition, he had also considered what kind of weapon would suit her.
[
Karma's Flame
]
—her shock was even greater.
After much deliberation, he had an idea: the Noble Phantasm from Unlimited Blade Works—Magic Sword [Ame-no-Habakiri (Thin Green)]. This sword originated from the weapon used by the Heroic Spirit Ushiwakamaru.
As a Heroic Spirit, Ushiwakamaru's strength was unquestionable, and the weapon she used was no ordinary item—an executioner's blade tempered through endless slaughter. If Shirou used projection, he could even replicate Ushiwakamaru's sword skills along with the weapon.
But in forging, that level of replication was clearly impossible.
All Shirou hoped for was to create a weapon with special effects—like the Dagger of Hassan he'd previously forged.
As for the money needed, he had earned plenty from this dungeon run, so he was bold enough to splurge a little. Forging a magical sword for free wouldn't bankrupt him.
With that thought in mind, Shirou immediately began forging. He tossed all the rare metals he had into the furnace.
At first, he wanted to use regular flames, but then he remembered his newly acquired skill—[Karma's Flame]. To familiarize himself with the skill, Shirou decided to use karmic flame for forging and see whether the weapon would turn out different.
But he soon regretted his impulsiveness. Forging with karmic flame consumed far more than he'd expected. Even with Shirou's magical power, it was hard to bear.
Most critically, when he used this flame, he felt like his very soul was burning.
Since Shirou's soul had already been damaged by Enuma Elish, this heavy consumption of soul power brought him dangerously close to life-threatening harm.
But at this point, Shirou couldn't stop. He gritted his teeth and completed the entire forging process, maintaining karmic flame throughout.
Thanks to this effort, the weapon he created was extraordinary. Even the freshly quenched tachi reflected such dazzling sharpness that it caught the eye.
Most impressively, this magic sword [Ame-no-Habakiri] that Shirou forged by hand had three special effects, one more than the Dagger of Hassan. It was unquestionably a second-tier weapon, possibly even beyond that level.