Inside the Excellia Workshop, the once-gaseous energy began to condense—slowly forming a single droplet of shimmering, golden liquid.
Hephaestus and Tsubaki both exhaled in disbelief.
"It actually worked!"
After a moment of stunned silence, their excitement spiked like a forge fire bursting to life.
Hephaestus leaned forward, eyes locked on the droplet floating inside a specially designed container.
"Changing Excellia's very form… this is historic."
Excellia had always been something intangible—an unseen force that symbolized an adventurer's growth. Yet here it was, solidified right before their eyes.
"Yeah," Tsubaki breathed, nodding in awe. "To manifest Excellia itself—and even turn it into a usable forging material…"
This was the birth of a new era.
For craftsmen, this breakthrough meant that the old limits were no longer the limits of tomorrow. It meant their craft had just stepped into an entirely new future.
"The next step," Hephaestus said thoughtfully, "is figuring out how to actually infuse Excellia into a weapon—or even make it a part of the weapon itself."
She didn't expect it to be easy. Even for her, handling a material like Excellia would require extreme precision.
How the weapon would react to such a substance—that was something only thorough testing could reveal. And such testing wouldn't be quick or simple.
"Tsuna, Tsubaki," Hephaestus finally said, "that's enough for today."
"Eh~?"
Tsubaki's entire face fell, like a kid told it was bedtime.
"Don't be so willful," Hephaestus sighed, shooting her a look. She understood all too well how terrifyingly powerful—and invaluable—Tsuna's abilities were.
"What we've achieved today is already an incredible success. For the future of forging, results like these can't be rushed."
She smirked. "Besides, didn't Tsuna create this forge space specifically for you?"
"Are you really worried you won't get another chance to use it?"
Tsubaki pouted but didn't argue.
It wasn't like she wouldn't have more chances—she and Tsuna had already agreed to keep working together. And since he was currently under the Hephaestus Familia's wing, their collaboration was practically guaranteed.
So no, she didn't have to worry about losing access to the forge.
"Also," Hephaestus added pointedly, "we don't have much Excellia to work with. Were you planning to use it all up in one go?"
"Goliath was only slain recently, and the Amphisbaena was taken down by you and Tsuna not long after. You're not seriously thinking of diving even deeper into the Dungeon just to find more trouble, are you?"
That hit home.
Tsubaki looked down at the single droplet of liquid Excellia resting in the container—it was barely enough for one forging experiment.
If they used it up recklessly, they'd have to halt all research until they could find a new source.
So yes—if they wanted to make the most of this rare material, careful planning was essential.
"Going deeper to hunt another Floor Boss is out of the question," she muttered.
No matter how powerful Tsuna's Silence construct was, venturing into the Dungeon's deeper floors was dangerous.
Charging ahead without caution was the same as throwing your life away.
"Besides," she added with a grin, "I'm just a blacksmith with a bit of muscle. If something pops up that even Tsuna can't handle, I'd just be dead weight."
She wasn't wrong.
From any angle, diving deeper for more Excellia was a terrible idea. Between Goliath and the Amphisbaena, they already had enough to work with.
Her curiosity was strong—but not uncontrollable.
Still, even knowing that, she couldn't bring herself to look away from that droplet.
Watching her struggle, Tsuna finally spoke up.
"Tsubaki, how about I set up a forging simulation for you?"
"A… simulation?"
"Yeah. A controlled environment where you can perform mock forging. No real materials consumed—just a full simulation of the process. It'd help you test ideas, gain experience, maybe even predict possible outcomes."
Tsubaki paused, considering it. Then she shook her head.
"I'll pass."
"Even if it's accurate, simulation's still just simulation. Forging's all about feel and flow—the result's never the same twice."
She smirked faintly. "Any 'predicted result' from a simulation would probably be the same every time. That's not training—it's just repetition."
Even so, the offer clearly warmed her heart.
"Thanks anyway, Tsuna," she said with a smile. "I need to think carefully about how to approach forging with Excellia. What kind of process… what kind of weapon it could become."
"As for putting it into practice…" She sighed, shoulders slumping. "Guess I'll just have to be patient for now."
If she could've started experimenting right away, she absolutely would've locked herself in the workshop until she dropped.
But Excellia wasn't like any other material—it was far rarer, and the time between possible sources was painfully long.
So for now, all she could do was wait.
After making their decision, the three finally stepped out of the Forging Space.
"Mmm~"
Stretching her arms high, Tsubaki took a deep breath of fresh air, the tension melting from her shoulders.
"Man, I learned way too much today," she groaned, though there was a smile behind it. "And my hands are itching to forge again… but I guess that'll have to wait."
She steadied her mood, then reached out and threw an arm over Tsuna's shoulders, pulling him close with a wide grin.
"Still, today's been one hell of a harvest. From now on, I'll be counting on you, got it?"
Tsuna chuckled softly. He really did like this big-sisterly blacksmith—so blunt, yet so genuine.
"Yeah."
Watching them laugh together, Hephaestus smiled quietly to herself.
This was exactly the kind of result she'd been hoping for.