Danmachi- Hell’s Forge

"Is that why it felt weird to hold?" Bell asked shocked.

"No that's because the sword is too big for your scrawny body. Sure you could use it as it is but you don't exactly strike me as the sort to use a sword that size. How about I turn it into a shortsword and a dagger and you try it out then?" I suggested and he looked confused but nodded.

Grabbing the sword I covered it in cursed energy "Hells forge!" I activated my cursed technique. Under bells awestruck eyes the sword began to thin as metal flowed like it was alive away from the blade and into my left hand and then into the shape of a ka-bar dagger. The work was shoddy though since I traded precision for general shape transformation. It was an easy fix though as I downed a potion and waited till I refilled my energy to sharpen and pretty up the blades. I didn't like how they didn't look the same though and changed the sword into a larger longer version of the ka-bar knife. For extra effect I darkened both blades and the final result was two dull grey blades with a thick spine and single sharp edge.-

"Try them out." I said tossing the blades to Bell who wisely chose to avoid them rather than catch them.

He tentatively picked up the dagger with his left hand and then the sword with his right hand and took a few swings with both of them. His form was dreadful though as his grip was way too tight and his wrist was bent. Not to mention that his stance was non existent and he had no power behind his swings as a result.

"I take it you like them then. Those are yours now since they were wasted in my hands anyways and you'll need a weapon. Before that though I'm going to beat you into shape so you don't waste my work and die early." I said with a grin.

Bell just tilted his head in confusion but I didn't explain since he would find out tomorrow. Oh I was going to go all sorts of drill instructor on the poor fellow. I'm talking laps, pushups, crunches, shadow boxing and maybe even light sparring to get him used to hostile contact. And thanks to the large amount of potions i grabbed he'll have a nice obstacle course as well.

"That was magic right?" Bell asked once I finished making a figurine that was an elf this time in robes with feathered wings.

"Not exactly, that was my cursed technique "hell's forge". I actually can't use magic due to my skill and instead I have cursed energy and this is my innate technique. Lets me refine, transform and shape anything that came from a living source including something still alive. I am quite happy with it so far as it has many uses both in and out of combat but right now my greatest use for it is that I can craft wonderful things with it like this figurine. Did you know that these things sell for thousands of valis each? Quite the demand for them from what i'm told." I explained proudly.

"Can I learn how to do that too?" Bell asked eagerly.

"Afraid not, this isn't the sort of thing that can be taught. More likely than not you'll just get a spell of some sort in time." I said honestly.

Bell looked sad about it but got over it quick enough and went to messing with his new weapons. Hestia got home and we all ate before going to bed again though there was a funny conversation where she got all embarrassed about sleeping in the same bed as me like she didn't wake up everyday using me as a body pillow regardless of our previous sleeping arrangements. The next morning Hestia left for her food stall but Bell and I stayed behind. I used a few potions to turn some nearby broken furniture pieces into obstacles around the church and then I made Bell run the course until he dropped.-

I let him rest for a while to catch his breath before making him give me pushups until he couldn't anymore. Then for the final touch I had him do crunches till it hurt to breath. 

"Fantastic effort Bell , now pick yourself up and take a stance so we can spar." I said with a smile that must have made me seem like the devil in the boys eyes.

"But I hurt all over and my hands are shaking!" he complained but I was having none of that as I popped the cork of a healing potion and stuffed it in his mouth forcing him to down it.

"Problem solved now get up and take a stance." I said still smiling.

Hours later Hestia came home again only to find Bell passed out and me working on my new bracers that were strapped to my arm with kobold hide. 

"What happened!?" she exclaimed in horror as she went to go check on Bell.

"Nothing to worry about, I just trained him a bit. On a related note you might want to update him since his endurance likely grew by a lot." I said casually while using my technique to smooth out my bracers and remove the rough edges.

The two bracers were simple long dark colored pieces of material that covered my forearms and were held tightly in place with the reshaped and refined kobold hide I brought from the dungeon yesterday. Getting the rough shape was not all that expensive but working out the uncomfortable or rough parts took much more energy. I finished them up about the same time Hestia finished updating Bell and just smiled at the dirty look she gave me after she saw the jump in the endurance stat he got, all the way to fifty seven in one day.

Okay so admittedly I might have gone a little too hard on the kid but in my defense it was for his own good. To be honest though Bell had a knack for quick learning as he absorbed what little I could show him like a sponge. Like I had mentioned previously I did try and learn how to use a sword properly back on earth and though I failed that didn't mean I didn't retain some of that knowledge. It was just the basics though such as grip and footwork but for a total amateur like Bell it was perfect.-

Still i had already told the boy what his training pattern until he raised his physical stats to G rank would be and he begrudgingly agreed. It was pretty much just a scaled down version of what I put him through today with the sparring between us in the evenings when I get back from the dungeon. I was even going to be so kind as to grab some killer ant carapaces and kobold hides to make into armor for him so he would be better prepared when he finally got into the dungeon.