Danmachi: Hephaestus is my Wife

It's my first time writing anything involving forging, so don't be offended if I make mistakes.

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I had never done this before, so I followed what I learned in 'New World". They didn't explain every detail or show everything, but I know more or less the steps to forge a sword.

I started folding the metal to create more layers and kept hammering, earning points along the way.

Before I realized it, the malleable metal already looked like the perfect shape of a blade.

Then came the time to perform the heat treatment on the blade—or at least try to. 'I remember the game mentioning that the blade is heated and cooled slowly. I think that helps increase its durability or something like that.'

As I began slowly cooling the blade using water, it started to look more and more "beautiful."

Then, a new notification popped up.

[+10]

[44/100]

"Does that mean it's going well?" I wondered.

While Balnan and Luck watched everything, I began grinding and polishing the blade to remove all its marks. Afterward, I focused on sharpening it as much as possible. The heat was overwhelming, so I took off my shirt while working.

When I finished, I lifted the blade and examined it.

To me, it looked perfect.

I shaped the sword's tang and then assembled it carefully. Once everything was ready, I polished the blade again to make it as shiny and beautiful as possible.

And then sharpened the sword a little more.

I earned points with each step of the process.

[61/100]

The "Accelerated Growth" skill is probably helping me gain more points. I need to hit 100, and then maybe my rank will increase.

Suddenly, a new system message appeared!

[You have forged a Level 1 Common Sword.]

[The sword's level can be upgraded.]

"Oh? I did it!" I shouted, celebrating.

"Did he actually manage to pull it off? Are you finally learning? I thought you'd never get the hang of it. You used to spend hours making junk, but now you forged a functional sword relatively quickly. I'm impressed," Balnan said with disdain.

"But can we trust this sword? I think if you try to cut something with it, it'll break into pieces. Give it here," Luck said, trying to snatch the sword from my hand.

"Don't touch it. I'll test it myself."

I'd never used a sword before, but how hard could it be? I just needed to test it.

Conveniently, there were some training dummies in the room. Holding the wooden hilt of my sword, I walked over to one in the corner. Balnan and Luck followed to watch.

"This is going to be hilarious," Luck said.

"..." Balnan stayed silent but didn't look confident either.

I took a deep breath and prepared to strike.

With a terrible posture, I swung the sword.

Swoosh!

A quick, clean movement. It was so perfect that even I was surprised. When the sword hit the training dummy, it didn't break. Instead, it sliced off a part of the dummy.

A chunk of its head flew off.

It was clean-cut, just as I intended.

"..."

"..."

Balnan and Luck were speechless. I smiled and turned to look at them. "It turned out better than I expected."

"..."

"..."

They remained silent, unsure of what had just happened. And I couldn't blame them—I'm sure they had their reasons. My lack of skill as a blacksmith had been apparent.

"I'm going to make another one," I said, ready to start forging again.

I grabbed the metal and began heating it.

I just wanted to hit 100 points.

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After some time, I finally reached 100 points.

When I hit the milestone, the system displayed a congratulatory message.

[Congratulations on reaching Rank H!]

[The probabilities have changed!]

'That easy?' Only a few hours had passed, and I had already gone up a rank. The "Accelerated Growth" skill is working. But still, this was going to take a while.

It would probably get harder to rank up from here.

I should have started at least at Rank D or something.

"And what does the system mean by 'The probabilities have changed'?"

"Hm? What's a system?" Balnan asked.

"It's nothing. I was just talking to myself. Could you grab that handle for me?" I pointed to the handle I needed for the sword I'd forged.

After some more time...

[You have forged a Level 1 Common Sword]

[The sword's level can be upgraded]

Two swords in just a few hours, and I even ranked up!

Balnan and Luck were speechless again. To irritate them, I asked, "What do you think? Are these swords good enough?" I smiled smugly.

But, of course, they didn't praise me at all.

"This is just a common sword of terrible quality! Anyone can forge something like this!" Balnan said angrily. "Stop fooling around and keep forging! Your training will last until tonight!"

"That's right! Don't get cocky! Balnan and I can forge a sword like this in 20 minutes, you idiot," Luck added.

"Until tonight? Isn't that a bit much?" I asked.

"Your training lasts until the evening every day. Today won't be an exception. Take advantage of your good day and make at least five swords."

"Seriously? That's too much." I was already exhausted and starting to feel dizzy from the heat and dehydration. However, Balnan tossed a large bottle of water at me and said:

"Stop whining like a little girl and get back to work. Don't you want to impress the Goddess? Then you better work hard."

"Alright, alright, I got it."

The good thing was that I could earn more points. Hopefully, I'll reach Rank G soon.

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Next chapters: Chapter 7 - I will become the best blacksmith in the Hephaestus Familia. +18 / Chapter 8 - Cunningulus in the bathroom +18 / Chapter 9 - Do whatever you want. +18 / Chapter 10 - You are an animal. +18 / Chapter 11 - Hephaestus is angry. / Chapter 12 - She's so cool! / Chapter 13 - Tsubaki (Hephaestus's POV)