Refining the Heavens 5 (炼天五)

Chapter 19: Axis Forging Techniques

With three different scrolls before him Kairos got started immediately. He opened the first to learn the common language of Axis Mundi. Kairos quickly progressed from the alphabets to the different words. He learned pronunciation and the rules of the language to form sentence.

Speed reading through everything, in a few days, he could read and write equally well.

The second scroll taught him the forging techniques common to the dwarves.

Unlike Gaia's forging techniques which revolves around Stratagems and Runes, Axis focuses on magic spells and Aura.

On Gaia, the weapons are called Engraved Weapons if they have runes or stratagems and higher grade ones are known as artefacts and treasures.

Likewise in the Axis, they are also categorized either as Magic Weapons, Enchanted Weapons, or Spirit Weapon.

Magic Weapons are mainly used by mages to channel spells, like wands and wizard staffs, but it can also be made into the shape of blades and daggers as long as rare magical ingredients are used in the forging.

Enchanted Weapons coats their blades with magic by sealing spells in special magic crystals. The gems do not have to be crushed to release the spell because of the forging method, instead they are refilled using mana. These items are created to be tough to see through the hardest battles.

The last type, Spirit Weapons, are forged from pure silver to amplify Auras but it makes the weapon too malleable for persistent combat.

Technically, spirit weapons can be enchanted or made to channel mana, or even turned into an all-in-one weapon, but because Aura Masters and Aura Knights are only from the human race it is often not practical.

Humans are not particularly talented with spells, therefore magic weapons with their mana-channeling abilities is usually unnecessary and will cost a lot more. Perhaps only the summoned heroes with powerful spells and Aura Arts favour this type of weapon.

Enchanting spirit weapons is also impractical given how soft and heavy pure silver is. Unless the warrior has an Armsmaster Aura or something similar that can protect the Spirit Weapon, it isn't wise to clash blades with another using it.

Because of this, most Aura Knights and Aura Masters use a hybrid weapon, an enchanted blade adorned with pure silver and magic crystals. Although the aura amplification is dampened, the weapon is tougher and can be coated with spells.

The sword that Kairos made had incredible forging, but it did not fall into any of the three types. When he studied the manuscript he learnt that the dwarves used magic for every part of the process when making their weapons.

After going through the whole scroll, he had memorized everything perfectly and turned to the last.

When he opened the final scroll, his eyes were glued immediately.

The forging techniques he found inside can only be called an art form. Kairos quickly lost track of time as he studied it.

Every part of the process requires vast knowledge, even more so than what Kairos had been doing – and he already believed himself overly particular about the details. The amount of effort to make each part of the weapon interlinked perfectly with the rest is staggering.

There is a list of forging flames made according to their elemental attributes and efficiency.

Incidentally, the Beast's Flame that Kairos owns – Surtr's Breath, the Unknown Flame Sovereign – is rated rather highly on the rankings and often a prime choice.

So far, Kairos had only been using his alchemic fire when making pills and yet to uncover its full potential.

Many processes in the forging were also abstract to him. Some terms he could understand, like magnetic fields and electricity inhibitor. But what are Kinetic absorbers or energy converters?