God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

His eyes blazed with the fire of greed and ambition. No human was a stranger to these feelings after all.

He stared at the last mound of Fiend Steel with this blaze in his eyes. Without saying anything, he grabbed at it. Each mound was huge, about the height of a man, and around four men thick. However, Cain could easily pick it up with his {Divine Essence of Metallurgy} skill.

He hoisted it over to the center of the four dragon heads. The eyes of the design heads glowed for a split second before they began belching flames.

Meanwhile, Cain got ready...

He wanted to test the {Basic Blacksmithing} skill he had just acquired. Ever since he had acquired his metal-based skills and spells, he had felt a faint affinity to any metal he touched.

Taking it into the forge was like trying to breathe life into these mounds of glorified dirt. To put it simply, he had a natural talent for smithing. And although things like this weren't exactly reliant on talent, that would be for everyone else.

He could manipulate the metallic particles to the finest grain if he concentrated enough. As long as he had the mana, he would be able to craft something better than average.

He was not a master but could be one. All he needed was proper tutelage...

His mind was in turmoil as he sifted through his workshop. He picked various magic stones and special metals before walking over to the four dragon heads.

The bodies of living creatures can only accommodate runes, and special runes at that. Runes that had been created with Ki. Humans cannot apply magic circles to their bodies. Doing so would result in a terrible backlash, if not outright death.

Weapons, on the other hand, were special. Depending on the weapon itself, it could contain Ki Runes, Magic Circles, Magic Runes, or all three simultaneously. And possibly even more.

Creating new weapons from scratch was always going to be hard. One needed to select good materials, and then etch all sorts of runes or magic circles into the weapons.

Cain closed his eyes. Once the Fiend Steel was heated enough, he threw the pieces of metal he had brought over into it the blob of molten metal.

Each one had special qualities he desired. Some either possessed great flexibility, others were a great conduit for mana and other energies. By mixing them in different quantities, he could take a portion of these good attributes. He could also balance out their bad attributes with the properties of the other metals.

He was following every procedure he had learned so far. He might not have had a master to help him so far. However, he was very attentive to detail. He had studied everything he c[uld get his hands on. He had practiced hundreds of times using less expensive materials. Now, he was ready for the big step...

Once it was done, Cain took the molten blob to the anvil and began striking down. With every strike, the molten metal deformed. He was not only using his strength. He was also using his mind and spirit to control the tiny metallic particles within it, arranging their crystal lattices to remove any deformations completely.

With every strike, the metal became later and later until it turned into a thin sheet, less than a hair width in breadth. Then he began folding.

According to the system, this process was once used by a long list of civilizations to create wicked curved blades of war. Their edges were the sharpest in the world, but the blades themselves were too brittle.

However, the brittleness came from the poor materials used. Cain had gathered about seven different materials and had created a near-perfect alloy. He didn't need to worry about it being brittle.

Several hours later, after more than ten thousand folds, he stared at the glowing curved blade.

'This should be enough, right?'

It had taken him a long time to do this. Still, he didn't feel as though this was his limit. Far from that, in fact. He felt he could still go further, much further than this...

And so, he continued folding. Every new layer was ten times thinner than a hair. His hammer can crash down again and again, a thousand times, ten thousand times, a million times...

Cain panted heavily. He seemed to have given vent to the urge to swing inside him. With a sigh, he gazed down at the glowing metal, satisfaction written all over his face.

Without grasping the wickedly curved blade that glowed red hot, he picked it up, then plunged it into the vat of ice-cold water.

A ferocious sizzling noise came from the vat, producing an ungodly amount of steam. A few seconds later, Cain pulled the blade out.

The surface of the blade was a beautiful platinum with a few streaks of black on its surface. It was majestic...

'It isn't done. Not yet...'

Now came the most difficult part of the crafting process. The application of the times and or magic circles.

Cain had already determined what sort of runes or magic circles he wanted to apply to the weapon. Now, he just had to do it.

He grabbed one of the magic stones he had brought. It was called a {Balsamite Inkstone}, a very rare magic stone, and one crucial for crafting. What was special about this, was that it, as well as other stones like it were found on almost every planet in existence.

It was used to inscribe runes and magic circles into humans, creatures, and weapons.

It was very soft, and so by grounding it to dust, it would be used to outline the mystic symbol, which would then be burned into the essence of the weapon or person.

Once the stone was grounded up, Cain began creating the runes and magic circles.

His hands were steady, his eyes glowed with piercing light. He wasn't going to make any mistakes... Slowly, the runes began appearing one by one. The magical patterns slowly covered the surface of the weapon. They weren't anything special, save for the final one.

Once Cain was done, he closed his eyes. A strange blue flame lit at the surface of his index finger which he suddenly pressed down onto the surface of the weapon.

With a crackle and a pop, the lines of {Balsamite Inkstone} burned with a ferocious light. A second later, the weapon was covered with patterns etched deep. However, these patterns were now so faint, that it was difficult to be seen with normal eyes.

Light flashed in his hand, and a strip of Mutant Beast leather, as well as a small ivory risk, appeared in his hand. He placed them on a table and began etching runes onto their surface as well.

Once he was done, he attached the tusk to make the hilt. Wrapping it in the leather strip, the blade was finally complete.

The moment he was done, the blade let off a soft, silvery light. He was surprised for just a second before the system chimed into his ears...

***

{Congratulations to host... You have created an Epic-grade weapon. Please name your creation...}

***

Cain stared at the blade. It was quite beautiful, despite looking a bit crude. The blade was sharp and lethal. The hit was crafted well. Overall, it was not a bad sword.

'Let's call it Platinum Genesis...'

Platinum because of its silvery glow, and Genesis because it represented the beginning of his journey into the world of craftsmanship.

***

{Congratulations to host... You have created the Epic-grade weapon, Platinum Genesis}.

{Platinum Genesis}: Epic grade.

Description: Crafted by a young, inexperienced, and unknown, yet promising Blacksmith of humanoid origins with Low-Tiered High-quality materials.

{Platinum Genesis}: Epic grade.

Attack Power: 90.

Attack Speed: 90.

Durability: 1,000/1,000.

Skills: Mana Blade EX, Mutilate.

{Mana Blade EX}(active): Coat the surface of your blade with destructive high-frequency mana capable of dealing devastating damage when attacking. Gather enough mana along the edge of the blade to release a compressed wave of cutting energy. It Consumes 50MP per second to sustain.

{Mutilate}(passive): Wounds dealt with this blade bleed excessively.

***

Cain held onto the holt of the blade and swung. Not a single sound was heard as the edge of the blade sliced through the air. A blueish energy surrounded the surface of the blade, picking up a bit of dust. With was {Mana Blade EX}, the upgraded form of one of the first skills he had created.

'Good... This is good enough. I better get started on making a sheath.' Or he would just ask Susan to make him one.

Just then, a knock came from outside the forge. Without waiting for a reply, the person on the other side pushed the door open and walked in.

Cain sighed, "You could have waited for a reply, you know...."

Susan waved her hand dismissively, "We two are already past that point of formality."

Cain smiled. It was true. They had become much more familiar with each other as time passed them by. They were no longer strangers. Still, it felt a bit weird...

Cain placed the {Platinum Genesis} into the {Armament Armory} and then walked forward. His stomach rumbled violently, causing him to frown.

He hadn't eaten for a long time...

Susan's eyes softened, "You should get something to eat first."

Cain sniffled as he rubbed his tired eyes, "I'll eat later. What do you need me for? Are those girls causing trouble again?"

Susan's face fell. After a second of silence, she spoke,

"We have visitors..."