The Realm Of Creation(2)
The real work began immediately.
As though sensing his intent, the contents of the furnace erupted into motion.
Inside the crucible, the alien metals finally reacted.
SCREEEEEEEE
A sharp, unnatural screech echoed throughout the forge.
The sound was wrong.
As though something alive was being dragged into the flames.
Dark-purple sparks erupted from the crucible.
Shadows twisted violently.
The remnants of the Outer Gods resisted.
Fragments of cosmic authority struggled to preserve themselves.
Abyssal corruption writhed like living creatures.
For a brief moment, countless distorted faces appeared within the flames.
Screaming.
Howling.
Begging.
Refusing to disappear.
Seo Jun remained expressionless.
His eyes glowed faintly blue.
Mana Sovereignty spread outward.
Not as power. Not as force. But as authority.
His senses pierced through the furnace.
Beyond the flames. Beyond the metal. Beyond the corruption itself.
He saw everything.
The structure of the alloy.
The traces of foreign laws hidden within it.
The lingering authority left behind by beings from beyond this universe.
And he understood.
The moment understanding was achieved…
Authority followed.
The furnace trembled.
The white flames changed once more.
Their purpose was rewritten.
No longer simple fire.
No longer a source of heat.
They became flames that separated essence from impurity.
Truth from corruption.
Order from chaos.
The alien metals screamed.
But resistance was meaningless.
The corrupted energy was stripped away.
Burned and purified.
Reduced to nothing.
The boundaries between them disappeared.
Sword. Axe. Spear.
Three origins. Three histories. Three authorities.
Forced into one.
A swirling sea of liquid darkness formed within the crucible.
Yet countless stars shimmered beneath its surface.
As though a fragment of the night sky had been melted down and reborn.
Seo Jun opened his eyes.
The process was complete.
"It's ready."
He stepped forward.
Using the tongs, he pulled the crucible from the furnace.
White flames reflected in his eyes.
The molten alloy glowed with a beauty that seemed almost unreal.
Without hesitation…
He poured it onto the anvil.
SHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
Steam exploded upward.
The forge shook violently.
The true forging process began.
The molten alloy spread across the anvil.
Dark as the abyss.
Brilliant as the stars.
Beauty and destruction existed together within a single piece of metal.
Seo Jun wrapped his hand around the hammer.
The familiar weight settled into his palm.
A strange calm descended upon him.
This was not merely blacksmithing.
This was combat.
His previous life had taught him many things.
One truth stood above the rest.
A swordsman and a swordsmith walked the same road.
One forged the blade.
The other forged themselves.
Both pursued perfection.
Seo Jun inhaled deeply.
Then…
The hammer fell.
CLANG!
The entire forge trembled.
The alloy shook violently.
A shower of sparks erupted like meteor fragments.
His eyes sharpened.
Again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!!
A rhythm emerged.
Steady.
Natural.
Relentless.
The hammer moved like flowing water.
Every strike connected seamlessly to the next.
The principles of the Plum Blossom Flowing Sword revealed themselves through blacksmithing.
This text was taken from NovelFire. Help the author by reading the original version there.
No wasted movement.
No unnecessary force.
No hesitation.
Only precision.
Only purpose.
The alloy folded beneath the hammer.
Again.
And again.
And again.
At the same time…
The overwhelming force of the Nameless Divine Arts flowed through each strike.
Gentleness and domination.
Grace and violence.
Two opposing paths merged into one.
BOOM!
CLANG!
BOOM!
CLANG!
The alloy resisted.
Abyssal energy surged.
Corrupted starlight erupted.
Fragments of cosmic authority attempted to tear themselves apart.
Three incompatible powers.
Three opposing existences.
Chaos incarnate.
But Seo Jun's gaze remained unwavering.
Mana Sovereignty descended once more.
Not to overpower them. Not to suppress them.
To rule them.
His will reached into the alloy itself.
Understanding every fragment.
Understanding every contradiction.
Then imposing a single command.
Become one.
The struggling energies froze.
The forge fell silent for a brief moment.
Then…
They obeyed.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The hammer continued to fall.
And with every strike, chaos became order.
Imperfection became perfection.
The alloy gradually transformed.
Sweat dripped from Seo Jun's chin.
His muscles screamed.
His hands trembled.
Yet his eyes burned brighter than the furnace itself.
As the hammer rose and fell, memories surfaced.
The heroes who never returned.
The hunters whose names had vanished from history.
The countless graves left behind by the Age of Destruction.
Then came newer memories.
Ha Neul.
Min Ho.
The people still fighting for tomorrow. The people who still believed.
The people he refused to lose again.
Every emotion flowed into the blade.
His grief.
His anger.
His determination.
His hope.
The alloy accepted everything.
Because this was no longer a weapon.
It was a promise.
A promise to challenge the future itself.
Time disappeared.
Only the sound of the hammer remained.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The rough mass slowly stretched.
Lengthened.
Refined itself.
The outline of a sword emerged.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Beautiful.
Like a star carved from darkness itself.
Seo Jun switched to the smaller side of the hammer.
His movements became even more precise.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Tiny imperfections vanished.
Balance was perfected.
The edge sharpened.
The tip narrowed.
Until it looked capable of piercing even the heavens.
Finally…
The hammer stopped.
Silence descended upon the forge.
Seo Jun stood before the anvil.
Breathing heavily.
His gaze never left the sword.
The sword rested quietly atop the anvil.
Crimson light flowed across its surface.
The forge glowed beneath its radiance.
For several long moments, neither moved.
Creator and creation.
Both observing one another.
The sword seemed almost alive.
As though it were taking its first breath.
Seo Jun silently studied the blade.
Every strike.
Every memory.
Every drop of sweat.
All of it existed within this single piece of steel.
Then he gave a small nod.
"It's finished."
His voice echoed softly through the workshop.
Yet he knew the truth.
Not yet.
One final step remained.
The most important one.
The most dangerous one.
Quenching.
A sword could be forged a thousand times.
But one mistake during quenching could destroy everything.
Too early. Too late.
Too deep. Too shallow.
The difference between success and failure was often less than a heartbeat.
Seo Jun approached the stone trough.
Spirit Spring Water filled it to the brim.
The surface reflected the furnace's white flames.
Seo Jun lifted the sword with iron tongs.
The blade glowed like a fallen star.
For a brief moment, the entire forge fell silent.
Then…
He lowered it.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The moment steel touched water, the world exploded.
Steam erupted upward.
The trough shook violently.
A deafening roar echoed throughout the workshop.
White mist swallowed everything.
The sword released a sharp metallic cry.
As if protesting its own transformation.
As if enduring unimaginable pain.
Yet Seo Jun remained motionless.
His eyes never left the water.
One second.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
The water churned violently.
The sword trembled.
The balance between destruction and creation hung by a thread.
Then..
Exactly one minute.
No more. No less.
Seo Jun moved.
The blade slowly emerged from the mist.
The steam parted.
And the forge fell silent.
Even the furnace seemed to dim.
The sword revealed itself.
Dark.
Deeper than midnight.
It absorbed the surrounding light as though an endless abyss slept within its steel.
Yet beneath that darkness...
Countless stars shimmered.
Tiny fragments of silver light drifted through the blade's surface.
Like a galaxy sealed inside black steel.
A faint radiance flowed along the edge.
Beautiful yet terrifying.
The sword gave off no overwhelming pressure.
No violent aura.
Yet anyone who looked upon it would instinctively understand.
This blade was dangerous.
Not because it demanded attention.
But because it didn't.
Like a calm ocean hiding unfathomable depths.
Seo Jun quietly approached.
He wrapped the hilt with Crimson Wyvern leather.
His movements were slow and careful.
Almost respectful.
When he finally finished, he gripped the sword directly.
The moment his hand closed around the hilt…
A strange feeling spread through him.
Perfect balance. Perfect weight.
The blade felt neither heavy nor light.
It simply belonged in his hand.
As though it had always been waiting for him.
As though creator and creation had recognized one another.
A faint smile appeared on Seo Jun's face.
The sword had accepted him.
Then…
DING!
DING!
DING!
Golden light flooded the workshop.
The Tower responded.
One system window appeared.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
For the first time since entering the Tutorial…
The Tower itself seemed uncertain.
✦ ✦ ✦
[System Evaluation Initiated]
[Analyzing Materials...]
[Abyssal Alloy Detected]
[Corrupted Starlight Detected]
[Cosmic Despair Detected]
[...]
[Warning.]
[Detected materials exceed expected Stage 6 parameters.]
[...]
[Analyzing Craftsmanship...]
[Unknown Forging Method Detected.]
[Reevaluating...]
[Reevaluating...]
[Reevaluating...]
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun raised an eyebrow.
The system rarely repeated itself.
Yet now it seemed unable to reach a conclusion.
A new message finally appeared.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Heavenly Forge Art Recognized.]
[Soul-Imprinted Tempering Confirmed.]
[Foreign Authorities Successfully Harmonized.]
[Assessment Updated.]
[Assessment: Impossible.]
[An Impossible Has Been Achieved.]
✦ ✦ ✦
A brief pause followed.
Then the message changed.
A smile tugged at Seo Jun's lips.
The Tower had always been honest.
If something was impossible, it simply called it impossible.
If someone accomplished it anyway…
The Tower acknowledged it.
Golden light intensified.
A new notification emerged.
✦ ✦ ✦
[A new foundational attribute has awakened.]
[Dexterity has been unlocked.]
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun's smile deepened slightly.
Success.
Everything had gone exactly as planned.
Dexterity was not merely another stat.
It was a foundation.
A hidden pillar supporting countless future paths.
Swordsmanship.
Mana control.
Spellcasting.
Reaction speed.
The higher one climbed, the more valuable precision became.
And precision was the language of mastery.
But then…
The notifications continued.
One after another.
As if the Tower wasn't finished judging him yet.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Evaluating Artifact Rank...]
[Error.]
[Error.]
[The created artifact exceeds Tutorial Parameters.]
[Classification Impossible.]
[Assigning Special Designation...]
[Designation: Growth-Type Artifact]
[Artifact Name: Unregistered]
[Please assign a name.]
✦ ✦ ✦
The forge became silent.
Seo Jun stared at the sword resting in his hand.
The black blade reflected neither the furnace nor the surrounding light.
Instead, countless stars drifted beneath its surface.
Like a fragment of the night sky.
The system window waited patiently.
Yet Seo Jun did not answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the sword.
Memories surfaced.
A ruined world.
Collapsed cities.
Endless darkness stretching across the horizon.
The graves of countless people.
Names remembered by no one except him.
Companions who fought until their final breath.
Heroes who never saw victory.
People who desperately wished for a better tomorrow.
In the end...
None of them witnessed it.
A future.
A sunrise.
A new beginning.
His grip tightened slightly.
This sword had been forged from those memories.
From that regret.
From a determination that refused to surrender.
Not to the Tower.
Not to fate.
Not even to the end of the world itself.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Slowly, he opened his mouth.
"...Dawn's Edge."
The word escaped almost naturally.
Not because the sword represented dawn.
But because it existed to create one.
The sword wasn't a symbol of victory.
It was a promise.
A promise that this timeline would not end the same way.
A promise that the darkness consuming the future would one day be cut apart.
A promise that the dawn his companions never witnessed would finally arrive.
The stars sleeping inside the blade flickered.
Once.
Twice.
As if responding.
DING.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Artifact Name Registered.]
[Dawn's Edge]
✦ ✦ ✦
A warm light spread across the black steel.
The name settled perfectly.
As though it had belonged to the sword from the very beginning.
The blade gave a faint hum.
The stars sleeping within its black steel flickered softly.
As if approving the name.
A small smile appeared on Seo Jun's face.
"Looks like you agree."
DING.
✦ ✦ ✦
[Dawn's Edge]
Type: Growth Artifact(Weapon)
Current Rank: Normal
Durability: Indestructible
Owner: Unassigned
Attack Power : 40
Description:
A sword born from endings. Forged from remnants that existed beyond the laws of the world and tempered by a will that defied despair. This blade carries the echoes of a ruined age and the hope of a future yet to be born. Its power remains sealed. Its path remains unfinished. As its wielder grows, the sword shall awaken. As its wielder transcends fate, the sword shall evolve alongside him. No known limit has been observed.
■ First Effect
[Twilight Devourer]
Passively absorbs and refines hostile energies, corrupted forces, and foreign authorities. Refined energy may be converted into temporary enhancement of all physical attributes. Strength of enhancement scales with absorbed energy and current rank.
■ Second Effect
[???]
■ Third Effect
[???]
■ Fourth Effect
[???]
■ Fifth Effect
[???]
✦ ✦ ✦
Seo Jun quietly read the description.
Then his gaze stopped at a single line.
"No known limit..."
A faint smile appeared.
How fitting.
After all, neither he nor the sword intended to accept one.
✦ ✦ ✦
[To establish absolute ownership, a Blood-Soul Covenant is required.]
[Proceed?]