The study of Alchemy is somewhat complex—even now, as a member of the Dragon Clan, Genasa still seems to have no real talent for it.
But having no talent doesn’t mean you can’t practice; it just takes a lot more time and effort.
Of course, it’s natural to spend that time learning what you actually have talent for first. Alchemy can always be a hobby to pass the time.
“Then I’ll learn Forging.”
“Forging is great too. Its versatility is just a bit less than Alchemy, but it’s still very useful.”
Geli approved and tossed him a basic Forging manual.
“You’ve already read that material book before. Once you finish this Beginner’s Guide, you can get started.”
The materials needed for Alchemy and Forging are largely similar—the main difference is that Forging uses metals, though it also needs plenty of herbs as supplementary ingredients.
Aixi was given the book Genasa had read before—she had an extraordinary talent for Alchemy and could focus on that path.
“Alright, big guy, come with me. Little Aixi, read carefully or try practicing directly. The equipment is over there, and the materials are in the Warehouse—I’ve already given you access, so do your best~”
Geli led Genasa into a small room.
Inside sat a rough, jet-black furnace, covered with dense and menacing grooves.
The mouth of the furnace looked like a bloodthirsty maw, making Genasa extremely uncomfortable.
“This furnace feels… really strange.”
“Does it give you a terrifying, uneasy feeling?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s right. It’s forged from black stone from the Underworld, which can hold Destruction Fire. It doesn’t have a real name yet because it’s so rare.”
Geli’s explanation made Genasa’s eyes go wide.
“Underworld, Destruction Fire, tsk…”
A complete world naturally has a reincarnation system, and the Underworld is where all souls end up.
All sorts of bizarre undead wander there—the ones summoned by necromancers.
Destruction Fire is a legendary flame said to burn all matter, possessing overwhelming destructive power.
Of course, the rock that can hold it is the one exception.
And since the world’s creation, rocks burned by such flames for untold eras have become the purest and hardest material in existence.
“So, items made from this stone are nearly impossible to damage. Of course, forging it is no easy task. I paid a hefty price to get this furnace—even the Dwarves wanted to buy it, but I wouldn’t sell.”
“So how did you actually get this furnace? I’m really curious.”
“Picked it up in some ruins.”
Genasa, long used to Geli’s surprises, didn’t say more and prepared to begin Forging.
Then he suddenly realized something.
“Wait a minute, I’m a dragon! How am I supposed to hold a hammer? How do you forge, usually?”
While dragon claws can grasp things, their physical structure is clearly not suited to Forging.
Especially with all the necessary Forging techniques—it’s not as simple as just swinging a hammer.
Geli spread her hands in exasperation.
“Transformation, obviously. What else?”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that, alright? The dragon form has too many limits. Now that my level’s higher, I can use Spirit Force to swing a hammer, but back when I was low level, I could only take human form to make up for it.”
Genasa:
“Never mind, just show me once. Teaching me Transformation now is pointless anyway—if I transform, I’ll still be a baby and can’t forge.”
Geli stepped forward. Her fair jade hand grabbed an ordinary-looking hammer from the side, pointed at the furnace, and said,
“You light the fire.”
With no other choice, Genasa ignited the unknown fuel in the furnace with a breath of Dragon Breath.
“Alright, what kind of toy do you want?”
“Huh? I don’t know, whatever you want. I’m just here to watch the forging process.”
“Alright then.”
With that, Geli took out a heap of ores and various materials, placed them in a crucible of the same material as the furnace, and slid it inside.
A sharp roar of flames burst out, and the materials rapidly melted into molten iron before Genasa’s very eyes.
She removed it, and after cooling, it became an alloy ingot composed of many metals and materials.
“This step’s nothing special—except for some special materials, these basic ones just need to be melted together. The real key comes in the hammering.”
As she spoke, she began her work, the rhythmic clang of metal ringing out.
“By hammering repeatedly, the materials, which have only fused superficially, become truly integrated. During this process, you must also build the Bloodline Circuit—the weapon’s network of veins. You can think of it as the weapon’s innate bloodline, and this part’s the most important. The higher the grade of the Circuit, the better the weapon’s base quality. Later, you engrave a Rune on it, and the quality rises even further.”
Geli explained everything in detail. The Forging process was so mesmerizing that Genasa watched, completely absorbed.
“A living creature’s veins and organs are like magic arrays—so the more there are, the higher the creature’s level and the stronger it becomes. Weapons are the same. You should know this already.”
This is why high-level creatures are innately powerful—they’re born with all sorts of magic arrays within their bodies.
These working magic arrays provide them with all sorts of formidable abilities. To use Genasa’s own words, it’s like being born with advanced cultivation techniques.
Equipment is ranked from Grade 1 to Grade 9, mainly determined by materials.
As for quality, while materials matter a bit, the rest all depends on Forging skill.
The ranks are: Common, Excellent, Fine, Perfect, then the big three—Legendary, Epic, and Mythic.
With the final metallic hum from Geli’s hands, Genasa snapped back to reality.
“Judging by your face, you were totally absorbed, huh? That means you’ve got talent. My first time, all I thought was how noisy it was.”
“Huh? That counts as talent?”
“Of course. Forging’s nowhere near as complicated as Alchemy. It’s just like choosing a partner—first impressions matter most. Anyway, here, take a look at this.”
After speaking, she picked something up from the anvil and tossed it into a basin of green water to cool. The water didn’t ripple at all.
“I didn’t know what you liked, so I just made a necklace for you.”
Geli fished it out and dried it off. What had been a huge hunk of iron was now forcibly hammered into a normal-sized necklace.
She also took out a ruby and set it into the piece, handing it to Genasa.
“Oh… Thank you, Master.”
He was still caught up in the blazing Forging scene from before, but quickly came back to his senses.
“Wait, isn’t this too small? In a few years, when I grow bigger, I won’t be able to wear it!”
No sooner had he spoken than Geli smacked him on the head.
“You think I wouldn’t think of that? You can absorb it into your body. Once you transform, you’ll be able to wear it just fine.”
Genasa shrank his head back, looking aggrieved, but did as she said.
Sure enough, the necklace melted right into Genasa’s scales, leaving only a faint orange mark.
“So it’s this kind of necklace—not bad. Since it’s inside me now, if my neck gets hit, it won’t break, will it?”
“No, it’s fused into your body now. Unless someone digs out your flesh, it won’t break. Plus, while it’s inside you, it’ll protect you. Oh, and most importantly, you can use it like a storage magic pouch—convenient, right?”
“Oh-ho~ That is nice.”
Genasa had rarely seen accessories that could be absorbed into the body—it seemed to be an extremely rare technique, and he hadn’t expected Geli to know it.
Hearing the praise, Geli stood with her hands on her hips, beaming a big, toothy grin.
“Hee hee~ Alright, time for you to start learning. You can’t do the hammering yet, but you can practice smelting. Eat one bite at a time, take one step at a time.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
And so, Genasa began learning how to toss various special materials into the Forging furnace at the right time.
It looked easy, but was actually quite difficult. He had to master the control of the flame and the melting points of materials—a bit too early or late, and the fusion would fail.
Luckily, as a Red Dragon, Genasa had a natural talent for sensing fire. He just had to memorize the melting points and build up skill.
It wasn’t too hard—just required keen observation, something high-level creatures like him excelled at.
In this way, Genasa found something he was truly good at and began studying in earnest.