Mechanics for Blacksmith in here were written long before the first few chapters of this fic were published.
If the Blacksmith ability had been fleshed out more since then (still haven't caught up with recent novels) then hopefully this doesn't contradict cannon.
You guys should be able to figure out what I'm going for with how Mumei will finding a way to utilize tracing in this story without having to face the consequences.
What's shown in this chapter is the framework for the stuff that Mumei will be doing in the future.
Action will take place in the next chapter, for those that are particularly bored. Though honestly, action will occur a lot more since we're nearing the point where Mumei gets-well that's for the future I guess.
As usual, thank you for your continued support. I appreciate it! I still haven't actually gotten to read most of the reviews last chapter, I'll need to make time for that soon really.
Please be reminded however that as Mumei's skills have been transferred into DanMachi, it also doesn't quite function the same way as it did in any canon material.
What's done in the chapter is a play on words and assumptions instead of a direct translation. The magic of crossovers if you will.
==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==
==[Forging Phatoms - Shirou Emiya]==
Three days.
After three days of discussion and testing, they were going to find out if the theory worked.
Two roughly forged and unfinished blades were lain on the table in front of him. Both were largely the same size and weight of the true Kanshou and Bakuya. The pair was identical in appearance, and made from steel and carbalite; the latter having been gathered during the Killer Ant incident.
It had been three days since his request to Hephaestus, and they had spent each night discussing and testing the possible applications of his magecraft in the creation of weapons.
They've found that his lack of the [Blacksmith] ability made his goal a bit difficult, but after several theories and tests they conducted, they were able to create a workable means of 'recreating an image of Kanshou and Bakuya'.
One that he was just about to test.
"Trace, on."
Judging the concept of creation. Hypothesizing the basic structure.
He took the first step, placing each hand on a separate blade as he felt his circuits flare into life.
Using [Reinforcement], he took the existing the shape and structure of the carbalite steel blades and formed it accordingly. He could feel the material move and shift under his hand, as the unground and unpolished form of the blade became sharper and more defined.
Duplicating the composition of the material. Imitating the skill of its making.
Using [Alteration], just like in former tests, he attempted to manipulate the material composition of the carbalite steel blades, but just like before, he felt that the task was impossible. The conversion of a material into something completely different wasn't possible, and he struggled to keep the blade from straining any further.
Even further, the making of Kanshou and Bakuya involved the sacrifice of a soul. Not to mention the fact that the blades he was attempting to alter had already been manufactured, creating a contradiction.
Sympathizing with the experience of its growth. Reproducing the accumulated years.
Even more resistance. He could feel the carbalite steel blades threatening to shatter from the strain. Due to the failed attempt at mimicking the composition of material and the fact that the carbalite steel already had a history of its own, no matter how brief, the history and growth taken of Kanshou and Bakuya could not be properly integrated with the mass of inconsistencies.
The blades were not Kanshou nor was it Bakuya. It couldn't become it and it will never become it.
Even more strain. He was reaching the failure point.
Excelling every manufacturing process.
Actualization. The final step that allowed that consolidated all former process, the trigger that brought the blades from a concept into a tangible object.
Thankfully, the pair didn't break from the strain of [Imposing] Kanshou and Bakuya's properties, but he only needed one look to understand that it was mostly a failure.
Just mostly.
"… Well, that worked out a lot better than before."
"Indeed. It seems that we do have a partial success with this one."
From behind him, Hestia, who had joined in their nightly discussions yesterday spoke, followed by Hephaestus who was looked contemplative as she looked at the result of his work. The two had accompanied him to his personal forge right after breakfast.
On the first night, once he and Hephaestus had worked out the differences between the [Blacksmith] ability and his [Magecraft], they immediately started to test out possible means of emulating the former using the latter.
They quickly found that unlike the [Blacksmith] ability that was capable of directly imparting 'properties' and 'abilities' to a weapon with the limits being defined by the skill of the smith and the material being used, his [Magecraft] was not afforded the same freedom.
Though [Reinforcement] and [Alteration] did indeed allow more freely shape and manipulate a weapon and more, unlike the more specific [Blacksmith], it wasn't able to add specific functions or special properties.
When Hestia had invited herself over for the second night of discussions, both she and Hephaestus had come to the idea of utilizing his [Tracing] in order to be able to serve as the basis for the special 'property' that they could impart on a weapon.
The concept had been rather simple. [Tracing] was a seven step process that followed a logical progression of a weapons' life time. Using [Tracing] Shirou would create the basis of the material, concept, and history of Kanshou and Bakuya, then would proceed to use [Reinforcement] and [Alteration] in order to impose those characteristics on an existing weapon.
[Reinforcement] would support the shape and structure, of the material while [Alteration] would change its material composition. [Tracing] would both serve as the basis for the first two and would actualize the weapon in the final step.
Naturally, it didn't work out properly. In fact, the final product wasn't even close to anything that could be considered Kanshou and Bakuya.
"Hmm… so even if most of the history couldn't be consolidated…"
He held both carbalite steel blades. They were the exact same shape and weight as Kanshou and Bakuya, but did not possess the colour or simple ornamentation.
The material composition wasn't changed as he proceeded to the next step of the process to prevent destroying the blades. The skill of Kanshou and Bakuya's making also did not apply, leading to a sword that was no stronger, tougher, and sharper than any other carbalite steel sword.
The history and growth were also not properly integrated… However it did hold traces of it.
It wasn't Kanshou and Bakuya and it never could pass for even cheap imitations of the two… but he could still see it, an image of the original looming over the pair of blades. Traces of its history, bits and pieces, nothing significant nor important.
It was a vague image, like an apparition, like a phantom.
"Both of you, stand to the side of the room please."
Taking both swords in hand he looked at the available space in the room and decided that it was sufficient. Without hesitating, he threw the carbalite steel sword on his right hand to the other side of the room, minimizing the amount of strength he put into it.
The moment his right hand felt the handle of blade leave, he immediately focused his mind on the blade grasped by his left.
The original pair had a notable ability, the bond between the blades allowed for each to call the other. When one was thrown, it would return provided that the other was held and used to call for it.
He held that image in mind, as he gripped the left blade. Spinning in the air, the other blade seemed to respond, and gradually shifted its angle and direction of flight, attempting to
However, due to the limitations of the space and likely the inability to fully replicate the abilities of Kanshou and Bakuya, the thrown blade did not return to its owner and embed itself on the wall to his left.
Thankfully, it missed anything important.
"Did… that thing just change directions mid-air?"
Hestia had a look of confusion on her face as she approached the blade, presumably to retrieve it.
"Ah… so it was able to obtain that at least. Shirou, did the carbalite steel swords gain anything aside from that?"
"None. Analysing both, the only thing that the swords gained from the process are the shape and the ability to attract the other, though it's a bit more limited in range and accuracy than the original."
He considered the implications of that. Though largely a failure, they had at least obtained a small measure of success, one that was enough to make Hephaestus smile in satisfaction.
"Interesting… I wonder what we can get if you attempted it with your other weapons."
"Other weapons…"
He closed his eyes and repeated those two words.
Imagining other weapons, perusing what was left of his memory.
I have created over a thousand blades.
A hill of swords. A prayer. An ideal.
He attempted to take hold of it, to retain the image and the words in order to gain something clearer but it felt like it was just slightly out of reach.
"Yes. If we can get interesting effects like that and experiment some more, you may be able to put up a diverse arsenal even without the [Blacksmith] ability. If we go—Shirou?"
"Shirou, you okay?"
Unable to fully grasp the emotion, he looked at the two goddesses whose faces were filled with concern. Hestia was in front of him, holding the other half of the sword pair.
"I'm fine. Just thinking how the dungeon would react to this."
"Indeed, that is the main question. Will you be going to the dungeon to test it today?"
"That's the plan. I'll be cleaning up in here, so you two should go ahead. Hephaestus, you still have to work, and Hestia, I assume you're visiting your friend again? I already an extra packed lunch for that person."
"Yes. Tsubaki and Welf had been hounding me for something for the past few days. Make sure to keep your schedule free for the weekends by the way, we have a familia gathering."
Nodding in response, and silently apprehensive at the thought of Tsubaki having something further planned. Deciding that nothing could really be done about that outside of skipping the gathering, an act that would likely set Tsubaki on a warpath, he mentally prepared himself for whatever the gathering had in store for him.
Placing both blades back on the table, he listed off what he would need before going to the dungeon. He had a few things he needed to do that he hadn't been able to tend to due to being preoccupied by the dungeon.
It was best to clear those out once he gets done testing the experimental blades.
"Ah thanks Shirou! Actually, I'll accompany Hephaestus here for a bit more. See you at dinner!"
"Shirou, make sure to be careful in the dungeon. Tell me the results over dinner and don't be late!"
Giving another nod in response, he observed the two as Hestia pulled Hephaestus through the door of the forge.
Looking back at the pair of blades, he briefly entertained an interesting though.
If he were to gain the [Blacksmith] ability, what kind of results would that lead to?
==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==
==[Communal Forge Office - Hephaestus]==
Three days.
For the entirety of those three days, during daytime, she would perform her duties as the goddess of the familia while pursuing her personal quest on gathering evidence regarding the possible involvement of the Freya familia.
She had gone through a bit of effort to orchestrate a casual meeting between herself and the whimsical goddess of love but found that the blonde temptress was being particularly more reclusive. A minor source of frustration really, but she could always arrange for a formal meeting if absolutely necessary.
Which it was. Loki would likely serve as a good means to establish such a meeting. If even that doesn't work, then she would go for more… drastic measures.
Further, the commotion caused by the Killer Ant incident that she suspects Freya had been involved in, had slowly calmed but had yet to die down. If her contacts were to be believed, Ouranos himself was going to be making a move to address the recent events, something she needed to keep track off for the sake of her children.
During the night, she would meet Shirou and also Hestia to discuss things.
The differences they've identified between [Blacksmith] and Shirou's [Magecraft] was fascinating. [Magecraft] seemed to have more freedom in application but not hold the specific applications that [Blacksmith] had.
Which was why they had to find a workaround. 'Properties' weren't things that simply improved the physical features of the weapon, it was a special ability that functioned not unlike the passive skills that adventurers possessed.
The [Durandal] property, one that Tsubaki favoured putting in her works, was an excellent example. It was a powerful property that essentially made a weapon incapable of being physically broken or shattered. The blade would not chip, but it would dull to a point that it could not cut when used enough time and required extensive resources to maintain.
It was a special and highly coveted property, but it was something that could only be imparted on a materials that held similar characteristics, like horns and fangs that could be gathered from monsters from the deep levels of the dungeon.
It had taken them quite a bit of experimentation, and though they didn't get the best, getting a positive results was a step in the right direction.
The only real point of worry was the strange reaction that Shirou had when she had mentioned the possibility of using his other weapons.
She would need to talk to him about that later to clarify.
So far, she had yet to mention to Shirou the name and effect skills, and at the same time, Shirou had never asked for it despite being aware that they exist. At the moment, there was an silent agreement, where they decide not to talk about it.
"When I think back on it, Shirou never did expend as much effort in recovering his memories…"
He expressed curiosity, like anyone would have in such a position, but when she thought back on it, Hestia was likely the one person that expended the largest amount of effort in recovering Shirou's memory.
She could only wonder exactly Shirou's thoughts on the matter.
She made a mental note, to ask Shirou about his own thoughts regarding his loss of memory. A conversation they hadn't had in a long while.
"Hey… Hephaestus?"
"Hmm, Hestia, what is it?"
The two of them had walked from Shirou's forge and made their way to the northwest famila office, the one on top of the communal forge. She usually did her work inside the Northwest shop office, but she had temporarily transferred some of her work to the communal for the sake of convenience.
She had been greeted by everyone she had encountered along the way, adventurers and supporters alike.
Entering the communal forge, she greeted the supporters that were assisting the smiths in the finishing work for their pieces, and proceeded to the second floor, was small room with modest ornamentation. The furniture was rather old but perfectly serviceable.
She would be completely fine working here if not for the fact that the sound of grinders could make dealing with paperwork rather difficult.
"Err…."
"Yes?"
Once the two of them entered the room, Hestia gently closed the door, and the two of them took a seat. Hestia had placed the packed lunches she got from Shirou on her lap, looking like she was preparing herself for something.
Her long-time friend looked troubled, which caused her a bit of worry. Hestia was almost always energetic in some form or another, even in her more serious moments. This was a girl that could somehow proudly beg for something, a feat that was actually impressive in her eyes.
She considered possible causes. At the very least, Hestia needed to ask for something, and at the worst it was related to Shirou. The two had essentially function as close siblings and she did feel quite a bit guilty for being responsible in reducing the time the two had together.
Normally she would be a bit stricter with Hestia, but she figured she could help out her old friend as way to make up for that.
"Okay… okay, Hephaestus, I have a favour to ask."
Hephaestus looked at the progression of emotion on Hestia's face. Hesitation, then reluctance, before settling on decisive.
"Hephaestus… please help me get a part time job!"
"Hestia, I keep telling you that—Huh…?"
She had already been primed and ready to go on a lecture. She was well aware that she tended to give her old friend a bit too much help at times, bordering on spoiling the smaller goddess, but she always at least made sure to properly scold her for it.
The combination of words used in the last request felt completely foreign to Hephaestus' ears, something that felt incomprehensible and far too out of place.
"Pardon me… what was the request again?"
Deciding that she must've have misheard, reaffirmation became a necessity. She looked at Hestia, and she could see the seriousness in girl's face, the flames of will and passion clear in her friend's eyes.
"A part time job… I've been, looking for one for the past few days but I'm having a bit of trouble getting into one."
Hearing the earnest tone of her friend's, she looked Hestia in the eye, trying to discern what kind of sorcery had overcome her terminally lazy friend.
Normally, she would have rejoiced, called the nearest shop that needed assistance, and have Hestia shipped into a waitress uniform for the earliest possible shift she could take but the sudden change in Hestia made her pause.
"As much as I'd like to say I'm honestly happy that you're finally gaining a sense of responsibility in that head of yours and that I'd be more than willing to help you in that endeavour… I need to know the reason."
She had no idea what had brought this on; God's were rather unchanging beings so anything that compelled them to go out of their usual established habits were serious things.
She knew Hestia. She had been friends with the small, cheerful, yet unmotivated goddess for as long as she could remember. The bonds they shared since the time they found each other in the upper world, struck a friendship through their mutual status as outcasts, has lasted for a length of time that no mortal could possibly comprehend.
So she was in every right to make it her business to make sure that her friend wasn't dealing with something strange.
The look of hesitation on Hestia's face as she asked aroused her suspicions.
"W-well… err… d-do I really have to?"
"Yes. Tell me the reason and I'll personally have you work in one of our familia shops."
Faced with a sure deal, Hestia closed her eyes and took a few breathes. When the girl opened her eyes, she looked around, before deciding that the table would make an appropriate seat.
Hephaestus followed suit, once again choosing the anvil as her seat, considering the situation important enough that the act was permissible.
"So, what's this about?"
"Okay… so, do you remember that friend I was talking about…?"
==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==
==[Free Assistance – Liliruca Arde]==
Three days.
Within those three days, she had gone around to recover from her situation. She had quite a bit of money saved up from her former 'hunts', and she had already prepared back-up equipment so it was simply a matter of taking quantifying her losses and determining what it would take to regain them.
She rechecked and reviewed all the available information that guild could provide regarding the disaster that was the Killer Ant Incident. She had also inquired about her 'marks', having disguised herself with [Cinder Ella] several times to snoop around.
According to the guild receptionist, her former 'marks' were considered casualties of the incident so she didn't too worry too much about her particular activities being found out.
The guild wasn't too forgiving. Adventurers would bear grudges.
A supporter like her would be thrown to the wolves in an instant if anyone were to actually find out about her wrongdoings. It would be very literal too.
The past three days had been productive for her. Her body had already recovered enough that she could trudge go back and work in the dungeon without being hampered. For the first two days, she had gone back to the abandoned church to check with her new acquaintances.
It was only yesterday that she failed to return due to having to check the current situation in the Soma Familia and the fact that she had been attempting to discreetly gather information on her other white-haired saviour, Shirou Emiya.
Apparently, he was someone from the Hephaestus familia, a new blood like Cranel. Which brought up a slew of questions and made for a completely befuddling mystery. One that she decided she would investigate at a later date.
"Of course, that god just had to take the opportunity to trick Cranel-san into joing her familia… really now…"
When she had visited this morning, she had found herself slightly, ever so slightly, annoyed at the fact that Cranel had decided to be bonded to a goddess that could not support him by any means.
Being blessed by a god was a rather tricky thing. It gave countless benefits, but it was a permanent contract that couldn't be escaped unless the god or goddess themselves would choose to dissolve the bond. A situation that she was well acquainted with.
She sincerely hated her god and her familia.
On one hand, she was rather glad that the person that had saved her in her time of need had finally found a familia to call her own.
On the other hand, she was entirely annoyed that the familia that said person joined had nothing to its name. Literally nothing to its name.
No equipment, no items, no stock, no vault, and not a single piece of valis to its name. It was the very definition of starting from scratch, just a goddess and her one adventurer.
From her on in, Bell Cranel was going to be fighting an uphill battle and experience a lot of hardships. He would have no safety net to fall back on and would need to take risk after risk in order to progress himself and his familia.
She had wanted to have words with the goddess but unfortunately, when she had arrived this morning, said goddess had apparently already left for some important business and Bell Cranel was already preparing to head to for the dungeon.
Considering the current state of affairs, she feared for what the boy might just encounter and volunteered her services free of charge.
The grateful, tear-filled face that Cranel had showed her upon hearing her offer was a first class mental and emotional attack. Hardened as she was, the genuine look of gratitude and relief made her pause for a few moments.
The boy was far too naïve and trusting. Something that she would need to mitigate to make sure the boy doesn't somehow get taken advantage of by some of the scum in Orario.
"Cranel-san, make sure to keep watch of your surroundings as you fight. Kobolds and Goblins are weak in general but they can overwhelm if you get surrounded!"
"Got it Arde-san!"
A ways away from her position, she carefully observed Cranel as he weaved and dodged a bit too excessively for the range and position of his enemies.
It was the mark of inexperience, something natural for new blood, but she was honestly impressed. The boy was naturally agile and dexterous. She could see that he actually did have some knowledge in wielding a knife.
He may have been a tad over cautious but she preferred someone like that over an overconfident idiot that would charge a monster without thought.
"Hmmm?"
Noticing two stray goblins approaching from behind him, she withdrew a bolt and mounted it on her little ballista. She carefully observed the goblin while keeping Cranel's situation, waiting to see if the boy would notice and react accordingly.
When Cranel had dispatched the kobold, he took a moment to catch his breath.
When the goblins approached, Cranel seemed to finally notice, he quickly turned and drove his knife into one of the goblins head but failed to account for the other.
Thankfully, the moment she had seen that Cranel didn't immediately notice she had already let the Ballista bolt fly to hit the other goblin.
"A-ah… thanks Arde-san! Sorry about that!"
"It's okay. You need get used to reacting calmly to those kinds of situations. That sudden attack you did felt like you panicked and attacked without thought."
"Y-yes. Okay, I'll make sure to keep that in mind."
With a nod, she approached the monster corpses to remove the magic stones. They had spent over an hour in the first floor, and Cranel had already gotten rather used to the basics of combat in that time.
She was slightly apprehensive that they had started so late in the day.
Had the guild not held the boy up for two hours when he came to retrieve his basic equipment, they would've been able to make far better profits, considering the speed that Cranel was going through despite being a beginner.
"Anyway, we should keep going. I'm here to support you so let's take this chance to test how far you can go. It's best if you know your limits so you can adjust accordingly in the future."
"Understood!"
While the two of them moved to another area, she kept careful observation on the walls of the floor. The past few weeks had seen an upsurge of monster activity and there were even rumours of monster births occurring more frequently on top floors.
That particular rumour had yet to be confirmed, but considering her recent experiences, she wasn't about to disregard it.
She made sure to keep the two of them close to the Hall of Beginnings to make a quick escape if necessary. With their pace, they would easily reach the 2nd floor in a matter of minutes.
"Hmmm… Cranel-san?"
"Yes?"
She considered it. The 2nd floor wasn't really any different from the first floor in terms of difficulty, aside from the addition of the dungeon lizard.
However, from what she'd seen with Cranel's natural speed and agility, he really shouldn't have a hard time unless he has a major lapse in attention.
"… We'll try out the second floor after a few more bouts in this floor."
"Ah, according to Eina-san, those are where dungeon lizards start spawning?"
"Yes. The level of difficulty doesn't' really go up too much, so we should be fine."
"He's remarkably adaptive…"
Another two hours in the dungeon, and well into the 2nd floor, she saw Cranel deal with the small group of monsters; this time two goblins and a dungeon lizard. The boy had to adjust to the dungeon lizard for a bit, but he quickly determined how to fight the thing efficiently.
Unlike a few hours, she hadn't needed to shoot her little ballista at all. She still kept it loaded and ready to shoot at any time, carefully observing the surroundings as Cranel fought.
Cranel had been soaking up all her advice and applying them remarkably well. A fact that made her a bit sad that the boy didn't end up in a better familia with such clear talent.
*Crack* *Crack**Crack* *Crack**Crack*
"…!? Cranel-san, be careful!"
As the boy took down the last monster, she heard that dreaded sound that would always haunt her every dream.
The sound of cracking earth.
The sound of a monster birth.
"Five…!? At this timing and on the second floor to boot, the dungeon really has become more volatile."
Monster births weren't very frequent in the top floors and had specific timings. In most cases for the top floor, there was a rather large amount of time before a new set of monsters were dispatched after set amount of monsters were taken down in any particular area.
In this case, it seemed that the respawn had occurred right after Cranel had dispatched the last group of monsters.
Which was far, far too soon and far too many for the 2nd floor.
She immediately shot the two that came to view with her Little Ballista, taking them down without any problems.
"Arde-san!"
Bell immediately dashed towards her, lunging forward to stab the dungeon lizard on the head, followed by a kick right to its face.
"Arde-san, are you alri—"
"Behind!"
Two lizards lunged from behind. Cranel's reaction was delayed, but he was able to swipe away one of with his arm.
The other one, to bother their collective surprise, had its head fly off via a flying-spinning sword that flew past, curved upwards and returned from the direction it came from.
Said sword flew back to a distant figure that had caught the blade with a single hand.
Temporarily ignoring the fact that something that was clearly sword had apparently been used as a boomerang, she immediately put on her hood and stepped in front of Cranel.
As Cranel looked at her, she shook her head.
"Don't speak until we know who it is."
Cranel nodded in response, and the adventurer that helped them out had approached.
"Ah, thank you, Sir Adventurer!"
Already prepared to talk her way out of owing whatever adventurer had come to their aide, she put on the sweetest smile she could manage.
If they were lucky, it would be a well-meaning adventurer that wanted to help a new blood out. There were genuinely people like that, primarily legitimate veterans of the dungeon. In that case, the worse that Cranel would be given a lecture.
If they weren't, then it would be some adventurer that was looking to take advantage of new blood that didn't know left from right.
Considering her personal experience, she immediately assumed the worse and prepared accordingly.
"I see. Are you find then?"
Of course, all that preparation and caution dissipated the moment she heard the voice, she immediately understood who it was.
The white hair, the brown skin, and the calm countenance of a man that could somehow go toe to toe against the strongest adventurer of the city.
"Eh… Shirou Emiya?"
"Hmmm? The parum girl?"
She had intended to find her other saviour after helping out Cranel, but apparently, fate had other plans for it.
==[The Forge, The Hearth, and the Steel Sword]==
==[Chapter End]==
Thanks for reading up to this point.
If you want to throw some extra support, you can find my pay treyon by seraching Nukoko there.
That's all from me. See you next chapter!