Man, I've not had luck this break. Got sick again. Guess it is better to get sick twice with different things during break as opposed during semester, but rather has made this break lackluster to me. Well hopefully I can get one more update out in coming week. Either way, here is a Tsubaki chapter.

Also, craftsmen POV's are hard. Especially since Danmachi doesn't go into specifics of crafting too often. Really makes me want to expand on it. Tried to avoid it too much though, and cut a few scenes since this is largely setup for later Tsubaki stuff and don't want it to expand too much...like Ganesha familia one.

Thank you all for the kind words and Skill suggestions. Don't think there were many proper questions that needed answering this time.

The steel heated up.

She could all but feel the heat in herself.

The hammer fell.

She felt the impact reverberating through her own body.

The clang rang out.

She heard its cry like her own.

The red-hot metal shifted.

She felt the stretch of its form like an extra limb.

The forge sang.

She was as much part of it as anything.

The fire, the steel, the hammer, her flesh, her eyes, her ears, her heart.

They were all notes of that song.

…

A discordant note rang out from outside, and it caused a note from inside to resound too.

The iron shattered.

…

"Damn it," Tsubaki snarled as she grabbed the shattered fragment of the sword, uncaring that it was red hot. It was flying through the air in but an instant, so fast the air shrieked as it was cut. "I'm getting tired of my ears being stabbed!"

The Bad Bat on the other end of this impromptu projectile was less cut as disintegrated by the impact that also blew away the mist of this floor.

The several Level 1 adventurers of her familia that had been fighting it were on their butts. Not from the efforts of the monster, but from the booming impact that rippled out. They sent her wavering looks, mouths in ugly smiles from unintentional terror.

"I hate Bad Bats," she raged without care.

The senses of adventurers heightened as they leveled up, somewhat correlated to Dexterity. Now, it did come in with a number of innate limitations for practicality. Mental restrictions so they didn't hear literally everything inside a hundred meters in the city, instead requiring some purposeful intent and focus. Durability rising too so loud noises don't burst their ear drums. So, the sound waves of Bad Bats didn't actually stun them like they could Level 1 adventurers.

Unfortunately, no innate sensory exclusion functioned against purposeful sound attacks like that, and even utter resistance to physical damage didn't change the fact that it was the equivalent of someone screaming in her ear.

Having endured that far too long, she stood and roared, "That's it. We're going to the 16th floor to get away from these damned bats!"

Unfortunately, there were enough Level 1's to yell out heatedly, "We'll die!"

"Have some courage!"

Generally speaking, camping on the Upper Floors was unnecessary. It was still well within the range of floors even a slow-moving group could descend to and ascend from inside a workday. All that would be saved would be a few hours of travel, and the cost would be the danger of camping in the Dungeon. Not a good trade for most of the baby adventurers on these floors. The same even for the early Middle Floors.

That's not to say there weren't advantages, if you were able.

And Tsubaki fully intended to use that.

"Oh, stop complaining," Tsubaki ordered, rolling her eye as they passed the First Line that marked the entrance to the 13th floor. "It's just one more floor. You don't think you can handle it?"

"That one floor is the difference between Upper Floors and Middle Floors. Entering the Cave Labyrinth."

While that was a point that one would think made sense, Tsubaki merely shrugged and declared nonchalantly "You lasted king enough on the 12th. Means you should move deeper."

"That only makes it harder," a male human claimed, gesturing at his gear. "Our equipment needs repairing, and we're running low on potions."

A female half-dwarf, that unlike Tsubaki actually showed that heritage in not breaking five feet, then added as she gestured at her dirty state, "Plus, we haven't returned to the surface. Shouldn't we update our statuses…or ~wash up~?"

"Hey, you can return," Tsubaki replied to that, shrugging. "Just don't think I'm going to give you more time. I'm only heading deeper."

Tsubaki was long used to smelling like a forge, even if she'd punch someone who dared point it out, and her time was valuable.

Literally. In a week, much less two, she could forge a weapon worth tens of millions of valis. Many, if fact. Her limitation was less her actual smithing speed, but the limited clientele that could both pay for and be worth her work.

That was what it meant to be the best mortal smith.

She winked at them and informed them cheerily, "This is your chance. It's up to you on how to use it."

Her declaration got no response. The Level 1's only exchanged looks, submitting to the reality. Level 1's did not get Level 5's guarding them on these floors. Not unless you were immensely favored. They were never going to have the safety that her presence offered again. For baby adventurers eyeing that first true wall that was a level up, there were plenty that would beg for a chance at two weeks with that sort of safety cushion.

That was without even getting into the fact that she was their captain and her view on them was something they were unlikely to ever get out from.

"Good," Tsubaki said, satisfied with this situation. "Now, we'll find a proper spot. I'll give your equipment a touch up as you all set up camp."

It all went smoothly. As one group, most monsters were waiting for a better opportunity and they could handle the few dumb ones that didn't. Tsubaki knew a good place, and they were soon arriving. After her barked orders for the camp on the previous floor, they now were able to handle it.

"Now, give me anything that needs a quick repair," Tsubaki ordered as she set up her portable forge.

That got some eagerness. Not unexpectedly, adventurer-smiths were particular about their equipment. While Hephaestus was strict about not using equipment too above your level, except when they really needed power like with Magic Swords, that didn't stop specialization and customization. They were the type to note and worry over every piece of wear and tear. That same professionalism usually meant they wouldn't allow anyone else to touch their personal equipment, but…

Well, this was her.

She was soon being brought swords, shields, breastplates, hammers, and more. Although only half the reason was for repair, the other half being a chance for them to simply observe her working. Hephaestus familia was a smithing familia that emphasized solo work, and they had personal workshops to facilitate that. Besides general classes for newbies and occasional lessons from their goddess as a reward for something, every smith coveted their own hard-earned trade secrets.

Not that anything of this level was something Tsubaki would guard.

"S-So fast."

"She's not polishing, but…"

"She didn't even need to…"

Not to mention this was a lesson of a different sort. She usually took it upon herself to teach this lesson to newer Level 2's, as most all of them got cocky once they earned the Blacksmith DA and the quality of their work increased drastically, but this was a good time. She was going to be busy for the near future, and hopefully these members would be Level 2 soon anyways.

Thus, she gave them a glimpse of the chasm that awaited them beyond leveling up and earning Blacksmith.

"Here you go," as she tossed back a sword that had been sharpened in a minute flat.

The human that had protested earlier tested it, stuttering out, "I-It's even sharper than before…"

She reforged one half of a dual blade set, making the dark elf owner bitterly remark as he received it, "The quality can't even be compared."

As the time approached a single hour, more and more of the Level 1's smiths were forced to a realization. Saw gear that they had lovingly created and refined over days and weeks of dedicated effort be eclipsed by Tsubaki's quick and dirty repairs that never stretched beyond several minutes. They wandered away, feeling the mixed emotions of seeing something so amazing it made their own efforts feel irrelevant.

Welf was at near the end, and handed over his broadsword as he remarked with a certain tone in his voice, "I managed to include War Shadow and Needle Rabbit drops in this, with Lady Hephaestus approving it for the Middle Floors."

That tone was pride. It was warranted too, with even the others – few liking Welf – sending reluctantly acknowledging looks towards him. Hephaestus taught how to meld the lowest monster drops – Goblin and Kobold – into weapons, but above that was left for them to handle. The Blacksmithing DA was a big part of utilizing better and better drops, but no small bit was improving or discovering techniques. Despite the former being unavailable for them yet, the latter usually took experimentation enough that it was upper-class adventurers that did so. Level 1's were usually still mastering the basics.

It was probably the best weapon she'd yet been provided; a clear show of talent and honed blacksmithing skill.

"Do you need some of our collected drops to-"

"No," Tsubaki cut off.

Yeah, even without his infuriating refusal to use his Skill, Tsubaki concluded that Welf was going to need this lesson sooner or later.

"A bit of the innate magic of the drops has leaked with the crack, but I can compensate by increasing efficiency in the border between hard steel outside and soft steel core," she said, already working.

Welf burnt a bit too much slag off of the War Shadow claws in the outside edge. Alloy mix with too much steel hindered the flow of its innate magic to weaken the cutting aspect. Better with the Killer Rabbit horns in the core, preventing the sword from breaking entirely, but he failed to use those to strengthen the edge too. Too much separation. He didn't even try for that though, so she wouldn't show him an extra trick. A quick reworking allowed her to focus the War Shadow drop mixed in to the very edge, allowing a seemingly less sharp edge for durability while using the hyper-sharpness characteristic of the drop to compensate.

"There," she said as she tossed it back to the baffled Welf. "Should be better than ever."

…

As she continued working, the half-dwarf girl – Kanna – asked, "That's Metalworking, right? How you are going so fast?

"Metalworking is good in that way," she answered absently, fixing a crack in a breastplate in but a minute of heating and a few hammer strikes. "Doesn't help in a few areas, without a lot of skill, but repair is a different question."

"That's what many of the High Smiths have, right?"

"Yep," Tsubaki said even as she finished up another piece. "Besides being all but essential to repair enchanted equipment without having to reforge entirely and add more drops, it lowers repair time drastically. Most of the High Smiths who choose to stop there and stop adventuring typically have Blacksmith and Metalworking. That ideal comfort spot for a smith."

High Smith was a title granted to smiths at Level 3, very rare outside Orario and impressive even in Orario where most smithing familia's only required Level 2. Even Hephaestus Familia, which all but required members keep going to Level 3, had most stop there. Usually only those who enjoyed adventuring or were completely confident in leveling up further got a non-crafting DA at Level 3.

"I only got it at Level 5 though," Tsubaki continued. "Wasn't much interested in repairs, and wanted to push bounds of what I could create."

"You have Spearman and Magic Resistance, right?" the Kanna asked, giving Tsubaki a look like she was looking at something inexplicable.

Tsubaki just shrugged it off, used to craftsmen having that reaction since they rarely leveled up and so had to be very careful, stating simply, "I was confident in leveling up further."

Dark Elf – Louvrie – now spoke up, eying the katana at her side, "Yet don't you usually use a sword?"

"I generally prefer a katana, especially against people, but I usually use axes or a spear against stronger monsters," she answered again, uncaring. "My mother taught me many eastern martial arts from her home, so I use what is needed. Dad was also a dwarf too, so Magic Resistance is easily available."

Admittedly, she couldn't say they were the absolute best choices, but…

Her mother wielded a spear primarily, and she died from old wounds from the Dungeon when Tsubaki was a level 2.

Her father was dragged off with the Zeus and Hera familias against the One Eyed Black Dragon, right before she reached Level 4.

Choosing to enhance her spearwork and gaining a 'dwarven' trait had appealed to her both times.

What was the point in leveling up if it didn't give one the leeway to prioritize such sentiments?

She quickly changed the topic, announcing, "Metalworking isn't my favorite, but useful here. Don't need any DA's for this level of work, but even simplest use of DA allowed me to cut down time to a tenth or so. Prefer not to waste time."

Her words were chosen carefully, and succeeded in making those listening recoil. Tsubaki had been very purposeful. Even without a falna, the only change to her work would be the amount of time needed.

Repairs done, she made a shooing motion as she said, "There, it's all done. Start exploring. Groups of three at the least, but stay close for now. I'll keep watch for several hours for you to get used to these floors."

"Understood, captain."

"Good, now make the most of this," Tsubaki continued, standing with ands of hips and grinning widely at term, "Use this time. Group hunting infant dragons on the 12th floor can require months before leveling. You can cut that down to weeks in the Cave Labyrinth. Silverbacks and Hard Armored are more plentiful here, so focus on them. Call for me with Hellhounds unless you have Salamander Wool incorporated in your armor, but I don't want any of you running from Almiraj or Dungeon Worms. I will also spank anyone who spots a Crystal Mantis and loses it. Person who kills it gets its drop."

"""Yes, captain Tsubaki!"""

"And, for the love of everything good and dear, block off the passages here. If a single Bat Bat gets to this camp and screams, I will break all your equipment before your eyes and make you use standard stuff."

…

"Y-Yes…captain T-Tsubaki."

Screw Bad Bats.

She brought them to the Cave Labyrinth solely as its more tunnel-like nature made it far more possible to create a perimeter against flying monsters than the wide open and misty 12th floor.

That they would gain more excelia here was a factor, 12th floor was only good for leveling up when it came to Infant Dragons…but it was mainly the Bad Bats.

Tsubaki kept working at her portable forge. This was after all her own work here. She had personally hauled a good number of iron ingots down for her to work with.

With these, she put everything she had into it. The lessons learned from Hephaestus. From her father. From the dwarf kingdom of Vul Lodir. From Solingen. Her Blacksmith Developmental Ability. Metalworking. Her own experimentation.

Everything that she had accrued as a smith in thirty-eight years of life and twenty-six years with a falna.

She worked with everything she had in her arsenal.

…

The iron cracked.

Inserted my Mind too fast.

The iron cracked.

Even slower.

The iron cracked.

Maybe a surge instead.

The iron shattered into bits.

Insert Mind in very small streams, leaving majority uninfused.

The currents cause iron to weaken inside, creating structural flaws.

Using Metalworking to mix the metal in the core.

Only spread out the degradation, and an irritated hammer blow shattered it into iron sand.

Return back to experimenting with infusing Mind into it. Structural degradation too much.

"Monster horde!"

Tsubaki moved as soon as she heard that, easily discarding the useless iron she had been forging. Two hundred meters down one tunnel was covered in a blur. She soon appeared behind a group of three. Welf was included, alongside the dual wielding dark elf – Erebseth, and another human male wielding a large shield – Kenneth. They had found themselves facing a good half dozen Silverbacks with a whole host of Almiraj.

She merely stopped, tilting her head as she watched them conduct a fighting retreat.

Unfortunately, Erebseth had good senses and looked over his shoulder at her while yelling, "Why aren't you-"

"Don't look away," Tsubaki told him, moving and drawing her katana. It allowed her to cut a Silverback in half that had used the opening to jump and swing from the ceiling to try and land on him, the monster turning into dust. She used the recoil to push herself back so she landed behind him. Not a shift in her tone, she explained bluntly, "I'll save you, but at least have the guts to fight."

Both Silverbacks and Almira are just Level 1 monsters, so the only danger was merely from numbers.

"Get used to this. Use positioning and cooperation to wear them down, or at least cut a path for retreat."

It would be pointless to bring them all down here if she didn't ensure they were pushed beyond their limits.

"Seriously?!" Welf demanded, using his large broadsword to block a Silverback but being knocked back.

"Yep," she said, popping her lips at the end.

"Grrr."

"Fine," Erebseth spat where Welf was shocked silent and Kennet only growled, launching himself at one of the Silverbacks. "I'll cut them all!"

Kenneth growled again, and moved right after him to block an attempted attack at his back from three Almiraj and then scattering them with an attempted mace strike.

"Got your back," the man who usually communicated in growls and grunts deigned to say.

Tsubaki sent a look at Welf, the obvious one out, and asked, "Welfy? This might be why they don't like you."

"No, it's other things," Welf declared with a scowl even as he moved back into the fight.

Tsubaki just shrugged and watched them. They might have been able to fight their way through, but not without serious injuries. The sort of impairment that would leave most adventurer groups picked off by the Dungeon as they tried to ascend.

As they had potions and the camp though, Tsubaki saw no need to get involved.

Being faced with unexpected monster hordes or pass parades and finding that primal instinct inside to fight and survive beyond what you otherwise could was one of the more common ways to rank-up.

"Purple Moths," Erebseth yelled in warning.

It made Tsubaki raise an eyebrow. Those were rare in the Cave Labyrinth. Far more common in the floors before this, and much less likely to attack like this. The sparse numbers of them instead built cocoons in dark and easily missed nooks of the roof or walls, which exploded and released poison powder with proximity. Guess the monster horde attacking was too tempting a target for the two Purple Moths to ignore.

Despite the warning though, none of the three reacted in time – or at all – before the moths doused them in the poison dust.

Even as the poison spread to her, Tsubaki just pointed and laughed.

"W-What the hell?"

"Why didn't you handle them?!" Welf demanded of her, the three very quickly retreating before the new energy of the monsters as the poison weakened their limbs and made them nauseous.

"You guys never asked me to, and didn't even try to handle them yourselves. Amateur mistake," Tsubaki answered in amusement, although her katana was drawn and the two flying monsters were bisected. "There. Now, continue."

Unfortunately, the three were clearly flagging now. Even the minor poison eating at them to turn the tides. The monsters pressed. Tsubaki ended up needing to cut down four monsters to spare them debilitating wounds.

Although once the final one dropped to Erebseth's blades, he fell to a knee while the two humans both bent over and retched.

"Ew," Tsubaki commented, sighing. "Let's go back and get you three antidotes."

"Y-You are the reason for this."

"Hey, you better get used to fights like that if you intend to ever become High Smiths," she told them. Once they were downing antidotes, she also continued in a lecturing tone, "You three could have handled that. Erebseth, your weapon skills surpass your courage. Fix that. Offensive power is useless if you aren't willing to attack."

"There's a reason I chose to become a smith," the dark elf grumbled.

"You are an adventurer-smith. Go find some ordinary blacksmith shop if you don't want to fight. You have the talent, so don't forget it," Tsubaki told him before moving on. "Kenneth, you don't attack enough either. You hold a flank and guard Erebseth's back well, but your flank is all but static. You test Erebseth's endurance if you merely wish to hold till he can come to your aid. Your mace isn't there to scare monsters, but to kill them."

He merely grunted.

Overall, a good and balanced duo, but likely to be worn down by a horde of monsters over cutting their way free and thus need work.

"As for Welfy," she continued, turning to him. "Your teamwork is bad, fighting separately. You are using your weapon size with broad strokes to keep multiple enemies away and you are actually doing well with what you have, but you do not have the Strength nor Agility to pull that off long term. Find a team. Preferably a fast attacker to help distract and draw off enemies from you."

"You think I wouldn't if I had the option," Welf grumbled under his breath, although she could hear it.

Guess that was indeed a reality. Welf wasn't popular in the familia, since he had all but been handed a silver spoon due to his heritage yet while most had to spend years of training and uncertainty. Most of the Level 1's had few to no clients, after all, while Welf was invaluable if he just used his gift. Their goddess saw potential in him and even Tsubaki acknowledged he had genuine talent even beyond his Crozzo Blood, but that didn't remove the reason for many of his fellows to be resentful. Tsubaki liked him well enough on a personal level, but it still impacted her view on his seriousness as a smith intent on challenging the domain of the divine. For those who had much more reason to have that professional disagreement impact their personal view on him, it's not like Tsubaki was poor or struggling as newbie smiths, it wasn't a surprise he often had difficulty finding parties willing to take him on.

"Well, figure it out," she still told him bluntly.

It still wasn't her job to relieve and protect him from the costs of his decisions.

That shut him up, even if he was naturally disgruntled, although he did look at her and ask, "Are you not going to take an antidote?"

"Oh, I guess I did get some poison too," she said as she lifted a hand. It trembled slightly, although it didn't worry her. At Level 5, such weak poison would be flushed from her system in minutes and only cause the slightest of symptoms. Still better to get rid of. "I can handle it fine though."

She started to chant.

"I am a forge."

Fire is my breath, metal is my bones, and molten is my blood.

Burn away, impurities, for I am a forge.

Hearth Kiln."

As the short-chant spell finished, steam rose from Tsubaki's body and her skin reddened as her temperature rose. She only kept it up for a moment, however. She instead released her spell upon feeling the weak poison burnt away.

"I didn't know you had a spell," Welf quickly commented.

"Most smiths have a spell. The Blacksmith DA allows us to manipulate our Mind, so a spell usually follows if one has a slot. They just usually aren't too good," Tsubaki answered freely, shrugging. "I got this one as a Level 1, admittedly, but still unimpressive. All it does is flood my body with fire element to burn away impurities. Main purpose is curing myself of poisons or toxins, although also gives me resistance to both heat and cold when active too."

"That sounds useful," Welf remarked.

"Prevented me from needing to get the Abnormal Resistance DA, so yes," Tsubaki agreed. That was usually an issue for adventurer-smiths. DA's were valuable – necessary – for craftsmen, but Abnormal Resistance was for most any adventurer. It was possible for Level 2's to manage with antidotes, even Level 3's, but Level 4 all but required it unless they had a curative spell. Tsubaki winked and laughed though as she added, "Most usage I get out of it is for drinking though. Fixes a hangover right quick it does, haha."

"That is useful," Kenneth agreed, actually speaking and sending her an envious look.

That made Tsubaki laugh more, even if she ordered, "Haha, I am blessed indeed. Now, you less blessed, take a regular potion and get back out there. I need to get back to my smithing."

She was part of the forge again. A song being sung. The iron her instrument, and her hammer plucking it. The fire a chorus, and her breath the conductor.

…

The iron cracked.

Infusing the Mind with a different pattern.

The iron cracked.

Different pattern again.

The iron cracked.

More Mind.

The iron cracked.

Even more.

The iron sattered.

Large surge all at once.

The iron broke down completely into iron sand.

Less Mind.

The iron cracked.

Even less.

The iron cracked.

Even less. Really allow it to seep in slowly.

Iron remained whole, but numerous structural weaknesses appeared.

…

Tsubaki took a Mind Potion, pushing her Mind Reserved with these repeated failures.

Repeat whole process with a different pattern.

The iron failed again and again.

Different pattern again.

The iron failed.

Wrong methodology. What other aspects could be used?

Tsubaki considered that even as she panted from low Mind.

"There you guys are," she declared as fifteen Level 2's of the Hephaestus familia finally tracked arrived to the campsite. She then questioned, "If my timing is right, weren't you suppose to arrive yesterday?"

"We searched the 12th floor, where we were supposed to meet you," one of them responded, sending her a gimlet eye. "Thoroughly."

"An entire day just to search the 12th floor? Wow, you really do need this Dungeon time," she replied irreverently to that.

It got her a few looks, but she merely waved it off with a laugh.

She instead turned to the Level 1's that had gathered and announced, "So, the Level 2's are here so we are reorganizing. We'll move to the 15th floor for our new camp. Level 1's, move to support the Level 2's. Newer Level 2's and any Level 1 that intent to fight stay to the 14th floor. I won't be able there for immediate help, so no pure Level 1's parties anymore. At least one Level 2 with each, and everyone needs Salamander Wool for Hellhounds. I'll stay on the 15th floor, so Level 1's can act as supporters even with the Minotaurs and Hellhounds. Any veteran Level 2's, group up solely amongst yourselves if you intend to fight on the 16th or 17th floors. Any Level 1's wishing to act as supporters to them need my permission. You can even go deeper to the 19th floor if you wish, but remember I won't be able to help you immediately. Those groups on different floors, have one person selected ready to run for me if you need help. You'll need to be prepared to hold on for a time till I arrive. I don't want any deaths. We shall adjust as we go for appropriate difficulty, so don't get impatient. Any questions?"

Ultimately, everything was worked out.

That was the rough plan Tsubaki had worked out. Everyone in the familia, if they chose to join the 'expedition' for training, would have a week focused almost entirely on them. Then the next stronger group would arrive, they'd go deeper, and the previous group would turn to acting in a more support role.

Next would be Large Tree Labyrinth and Water City for Level 2 and 3's.

Then Dense Forest Ravine for Level 3's and 4's.

Finally the White Palace and Volcano Territory for veteran Level 3's and 4's where Tsubaki would be able to press herself a bit more.

Two weeks wasn't long, but fighting for twelve to sixteen hours each day unlike usual dives would very much allow a burst of hardcore training.

…

Doing the math to create a timeline, Tsubaki once again realized she'd likely need to accompany another familia down far deeper if she wanted a good chance to reach Level 6 in any expedient timeframe.

Time passed and Tsubaki got back into the flow of events. She did very well when on schedules. She rotated who was active at each time, arranging it so the days were split into three. One high-risk period where she actively patrolled the floors to save anyone. A medium-risk period where she merely guarded the camp but would move to help anyone. Then a low-risk period where a number of people were sleeping and groups could only operate on the floor of the camp.

It all worked so she all but fell into a trance that made the time fall away. Patrolling. Sentry duty. The low-risk times even allowed her to focus on her smithing experiments.

The iron shattered.

Mmmm, maybe I should alter the quenching method? No, it usually shattered before that. Maybe heat the iron to a molten state and infuse the Mind then?

…

"What are you doing, captain?"

The question made Tsubaki look up, not having quite entered a trance. She saw the speaker was one of the Level 2's, although a number of people currently resting had drifted over to watch too. It made her look at the iron she'd been heating up.

"Smithing?" she answered in a questioning tone, displaying the piece.

"But it is iron?"

"Well, I am turning it into steel. If I get to that point."

"Not the point," the more veteran member of the familia deadpanned. "Iron or steel, makes no difference. I haven't seen you add any drops or better materials for alloying either."

"Doing this with iron IS the point, and so if not creating an alloy. Well, beyond the steel itself," Tsubaki countered, setting the iron down. She then pointed at them with a smirk, declaring, "I'm figuring out how to enchant iron and steel."

That drew stunned reactions.

"T-That's…"

"Impossible," another finished bluntly.

And disbelieving reactions.

"According to conventional wisdom, yes," Tsubaki conceded, shrugging and turning back to examining the iron she was working with. "But a lot of conventional wisdom has loopholes, if you have enough skill and knowledge."

There was a reason most smiths moved on from steel equipment.

It was truly the most basic choice because it neither had innate magic nor could it hold any infused in it. They just cracked, and the magic was lost. Even other metals like copper, gold, or silver could at least hold magic.

Magic was what improved equipment. The more magic a material innately possessed or could hold if infused, the more could be done with it. In many ways, all the 'magical' materials natural in the surface world or in the Dungeon were just 'regular' materials that had been infused with magic that settled into a specific form with magical benefits. Crafting involved utilizing said innate magic of materials, or using DA's like Blacksmith to infuse magic, for something extra.

Enchantments being a proper manipulation of said magic into a more noticeable effect, as opposed to sticking to the natural effect of the innate magic such as extra sharpness or durability.

Such as Magic Swords, which were just weapons where the magic was used for an enchantment to release some sort of magic attack till the magic supply ran out and the whole thing broke.

The last part was since without said magic, the materials degraded rapidly.

Even Orichalcum, the most enduring and resistant material the surface world offered, was not immune to this. It was so because its innate magic resisted degradation or damage, but that magic was limited. True, orichalcum in sturdier forms like vaults could last millennia if they weren't attacked frequently. In comparison, a thin sword that had said magic manipulated into a Durandal Attribute for heightened durability and used frequently would need maintenance every few months, and inevitably need replacing after maybe a decade.

It was why 'ancient weapons' being passed down were restricted to stories; even weapons sitting on a shelf degrading in less than a century from the magic leaking.

So, iron and steel needed to be alloyed with monster drops which had and could hold magic. Then one would obviously hope to replace it with better metals. It was simply the way. As the smith improved, they went to better materials.

Iron and steel was left behind.

This fundamental piece of adventurer-smith knowledge made one of the watchers repeat insistently, "But you can't enchant iron. It doesn't hold the magic."

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking closer at the iron intently. As if trying to discern a secret. She then sent them a look. "Haven't you heard about the 'Secrets of Steel'?"

Several perked up, although many were still clueless.

Chuckling, she examined the iron again as she mused, "There are a lot of stories of ancient smiths. That they figured out ways to smith orichalcum and mithril even without falna. Some tales speak of ancient tribes that learned to work steel in special ways. Enchant it. True Steel."

"Myths," one person stated skeptically.

"Or just secrets that weren't successfully passed down even as the methods for orichalcum and mithril were," Tsubaki retorted. "The lost 'Secrets of Steel'. Or…maybe not so lost."

That got her some looks.

Tsubaki chuckled but still explained, tone that of entertaining a group of children even if plenty listening were Level 2 adventurers, "My father had a suspicion. One of the Hera familia's two Level 7's was a weapon master and a smith. When she was younger, he said she only used steel weapons she personally made till Level 4. Supposedly come from a secret village of kunoichi, and wouldn't ever answer him on what she did as it was supposedly a village secret. He always thought they must have known the Secrets. He raised me while telling me that True Steel existed."

Some of the skeptics clearly still didn't believe her, although the one to speak instead said, "Till Level 4? Obviously shows a limit. Why would you try to discover something like that when you can make something better using known methods?"

"Are you not a craftsmen, boy?" she demanded, despite him being in his twenties. The reaction to the name made him grimace, making her chuckle. "Sometimes, all a true craftsmen needs is to satisfy a curiosity. Meet a challenge."

She had, as a youngling, declared she would learn to create True Steel. She had tried for a time. Then she leveled up, and it fell by the wayside. New materials were always available. More readily known things to learn. Like many things, childhood ambitions were left behind.

Nothing said one couldn't pick them back up though.

"What is the point in being a master smith if you can't take some time off to pursue a whim?" she added on playfully.

It was either this or hauling adamantite, mithril, orichalcum, and more down to smith.

That would just be repeating what she had been doing for the past few years too. At least this was new. If she wanted to press forward both to fulfill that demand of Ottar for her to level up – and to make a weapon that he begged her to sell to him as retribution for his audacity, she needed to find and accomplish new things.

Plus, if there was a period to spend time and effort on a whim, it was when she was stuck down here for weeks saving baby adventurers from Minotaurs and Hellhounds anyways.

"Now, shoo," she said as she now made motions for them to leave. "I've given you story time. Get back to your stuff, and leave me to mine. Shoo shoo."

As they scattered, she just shook her head in amusement although that dropped away as she turned back to the steel.

Whim or not, Tsubaki's pride as a smith still meant she was going at this with full force.

…

The iron cracked.

"Captain!"

Tsubaki looked up at that call, and saw new arrivals.

"Oh, did another week already pass?" she asked as she stood, knocking her head and sticking out her tongue. "Lost track of time again."

"Well, it is time for us," one of the Level 3's answered.

"Good. That means we can head down to the 22nd floor or so," she announced although she then turned to the Level 1's. "Time for you all to go back. Let's find a Level 2 to escort them ba-"

"Actually, captain," she was interrupted, the same person coming forward with a letter. "Lady Hephaestus asked us to send you this."

Raising an eyebrow, she took it.

…

She was being called back. Apparently Lady Freya had called upon Hephaestus to help appraise an item once Ottar returned to the surface. Apparently he had done so.

Clearly something had happened there, but Tsubaki was more concerned with the item being appraised.

The Eye of Balor.

Tsubaki felt a shiver run through her. Honestly, she wasn't so sure she was in the mood to see Ottar again. She was still a bit mad, and hadn't yet made something she could rub in his face. Yet, she had complained before about him not coming to her with the Sword of Udaeus. This was…

"Gah, I would kiss a hobo for a chance to examine that!" she burst out, making several people jump and many more of her familia members send her weird looks at the random statement.

The last time she had something of this level - actually above it - was six years ago with the Leviathan Fang.

Although one – stupid – dude instead joked, "Might want to take a bath first. The hobo probably smells better than you right now."

She flicked his head, and sent him sprawling on his butt.

"Don't comment on a woman's smell."

The other women present nodded, all them having had to deal with smelling like a forge at times.

Okay, couldn't help having at least some explanation on how I'm viewing blacksmithing here. I tried to keep it to one or two scenes though, so hope I avoided too much info-dump. Also not entirely sure it is canon, but I am not so pedantic to go search for whatever one or two lines Omori threw in. In the end, always going to expand on it too.

Also, yes. I shifted what High Smith was because it's kind of…less discerning if it's just Level 2? A smith with falna needs to reach that just to earn Blacksmith. I rather figure every blacksmithing familia all but requires at least that, paradoxically meaning most are upper-class familias despite not being exploration-type familias. They are less likely to push higher though since they can then earn decent livings as smiths. Hephaestus familia is practically unique in pushing all their smiths to reach Level 3, even if they are given years to do so. Level 1's and 2's aren't able to totally ignore Dungeon diving.