God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 352: Hand of Midas (2).

Sitting down on a stool in the forge, Cain got to work...

Igniting the flames in the furnace, he got straight to work. All in all, he managed to mine six different types of ore and four different mana stones of different quality and characteristics.

The metal ores were Mesotane, Magmanite, Orcan, Ambersteel, Magnetium, and Stained Silver.

***

{Mesotane}: Special

Description: A special ore that can transform mana into kinetic energy.

{Magmanite}: Special

Description: A special metal that can endure extremely high temperatures.

{Orcan}: Rare

Description: A valuable metal ore that can absorb and negate all forms of force and impact depending on the purity of the metal.

{Ambersteel}: Rare

Description: An extremely hard metal that possesses high tensile strength and ductility when imbibed with mana.

{Magnetium}: Rare

Description: A rare earth metal that possesses extremely high natural magnetism when imbibed with mana.

{Stained Silver}: Epic

Description: A very rare earth metal that possesses the natural quality of sharpness and lightness. When imbibed with mana, these qualities increase exponentially.

***

Cain spent some time getting more information about each metal from the system before moving to the mana stones.

***

{Arcanite}: Rare

Description: Can be used to temporarily retain a specific elemental mana type, which can be drawn out for use at any time.

{Forx Stone}: Rare

Description: A gem used for the permanent inscription of basic runes and magic circles.

{Fire Ruby}: Normal

Description: A fire attribute gem that transfers the flame nature upon contact.

{Green Demonheart}: Epic

Description: One of the important base materials used by the devils to power the Devil Mountain.

***

Every metal and magic stone he had managed to gather had a unique characteristic that made it suitable for Cain to use.

Unlike more simple weapons like swords and spears, more complicated weapons require more than one type of metal or special material, especially one as complex as a firearm.

Rolling his sleeves up, Cain set out to work immediately...

The first thing he was going to be doing, was purifying the ores. With the facilities, the {Draconic Blast Furnace} provided him with, this process didn't take a lot of time.

The metal he had the most surplus of was the {Black Tungsten} after he purified all of it. There was a decent amount of the rest, but they couldn't compare to the {Black Tungsten}.

Once the ores had been purified and treated, he moved on to the next part of the process. Cleaning the magic stones...

Most magic stones needed just a bit of cleaning and washing before they were ready to be used as they were usually covered in rocky debris. Cain handled all this in a very short amount of time. Very soon, three piles of glittering gems lay on the ground of the forge.

Next, Cain was going to tackle the next problem, which was melting and molding all the metals. This part was very crucial...

Most metals had different melting points, and not every one of them could handle high temperatures. Some required delicate treatment like the {Mesotane}, while others like the {Magmanite} required tremendously high temperatures before they could be melted down.

As such, he had to take extreme care. Then there was molding. Each part of the firearm he was going to be creating needed to be made with the utmost precision. Luckily for him, he possessed a skill called the {Divine Essence of Metallurgy}.

With this skill, he could be considered the best metal artisan there could be as it offered him minute control over metallic particles. As long as the metal was soft enough he would be capable of moulding and shaping it to his will. Back when he had made the {Black Egg}, he had been forced to use more manual methods. However, both his spirit and magic stats have grown tremendously since then.

This much wasn't going to be too much of a hassle.

Cain picked a huge chunk of {Mesotane} from the ground and shoved it into the furnace.

A pyre of flames consumed the metal and began heating it. Cain activated {Divine Essence of Metallurgy} once the metal had turned red hot. He began shaping the metal into what he wanted it to be, manipulating the minute elemental particles within the solid metal.

Once the metal was softer and the impurities had been burnt away by the flame, he began separating the metal into smaller chunks, working on them individually.

Once he felt they were ready, he took them out of the furnace and dropped them into a vat of cold water. The moment the pieces of metal cooled down, they floated into the air for inspection.

'Hmm...'

With a sigh, Cain threw about five of them away. Without saying a word, he continued...

A few hours later, the entire pile of {Mesotane} was gone. Replacing that pile was another pile of small shiny pieces of metal.

Wiping a line of sweat from his brows, Cain moved on to the next pile...

As such, he continued refining and creating components. This process continued for an entire week. However, that wasn't all he did during this time.

He met up with Hunter, Susan, Jenny, Ignis, and Evangeline continuously for strategizing and planning, as well as organizing and training their army of beastmen.

Although they were curious as to where he always disappeared to, they didn't say anything...

At the same time, they also observed the camps of Galip, Floki, and Malcolm. As it turned out, all three camps had merged, as they decided it was time to put tenor differences aside and work together.

They had also proposed the idea to Hunter as well. However, he had declined their invitation swiftly. Then, they observed the growing army of {Blood Abominations}. The army was growing steadily, but there were still no signs of movement or action from that side.

Still, Cain made sure to always be vigilant. He had no doubts that Stingè was going to make sure his net was inescapable.

He had also gone back to the cave systems beneath the cave system several times to mine more metal ore and mana stones. The amount he brought back every time was only enough to make a few components.

When he realized that working alone wasn't effective, he enlisted the help of Hunter, who was more than happy to provide loyal and able-bodied beastmen for Cain.

With that, he was able to speed up his metal gathering speed. Since he was concerned about the giant worm on the lower level, he made sure to warn the beastmen to limit their mining area to just the second cave system.

It took him another week to finish making all the components...

Then, the most crucial part of the entire process began. The rune drawing...

And the material that was going to be the star of the show in this part was the {Forx Stone}.

Indeed, Cain had stumbled upon this divine stone by accident. He had no idea how special it was until he read the description and got more information about it from the system.

Unlike most gems, the {Forx Stone} allowed one to transcribe runes and magic circles onto it. This meant that this stone could be used to store and activate spells without the need for any external interference.

This would greatly simplify any weapon or item Cain wanted to create in the future. However, the only caveat was that it could only accommodate basic runes and magic circles.

Even still, it was very special and would decrease the need for using other materials to interact with the magical power source.

Cain began inscribing runes and sigils onto every component he had created. This part was going to take the longest. However, he was confident he could get it done in time.

And so, another week passed...

Sitting on the ground, he was surrounded by numerous pieces of scrap metal and magic stones.

"Ha..."

Letting out a tired sigh, Cain stretched tiredly,

"Come in."

Someone had knocked on the door to the forge. Rising to his feet, Cain walked to the door and opened it.

A tall, muscular beastman with tusks growing out from his mouth stood at the door, staring at Cain with reverence and fear,

"Lord... I-I mean Cain! We've gathered the rest of the material!"

Cain rolled his eyes, then nodded and said with a tired voice,

"That's good. Where are the others?"

"They are waiting outside, Sir!"

Ignoring the honorifics, he waved his hand dismissively,

"Hm.. Could you guys wait for me just for a few minutes?"

The beastman nodded enthusiastically,

"Of course!"

"Wait!' Cain said just before closing the door.

The beastman stood shell shocked, "Y-yes?!"

Cain grinned, "What's your name?"

The beastman wore a look of confusion for a few seconds before realization appeared in his eyes,

"Ah! My name is Haru, Boss Cain!"

"Hmm... I'll keep that in mind."

Shutting the door, Cain let out a tired exhale...

Looking around, the entire workspace was a mess. However, there was a bit of organization in the disorganization...

Cain walked over to the only work table in the entire forge. There, different components were placed. Grabbing two of them, he placed them together, clicking them in place.

He repeated this process numerous times with the other components, clasping, jamming, and placing them together until they had all turned into a single item.

The moment the last component was set in place, a familiar voice whispered into his ears,

***

{Congratulations to host... You have created a Rare grade magic weapon, the Magnum GT-01}.

{+1000 to Mana}.

{+500 to Spirit}.

{Your proficiency in the skill, Magic Craftsman, has increased}.