24 Chapter 24: Katana

Having the materials for the katana in my hands, I went straight to the workshop. My sister's sword must be made of high quality materials. But my sister is still with me.

"Why are you still following me?"

"I want to see you work."

"Then, it's not a surprise anymore."

"I don't care."

My sister followed me to the workshop. Maybe she wanted to witness the making of her future sword. I don't mind her watching me, as long as she doesn't disturb me.

"Just don't touch anything here without permission, okay?" I reminded her after opening the door.

"Okay." She nodded, and we entered the workshop.

After entering the room, I locked the door and began to prepare the solution for the time schedule.

The workshop was located on the third floor of our mansion. The second floor was only limited to a few servants, so disturbance was not a problem. The inside was filled with equipment and tools for my inventions. The walls had soundproofing and anti-surveillance functions for secrecy and confidentiality.

"Barrier."

I cast a Level 4 Pure Magic spell to erect a barrier that enveloped the whole workshop. I enhanced it with my Level 8 Infinite Barrier Manipulation spell, so I can freely shape it according to my will.

"Time Accel."

I cast another magic spell again. But this time, it was a Space-Time Magic spell, Level 8 Time Delay. It was a spell that accelerated the flow of time. I only cast it in the area of my barrier, so it doesn't affect the whole world.

The acceleration rate limit was proportional to the user's magic power. Currently, I can freely change the time in my barrier up to nine times faster than the real world.

"Hey, Raphael. What did you do just now?"

"I just accelerated the time flowing through this room."

"Really? Its feel like nothing." she tilted her head in confusion.

"Sigh… Try shooting a spell from the window and see."

"Okay…"

After hearing my words, she approached the window and opened it.

"Water Bullet!"

She cast a valley of low-level Water Magic and shot it out of the window. The bullets fly at normal speed inside the room. But when it passed the window, which was the boundary of my barrier, it suddenly flew slowly like the flying bullets in a scene from The Matrix.

"Whoa. It really moves slowly. Now that I think about it, the swaying of the leaves seems slow. As if the whole thing were suspended."

"No. This room was just moving faster than the world. Nine minutes here is only a minute in the real world." I said I was debunking my sister's statement.

"Is that so?"

She closed the window, and I opened my Inventory to take out the materials needed for the katana.

"Now, let's get started."

I put on my personal protective equipment and lit the forge. I grabbed the ingot that I will be using for the material of the blade, an adamantite ingot.

I will use this metal for the blade instead of orichalcum or mithrill. Mithrill had high mana conductivity but was not durable enough for my sister's usage.

Orichalcum was more durable and only slightly inferior to mithrill in terms of conductivity, but it was too conspicuous. It gave off a dazzling golden gleam and attracts much attention.

Adamantite, on the other hand, was more durable than orichalcum. However, it had a mana conductivity lower or almost equal to orichalcum but much higher than silver.

Its metallic blue hue isn't too lustrous and more like a blue-tinted steel. Sister's main attribute is Lightning like Mother's. Lightning Magic is compatible with any type of steel material. It's definitely worth it for my sister's blade.

I molded the ingot and shaped it based on the 3D object I've been constructing in my mind. The material is adamantite, the hardest material known to mankind. The harder the material, the more difficult and complex it is to mold with Alchemy.

I poured a huge amount of mana into the ingot and successfully shaped it into a thirty-inch-long deep blue rod. I put it in the furnace and chanted a spell.

"Smelting Heat."

It was a Level 6 Fire Magic spell that could melt hard metals. Few of the veteran blacksmiths had this spell for smelting hard metals like orichalcum.

After heating for a while, the adamantite rod gave off a bright red glow. I took it from the fire with the tong and placed it on the anvil. With the hammer in my right hand, I hit the hot steel to flatten it.

"It is really difficult and time consuming if seen up close."

"Yeah. So don't be too close if you don't want your sword to deform."

"Yeah, yeah, I understand."

Sister pressed her chest against my back again after I put the hot rod back in the forge. I warned her that distractions might cause deformities to the blade.

I prepare the rod again. I hit it repeatedly with the hammer on the anvil. The sound of clashing metals resonating throughout the entire workshop as I keep shaping it.

After continually hitting the hot steel, it already had the curved shape, the tang, and the back side of the blade. Then I used a fullering tool to draw the groove and the ridge.

"Can you operate that machine for me?" I asked for help, pointing at the machine.

"Not a problem. Then what should I do?"

"Hold the handle with each of your hands and cast the Short Circuit spell."

Yellow bolts of dazzling lightning emitted from each of her hands as she held its corresponding handle, and the machine started to work. And that machine was my homemade sanding belt machine.

"You never failed to impress me with your revolutionary ideas."

"Good job, sister." I praised her while giving a thumbs up.

"Of course. I am your sister after all."

I adjusted the speed of the rotation just enough to grind the adamantite. Then place the blade against the running sandpaper and start to sharpen the edge side of the blade.

The machine was powered by electricity instead of magic. The spell that my sister used was a Level 3 Lightning Magic spell. It emits lightning bolts on each of the user's hands with different charges, positive and negative. If the two bolts meet, they short circuit and explode.

The machine had handles that received electrical charges to spin the motor, which made the belt spin. It also had a voltage regulator to control the voltage and a switch to adjust the rotation speed.

(If Mother was the meat grinder, Mom was the storage room, then my sister is the power generator…)

"And the blade has done."

"Yey! As expected of my little brother!"

After hours of hitting and shaping and minutes of sharpening the blade and polishing the impurities, I am finally done with the blade. Now that I've done with the most complicated part, I proceed to the hilt.

I opened my Inventory and took some orichalcum nuggets, silvery wool from a C-ranked Thunder Sheep, a B-ranked Spear Shark skin, and a branch from a B-ranked Black Treant.

Using Alchemy, I shaped the orichalcum to make the blade collar, the guard, and the pommel of the katana. Black Treant wood into a handle.

I want the collar, guard, and pommel made of orichalcum to make it complement the blue blade. It is also durable and has high mana conductivity, which makes the sword more powerful and beautiful to the eye.

Black Treant wood was as durable as iron and had high conductivity. It is also the main material for making the bodies of staves and wands for mages.

I then one by one assembled the parts of the sword and fastened the tang and the handle with orichalcum fasteners. I am making sure that the wood covers the entire tang and that no blue metal will be exposed from the hilt.

I grabbed the wool, and using Alchemy, I entwined the fibers of the wool and transformed it into lace. Thunder Sheep Wool had the components of silver and made a good electrical conductor. I manually knotted the golden lace to the handle and finished the hilt.

For the scabbard, I still used the same Black Treant wood, but larger. The same as before, I used Alchemy to shape it. After shaping the scabbard, I engraved our family name on it using orichalcum.

Attaching some details to the throat and the tip of the scabbard with orichalcum, and the scabbard is done.

"And finally, your katana has been completed." I said to my sister as I sheathed the sword in its scabbard.

"You're the best, Raphael! And it's only been less than an hour in the real world."

"But before you can have it, let me enchant this first."

I use my Unique Skill Bestow to endow the katana with some skills. This is my gift for my sister's birthday and my best masterpiece so far. So I have to power it up as much as I can.

"Blood Life."

A Ghoul's Racial Skill that restores health and heals injuries when blood is consumed. The blade automatically generated itself just by drenching itself with blood.

"Absolute Severance."

Ultimate Art's subskill that cuts almost everything and ignores defenses. However, it only has one usage every 24 hours.

"Disguise." to hide the katana's effects.

"Ownership. And done. Just add your mana, and the katana will be all yours." I instructed her and handed her the sword.

"It's so magnificent and overflowing with radiance. I can't wait to try it outside."

"It had the ability to fix itself upon absorbing blood and a once-a-day attempt of Absolute Severance. I already concealed its effects, so don't use them in front of the others."

"Got it. Then, what will this sword be called?"

"Let me think."

I haven't thought of its name yet. I have no sense in naming things, and I can't just baptize the sword on a whim. I took a glimpse at my sister, who was swinging her new sword. Then an idea came up in my mind.

"I came up with a name." I said as I took the sword. "I hereby baptize this sword in the name of 'Raven Blue'."