Chapter 7

After finishing all my preparations for research, I gathered all the relevant items and shifted my focus to crafting the gauntlet. Before proceeding, I took a moment to reconfirm every detail of the customer's request.

The gauntlet was to be designed in the shape of a motorcyclist's glove, covering the hand from the fingers to the elbow. The customer specifically requested that the gauntlet be as flexible as possible in the hand area, not hindering her hand techniques. It's worth noting that the number one disciple of the Iron Fist sect is a woman.

With the customization request confirmed, I settled on a brown-coloured gauntlet with protrusions on each knuckle, and to enhance flexibility in the wrist area, I decided to incorporate a combination of steel chain instead of using fully rigid metal.

Having finalized the plan, I moved on to check the available resources. The material required for the gauntlet was earth steel, a highly complex steel that involved numerous ingredients, each with its own specific proportion. Fortunately, upon inspecting the warehouse on the other side of the second floor, I found all the necessary resources for crafting the gauntlet.

The next step involved designing the gauntlet. The hand measurements were already provided in the contract, making my task easier. The hand itself was of moderate size, belonging to a woman with some defined muscles, rather than appearing frail.

I decided to begin by creating the steel chain that would cover the entire hand, from the fingers to the elbow. Then, I deliberated on how to distribute the armour throughout the gauntlet. The back of the hand, fingertips, and knuckles required the most intricate armour, while the armour on the arm would be thicker.

To facilitate construction of the arm section, I divided it into four parts: upper, left, right, and under. Each section would serve a distinct purpose, allowing for optimal functionality.

With the design completed, I commenced gathering the required materials from the warehouse. In the workshop area, there was a furnace resembling a large safe box mounted on the wall. Its colossal size matched my own height.

I activated the furnace, and a surge of scorching energy emanated from its walls. This furnace utilized a fire elemental crystal—a common source of fire energy deposits. Every 10 minutes, the furnace would expel a transparent crystal, indicating that it had been emptied.

After patiently waiting for an hour, I began introducing the spiritual iron into the furnace. Spiritual iron had a boiling point of 1700 degrees Celsius. Once all the iron had melted, I stirred the molten metal vigorously, ensuring the removal of any impurities within it.

After successfully removing all the impurities, I proceeded to introduce the earth iron. Unlike spiritual iron, its boiling point was lower, similar to regular iron, at 1500 degrees Celsius. While mixing the materials, I made a conscious effort to infuse my energy into the mixture, ensuring an even distribution.

Once the mixture appeared flawless, I moved on to inserting the cooper canopy tree trunk. This trunk, resembling more of a metal structure than a tree, caused the entire mixture to resist its presence. However, like a living tree, the powder started spreading, resulting in a cooper-like, yet darker, colour throughout the mixture. I decided to turn off the furnace to reduce the heat.

When the temperature reached 1000 degrees Celsius, I began adding the bronze bull blood. Similar to the tree trunk, it possessed metallic characteristics and did not evaporate immediately. With great care and continuous infusion of energy, I mixed the ingredients thoroughly before pouring them into a mold. The Mold featured a long pipe descending into a basket of water, containing a wind elemental crystal. This setup acted as a cooler, allowing the mixture to cool to a malleable state, though not completely solidified.

As the red-hot wire emerged, I grasped it and cut it into half-centimetre lengths. These short segments would serve as the individual links of the chain. Using only a portion of the mixture, I poured the remaining material into a rectangular mold for future forging.

I painstakingly crafted the chain, link by link, ensuring they interconnected without impeding the user's movement. The most critical aspect was the hand and wrist region. Once I finished creating the chain gloves, I applied a coating of Silk Wool to the inside. This unique wool, obtained from the cocoon of a large moth, was rare and provided a soft glow. When energized, it would contract, ensuring a snug fit for the gloves.

With both gloves completed, I moved on to crafting the armour. I divided the forging process into two sections: the palm and the arm. I started with the palm.

According to my design, only the upper part of the palm and the fingers would be covered in armour. The armour on the knuckles featured circular protrusions, while the upper palm section showcased plating that matched the shape of the entire upper palm area.

To begin the forging process, I cut the Earth steel ingot into separate sections. This task called for my most frequently used skill, the energy scalpel, which was sharp enough to cut through a diamond.

After separating the cut ingot into respective parts, I proceeded with shaping them using the conventional forging method. "The more exclusive method is not needed yet," I thought to myself. The forging process for the palm took two days to complete, mainly due to my limited energy reserves. Once the palm was finished, I moved on to forge the sections for the arms, which was relatively straightforward as it consisted of four large parts. The arm section only required a day to complete.

Once all the parts were forged, the most challenging task lay ahead—inscription. This couldn't be accomplished through mere painting; it required sculpting. I used a chisel with a diamond blade, similar to the tool my mentor employed. The hard steel could slice through materials like butter when combined with energy channeling.

The customer's request specified the gauntlet should possess offensive and defensive capabilities, albeit not in detail. I decided to inscribe five skills onto the gauntlet: Earth Wall (creating a wall in a designated location), Earth Spike (raising earth spikes around oneself or at a chosen spot), Earth Stomp (causing the ground beneath to propel the user), Earth Smoke (generating a cloud of dust), and lastly, the skill I was most proud of, Earth Concealment (camouflaging oneself to appear like a rock). Although the inscriptions varied only slightly, the major distinction lay in the energy manipulation within the earth. For instance, forming an Earth Wall required pushing the earth into a rectangular shape using energy, and the same principle applied to the other skills. However, Earth Concealment was unique as it harnessed the user's energy to harmonize with the surrounding earth energy, rendering them indistinguishable from a rock or even blending seamlessly with the floor. I incorporated this skill to provide a safeguard in case of unforeseen circumstances.

The process of sculpting and inscribing the gauntlet took around three days, and on the seventh day, an envoy from the merchant arrived to collect the order. The envoy, a giant stork of notable intelligence, was capable of receiving orders and occasionally communicating through sign language. It arrived bearing two wooden boxes—one for the gauntlet and the other containing my next batch order.

The merchant implemented a token system akin to a debit card, which ensured that payment was not directly handed to me but instead stored by the merchant. I was relieved to find that they never exploited this system, and their integrity was something I genuinely appreciated. This could be attributed to the fact that craftsmen held a profound sense of solidarity and camaraderie within our community. This bond was exemplified when my mentor passed away, as nearly a third of the craftsmen in the world attended the funeral, highlighting the strength of our connection.

This solidarity among craftsmen arose from a shared sense of insecurity. Many of us possessed the ability to create crafts at a significantly higher level than our current status, making us susceptible to exploitation by individuals with greater cultivation. To counteract this, we formed various brotherhoods to protect and assist one another, creating a support network that extended beyond individual achievements.

Our brotherhoods or association we can call, is spread very vast, almost to the entire world, its a massage to the whole world, never fuck around with us, after all, we not bad people.

When the stork leave for delivering the gauntlet, I went inside tower and relax for the whole day in living room in the floor number one.