“These spells are a lot more difficult than the other ones…”

“Hah, of course! Spellcasting is only for the chosen few. I’m sure you now recognize my greatness!”

“Could I just be dumb…”

Rusty scratched his metal head while Aburdon hovered above him, mocking his struggles with even the most basic spells. Their friend Gleam made everything look effortless, but Rusty was having a hard time forming the spells in his mind, even when the diagrams were laid out clearly in front of him.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s probably because you’re still in your current non-enchanted form. Once you get your D-rank body, I bet things will get easier.”

Alexander tried to cheer him up, and Rusty nodded slowly. Maybe the Soul Forge couldn't fully support his learning yet, or perhaps some spells only became accessible at higher levels. Either way, it was clear he needed more time to store the correct spell shapes in his mind. Once he successfully cast a spell, it appeared in his status as an ability, and he could recall it instinctively. The real challenge was casting it the first time.

“Maybe I shouldn’t waste time on this. Time in here is limited…”

He had already spent a full day trying to learn something beyond the basic orb spells. What he was attempting was a spell called ‘Darkness Bolt’, a variation of the mana bolt, but it didn’t seem to be working. He was limited to his two elements, and although they might eventually combine into something like twilight, he was currently unable to fuse them in any useful way.

“True. We still need to assemble the new weapons and armor variants. There's also the summoning chamber. Maybe we should check that too?”

Alexander suggested they focus on crafting or summoning instead. Spells could be learned outside the Soul Forge, but this space was unique for forging and ritual work. They needed to make the most of the time they had left.

“Hmmm.”

Rusty paused for a moment and closed the book he had been reading. Two options lay before him, and he decided to start by exploring the new enchanting skills. The summoning ritual seemed to be a one-time event and likely came with its separate time limit. Crafting the weapons and armor sets was always the most time-consuming part of the process.

Before anything else, he needed to study the guidebooks, just as he had done in the past. Once he understood the material, he could begin experimenting with enchantments, possibly even applying them to his own body.

As he immersed himself in the reading, it quickly became clear that Enchanting was far more complex than it first appeared. The first step required learning a skill dedicated to engraving. Only by combining that with the enchanting skill would he be able to produce true magical effects.

Rusty buried himself in the books once again, this time focusing on the intricate relationship between magic and metal. Before he could begin, he needed to learn two essential skills. The first was basic engraving, and the second was a more advanced technique that involved using mana.

He moved to the designated crafting zone and picked up a fine-tipped engraving chisel. This was no ordinary tool. It had been forged from more than just steel as it was already infused with mana, much like his newly acquired D-rank body.

Rusty gripped the chisel with his metal fingers, its weight balanced, its edge sharp. Despite its slight shimmer of mana, he wasn’t planning to use any magic, at least, not yet. The book had been clear: before engraving with mana, he had to master the basics. 

He took a flat sheet of standard steel from a rack nearby. It was unremarkable: cold, gray, and dull, but that was the point. If he could make the markings work here, then the mana-infused alloy of his future body would pose no obstacle.

“Alright… Let’s see how hard this actually is.”

The engraving table was cluttered with tools: chisels of various widths, clamps, stabilizers, and magnifying lenses mounted on flexible, jointed arms. Rusty placed the steel sheet on the workbench and secured it with the clamps. He pulled a diagram from the guidebook and pinned it to the corkboard in front of him. It showed a simple pattern for a magical circle meant to serve as a protective enchantment. He wasn’t ready to start on that yet. First, he needed to practice basic shapes.

*Screech!*

A sharp screech cut through the still air. Rusty pressed the tip of the chisel to the steel and made the first stroke. The sound was harsh, but he lacked sound-sensitive organs and continued without pause. Tiny shavings curled away from the groove. The first line was too deep and uneven.

“Tch.”

Moving to another corner of the plate, he tried again. This time, he worked more slowly, aiming for precision. The second line came out smoother and more controlled. Encouraged, he attempted a curve, but it turned out wobbly and uneven. Clearly, this was going to take more effort. Fortunately, he had weeks to practice. With each evolution, he could stay longer in the workshop, and he had begun to sense instinctively when his time was running short.

Rusty didn’t give up. Instead, he methodically shifted the steel plate and began again, focusing entirely on line consistency and stroke depth. It wasn’t glamorous work, but something about the harsh, gritty sound of the chisel scraping against the steel was… encouraging. Each pass taught him something new: how pressure translated into depth, how even the smallest tremor in his hand could ruin a line, how it was easier to carve outward than inward on a curve.

He lost himself in the process. Soon, the flat surface of the plate was covered in geometric patterns: lines, arcs, spirals. Some were crude. Others showed a glimmer of control. But Rusty wanted more than practice lines. He wanted something meaningful. He paused, then lifted the chisel again and began to carve something familiar: a shape resembling someone dear to his metal heart, Gleam.

The design was simple, an ant-like form with exaggerated antennae and a proud, upright stance. Rusty didn’t care about symmetry; he focused on intent. The strokes were firm but careful, guided by his memory of their journey together. Gleam, with her glowing carapace and strange sense of humor, had saved him more than once. 

Line by line, Gleam’s likeness emerged in the steel. It wasn’t art, not really, but it had heart. Rusty stepped back and looked at it, visor lighting up in satisfaction. The process had taught him more than how to engrave, it had taught him patience.

Congratulations, you have learned the Basic Engraving Skill

Basic Engraving  L1

Passive Skill

This skill increases precision and control when carving symbols into physical materials.

“Neat!”

This was it, his first step toward becoming someone capable of enchanting items. But it was only the beginning. Now that he had learned the foundational skill, he could move on to more advanced studies. Basic engraving was just a prerequisite, necessary for learning the next technique, one that involved the use of mana to prepare magic circles before the actual enchantment process.

Preparing metal for enchantment required a specific skill. It worked in conjunction with engraving and also relied heavily on his ability to manipulate mana. He needed to carve precise shapes while channeling a small amount of mana into the metal, spreading it evenly through every line he etched. It was a complex task and far from easy, but it had to be done. So he kept practicing.

“Let’s see…”

He opened a new book titled \Mana Infusion Through Metal’. It offered tips and techniques on how to guide his own mana through the specialized engraving tool. The most difficult part was maintaining consistent pressure while working with the metal. This technique did not require striking with a hammer, although the book mentioned that some variants did.

“To learn Mana Engraving, the practitioner must simultaneously perform physical engraving while directing a steady stream of mana through the tool into the material. Success is not guaranteed, and unstable infusion may damage the structure of the material…”

Every type of metal would behave differently. Some would need to be heated before an enchantment could take hold. Others might require physical force, where hammering was essential. The simplest ones, like the piece he was working on now, allowed for direct engraving without additional preparation.

Fortunately, he wasn’t human. Fatigue didn’t affect him, his hands never trembled, and exhaustion was not a concern. His only real challenge was sustaining his mana reserves during the process. With the Soul Forge's assistance, this problem didn’t exist.

He selected a thinner chisel with a narrow mana channel running through its center. The tool was clearly designed for beginners, limiting the flow of mana to a trickle. It allowed just enough energy to pass through for practice without overwhelming the metal or himself.

Once he secured the metal plate in place, he allowed his mana to flow into the engraving tool. The channel within absorbed the energy, and a pulse surged from the core of his being, traveling through the alloy of his body, down his arm, and into the tip of the chisel. The tool shimmered faintly. He began.

The line beneath the chisel lit up. Steel hissed as mana sizzled along its surface. He felt resistance, similar to that of working with heated metals, though not quite the same. Mana was a form of energy, but it differed from fire. It could burn or chill. In his case, it carried the conflicting traits of both light and darkness.

“What the…”

As his unique magical signature seeped into the metal, the tool suddenly exploded in his hand. He froze for a moment, more surprised than alarmed. Then the realization struck him. He had channeled too much of his elemental energy into the process. If he wanted this to work, he would need to purge both light and darkness from the enchantment. Without doing so, success would remain out of reach.

"Stingy… just let me craft like anyone else!"

Rusty was frustrated. His elemental affinities, which had always been a strength, were now working against him. Enchantments were a different kind of magic. Unlike spells, they didn’t draw from elemental sources by default. They relied on stability, precision, and neutral mana.

If what Aburdon and Alexander had told him was true, he had three possible paths forward. First, he could attempt to fuse his elements, light and darkness, and bring them into perfect harmony. Second, he could suppress them entirely and work with neutral mana, using no elemental energy at all. The third option was to erase one element and refine the other to its purest form. This approach resembled casting a pure orb of light or darkness. He would channel only one element at a time while keeping the other fully suppressed. 

It wasn’t an easy task, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He still hadn’t decided which technique to try first, though the third option seemed the most manageable in theory, while the first appeared to be the most difficult. Both of his guides urged him to start with their respective elements. After some back and forth, he chose to begin with Light, since Alexander had more experience and insight when it came to crafting.

"Try isolating your light mana at the core”

Alexander said. 

"Let it build slowly, don’t force it to the surface. Think of it as guiding magical energy through a small keyhole, one bit at a time…” 

This time, he focused inward. He drew only upon the radiant half of his mana core, visualizing the glowing orb he had summoned earlier. Instead of shaping it into a spell, he let its essence diffuse through his helmet, chest, arm, and down into the tool again. The chisel resonated slowly, turning bright white as it shimmered with his light element. 

With caution, Rusty etched the first line. A glowing groove followed the chisel’s path: clean, unbroken, and steady. He could feel the mana settling into the metal, as if the alloy welcomed the light. Encouraged, he drew the second arc. It came more easily now, each motion smoother and more controlled.

But it wasn’t as simple as he had hoped. The darkness he was suppressing continued to push back. When it finally seeped into the tool, another explosion followed. Still, Rusty didn’t give up. He grabbed another chisel and tried again. And again. Even after ten consecutive failures, he refused to stop. He pressed forward, relentless in his efforts, until at last the message appeared, and he had acquired the skill he needed.

Mana Engraving L1

Active Skill

Allows the user to channel mana into physical inscriptions, enabling the preparation of enchantable surfaces. Elemental affinity may enhance or restrict certain enchantment types.

“I did it, now only one is left!”

With both regular Engraving and Mana Engraving under his belt, there was only one step left before he could begin enchanting in full. To unlock the next skill, the system required him to successfully create a simple enchantment. Once that was done, the skill would be granted, and his journey as an enchanter would truly begin.

Rusty stood over his scorched workbench, the smell of burnt steel lingering in the air. Bits of broken chisel littered the table like shrapnel from some miniature war. But amidst the wreckage, his passion for crafting grew.

“I just need to make it work once.”

The book on enchantments lay open to the simplest one available: ‘Lesser Luminous Shell.’ It was a low-tier enchantment designed to create a faint glow around an object, useful for visibility or aesthetic effect. The requirements were minimal: a single-layer magic circle, a small amount of mana, and successful infusion through mana engraving. All of it was within his current ability.

Soon, he began testing. As radiant energy flowed through him, he visualized the enchantment diagram from the book. The circle appeared simple at first glance, but it demanded precision. Every line had to be carved in a specific order and within a strict time limit. A lapse in mana control would cause failure, and even a misalignment of a single millimeter could ruin the entire attempt.

His hand moved steadily, the chisel glowing with pale light. Every line sizzled against the steel, but none sparked out of control. He went slow, careful to time his mana with each curve and symbol. The steel began to glow as it signaled the beginning of his journey as an enchanter. 

Lesser Enchantment L1

Active Skill

Grants the ability to bind prepared mana patterns into physical materials, allowing for the creation of magical items and effects. Enchantments are permanent unless overwritten, depleted of mana, or broken.

He had done it. He had gained a crucial skill. Now, the next step was clear: use it on his own body and grow stronger than ever before…