CHAPTER 118: THE MOUNTAIN FORGE AND THE SPELLWEAVER'S TOME

Seated at her desk—which had since been transformed into a small-scale workstation—Avia carefully controlled the miniature wizard hand she had conjured, slowly embedding small but intricately engraved magical components into a metallic book on the table.

Piece by piece, she filled the carved slots on the outer layer of the metallic book, which was designed to house these magical circuits. When the final component clicked seamlessly into place, Avia dispelled the conjured hand and exhaled deeply.

Lifting the somewhat hefty tome from the table, she channeled a modest amount of mana into the slot designated for a power source, a high-purity mana crystal.

The entire tome vibrated slightly, emitting a soft, rhythmic flow of light through the gaps in its metallic surface.

Though imperceptible to the naked eye, the flow of mana encircling the tome became vividly clear through Avia's analysis spell. She had succeeded in using external magical circuits to replace the mana channels that were standard to a magician's spellcasting, greatly mitigating the risks of overheating and instability caused by mana surges. As a result, the tome's capacity for mana had significantly increased.

The only remaining issue was the substantial heat and instability caused by the high concentration of mana near the core. A robust core capable of withstanding immense pressure would be essential to completing this device.

Unfortunately, neither the modest workshop in Avia's room nor the alchemy workshop within the Church of Nightfall had the equipment needed for such a feat.

However, she had already arranged with her instructor to use the academy's forging workshop today to craft the final component for the tome. Once complete, the tome would grant Wang Yu a magician's strength.

Avia stepped out of her room and called out to Wang Yu, who was sitting on the living room sofa, engrossed in Roland's Notes on Void Research. Together, they set off for Stevenson Academy.

Wang Yu had finally been able to relax after the tumult and chaos of the Hellgate. Apart from physical training, he spent most of his time absorbing knowledge and developing his ripples.

However, he had noticed that his void energy seemed to have reached a plateau. Neither meditation nor spellcasting could enhance it further.

The only way to increase his void energy reserves would be to use his Voidblade gauntlets to slay void entities, thereby expanding the lake within his mindscape.

For now, however, his limits were clear. Wang Yu estimated that his void energy reserves were roughly half of what a trainee wizard possessed—even after two boosts from slaying void entities. His affinity for the void was so poor it bordered on the bizarre.

Still, Wang Yu had grown accustomed to the peculiarities of his own body.

Meanwhile, his development of his ripples had progressed steadily. Its range was now four meters without void augmentation. He could channel more power through them, and was becoming far more adroit in their usage.

He hadn't ceased to focus on physical training, either. With the help of body-strengthening elixirs, Wang Yu made swift progress. His raw physical strength was now at the threshold of a formal knight's.

Strangely enough, despite his rapid physical growth, there had been no substantial progress in either the quantity or quality of his fighting spirit.

None of that mattered today, however. His focus was on accompanying Avia to the academy to take advantage of its alchemical equipment and complete the final component of her masterpiece.

Winter had arrived abruptly. The heavy snow had hardly stopped since the first snowfall. Moisture from the Endless Sea, carried by northern winds and swept past the St. Anna snowfields, transformed the land into an endless blanket of white.

At first, the snowfall was novel to the city's residents, but it quickly became routine—then tiresome. Fortunately, the extraordinary powers of this world ensured that firewood was never in short supply. Even the residents of the outer districts would not freeze to death.

Most residents were resting and recuperating during this harsh winter. This period of quiet was a rare moment of stability for the capital. A ceasefire on the frontlines had brought many soldiers back to the city, and the Nightblades were enjoying an unprecedented surge in manpower.

As Avia and Wang Yu strolled through the streets, they saw only a few aimless passersby. The others were all patrolling city guards or Nightblades.

The Nightblades saluted Wang Yu when they saw him. His recent promotion within the special ops team had elevated his theoretical rank, granting him authority over ordinary Nightblades.

After his battle with Colin, the Nightblades' special ops team had earned a notable reputation within the organization. Many members regarded the team with admiration, even reverence.

As they reached the academy, Avia and Wang Yu greeted the guards and entered without issue. Avia was a known student, and Sieg had made prior arrangements for Wang Yu, allowing them easy access to the city's premier magical institution.

Unfamiliar with the campus, Wang Yu followed Avia's lead. The academy, blanketed in snow and exuding a serene beauty, seemed to carry an atmosphere of scholarly pursuit even in winter. Wang Yu couldn't help but be reminded of his high school days.

He shook his head with a faint smile, marveling at how some things could remain so familiar even in a different world.

At the entrance to one of the academy buildings stood a short, bespectacled elderly man in a thick sweater. His sunken eyes and pale complexion betrayed the toll of many sleepless nights.

"Professor, have you been staying up all night again to study that sample? You really need to take care of yourself. Wendy will worry about you," Avia said, approaching the man—Professor Weber Lanchester, a former colleague of her mother and her current mentor—with visible concern.

"I'm fine," Weber replied impatiently, brushing off her concerns. "I'm close to a breakthrough. You may be my most talented and promising student, but don't get in my way. Wendy worries too much—she doesn't understand."

Without further delay, Weber handed Avia a metal plate. "Take this and get on with it. When you're done, return it to my assistant." He then turned and hurried back to his lab, clearly eager to continue his work.

As Weber disappeared into his laboratory, Avia turned to Wang Yu. "How is he? Do you sense anything off?"

Wang Yu, who had discreetly extended his ripples to cover the professor, shook his head. "Nothing unusual. Other than strong magical energy, there's no trace of void energy or anything abnormal."

In fact, Weber Lanchester appeared relatively robust despite his age. It was evident that his unhealthy appearance was due more to prolonged sleeplessness and overwork than any external threat.

Avia had told Wang Yu about her professor's situation, and Wang Yu had been paying attention to it ever since. However, based on what had happened today, it seemed that Avia's teacher was indeed just a professor obsessed with the study of "resurrection"—not someone deeply connected to the void.

"I see... I hope that's the case." Avia still felt that something was off, but she knew Wang Yu would never lie to her.

She was also well aware of the power of Wang Yu's ripples—his perception was incredibly powerful. So far, nothing had been able to escape his ripples even without void enhancement. Since Wang Yu had said there was nothing unusual, it was safe to assume that her professor was fine.

"Then let's head to the academy's forge. I spoke with Master Yule in advance—he'll be using the Mountain Forge to help us craft the core component."

Setting aside her lingering concerns, Avia led Wang Yu toward the academy's forge.

The forge was located underground, where alchemy was taught.

As soon as Wang Yu stepped into the vast underground space, he felt the scorching heat in the air and smelled the familiar scent of alchemical reagents.

The constant clanging of metal, rough voices shouting instructions, and heated reprimands—the space was chaotic, yet filled with a unique rhythm.

Walking past the main hall and weaving through a group of students gathered around an instructor demonstrating forging techniques by the furnaces, Avia and Wang Yu used Professor Lanchester's access token to access a deeper level of the forge. This restricted area was not open to students and was typically reserved for experiments and custom orders for the kingdom.

Wang Yu pushed open a heavy metal door set into the underground corridor and was met with the back of a man hammering metal on an anvil, his upper body bare and muscular. For a brief moment, Wang Yu was stunned.

"Master Yule, I'm Avia. I'm here to forge the component we discussed earlier," Avia began.

"Oh, perfect timing. I just finished this Infernal Ingot—the raw material for your core. If not for the demon invasion, I wouldn't have been able to create such a heat-resistant metal."

Master Yule turned around, revealing his sculpted physique, a strikingly beautiful yet androgynous face, and a pair of long, pointed ears. The blacksmith with golden hair wrapped in cloth, working tirelessly at the anvil... was an elf.

Wang Yu was momentarily stunned because he hadn't expected the muscular, handsome man before him to be a master blacksmith—let alone an elf. Didn't blacksmiths tend to be dwarves...?

No, no, that was a stereotype. Dwarves merely had a natural physical advantage in forging. Upon deeper thought, Wang Yu realized that elves possessed dexterous fingers, sharp intellect, and keen magical sensitivity—qualities that made them highly suited for alchemy. It was just that most elves naturally disliked forging.

It made perfect sense that an elf like Master Yule could become a blacksmith, if he had the determination and passion for it. In fact, compared to the traditionally slender and nimble elves, this well-proportioned and muscular elven craftsman was certainly very dashing.

Master Yule clamped the Infernal Ingot in tongs and carried it to a corner of the forge.

Something triggered as the walls slowly slid open, revealing an awe-inspiring relic from Stevenson Academy's early years, built in collaboration with dwarven artisans: the ultimate furnace, the Mountain Forge.

The forge was a colossal metal construct, so massive that an entire underground space the size of a building had been excavated just to house it. The spherical forge was connected to numerous magitech rails and reinforced by an array of metallic instruments to ensure its stability.

Gazing at the towering magical forge, Wang Yu felt a deep sense of awe. This was the pinnacle of this world's technology—no less impressive than Earth's industrial advancements. This world had carved out its own unique technological path.

At the heart of the forge blazed an inferno fueled by immense magical energy. Wang Yu couldn't even begin to estimate its temperature. Considering the sheer scale of machinery required to stabilize it, he knew that, if its radiant energy were to be released unchecked, the entire underground workshop might well be reduced to ash in an instant.

The raging flames' energy was concentrated to such an extent that individual flickers of fire were no longer visible—only an intense, blinding light, and that despite passing through several layers of lenses designed to weaken the glow. Even a dragon would be burned blind by staring at it directly.

"Mountain" was indeed the perfect name for this forge. Not only was it as massive as a mountain, but its power was equally overwhelming.

A thunderous crash shook the entire workshop as a giant mallet struck the Infernal Ingot with immense force, crushing the impurities in the metal.

The gigantic mallet, crafted from a special dwarven alloy, was named Thunder—its strikes produced sparks brighter than lightning and a sound louder than thunder. Each swing would cause even a mountain to tremble.

Wang Yu was utterly amazed by this mechanical marvel. A deep, primal excitement stirred within him, an instinctive admiration for this incredible feat of craftsmanship. He finally understood why Master Yule loved forging so much. Was it because he could wield this nearly god-like power with mortal hands?

Once the metal had been purified, magical hands impervious to heat pushed it into the core of the Mountain Forge. Even the highly heat-resistant Infernal Ingot couldn't withstand the furnace's immense temperature. It began to melt, transforming into a glowing, liquid metal.

Alchemy was an unpredictable discipline. There were all manner of variables in play that changed drastically from time to time and place to place, making precise replication nearly impossible. True alchemists relied on intuition rather than rigid formulas, which was why it remained an esoteric and elite field.

On the other hand, herbalism—an offshoot of alchemy that had since become an independent science—was more akin to chemistry. Its controlled variables and refined processes allowed for precise replication.

The Mountain Forge, however, was a direct challenge to alchemy itself. It achieved an absolute level of environmental control, reducing the impact of these unknown variables to the greatest extent possible. By maintaining extreme conditions, it could neutralize essentially all external interference.

In essence, the Mountain Forge possessed a trait that alchemists found terrifying—a lack of entropy. That was what made it so extraordinary. It was a miracle of this world's technological advancement.

As the Infernal Ingot melted into a liquid state, magical hands began shaping it. Under Master Yule's meticulous control, the molten metal gradually formed Avia's desired core.

With the help of intricate magical arrays, Master Yule used the Mountain Forge as if it were an industrial CNC machine, engraving complex magitech circuits into the component with absolute precision. Minutes later, a seemingly unremarkable, spherical energy core crafted from the Infernal Ingot landed in Avia's hands.

She embedded the core into the heart of a metallic tome, completing the construction of the device.

"Let's call it the Spellweaver's Tome." Avia smiled in satisfaction as she slotted in some mana crystals and watched the magitech tome activate. The name suited it perfectly.