The lovely woman next to Randidly nodded and walked over to the central area where a heavy wooden table sat With a flourish she deposited almost a half ton of shattered and cracked bones onto the middle part of that table Several loose bits of bone rolled down over the edge clattering onto the floor as the table wasnÆt able to handle all the bones
Just as quickly the woman produced a spear and used it to skillfully knock the larger pieces that had fallen back up to the table Her movements were so quick that it was difficult for VyeÆs eyes to follow After putting everything back on the table the woman began to brutally chop and crack the bones further reducing them to just debris
While Helen did so Randidly continued to talk To put it generally Skills are preset images that we obtain from the System Therefore when I say image IÆm referring to the process of using a Skill without System assistance It is a matter of willpower belief and focus but these are generally much weaker than Skills After all these images donÆt consume attributes So what they lack in power they make up with flexibility
Randidly strolled forward to the central table ignoring HelenÆs continued frenzy of activity He waved his hand and two barrels appeared next to the central table Ah it is also a difficult process to reach the point IÆm at When you struggle just know it is part of growth Now on to forging
The point of images in forging is to give a character to the metal If you think about it in System terms what I will attempt to do with an image is to give the metal a ClassÆ to shape its strengths and weaknesses Because as IÆm sure you have all noticed the System places particular importance on the individual Therefore if I force my image into an inanimate object vehemently enough the System will notice and empower that object In this case this metal
Scratching his cheek Randidly seemed to consider his words and looked back I bet this is all a lot IÆm moving through a lot of information very quickly And it isnÆt scientific But what IÆm telling you is that this is a method the System has provided to improve our results If Erickson Steel masters this it wonÆt just revolutionize our high end products every bit of metal we make will have an edge over the competition So suspend your doubts and watch
Then Randidly pointed to the barrels IÆve brought two special ingredients Those of you who already possess some standing in Erickson Steel probably can recognize them For those of you who donÆt know work harder to deserve that knowledge ItÆs enough to think of them as a strengthening liquid and a weakening liquid
The camera shifted displaying a barrel filled with a crimson liquid and one with an emerald liquid Vye blinked IÆve seen those before but never in those quantities Based on the reports those are just his blood
Just his blood Just blood that has the chemical properties equal to industrial acid A tiny voice ridiculed in her head but Randidly continued to speak before she could be distracted by that nagging voice
We have the liquids we have the monster bones being ground up as we speak and the only other ingredient we have is raw iron ore provided by the mine on site I wanted to work with basic materials so you had a better understanding of what image can accomplish So letÆs begin
Abruptly Vye realized something The secret of Erickson SteelÆs high quality steel using a mixture of monster bones was being broadcast to everyone on the factory floor Now there likely wouldnÆt be any non employees wandering around but it was unrealistic to think that the news wouldnÆt leak now that everyone knew the secret
For a dissatisfied bureaucrat this bit of news would net quite a bit of money
Yet Tatiana clearly understood this She had announced the demonstration there was no way that this wouldnÆt have occurred to her So what were they thinking by giving this knowledge away so cheaply
Without seeming to care about his casual treatment of Erickson SteelÆs trade secrets Randidly Ghosthound walked up to the crate and removed several rough chunks of unprocessed ore Based on what Vye could see they were relatively impure too It would be very difficult to get metal worth working with just from a few of those chunks
Randidly didnÆt pay it any mind As he moved over to stand next to the table Helen finally seemed to have finished her work
She gathered up all of the broken pieces and swept them into a huge trail that was waiting behind the table A tray that was basically just a dumpster with very low walls As she knocked almost all of the bones within she stepped into the dumpster tray and began to grind those pieces into even smaller bits Randidly beckoned the three assistants over toward him
It will be easier if you follow along The three blinked and then surged into motion grabbing their own chunks Whether it was purposeful or not the other three also gathered five pieces of raw ore just as Randidly had These they selected with much more care and it was immediately clear that the pieces they chose had a much higher purity than the ones Randidly casually picked
But Randidly just smiled at them So IÆll lift the ban on questions now but IÆm going to start with the first one what traits do we aim for when producing metal If we want to imbue an image into this it needs to start from the beginning So before we start we need to know what sort of character we want for the metal and focus on it the entire time
The two men and one woman glanced at each other Eventually the woman cautiously said Strength in the face of adversity Ability to resist being warped
Still smiling Randidly casually tapped one of his chunks of raw ore Before the entirely of Erickson Steel the impurities simply fell away revealing a gleaming core of metal As one everyoneÆs jaw dropped to the floor
Even if he had a ridiculously high Level in Refine the fact that it happened instantly Vye struggled to grasp what she had just seen Although she wasnÆt interested in forging she had watched forging occur hundreds of times It was a tedious and drawn out process And all he did was tap the top of the raw ore and it seemed to Refine itself
Next Randidly asked
One of the men stepped forward Flexibility and functionality
Randidly tapped another piece of ore and a similar thing happened Suddenly it was just the pure metal within Randidly looked at the final man
Durability the man grunted It needs to endure
After tapping another piece of ore Randidly twisted and looked to the side Helen
The woman snorted It needs to make a spear
Rolling his eyes Randidly tapped the fourth bit of ore Then he paused as though considering something After a few seconds he opened his mouth and spoke And I think metal needs to protect
After tapping the final piece of ore he had five gleaming bits of metal in front of him each no larger than a fist Vye blinked as she stared at the screen Then she leaned closer were all those nuggets really extracted from the same type of ore The coloration
Randidly waved his hand causing roots to twist up from the ground and pick up the barrel of emerald liquid The roots casually poured the liquid into four smaller glass trays that were waiting on the central table Then Randidly casually tossed the five nuggets into his tray He looked over at the other three forgers I recommend you stick with your own image and use it on all five pieces Ah whoever creates the best metal will receive some personal instruction from me so give it your best
Instantly the eyes of the three assistants were lit on fire After seeing how casually Randidly was able to manage everything their earlier doubts were assuaged The temptation of being instructed by him was more than enough motivation
But the man who answered endurance raised his hand I do have a question if we use the Refine Skill without heat wonÆt impurities remain Even at ah your Skill Level
Randidly nodded Yep but thatÆs kinda the point ThatÆs what the weakening liquid is for Mostly I use that initial Refine to impress the image on the metal While IÆm Refining IÆm thinking of removing everything that doesnÆt help the one focus I want The weak things that I miss will be devoured by the weakening liquid