Monica exited Thizmug’s forge with a sense of uneasy tension coiling in her chest. She’d barely stepped onto the Silver Road when she heard the distinct, low-pitched drone of approaching wasps. Her muscles tightened, and she paused by a carved metal pillar—one shaped like a dwarven warrior halfway fused into the design of swirling leaves and vines.

  At once, a simmering fury rippled across her mind. She recognized it as the influence of her Obsidian Flame. Ever since it had overtaken her Golden Flame in Rank, she’d felt its presence coloring her thoughts with sharper edges and a fierce impatience. When her Golden Flame had been stronger than the Obsidian, she’d known a gentle, steady calm. This was the opposite: abrupt, brash, and hungry.

  She inhaled a trembling breath, forcing her thoughts into focus.

  This must be how the Obsidian Flame skews my emotions, she thought, grimacing. I need to stay in control—especially now.

  A quick glance at her newly crafted gauntlets offered a grounding distraction. She slipped on the dwarven glasses Dworsul had provided and used Inspect:

  Molten Wasp Gauntlets (Uncommon)

  Forged from Steel and Corrupted Molten Wasp chitin under divine flames. Provides modest defense, reduces the resilience of Corrupted Molten Wasps against unarmed strikes. Excellent Mana conduction due to forging method. Durability is moderately high but degrades under prolonged use of Obsidian or Golden Flame.

  The gauntlets were only Uncommon in quality, but Dworsul had insisted they were a step up from the old Steel Talons Monica had once used. They also offered excellent Mana conduction—important for her flame-based fighting style. She flexed her fingers, feeling the gentle hum of synergy with her Obsidian Flame. Even now, the metal felt perfectly tailored to her. Dworsul had explained that the fact that Monica forged them with her Divine Flames meant that they shouldn't wear as much while she uses those flames.

  A ragged smile tugged at her lips. Time to see if these truly make a difference.

  Sure enough, three Corrupted Molten Wasp Soldiers rounded the corner: two large ones hovered close to the ground, stingers poised for a dive-bomb, while the third perched on a slanted chunk of metal above them, its mandibles dripping molten resin.

  Monica loosened her shoulders and channeled Fury of the Phoenix, feeling the usual rush of raw vitality flood her limbs. Only now, it felt enhanced by the deep, savage undertone of the Obsidian Flame’s lurking power. Her heart pounded louder than ever—an insistent, almost maddening rhythm. She refused to dwell on the odd sense of euphoria creeping in.

  No time for that now.

  One of the diving soldiers shot forward with a quick flick of its wings, stinger extended. At the same time, the spitter hurled a glob of searing resin, forcing Monica into instant evasive action. She activated Phoenix Cloud with her Obsidian Flame—injecting a chunk of Vitality into the black flames of the Skill. A surge of near-inhuman speed hurled her upward, and the resin splashed uselessly below.

  Hanging midair on her flame-wreathed platform, Monica trained her sights on the spitter. It hadn’t expected her to move so fast. She twisted around and launched herself off the Phoenix Cloud straight at it. In the blink of an eye, she was upon the monster, driving her right fist into its abdomen.

  The moment of impact felt different. The Wasp’s chitin gave way with startling ease, as though her punch had found a weakened spot. Bright gore erupted from the wound, and the spitter shrieked. It tried to jerk away, spitting resin in a frantic spray. Monica twisted her torso, hooking an arm around its leg joint to pivot aside. Some resin spattered her calf, but not enough to immobilize her.

  She leapt free, used Phoenix Step for a sharp midair turn, and forced the wasp to collide with the corridor’s rock-metal wall. Before it could regain control, she conjured another Obsidian Phoenix Cloud under her feet, soared straight up, and delivered an upward smash beneath its mandibles. The blow crushed the wasp’s head from below, splintering its exoskeleton with a sickening crack. Its severed head clattered against the wall and splashed molten fluids across the floor.

  A savage thrill rippled through her—the Obsidian Flame's influence—but she held it in check. She glanced at her gauntlets. The metal was scuffed, small cracks forming where her fists struck hardest. They won’t last forever, she reminded herself, forcing a deep exhale.

  From the corner of her eye, she saw the other two soldiers aiming for a joint dive-bomb. Without the spitter’s interference, she found it simpler to handle them. She lured one wide, then shot into its flank with a black-flamed Phoenix Cloud leap, cracking its thorax. A finishing elbow to the back of its head ended the first. The second soldier, rattled by the abruptness of the kill, tried spitting a meager line of resin—but Monica darted beneath its stinger and drove a gauntleted fist up through its abdomen. Molten gore poured over her arm, steaming away against the Obsidian flames.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  In barely a breath’s time, all three soldiers collapsed around her in a gruesome ring. Monica drew in air, let her flames dissipate, and wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.

  * * *

  Monica entered a cycle of killing and forging. All the time she wasn't spending Meditating to recuperate Mana or waiting for her Vitality to regenerate, she was spending fighting and hammering better, stronger gauntlets for herself.

  She soon lost the notion of time once again.

  The normal Soldier Wasps gave her trouble, but only the groups of six and more were an actual threat to her life. She noticed that whenever she died after consuming some of her own Vitality, it would take longer for her to resurrect.

  Still, she soon had mastered the forging of the gauntlets and she finally, after one Inspect on the latest pair, found a very nice surprise.

  Molten Wasp Gauntlets (Rare)

  Forged from refined Steel, Corrupted Wasp Chitin, and tempered in Divine Obsidian & Golden Flames. Increases unarmed damage against Molten or Corrupted creatures. Enhances the conduction of internal flame-based Skills. Durability is significantly higher and partially regenerates over time using the wearer’s Fire Breathing.

  "Now, the next step," Dworsul said, happy with her results so far. "An armor, Avatar. You have become strong enough and these gauntlets should allow you take on larger groups on our way back to the elevators. But, you need protection. One wrong move and we're both dead."

  Monica nodded and looked at what remained of the Nightshade Battle Wear.

  "Take that off," Dworsul said.

  "Excuse me?"

  The only reply that Monica received was a robe thrown to her face.

  "Go change, Avatar. We're about to fix your armor."

  "Fix it? But it's barely hanging on—"

  "Go change."

  "Alright, alright," Monica growled.

  When she came back, she handed the remaining pieces of the Nightshade Battle Wear to Dworsul, who put them on the forge and started tapping on some runes.

  "Items below Legendary can be recreated with blueprints," he said. "Inject some Fire Mana into the forge."

  Monica used Fire Breathing and did as told.

  The Nightshade Battle Wear, to her dismay, started melting off the forge.

  "Don't stop!" Dworsul ordered when she saw hesitating.

  "B—but!"

  "Avatar, who's the Blacksmith who got offered Godhood, here?! Keep going!"

  Monica clearly didn't have any other choice but to keep going.

  Finally, the Nightshade Battle Wear was completely destroyed to Monica's chagrin.

  "Perfect," Dworsul nodded, going up to the forge and tapping another set of runes.

  Before Monica's eyes, the impossible happened. Well, to be fair, it was before her Mana-Sense-empowered eyes.

  The forge started lighting up and, as if by magic, the outline of the Nightshade Battle Wear appeared in front of them once again.

  "I can see why you're partial to such design and why the System would give you this," Dworsul commented.

  "I never said who—"

  "This is a System-made, item, Avatar. Good, but, as with all things related to the System, not sophisticated. Now, we can forge the metallic parts with the same process we applied to the gauntlet. We might add some Duranium, the same metal that went into your hammer, in order to get a better resistance to damage. Now, though, you will also be able to fix the armor. The problem is the material connecting the various pieces."

  Dworsul stroked his grey beard.

  "If it had been me doing the work, I would have used Mithril, of course. It would have given this dark armor quite a pleasurable aesthetic, among other things. But, not only you would need an amount of Mithril we don't have on our hands, but also, you can't smelt Mithril in these complex patterns."

  Dworsul looked at the blueprint and squinted.

  "We could make it out of Black Steel, an alloy of steel and Devilish Oricalcum, but..." The legendary Blacksmith squinted and sighed, pondering what was better.

  "Huh, I have this," Monica said, taking out the thread she had gotten from killing the Black Widow Boss.

  Dworsul's eyebrows jumped and he immediately snagged the thread from her.

  "This... this an inferior Mithril alloy."

  "Oh," Monica said, disappointed.

  "No, Avatar, it's not a bad thing! Inferior Mithril alloys combine Mithril with a weaker metal in order to make it easier to work by less skilled Blacksmiths. It's a perfectly valid option to both save on Mithril and get a superior result compared to using normal ores. Did this come from a monster?"

  Monica nodded.

  "Good," Dworsul said. "We'll not feel guilty about using it all, then. Being part-Mithril also means this can regenerate with your own Mana. You'll need to keep fixing and replacing the metal parts of the armor, but this? This means we're about to forge an Epic Item."