Limits Chapter 208

I went back to the workshop, and ate my own meat, cooked over the furnace . I must admit, the idea of cooking the meat over the furnace . . . was original . With my hunger taken care of, I proceeded to make the third Azurite Ingot . The process didn't change since the last two ingots . I still hammered the Azur-Moonlight mix for 15 cycles, then added Blurite, and again hammered it for another 15 cycles .

In the end, I created the third Azurite Ingot . 'This is enough for one day . I need to rest now, even though I ate some food, I'm still quite tired . No wonder they employ those Grondons, to make Azurite Ingots . Stamina and strength are really the key, when it comes to smithing' I thought, and headed towards the room in the back .

The room, was empty . I left the two ingots on the table, and went back to the tavern . I needed to get some sleep, and I wanted something better, than whatever that cheap lodge could offer . Inside the tavern, I walked up to the counter and said "I would like to rent a room, for one night" . The female Lizard, that taught me how to use the Sand of Time tool, said "Sure, what room would you like?" .

I said "The standard one", and passed her 50 Copper Hals . She nodded her head and said "Here is the key . It's the room numbered 3 upstairs . If you want to extend your stay, simply come over here and pay for that period, or return the key" . I nodded and thanked her, then went upstairs . The room number 3 was everything but lavish . 'At least it's clean, and the bed looks decent' I thought . The room also had a small table and a chair, but nothing else, other than that .

I laid down on the bed, and went to sleep . No dreams visited me that night either . I woke up in the "morning" and went downstairs . This time, the other female Lizard was standing behind the counter . 'They probably work some kind of specific shifts' I thought, and walked over to the counter . I said "Here is the key to the room" . She nodded her head and took it . I said my goodbyes and left towards the workshop .

I went straight to the room in the back, and this time, the old Lizard was there . When he saw me, he said "Great that you are here . The ingots you've created yesterday, were all Top Grade Quality . This is really great work" . I nodded my head, and asked "Can you now teach me, how to make Black Iron Ingots?" . He replied "Of course, come with me and I will show you" .

We went back to the same workbench, that I used to create the Azurite Ingots, and the old Lizard started his demonstration . "To create Black Iron Ingots, or to be more precise, Black Steel Ingots, you will need Black Iron Ore, Flash Tin Ore and Purified Coal . The process is not that complicated as well . We melt all the 3 ingredients together, then pound out the impurities . Thanks to the Flash Tin Ore, we can remealt the steel, due to the protection it offers against formation of further impurities" .

I asked "Then, can't we use the Flash Tin Ore, when creating Azurite Ingots?" . The old Lizard shook his head, and said "It's a good question, but the answer is no . Flash Tin works well with Black Iron Ore, but it would weaken the Azur Ore a lot . Hence we don't use it" . He then continued "When we melt the ingredients, we need to hammer out the impurities . You need to use the same method, that you used on Azurite Ingots . Flatten the metal, then curve it around, and flatten it again . I suggest at least 10 cycles, to get a good quality Black Steel Ingot . Of course, the more you pound it, the better the quality will be, but don't be fooled . The ore has its quality as well . That means, even if you pound it for 30 cycles, the quality might not rise much, and you can stress the metal too much . This would in fact lower the quality, instead of increasing it" .

I nodded my head, then asked "And when I want to form an actual ingot?" . He said "You can melt it, and pour it to the mold of an ingot, just like you did with the Purified Steel Ingots . Do you have any other questions?" . I nodded my head, and said "Yes, what type of proportions are the best, for one Black Steel Ingot?" . He knocked his head lightly, and said "I forgot . You will need 1 . 2 kilograms of Black Iron Ore, then 540 grams of Flash Tin Ore, and 360 grams of Purified Coal . As I said, you will receive enough materials, to create 3 Black Steel Ingots, each day . Here are the materials" .

He passed me 3 normal bags, full of ore . "You can make them now if you want, then start your work on the Azurite later" . I nodded my head, and said "I shall do the Black Steel Ingots first then" . He nodded, and left me to my work .

'He recommended at least 10 cycles, but I will do 15 and check . Doing too many is also bad, but 15 should still be fine' I thought, and proceeded to weighting and melting the required materials . The metal was not that hard to work with, I soon finished 10 cycles, and had a look at the piece of metal . It was dark in colour, but not completely back . The Flash Tin, also gave it some shine . I check the metal from all angles, and could still see some impurities . I decided to continue, and follow my original plan of 15 cycles .

After another 5 cycles, the quality of the metal improved a bit, and possesed much less impurities . But, any further pounding would change nothing, and might even have the opposite effect . I decided to melt the metal, and create the Black Steel Ingot . 'I don't know how long this took me, but I'm not tired from doing one ingot . I can easily create two more, without a break' I thought .

I repeated the same process again, and created two more Black Steel Ingots . 'Those 3 ingots, will allow me to create about a dozen of daggers . Couple more days, and I should be able to reach my previous number of daggers' I thought, and headed towards the room in the back . I was tired after making those 3 ingots, and wanted to rest a bit . More importantly, I wanted for the old Lizard to check the quality for me .

The old Lizard was sitting on his chair, when I entered . I said "Can you check the quality of the Black Steel Ingots, that I made?" . He placed down some papers, and said "Sure, give them here" . I passed him the ingots and awaited his verdict . He looked at them for a while, then said "These are of High Grade Quality . Quite good, but the materials I gave you, would easily allow for that quality to be made" . He then passed the ingots back to me .

I asked "Can you tell me, how to check the quality of the ingots?" . He replied "Sure, when you finish your task, I will teach you" . I nodded my head, and left . I still had to take a rest, but I didn't go to the tavern this time, and stayed in the workshop . I decided to watch others, as they did their jobs, while I ate some meat .

Chapter end