After arriving at the weapon-forging master's door, Lodi stepped forward and said to the gatekeeper, "Someone from the Utteridge Clan has come to pay a visit."
The master was courteous enough to have someone escort Matthews and the others to his workshop.
Without even looking up, he asked, "What would you like forged?"
Matthews held up the lodestone he had won at the auction and set it on the ground. "It's me. I'd like two knives forged."
When the weapon-forging master, Drexler, heard the stone hit the ground, he walked over and examined the rock Matthews had brought. "You can't forge anything with this. I don't have time to play around with you."
"Master, you misunderstand. I know this thing can't be used to forge weapons, either."
"Oh? Then you know what kind of ore this is?"
Seeing the master regard him with keen interest, Matthews calmly replied, "Yes, it's a lodestone. It can attract iron objects. It's a pretty useful thing."
Drexler's apprentice sneered at him with the air of someone looking down on an ignorant fool. "Tch. Isn't this just a useless rock? You're treating it like a treasure."
"Young man, that's not quite right!"
"Rotten wood in the hands of an ordinary person is destined to become firewood for cooking. But in the hands of an artist, it might become a pretty decent work of art."
He'd read plenty of inspirational sayings like that.
Matthews continued, "In the eyes of a true master, everything in the world has its own use. You shouldn't despise something just because it's rotten wood, or praise it just because it's fine jade."
Drexler noticed that his apprentice was still saying something, so he cut him off.
"Young man, I like what you're saying. Have you brought the materials for the weapons?"
Matthews took the unidentified ore he had bought at the auction from his robes. After taking it and examining it, Master Drexler said, "Not bad. We'll take on your commission."
After studying it for a moment, he asked, "What requirements do you have for the weapons?"
Matthews struck a pose and said, "Of my two knives, the left-hand one is for defense and the right-hand one is for offense. Master, forge them to suit my build!"
"Very well. Come back in half a month with a hundred thousand gold coins to collect them."
He hadn't expected the more than three hundred thousand gold coins he'd just acquired to dwindle by a hundred thousand in the blink of an eye. After paying Winter the other half of the agreed-upon share, he'd probably have only eighty thousand gold coins left.
After leaving the workshop, Winter and his servant departed. Matthews detoured to a bank and deposited the previously agreed-upon two hundred thousand gold coins into a gold card. The following afternoon, when Mia returned to school, Matthews walked her to the entrance and had her give the card to Winter.
Once home, Matthews began making brass wire. Now that he had a lodestone, he wanted to test whether electricity producing magnetism and magnetism producing electricity would work in this world.
Electromagnetic theory had often come up on high school exams, so Matthews quickly made a simple hand-cranked generator.
Matthews turned the crank on his homemade generator, and obvious sparks appeared on the iron wire sticking out of it.
It seemed that basic principles worked in every world. In the Coiling Dragon World, the Laws related to the Lightning Element included lightning elements, lightning speed, the Profound Truth of Thunderclap, the Thunder Body Technique, and the Profound Truth of Judgment.
It seemed that the last one was the high-level lightning Law's Electromagnetic Profundity. Matthews could use some of the knowledge from his previous life to try to comprehend this Law.
Perhaps he could try making a version of an electromagnetic cannon from another world. Now that he'd confirmed electromagnetic conversion worked here, he could use Lightning-element Battle Qi and lodestones to make an accelerator, speeding up iron objects to create the effects of an electromagnetic gun or cannon.
He could also make a flying device using the principle of electricity producing magnetism, with a lodestone apparatus on his feet. Then he could use magnetic force to lift himself into the air!
Once Matthews thought of this, he got to work. He was determined to become the Coiling Dragon World's Magneto.
A month passed quickly, and Matthews had nearly finished making his devices. He'd managed to build an electromagnetic gun, and its performance was pretty good.
He could now use electromagnetic principles to make iron flakes fly around his arms. He could even control the Tang sword he'd forged earlier and make it fly.
Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. That day, Matthews went to Master Drexler's workshop.
"Please let the master know that Matthews has come to see him."
The one who received Matthews was the same apprentice who had mocked him last time. Seeing that the apprentice wasn't looking down on him this time, Matthews greeted him. "Good to see you, brother. I wonder what the master is busy with."
The apprentice replied coolly, "Follow me."
Then he led the way without another word, ignoring Matthews.
"Greetings, Master. Matthews, the one who came by last time, is here to collect his knives."
Master Drexler wasn't busy that day, so Matthews stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Master."
"Mm."
After greeting the master, Matthews handed the gold card he'd brought to the apprentice who had shown him in. "The payment is on this card."
The apprentice took it and left. Before long, he returned from the back room carrying a box.
After handing it to Matthews, Master Drexler said, "I forged both of these myself. Give them a try and see if they suit you."
At the master's invitation, Matthews took the weapons out of the box. The left-hand knife was slightly thicker than the right. When he held it in his left hand, its length was just a little longer than his forearm. The right-hand knife was slender and curved, suited for slashing and thrusting. Both blades were deep blue, with a faint purple gleam.
"Thank you, Master. I'm very satisfied with the weapons."
Seeing Matthews's satisfaction, Drexler stroked his beard and said, "I'm glad you're pleased. Give the knives a name."
Matthews thought for a moment, then said, "Let's call them Cold Light Ghost Shadow."
"The short knife is like a ghostly shadow that follows close, silently guarding its wielder. The long knife is like a cold gleam, sweeping forth with abandon."
"Mm, the name suits them well."
Master Drexler approved of the name Matthews had chosen, then said, "I hope these two weapons will let their full worth shine in your hands."
Matthews put away the weapons and said to Master Drexler, "Hahaha, don't worry, Master."
"Though I can't call myself a weapon-forging master, I do know a little about smithing."
Drexler laughed. "Oh? I never would have guessed."
"Hahaha, that's not important."
Matthews didn't elaborate on his smithing. His half-baked skills were best kept to himself rather than shown off in front of a true master.
Instead, he said, "Weapons are extensions of the human body. I won't let the reputation of the weapons you forged be tarnished."
Before you continue