Divine Artifact Forging, The Beginning

Inside the private forge of Hephaestus.

Thor picked up a smithing hammer and weighed it in his hand. As tools used by a god of the forge, while these hammers did not reach the level of divine artifacts, they were still top-tier; it would be no exaggeration to call them the best in Orario.

In the entirety of Orario today, among all the gods, only Hestia and Syr were willing to help him.

Because Syr wanted to hide her identity, it was not convenient for her to come forward; after much thought, only Hestia could assist.

Being able to borrow such hammers, Thor would have to properly thank Hestia for her help.

Thor looked at the iron ore before him and began to calculate in his mind.

He currently had 85 Stardust, and at the cost of 1 Stardust, he could obtain the energy effect of 100 Stardust in a very short time.

If all 85 Stardust were sacrificed, it would allow him to reach the level of possessing 8500 Stardust for a short period.

Although this was still far from being able to fully unleash the abilities of Ornn the God of the Forge, he was not forging a true divine artifact after all; it was more than enough to forge a weapon that Bell could use.

Thor estimated that this weapon would allow Bell to use it directly until he reached Lv.8, or even higher.

However, just as Thor was about to start forging.

Hephaestus suddenly called out to stop him: "Please wait a moment."

Thor turned his head in confusion and asked Hephaestus: "What is it?"

What is it?

Hephaestus stared in disbelief at the ordinary, run-of-the-mill iron ore beside the furnace.

These raw materials could be picked up near the entrance of the Dungeon; they were the cheapest materials, fit only for making farm tools!

Yet he intended to use them to forge a weapon for an adventurer?!

She asked in shock: "Do you intend to forge a weapon using just this iron ore?"

If he were only using iron ore to forge the most basic of equipment.

Then there was no need to come to her place at all!

He could just find any ordinary blacksmith shop on the street and pay a few thousand Valis to gain usage rights for a day or even longer.

He had made such a big scene having Hestia lead the way, even giving her a fright, just for this?

While Hephaestus was shocked and confused.

Thor calmly explained: "There is no other way. I do not have enough money to purchase better materials right now. However, this ordinary iron ore is sufficient. To me, there is not much difference."

Hephaestus was stunned again.

No money?

Hephaestus's eyes flickered a few times.

She was very curious about what kind of existence this [Unknown] before her truly was.

She could not judge other fields, but in the field of forging, she considered herself among the top tier of gods in the entire universe.

Perhaps she could see the other party's true face through forging?

Moreover, as a god, she had a very strong premonition...

If she missed this, she would likely regret it deeply later.

She trusted the premonitions of a god very much.

Thinking of this, Hephaestus suddenly proposed: "Perhaps... I could lend it to you?"

Thor's movements suddenly paused.

He tilted his head and let out a soft "Oh."

A clear hint of interest flashed across his calm eyes.

"You are willing to lend me money?"

Hephaestus met his gaze and nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"I can lend it. But a contract must be signed."

"That is only natural."

What followed was the key.

When lending money, one must see how much the other party needs.

"May I ask, how much do you need?" Hephaestus asked.

Thor did not answer immediately.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze seemingly resting on the rough iron ore.

He had originally only intended to forge a weapon for Bell, but if Hephaestus was willing to lend him money.

Could he also prepare a handy weapon for himself?

The answer was already clear.

"I will borrow as much as you can lend."

Hephaestus's body stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Borrow as much as he wants?

Even as the Goddess of the Forge, presiding over one of the wealthiest families in Orario, she felt a sudden jolt in her heart.

She had no idea if an [Unknown] like Thor would ever be able to pay back such a debt.

No, the real question was whether she should actually lend out that much money based on nothing but a groundless premonition.

Hephaestus glanced at her divine friend, Hestia, standing beside her.

She recalled Hestia vouching for Thor earlier.

Since he was recommended by Hestia, she could afford to place a little trust in him.

With that thought, Hephaestus gave her word: "I understand."

Only a moment later, the forge was piled high with supplies.

Hephaestus finished her inventory, her tone heavy.

"Magic Stone worth 300 million Valis, plus high-grade materials required for forging Level 1 equipment—a total of 700 million Valis."

Her gaze swept over the mountain of resources; they had nearly filled the spacious forge, spilling over even to the entrance of her own office next door.

"A total of 1 billion Valis."

One billion!

Thor looked at the "Mountain" before him, woven from the radiance of Magic Stone and the luster of rare metals, and a flicker of surprise crossed his heart.

This 1 billion Valis was not fixed assets or family inventory that would be difficult to liquidate quickly, but hard, cold cash and resources ready for immediate use.

It was like the world's richest person having a net worth of a trillion; if you asked them to produce 10 billion in cash on the spot, even they would have to go to great lengths to scrape it together.

This was enough to illustrate the weight of this fortune.

Take the "Sword of Despair" that Ais wielded, worth 99 million Valis, as an example; the core material cost was likely no more than 10 million. The remaining value lay in the top-tier forging techniques condensed within it, the time cost, and the brand premium of the Hephaestus Familia itself.

To mobilize such a massive amount of liquid wealth in one go—in all of Orario, perhaps only the Hephaestus Familia, which controlled the production and distribution channels for top-tier equipment and possessed vast riches, could achieve this.

Even a top-tier combat family like the Loki Familia, if they exhausted all their resources, would likely struggle to scrape together more than 100 million Valis in cash on short notice.

The gap in pure financial power was crystal clear.

"Whoa—!"

An incredulous gasp shattered the silence.

Hestia widened her sky-blue eyes, as if struck hard on the head by the hammer of "one billion." She looked at the small mountain of supplies that threatened to burst the room apart, her voice cracking:

"O-one billion?! Hephaestus! Is it... really okay to lend out this much?!"

Hephaestus slowly turned her head, her gaze falling upon her shocked best friend.

Her single eye narrowed slightly, deep helplessness surging beneath it.

You're only asking this now?!

Why didn't you ask when you were leading him to my doorstep?!

An indescribable emotion, a mix of absurdity and resignation, weighed heavily upon the Goddess of the Forge's heart.

But it wasn't entirely because of Hestia; she also wanted to see exactly what kind of heights this [Unknown] possessed in the field of forging.

Hephaestus took a deep breath, turned to Thor, and asked: "Is this... enough?"

Thor's gaze swept over the shimmering "Mountain."

300 million Valis worth of Magic Stone was enough to refine 6,000 units of Stardust.

If he sacrificed it all, he would briefly possess the power of 600,000 units of Stardust, enough for him to perform a time jump.

Of course, in this state, executing the complete version of the Ornn technique—which required less than 100,000 Stardust—would be a piece of cake.

"Not quite enough, but it will barely suffice."

Of the 6,000 units of Stardust refined, he could easily sacrifice just 1,000 and keep the remaining 5,000 for himself.

With those 5,000 Stardust, he could single-handedly fight his way down to the 18th floor of the Dungeon.

But there was little point in that.

He knew Hephaestus was only willing to lend him the money because she wanted to witness forging techniques that far surpassed her own divinity.

If he used techniques equivalent to her own, such as those of the Freljord demigod Ornn, she would likely be very disappointed that she had lent him the money.

Most importantly, he didn't want to just go through the motions.

He had his own pride.

With this many supplies, he could easily prepare a decent weapon for himself as well.

His gaze returned to those top-tier materials, which flowed with sparks and the cold glint of metal.

It was time.

For himself, And to answer this curiosity and investment, It was time to forge a weapon worthy of the Lord of the Starry Heavens.

Thor said no more, turning to face the furnace that had long been preheated.

As he raised his hand, an invisible gravitational field enveloped the "Mountain" worth one billion.

Those materials transformed into several brilliant streams of light, like stardust captured by a black hole, rotating and whistling as they were cast with pinpoint precision into the depths of the furnace core.

The furnace suddenly dimmed, as if it had swallowed all light, before erupting with a blinding white radiance that pierced the dome!

The entire forge hummed in a silent tremor, the air scorching and warping.

Hephaestus's single eye contracted sharply, and Hestia instinctively took half a step back.

Hephaestus saw it clearly.

Those priceless, top-tier materials.

Those metals and ores containing different elemental laws and physical properties.

Under the invisible, mighty power flowing from Thor's fingertips, they were easily dismantled and fused!

They were not simply mixed or stacked; they were undergoing a deep-level "unification" under a will that transcended the laws, completely shattering the boundaries of her understanding.

Her forging knowledge, honed over countless divine years, was as fragile as paper before the scene unfolding before her.

Hum!

Thor grasped the air with his palm, and the mountain-like hill of Magic Stone suddenly soared into the air.

He closed his fingers slightly, and all the Magic Stone shattered instantly!

Then, he blew a breath.

Whoosh—

In an instant, the vast energy of Magic Stone worth three hundred million Valis was condensed and sublimated within the breath containing the essence of creation!

6,000 brilliant grains of Stardust were born out of thin air, dotting the scorching forge and illuminating the space into a deep sea of stars.

Each grain of Stardust was like a tiny universe embracing a newborn star.

Immediately after, Thor clenched his five fingers tightly!

Bang—!

It was as if the Big Bang at the dawn of the universe had detonated on a spiritual level.

6,000 grains of Stardust, the core energy of 6,000 micro-universes, were ignited in an instant!

A torrent of mighty power, like the fetal movement of the universe, awakened suddenly from Thor's body!

It was a feeling like finding a lost limb after sleeping for too long.

This power was ancient and vast, carrying the desolation of the cold starry void and the scorching heat of creation.

Although it was but a spark, a near-infinite fraction of his vast power, its might was enough to make gods tremble.

Thor closed his right hand in the air.

Inside the furnace.

That mass of liquid divine material, already partially fused and flowing with seven-colored starlight, suddenly endured terrifying pressure and temperatures comparable to the core of a star!

The boundaries of matter were completely blurred, and the laws were twisted and smelted under extreme high pressure.

Time lost its measure, and space lost its meaning.

Perhaps a century had passed, or perhaps it had only been an instant.

When Thor reached out and took the [Celestial Body] from the furnace.

The last shred of struggle in Hephaestus's heart, the attempt to understand the scene before her through "forging techniques"... was completely extinguished!

An absurd thought appeared in her mind.

That was not forging at all!

This was clearly—

Star Creation!