In that single instant, Tetsu no Sosuke had no idea how many times he had swung the Forging Hammer.
The red-hot iron material flattened in an instant.
[Impurities -1] [Impurities -1] [Impurities -10] [Strength +2] [Sunblaze +1] [Impurities -1]
His body seemed to have been drained in a heartbeat, and his vision kept darkening. But Tetsu no Sosuke planted a foot firmly, drew a deep breath, and recovered.
Gripping the Forging Hammer tightly, he wore a somewhat strange expression.
"What... were those notifications just now?"
In that instant, countless [Impurities -1] notifications had sounded, but a few distinctly different ones had been mixed in.
"Minus ten, and... sunblaze plus one? Sunblaze—is that a new attribute?"
He looked at the Forging Hammer in his hand, then at the piece of iron material resting on the Anvil, and realization suddenly dawned on him. Breath of the Sun!
His Breath of the Sun still could not power sword techniques, because he did not know any.
But using it in forging like this could actually grant a weapon a new attribute?
Sunblaze... sunblaze? Nichirin Blades are made from scarlet sand iron and scarlet stone ore. Those materials have absorbed ample sunlight! That's what makes them lethal to demons. Could the sunblaze attribute have something to do with that, too?
The thought arose out of nowhere, without any evidence, but Tetsu no Sosuke remained calm. If that's really what this attribute is, it should reveal itself once the impurities are removed and the blade is shaped. And could forging with Breath of the Sun add even more sunblaze to this sword? Could I even... use this forging method to grant the same attribute to an ordinary iron sword?
He stood there, his mind racing with possibilities.
Once he felt his breathing settle, he immediately returned to work.
That attempt wasn't actually ideal. In that instant, I just used a sudden burst of speed and strength to hammer wildly. Very few blows actually did any good, and even those were only lucky hits. Maybe that's why there were so many impurity reductions of one, but only a single reduction of ten. If I can control the angle of every swing of the Forging Hammer, could I make every blow count? If so, one blow while using Breath of the Sun would equal ten ordinary blows! With the speed I can achieve using Breath of the Sun, if every blow counts, a single bout of hammering could even match almost half a day's hard work! No, I have to master this technique. Whether for now or for the future, it's absolutely vital to me!
In truth, Tetsu no Sosuke had not given much thought at that moment to exactly why it was so vital.
He simply had an instinctive feeling that precise control would surely let him create even greater miracles!
He breathed, steadied his rhythm, and changed it. His blood flowed faster, and his heart pounded like a drum.
With the physique and strength he had built through repeatedly hammering iron, his body could already withstand more than he had ever imagined.
His limit... was still nowhere in sight!
The next second, a patter like rain beating on banana leaves rang out.
He concentrated intensely, striving to control where the Forging Hammer in his hand landed.
[Impurities -1] [Impurities -1]
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