As he thought about it, his mind returned to that sudden confession.
His face grew hot.
He scratched his head, puzzled. "Come to think of it, we've only known each other a few days. How did things suddenly end up like this? It all started that night at the hot spring, didn't it? Could this be love at first sight? Oh, please! There's no such thing. I just fell for her looks!"
But then a touch of melancholy crept in. Fine, I fell for her looks. It's already happened, so what can I do? Next time we meet, I have to ask what she really thinks. Being stuck in limbo like this feels awful.
He patted his cheeks, stuffed those tangled thoughts back into a little box in his mind, shut the lid, locked it, and left them there for now.
He cleared the rice balls off the table and decided to sleep.
He was exhausted. He hadn't closed his eyes since the night before.
Using the Breath of the Sun all day had nearly drained him dry.
Once he finished tidying up, he lay down on the bed and was out cold the next second.
Early the next morning, before the sky had fully brightened, he climbed out of bed, grabbed a quick bite, and headed outside.
"Every second counts! No slacking off!"
He stretched his arms. After a good night's sleep, he felt as good as new.
He glanced at the whetstone on the ground, hesitated, then walked over. He wrapped both arms around it, lifted, and raised it above his head in one motion.
Easy.
"Just as I thought."
He wasn't surprised. His Golden Finger wouldn't lie to him.
His constitution, strength, speed, and agility were all improving.
He set down the whetstone, lit the furnace, and put the Iron Material he had already stripped of impurities inside to heat.
"If everything goes smoothly, three days at most... Then I should be able to bring her the sword."
He focused on the gauge as the bellows pumped and flames leaped.
Before long, he pulled the red-hot Iron Material from the furnace and placed it on the anvil. He clamped it tight, gripped the Forging Hammer in his right hand, and raised it high—but did not bring it down.
"This stage is critical. The Gale Sun Hammer is too fast, and my control still isn't good enough. I could easily lose control and ruin it. I can't use it now. I'll try ordinary forging first..."
Decision made, he brought the Forging Hammer down.
[Toughness +1] [Sunblaze -1]
That single blow left Tetsu no Sosuke frozen in place.
"Sunblaze... went down?"
"Why did Sunblaze decrease? Because I didn't use the Gale Sun Hammer?"
"But if I use it, the sheer speed could ruin this stage of the forging."
"And if I don't, I lose Sunblaze? I still don't know what kind of attribute it is, but since it came from the Breath of the Sun, it can't be ordinary. I worked hard for so long to build it up, and I still don't have much. Losing it all at this stage would be such a waste."
Before you continue