"Can you stabilize this core," he asked, "and then forge it into a sword... without making it explode?"
He let out a short chuckle.
"We’ve tried ourselves. Dozens of tis. And failed every ti. It seems... we require so ’guidance’ from the technological heart of the Divine Sky Realm."
The plaza fell abruptly silent.
Those perceptive enough imdiately sensed that sothing was wrong.
The Head of the Grand Workshop stared at the core, his gaze sharp. The energy inside it churned like a violent storm, unlike a normal star core, there was sothing... deliberately flawed about it.
"This..." he muttered.
"Well?" Varon asked casually, though his eyes glead as he awaited failure. "If you succeed, we will acknowledge your techniques. If not..."
He shrugged, as if the implication needed no words.
The Head of the Workshop looked out over the plaza, at the Eternal Forge apprentices, the Lords of the autonomous islands, and the representatives of neighboring realms.
He could not retreat.
"...Very well," he said at last. "I will try."
Carefully, the Head of the Workshop activated the stabilization array beneath the table. Layer after layer of runes ignited, forming a protective field around the Unstable Star Core.
He picked up an advanced forging hamr, a masterpiece of the Eternal Forge equipped with an automatic pressure-limiting system and began striking the core in a steady rhythm.
CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.
At first, the light within the core appeared to calm slightly.
But after the fourth strike, the blue-violet glow began to flicker faster. The fine cracks multiplied, and the energy inside surged violently, pressing outward.
The protective formation around the table shook violently.
Several apprentices let out stifled cries.
"Chief!" one assistant shouted. "If this continues, it will!"
Varon smiled faintly, making no effort to hide his satisfaction.
"It seems..." he said loudly, "that the structure of your formations is not refined enough to handle a core like this. Perhaps the Eternal Forge excels only... in external architecture and mass-produced weapons."
His words stabbed into the ears of everyone present.
The Head of the Workshop clenched his teeth. He tried to adjust the rhythm, but every strike only made the core glow redder, no longer blue-violet... a clear sign that an explosion was imminent.
Ergency alarms flared around the forging table.
"Clear the main plaza!" a security overseer shouted. "The core could!..."
***
At the peak of one of the tallest towers of the Eternal Forge, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Gusti’s Private Workshop.
The chamber was vast, hot, and filled with steam. Energy conduits and glowing cables crisscrossed the ceiling, while the walls were covered in blueprints of weapons and chanical structures that seed to defy human logic.
On one side of the room hung the skeletal fra of a massive cha, its armor not yet installed. On the other side stood a row of furnaces, still rumbling softly like the heartbeat of so colossal beast.
At the center of the workshop, a muscular man stood before a small forging anvil, holding a simple black hamr. Resting on the anvil, glowing red, was a tiny object
A bolt.
He studied its material in silence. Subtle ripples of light shimred across its surface, like slow breathing.
[Material Scan]
Alloy Prototype – Forged under High Resonance Field
Energy Stabilization: B
Conductivity: A
Ability: Absorbs kinetic pressure and channels it into nearby energy networks. Neutralizes recoil vibrations by up to 92%.
Status: Final forging stage.
"If this pressure isn’t balanced..." he muttered softly, his hamr moving with precise control, "the cha fra will crack from the inside, no matter how strong the outer armor is."
DUM.
The hamr fell slow, yet perfectly placed. A subtle vibration resonated outward, faint blue light tracing its path through the air.
[Active Component]
Stable Energy Bolt (Prototype)
chanical Synchronization: A-
Energy Reaction: Safe
Ability: Perfectly integrates with the core chanism. Reduces structural fracture risk by 68%.
Note: Ready for deploynt in the Naraka Fra cha module.
"Hmph. That’ll do for now."
The hamr rested against the anvil, its glow fading gradually.
The soft hiss of a sliding door shattered the silence.
"Master Gusti!" a young assistant shouted, panting despite the already oppressive heat of the room.
Gusti didn’t turn around. "If Furnace Number Seven exploded again, I already told you"
"It’s not that!" the assistant cut in urgently. "The Star Empire delegation has arrived... they brought an Unstable Star Core. The Head of the Workshop has failed, and now they’re insulting the Eternal Forge—and even ntioning Lord Lein by na."
The hamr in Gusti’s hand stopped mid-motion.
The air grew heavier.
Not only because of the assistant’s words but because a golden panel had appeared before his eyes.
[Elite Quest] "Unstable Star Core"
A core that should not exist in its current state.
Align and comprehend its resonance before collapse.
Ti Limit: 1 hour
Reward: Understanding Point 1, ...
Failure: -
"Not bad," Gusti muttered, closing the golden panel.
Others might not understand how precious a single Understanding Point from such a panel truly was. But to Gusti, every point was power a stepping stone that had carried him to where he stood today. That golden panel was not rely a system, but an innate talent that had guided him from the very beginning, all the way to the pinnacle of the Eternal Forge.
With the quest accepted, his thoughts returned to the young assistant’s words.
"...They’re touching things they don’t understand," he murmured coldly.
The hamr in his hand shifted in color, runes along its surface igniting with a pale blue glow. He looked out through the workshop window, toward the golden light still hanging in the sky.
"The Star Empire..." he hissed softly. "Still using ancient fire to forge, huh?"
He let out a short breath, like soone being forced to abandon an important piece of work just to wipe away a trivial stain on the floor.
"Tch."
He reached for his black hamr once more.
"Let’s go down."
***
The main plaza was on the verge of becoming an ergency evacuation zone.
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