Day 60.
The Recovering Giant, Kagan, sat in the courtyard. He was polishing his old axe handle—a sad, broken piece of wood. The metal head had shattered years ago.
"Stop polishing that toothpick," Grom grunted, walking past him. "It looks like a toy."
Kagan looked up, his eyes narrowing. "It was forged by the best smith of the Frostblood. It killed fifty Orcs before it broke."
"Fifty?" Grom scoffed. "I will make you one that kills five thousand. And it won't break."
Grom turned to Rian, who was holding a bucket of strange black sand.
"My Lord, you said this sand makes the metal... angry?"
"Not angry, Grom. Tough," Rian corrected.
[Ding! Resource Analysis: Manganese Ore (Pyrolusite)]
Properties: When added to steel (12-14%), it creates Hadfield Steel (Austenitic Manganese Steel).
Effect: Extremely high impact strength. The more you hit it, the harder the surface gets (Work Hardening).
Use: Perfect for rock crushers... and Barbarian Axes.
"This is the secret recipe," Rian poured the black sand into the crucible with the molten iron and charcoal. "Normal steel is hard but brittle. If Kagan hits an Orc's armor with full force, the blade might snap. But this... this alloy absorbs the shock."
The Water-Hammer's Song
The preparations took all day.
Grom prepared a mold that was absurdly large. It wasn't a sword. It wasn't a normal axe. It was a slab of destruction.
"Pour!" Rian commanded.
The glowing orange liquid—the new Manganese Steel alloy—flowed into the mold.
Once it cooled to a cherry-red solid, the real work began.
Grom dragged the massive, glowing ingot under the Water-Powered Trip Hammer.
CLANG!
The floor shook.
The hammer, driven by the river, struck with a force no human could match.
CLANG!
CLANG!
Grom worked with tongs, turning the metal. He folded it, flattened it, and shaped it. Sweat poured off his body, sizzling on the hot metal.
"It's fighting me!" Grom roared. "This steel... it's stubborn!"
"That's the point!" Rian shouted back. "Beat it into submission!"
For four hours, the hammer didn't stop. The blade took shape.
It was a Double-Bit Greataxe.
One side was a razor-sharp crescent for slicing. The other side was a thick, jagged spike for piercing armor.
The Quench and the Temper
Finally, the shaping was done. Now came the most critical part: The Heat Treatment.
"If we cool it too fast, it cracks," Rian warned. "If we cool it too slow, it's soft."
Rian used a technique called Differential Hardening.
He coated the center of the axe head (the spine) with thick clay, leaving only the sharp edges exposed.
"Quench it!"
Grom plunged the massive glowing head into a vat of warm oil.
HISSSSSS!
A pillar of fire and smoke erupted. The oil screamed as it battled the heat.
When Grom pulled it out, the axe was black and ugly.
But Rian took a file and scraped the edge.
Skreeee.
The file skated off. The edge was harder than glass.
But the center (where the clay was) was softer and springy, ready to absorb the shock of impact.
"Clean it up," Rian ordered. "Fit the handle. I want an ironwood shaft, reinforced with steel bands."
The Test
Sunset.
The entire fort gathered in the courtyard.
Kagan stood waiting. His leg was healed enough to stand, though he still limped slightly.
Grom walked out, carrying the weapon.
He didn't hand it over easily. He was straining. The axe weighed nearly 40 kilograms (88 lbs). A normal man couldn't even lift it to swing.
"Here," Grom shoved it into Kagan's chest. "Try not to break it, giant."
Kagan grabbed the handle.
His muscles bulged as he lifted it with one hand. He swung it casually, testing the balance. The air whooshed with a terrifying sound.
"It is heavy," Kagan grinned, his teeth showing. "Good."
Rian pointed to a massive boulder—a piece of granite the size of a cow—that they had dragged from the mine.
"Test it, Kagan. Split the stone."
The crowd went silent. Steel breaks on granite. Everyone knew that.
Kagan stepped forward. He roared, channeling his rage. He swung the axe in a massive overhead arc.
BOOM!
Sparks flew like fireworks.
There was no clink of breaking metal.
Instead, there was a cracking sound that shook the ground.
The boulder split in half. Cleanly.
Kagan pulled the axe from the ground. He looked at the edge.
It wasn't chipped. It wasn't dull. It was glowing slightly from the heat of the impact, but it was perfect.
[Ding! Item Crafted: The World-Breaker]
Grade: A- (Masterpiece).
Material: Manganese Alloy Steel.
Weight: 42 kg.
Effect: [Armor Piercing] [Shock Absorption].
Durability: Unbreakable by conventional means.
Kagan kissed the cold steel blade.
He turned to Rian and knelt on one knee.
"With this," Kagan rumbled, "I can cut the mountain itself."
"Save the mountain," Rian said. "Cut the Orcs."
Rian looked at his elite team.
Varg: The Scout/Assassin.
Grom: The Smith.
Lara: The Mind.
Caelum: The Magic.
Kagan: The Muscle.
"The team is complete," Rian declared.
"Tomorrow, we start the Wolf Training. Next week... we hunt."
End of Chapter 33