Awe apparent on his face, Tarkin exclaims, “Now that was one helluva sight lass. No hamer, no grind, just those gloves. Even though ya used more magic than I’ve ere seen in forgin’, ya completed a sword in just four hours. And damn, if I ain’t seen a prettier sword than this ‘un.  Now to test da blade. Not that I’m doubting ya, but even though ya used magic I still ain’t able ta overcome me doubts on a blade forged this fast. It makes them brittle, especially with an edge as sharp as you made that un. Worthless display pieces for da most part.” 

That last bit upsets me. It is precisely that last bit that drove me to make the best arms that could be made after seeing my “competitors” in my craft. Too often does the smith with a better engraving skill or partner overshadow the one with better skill. With confidence I declare, “Though this sword doesn’t have any fantastical magical abilities, I am completely sure that it is not a brittle failure, not after all the work Sif and I have done together. Let me tell you what this sword can do before you judge it. All these markings I put on it are alchemy inscriptions that combine with enchantment for two effects. The first one is to increase the durability, so that thin edge won’t be a problem. The next is self repair, so that even if the blade should chip, it will repair itself, though it was mainly placed so the user doesn’t have to perform regular maintenance to maintain the blade. But of course, you probably want to see it right? After all, anyone can talk up a sword.”

Tarkin smiles and responds, “So you do know a little of the craft ey? Little five, get the testing rod.”

The eldest of the newcomers sighs, “Pa, its Jacob, not little five. And ok, I will bring the rod. I will also bring a practice sword to save myself the trip.” Tarkin then introduces the other two, “Guess these three got bored following da lovers ‘round. These ‘ere are little six and seven.” To which the two teens respond at the same time. “Jackson!” “Jaxon!”

Tarkin ignores them, “Anyway, me wife likes names beginnin’ with J, so its easier ta just call em six and seven, ‘specially cause they’re twins.” What a guy… Tarkin continues, either oblivious to or ignoring the sympathetic gazes being directed to his kids, “So boys, why’d ya end up comin’ back so early?”

Jackson, or was it Jaxon, replies, “We got a message from Claire’s wind spirit! We were able to hear Claire’s voice like she was whispering to us, and she told us to come back if we want to see an amazing feat of crafting, and she was right! I never knew it was possible to craft a sword with magic like that!” The other twin cut in, “Ya, all we see are people who bring back da’s swords and got them enchanted somewhere. Never seen someone enchant while forging. In fact, never heard of a mage taking up the forge instead of the path to power. Most only do enchanting as a side job to make money.” 

I see, that certainly is the case. Even back then I was made fun of for so passionately sticking to my family’s trade, but it turns out I did go down in history as someone amazing, or so Claire says. I see Jacob walk out holding a sturdy metal pole in one hand and a dull practice sword in another. Excited to show off my creation, I ask, “So how are we going to test it, do I just need to cut the pole in two?”

Tarkin laughs at my excitement, “You certainly are confident in that sword of yours, aren’t ye? Luck would have it that this pole has the same enchantment your sword does, durability. It just has different sections, the most durable is the bottom end and the least the top. Since you’re confident, you can try for the top, but it may just put a chip in that blade o yours HAHA!” 

I grin at him and walk over to where Jacob inserted the pole into a container letting it stand upright. Without using any mana, I swing the sword clean through the bottom of the pole, which promptly falls over. Quickly checking my sword, I notice it isn’t damaged in the slightest. Good thing to know that my old methods still work just as well, I was worried I may have chipped the blade since the pole was enchanted, not that it matters since it would repair itself, but I have my pride. Looking back up I just flash Tarkin and his boys a grin.

“Whaaaaat? But it's impossible for that bottom part to be cut! Pa, I know Claire said she found an amazing person but this is impossible! The bottom part is just to test how many strikes an enchanted blade can take, it was never meant to be cut!” 

Claire gloats, “I told you when I come back I would show you something that stupefies you little five! You weren’t this flustered even when you found out I successfully contracted a high class wind spirit.”

“But now what? How are we supposed to repair this thing? It's way too expensive to hire a mage to just to repair an enchanted stick,” Jacob panics.

Clearing my throat, I decide to get involved, “Well, I am a mage and a smith who can repair your test rod with no problem. Just can you tell me how much my sword would be worth? Since you’ve been rambling on about how it's so expensive, you should know I plan on going down the mountain and selling these swords.”

Jacob yelps in concern, “Sell these? Do you know how absurd this is? If you’re caught making one of these you’d probably be robbed or kidnapped! That cutting power is waaay to absurd, and you said it could even repair itself? Let me tell you, the bottom part of that pole is like the sturdiness of a fortified gate, you aren’t supposed to CUT it!”

Crap, is this too much? But anything less really makes me not want to even try, after all I just made this one the bare minimum template I require for my swords before customizing them. 

Tarkin intervenes, saying, “Oi Jacob, just tell us what the swords worth. Ya just came back from da Theocracy, and they be havin’ plenty of magic weapons there. No need for that practice sword, dun wan it breaking like da pole.”

Jacob tries to get himself back together, “Well, most swords capable of mana conductivity are already rare as that is the minimum requirement for a permanently enchanted weapon. Durability is one of the more common enchantments, but the tricky one is the other, self repair. Though we haven't seen it work, a self maintaining weapon would have its price increased so that it’s only slightly cheaper than buying the parts to maintain it. And by maintaining it I mean over a lifetime. So I would say it would be around 3,000 gold theocracy coins. Do you understand how crazy that is? It-”

Claire interrupts his ranting, “It won’t be a problem, and no she does not know. What we told Tarkin, already is that Robin was raised in Spirit Mountain and so no, she does not know how valuable the stuff she makes is. Anyways, if she can’t sell it, she can always set it up for auction. I am an adventurer after all and it makes sense we stumbled upon some ancient ruin holding it!”

Tala claps to get attention, and I will admit, I kind of forgot she was here with us, “So it's all settled, when they go down the mountain they will auction off the sword and will be able to get a good amount of money to start off their lives out there.”

“Err, one problem,” I butt in, “I kind of enchanted it so it can’t be stolen, so I have to be there to perform the ritual in person to hand the sword over.” To which I feel everyone's gazes stare accusingly at me. Woops.