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On the other side of the hammer’s head, the change was even more evident. The color of the crystal had changed in the same way as the other side. All the formerly haphazard green spikes jutting out of it had moved to a ring around the edge of the hammer with a single, larger spike in the very center. It resembled the mouth of a massive worm.

Swirls of dull green twisted down from the head of the hammer and through the entire haft. The same dull energy that burned within the rest of the crystal pulsated within it almost like a heartbeat, sending lapping waves of warmth into Arwin’s palm. It was hot enough to be nearly uncomfortable to the touch — almost like a reminder that the hammer was more than just a mere weapon.

But that wasn’t the extent of the changes to Verdant Blaze. In fact, as the Mesh flowed forth, Arwin realized that not even its name had survived the Awakening.

Verdant Inferno: Unique Quality

[Awoken]: This item has taken on life of its own. With every death it causes and every magical item it is used to craft, it will grow slightly more powerful. It has completed its bond with Arwin Tyrr.

[Shieldbreaker]: This weapon hungers to destroy. Every consecutive blow against the same target will deal increased damage. Changing targets or blocking an attack with this weapon will reset any power that Shieldbreaker has generated.

[Burning Metal]: This weapon has consumed [Soul Flame] to the point where its metal is permanently infused with its power. It will drink in [Soul Flame], increasing the amount and heat of the flame in its blows with it at the cost of magical energy.

[Unique]: This item was created for Arwin Tyrr, and it will never know another owner. This item will attempt to burn anyone who attempts to wield it other than its owner. Information about this item may be hidden from others after it has bonded.

“Hell,” Arwin whispered as he stared at his hammer. Verdant Inferno — it would take a little while to get used to the new name — had definitely grown more powerful. While [Shieldbreaker] was unchanged, its other ability had been upgraded and it had gained a whole new one that would let it grow stronger once again.

A core with enough blood or heat? How much of either are we talking? Something tells me I can’t just warm a piece of metal or stab a few assholes and pour their blood into a cup. I’m not sure I like the idea of making Verdant Blaze, ah, Inferno, any more bloodthirsty than it already is.

The weapon purred in the back of his mind at that thought. His palm prickled as miniature crystalline structures pressed into it, almost as if the hammer was goading him on. Arwin had nearly forgotten that the crystal in Verdant Blaze was the very same crystal as the Devouring Prism that made up the core of his bow.

Well, shit. Now I have two weapons that share my damn hunger. And somehow, Verdant Inferno is even more ominous than Prism’s Reach.

“Arwin?” Lillia asked, concern tinging her tone. “What happened? Why does Verdant Blaze look like that? Did it…”

“Awaken. It’s called Verdant Inferno now,” Arwin finished with a nod. He sent one last look at the hammer before dismissing it and flexing his hand. “Well, it was already awakened. It just finished the job.”

“It certainly looks a lot more intimidating. Not exactly a hero’s weapon anymore,” Lillia said with a wry grin. “Something like that would have looked more in place in my hands than yours.”

Arwin snorted. “I’m not a hero anymore. As long as it does its job, I don’t care what it looks like. Besides, I’d say the new look fits pretty well with the theme we’ve got going on.”

“That it does,” Lillia agreed.

They were both silent for a second. Then Lillia looked down to the newly made piece of their heart-contraption and her smile widened. “And we did it again! A second piece!”

“The hardest one,” Arwin agreed, matching the expression on her face. Verdant Inferno needed him to find some sort of core for it, and he was definitely going to need to lean into heat over blood. They already had one vampire on the team. “All that remains now is to make the housing for the heart and stick everything together.”

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“Want to do it now? Or are you out of energy after all that? I only helped with the last bit.”

“I’m good to go again in a minute or two. You helped with the hardest bit, and I’ve got a lot more energy than I used to. I’m already Apprentice 8 after all the work we’ve been doing recently. Now that I’m making real magical items that have more than a little power within them, I’m starting to advance faster.”

“Power begets power,” Lillia said with an understanding nod. “I’ve been advancing really fast recently as well. I think I’m not too far from being able to start raising the prices of the tavern as well. The Mesh is acknowledging the quality of my food and letting me charge more for the fancier meals. I don’t think we’ll be in Apprentice Tier for much longer.”

“Probably not,” Arwin agreed. A mixture of excitement and trepidation swirled through his stomach. He cleaned off the anvil and the space around it, preparing to start on the final part of their project. “Which means our first class evolution is coming soon.”

“Given the enemies we’ve been making, it might be a good idea for that to be sooner rather than later,” Lillia said. She helped Arwin move some Brightsteel scrap out of the way. “That first evolution is an important one. It’ll be setting our path to the future. Do you know what you’re going to specialize in? I’d imagine a smith gets to choose some specific form of crafting or the like. Maybe a weapons or armor specialization?”

“I hope not the latter. I don’t want to focus on just armor or weapons.” Arwin scratched at the side of his neck. “There’s still some time until I hit Apprentice 9. Once we finish the heart’s housing, I’ll have more time to figure out what I want to specialize in. What about you? Food, I take it?”

“Either food or the inn itself. I’m pretty sure those will be at least two of my options,” Lillia said with a nod. “I’m undecided. I like cooking, but I want to be more than just a chef. I want the entirety of the Devil’s Den to be an experience and it really isn’t big enough to fulfill that at any scale yet. I’ll probably track that Mason you hired down and have him help expand the inn so we can start housing more people pretty soon.”

“You aren’t worried about the satisfaction rating?”

“Not if everyone’s satisfied,” Lillia said with a smirk. It fell away as a serious expression replaced it and she blew out a small sigh. “Honestly, yes. I am worried about it. But I can’t let that hold me back. The Mesh only rewards challenge, not sitting around in mediocrity. So let’s get to it and give it something to reward, shall we?”

Arwin followed her gaze over to the heart. It thumped, almost as if in response. Arwin’s lip curled in a mixture of amusement and mild disgust. The heart really didn’t get any less creepy no matter how long he had to get used to it.

“Yeah. Let’s get this wrapped up before nightfall. I want a good night of rest in a proper bed.”

And that was exactly what they did.

Arwin’s earlier prediction that the second piece of the contraption would be the hardest turned out to be correct. Building a cage for the disturbing piece of flesh turned out to be a surprisingly simple task. He chose Ivorin for the task. He wouldn’t ever admit it, but half the reason reason he chose the metal was because of its strong resemblance to bone. It was a cage for a heart. It didn’t make sense to make it out of anything else.

Arwin also didn’t mind that Ivorin was ridiculously easy to work with and was more than happy to be turned into just about anything. He melted the impurities free from it, flattened sheets out, and formed them into ribs before quenching them and setting about hammering every piece together to form the ribcage with Verdant Inferno. The fully awakened hammer forged even faster than the old hammer did.

Each rib was studded with a large white gem as Arwin used up the rest of the stones that Rodrick had retrieved for him. He didn’t add any other monster components to the mix. The only purpose of the final part of their contraption was to keep the heart alive and maintain the energy it gathered — and gemstones were perfect for that.

The hardest part of the entire project was avoiding damaging the heart in the process. Once he got the ribcage largely prepared, he and Lillia hoisted the still-thumping piece of monster flesh into it. They took care to avoid the sharp tips of the ribs, which he’d left bent outward for that very reason.

Once the heart was in place within the ribcage, Arwin used [Scourge] and some heat from [Soul Flame] to carefully bend every rib in around the heart. He had to work far slower than he would have liked. Putting too much [Soul Flame] into the metal had a chance of burning the heart.

But, eventually, Arwin bent every rib into place. He and Lillia worked together throughout the process, pouring their magic into the metal and both focusing their intent on same thing — to make sure the heart could absorb and keep the energy from the rest of the machine when they connected it.

The heart’s pulsations intensified as they worked, almost as if in anticipation. It wasn’t quite absorbing the power directly from them, but it could feel that something was changing. Arwin wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

It was too late to worry about it. The furious tingle of the Mesh against his fingertips was too strong to be denied any longer. It knew just as well as he that their work was done. Lillia’s hands slipped from Arwin’s sides as he took a step back, his own heart caught in his throat, and looked upon the final part of his and Lillia’s work as the Mesh infused it.

[Hearthome: Epic Quality] has been forged. Forging a magical item has granted you energy.

Achievement: [Couple of Crafters - III] has been earned.

[Couple of Crafters - III] – Awarded for forging a fully Epic set by linking your desires together with your partner. Get a room. Effects: Title: [Couple of Crafters] has been earned. This achievement has been consumed.

[Couple of Crafters] - Linking your intent with your partner enough times has established a connection between you so long as your goals remain aligned. The dissonance between you and your partner’s intent has been permanently reduced.

“I take it I don’t have to ask if you got the title too?” Lillia asked, weary amusement in her voice as she nudged him with a shoulder. He could tell that she was just as exhausted as he was. They’d been at work all day, and after a long stretch of barely even sleeping at all.

More than anything else, he just wanted to get some rest.

“Not unless you’ve been crafting with someone else.”

They both let out a tired laugh. The floor was calling to Arwin, but not nearly as loudly as the proper bed back in Lillia’s room was. But, before that, there was one last thing he could do. One last flickering candlewick of excitement that kept him on his feet.

He and Lillia both looked down at the heart, trapped within its new Ivorin cage, and watched with trepidation as the Mesh spilled forth.