"Time for the spell formula, Little Roddy. Let's get it into the sword right away."
Dian spoke while standing before the red-hot iron.
"What sort of magic should I use?"
"Well, let's see. Fire! It’s gotta be fire. When you think magic, you think fire. Besides, it’s useful for smithing, too."
"Understood."
In that case, I just needed to imbue it with fire system magic.
While I had plenty of room for 'Fireball,' which was lower magic, a sword forged by Dian looked like it could accommodate something higher-grade, perhaps even 'Blazing Fireball.'
"The spell formula for Blazing Fireball consists of fourteen verses, though I can condense it to two. I won't know if it'll take until I try... How many times was the iron folded?"
"Five times. Any more and the blade won't hold."
I suppose I'd just have to give it a shot.
First, I poured half a verse’s worth of magic marrow fluid, which I’d woven the spell formula into, over the glowing iron.
The red metal shone with a brilliant light as the spell formula began to settle. Because magic marrow fluid had an incredibly high boiling point, it didn't evaporate even in this heat.
"—?! The—the sword!"
A sharp snap echoed through the workshop.
Looking closely, a deep crack had formed at the base of the glowing iron.
Damn. Even half a verse was too much?
"This one’s useless. We’ll have to start over."
"...I’m sorry."
"Bah, don't sweat it! Blacksmithing rarely goes right on the first try. If there’s one thing I’m proud of, it’s my persistence. Come on, let’s pull ourselves together and move on to the next one!"
"Yes, Master Craftsman!"
We melted the shattered, ruined iron once more and repeated the process.
Hammering, drawing it out, and weaving the spell formula—but no matter how many times we tried, we failed. The sword would inevitably shatter the moment I began weaving in the spell formula.
Thinking the capacity might be too small, I tried dividing the spell formula into thirds, but that didn't work either. I even tried dropping the magic level down to a simple 'Fireball,' but it still shattered.
We were at a complete dead end. My shoulders slumped as I looked at the broken remains of our latest attempt.
"Hmm, this is difficult..."
"Making a magic sword isn't that easy. Don't let it get you down, Little Roddy."
Dian patted my shoulder with a grin. Despite his intimidating appearance, he was surprisingly broad-minded.
"That spell formula you're imbuing, Little Roddy... it's got a staggering amount of data packed in. I've seen magic swords being made before, but this has nearly ten times the information density other enchanters use. Once a magic sword with a formula like that is actually finished... Hehe, I can't wait!"
He trailed off, muttering to himself with a smirk. Was he... actually trying to pressure me?
Ugh, I have to finish this as soon as possible...
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, I noticed something about the magic marrow fluid. Compared to what I’d made myself in the past, the color of this batch seemed slightly off.
Grimo seemed to have noticed it too.
"Master Lloyd, the purity of this stuff isn't very high. They've probably bulked it up with fillers."
"Hmm. Let's try deconstructing it."
I poured a bit of the magic marrow fluid into a small vessel and held my hand over it, activating the 'Purity Increase' spell. This magic increased the purity of a liquid; when used on a mixture, it could decompose it back into its original raw materials.
The liquid emitted a faint light and began to swirl.
"What are you doing, Little Roddy?"
"Just watch."
I kept the spell active for a while as Dian waited. Eventually, the liquid separated into several distinct layers, and granules began to accumulate at the bottom. Alongside the red grains, I saw brown and black particles mixed in.
So they really were using fillers. Moreover, I had a feeling that the primary ingredient wasn't even genuine Red Magic Powder.
"Red Magic Powder is made by grinding down the nuclei of strong monsters, but I don't think that's what this is."
"Nuclei from strong monsters aren't easy to come by, after all," Grimo chimed in. "They're likely substituting them with the nuclei of weak monsters. The quality is much lower. While it might be enough for basic enchantment, it's a bit too poor for making a proper magic sword."
"Heh, you're quite knowledgeable, Grimo."
"I was a somewhat well-known blacksmith in the Demon World back in my day. Hehe."
Grimo laughed proudly. Since I didn't know much about the specifics of blacksmithing, his insight was helpful.
Regardless, the lack of purity in the Red Magic Powder was a serious problem. Low purity meant the manifestation of the spell would be crude, and if the formula couldn't manifest with precision, it was prone to backfiring or running wild.
If I'd known it would come to this, I should have saved the magic marrow fluid I'd made previously.
"What's wrong? Is the magic marrow fluid the problem?"
"It seems so. The purity is insufficient..."
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, when I saw a magic sword being forged before, I think they were using a very specific type of magic marrow fluid. I guess it really is impossible without the right stuff... I gave it a shot just in case, but no luck. Hahaha!"
It seemed Dian had suspected this might happen. I really wish he'd told me sooner.
"Can't be helped. I'll try reaching out to my master in Bertram to see if he can spare any, though that's a long shot. Or I could check the inventory at the Adventurers' Guild, or maybe even put out a request... either way, it’s a slim hope. For now, we'll have to pause work until we get some. Sorry, Little Roddy. We'll start up again once I get my hands on the good stuff."
Dian sighed with genuine regret.
Adventurers, huh?
Maybe I can do something about this myself. Alright, I think I'll try taking action on my end, too.