While 5.5 nickel steel was tough, it was not particularly suited for bladed tools.
This was because the addition of nickel caused a significant amount of austenite to remain in the crystalline structure, which lowered the overall hardness of the steel.
Consequently, Jin began by separating the nickel from the remaining 5.5 nickel steel ingots. It was an extra step, but a necessary one.
"Extraction: Nickel."
From the roughly 1.79 tons of remaining 5.5 nickel steel, he separated about 98 kilograms of nickel. With the resulting pure carbon steel, he would have more than enough to produce one hundred swords.
"Alright, Elsa, let’s try practicing Separation."
Jin beckoned Elsa over. As she approached, he began his explanation.
"Listen, the trick to Separation is to have a precise image of the quantity. By quantity, I mean weight. Ten 1-gram units make 10 grams. Ten 10-gram units make 100 grams. It’s a matter of repeating that concept."
"Nn. I understand the principle."
"The vital part is grasping exactly how much one gram feels like. Let's start from there."
By speaking his intuitive knowledge aloud, Jin felt his own understanding deepen. At the same time, he realized once again that the Predecessor’s way of thinking was remarkably close to the academic disciplines of modern Earth.
Not in every aspect, of course, but specifically in how digital logic was incorporated in places, or how materials were handled by delving down to the molecular level.
Furthermore, though it was a late realization, the way the muscles were attached to the golems and automata was so human-like that it would have been impossible to design without a deep knowledge of anatomy.
(Perhaps the Predecessor was also someone summoned from Earth.)
The thought crossed Jin's mind, but there was no one there to answer the question.
"Separation."
Jin pulled his focus back to Elsa. She was working hard with Separation, trying to create a 1-gram lump of metal.
"You've mastered the spell itself without any issues. All that's left is the mental recognition of a gram."
They say a master craftsman can verify a flat surface just with their palm. While a Magi Craft Meister possessed such refined senses as well, humans were actually surprisingly good at visual estimation even without reaching those heights.
A woodworker can estimate the difference between 3mm and 4mm boards without measuring, and veteran drivers are said to be able to feel the slightest change in tire pressure. In essence, anyone can reach a high level through experience. The higher that level, the closer one came to being a Magi Craft Meister.
"Separation... how about now?"
After more than a dozen retries, Elsa's intuition had improved significantly.
"Yeah, I think that’s good enough. Now, let’s try taking out a 2.2-kilogram lump. Reiko, I'll leave the calibration to you."
"Yes, Father. Elsa-san, let us begin."
"Nn."
And so, Reiko verified the lumps Elsa created with Separation and made fine adjustments to reach the exact weight. At first, the amounts fluctuated, but after about thirty repetitions, the margin of error gradually vanished.
"Hmm, Elsa-dono is quite impressive herself," Gloria remarked, watching her progress with admiration. Since she didn't know any ordinary magi craftmen, she didn't realize just how far outside the realm of common sense this display truly was.
Princess Lieschen was fascinated by the magi craft process and watched with rapt attention. Hanna also liked watching Jin work and had been observing quietly, but eventually, the sight of 2.2-kilogram steel ingots being produced endlessly began to bore her.
Sensing this, Jin took about seventy of the completed steel blocks and finally began the sword forging.
"Forming."
The steel block emitted a faint light and, in the blink of an eye, changed its shape. It transformed into a sword. The process took about five seconds. Even so, Jin was holding back; if he were truly serious, he could have finished it in a single second.
"Oh, amazing! Jin-dono, may I see that for a moment!?" Gloria blurted out, unable to remain silent. Jin smiled and handed her the blade.
"The hilt hasn't been fitted yet, though."
Taking it, Gloria inspected the blade and moved a short distance away to give it a light experimental swing.
"Hmm, this is excellent work! I don't use longswords often, but this is remarkably easy to handle."
"Is that so? I used the sample sword and the one Heinz-dono was carrying earlier as references," Jin replied.
Gloria was taken aback, and the princess also spoke up at the same time.
"What! Heinz-dono's sword is unsigned, but it is a masterpiece!"
"What! You learned the details of his sword in such a short time!?"
Their points of surprise were different, but their shock was equal.
"Well, as long as the quality is good, I'm relieved," Jin said, returning to his work. On the other side, Elsa and Reiko had finished preparing all one hundred steel blocks.
"Forming. Forming. Forming."
One sword after another was completed. In about fifteen minutes, all one hundred blades were finished.
"S-so fast..." the princess and Gloria whispered, eyes wide.
"Next is the hardening and heat treatments."
Jin began explaining to Elsa once more. "I explained this at Duston-san’s place, remember? Keep that in mind while you watch."
Jin picked up a bundle of about ten swords.
"Heat Treat. Shaping. Finish. Hardening."
The onlookers were speechless as Jin processed ten swords at once. The entire sequence took about thirty seconds; in just over five minutes, all one hundred swords were complete.
"All that's left are the scabbards, the guards, and the handles. Elsa can do these too."
"Guards?" Elsa asked, making a puzzled face at the unfamiliar term.
"Ah, in the case of a sword, it's called a guard, right?" Jin asked.
Gloria provided the answer. "That is correct. In our country, when the handle and the hand-guard are integrated, we call it a 'hilt.' Since the swords you are making have the handle and the guard prepared separately, calling it a 'guard' is appropriate."
"I see. Elsa, is that okay?"
"Nn. I understand now."
Jin prepared the leather for the scabbards, the brass for the guards, and the hardwood for the handles. He asked Elsa to handle the brass guards. He crafted one sample to show her the desired shape.
"I’ll do the final adjustments later."
"Nn. I'll try."
Elsa used Separation to take the necessary amount for a guard from a block of brass. Seeing this, Jin was impressed by how much she had improved in such a short time. Watching her shape them with Forming, he felt confident enough to leave her to it and began working on the scabbards and handles himself.
He had Reiko prepare the materials while he handled the processing. Scabbards and handles were produced in rapid succession.
"Wow, that's so cool!" Hanna watched with delight. This part was also finished in about ten minutes. Elsa was only at about twenty guards.
"I'm sorry for being slow," she apologized. In truth, Elsa was exceptionally fast—it was simply that Jin was an anomaly. It was the tragedy of having a family member who was too talented.
Jin attached the completed guards to the swords, fitted the handles, and made fine adjustments. Once he slid each into a scabbard, a single sword was fully complete. For good measure, Jin used Surf Treatment to slightly vary the colors of the scabbards. For every ten swords, he created a gradient of brown, ranging from a light tan near white to a deep chocolate near black.
"Hmm, those are quite beautiful," Gloria remarked with admiration. Princess Lieschen was looking at them alongside Hanna, clearly not bored at all.
Once he had used up all the guards Elsa had prepared, Jin helped her finish the rest. And so, the one hundred longswords were completed around 2:30 PM.
"And that concludes the set."
Uttering a somewhat archaic phrase, Jin stood up and stretched.
"Man, I really got to see something incredible," Gloria, the sword enthusiast, said with great satisfaction.
"Good. Then we just need to hand these over to the chancellor. You there, go and summon the chancellor. Tell him that Jin has finished what was requested."
Princess Lieschen ordered a messenger soldier who happened to be passing by the workshop to fetch the chancellor. Jin privately worried if it was really that easy to just summon a chancellor, but his concern proved unnecessary.
The chancellor literally came flying in.
"J-j-j-j-j-Jin-dono! You say they are finished!?"
He could be seen running down the hallway at a speed that left his accompanying guards dazed.
"Ho ho, so even Powell can make a face like that." Princess Lieschen's cheeks softened into a smile at the sight of the usually solemn chancellor in such a panic.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
The chancellor, who appeared to have run at full speed all the way to the workshop, had sweat on his brow and was gasping for air.
"You needn't have rushed so much," the princess said, half-exasperated.
"Ha-ha... is it true? Are the twenty golems and one hundred swords truly finished!?" he asked, pressing Jin with an intensity that suggested he might snap at him.
"Yes, please have a look."
Jin pointed into the workshop. There stood twenty golems emitting a dull, silver-gray luster, each cradling five swords in its arms.
"I-it really is true..."
"Yes, Gloria and I have been watching. Without a doubt, Jin has produced all these golems and swords for us." For some reason, the princess sounded proud.
Just as Jin was about to relax, thinking his task was finally over...
"As if a sword made by some magi craftman could be of any use in a real battle!"
A voice rang out, heavy with the scent of impending trouble.