Chapter 182: Learning a bit of the Art of Blacksmithing

Blacksmiths are completely different from Alchemists.

The difference honestly is very simple when looking at it from the surface, but the more Ezra observed Rogers’ work, the more he realized how deep that difference actually was.

Blacksmiths couldn’t use Cognis since they were just ordinary humans.

No use of glowing Alchemy circles, no instant creation and no actual terrifying physical strength.

Yet despite that...

They still held an important place within the development of Britannia because of the amount of metal products they mass produced every single day.

The ordinary weapons used by common soldiers and guards throughout Britannia were all created by Blacksmiths.

Because unlike Alchemists...

Ordinary people can use Alchemy based weapons and as already explained before in Chapter 51.

Most normal weapons can’t even handle Cognis properly.

The moment an Alchemist forcefully pushed Cognis into an ordinary poorly-made weapon...

The weapon would either crack apart instantly or simply explode into dust.

So, too many Alchemists...

Blacksmiths like every other type of craftsman occupation, they were viewed almost like a lower version of themselves.

After all...

They all also created.

But unlike Alchemists who could instantly shape materials or create elements in milliseconds through Alchemy...

Blacksmiths needed physical labor.

Heat, time, patience, repeated hammering, careful shaping.

A single sword could take hours or even days to properly complete. Of course, with the high-tech steam industries in the kingdom, those long hours shortened a lot.

But there was one thing most Alchemists failed to realize, especially Steel Alchemists and Gun Alchemists.

The deeper someone understood the raw process behind weapon creation...

The greater their proficiency will be in creating higher-grade weapons through Alchemy.

Not only proficiency...

Even the speed of weapon creation could increase massively.

***

The moment Ezra realized the person Vera sent him to meet was actually a Blacksmith...

He instantly understood the value behind this trip.

Because long before coming here...

Ezra had already thought about learning Blacksmithing, especially for the sake of recreating the firearms from his previous world.

After reviewing several weapon designs inside the Book of Memories...

Ezra realized his current rank was still too low to fully create many of the stronger modern weapons properly through Alchemy alone. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

So instead of waiting years until his Alchemy level finally reached the necessary standard...

He decided on another route.

Create them normally first so as to increase his combat power of the present.

And with the newest discovery Blacksmiths recently made...

That idea became even more possible.

The discovery was simple in explanation, but important and hard in application.

By carving special circuit pathways into ordinary weapons...Thin passages almost invisible to the naked eye...

Cognis could actually flow through the weapon itself and reinforce it temporarily.

Meaning...

Even ordinary forged weapons could now withstand limited Cognis usage.

But the process wasn’t easy.

There were levels to circuit creation and one tiny mistake...

And the entire weapon could become unstable.

Ezra quietly watched Rogers with complete focus while the old man removed one of the sniper parts from the furnace using heavy tongs.

The metal piece glowed deep red from the heat.

Rogers didn’t immediately start repairing it.

Instead...

He carefully waited until the part reached a precise stage near its melting point.

Only then did he place it inside a heat-resistant glass box resting on the worktable nearby.

The box itself had a strange setup connected to it.

A microscope-like device extended over the top while steam pipes around the sides maintained stable temperature inside the chamber.

Even after leaving the furnace...

The sniper component still remained glowing red.

Rogers slowly placed his hand inside the hand-glove hole on the box and started adjusting the cracked section using delicate slim metal tools, like a needle, while carefully reshaping the damaged structure back toward its original form.

Every movement looked steady and controlled.

His breathing also remained calm despite the sweat running down his face from the furnace heat.

Then...

Rogers picked up an extremely thin needle.

So thin that Ezra genuinely failed noticing it at first until the old man slightly moved it beneath the workshop light.

Ezra unconsciously narrowed his eyes.

He watched Rogers slowly begin tracing an incredibly precise line across the sniper component.

A circuit line.

"This Blacksmithing method..."

Ezra quietly muttered under his breath.

"...is completely different from the one I originally knew."

Inside his mind...

The Book of Memories had already opened several pages automatically.

***

[Blacksmithing]

A metalworking discipline centered around shaping heated metal through force, temperature control, and repeated refinement.

Principle Process

1 — Heating

Metal is placed inside a forge and exposed to extreme heat until it becomes soft enough to shape without cracking.

2 — Forging

The heated metal is struck repeatedly with hammers to alter its form, compress impurities, and strengthen its internal structure.

3 — Shaping

During forging, the blacksmith gradually forms the desired object—blade, tool, armor, or mechanism—through controlled impact and repositioning.

4 — Quenching

The heated metal is rapidly cooled in water or oil.

This hardens the material by locking its internal structure into a stronger state.

5 — Tempering

The metal is reheated at lower temperatures to reduce brittleness caused by quenching.

These balances:

hardness flexibility durability

Core Concepts

Blacksmithing relies on controlling:

heat

• pressure

• structural stress

• carbon distribution within steel

Proper balance determines whether the final product becomes durable or fragile.

Practical Purpose

Used for the creation of:

weapons armor tools machinery components

Advanced blacksmithing also improves:

edge retention impact resistance structural integrity

Analytical Summary

Blacksmithing is not simply the act of shaping metal through force.

It is the controlled manipulation of a material’s internal structure through heat, compression, and cooling cycles to achieve specific mechanical properties.

***

Although, there were definitely similarities between the beginning process and some of the major steps from the Blacksmithing Ezra knew from his previous world and the one Rogers was using now.

The biggest difference honestly came from the maintenance process and the handling of Cognis circuits.

Still...

What surprised Ezra the most was the fact that Blacksmiths here were also the ones handling firearms themselves.

Ezra quietly laughed under his breath while watching Rogers continue his work.

Back in his previous world...

There were Weapons Engineers, Firearm specialists, Mechanical engineers, Metallurgists and Industrial designers.

Every field involving inventions and machinery had been separated into different professions and branches of study.

That separation existed because the knowledge inside even a single line of work was already enough for someone to spend their entire life studying.

One person could dedicate decades only to metallurgy.

Another only to weapon mechanics, another only to pressure systems.

The civilization itself became more focused because knowledge kept branching further and further apart.

But here...

Things were different.

Blacksmiths forged weapons.

Handled maintenance, understood circuitry, studied pressure flow and somehow...

Still managed handling normal forging work too.

"Maybe we people in this world genuinely have bigger brain capacity."

Ezra muttered quietly beneath his breath.

His eyes remained fixed on Rogers’ movements.

The old man breathed steadily while sweat rolled down the side of his face from the intense heat coming out from the furnace.

Despite that...

His hands never shook.

Every movement remained controlled and precise as he carefully carved the circuit line across the sniper component.

The workshop itself had become almost completely silent now.

Only the sounds of the steam furnace, burning flames, and tiny scraping noises from Rogers’ tools could be heard.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.

The process looked simple from the outside, but in reality...

It was extremely difficult.

If the circuit width becomes even a little too large than what is needed...

The entire sniper rifle could explode the moment Cognis flowed through it.

Not only that.

The circuit lengths also needed perfect calculation.

Each pathway had to align correctly with the other circuit lines carved into the remaining sniper components.

Everything connected together like blood vessels inside a living body.

One wrong connection and the entire structure would fail.

During that time, to refresh his understanding further...

Ezra quietly flipped through several pages inside the Book of Memories again.

This time...

He opened the section labeled:

***

[Weapons Engineering]

The process of creating a firearm from raw materials through mechanical design, pressure calculation, and structural assembly.

A weapon engineer does not simply "build a gun."

They construct a controlled explosion chamber capable of surviving repeated internal detonations without catastrophic failure.

Principle Process

1 — Conceptual Design

The engineer first determines the weapon’s intended role:

precision rifle sidearm automatic weapon anti-material platform

From this purpose, core specifications are decided:

caliber

• firing mechanism

• recoil system

• ammunition capacity

• operating pressure

Every later component depends on these decisions.

2 — Ballistic Calculation

Before metal is shaped, pressure and force must be calculated.

The engineer determines:

projectile mass muzzle velocity chamber pressure recoil force

Equations involving momentum, gas expansion, and material stress are used to estimate whether the weapon can survive firing conditions.

A poorly calculated design may:

crack the chamber rupture the barrel destroy the bolt assembly

3 — Material Selection

Different components require different materials.

Examples include:

hardened steel → barrels and bolts

• alloy metals → receiver structures

• polymers or wood → external frame components

Materials are chosen based on:

heat resistance tensile strength fatigue tolerance weight efficiency

4 — Component Forging & Machining

Raw metal is cut, forged, drilled, or milled into individual parts.

Critical components include:

barrel receiver bolt trigger assembly recoil system

Precision is essential. Even microscopic misalignment can affect:

pressure containment feeding reliability firing accuracy

5 — Barrel Construction

The barrel is one of the most important components.

The bore must be drilled with extreme precision. Rifled grooves may be carved inside to spin the projectile and stabilize flight.

Barrel thickness is calculated according to expected chamber pressure.

6 — Mechanical Assembly

Once parts are completed, the firearm is assembled into a functional system.

This includes synchronization between:

feeding mechanism

• firing system

• extraction cycle

• recoil operation

• locking mechanism

Every moving part must operate within exact timing tolerances.

7 — Stress Testing

The completed firearm undergoes repeated firing tests.

Engineers observe for:

overheating structural fatigue feeding failures pressure deformation recoil instability

Weak components are redesigned or reinforced.

Core Principle

A firearm functions by converting rapidly expanding gas into directional force.

The weapon itself exists to:

contain pressure redirect energy survive repeated explosions

The entire engineering process revolves around controlling that violence.

Analytical Summary

Weapons engineering is the discipline of transforming chemistry, pressure, and mechanics into a repeatable combat tool. Every firearm is ultimately a balance between force and structural endurance—the stronger the output, the more precise the engineering must become to prevent the weapon from destroying itself.

***

Ezra quietly read through everything displayed inside the Book of Memories.

Back during the Trial of Steel...

When he first started learning the knowledge necessary for survival from the memories of his past life...

He honestly never saw much need for this section.

That was mainly because the rushing memories entering his mind already carried a natural understanding of firearms.

How they worked, how bullets fired, how pressure traveled and how different gun systems operated.

Those instincts had already begun sticking deeply into his thoughts during the earlier stages of the trial.

So instead of focusing too deeply on engineering theories...

Ezra mainly concentrated on something else.

Alchemy-circle conversion.

That was the truly important part to him.

Learning how to convert complete gun structures, formulas, mechanisms, and firing systems into functioning Alchemy circles.

That alone already consumed most of his attention and mental energy.

And even now...

Ezra clearly understood his current level in Alchemy-circle conversion still remained only around the intermediate stage.

Which was exactly why several stronger firearms from his previous world remained impossible for him to create properly.

Especially modern weapons involving more advanced engineering principles and highly complex internal systems.

Many of those ideas had already been temporarily pushed aside inside his mind.

Not abandoned, but simply postponed.

Going to the Royal Academy will definitely become the biggest factor in helping me improve my understanding.

Ezra silently thought while staring at the floating pages within the Book of Memories.

But...

I also need to rebuild my understanding of firearms from the ground up.

Not just memorizing their structure.

Actually, understanding the principles behind gun creation, itself.

That thought quietly settled inside his mind afterward.

As the days slowly passed...

Ezra continued staying in the workshop, now assisting Rogers inside the workshop almost every day.

Morning, afternoon and sometimes even late into the night.

The old blacksmith gradually taught him several important principles regarding Blacksmithing.

Metal treatment, Heat balancing, Circuit carving, Structural alignment and Pressure resistance.

At first...

Ezra only understood the ideas theoretically through the Book of Memories.

But after repeatedly rereading the information while directly observing Rogers’ work in front of him...

The knowledge slowly began becoming clearer and more practical inside his head and because Ezra already possessed frightening learning speed normally...

He picked things up absurdly quickly.

Even Rogers occasionally paused midway through explanations just to stare at him strangely.

"You understood already?"

The old man once asked while narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"Yes."

Ezra calmly replied after perfectly repeating the exact process Rogers had demonstrated only once.

The old blacksmith honestly looked slightly disturbed afterward.

Not because Ezra made mistakes, but because he barely made any.

Rogers’ disciple also learned together alongside Ezra.

The two boys gradually worked with one another while assisting Rogers during the maintenance process of the Barrett M107.

Steam continuously filled the workshop during those days.

The sounds of hammering metal, grinding components, furnace flames, and Rogers shouting insults at his disciple became part of everyday life.

At one point...

The disciple accidentally overheated one of the sniper components slightly.

Rogers immediately smacked the back of his head with a rolled blueprint.

"You idiot!"

The old man barked loudly.

"Do you want to ruin a beautiful gun piece like that?!"

The disciple held his head painfully afterward while apologizing repeatedly.

Ezra silently watched the scene from nearby before lowering his eyes toward the sniper component.

The alignment really did shift slightly, even the internal pressure pathway changed.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully afterward.

During that same period...

Ezra also handed Lucy a paper manual containing a dance-based martial art.

The information originally came from a comic his past self once read long ago.

And naturally...

The Book of Memories had preserved it completely.

At first...

Lucy looked confused while holding the papers.

"A dance martial art?"

She blinked several times while reading through the strange movement diagrams.

"Yes." Ezra calmly nodded. "It matches your fighting style more."

Lucy originally thought Ezra was joking and just wanted to tease her but after practicing several movements...

Her expression slowly changed.

The martial art relied heavily on flexibility, flowing movement, balance, footwork, and weapon transitions.

Almost like dancing across a battlefield.

The style suited Lucy frighteningly well.

Especially because she naturally fought using speed, daggers, and fluid body movement already.

So, during the following days...

While Ezra studied Blacksmithing and used his Book of memories to study other fields relating to gun production beside Rogers...

Lucy quietly trained outside within the snow-covered clearing behind the workshop.

Cold wind blew through the forest while she practiced the flowing movements repeatedly.

Step, turn, shift and twist.

Her daggers moved through the air smoothly while snowflakes danced around her body.

Sometimes Ezra would quietly watch her training through the workshop window before returning his attention back toward the Barrett sniper resting beneath Rogers’ tools.

And little by little... as the days passed...

Ezra slowly began understanding something important.

Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Weapons Engineering.

At first glance...

All three looked completely separate, but the deeper he studied them...The more each complemented one thing...Gun Alchemy.