Frostbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]-Chapter 173 - The Molten Smith

"Are you sure about this?" I asked skeptically as my eyes roved the building in front of me. The heat rolled off the building and distorted the air if I looked close enough.

It reminded me of when it was me standing where Vincent was getting asked the same question. When I was the center of everyone's worried glances and expressions of pity.

"Were you?" He asked in response, which was as good a response as any.

I knew the pain that he was in for.

Looking at what was built to contain the fires needed for the process, I had to say it didn't look like a fun time. At least it was built solidly and didn't have glowing lines strewn all over it like mine did.

After the castle was finished, Vincent had asked for a few of the construction workers' help in building this monstrosity. I had agreed to his request, as it was only a small portion of our workforce that he needed, and it would help both him and Rachel.

After hearing some of the newcomers' stories, advancement was a hard thing to postpone without good reason. Especially with the knowledge of certain new threats our world would face.

Similar to the Wind chamber I had built so long ago, Vincent had done the same, but with fire.

He and Rachel had gotten together to examine all the secrets of their technique book and come up with this to facilitate the process. Maybe it was envy or jealousy, but their technique was better than mine.

It didn't have better benefits or anything, as all Body Refinement grades were about equal, but it had way more options. When I bought mine, I knew exactly what I wanted and only bought the one specific technique I needed.

To keep the cost low.

But they bought theirs at the end from the Reward store which had a lot more options. The one they ended up getting was a branching technique book that had multiple different ones to choose from depending on the exact effect you wanted.

While all were Fire-based as it was their affinity, the book contained different variations of techniques. Fire mixed with Stone for a magma or lava effect. One had Fire and molten metal. One even had Fire and water to make steam. Or superheated steam as the book claimed.

Other than Fire and a bunch of secondary elements, it also had specific variations of fire. One focused on the ignition part of fire while another intensity and another the combustion part.

Anything a Fire Affinity could want in a Body of Wood was available and it only aggravated me a tiny bit. The book was penned by a rather famous faction known for their advancements in fire, if what was written were to be believed.

It could be self-boasting for all I knew, but The Order of the Phoenix Flame sounded impressive out of context. Their name was prominently displayed as the author on the book's cover.

Where mine only came with the one Wind and Ice mixture, they had a few to choose from depending on what they wanted. It was the main reason Vincent and Rachel could use the same technique book even though they were going to be using different sub-elements.

I wouldn't go back and choose any differently, as I quite liked my results, but it was still disheartening. The knowledge Rachel spent a large portion of her Reward points on it placated my feeling of envy.

Still, the fact our faction had more resources for fire affinity members than ice affinity members didn't feel right when we were this far North.

Vincent, as a Blacksmith more than a fighter, was going for a Fire and Molten Metal combination to aid him in his craft. The bloodline he had chosen was also in line with that endeavor.

That wasn't to say they couldn't be used for combat, just they were mainly geared toward making him a better blacksmith.

Vincent's bloodline followed my own in a way. He took me choosing what I had as a nudge to follow suit, even if it was slightly frowned upon. Fire Titans and Frost Giants were similar in their dislike of people using their bloodline.

It was a lesser tier, a step below my own, but it was in the same family. His would be equivalent to if I had chosen Frost-Touched instead of Frostborn which meant his road to Fire Titan would be a long one.

Fire Titans and Dwarves were known as some of the best Smiths in the multiverse and he didn't want to give that up, even if it came with a bit of conflict later. Nor did I blame him, they sounded powerful.

He had worked extensively to prepare the room his technique needed and we now stood overseeing his finished work. A thick stone building with roaring fires contained inside.

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If the stone wasn't treated to specifically resist heat, they would be glowing from the raging fire and turning liquid as we looked on from what they contained.

The building was different than the Wind chamber in that it didn't require the extensive formations carved throughout the building. It didn't need Runes to create harsh Winds or sustain them for multiple days.

His fire needed fuel and a Runic structure was needed to facilitate that, but it didn't require the days of studying to make that mine did.

When Vinny asked me to do my part, it took me less than a few hours to complete what was needed.

The main reason an elaborate Formation wasn't needed was because of his Spirit Fire. It sat in the center of the room and was the source of the fire. Without it, sustaining a flame of the intensity required would take a Formation of some kind.

But since he had one, of the Fire affinity as well, all he needed to do was keep it fed and regulated for an extended period which was a lot easier to do.

Spirit Fires were ranked in grades, much like everything else, but even the lowest ones we had were enough for Body of Wood tempers. The grade of the Spirit Fire determined the maximum intensity it could burn and it would eventually not be hot enough, but it would get the job done for the first Refinement.

Other than the Runes regulating and keeping the Spirit Fire fed, there wasn't much to construct. The basin to hold the Molten metal wasn't too difficult and neither was the building surrounding the entire thing.

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Making sure everything was fire resistant enough for the intense flames was the hardest part and was something I couldn't help with. Ice and Fire did not mix Runically.

Trying to contain the fire by surrounding it with Ice runes was a terrible idea as we found out when it was initially proposed. Making something fireproof was much different than surrounding it with the opposing element.

The two mana types fought each other on contact and would degrade the runic structure quickly enough for it to be visible to the naked eye before ending in one of two ways.

The fire overwhelming the ice and the entire thing going up in flames, or the ice overwhelming the fire and the entire thing imploding in frost receiving a flash freeze.

There was a chance for it to end in both canceling each other out, but for that to happen the two energies needed to be present in equal amounts and purities, which was unlikely without strict tolerances.

Instead of trying to surround it with Ice, the stone making up the room was coated in a ceramic-like material that had been created for that specific purpose. Connor and another alchemist worked with a few Builders to make it fireproof enough for the high temperatures it would face. Connor mentioned something about its melting temperature being off the charts.

The basin holding the Molten metal was coated in the same substance.

Describing what was about to happen in simple terms, Vincent was going to walk into a room filled with a burning flame and take a bath in liquid metal. His body would be exposed to both the open Spirit Flame, and burn from the superheated metal.

It did not sound like a pleasant experience, but then again, neither was what I went through.

I would rather freeze than burn, personally, but I figured that was due to my affinity.

Vincent was visibly nervous as we all looked on at the raging fires inside the building and his wife was barely holding it together as her eyes tracked the dancing tongues of orange.

Lucy was on the verge of tears looking at what was about to happen and I was surprised she was here to watch. I would not want to watch what was about to happen to my significant other, if I had one.

Most watched on silently, but Vincent had Healers checking him over and getting his baseline metrics. Fussing over him like mother hens as Sam made triple sure that all the Healers used their assortment of skills.

While the chance of death was low, as we were taking all the precautions we could, she did not want to lose another son.

We kept the audience small, as this wasn't a process to be broadcasted, but there were still a sizable amount of people to stand witness. At least for the initial plunge, as most weren't going to stay for the entire time it took to complete, me included.

My own refinement took over two days and I didn't have the time to spend watching over it. My presence wouldn't add anything to the process anyway.

The Healers, on the other hand, would be on standby 24/7 until the Refinement completed. Then, after a rest and evaluation, Rachel would go through with it.

The Healers completed their work swiftly and gave a nod signaling their go-ahead.

"Well, here goes nothing," He said trying to lighten the mood. He then stripped down to his skivvies and marched forward stone-faced, the thin material would burn away once inside but would keep him from being naked in front of a crowd.

It was hard not to notice the rippling muscles his form now contained. Months of Blacksmith work had filled out his form nicely and he had more than me in that regard.

The relationship between muscle size and strength stat was still being explored but the two did not directly correlate as most expected. If that were the case, I would be a walking hunk of muscle but I wasn't.

I didn't even have the greatest physique of those we knew.

Sure, I was tall and bulky, but I wasn't lined with abs or exposed muscles like a bodybuilder. We still weren't sure about the why but we would find out in time.

His back muscles stood out as we walked toward the raging fires and the width of his shoulders made me impressed. If I didn't know for sure I would beat him in an arm wrestling match, they might've made me feel inferior.

His high heat resistance worked to keep any damage at bay long enough for him to enter the building and vanish from sight. If anyone lesser tried to approach, the burns would start way before they stepped foot inside the structure.

It wasn't long until grunts of pain were audible. He didn't have the sound of howling Winds to drown them out and his cries were able to be heard.

Lucy's face morphed through various emotions at her husband's audible pain but she held firm and stared on. Sam did the same, but others cringed at what they heard.

We knew the process was painful, as this wasn't the first time someone had gone through with it, but it was the first to be so audible. I had Winds to drown in out and Mitchell was unconscious for the process.

I stayed for the first hour but had enough after that. The sounds did not fill me with happy feelings and all I could do was pray his process was fast and smooth.

I had given his chosen technique a read before and it was hard not to picture what was happening as I listened.

The Molten Smith's Body was quite detailed in what would happen.