Wen was overwhelmed by the sudden offer from Salvator, but with a suggestion from Valerian, he agreed and took away all the ores and metal blocks back to the backyard of their house.

The process was quick. Salvator was kind enough to lend them his cart. Valerian and Wen took three trips to move all the ores. After they were done, Wen asked, "What now?"

Valerian replied, "Segregate these blocks."

Wen was surprised and asked, "How do you do that?"

Valerian beckoned him to come closer and pick up the ore, and he then told Wen about the characteristics to identify the ore. Wen nodded and carefully heard everything. He has always wanted to learn to forge. The knowledge that Valerian passed onto him was not available to him anywhere else.

They quickly segregated the metals into four categories. Three piles were of common iron, copper, and silver. Valerian did not know how all these things could be found in the same person. The fourth pile was of metal blocks. Valerian said, "Wen, you need to practice hammering, so you should focus on extracting metal from these ores."

Wen was confused, and Valerian patiently guided him about tearing the stone and extracting the metal fillings. Wen nodded in understanding and immediately picked up a small hammer as he got to work.

In the meantime, Valerian looked for the soft metal blocks that could help him forge a good sword. He identified a few metals but did not know the name, so he could only forge a few things from his experience.

The two people forgot about hunger and fatigue completely. Valerian used his skills to smelt the two metals together and created a layered alloy. Wen was surprised to see the young man hammering so much.

Valerian did not have any battle aura inside his body, and neither did he have any mana, but the tear of Vita purified his body, and it had greatly improved. He was also surprised when he began hammering the allowed block, but as he proceeded, he realized he still had a chance to return home without his gifts.

The young man swung his hammer, and a symphony echoed in the shack. Valerian focused on his task and did not notice Wen standing behind him. The clangs from the hammer were visibly shaking the void.

Zen also appeared after a bit, but she was not attracted or immersed in the beauty of the things in front of her, but could not get herself from disturbing Valerian as he hammered the block.

After an hour, Valerian grabbed the red-hot piece of metal and dipped it in the water. The sizzling sound followed by the smoke cooled the metal, and Valerain wiped the sweat on his forehead.

When he took the metal piece out of the water, a smile appeared on his face. Wen woke up from his stupor, and Zen was dazed. She did not expect a smile to be so mesmerizing. Valerian noticed her reaction and was surprised. He knew what this girl was thinking but could not let things go over like this.

Wen asked, "Is this done? This is the final product?"

Valerian shook his head and said, "This is just the rough shape. We need to grind the blade and craft the hilt and cross guard. It will still take some time, but I am hungry."

Wen nodded and carefully spectated the blade. Zen woke up from her stupor. She said, "Alright, you two, in the house now. I have been waiting for an hour here."

Wen returned the blade embryo to Valerian, who followed him after extinguishing the furnace. The three people had a filling meal and did not have much conversation. Zen noticed that Valerian did not talk to her much and asked, "Ho, why does it feel like Valerian has nothing to say?"

The young man smiled faintly and replied, "No, I was just missing home."

Zen asked in surprise, "Oh, yes, I wanted to ask, but it skipped my mind, tell us something about yourself."

Wen also paused his hands, and Valerian nodded as he said, "My name is Valerian Divinus Magnus. My father died a few days before I was born, and my mother passed away later. I grew up in an orphanage under the care of the kindest soul in this universe..."

The more Valerian spoke, the more he shocked the two siblings. Zen raised her hand and said amusedly, "I did not know you had a knack for storytelling Valerian. Look, the sun is about to set."

The young man with silver hair shook his head in denial. He replied, "Do you think that there is not another world? You said it yourself that this place was built to contain the mistakes made by the High Gods. Then if what you say is true, there must be some way for me to return to the world I came from. My people are waiting for me."

Zen was shocked, and so was Wen. The former did not want to believe it. However, Valerian was cruel. He did not wish her to dwell on that feeling for too long. to help her shift the focus of her emotions. He said, "Sister Zen, my mother, used to look very similar to you."

This surprised Wen, and he observed the two with greater scrutiny and opened his mouth wide. He said, "Sister, he is telling the truth. His face looks similar to you in some aspects."

Zen was shocked. She did not expect to become a mother all of a sudden. However, Valerian told her she was still young and would look even more beautiful to ease her transition.

...

The next few days passed silently. Zen did not speak much to Valerian, and the young man spent the rest of his time in the shack. At night, he would sit out in the backyard in meditation. His actions bothered Zen, but she could not get herself to talk him out of it. She thought that her emotions led Valerian to grow distant from her.

After a week, Wen met Salvator and thanked him when he found a merchant traveling through the village. He rushed home to ask Valerian if he wished to sell a few weapons. The young man nodded and took out three swords with him.

The merchants would always make a short stop in the village. They would wait if someone wanted to buy or sell them stuff. Many village folks would come out to buy stuff, and the square was brimming with activity. At this time, Valerian and Wen walked over. Valerian had told Wen not to sell more than five pieces of swords in one go for the next six months.

The reason was simple if the quality was as superb as it was considered at the Vita, then these swords could easily invite trouble. Valerian looked at the crowd and found a few muscular men standing around a pointy-nosed person dressed in luxury clothes.

Valerian walked over calmly and was about to reach the merchant when the guards blocked the path. Wen was flustered, but Valerian replied, "Brothers, I am here to sell something. May I see Lord Merchant?"

The mouth was open, and the knife was out. The sweet talk was always worth it. The guard snorted and wanted to say something when a calm-paced voice sounded, "Let them in, Acila, do not be rude."

The guard moved to the side, and Valerian walked through after a small nod. He came to the pointy-nosed merchant and bowed humbly as he said, "Thank you for your grace, Sire."

The merchant smiled benevolently and asked, "What do you wish to sell?"

Valerian raised his head and said, "Sire, me and my brother here (Pointing at Wen) managed to make a few good swords. I wonder if they are up to your liking?"

The merchant almost rolled his eyes, he knew what sort of swords they made, but even mosquito meat was meat. He said, "You can sell them to me, same price, ten coppers for a sword."

Wen wanted to say something, but Valerian was surprised. He asked, "Lord, would you like to inspect the goods before you give a price?"

The man sighed and said, "No need, we have bought a few times before and know what it is worth."

Valerian sighed and shook his head, saying, "Our master told us that we might be able to impress you."

The word that made the merchant raise his ears was Master. He asked, "Did you mention a master?"

Valerian nodded and said, "My master is called Fallax. He is a traveling monk and knows a great deal about forging. I bet you, Sire. You will not regret buying this from us."

The merchant was hooked and thought, ’It won’t harm looking at the product."

He nodded and Valerian took one sword from Wen and carefully removed the sheath. The guards were also watching curiously, and one could not help but exclaim, "A high-level weapon!!"

The merchant opened his eyes wide, and Valerian smiled. They were going to be rich.