“Component imbuement?” Ray asked.

  “Yeah, basically when a component experiences somethin’, it can take on some properties of that thing, makin’ it stronger,” Freia answered.

  “So, like, what happened with my bow?”

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Yes, what happened to your bow resulted from an accidental imbuement, but you'll need to do one on purpose for the item you'll need to make.”

  “So, how can I make that happen?”

  “Well, first you'll have to pick what you want to make, then we will have to find somethin’ to imbue it with that aligns with that goal.”

  Ray tapped his chin in thought momentarily before looking at Erith’s sword. “How about a new longsword with a fire affinity or ability?”

  Erith perked up at the mention of the sword breaking from her spell practice. “Are you sure? The one I have now works just fine.”

  “Yeah, if we are both going to have regarding happen, I think an upgrade for you would be good.”

  “But your weapons will get downgraded too, and mine still suits me.”

  “Are you sure? Because, even if mine degrades, I still have Horde Breaker and an artifact crossbow. The only weapon I have enhanced or made for you is that sword.”

  “Are you going to let it go if I say no?”

  “No.”

  Erith smiled and let out a small chuckle. “Fine, go ahead then, but next time I want a necklace,” she said with a wink.

  “I was already planning on that,” Ray said, returning a wink of his own.

  Erith turned away as her cheeks turned bright red.

  “So… shall we get started?” Freia asked, looking between the two.

  “Yeah, so what should we do for a fire imbuement?”

  “Erith should be able to help us with that, but we will need to forge the blade first, as the metal having a fire affinity, which would make it far too resistant to heat.”

  Ray nodded. “Do you need the forge for anything, or am I good to get started on it?”

  “Go ahead. I finished up my last order last night, so it’s all yours. While you do that, I’ll work on the blueprints for the imbuement process.”

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  “Sounds good.” Ray walked to the back room and picked out a nice steel bar.

  He placed it into the forge. While waiting for it to heat up, he put on a leather apron and gloves. When it was glowing, he pulled it out and began shaping the bar into the correct shape for a sword. Several hours passed as he refined its shape, and when he was finally happy with it, he sharpened it, then heat-treated it and brought it out to the front room.

  ‘Nice work,” Freia said, looking up from a large piece of parchment she had been writing on.

  “Thanks,” Ray said, setting the weapon on the table.

  “Wow,” Erith said, looking over the finely crafted weapon.

  “Just wait until it’s finished,” Ray said, puffing out his chest.

  A voice screamed in the back of his head to make it the best weapon any of them had ever seen, and this time, he did not repress it. He wanted this weapon to be amazing, and he wanted the woman he loved to be able to use it for a long time to come. Nothing less than perfection would suffice.

  “Ok, let's get started. Erith, you're the best with fire magic, so we are going to need ya for this part,” Freia said, placing the sword in the center of a runic circle drawn onto the parchment.

  “Can I make one change?” Ray asked.

  Freia eyed him for a moment. “What do ya want to add?”

  “Fire is a form of consumption right, so I think adding a bit of gluttony mana wouldn’t hurt it.”

  Freia’s eyes widened, and a frown formed on her face. “Where did you hear about that type of mana?”

  “I uhh… What's wrong with that mana?”

  “What's wrong with it? Ray, that's a type of origin mana somethin’ you should never touch if you can help it.”

  “Origin mana?”

  “Mana that defies the gods. Anyone who uses it is doomed to find themself in an early grave.”

  “I’ve never heard of that before,” Erith said.

  “It's not well known as not a lot of people manage to gain access to origin mana, and it never ends up well when they do.”

  “And what should I do if I have already used origin mana?”

  “Have you?”

  “...Yes,” Ray said hesitantly

  Freia face-palmed and let out a long sigh. “At least tell me you didn’t get an affinity for it.”

  “I didn’t.”

  “Oh good–”

  “I got a mastery of it.”

  Freia’s jaw fell open and hung there for a good 20 seconds. “I– that’s not good, Ray.”

  “You still haven’t explained why you have just said that I might die.”

  “ I-I can tell you this, anyone who ends up gettin’ an affinity for a type of origin mana ends up being consumed by the sin it represents, and at that point it's too late for them. Tell me, have you noticed anything compelling you to do something you wouldn’t normally?”

  “Yes, but I have been able to repress it.”

  “That’s good, but you must avoid using that mana unless you want it to worsen.”

  Erith looked over with wide eyes. “Haven’t you been using that mana for several weeks now?”

  Freia's eyes flashed with panic.

  “Yeah, but I haven't noticed any difference in the compulsion. I'm still able to ignore it just fine.”

  “Ray, promise me you won’t use that mana anymore, no matter what!”

  Erith nodded in agreement.

  “I–” He let out a long sigh. “Alright, alright, I promise.

  “Good, now let's get back to infusing this sword. Erith, please place your hands on these two circles and channel fire mana when I tell you to.”

  She nodded, placing her hands on the indicated spots and waiting for the signal.

  “Good, Ray, place your hands on those two circles and channel void mana when I tell you to.”

  Ray did as he was told, his eyes wide. “You added in void mana?”

  “Yes, like you said when talking about the origin mana. Fire goes well with the idea of consumption, so it should make an interesting combination.” Freia placed her hands on two other circles on the large sheet. “Everyone ready?”

  “Yes,” Erith and Ray responded in tandem.

  “Here we go.”

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