Danmachi: Hephaestus is my Wife

My routine is VERY messy.

From tomorrow I'll try to post at least 3 chapters a day of this fanfiction on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

And of course, get back to posting chapters every day here at 1pm (GMT-3)

####

*Eryk's POV*

The next day arrived. I grabbed my sword, still in its sheath, and brought it to the training room. I placed the sword on the table and examined it again. "It's truly beautiful."

I had cleaned the blood from the blade and wiped away the dust.

I never get tired of looking at it. It's almost like I'm in love with a sword.

I sheathed the sword again and opened my inventory. I pulled out some Mithril ores, then grabbed the paper and a pencil to design my armor. "How should I do this?"

I don't want armor that restricts my movements. Something like Ais's armor would work. But of course, with a more masculine design. Maybe I can use Bell's armor as a reference.

"In this world, Bell is a woman. She didn't wear armor like in the anime but something similar to Ais's. She had protection only for her chest, covering her vital points."

There were some metal plates on her arms, thighs, and legs, but the primary focus of the armor was to protect her chest.

"For obvious reasons. If someone hit the heart, it's instant death. Oh, right—I can't forget neck protection."

If I remember correctly, the design is like this...

I began sketching the armor. When I finished, the design looked good to me. It was a "suit" made of leather or some fabric with metal protection for the chest, shoulders, and neck.

The metal plates on the waist and thighs were strapped to the body. I also added knee guards because getting hit on the knee is never good.

"If I get hit in the knee by a single arrow, I won't be able to walk anymore."

Looking at the sketch, it seemed decent but extremely simple. "Will this work? I don't have any fabric here, so I'll just start with the metal parts."

Of course, I'll use Mithril.

I don't know if it makes a difference. In New World, armor made with Mithril offered excellent defense against magical attacks.

"Alright, shall we begin?"

I started heating the Mithril in the large forge. The flames, hotter than usual, made my skin sting.

"It's just a gamble. Wasting a bit of ore won't matter."

####

"Time to get started," I muttered, pulling out Mithril from the forge. The heat was intense, and it felt like my skin was burning. Still, I didn't care and kept working.

I placed the metal on the anvil and raised my hammer. "Alright, let's do this carefully and patiently." I began hammering, shaping the Mithril into a breastplate. The sharp clanging of metal echoed through the forge. After a few minutes, I lifted the piece. "Not sure if it's good… but it looks like a breastplate."

It even had protection for my neck.

I quenched the metal in water, listening to the familiar sizzle. Picking up the cooled breastplate, I examined it. "Solid and shiny. Mithril really is incredible. Its appearance alone can take anyone's breath away."

After finishing the breastplate, I expected a system message to appear. Still, nothing happened.

Maybe it'll show up only after I forge the entire armor.

"Let's keep going, then." I moved on to the arm guards.

I cut the metal into smaller pieces and started shaping them. "Let's do it this way… I think it'll work." I used metal pins to create joints. I need my arms to move freely. Testing the joints, I swung my arm in the air. "Perfect."

Next were the waist and thigh guards. I made thin mithril plates and layered them like scales. The design turned out very different from Ais's or Bell's armor, but it still looked stunning. "Light and sturdy. It's perfect."

Finally, I shaped the knee guards. While hammering the metal, I murmured, "These are crucial." When I finished, I looked at all the Mithril parts of the armor.

It wasn't ready to wear yet, but I could already picture how I'd look wearing it. I'll look even better than I already do. "Not to sound conceited, but it's the truth."

I gathered all the armor parts and placed them on the table.

It looked perfect but needed polishing to enhance its shine.

That's what I did.

Piece by piece, I polished the armor. Its shine increased by 200% when I finished.

"Is it already dark outside?" I glanced out the window, and it was night. I had spent hours forging this armor, yet no system message appeared. I thought it would show up after finishing all the parts, but it didn't.

Could the system only help with forging swords?

"No, that doesn't make sense. This is the LEGENDARY BLACKSMITH system. If I can't forge armor, this system is meaningless."

The message may only come when I put it on.

Let's test it.

####

I grabbed one of my shirts and attached the breastplate to it without much care. Then I put it on. It fits perfectly. The breastplate covered my entire chest and part of my neck.

I started moving around, testing it, and it didn't hinder me at all.

Next, I added the arm guards and tested them.

The sound of metal was annoying, but I could move without any issues. "I can bend my arms just fine. The joints are perfect." I smiled, satisfied, and put on the rest of the armor.

When I had all the pieces on, I finally received a system message.

But it wasn't the one I expected.

[ You forged a Failure ]

"A Failure? Because I did it wrong?" I felt profoundly disappointed and started removing the armor. I looked at the shiny breastplate and threw it to the ground. "Trash."

As the metal hit the floor, someone opened the door.

"Excuse me, is something wrong?" It was Mikari.

I hadn't seen her in a while. She cautiously entered the room and closed the door. "What's this? A breastplate? Did you make this?" Mikari picked the breastplate off the floor and walked over to me.

"It's a Failure," I said.

"This is a Failure? It looks perfect to me." Mikari knocked on the breastplate. Then, to my surprise—

Crack~~

The breastplate cracked.

"Wow, it really is a Failure. Haha!" Mikari laughed and handed the breastplate back to me. "But don't be discouraged. It's your first time forging armor, right?" She looked at the other armor parts on the floor.

"Yeah. It took forever, and in the end, it didn't work. I also wasted a lot of Mithril."

"You forged this with Mithril? Are you insane? It's your first armor, and you used Mithril for it!?" Mikari couldn't believe it. "You should've practiced with iron first, you idiot!"

"Alright, I'm sorry."

"Look at all the Mithril you wasted. It's painful." Tears welled up in the corners of Mikari's eyes. "You should've told me you were trying to forge armor with Mithril. I could've helped you. Look at all this waste…"

"You're overreacting."

"No, I'm not! Where did you even get this Mithril? Did the Goddess give it to you?"

I thought for a moment, then lied. "Yes, that's right."

"I need to have a serious talk with her. She can't keep wasting Mithril like this. Not that I don't want you to use it, but it's such a waste to use Mithril just for practice." Mikari tried to explain.

"Alright, I get it. I'll use iron from now on, don't worry. But I'll leave that for tomorrow. There's no time to forge another armor today."

"How about I help you? I can give you some tips. As I said before, I'm much more experienced than you."

I stared at Mikari for a few seconds and decided to give in.

"Alright, I'll accept your help."

It's better to stop being an idiot and accept advice from someone experienced.

"Yes! Leave it to me! You'll become the best blacksmith in the world with my guidance."

"Ah, sure…" I smiled bitterly.

####

Read more chapters on my patr eon: patr eon.com/parodygirl

10% discount code for my patr eon: D5F22

Next chapters: Chapter 31 - Hephaestus' help. / Chapter 32 - Possessive. / Chapter 33 - Don't look. +18 / Chapter 34 - The system that ruins a story. / Chapter 35 - Boss. / Chapter 36 - That relationship was shit. / Chapter 37 - I have no memories, but my subconscious loves her.