Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 361 - 232 Ancient Method of Forging Swords! (8600 words - seeking monthly passes)_2

Chapter 361: Chapter 232 Ancient Method of Forging Swords! (8600 words - seeking monthly passes)_2

Throughout the entire forging process, the craftsmen surrounding him were absolute tools, helping with inserting raw materials, pulling the bellows, hammering the forge with a certain force and frequency, and so on.

Anything that required the craftsmen to complete, these tool-people could execute very well.

Moreover, Li Hongyun could fast-forward or even skip some steps he considered unimportant. All the raw materials in the workshop were also supplied in unlimited quantities.

Subsequently, three Talent Skill Cards appeared in front of Li Hongyun.

[Geng: Keen Observation (Gold): Your power of observation and memory are enhanced.]

[Geng: Force Application Technique (Gold): Your technique in applying force is enhanced, allowing you to use your strength more steadily and accurately.]

[Geng: Calm and Composed (Gold): Your emotions are in check, enabling you to face dangers more indifferently.]

Li Hongyun glanced over the three Talent Cards and sighed silently.

"Again with these all-gold Talents, and they all seem so useful..."

There was no doubt that this time’s subordinate identity trial was of hellish difficulty.

As his gaze swept over the entire workshop, Li Hongyun had basically understood the current mission objective.

It was to forge a weapon using an ancient method and then put it through sharpness and toughness tests on the sword-testing platform.

While he wasn’t very knowledgeable about ancient forging techniques, he did have some basic common sense.

The most challenging aspect of old smithing techniques was controlling the details.

For example, how many impurities were contained in the material, the specific carbon content in the forged iron blocks, the current furnace temperature...

Such detailed information could be confirmed in many ways in modern times, but in ancient times, it all relied on experience, on observing the color of the flames, or simply on luck.

Even the most top-notch ancient craftsman couldn’t guarantee that every batch of iron ore would be up to standard, nor could they ensure when a Divine Weapon could be crafted.

These three Talents were obviously useful.

Keen Observation would improve his ability to gauge the proper heat during melting and forging;

Force Application Technique would allow him to personally forge the iron, maintaining the most appropriate force throughout the process;

Calm and Composed would reduce his anxiety and impatience, allowing him to complete the forging process more coolly.

Tough choices.

It was like the Cavalry Trial; if all three Talents could be chosen, the instance’s difficulty would be considered normal. But having to choose only one meant that players had to compensate for the deficiencies in the other two areas with their own strengths.

Li Hongyun didn’t make his choice immediately but exited the game without hesitation.

"Goodbye!

"Let me first build up some knowledge before coming back!"

...

An hour later, Li Hongyun returned to the Trial Illusion.

In reality, he had looked up much information on ancient steel refining.

There was no way around it; this wasn’t because he was cautious, but because he was well aware that the chances of him stumbling through the instance were slim to none.

Even if he could get through, it would surely cost him an inordinate amount of time after countless trials and errors.

Since there was so much content on ancient steel refining in reality, why not preview it before coming back?

Although many details of ancient steel refining are lost to history, understanding the basic principles would definitely help with mastering the Trial Illusion.

After some preparation, Li Hongyun decided to start his first attempt.

He chose the [Keen Observation] Talent.

The reason was simple: "experience" was what he needed the most at that time.

Ancient craftsmen had to use the color of the flames to judge the furnace temperature, the color of the iron ore to determine if the heat was sufficient, and even during the subsequent sorting process, they needed to visually check the quality of the sponge iron blocks.

All these processes relied on experience.

At this point, Li Hongyun’s experience was zero.

He was not like Cui Huowang. Cui Huowang was a forging enthusiast who often played around with such things in reality and had a much higher starting point than him; Li Hongyun had never touched ancient steel refining and was clueless about these experiences.

While online research could reveal necessary information such as temperature and carbon content, these facts could not be transformed into the experience necessary for ancient steel refining.

Thus, Li Hongyun could only use his Talent to enhance his observation and memory, and during continuous attempts, memorize all the details.

"The first step is to make sponge iron blocks.

"The ancient method of smelting Yi Dao described in the information I found involves spreading iron sand and charcoal layer by layer in the furnace then igniting and blowing air continuously;

"There is also a method where you can mix the powdered iron ore with limestone, a flux, in about a 2:1 ratio to make the raw material powder for smelting.

"The workshop provided me with ready-to-use iron sand, as well as limestone powder. As for the entire design of the smelter, it seems to be a bit different from the Yi Dao’s jade steel smelter; it looks more like a hybrid of various furnaces...

"In that case, I will start by adding limestone powder; the first attempt will definitely not succeed, and I have to keep adjusting the amount of raw materials and heat to arrive at a relatively decent result.

"After all, this game is somewhat user-friendly, at least providing me with an unlimited supply of iron sand and other raw materials..."

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