Passing through a gigantic corridor of heavy metal, the surrounding temperature rose sharply. The air was filled with the fiery breath of molten metal and the high-frequency vibration of pure energy.
At last, Eitri stopped before an enormous gate that looked capable of withstanding cosmic storms.
"Your Highness, before us is Nidavellir's core—the neutron-star furnace."
Eitri turned, face solemn, pride impossible to hide.
"Here is where the greatest artifacts of the Nine Worlds were born."
At his instruction, the gate—thick as a mountain—rose slowly with a deafening roar.
The world beyond distorted light.
Heat waves, and a torrent of energy a thousand times greater than anything felt before!
This was an immense circular chamber; at its center was a guiding core that channeled the energy of the dying neutron star. Like planetary orbital rings, countless colossal metal apertures layered around the core, rotating slowly like mysterious laws.
Hundreds of the most elite dwarf craftsmen were already at their posts, wearing special heat- and radiation-resistant armor, shouting hoarsely, pulling massive levers to adjust the apertures' angles.
"Open it! First focus ring!"
"Steady! Energy flow at—%!"
"Pour the divine iron into the mold! Prepare to ride the first wave!"
At Eitri's command, forging officially began.
He pointed at the grand scene below and spoke to Lucci as though an artist showing off his proudest work.
"See it? Your Highness! This is our way! We use the power of this star to forge the hardest uru into whatever shape we desire!"
The innermost aperture slowly opened.
A neutron-star beam, brighter than the heart of the sun, was instantly guided—like an enraged golden dragon—precisely blasting the distant forge platform!
On the anvil, a massive block of uru divine iron turned red-hot in an instant—yet did not melt.
"Hammers!" Eitri roared.
More than a dozen of the strongest dwarf warriors, wielding giant hammers larger than their bodies, rushed forward in synchronized steps and smashed the red-hot divine iron with all their might!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With each strike came deafening sound and sparks flying through the air. The entire space trembled faintly.
Eitri stared at Lucci, expecting shock, awe—even fear on his face.
But he was disappointed.
Lucci's expression remained as calm as an ancient well.
…His gaze never lingered on the hammer-swinging dwarves, nor did he pay attention to the divine iron being forged.
Lucci's entire focus was drawn to the furnace core controlling and restraining neutron-star energy.
To Eitri and the dwarves, it was a complex, refined mechanical marvel passed down through generations.
But in Lucci's heaven-defying comprehension, it was a completely different sight.
Stars swirled in the depths of his eyes.
The furnace's structure was instantly interpreted into the most basic energy lines and law-runes. Those giant metal apertures were no longer cold machines, but exquisite spatial coordinates and energy nodes.
He "saw" neutron-star energy being absorbed through gravitational lensing, bound from a violent chaotic primal state into a highly condensed beam via layered apertures' shielding and deflection.
He "saw" matter's internal structure being forcibly opened by extreme energy impact, then passively rearranged and bonded under titanic hammer strikes.
"So that's it… using mechanical structure to simulate celestial orbits, stealing a small portion of a star's original power…"
"Too crude."
Lucci's evaluation formed instantly.
"This isn't 'domination' at all—at most, it's 'theft.' The energy utilization rate is under one-thousandth; most is wasted in meaningless losses and leakage."
"As for final forging… even more ridiculous: they're not rebuilding laws from the inside at the atomic level. They're brute-forcing an external shape change."
At that moment, Lucci's comprehension exploded!
His consciousness seemed to leave his body and merge with the burning neutron star itself. He felt terrifying gravity, extreme collapse, and the cycle of material annihilation and creation.
What he observed was no longer dwarven forging.
He was observing the star.
He was observing the universe itself.
Countless inspirations, countless laws, and countless mysteries of creation flooded into his soul like a breached dam.
A new, higher-dimensional forging concept rapidly took shape, completed itself—and was finally named by Lucci himself:
Stellar Forging Art!
This was an astonishing "forging technique."
No hammer. No anvil. No furnace needed.
Use stars as hammers!
Grasp cosmic gravity!
Use laws as a blade!
At the atomic level—complete disassembly and reconstruction of matter.
With mastery of this method, one could draw on stellar power and transform ordinary iron atoms into indestructible uru divine iron.
One could even decompose the toughest substances into pure energy.
This was no longer "forging."
This was "creation."
The moment Lucci comprehended Stellar Forging Art, the universe-resonant aura around him subtly interacted with Nidavellir's entire energy field.
The neutron-star beam that had been guided by the dwarf furnace seemed to be tugged by some higher will—shaking slightly.
Eitri was about to proudly explain the next step when he suddenly sensed the anomaly. He frowned at the furnace core, unable to understand why the energy output had become unstable.
By then, Lucci had already withdrawn from that marvelous state of enlightenment.
He glanced down at the dwarves still pounding away and a flicker of… pity passed through his eyes.
It was like a modern physicist watching a primitive tribe try to split atoms with a stone axe.
…
Bonus Chapter at 300 PS