Vastarael decided to move out of the workshop on the 60th day. He had seven days to collect himself and await for the next trial.
And he used the time to look for anything interesting in the workshop. And that's when he realized something when he was there.
In the 54 days he was there, he never ran out of essence because his Omniphage absorbed it from the workshop itself. That's how he was able to actually make it. Every failed trial in Circlecraft consumes all your essence. Thanks to Vastarael's Omniphage and his pseudo-cores, he was able to do it over and over, all because of the concentrated essence around him.
He was now the master of the workshop and so, he decided to try something new; become a Forger.
Naturally, it would have been impossible for him but it really wasn't, thanks to Memory Implantation. All he had to do was just take some forgers, absorb their knowledge using Memory Implantation and learn how to use the materials.
Thankfully, one of the ancient scrolls had a tutorial guide to being a forger. In a single day, he understood how everything in the workshop worked. All he had to do was just put it to practice.
That's when he realized just how easy being a forger was. In fact, it was extremely easy for him. It was so easy that he thought that it was the alphabet.
Why?
Because he spent forty seven days figuring out a damn circle and actually made it work. Now that he had a tutorial guide on how to forge an item, it didn't feel like advanced mathematics.
It was a matter of trial and error. And for someone like him, that was something he was an absolute expert on.
He decided to make something complex; a sapphire lotus.
He used his sapphire as the material and melted it (he didn't know the infinite flaming forge was that hot) and began using it. His sapphire was like metal. In fact, it wasn't brittle at all like other crystals. His sapphire wasn't like the one on Earth. Sure, it was a crystal but it wasn't rock sapphire like the Earth one.
Instead, when melted, it was a sapphire blue liquid that he could still levitate. And then, he melted one Divine Metal ore, mixed them together and levitated it to form a lotus.
While in this state, he levitated water around it to cool it down, which took only a few minutes thanks to Cold Runes. And when he was done, he began stroking it with a very small hammer on the smallest sections of it to strengthen it, thanks to his Mystic Eyes of Awareness.
In just an hour, he had made a Sapphire Lotus.
Vastarael couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at his freshly made Sapphire Lotus, floating before him in all its shimmering glory. The delicate, translucent blue petals sparkled, the intricate patterns of the lotus perfectly symmetrical. It was beautiful. But that wasn't what made him laugh. It was the fact that he'd made it in one hour.
"One hour, huh?" He muttered, scratching his head. "Guess I'm just built different."
Normally, any would-be forger would have to work for days, maybe even weeks, to create something like a Sapphire Lotus, if they even managed it at all. They'd start by heating up the forge to the right temperature, making sure they didn't melt the thing into a sad puddle of nothingness. They'd have to control every aspect, carefully molding the shape with tongs, tweezers, and a lot of sweat. And when they were finally done, they'd be lucky if the final product didn't fall apart under the slightest pressure.
You would melt the sapphire, form it, cool it down, repeat if it's too soft or brittle. They sweat, they curse, they make mistakes. Then, if the gods are kind, the result is a product that doesn't immediately disintegrate in your hands.
Vastarael just melted the sapphire. No big deal. The workshop's forge didn't even blink at the heat. His sapphire didn't melt like a regular crystal, though, it was like liquid magic in a pot. He levitated it. He melted the Divine Metal ore, mixed them like he was tossing ingredients in a stew, and voilà, a lotus was growing in the air. And then, because he couldn't just let it be cool, he slapped a Cold Rune around it and cooled it down in seconds. Seconds. No sweating, no blood and no need for endless trial and error.
He didn't need to be precise about the molding or the stability of the lotus. He had the Mystic Eyes of Awareness. He could see the precise details of every single microscopic part of the lotus and fix it so it wouldn't collapse.
And when he was done, the Sapphire Lotus was not only perfect. It was more powerful than anything a normal forger could ever dream of. They would have to die to make something even close to this, let alone in an hour.
If an actual forger saw him right now, they'd probably faint, puke blood, or both. A hundred years of forger training in a single day? And the result... it wasn't just a decoration. It was more like a weapon disguised as a flower.
Vastarael grinned, knowing how impossible it was to overstate how ridiculous this was. If one of those old-school forgers had seen him now, they'd probably be doing backflips in horror, cursing the very stars that led to this travesty of craftsmanship.
"Alright, let's see," Vastarael said, smirking as he held up his sapphire lotus.
He gave it a gentle twist in the air.
The petals shivered slightly and with a soft shing, a pulse of energy surged through the flower. Suddenly, it seemed... sharper. Its edges felt like energy blades. He grinned. If he wanted to, he could make it an absolute weapon just by concentrating more of his essence.
A normal forger would've been eating dirt at the mere thought of how wrong this was.
The poor forgers would be clutching their stomachs in disbelief. "I spent my whole life failing with my hammer, and this guy just... floats a lotus out of sapphire and divine metal?"
Vastarael gave a mock bow to an imaginary audience, feeling like he should be getting some kind of reward.
"You're welcome, guys. I'm an absolute natural."
But then, just as his ego was about to hit astronomical levels, he paused. Maybe it wasn't that simple? Maybe...?
Nah.
"Okay, but seriously," he said to himself, taking a breath. "How the hell did I pull this off? It's almost like—"
He stopped himself. He really wasn't going to get philosophical about this. He had done it. He was a damn forger now.
The rest of the world could catch up whenever it was ready.
With a satisfied nod, he flicked the lotus to one side and let it float gently into a corner of the room. He had a lot more to learn sure, but for now? For now, he was the undisputed king of this workshop.
It was ironical that in something he was used to all his life like Circlecraft, he spent 53 days on making something he never thought of before. But in forgery, all he took as a day for him to understand how it worked and make a weapon artifact in just a day.
And a lotus, one of the most complex designs to top it all off.
He had a simple plan. He would make a glaive for Phaenora, a sword for Shimmer, make another Sapphire Lotus for Runner and maybe something else. He looked at the Sapphire Lotus and checked its stats.
[Sapphire Lotus: Divine Rank.]
[Write details of how you want to describe your first artifact.]
Vastarael realized something.
"So anything made with Divine Metal becomes a Divine Rank Artifact, huh? Only that this one doesn't have any enchantments on it. I'll have to use Runes to make those enchantments. Seems I'm going to need a real forger for this one. For now, I'll just do trial and error. So let's start with this."
A holographic keyboard appeared in front of him and he began writing the details of his first artifact with a smile on his face. When he was done, he looked at it with a smile and sighed as he read it.
-----
[Sapphire Lotus, Divine Rank.]
[One day, a lone Circlecraft Mage went to a workshop and read a tutorial of how to perform an acre of forgery. Not the money involving one of course, just the one for making items. And once he learned about it, he made his first artifact in an hour.]
[If forgers saw this, they would curse their existence. Someone made a Divine Artifact in a day? Just give bizarre is that! And so, he gave it the name 'Sapphire Lotus,' a name he would never forget.]
[Enchantments: None.]
[Abilities: None.]
[Just an empty artifact with no power. For now.]
-------
Vastarael leaned back in his chair, finally giving himself a moment to breathe. The Sapphire Lotus had been a nice little side project but now? Now, it was time to celebrate. After all, he'd just single-handedly mastered two skills. It was only fair that he reward himself with the most important thing in the world: food.
"Alright, time for a feast," he said, already digging through his supplies like a hungry beast.
First, he whipped out some of the normal meat he had lying around. He didn't even need to hunt it, just had to grab a few slabs of steak, and then he pulled out his trusty Heat Rune.
With a flick of his wrist, a fiery aura enveloped the meat, instantly cooking it. But Vastarael wasn't just going to eat plain old meat. Nope. He needed style.
Grinning like a madman, he grabbed some skewers and slid the juicy chunks of meat on them, then sprinkled a few spices he found (because he was definitely going to claim to be a chef at this point). He raised the skewers up, admiring his work.
"Behold, Heat Skewers!" He declared dramatically, holding them high above his head like some kind of ritualistic offering to the food gods. "I am a culinary genius!"
Not that anyone else would know or care... yet. But one day, he just knew these skewers would be the talk of the Halo Islands. Maybe even the world. Who wouldn't want to eat meat cooked with runic fire?
He shoved a few skewers onto a sapphire plate and sat down, ready to eat. Of course, he couldn't just leave it there. He still had his old faithful potato and meat curry stew to wash down all the new meat. Nothing screamed "celebration" like a two-course meal of spicy curry and perfectly grilled skewers.
As he dug into the stew, something caught his eye; a familiar glint from the hologram projection floating in front of him. It was the details of his bowl, glowing brightly in the display.
_____
[Infinite Curry Glitch Bowl, Legendary Rank.]
[Infinite Food Glitch of potato and meat curry stew. No need to say more.]
____
He leaned in closer, squinting at the hologram. It was really just a bowl. It didn't look special, but somehow... It was.
Vastarael snorted, shaking his head. "Seriously? I'm getting sentimental over a bowl?"
He knew he was just tired from his crazy forger spree, but he couldn't help but appreciate the little things. The bowl had been his constant companion, right there with him throughout his insomnia-driven Circlecraft trials and adventures.
"You know," he said aloud, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "This bowl's been with me through thick and thin. I think I'll give it a name. Yeah, let's call you... 'Bowl of Wisdom.' You've earned it."
The bowl, naturally, didn't respond. But Vastarael gave it an approving nod anyway. He saw the hologram change its name to the Bowl of Wisdom.
As he leaned back, stuffing his face with the Heat Skewers (they were delicious, of course), his mind wandered back to his triumphs. The artifacts, the circles, the crazy forger stuff... it all felt surreal. He'd done it.
He washed it all down with a generous helping of potato and meat curry stew, then leaned back and grinned.
"Alright, world. Get ready. The Heat Skewer King has arrived."
And in that moment, as he sat surrounded by skewers and curry, Vastarael finally allowed himself to feel like he'd earned his victory. He was going to keep pushing forward of course, but right now, he was just going to enjoy the taste of success.
And his food.
Mostly the food.