Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

In the days leading up to the weekend, Lin Yuan spent most of his time designing Doug's short sword.

The combination of silver forging and cloud-patterned steel in one knife is certainly not a standard procedure.

Before agreeing to Doug's request, he had already mentally rehearsed the general route—first, forge a single piece of holy silver steel billet, using the same method as the sword in the finals, allowing the silver and 1084 to completely fuse under repeated hammering in the stacked fire forging process, forming a whole new alloy.

This piece of holy silver steel billet is a finished product in itself. It does not rely on the interlayer interface to produce luster, but the material as a whole has its own golden luster.

Then, this piece of Saint Silver steel billet is used as the "hard steel layer" of the cloud-patterned steel, and is stacked alternately with 15N20 soft steel, and repeatedly folded using the forging method.

During the forging process, the silver billet is stretched and folded. As the number of layers doubles, the curvature of the interface between the soft and hard layers will naturally form a cloud-like pattern, and the golden luster of the silver alloy itself will not be eliminated by the forging process.

The finished product will present two effects simultaneously: the layered texture of the cloud-patterned steel flows under the light, and the golden halo of holy silver shines through those patterns.

The difficulty lies in temperature control.

During the forging process, each heating of the silver alloy causes subtle changes in the microscopic distribution of silver in the steel matrix. If the forging temperature is too high, the diffusion rate of silver will accelerate, and the golden halo will fade. If the temperature is too low, the ductility of silver in the alloy cannot keep up with the deformation rhythm of the steel, and slight tears may appear on the folded surface.

He used a more conservative temperature range than the standard 1084 forging window in the final, but the blade is much shorter than a sword and has fewer forging rounds, so the actual risk is controllable.

He didn't put too much thought into the blade design. The short cross-blade was one of the blade designs he was most familiar with, with a straight blade, a cutting edge curve concentrated at the tip, and the center of gravity about three to four inches in front of the guard.

The Doug is designed for one-handed use, with a handle length of around 15 centimeters and a total length of 60 to 65 centimeters. The weight is positioned towards the front, allowing for a clean and efficient chopping motion.

The equipment doesn't need to be too complicated—the tsuba is simple, and the handle is made of ebony covered with stingray skin, maintaining the same grip feel as the sword Doug held on the final test stand.

He sketched a few rough drafts of the general plan in his notebook with a pencil, marking the thickness transition, center of gravity position, and number of forging wheels for each section. After closing the notebook, he didn't rush to start work.

The materials are not yet ready, and we are waiting for Matt's reply regarding the workshop. The plan has been finalized, and the rest can be started when the conditions are met.

Over the remaining nights, he went through all the task rewards that the system had previously issued.

The main quest "First Attempt at Enchantment" offers three rewards: fifty gold coins, an enchanting material pack, and a collection of standard weapon blueprints. He already knew the amount of gold coins; converted to real-world purchasing power, it amounted to over two hundred thousand US dollars, enough to equip his future workshop with necessary materials. But what concerned him more were the other two rewards.

After opening the enchanting material pack, five new items appeared in the system inventory.

Lin Yuan took them out one by one and placed them on the desk. The warm light of the desk lamp spread across the table, and the five materials lay side by side, none of them ordinary metal.

The first one is a feather.

It wasn't bird feathers; its texture resembled some kind of extremely thin crystal, with a faint blue shimmer flowing slowly around its edge. He picked it up and weighed it in his hand; it was almost weightless, yet it wouldn't budge when he pinched it with his fingertips. The system labeled it "lightweight."

The second item is a small piece of dark gray mineral with a surface covered with fine crystalline surfaces. When rotated against the light, regular reflections can be seen inside the crystalline surfaces, as if all the crystal lattices are aligned in the same direction. It is labeled "precise".

The third item was a broken fang, hollow in the cross-section, with a very faint, frosty white sheen on the enamel surface. He lightly scratched the tip with his fingernail; its sharpness far surpassed any polished metal blade. It was labeled "sharp."

The fourth item was a dark brown scale, about the size of a palm, with a rough surface and a bony feel. He tapped it with his finger; the sound was dull and heavy, like hitting a solid iron plate. It was labeled "Sturdy".

He looked at the fifth item the longest. It was a small, transparent bottle containing a drop of viscous liquid that rolled slowly at the bottom. The liquid itself was pale gold, casting a small amber halo on the table when light shone through it. It was labeled "Healing."

Lin Yuan held the small bottle up to the light and turned it around. The drop of liquid clung to the bottom of the bottle, neither spreading nor evaporating, but quietly gleaming with a pale golden light.

A cold weapon can only cut and pierce. He couldn't think of a corresponding application for the concept of "healing" when applied to swords. Perhaps it wasn't something that worked instantly; perhaps it required specific forging techniques to activate; perhaps it would only work under certain specific conditions.

He didn't dwell on it. From the moment he received the Paladin's Cross blueprints, he had already accepted the fact that the system's findings couldn't be fully analyzed using conventional materials science frameworks. However, previous experience had proven that the materials' performance in forging was predictable and repeatable. He'd find time to test it on a single piece later.

He placed the small bottle back on the table, arranging it in a new row with the feathers, minerals, fangs, and scales. Each of the five materials gleamed faintly under the light, their textures distinctly different; none of them looked like something that could be used to make a knife.

Doug's short sword will use Holy Silver for now; he won't add any more to these for the time being. There are too many uncertainties in rashly combining two unfamiliar attributes on the same piece. He put the five items back into his system storage and closed the panel.

The collection of standard weapon blueprints is a detailed structural atlas that covers complete dimensional parameters and process breakdown diagrams for everything from short knives, hunting knives, and Bowie knives to longswords, greatswords, and even battle axes.

Lin Yuan flipped through a few pages and immediately understood—the compilation logic of this set of drawings was consistent with that of the Paladin's Cross Sword drawings. Every piece of data was accurate to the millimeter and degree, and the heat treatment curve, center of gravity position, and tolerance range of the fitting joint surface were all clearly marked.

He made Chinese swords in China, and his understanding of the structure of Western weapons came gradually after he went to the United States, through Robert's materials and several competitions. It's not a weakness, but it's not exactly easy for him either.

This set of drawings made up for his shortcomings in this area. In the future, when customers specify any kind of conventional Western-style knife shape, he will have standard data to refer to, so he will not have to look up information from scratch and deduce the geometric structure every time.

He turned to the page on hunting knives in the atlas, compared them with the practice blanks he had made in previous competitions, and noted down a few structural differences in his notebook.

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On a weekend morning, Matt drove to the dormitory building. Lin Yuan opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat, noticing a folder on the seat. As Matt started the car, he gestured with his chin and said it contained information about the places they had visited in the past few days, and asked Lin Yuan to take a look.

"You're serious." Lin Yuan opened the folder, which contained several printed real estate information documents, each highlighted with a highlighter.

"Nonsense. You think I've been playing ranked games all day?" Matt turned the steering wheel, a hint of undisguised smugness in his voice. "Three places, each with its own story. I'll explain them to you one by one."

"The first one is next to the commercial district. The location is unbeatable, with plenty of foot traffic and right next to the main road. However, the area isn't large, and the ceiling height is average. You can barely fit a power hammer in, and it's not easy to place a forge. This place is a perfect match for doing forging experiences or shooting instructional videos and doing some commercial activities in the future." He glanced at Lin Yuan, "You said before that you weren't going for the influencer route for the time being, so I ranked this one third."

"The second one is an abandoned warehouse, in an old industrial area on the outskirts. It's ridiculously large—my first thought when I walked in was that it could build tanks, let alone knives. But the building itself is a problem. The roof needs repairing, the electrical wiring needs to be re-laid, all the ventilation ducts need to be replaced, and the floor needs to be redone. It's not just about the money, but more importantly, the time. You've taken on the order now, so you can't wait that long." He paused, then turned the car onto another road. "However, I left my contact information for that place. If we really need to expand in the future, this place has potential."

"The third one," Lin Yuan said.

"The third one." Matt tapped his finger on the steering wheel. "It's about 300 square meters, and it used to be a small factory. It's about a ten-minute drive from the school, which is convenient, so whether you're going to class or I am—"

"Go to class first, then we'll talk."

"—That's not important." Matt continued without changing his expression, "There's a partitioned two-story office area inside, which used to be used by the factory owner. It has water and electricity, and you can make it habitable with a little renovation. If you're working too late in the workshop, you can just stay there and not have to drive back to the dormitory in the middle of the night."

"Rent," Lin Yuan said.

"The rent is higher than the previous two. The location is good, the space is large enough, and it comes with two floors of existing office space, so it can't be cheap. But I think this is the most suitable. It's close to the school, so you don't have to waste time commuting. The space is large enough to set up the forge and power hammer. Converting the office space into residential space will even save you some rent." Matt stopped the car at a red light, turned to look at him, and asked, "What do you think?"

"The third one. Let's take a look first." Lin Yuan closed the folder. "We'll decide after we've read it."

"Okay. I'll decide after I've looked at it." Matt stepped on the gas again. "By the way, I'll send you the exact rent figures later, and I'll also send you a copy of the contract terms. Take a look first, and sign it if you think it's suitable."

"Okay. Send a copy to Professor Robert as well. He's been in the department for decades and has dealt with many contracts with the university's logistics department. He can help check if there are any problems with the terms."

"No problem. I'll send it tomorrow."