The Mech Touch

Chapter 6577 Demoncasting vs Demonforging

The Demoncasting Forge largely met Ves' expectations.

The tech and principles ran counter to more general cultivation practices. Everything about the forge looked as if it was turned into a stereotypical evil villain setup. There was no way that normal people would feel comfortably working in this kind of

danger-filled place! Just the tools storing one demon after another was enough to give them a heart attack!

Only those who possessed the strength to bear all of the pressure could make effective use of the Demoncasting Forge. This was not an art for the weak. Demoncasters willingly exposed themselves to corruption and damnation because the results justified the means!

As Ves excitedly trotted back to the main forge, Ketis followed suit while harboring serious misgivings about the entire setup.

She harbored increasing misgivings about Demoncasting and the Mech Designer System that practically led Ves by the nose.

She was not fooled by the computer-like facade of the Mech Designer System. It had to be controlled by a highly autonomous Al or possess outright sentience.

If that was the case, then it knew exactly what it was doing by presenting false choices to Ves.

It knew him so well that it should have been able to perfectly predict the upgrade track he would choose.

In hindsight, there was only one valid choice for a crazy mech designer like Ves.

He always wanted to stray off the beaten track!

Just the description of Demoncasting being a 'lost' and 'forbidden' craft was enough to reel Ves in like a fish!

Since that was the case, why did the System go out of its way to present this option to Ves?

How did the embrace of Demoncasting advance its goals?

What was its endgame?

Ketis couldn't help but feel concerned about what Demoncasting would do to Ves and the people around him. It was only a matter of time before his recklessness would cause this entire business to blow up in his face.

She found it regretful that Ves did not take these risk factors seriously. He shouldn't be stupid enough to deny they existed, but his overwhelming enthusiasm towards Demoncasting caused him to look at this dangerous practice with rose-tinted glasses.

Fine.

If Ves refused to heed the danger of weaponizing demons against their will, then Ketis would have to take up the watch. She would have to keep an eye on his activities and make sure to intervene if anything went wrong.

This was the first time that Ketis felt good about possessing the Heavensword. As upset as she felt at its insistence on becoming her sword and threatening to replace her swordsmanship, its power was undeniable.

The days that passed since the two spent time together had caused her concerns to ease a little bit. She no longer suspected that the Heavensword held any ill intent.

The greatest risk posed by this mysterious relic weapon was that its alien and archaic thinking may lead it to taking well-meaning but ultimately misguided actions.

Ketis found that whenever the Heavensword made any concerning noises in reaction to a development that it did not like, she had to press her hand on the hilt and force the weapon to stay put.

She had done this so many times in the past few weeks that she had practically trained it to become docile.

She was half-surprised the Heavensword was willing to acquiesce to her training. Hopefully, that would be enough for the powerful artifact to stay mum while Ves engaged in his first act of Demoncasting.

"Let's see..."

The two mech designers had returned to the main forge. Ves swept his gaze throughout the extensive workplace and tried to figure out where to begin. He approached the instruction steles yet again and paused for a moment.

"Did you figure out anything new, Ves?"

"I think I do." He said. "Have you noticed that these basic instructions actually leave out most of the tools and equipment in the Demoncasting Forge?"

"Hmm? Oh, you are right."

"According to this primitive tutorial, the basic method of Demoncasting is to prepare a target object, select and place the desired Demoncasting Mold over the target object, take out a demon and roast it over a demonic flame, insert the processed demon into the Demoncasting Mold, wait for a while before removing the Demoncasting Mold. Following these steps should hopefully produce a brand new D-arms."

Ketis listened to his summary and nodded. "That sounds similar to conventional casting. There is no need to make use of the forging tools."

"Then why does the Demoncasting Forge include them to begin with?" Ves asked.

makes

"My biggest guess is that is a more advanced method of creating D-arms. sense if you think about it, Ves. Conventional casting is more consistent, cheaper and much less demanding on technical skills. The downsides are that the results are usually inferior and an inability to deviate from the template set by the mold. Manual forging with tools like these is less consistent, costlier and demands much greater skill from the blacksmith. The advantages of forging is that as long as the craftsman is skilled and knowledgeable enough, he or she can better combine the input materials together and shape a product with much greater variation and choice. The end product is usually much harder and less likely to possess weak points."

That was an oversimplified summary of differences between casting and forging, but it was enough to give the two a better understanding of the methods to infuse demons into objects.

"Demoncasting is probably the cheaper, faster and more idiot-proof way to create a D-arms, especially in a place where the System has already set everything up. It is the best place to start with this, but there is eventually a limit to what we can do with these Demoncasting Molds. If we want to exert greater control over the output and raise its quality, we have to switch over to a more manual and artisanal process." Ves surmised.

Ketis looked thoughtful. "That does sound like a natural progression."

"Once we have gotten the hang of transforming demons into metaphysical power sources, we can probably attempt to create D-arms through Demonforging or whatever it is called. Instead of thoroughly burning the demon until it 'melts' into a 'liquid' form, we probably have to burn the demon to a lower degree so that it remains 'solid. We'll have to use these hammers to beat the demon into the right shape while it is still hot enough to remain malleable. As long as we know what we are doing, we can probably increase the utilization of resources and achieve a more perfect fit! I am truly excited to learn this more advanced form of producing D-arms, but we can't be too hasty. We need to learn how to walk before we can run."

"I agree. Traditional blacksmithing has always been a craft that is taught from master to apprentice. There are no 'Master Demonforgers' who can systematically teach us what we need to know and supervise our work processes. It is reckless to attempt to use all of these forging tools without proper instruction."

It was unlikely that the System would supply them a Demonforging Master, so Ves and Ketis would have to learn this advanced craft through other means.

Hopefully, the Tree of Possibilities would eventually spawn an enlightenment fruit related to this promising art in the future.

Otherwise, Ves would have to puzzle everything out by relying on trial and error. That sounded like a dangerous prospect since so much about the Demoncasting Forge was filled with danger!

After the pair of mach docianoro ronnaniand a distination haturaan Ramononating and

"My biggest guess is that it is a more advanced method of creating D-arms. It makes sense if you think about it, Ves. Conventional casting is more consistent, cheaper and much less demanding on technical skills. The downsides are that the results are usually inferior and an inability to deviate from the template set by the mold. Manual forging with tools like these is less consistent, costlier and demands much greater skill from the blacksmith. The advantages of forging is that as long as the craftsman is skilled and knowledgeable enough, he or she can better combine the input materials together and shape a product with much greater variation and choice. The end product is usually much harder and less likely to possess weak points." That was an oversimplified summary of differences between casting and forging, but it was enough to give the two a better understanding of the methods to infuse demons into objects.

"Demoncasting is probably the cheaper, faster and more idiot-proof way to create a D-arms, especially in a place where the System has already set everything up. It is the best place to start with this, but there is eventually a limit to what we can do with these Demoncasting Molds. If we want to exert greater control over the output and raise its quality, we have to switch over to a more manual and artisanal process." Ves

surmised.

Ketis looked thoughtful. "That does sound like a natural progression."

"Once we have gotten the hang of transforming demons into metaphysical power sources, we can probably attempt to create D-arms through Demonforging or whatever it is called. Instead of thoroughly burning the demon until it 'melts' into a 'liquid' form, we probably have to burn the demon to a lower degree so that it remains 'solid. We'll have to use these hammers to beat the demon into the right shape while it is still hot enough to remain malleable. As long as we know what we are doing, we can probably increase the utilization of resources and achieve a more perfect fit! I am truly excited to learn this more advanced form of producing D-arms, but we can't be too hasty. We need to learn how to walk before we can run."

"I agree. Traditional blacksmithing has always been a craft that is taught from master to apprentice. There are no 'Master Demonforgers' who can systematically teach us what we need to know and supervise our work processes. It is reckless to attempt to use all of these forging tools without proper instruction."

It was unlikely that the System would supply them a Demonforging Master, so Ves and Ketis would have to learn this advanced craft through other means.

Hopefully, the Tree of Possibilities would eventually spawn an enlightenment fruit

related to this promising art in the future.

Otherwise, Ves would have to puzzle everything out by relying on trial and error. That sounded like a dangerous prospect since so much about the Demoncasting Forge was

filled with danger!

After the pair of mach docianore roonaniand a distinction hotwroon Domononating and

meaning to replace it since it isn't up to my standards anymore."

Ves took the knife and noted that it held the spark of life. It wasn't as alive as his

mechs, though.

"This will do I suppose. Size is certainly an important factor in Demoncasting, but I am not sure how. We will have to discover the rules by ourselves."

Ves actually liked that because he enjoyed the process of exploration and discovery.

Instead of learning what he needed to know from a boring textbook or a direct infusion from an enlightenment fruit, he would get to act like a pioneer and carn every scrap of knowledge through his own efforts!

He soon turned back to the forge and made sure to place the knife and the Demoncasting Mold into the right places.

The next step required him to pull out a demon. Ketis watched on with growing

curiosity.

Why did he think he could skip the process of summoning a Minor Demon?

Ves simply pulled out a familiar-looking pouch from one of his uniform pockets and

emptied its contents into his palm.

A sizable collection of gems of different shapes and colors glinted in the light of the demonic flame.

"Wait, aren't those the gems produced by Lucky?"

"They are. You should take a look at their descriptions. I used to dismiss them as

fantasy or irrelevant information, but now that I am introduced to the art of Demoncasting, I have begun to wonder whether there is a connection between the two. I have enough clues to seriously consider this possibility."

Even if he was wrong, he would only waste a single gem at most. He could always go

back to the Demon Summoning Circle and pay the 5 AP fee to obtain a proper Minor

Demon.

He carefully sifted through the beautiful and mysterious gems to pick one that he

could afford to waste on an experiment.

[Maiden's Affection]

The desire of an ancient maiden is locked within this gem. Increases the attraction of

a mech by 40 percent to females.

"It's gotta be you." He said as he picked up the lustrous, pink and heart-shaped gem without further hesitation.

"Wait. Are you sure you want to discard this gem?"

"Definitely. There's no combat benefit to using this gem at all! Since it is so useless, I

might as well get my money's worth out of it by using it as experimental material."

Ves decisively tossed the gem into the ominous-looking demonic flame. Immediately, the flame surged as if it took offense at the intrusion! The gem meanwhile mysteriously floated in the middle of the dark red flames. Its exterior actually resisted the extraordinary heat for a while, but its physical structure eventually began to melt and evaporate.

Soon enough, a faint and mysterious soul-like entity emerged out of her cage and

screamed in pain as the flames refined her fragile existence!

Ves and Ketis winced and took a step backwards as the robed maiden's scream

scratched their spirits!

Yet the ancient maiden's cry of agony did not last as the demonic flames hungrily

devoured her, causing more and more aspects of herself to get broken down until she began to lose her form!

"Is this what you call a demon?!"

"Hey, it is working so far, right?! If this works out, I will be able to confirm I have an existing supply of demons! I will finally be able to make better use of these gems!"