My Werewolf System

Chapter 1773  Black And Gold

Galdark had immediately gotten to work. With the tireless, superhuman assistance of the other Werewolves, they were incredibly quick to excavate and design an underground forge that Lupus could use—a masterwork space that he would be proud to call his own.

It was still built deep underground, but they had engineered a specialized ventilation shaft where the thick smoke would be filtered and hidden enough by the rocky crags of the hills above. By the time the exhaust reached the surface, the natural, howling winds of the summit would instantly drag the thinned smoke off into the atmosphere, ensuring that absolutely no one looking up at the ruins would be the wiser.

Then, there were the intricate instructions for the forge itself. Lupus had perfectly remembered the ancient, structural details of how a true forge should look, from the placement of the anvil to exactly what thermal materials the crucible and hearth were meant to be made out of to withstand supernatural heat.

He was bringing his lost, ancient knowledge to the table. Thankfully, since this was modern times, Galdark could easily supplement that ancient wisdom by using digital resources like the internet and encrypted underworld channels to even get expert advice on what modern materials were needed to successfully execute the blueprint.

Lupus and his newly unified group weren't exactly short on funds, either. Since they were absolutely no longer going to be using their treasury to fund the Dark Guild in a blind search for new weapons, it was perfectly fine to liquidate those assets and use the money to build this ultimate forge as quickly as physically possible.

But Lupus wasn’t just sitting around and doing nothing while the heavy stone and steel were being built around him.

He was currently at a heavy wooden table, deeply studying the large stockpile of beast crystals which had been recently brought over by Marcus.

According to Marcus's underworld intel, the crystals were of exceptionally high quality. A lot of the corrupt, corporate researchers who were heavily involved in making Altered solutions wanted a quick, untraceable way to make quite a bit of side money when the facilities were shut down. So, they quietly siphoned off the premium materials and offloaded them to the Dark Guild for significantly cheaper than the going market rates of the past. It was a goldmine of raw power.

While in the past, Lupus had learned a few fundamental, unwritten laws about forging. The first rule was that the sheer clarity of the crystal directly determined its overall grading. The less cloudy impurities it possessed, the more seamlessly it could be used to make higher-grade, durable equipment.

The second rule was understanding how certain crystals were inherently better for particular, specific items. There were ancient ways and techniques of carefully channeling one’s raw energy into the crystal matrix. Based on the physical and spiritual reaction that bounced back to the user, a master blacksmith would instantly know what that specific crystal was biologically suited for.

Whether the crystal "wanted" to be hammered into heavy armor, a sword-like weapon, a piercing spear, or something else entirely depended on its natural resonance. Crystals could technically be forcefully forged into absolutely anything the blacksmith wanted, but there was always a more natural, fluid path that the crystal wanted to take in terms of taking shape. Fighting the crystal's nature resulted in weaker gear.

Lastly, once the equipment was physically created, one had to use their refined Qi in order to truly learn what the armor and weapons could do.

Higher-grade items weren't just physically strong, durable pieces of metal; they housed the very soul of the beast, granting them a unique set of skills.

When flowing Qi into a finished weapon, almost instinctively, a person would be able to draw out those particular powers. This phenomenon was what was widely known among the elite as Active Skills.

When holding a weapon with an Active Skill, a strange sensation would occur. In one’s head, there would almost be a mental twinge. If an item or a weapon possessed these skills, when using Qi, it felt exactly as if the person had magically grown three extra fingers overnight, yet they had somehow always known exactly how to naturally flex and use them.

Then, simply "flexing" that phantom extra finger would instantly activate the Active Skill. By testing this resonance, Lupus would know exactly what the finished equipment and weapons did before he ever took them into battle.

Having meticulously sorted out the pile of crystals on the table, Lupus had finally figured out exactly what would be the absolute best materials to make custom armor for all of the key fighters.

There was a particular, specialized armor set he envisioned that was uniquely suited for Werewolves. It was a set that didn’t possess flashy Active Skills, but structurally protected them and naturally energized their stamina more than most traditional armors ever could.

The true "Active Skill" embedded deep within the werewolf armor was its elasticity; it was designed so that it seamlessly grew, expanded, and changed shape simultaneously with each individual Werewolf's transformed body, ensuring they were never left naked or restricted when shifting into their hulking beast states.

After planning the armor, he carefully picked out a flawless crystal for his own special weapon—the heavy shield—as well as two perfectly matched, highly aggressive crystals for the twin swords that he would forge for Kai.

As soon as the roaring underground forge was completely built and the fires were lit, Lupus wasted no time. But the very first thing that he had to strategically create was his very own blacksmithing hammer.

He used one of the denser, earth-aligned crystals and standard, modern-day equipment—like that of a heavy industrial hammer and a sledgehammer—to test exactly how the new forge's heat worked. Pounding away at the anvil, he successfully created his own beast-gear hammer, an unbreakable tool made entirely from condensed crystals and steel.

With his master tool in hand, he was finally able to work on the rest of the delicate equipment. And the first true project he decided to create was, of course, his own personal set of heavy armor.

Lupus went away, losing himself in the rhythm of the forge. He struck the glowing materials with earth-shattering force, the ring of the hammer echoing through the subterranean cavern. He meticulously created each piece. A thick, reinforced chest piece. Broad, spiked shoulder guards. Heavy bracers designed to go over his forearms.

Then there were the articulated leg plates and heavy combat boots as well. Finally, after hours of grueling, sweat-soaked labor in the blistering heat, the full armor set, as well as his new shield, was completely done.

Wiping the soot from his forehead, Lupus stared at the gleaming equipment resting on the workbenches. He looked at it in quiet awe.

“With a pitch-black main base, and all of the armor detailed with a striking golden trim... a design that perfectly matches the young Alpha's gang colors. Yes, I think he will be quite pleased with this,” Lupus said, smiling proudly to himself as he ran a calloused thumb over the gold inlay.

Although he technically wasn’t an official part of the Howlers, he thought designing all sets of the elite armor in the Howlers' official black and gold colors was a profound way to visually show total unity when they were finally fighting side-by-side on the battlefield.

It would show their terrifying enemies that the Werewolves were vastly more united and organized than they might have ever realized. They weren't just a loose pack of monsters; they were an army.

“I should get straight to working on the others' armor as well while the forge is hot,” Lupus said to himself, picking his heavy hammer back up. “It’s a real shame I didn't think to ask for a vial of their blood before we parted ways to use the special technique… but I’ll see if I can try and do that another way when I finally meet up with them again.”

There was a highly specialized, ancient forging technique that required the user's blood, which allowed a person to make the armor permanently Soul Bound to the specific user.

It was a magical convenience that allowed the warrior to seamlessly summon the heavy armor directly around their body in a flash of light, rather than having to manually put it on piece by piece and physically carry its weight to a fight.

Just as Lupus raised his hammer, fully ready to begin work on Kai's twin swords, the heavy iron doors of the forge violently swung open.

Galdark came sprinting into the sweltering room, his chest heaving, his face completely drained of color.

“Lupus! Lupus, drop the hammer! We have a issue…” Galdark panted, his eyes wide with absolute terror. “Our hidden security cameras that we set up on the surface... the motion sensors just tripped. It picked up an energy signature. Unzoku... Unzoku is here! He’s standing right at the castle ruins directly above us!”

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