I decided to finally use my new crafting skills here to make my next steps easier. For starters, I had to make a vehicle that Gcien could pull and that would be stable enough for the baby to be able to sleep peacefully while it moved. I wanted to focus on lightness, but that wouldn’t be a good idea for now… I also wanted to use this as a foundation for the real deal, which would have my boratory and forge.

  In any case, I summoned my ethereal smelter and soon started the process of smelling the ores that I had… I could control the heat inside with ease, I just had to think about that, but there were other things that I had to do that were pretty hard.

  Things like finding impurities for the whole thing… that was quite the annoying process. I had a general ideal on how the forging process worked, but I still had a lot of misconceptions.

  Many people mistakenly believe that forging involves melting metal and pouring it into molds, confusing it with casting. In reality, forging shapes solid metal using forces like hammering or pressing. Another common misconception is that red-hot metal during forging is in a liquid state, but it remains solid, only softened enough for reshaping. Simirly, people often think hammering always makes metal stronger, overlooking that proper techniques like work hardening or heat treatment are necessary to enhance strength. Without these, overworking metal can lead to brittleness rather than durability.

  Another widespread misunderstanding is that quenching, rapidly cooling metal, always makes it stronger. While this is true for materials like high-carbon steel, it has little to no effect on other metals and can even weaken them. Additionally, many assume that forging is a one-step process of heating and shaping, but it typically involves multiple cycles of heating, hammering, and cooling, often followed by grinding or polishing. The idea that all forged items are indestructible is also a myth, as the strength of forged objects depends on the material, design, and proper execution of the process.

  The good thing was the fact that I could use a bunch of ores at the same time… the process was difficult, but putting more of it didn’t make things more time consuming. In fact, it speeds things up.

  I had to stop the process a bunch of times since I was closer to the exit of the byrinth while Gcien was fighting the monsters… when she was done with them, she would eat their legs. That was one less thing to worry about, but it was still a worrying sight.

  ‘I guess I need to bury her soon… night already arrived.’

  I took a break from the forging process to take the body of the harpy outside and then I created a hole in the ground with some controlled explosions. After that, I buried her. It was snowing, so soon the snow would hide all traces of the tomb.

  ‘Considering how rotten my luck is, someone someday will find this and bme me for her death. I can already see it.’

  I returned to the byrinth and found Gcien guarding the baby like a royal knight. She was also staring at her… Gcien was still supposed to be less than one-year-old, but it looked like her maternal instincts were already kicking in.

  In any case, I resumed my work since this needed to be finished as soon as possible… While I shouldn’t hurry up given that it is my first project, it was better to make something and learn from it for the next project.

  When morning came, the whole thing was more or less assembled… it didn’t look good at all, but it was better than nothing. The rough iron carriage had a rugged, utilitarian charm, built for functionality rather than elegance. Its wheels, made entirely of iron, were thick and durable, with wide spokes to distribute weight evenly. Each wheel was rimmed with reinforced bands to withstand rough terrain, though the absence of suspension makes the ride potentially jarring in some terrains when it was pulled too fast. The axles were straightforward but robust, designed to bear significant loads without warping.

  The pulling mechanism included a sturdy iron yoke, its edges slightly rounded to reduce stress on Gcien that will draw the carriage. Some iron chains extend from the yoke to the frame, ensuring that the force is evenly distributed. The base was a ft, reinforced ptform with crisscrossing iron beams underneath for structural integrity, capable of holding heavy cargo or passengers.

  For the time being, the walls and a ceiling were crafted from thick, treated monster leather, stretched taut and fastened with rivets to the iron framework. The leather, both flexible and resilient, provided protection from the elements while maintaining a lightweight design. As a temporary measure, the leather is secured using simple hooks, making it easy to repce or upgrade with sturdier materials ter. The overall structure had a rough pattern, practical aesthetic.

  For the final tests, I put a mana core in the slot in the middle of the interior of the vehicle. When the mana core was attached, the carriage got camoufged. I waited for a while to confirm how long it would st, and it sted for half an hour. Even the parts made of leather were camoufged. It confirmed that the whole thing was a simple structure.

  “Awoo!”

  “It seems that you aren’t against pulling this… but some people might find it inappropriate to use animal bor. Let’s add some strength enchantments to your accessories to make sure that this won’t be that heavy for you.”

  After doing that, I decided to make Gcien pull around the vehicle to see any differences. Her stamina regeneration wasn’t high, but pulling the vehicle alone didn’t drain her stamina beyond her regeneration. When I tried to pull it, it didn’t feel that bothersome either.

  ‘The benefits of high strength… Well, let’s see if with our weight, this will change anything.’

  I got inside the wagon with the baby and I didn’t expect many changes. Gcien moved around for a while just fine. No further stamina drain. The carriage didn’t make any noise, but it was a bit bumpy. I had to add proper tires to the wheels to make that kind of impact less bothersome.

  Adding a wind enchantment would make the vehicle faster, but the earth enchantment would make it more durable and less susceptible to the changes in the terrain. That kind of enchantment would make the vehicle lose durability, though. The fact that the carriage was a giant amulet also would make it lose durability overtime. Still, all that was fine, since the carriage was essentially a bunch of ptes connected that could be dismounted and exchanged with newer parts.

  ‘It is big enough for the ethereal smelter, so I can forge things here, but I should be careful since the camoufge can’t hide the smoke and steam during the process.’

  I did another test and confirmed that while it was camoufged and being pulled by Gcien, it looked like she was just running a bit slower. It still left marks on the snow, though.

  “Wahh! Wahh!”

  All of a sudden, we heard that and Gcien stopped moving… of all times for her to wake up. I headed to the wagon in a hurry and saw the girl crying. It looked like she realized that she was alone and she didn’t like that.

  “It is alright… it’s alright! Hmmmm, hmmmm!”

  I had no idea how to soothe a crying baby, so I tried to imitate how people did in some moves. I was a single child too, so my parents from earth never showed me that kind of thing and they didn’t have siblings either.

  Somehow, it worked on making the little girl calm down. I knew that certain noises, like white noise or rhythmic “shushing” sounds, can calm babies because they mimic the auditory environment of the womb. Inside the womb, babies are surrounded by constant sounds such as the whooshing of blood flow, the rhythmic thump of their mother’s heartbeat, and muffled external noises. These sounds create a steady, soothing background noise that becomes deeply familiar to the baby. After birth, simir sounds can evoke that sense of security and comfort, helping the baby rex and stop crying.

  Additionally, low-frequency sounds and repetitive rhythms are particurly effective because they resemble the steady heartbeat the baby heard in the womb. Techniques like the “shushing” sound work by replicating the constant flow of blood and movement of amniotic fluid that surrounded the baby before birth. These sounds not only feel familiar but also help mask sudden, potentially startling noises in the baby’s environment, creating a sense of safety. Regardless, I saw Gcien looking at me, trying to make the baby fall asleep again, and that made me feel really embarrassed.

  “What are you looking at? Go dig a hole or something.”

  “Awoo!”

  Unfortunately, the baby wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon… it slept for several hours, after all. I could tell that soon would get angry and I didn’t have anything to feed her.

  ‘I guess clearing this byrinth will have to wait. The best option would be to look for some animals here for milk, but what are the odds of finding them with extra milk? Do I have to return to the dwarven territory?’

  Even if that was the only option, it would take three days to return… but heading to the kingdom of Talimor would take weeks. This was really a troubling situation. Alissandra didn’t look older than six months. I knew that was the time babies can drink other things aside from milk.

  “Let’s hope that your nose won’t fail me again, Gcien. Try to track something that has milk in it. Preferably something not violent.”

  “Awoo!”

  Gcien began to pull the wagon, and I sighed… I decided to let the baby rest on the basket and then do something else like some iron amulets, but it looked like that wouldn’t be possible.

  “Wahh! Wahh!”

  Allisandra began to cry again the next moment, and I felt like my eardrums were about to explode the very moment I moved her from my arms.

  “This isn’t going to work… I value my hearing. Man, one can’t never tell where life will take you, huh?”

  WritingMachineGun