Now, we were at one of the most important steps: further thinning and sharpening the edges. For this, we moved on to the sharpening stone. I first placed my claw on the stone. "You have to be careful while doing this, Gob. If you apply too much pressure, the material might break, but if you apply too little, it won’t sharpen. Apply pressure evenly and move smoothly."

  I demonstrated by moving the stone back and forth, which gave the edge of my claw a smooth bevel. Gob watched with great curiosity, then immediately moved to his own stone. On his first try, he applied too much pressure, and a small spark flew off. He paused for a moment and looked at me.

  "Gob, a little lighter," I corrected. The little goblin adjusted his movements and became gentler.

  After a while, we both held well-shaped, sharp daggers in our hands. But our work wasn't done yet. "Now, the next step is to make it stronger and more durable," I said. "The material is already hard, but we will add a binding element."

  Gob nodded eagerly. In the next step, we would integrate the Steel Fang Wolf’s tooth into the claw and reinforce the dagger.

  The claws we shaped had now taken the form of a dagger, but on their own, Alpha Wolf’s claw wasn’t durable enough. To make a stronger, more flexible, and long-lasting weapon, we needed to combine it with the Steel Fang Wolf's tooth. This process would both enhance durability and maintain the dagger’s sharpness.

  Gob held his claw up to the light, watching how its edge gleamed. "Gob?" he asked, trying to understand what we were going to do.

  “The material we have is hard, but it could be brittle,” I said, showing my dagger. “If we want it to be resistant to impacts, we need to strengthen it with steel. We’ll integrate the steel into the claw’s inner structure.”

  Gob listened carefully. First, we needed to prepare the steel tooth. I dug out one of Steel Fang Wolf’s long, sturdy teeth from the raw materials. These were naturally durable yet malleable enough to work with.

  I placed a tooth on the anvil and continued explaining, "We’ll shape these teeth by heating them, not by melting them. Too much heat could destroy the organic components, so we must work with controlled temperatures."

  Gob nodded. Together, we went to the stone furnace and carefully began heating the teeth. Heating them too much would ruin their internal structure, so I constantly checked the temperature.

  "The way to tell is by looking at its color," I said. "See, when the tooth turns a faint orange? That’s the perfect working temperature."

  Gob immediately checked his own tooth and carefully mimicked my actions. When his tooth reached the same color tone, we quickly brought it to the anvil.

  "Now, we need to integrate this tooth into the claw," I said. I opened a small channel in the Alpha Wolf’s claw to fit the steel tooth inside. Gob tilted his head, watching in confusion, trying to understand what I was doing.

  “Gob, this gap will make sure the steel fits tightly inside the claw,” I explained. “If we only attach it to the surface, it’ll easily come off upon impact. But if we interlock it, it will be much stronger.”

  Gob nodded and carefully tried to open a channel in his own claw. His little hands were a bit unsteady, but his effort was admirable.

  Once the channel was made, we carefully inserted the steel tooth. But just placing it wasn’t enough; we needed a binder to secure it. For this, we used a special resin mixture made from the Alpha Wolf's bones.

  I melted the resin and spread a thin layer on the joining points of the steel and the claw. "Once this hardens, it will be as strong as stone, but it will still provide a little flexibility."

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  Gob carefully repeated the process on his own dagger.

  A few hours later, the binding material had hardened, and the steel tooth and the claw were fully fused. Now, the dagger was not only sharp but also much stronger and longer-lasting.

  However, we still had more work to do. Now, we would move on to the most crucial step: strengthening it with poison.

  Our dagger was now in the right shape, but to turn it into a truly deadly weapon, we needed to apply the final touches. Poison was the most critical component at this stage. If applied improperly, it would be ineffective or would slowly leak out over time. But when done right, the sharp surface of the dagger would absorb the poison, turning every strike into a deadly threat to the enemy.

  Gob carefully examined the dagger in his hands. "Gob?" he asked, looking at me, trying to understand what we were going to do next.

  "You can strike with this dagger for regular blows," I said, gently running my finger along the blade's surface. "But if we coat it with poison, even a scratch can paralyze the enemy or slowly kill them. However, applying poison is a delicate process. If you do it wrong, your own weapon might kill you."

  Gob's eyes widened, and he immediately took a few steps back. I smiled. "Calm down. If you're careful, there won't be any problems. Now, let's prepare the poison we'll use."

  From our materials storage, I extracted the secretion of a special creature called the Poison Tail. This creature produced a concentrated toxin that, when processed correctly, could maintain its potency for a long time. Gob admired the thick green color of the liquid and muttered, "Gob?"

  I had obtained this material from the lizards caught in the traps I had set deep in the forest. These lizards were one of the poison-type monsters found in the tower. I knew this because, when I first caught one, I had mistaken it for a regular lizard and tried to remove it from the trap with my hands. As soon as I did, it sprayed a type of poisonous fluid from its tail. Fortunately, I managed to escape just in time, but it had been a dangerous moment, and I had discovered an important resource.

  "This poison can't be used in its raw form. It's too runny and loses its effectiveness quickly. So, we'll need to thicken it and make it stickier," I explained.

  For this, I added water and volcanic stone powder into a small cauldron, then poured the Poison Tail secretion into it. I slightly increased the fire beneath the cauldron to bring the mixture to a boil. "This mixture needs to thicken. You'll see, as the color darkens, it will become more potent."

  Gob watched the cauldron carefully. As the liquid turned from a dark green to almost black, he nodded. "Gob."

  "Now comes the most important part," I said. "Applying the poison directly to the dagger won't be effective. We need to make it permeate into the metal."

  For this, we needed to heat the dagger slightly. I reduced the heat of the stone forge and gently warmed the blade. If it became too hot, the poison would burn and lose its effect.

  "This temperature opens the pores of the metal," I explained. "Now, carefully take some of the thickened poison from the cauldron and apply it to the surface of the dagger."

  Gob immediately grabbed a small brush, but I stopped him. "No, using a brush will make it uneven. Instead, take a soft piece of leather and gently rub the poison into the dagger."

  I gave him a piece of leather and did the same myself. Carefully, I applied the poison to the surface of the dagger, ensuring it permeated into the metal. Gob carefully imitated me, working with his tongue sticking out in concentration.

  As the poison mixed with the heat of the metal, it began to penetrate deeply into the surface. The blade now had a slight dark greenish shine. Gob looked at his dagger in awe and said, "Gob!"

  "We're not done yet," I said. "We need to wait a bit for the poison to fully set. If we use it right away, its effect will be weaker."

  We placed the daggers on a special drying rack and left them to rest for a few hours. During this time, Gob eagerly went to check on his dagger a few times, but I stopped him.

  Finally, to test if the metal had fully absorbed the poison, I took a small piece of wood and lightly dragged it across the edge of the dagger. Instantly, a small darkening appeared on the wood's surface, and within seconds, it began to rot slightly.

  "We did it," I said. "This dagger is powerful enough to weaken an enemy with even a scratch."

  Gob proudly lifted his dagger. It was now a deadly weapon.

  Although the blade was complete, we still needed to make a sturdy and ergonomic handle to effectively use it. We had to balance the weight of the dagger and ensure it would be comfortable to hold for long periods.

  Gob, holding the steel claw carefully in his hands, looked at me with curiosity. "Gob?"

  "Now, we're going to make a suitable handle. If you try to use it with just the metal part, it will be hard to hold for long. Also, if the grip isn't comfortable, you could lose control during attacks."

  I showed him a few different handle designs. Should we make a simple wooden handle, or should we use a tougher, non-slip material? In the end, we decided on a hardened volcanic wood handle with a leather covering.