It was no longer cold text or abstract concepts.

Instead, countless deep laws regarding the essence of mana, flow trajectories, circuit structures, and the interweaving of energy and matter were branded directly into his mind.

Roland abruptly closed his eyes, and a fine layer of sweat seeped from his forehead.

Countless invisible carving knives seemed to work inside his skull at the same time, engraving those ancient and precise arcane truths.

Along with the knowledge came a completely new sense of power, gathering and stirring at his fingertips, urgently waiting to be released.

When the torrent of information finally calmed, Roland opened his eyes.

The world seemed subtly different in his gaze.

Air was no longer merely air.

The faint Mana Elements suspended within it, originally invisible, now appeared and disappeared within his concentrated spiritual vision like tiny specks of light glittering in different colors.

They were no longer vague concepts, but had become something...

Something that could be observed, even "touched."

He raised his right hand on instinct and stared at his index finger.

There was no need for deliberate mobilization. With only a slight movement of thought, a nearly imperceptible yet condensed strand of mental power gathered at his fingertip like an obedient stream.

It was no longer chaotic energy inside his body, but a tool with a certain "texture" and "directionality."

He could clearly feel this mental power leaping at his fingertip, docile and full of potential.

"Element Imprinting..."

Roland softly spoke the skill's name, and his heart suddenly cleared.

The past experiences of painstakingly engraving spell circuits onto the surfaces of tools, the research into magic theory, those days and nights tempering metal before the forge...

All of his accumulated knowledge and experience seemed to connect at this moment, becoming fully integrated.

This was not merely engraving circuits. This was directly "forging" invisible mana into the structure of matter, just like forging metal according to specific arcane blueprints.

And the mental power gathered at his fingertip was his new carving knife, his new hammer.

Complex rune sequences were the forging procedures on the blueprint.

And the final magical effect born from them was the brand-new property he personally bestowed upon the item, as clear as the qualities of enchanted metal.

Excitement and a craftsman's desire to explore ignited in his heart.

This feeling was both familiar and unfamiliar.

What was familiar was the sense of controlling matter and energy. What was unfamiliar was that this power came directly from the mind, surpassing the physical limitations of anvil and furnace.

Before Roland could pull himself free from the delight of obtaining a new skill, a fresh line of golden subtitles appeared before his eyes.

[Trait gained: Material Synesthesia]

[Material Synesthesia: When an Enchanter's fingers or mental perception touch any substance, an innate talent activates. He can not only instantly sense the material's core Mana Element affinity, meaning which type of mana it can most easily carry, but can also, as if listening to the whispers of the material itself, perceive its internal flaws and weaknesses. Whether impurities in metal ore, breaks in wood grain, tiny cracks inside crystals, or weak points caused by unevenly tanned leather, these subtle defects will appear clearly in his perception like candlelight in the dark. This synesthesia is instinctive and continuous, and is the cornerstone by which an Enchanter understands the essence of matter.]

The instant the subtitles dispersed, an unprecedented flood of perception swept across Roland's senses.

An invisible veil had been lifted, and the entire room...

No, the entire world he could touch revealed to him an entirely different inner face.

Almost instinctively, he pressed his palm onto the cold anvil beside him.

Hum!

A deep hum did not come from his ears, but trembled directly on the level of his spirit.

It was no longer simply the sensation of metal's coldness and hardness. More essential information surged in like a tide.

This hammer-worn anvil contained a tough, stable magical affinity at its core, like a boulder, leaning toward the thick power of the earth element.

However, beneath that heavy sense of power, countless tiny "noises" were clearly distinguishable.

They were impurities inside the metal that had not been fully smelted evenly, along with fine stress fractures accumulated under countless heavy strikes, invisible to the naked eye. They lurked deep within the structure like spiderwebs, each point representing a potential weakness.

Roland abruptly pulled back his hand, his fingertip seeming to retain that heavy, coarse "touch."

He took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping across the room.

The pig iron ingots piled in the corner were no longer clumsy metal blocks in his eyes.

They emitted a mixed and faint magical aura.

The main body was the gloom of the earth element, but within it were strands of untamed fire-element restlessness, the marks left behind by the smelting process.

More importantly, he could clearly "see" the unevenly distributed slag and air holes inside the ingots, like stains in the dark, ruining the pure mana conductivity the metal should have possessed.

He casually picked up a piece of rough, untreated coal used for quenching.

What his fingertips felt was no longer simple roughness, but a hidden, violent, unstable fire-element affinity, like a sealed lava core.

But this power was firmly locked away by layer upon layer of impurities and a loose structure. It was fragile and almost impossible to guide or use effectively.

While perceiving these "whispers" from ordinary materials, Roland suddenly sensed that the mithril longsword at his waist had become incredibly "loud."

He had not even deliberately touched it. Merely sweeping his gaze over it caused the weapon that had accompanied him for so long to transmit incomparably clear information.

It was like a piece of pure ice, yet carried the lightness of wind.

Mithril's own near-perfect mana conductivity flowed through every inch of the blade like the clearest stream, without the slightest obstruction.

What surprised him even more was that this sword's Mana Element affinity was not the earth or fire commonly found in metals, as he had assumed, but an extremely active wind element.

He could "feel" that the blade's interior seemed to contain countless tiny, invisible channels.

Wind element surged and spiraled within them, granting it speed and sharpness beyond ordinary weapons.

This was the material's own call, the innate resonance between mithril and the wind element.

At the same time, an extremely tiny old scar along the sword spine, almost perfectly repaired, also appeared clearly in his perception.

It was a mark left by some fierce battle in the past. Although it had been sealed by master-level craftsmanship, it remained the weakest node of the entire sword.

"Material Synesthesia..."

Roland murmured to himself, indescribable shock surging in his heart.

This was not simple "seeing" or "touching," but directly listening to the "voice" of matter itself and understanding its inner "language."

Every piece of ore, every plank of wood, every drop of molten metal was an open book, telling him its essence, tendencies, and flaws.

Impurities, cracks, weak points...

These hidden dangers, which once required repeated hammering, grinding, and even failure before they could be found, were now as clear as fireflies in the night the instant his fingertips or mental perception touched them.

He looked around. This familiar blacksmith workshop had transformed in his eyes.

It was no longer merely a collection of tools and materials, but a living world formed from countless whispers, calls, and pulses.

Every item was telling its own story, revealing its potential and limits.

"So that is how it is..."

Roland withdrew his gaze.

He understood. [Material Synesthesia] was not merely an aid for enchanting. It was itself a key, one that opened the deeper mysteries of the material world and allowed an Enchanter to converse with the foundation of creation.

This perception was instinct, cornerstone, the first step in understanding the essence of all things.

Only with it could he truly "forge" miracles as an Enchanter.

The world before him had suddenly become so noisy, and yet so clear.

"Hah..."

Only when the "whispers" of matter around him faded did Roland let out a long breath.

He rubbed his aching brow and instantly activated the [Focus] trait.

Supported by a Spirit attribute as high as eighteen, his thoughts operated at unprecedented speed.

In only a few moments, he digested and absorbed all the complex knowledge granted by becoming an [Enchanter].

"Engraving spell circuits, granting elemental attributes... so this is the ability of an [Enchanter]..."

Staring at the highly condensed mental power at his fingertip, like an invisible carving knife and hammer, Roland sighed silently in his heart.

Immediately after, without pausing, he picked up the hammer at hand.

Clanging strikes echoed through the workshop.

Before long, with a hiss, white mist rose as Roland pulled the forged blank from the cold-water pool.

Grinding, polishing...

Soon, a brand-new iron sword lay quietly on the anvil.

Sensing the almost flawless iron sword in his hand, the corner of Roland's mouth lifted.

The combination of [Element Imprinting] and [Material Synesthesia] affected more than the occupation of [Enchanter] itself. It also gave his forging skill a leap-like improvement.

"Earth-element and fire-element affinity..."

He rubbed the smooth, cold blade and murmured softly.

Then, without hesitation, Roland's eyes sharpened.

In an instant, mental power almost as tangible as substance condensed at his fingertip.

He concentrated completely, recalling the knowledge he had just obtained, and held his finger steadily above the sword spine.

Hiss!

Along with a faint sound, the mental power at his fingertip cut into the tough metal surface like a hot knife through butter, instantly carving a fine mark.

The mark extended as Roland's finger moved, and one complex rule-bearing line after another appeared across the blade.

During this process, Roland clearly sensed the free elemental particles in the air, like tiny points of light.

In particular, the scorching fire element and heavy earth element were drawn in, flowing through the dragonbone bracer on his left wrist into his body, then gathering at the fingertip of his right hand and being precisely infused into the forming circuits.

These elements, usually like elusive sprites, had become unusually docile. They flowed, leaped, and even faintly churned smoothly within the imprinted mana channels, responding to the guidance of the circuits.

Only the mana conductivity of iron tools was limited, so the elemental flow still carried a faint sense of stagnation.

However, in sharp contrast to the ease of elemental flow, engraving the circuits consumed an enormous amount of Roland's energy.

Fatigue surged like a tide, crashing against his consciousness wave after wave.

His powerful mental power was continuously drawn away. Sweat rolled down from his forehead like a stream, and in only a short while, the ground beneath his feet had become damp.

But Roland gritted his teeth, his gaze firm, never stopping the movement of his hand.

After an unknown amount of time, when the fine circuits finally covered the entire sword spine and outlined a complete arcane structure, he stopped.

Roland panted hard, his chest rising and falling while he greedily drew in air, looking as though he had just endured an intense battle.

"It's done!"

After recovering, Roland shook his dizzy head and raised the iron sword high.

Compared with an ordinary standard iron sword, this blade had nothing special in appearance.

But with the dual support of [Element Imprinting] and [Material Synesthesia], Roland could clearly "feel" two entirely different elemental powers surging inside the cold blade.

Their properties were different and incompatible, yet they alternated and circulated like intimate partners, forming a strange balance.

"This is... incredible..."

Beneath the moonlight, the blade glimmered with a cold edge.

Roland forcibly suppressed the urge to test the sword immediately. For the moment, he set the iron sword down, turned, and pushed open the workshop door.

It was late at night.

The Blacksmith Guild, which had still held some voices earlier, was now empty and silent. Only a few lonely lamps flickered in the dimness.

Roland carefully inspected the area. Only after confirming there was no one else in the guild did he turn back, pick up the iron sword, and walk down the deep corridor.

Before long, he stopped in front of a huge wooden door.

He pushed open the heavy door and lit the torches on the wall.

The leaping firelight quickly drove back the darkness, illuminating the testing ground adjacent to the furnace and separated by thick stone walls.

This was a place specifically used to test newly forged tools and weapons.

The ground was covered in years of oil stains, and the air mixed the heavy tang of iron with the scent of damp wood.

Several scarred sword-testing posts stood in the center of the field, with buckets full of cooling water placed beside them.

At the far end stood a row of straw targets riddled with arrow holes, with clear distance markers carved into the ground.

In the corner was fixed a heavy curved anvil, as well as a testing dummy whose armor was covered in dents.

A layer of metal powder floated on the surface of the huge quenching trough by the wall, while whetstones, small hammers, and other tools lay scattered across the thick wooden testing table.

Tap, tap, tap!

The dull sound of leather boots on stone was especially clear in the silent night.

The footsteps stopped. Roland stood before an almost undamaged iron post cast from scrap iron, holding the iron sword in hand.

"Hah..."

He took a long, deep breath, relaxed his body, and deliberately excluded all combat instincts.

Then he raised the blade high above his head.

Shnk!

Silver light flashed. The blade cut through the air, bringing down a cold wind as it chopped straight downward.

However, the expected dull sound of metal collision and strong recoil did not come.

The feeling...

It was like striking a soft straw man instead of a hard iron pillar.

The blade passed through without any obstruction.

Bang!

Only when the iron post before him crashed apart into two halves did Roland recover from his surprise.

He lowered his head and saw that the fractured surface was astonishingly smooth and faintly red.

Some parts had even melted into scorching molten iron that dripped down.

Hiss...

As a wisp of white smoke carrying a burnt smell rose, the surprise in Roland's eyes was quickly replaced by intense delight.

"A mere iron sword made from ordinary material can produce this effect after being granted elemental attributes? And..."

He recalled the feeling from the instant he swung the sword and clenched his left fist.

"The elements inside the blade's circuits are not dead things... they seem to be responding to my will, even... guiding the free elemental energy in the environment and continuously drawing it in..."

Just as Roland was marveling, a faint hum reached his ears.

Looking toward the sound, he saw dense cracks spreading like spiderwebs along the mysterious circuits of the iron sword he had just forged.

Before he could react, Roland's right hand suddenly grew light.

When he focused again, the blade had already shattered inch by inch, turning into countless iron fragments that scattered across the ground with a series of clinks.

"This is..."

Roland quickly reviewed the entire forging process. Only after confirming that there had been no omissions did he nod in sudden understanding.

"It seems ordinary materials cannot bear elemental power surging inside them at all... Forcing a single use is already the limit..."

After understanding the reason, Roland felt no discouragement.

If an iron tool with such poor mana conductivity could have this kind of power after being granted elemental properties, what about materials with better mana conductivity?

Moreover...

He touched the mithril longsword at his waist. His gaze turned toward the few arrows stuck sparsely in the nearby targets, and the corner of his mouth curved upward.