"Are you kidding me?" Faluel sniggered. "Maybe if you were my Harbinger. Be glad that I use Adamant instead of Orichalcum. I barely know you so you'd better not make me regret this, miss 'Hydras suck'."
Friya blushed in embarrassment when four of the seven heads nodded in unison making the already audible air quotes visible as well.
"As I was saying, violet is the optimal level of body refinement for Forgemastering because the lack of impurities makes the use of Origin Flames unnecessary and the materials lose no mass during the rest of the procedure."
Faluel put a couple of ingots of Adamant in a smaller crucible before conjuring a bright violet flame that heated the metal to 2,000 degrees, making it slowly melt. At the same time, the Hydra kept cutting at the dragon skin.
The crafting of leg and arm protectors was straightforward enough for Lith to be able to do it on his own with a bit of practice. Yet when Faluel started to work on the joints, chest, and helm, the process turned from mere cutting into something in-between etching, sewing, and sculpting.
First, she separated the scales from the skin, and then she used air, darkness, and water magic to further harden the skin into a black leather. Faluel cut and sewed the dragon leather, forming a scaffold that would suit Friya's body.
Only after triple-checking her measurements and leaving enough space so that she could shapeshift without the armor leaving any vital area exposed did the Hydra proceed to reattach the scales.
Faluel didn't cut them, she just used magic to compress them so that they would retain their mass while having their durability increased. Once she was done, she deposited the Dragonscale armor in a humanoid-shaped crucible.
The Adamant was now completely molten, yet even magical flames lacked the heat to make it boil. The smaller crucible was filled with a silvery liquid akin to quicksilver that would have looked cold if not for heat distorting the air around it.
Faluel weaved a spell that created two concentric Forgemastering circles around the armor. A seven-pointed star centered around the armor appeared in the innermost circle while countless runes filled the space in-between the circles and the star.
"Seven points for seven elements." One of the heads explained while another wore the shapeshifted Hands of Menadion in the form of a Hydra-sized helm to fuel the circle. Another head focused on the Forgemastering circle and one more used Lifestream so that Faluel's strength would always remain at its peak.
"I'm using Spirit Magic to flood both skin and scales with magic, reopening the mana channels that disappeared after Syrook's death. This way, the Adamant will coat the armor inside out, keeping the channels open after I'm done with the Infusion spell."
As if the Dragonscale armor had waited for her cue, emerald veins appeared throughout the suit of armor the moment Faluel finished her explanation. The leather became elastic and the scales glimmered with the mana flow of a living being thanks to Spirit Magic coursing through them.
Another of her heads conjured one more spell, this time aimed at the molten Adamant, filling it with blue veins instead. Then, Faluel poured the liquid metal inside the humanoid-shaped crucible before sealing it.
The lid was transparent, allowing her students to witness the whole process. The sixth head weaved a spell that connected the other two respectively inside the metal and the armor.
It created a bridge between the emerald and the blue veins that guided the Adamant through the opened mana channels, filling them to the brim. The remaining metal coated the outside of the armor, creating a thicker layer around the scales and a thinner one around the leather to not compromise its mobility.
"Now, for the final touch, it's of vital importance to keep your focus until every last drop of metal has been absorbed and cools down." Faluel said. "It takes a while but as you can see, it took me only one-tenth of the Adamant that I would have otherwise needed to make a full suit of armor."
"I don't know what Friya told you earlier, but Solus is my witness. I've always thought that Hydras are amazing." Lith said. "You just cast four spells at the same time, all the while using Invigoration and explaining everything to us."
"Thanks." At those words, all seven heads had a proud grin on their face.
"Professor Faluel, why didn't you use your hammer and your forge?" Solus asked while wondering if between her and Lith they could repeat the process with such accuracy.
"Salaark taught you the Mana Well, the technique that Menadion shared with her fellow Forgemasters, huh?" The only head that could afford to talk said. "To answer your question, I will when I enchant the armor away from prying eyes.
"Every bloodline adapted and evolved Menadion's Mana Well their own way and I'm not going to share mine with you. Infusion is a preparatory step like Bonding or Runesmithing. A good Forgemaster needs to amplify their mana during the enchanting process."
"All of this was just a preparatory step?" Lith was flabbergasted.
"Well, yes. You can always skip it, find yourself enough Adamant to cover your entire Tiamat body and enchant it the old-fashioned way. Why do you think that Awakened don't mind wearing dead skin as long as it's gifted?
"We favor practicality over pointless morality. Without the use of scales, making a single Emperor-Beast-sized armor would take centuries just to collect the metal." Faluel replied.
"What about the rest? I mean, claws, fangs, bones, and organs?" Lith asked.
"Fangs, claws, and bones can be used when crafting weapons by using the same method that I showed you with the scales. The problem is that their shape is all wrong so you need to add one more spell to change them into the form of your choosing." The Hydra said.
"As for the organs, they have no value as materials but they are powerful ingredients. A Dragon's heart is a great magical amplifier for all kinds of enchantments, the lungs boost air magic, the windpipe fire magic due to the lingering power of the Origin Flames, the liver has rejuvenating properties, and I could go on."
"The same heart that I punctured?" Lith pointed at the cavity in Syrook's chest.
"Yeah, it's utterly useless. Don't try to mend it with necromancy because the darkness element would purge the magical properties as well." Faluel sighed at the loss as well.
She would have asked half, but Syrook's heart was only good as a culinary oddity.
"Can you teach me the spell to reshape the bones and give me a book about what organ boosts what element?" Lith asked.
"Of course that I can." Now that she had no need for the extra mouths, Faluel reverted to her human form, looking at Lith with an impish smile. "The real question is if I should.
"After passing the trial in Urgamakka, you have graduated from my apprenticeship.. Now you have turned out to be a Divine Beast, you possess the fabled tower of Menadion, and you have received lessons from the God of Forgemastering herself who also recycles all of your materials.
