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Chapter 22

As soon as he emerged from the forest, Se-Hoon’s eyes widened due to the information message that appeared.

Why did a bond with Erika, which he hadn’t been able to achieve until now, suddenly form? Caught off guard by the sudden situation, he recalled the fight just now.

Did she sneak a peek?

He wondered if her previously ambiguous evaluation of him had been revised after witnessing his battle with Seitz. And perhaps as a result of that, a bond had been formed. Though he might have been over-imagining it, considering her habit of appearing out of nowhere only to stare at him, it seemed plausible.

I still can’t figure out what she’s thinking at all.

The fact that the bond was formed as soon as he showcased some of his abilities in front of her suggested she cared more about practicality, but he couldn’t quite grasp the actual reason behind it.

Pondering for a moment, he quickly dismissed the thoughts from his mind.

Well, whatever. After all, a bond had been formed, so he would find out more when they met again.

Switching his focus, he decided to check out Eun-Ha’s Fatestone which was partially attached to his right hand.

[Fatestone - Iron Desire]

[Tier: Advanced] [Quality: Perfect]

[Consumes other metals, generating energy in the process. It corrodes the metal it touches, melting its core into itself.

*Devours metal to create Blood Ore

*Remaining durability: 78%]

Is it because of the grade or the quality? The durability decreased by less than I thought.

At this rate, he could probably use it two or three more times. Smiling at the durability remaining, he recalled the sensation he had felt.

That must be similar to what Ryu Eun-Ha tastes when she consumes equipment.

It was a taste that pierced through his body the moment he consumed the dagger. The taste was completely different in structure to anything, even despite all of the extravagant meals he had consumed. It had an irreplaceable presence that could not be substituted by ordinary food.

He unconsciously licked his lips, still tasting the gritty and rich flavor on them.

They say there’s always a reason when someone is expressionless...

It made sense that she became desensitized to everyday stimuli after experiencing such intense flavors regularly. With that understood, he now had a better understanding of Eun-Ha than before his regression.

Hm. With this, I could even aim to match her taste in the future.

He continued to savor the taste, as understanding the flavor was a tremendous gain. After all, matching Eun-Ha’s taste had always been the most challenging part of forging equipment for her.

If he could utilize the information well, he would smoothly obtain her Fatestones and level up their bond quickly.

These also seem quite usable.

Although the daggers he took from Seitz as compensation were somewhat crude to use, with a few modifications and integrations with Black Weaver, they would become quite usable.

With what he gained, he was still satisfied even though the fight was a bit of a hassle.

Was it Ore Analysis this afternoon? he thought as he checked the time.

As this class was taught by In-Cheol, it was one of the most popular classes in the Department of Blacksmithing.

Well, he is one of the world’s top 100 blacksmiths.

Even with the many expert blacksmiths around the world, he was worthy of his place among the world’s top 100 blacksmiths. Thus, although his hero rank was A, his value was practically equivalent to that of an S-rank hero.

I wonder how he\'ll lead the class...

With these thoughts in mind, he arrived at the main building of the Department of Blacksmithing and headed straight to the classroom.

“...”

“...”

As soon as he entered, the previously rowdy classroom quieted down in an instant, and all of the students’ eyes turned to him. Already accustomed to such attention, he shrugged it off, took a seat in a corner, and let out a sigh.

I’m tired...

He had fought Seitz right after his duel with Jake. Also, the aftereffects of using Iron Desire to drastically enhance his physical abilities made every part of his body ache.

He sat there lightheaded, showing signs of exhaustion that were creeping up due to a lack of strength and mana.

Creak-

A few moments later, the classroom door opened and In-Cheol came in, followed by a large cart that was moving on its own.

The sight of that drew a look of interest from Se-Hoon.

Is that a golem?

An often misconception of blacksmiths was that they were only able to forge equipment, but in reality, they were able to handle anything as long as it involved ores.

Golems, especially, were popular items that were made in collaboration with sorcerers. Even Se-Hoon had made a few before the regression.

Now that I think about it, Luize was good at making golems too. He was suddenly reminded about Blast Dog Luize Valent, one of the Three Dogs.

“I’ll start class now. Everyone, please turn to page sixteen of your textbooks.”

In-Cheol, now standing on the podium, immediately began the lesson. Soon after, Se-Hoon quickly grew bored with the content.

Cheh, it’s just a theory class.

The class consisted of In-Cheol explaining the textbook contents while adding his own experiences. To Se-Hoon, who had a career history comparable to In-Cheol’s, it was boring, but there was some useful information for the other students who listened intently.

Did I expect too much...?

While the Metallurgy and Understanding Tools classes were manageable since they involved some moving around, just sitting still and listening was quite challenging.

With an indifferent expression, he continued to listen to the lecture.

“It seems like that’s enough theory for now. Let’s get to the fun part of the lecture.”

In-Cheol closed the textbook, took out small iron ingots from the cart beside him, and placed them on the table in front.

“As I’ve just explained, you can dramatically alter the form, even with two pieces of the same metal, based on how you change the arrangement of mana.”

As soon as he completed his explanation, mana emanated from his fingertips. Then he lightly tapped the iron ingots.

They began to tremble faintly, each undergoing different transformations that caused various phenomena.

Crack! Snap! Creak!

Their forms changed in diverse ways: some curled inward, others twisted into spiral shapes, and some even unfolded completely.

The students watched with fascination, and Se-Hoon’s lips curled up slightly at the sight.

He’s quite good at this.

Achieving such drastic transformations of ingots of that size required a perfect understanding of how to arrange their mana, which was possible only with years of experience and exceptional skill.

“The diversity of a weapon is determined by how well you can utilize these shape changes. This is why a blacksmith must fully understand the potential of the metal they work with.”

Tap, tap!

When In-Cheol tapped the iron ingots again with his fingers, they reverted to their original forms as if nothing had happened.

“Wow...”

The students were all amazed at how In-Cheol was able to perfectly restore the ingots’ original shapes without using any special skills.

As the surprised gasps resounded, In-Cheol continued nonchalantly, “Today, we’ll practice metal transformation techniques using these iron ingots. They’ve been tuned to react more sensitively than ordinary ingots, so handle them with care.”

Each student was given an ingot to work with, and Se-Hoon began to examine his.

Hm. Did they make it sensitive to transformations by linking the mana array with the Ore Essence?

It seemed that In-Cheol hadn’t completely dismissed the idea of magic forging yet, despite Vice Dean Michael’s disapproval.

As Se-Hoon looked on with interest, In-Cheol picked up an ingot.

“We’ll start with the basics. Manipulate the mana array and create a three-centimeter scratch in the middle of the ingot, then restore it. You have ten minutes.”

Following In-Cheol instructions, the students began to manipulate the mana array just like they had learned, trying to transform their ingots.

“Uh, uh-oh... why isn’t it working?”

“It’s not going back to its original shape.”

They immediately realized that hearing and understanding the instructions was worlds apart from actually doing it themselves.

Most students ended up failing to create the scratch, and even the top-ranking students struggled with the placement and depth of the scratch.

However, amidst all the confusion, there were two that had finished perfectly.

“I’m finished.”

“Done here as well.”

It was Se-Hoon and Hans, the top-ranked and second-ranked, respectively.

“Then the two of you will move on to the next step. I’ll show you the array as an example, so try to apply it yourselves.”

In-Cheol immediately displayed the next level of transformation with a hologram, and the two quickly began to manipulate the mana array of their ingots.

They both completed the array quickly and although Se-Hoon was slightly faster, the difference wasn’t significant.

All the attention in the room was drawn to their silent competition.

I can do it... this time, I can do it for sure...! Hans thought.

The speed and the completeness of his transformations were almost the same as Se-Hoon’s. He clenched his teeth and continued to transform the ingot, aiming to catch up with Se-Hoon, who was not far ahead.

Quietly observing this, In-Cheol calmly projected the next array into the air.

“This is the next one. Try to apply it.”

The next array was so complex that it was almost impossible to guess how it would transform the ingot.

At this array, the two of them finally showed different reactions.

“...”

“This is it...!”

Se-Hoon was just staring at the ingot, without moving to start transforming it. In contrast, Hans immediately began transforming his ingot.

The resulting ingot split into an X shape, each leg slowly curling upwards in a curve. The shape turned out to be a small sphere that was composed of four curved spines.

Hans inwardly cheered at the sight.

Got it!

To anyone’s eyes, this ingot was transformed perfectly.

Meanwhile, Se-Hoon was still just looking at his ingot, with no movements at all. Seeing this, Hans wore a confident expression and was about to declare his victory, but...

“Hans Barmuth.”

In-Cheol called his name with a cold voice.

“Return the ingot to its original form.”

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me; try to revert it.”

Caught off guard by the sudden instruction, Hans placed his hands on the ingot he transformed, and his eyes widened in shock. No matter how hard he tried to revert the mana array, it wouldn’t return to its original state.

“This... this is...”

The ingot had been completely damaged.

As Hans stared blankly at it, In-Cheol began to speak calmly, “The ingot wasn’t able to withstand the mana array you used to transform it. In other words, your method was wrong from the beginning. Did you know that?”

“But, I-I just did as you instructed...”

“Didn’t I mention it earlier? It’s necessary to fully understand the potential of the metal.”

It wasn’t just about transforming the ore; it was also about understanding whether it could truly withstand the transformation. Hans bit his lip at In-Cheol’s words.

“If you can’t restore the manipulated array, you wouldn’t be transforming the equipment; instead, you would be degrading it. This significantly affects its quality and performance, so make sure to pay attention to this aspect in the future.”

Hans nodded somberly at In-Cheol’s critique.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

It turned out that he had squandered such a precious opportunity in vain.

Frustration welled up in him as he looked at Se-Hoon, who still hadn’t started transforming his ingot.

Did he realize this instantly?

Maybe he just lucked out and was actually dumbfounded because he couldn’t follow the mana arrange pattern.

Hans glared at him with dissatisfaction.

“Hmm.”

Just then, Se-Hoon began shaping his ingot into the sphere, just like Hans had. Everyone looked on with puzzled expressions at this sudden action.

“This should do it.”

Flap-

The disfigured ingot instantly reverted to its original form.

“...”

“...”

At that spectacle, the whole classroom became deathly still.

Then, a single voice broke the silence.

“...Lee Se-Hoon.”

Although In-Cheol spoke as calmly as possible, the students could all hear a subtle tremor in his voice. Se-Hoon, sensing the tremor in his voice, looked back at In-Cheol belatedly.

“Yes?”

“Please bring the ingot down here.”

“Ah, sure.”

With a puzzled expression, Se-Hoon went down to the front. In-Cheol stared at the ingot in his hand with a stern expression.

“Can you perform the transformation you just did once again?” In-Cheol asked, his eyes glowing red with mana.

He was using a skill for proper verification, which made Se-Hoon realize the gravity of the situation.

Ah, darn... did I cause a misunderstanding?

It seemed In-Cheol was a bit flustered by the unexpected situation.

Se-Hoon briefly considered explaining verbally, but he decided that just showing it would be faster.

He immediately transformed the ingot in his hand.

Flap-

The ingot split into four, then each leg curled up in a curve toward one vertex to form a sphere. Then, as if rewinding the process, it perfectly reverted to its original form.

The transformation technique he showed just now slightly varied from the previous one. It was so flawless that it was hard to believe that a freshman had improvised it on the spot. In-Cheol was left both amazed and deflated.

“...I see. So it was possible because it was this specific ingot.”

The transformation technique In-Cheol demonstrated was made based on ingots that fit international standards, but the ones used in today’s practice session were modified with additives to make them easier for the students to handle.

Thus, the transformation that Se-Hoon had accomplished, which made use of those additives, was impossible with regular ingots.

And yet I was startled without even recognizing that...

In-Cheol smirked at his own reaction. However, his astonishment was for another reason.

The person who had come up with the transformation technique featured in the textbook was none other than the top-tier craftsman, Sacred Craftsman, who was on par with Chairman Ludwig.

It shouldn’t have been possible for him to pull it off.

The question about what the fundamental truth of iron was remained unsolved for decades, even before the Sacred Craftsman became an S-class hero and conquered a tower. Thus the transformation technique was considered both a universal puzzle to solve and also part of the foundation for all blacksmiths.

Maybe I thought it was possible that he could solve it.

It seemed too much to expect from a freshman just starting, but after considering the capabilities Se-Hoon had shown so far, In-Cheol believed that it was perfectly possible.

With newfound certainty in the matter he had been pondering for a while, In-Cheol made up his mind and looked at Se-Hoon.

“Although you adapted the existing transformation technique, it should’ve still been difficult to modify it to the state of the ingot. Well done.”

“Thank you.”

“You can return to your seat.”

As Se-Hoon returned to his seat with his ingot, glances were thrown his way. They were all marveling at the praise he had received from In-Cheol. Everyone was aware of the extraordinary technique Se-Hoon had demonstrated on the spot.

“...”

And among those glancing was Hans, who felt so overshadowed by Se-Hoon that he seemed to have lost all his vigor. Seeing this, Se-Hoon merely smiled at him before turning his gaze back to the ingot.

The fundamental truth of iron...

Lee Ken-Sei, the Sacred Craftsman, was both a top-tier blacksmith and a conqueror of a Tower of Heroes.

As Se-Hoon reminisced about how he was a notoriously noisy old man before the regression, he couldn’t help but smirk.

If I break it again this time, I guess that will make it the second time.