Chapter 14
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Ink Spider Ring
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The Forging Department's forge was open to any affiliated cadet, but there were safety rules that had to be strictly followed.
Most of them were straightforward procedures, like submitting material details beforehand or logging usage times. But the most stringent rule by far was the one on material restrictions.
When using Hero-grade or higher materials, Hero-grade or higher materials must be processed only under supervision.
Rare-grade materials could still be managed by the workshop's safety systems even if issues arose during forging, but starting from Hero-grade, the materials' immense potential made that impossible.
That's why, for safety, forging had to be done with a professor or assistant instructor present. And given the exorbitant cost of such materials, freshmen without budgets almost never made requests.
Mid-level forging request received from 1st-year cadet Lee Se-hun.
Those wishing to supervise, please reply.
But today, for the first time in years, an exception appeared.
'I wonder how many will show up this time...'
The administrative staffer, having messaged every professor in the department, peered curiously at the panel.
Among professors, forge supervision was generally seen as a hassle. You had to stand by for hours, bracing for potential accidents that could happen at any moment.
That's why it was usually left to the assistant instructors under them. But things changed for a high-achieving cadet with no "affiliation" yet.
Ding!
"Whoa... that was fast."
A reply came back in less than a minute after sending the message.
And the responder was none other than Professor Kim In-cheol, the department's guiding professor and still the highest authority there.
"As expected of the department top..."
The power of those who taught, like professors, came not just from themselves but from the disciples under them.
In that sense, Lee Se-hun—the department's first top cadet in 12 years—was someone every professor was eager to recruit, eyes blazing.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Replies kept pouring in, proving his popularity, until it was faster to count the non-responders.
'Not a single line from Vice Department Head Michael.'
Rumors said the mood was sour since his son had been pushed to second place, and it looked like they were true. Judging that most replies had come in, the staffer looked over the list of interested professors.
'Better to pick randomly this time.'
If the cadet hadn't requested a specific professor, assignments followed a fixed order to give equal recruitment chances.
But with so many professors interested and all of them hungry for a shot, a pure random draw seemed fairest.
The staffer had just decided and was about to pull up a random picker site when—
The Department Head will personally oversee Cadet Lee Se-hun's mid-level forging.
"Ah."
Unfair power had crashed the party for the professors.
"It's been a while, Cadet Lee Se-hun."
"......"
Lee Se-hun arrived at the workshop with his materials, only to make a dumbfounded face at the red-haired woman waiting for him—Ryu Eun-ha.
He'd figured some random professor would show, not that she'd come supervise personally.
'Same as ever... once she's hooked, nothing's off-limits.'
With the semester just starting and her first year as department head, she should be swamped, yet here she was, like she'd been waiting.
It seemed she had high expectations for him.
"You're busy—why come to a spot like this...?"
"Not so busy. And as department head, I need to check your skills anyway."
She was probably just curious about the weapons he'd made, but Lee Se-hun nodded like it was no big deal.
"Guess I'll have to put in extra effort then."
"Hm. If it's a burden..."
She broached it out of consideration, but couldn't bring herself to suggest calling someone else.
Seeing her lingering reluctance, Lee Se-hun smirked inwardly and replied.
"No issue. Might even be better with you watching."
Most blacksmiths would balk at having the infamous "gourmet" oversee them, but for him, it was routine from before his regression—nothing special.
If anything, her presence would add just the right tension for better focus.
"......"
Ryu Eun-ha gave him a slightly surprised look at the response.
That having an overseer would help? She'd only ever heard "stay away from my forge," so this was novel.
"I see."
Her expressionless face softened ever so slightly—not displeased, it seemed—as she regarded him.
"Do whatever you want. As long as I'm here, you won't get hurt."
"Then I'll trust you with it."
And with Ryu Eun-ha—not just any professor—she could absolutely protect him if anything went wrong.
'Though it won't.'
Lee Se-hun stepped up to the workbench and unpacked his materials one by one.
The 'Ink-Heavy Darkness' from Ludwig and the pre-made mold. Inspecting them, he reviewed the process in his mind.
'Start with material distribution.'
He gauged how much Ink-Heavy Darkness to use, then grabbed a water bucket, dropped it in, and sealed the lid.
A highly unconventional approach. Ryu Eun-ha watched with wide eyes.
"Have you handled Ink-Heavy Darkness before?"
"Knew the method. First time trying it myself."
His calm reply left her puzzled.
'First time, and she goes for that method...'
There were various ways to distribute Ink-Heavy Darkness, but the trickiest was the so-called "dark sealing process."
'Seal it in a pitch-black space and separate using only mana...'
Simple in words, but the Ink-Heavy Darkness liquefied and spread in darkness, requiring full reconstruction from start to finish.
A novice attempting it risked degrading the material's quality.
Thump thump thump thump.
But Lee Se-hun casually tapped the bucket with his hand, channeling mana. He then opened it and extracted the Ink-Heavy Darkness.
"......!"
A perfect square cube the size of a golf ball, cut with zero margin for error.
Ryu Eun-ha was speechless at the precision, while he looked at it like it was natural.
'A quarter of the total.'
Wasteful, but any less and it wouldn't perform as intended.
He set the remainder aside, lit the furnace, and clutched ignition stones in his palm, smashing them together.
Crackle crack!
The stones heated up, bouncing in the fire pipe.
Normally, he'd insert them now, but melting Ink-Heavy Darkness demanded a superior flame.
'Crimson Flame.'
Whoosh!!
His fire-attribute mana, Crimson Flame, enveloped the stones, and its form began to shift.
Splish.
Influenced by Crimson Flame's properties, the fire flowed like water at his gesture. Peering inside, Lee Se-hun plunged his left hand in and began fishing out flames of differing colors.
Sizzle!
Like separating egg white from yolk, he sorted the flames. Suddenly, the internal balance tipped, and the blaze turned green in an instant.
Fwoosh.
Unlike its initial violent roar, it now burned steadily and serene. Ryu Eun-ha asked with keen interest.
"Quite the unique flame."
"It's called Steady Flame. Its trait is..."
With a flick, he tossed the Steady Flame into the furnace, where it swiftly dyed the interior—like wildfire across a field.
Confirming the whole furnace glowed green, he continued matter-of-factly.
"It holds the temperature it takes form at. Invaluable for precision work where temp control matters."
It had a max temp limit, but Ink-Heavy Darkness didn't demand extreme heat, making it ideal.
"......Cadet Lee Se-hun knows an impressive array of techniques."
Who would believe this was a freshman's skill? Under her curious gaze, he pulled out the universal excuse.
"All thanks to my skills."
"......I see."
She herself devoured iron via skills, so no suspicion there. With the perfect dodge, Lee Se-hun eyed the Ink-Heavy Darkness heating in the furnace.
Hummm—
Faintly distorting flames around it. As the distortion widened and heating stalled, he snatched the hammer and long tongs beside him.
Clang! Clang!
He struck in the order they'd entered the furnace, using hammer and tongs.
The hit spots paled slightly, and the distorting field shrank dramatically.
It had absorbed the impacts, reducing its flame consumption.
'Time to begin.'
Repeating this refined Ink-Heavy Darkness.
His eyes gleamed as he assumed the least stamina-draining stance and got to work.
Clang! Clang!
Refining Ink-Heavy Darkness was tediously monotonous.
Precisely infuse just enough force and mana at key moments to strike and reheat continuously. Dreary work, but Ryu Eun-ha couldn't look away.
'Moving that close to the furnace without flinching...'
Anyone with pain sensation would react. Yet he treated it as normal.
A bearing forged not by talent, but endless agony-honed discipline. At his age, already like this—what hellish time had he endured?
"......"
Recalling his backstory—parents slaughtered by a demon—she watched his back with heavy eyes.
In that solemn air, the forging continued until his body was sweat-soaked and arms began to tremble.
Splish.
The unchanging Ink-Heavy Darkness finally softened, its distortions vanishing.
Four hours since starting.
Its properties were finally shifting.
'This is where it gets real.'
Hesitate now, and it'd snap back—inferior quality.
Forge fail and degraded? Gut-wrenching thought. He moved swiftly.
Click.
Tongs plucked a container of softened Ink-Heavy toward the prepared mold.
Ryu Eun-ha watched, stunned.
'Casting?'
Pour molten metal into a shaped mold to form the item.
Simpler than hammering, but flawed: poorer mana circuit adjustment meant lower durability and performance.
'Casting with Ink-Heavy Darkness of all things...'
Some materials worked for casting, but Ink-Heavy was notoriously incompatible.
Should she intervene or trust? As she wavered—
Splish.
Lee Se-hun poured it into the mold.
"Ah."
No going back now.
No hesitation meant he had a plan. She watched curiously as—
"Hup!"
—he thrust his right hand deep into the mold.
"Wait—!"
His action shattered her expectations; she shot to her feet.
She knew his flame resistance, but superheated Ink-Heavy was another level.
It overflowed after max absorption, boasting insane temperatures.
Sizzle!
Menacing sizzle and smoke rose from the mold.
Hands were a blacksmith's lifeline—irreplaceable. Unable to stand by, she reached to yank his arm—
Hummm—
—but his mana surged first.
Ink-Heavy resisted casting because its darkness reset properties before circuits could form.
Success required something to stall that reset.
Kiiing!
In simple terms: adhesive.
The mold blazed white with supplied mana; the pre-engraved ritual activated instantly.
The dispel ritual that shattered Robert's barrier in the Ritual Department. It seized the Ink-Heavy trying to vent heat and revert.
Sizzle!
Its temp locked at peak—intense pain seared Lee Se-hun's hand.
Yet he smiled. Sustained heat meant his property control worked!
'Let's do the rest...!'
No ruining his freshly healed hand.
Recalling the blueprint in his mind, he rapidly engraved it into the Ink-Heavy's core.
His mana burrowed waste-free, building circuits inside.
Crack.
Sensing its presence fade, the Ink-Heavy thrashed, sucking fiercely—including the mold's ritual.
The instant his circuits meshed with the ritual like clockwork—
Bang!
—the mold exploded into shards, revealing the completed armament.
Ink Spider Ring completed!
To shatter prejudice requires bold challenges that spare not the body!
Though it didn't fully unlock the material's potential, the blacksmith's technique forging new possibilities deserves first-class praise.
Judgment: Ink Spider Ring grade is 'Rare'.
Acquired skill 'Black Spirit Thread (D)'.
A black bracelet, lusterless like the Ink-Heavy Darkness, etched with spiderweb patterns. Rare grade and well-formed, but performance needed checking.
To inspect closer, Lee Se-hun raised his right arm.
Squeeze.
But a powerful drag yanked it down, like someone pulling.
Exhaustion from forging explained some, but not this weight.
Eyes flashing, he forced the arm up to check the Ink Spider Ring's info.
'......Perfect.'
Exactly as intended.
As he smiled in satisfaction—
Grrrrowl.
"......"
"......"
An embarrassed rumble echoed from beside him.