Chapter 009
Chapter 009
Kim Se-young calmed the startled students.
The lecture hall was a mess. It was no longer an atmosphere where anything could proceed.
"......I apologize to the next student in line, but we'll have to end the surprise quiz here."
When Kim Se-young contacted someone, several assistant professors entered like zombies and began cleaning the lecture hall.
"While we wait, shall I explain the Academy's class system?"
She tapped a large panel, and a translucent hologram appeared.
"The mandatory major course you must take for one year is 「Fundamentals and Understanding of Crafting」, which I teach. On top of that, you can sign up for as many minor subjects and electives as you want."
As long as you fulfill the basic required credits, you can take whatever other lectures you want.
You could sign up for lectures in the Alcohol Specialization Department or take electives offered by the Magic Specialization Department.
"However! While signing up for lectures is free, dropping them mid-semester is impossible, so choose carefully."
A measure to prevent the trick of signing up for lectures indiscriminately and then dropping the ones with low grades.
"Alright. That's it for today's class. You all worked hard."
As the lecture ended, the students poured out of the lecture hall.
Kim Se-young stopped Kang-hyun as he was about to leave.
"Student Kang-hyun. Could we talk for a moment?"
The lecture hall became quiet.
Kang-hyun faced Professor Kim Se-young alone.
"Student Kang-hyun. Is your hand okay?"
"......You caught me."
"I am a professor, after all."
Kang-hyun took out the hand he had been hiding behind his back.
His right hand, which had injected mana into the resonance plate, was severely swollen and very red.
"Make sure to go to the infirmary. Your hands are important. It would be a big problem if there were any lasting aftereffects."
Kang-hyun nodded at Kim Se-young's request.
To a blacksmith, hands are as good as life.
"I've been watching... but it seems Student Kang-hyun lacks the physical strength or body compared to your skills?"
"It's embarrassing, but...... yes, that's correct."
"If you're okay with it, I'd like to recommend some minor subjects or electives. Do you have anything in mind?"
"No. Not yet. I was planning to look around slowly and decide."
"Then that's fortunate."
Kim Se-young wrote something on a note and handed it to Kang-hyun.
'「Understanding and Training of Physical Movement」 from the Martial Arts Specialization Department... 「Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting」 from the Magic Specialization Department?'
The other one is fine, but Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting?
Kang-hyun looked at Kim Se-young with questioning eyes.
"I included Mana Alchemy Smelting because, looking at Student Kang-hyun's mana sensitivity and manipulation, I thought it would be helpful to learn."
—It probably won't be easy, though...
Kim Se-young muttered quietly.
"Ah... thank you for your consideration."
Kang-hyun bowed.
Kim Se-young looked at him as if he were admirable.
"Try auditing them later before you decide. What I've suggested is just a recommendation, after all."
Kang-hyun left the lecture hall after finishing his meeting with Kim Se-young.
On the way, he stopped by the infirmary to get his hand treated.
Woooong——
"There won't be any aftereffects, so don't worry."
His right hand was as good as new.
'Light coming out of a hand... Is that magic? Fascinating.'
Afterward, he boarded the train to audit the lecture Kim Se-young had recommended.
After waiting a moment, an announcement voice was heard.
『This stop is Magic Specialization Department Building F, Magic Specialization Department Building F.』
When he got off the train, the atmosphere was somehow different from the Crafting Specialization Department.
It felt a bit more intellectual and calm.
'Is it this way?'
An old door located in the most secluded corner of the building.
Not a single sign of life could be felt beyond the tightly closed door.
"......Is this not the place?"
Knock, knock——
"Excuse me. Is this the lecture hall for Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting?"
"........."
A short silence.
A grumpy shout came from beyond the door.
"It's open, so come in! If you don't like it, get lost!"
"Hah."
Looks like an old man with a temper.
Kang-hyun was actually intrigued.
'Old men with this kind of temper are usually one of two things.'
Just a grumpy old man, or a grumpy master.
Kang-hyun opened the creaky door and entered.
The inside was quite small. It looked closer to a private office than a lecture hall.
It was filled with piles of books and documents stacked up to the ceiling.
Unknown reagents, raw stones, herbs, and powders were rolling around everywhere.
[Name : Fire Herb]
[Grade : Rare]
[Quality : Above Average]
[Description : A dungeon plant that constantly emits intense heat.
Many fire-attribute monsters are found in Fire Herb colonies.
The stem is rich in fire-attribute mana.]
Types of materials he had never seen in his life.
"Ugh."
A musty stench stung his nose.
As Kang-hyun frowned and held his nose.
"Tsk. Where did another horse-bone-like punk roll in from?"
An old man with impressive buck teeth appeared from between the books.
His white, graying hair was closer to being bald.
"What are you?"
"......Is this the lecture hall for Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting?"
"Yeah. That's right. Business finished, right? Go away."
"Excuse me?"
The old man abruptly waved his hand, trying to shoo Kang-hyun away.
He was holding a bunch of all sorts of materials, as if he were terribly busy.
Kang-hyun, not wanting to leave just because he was told to, replied clearly.
"I'm here to audit the lecture."
"Tsk. What a pain... If I hadn't lost that bet with the chairman—"
The old man, grumbling about something, pointed to a corner.
"You're in the way, so stand over there in the corner!"
Creeeak—
The door creaked, and blonde cat ears popped out through the gap.
"Ahem, hum, excuse me. Is this Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting—"
It was Evangeline.
The old man's face crumpled instantly.
"You go to that corner too!"
"Eek?! Yes?!"
Evangeline's tail stood straight up in surprise.
Kang-hyun, who was already standing in the corner, recognized Evangeline and gestured to her.
"Over here."
"Oh."
Evangeline hesitated for a moment, then slowly approached.
"You're Evangeline, right?"
"Y-yeah..."
"Are you here to audit this lecture too?"
"Yeah... I was recommended by an acquaintance. They said it was good for getting credits."
But I think I've been deceived—
Evangeline muttered.
"An acquaintance? Who is it?"
"Um, there is one. I haven't met them in person yet. We've chatted many times online, though......"
"......?"
Recommended by an acquaintance he's never met? Is that possible?
Kang-hyun shrugged, watching Evangeline avoid answering.
"What about you...?"
"Ah. I was told by a professor to try auditing it."
"Professor Kim Se-young?"
The professor recommended it personally...... That's amazing...
Evangeline, sniffing her nose, acted strangely shy and twisted her tail. She even covered her lower abdomen slightly.
'Is she shy?'
Kang-hyun just let it slide and focused on the old man.
The hunched old man moved with a lightness that belied his age.
He poured unknown sap, animal bones, white powder, and glowing raw stones into a large jar all at once.
'What on earth is he trying to do?'
Kang-hyun watched with intrigued eyes.
Mana Alchemy Smelting, what on earth is it? How can he 「smelt」 with those materials?
There's no furnace or anvil here, so how?
"......Sigh. Because I got hooked by that damn snake."
The old man sighed deeply at the burdensome gazes fixed on him.
He gestured to Kang-hyun and Evangeline, who were watching quietly in the corner.
"......Come closer and watch."
Kang-hyun and Evangeline approached quickly.
"My name is Rox. Don't call me Professor like it's embarrassing; just call me Old Man. ...I'm also the one who teaches what you call Understanding of Mana Alchemy Smelting."
Rox pointed to the jar.
"The name Mana Alchemy Smelting might sound difficult, but the gist is simple."
Standing in front of the jar, Rox put his two hands together toward the jar.
Kang-hyun could see mana gathering toward Rox's hands.
"It's the transmutation and alteration of materials through mana injection, and then fusion."
Woooong——
Blue mana was sucked into the jar.
The mana dug into the materials and began to change their properties. The materials that existed as separate items began to gradually merge into one.
"Oh."
Delicate mana manipulation.
Like threading a needle, he controlled the numerous flows of mana one by one, breaking down and binding the materials.
Kang-hyun narrowed his eyes.
It was an interesting method.
'It's a bit different from the smelting I thought of... but well, I suppose this could be called a kind of smelting.'
His inner dwarf geezer seemed to be shouting "BLASPHEMY!!! This isn't smelting!!!", but he tried to ignore it.
Yeah... I suppose this could be called smelting too......
A moment later.
Something was completed inside the jar.
What Rox pulled out with tongs was an hourglass with a strange glow.
Ding——!
[You have crafted the artifact 'Hourglass of Flame'!]
[You have perfectly fused heterogeneous materials. It is a work containing the essence of Fire Herb.]
[The delicate mana manipulation that pierces through the characteristics of each material stands out.]
[Appraisal result is 'Hero' grade.]
"Wow...! A Hero-grade artifact!"
Evangeline covered her mouth and exclaimed. For her, a fresh student, creating a Hero-grade item personally was something only possible in dreams.
Kang-hyun also clicked his tongue in admiration.
It wasn't a weapon... but the scorching heat was no joke. It was clearly an extraordinary object at a glance.
"The core of Mana Alchemy Smelting is using mana as a medium to transmute the properties of materials and fuse heterogeneous materials. That is Mana Alchemy Smelting."
Rox's voice was full of pride.
It was the pride of someone who had walked one path their whole life.
"That's an insanely delicate mana manipulation..."
Evangeline was lost in admiration.
"Creating things that can never be made with physical force is the core of this technique. You can never do it with just a hammer and anvil."
"?"
Kang-hyun, who had been nodding, stopped.
What is this old man saying right now?
"Mana Alchemy Smelting basically requires an understanding of the properties of materials. Mana manipulation is a given. It requires a delicacy that is on a different level from metallurgy."
"???"
Kang-hyun felt something scratching inside him. He didn't know what it was, but something inside him was being chipped away.
"...?? Hey, your eyes look strange right now... Are you okay?"
Evangeline whispered from the side.
Kang-hyun closed his mouth for a moment and then muttered.
"I can do that with a hammer too."
"......Huh?"
Since he muttered it for him to hear, Rox naturally heard it too.
Rox stared at Kang-hyun for a long time.
"......What did you just say."
"I said I can do it with a hammer too."
Rox's eyes narrowed.
"You're a freshman, right?"
"Yes."
"Who recommended you?"
"Professor Kim Se-young."
"......That brat sent you?"
Rox frowned. Rox acknowledged Kim Se-young's genius.
After all, isn't she the master who created the world's first ego sword?
If Kim Se-young sent him here, it must mean there's something to him...
'Hmm?'
Rox's gaze went to Kang-hyun's waist.
An ink-colored hammer.
'......Aha. So that's it? Heh heh. The brat got triggered.'
He must have hurt his pride by blathering on about how it can't be done with a hammer and anvil.
Rox chuckled and looked at Kang-hyun.
"If you're a blacksmith who holds a hammer, you'd know. How you have to prove what you just said."
Rox, crossing his arms, gestured with his chin at Kang-hyun.
"Give it a try."
Evangeline was startled.
"What?! Right here?"
"Anyone can blather with words. Prove it. Show me that your hammer is on par with my alchemy smelting."
It was the gaze of someone who had walked the path for decades. It was the confidence of someone full of conviction in their own path.
However.
'I've been holding a hammer for hundreds of years too.'
Kang-hyun didn't lose out to anyone either.
"Fine. I'll show you."
First, he needed materials.
'To infuse mana and transmute it... it would be good to have a material that reacts well to mana.'
A thought occurred to Kang-hyun, and he rummaged through his bag.
There was a Mana Crystal.
A material with extremely high mana conductivity that he had made himself by refining scrap metal.
"Can I use this?"
"Do as you please."
"Are you really going to do it here? We don't even have proper equipment?"
Rox and Kang-hyun were nonchalant, but Evangeline, who was stuck in between for no reason, was having a miserable time.
She was a shrimp stuck between two proud geniuses.
Kang-hyun took out the Mukroe-chu from his waist.
'Transmutation and fusion... these two materials should be enough.'
The Mana Crystal and the Mukroe-chu were the main materials.
Rox shook his head and muttered.
"Transmuting an already completed weapon is hundreds of times harder than just materials. You need to know your limits. Tsk tsk."
Kang-hyun pretended not to hear. Of course, he had no intention of reprocessing an already completed weapon.
'Let's use the Mana Crystal as the main, and the Mukroe-chu as an additional element.'
Focus the transmutation and alteration on the Mana Crystal.
The Mukroe-chu was the vessel.
Kang-hyun repeated Rox's work in his head. The way the mana moved, the series of steps that were so minute and precise it made him want to gag.
To do that not through mana manipulation, but in the realm of metallurgy—
'...I can do it. This is enough.'
The angle is there.
Kang-hyun believed he could do it sufficiently.
"Aren't you going to light the fire?"
"Did you leave it with me?"
Rox grumbled and pointed to the dusty Mana Furnace in the corner.
It worked somehow when he put a mana stone in it.
"Ah."
This time, he didn't have a hammer.
Because the Mukroe-chu was a material, not a tool.
"......Do you happen to have a hammer too..."
"Tsk."
Whoosh, Rox threw a suitable hammer.
It was a hammer that fit his hand reasonably well.
Whoosh—!!
Kang-hyun, having turned up the heat, threw the Mana Crystal into the furnace.
After waiting a moment, the Mana Crystal slowly heated up to a bright scarlet glow.
Clang—!!
Kang-hyun began his first hammer strike.