Mastering Black Iron
A heavy darkness and silence settled over the entire Mi Merchant Guild workshop.
I firmly locked the side room's door and sat cross-legged in the cramped center of the space. On my lap rested the premium black iron ingot that Master Yeom had given me during the day to repair Do Geom's wife's carriage—a massive chunk far larger than two adult fists combined, exuding a cold, weighty presence.
As my fingertips brushed the surface of the black iron, a prickling density overwhelmed me, worlds apart from the scrap metal rolling in the streets or rusted, toothless old weapons. It was pure, unadulterated, and incredibly tough, with impurities perfectly filtered out in the first refining stage.
"To think I get to pound this precious stuff however I want."
A thick smile spread across my lips. I took a deep breath, focusing my mind deep into my dantian. Ever since my mana expanded to 7, the vessel inside me brimmed flawlessly with clear, refreshing energy.
"Subspace Opening."
Subspace Forge created.
Duration: 7 minutes
A low murmur of command, and a chunk of the 7 mana pooled in my dantian drained out.
Flash—When I opened my eyes again, I stood in the heart of my Level 2 forge, greeted by the firm clay floor and sturdy steel anvil.
A red timer appeared in the corner of my retina, mercilessly counting down from 7:00. Compared to the mere 5 minutes before, this was a luxurious two extra minutes of pure gold.
Without delay, I hefted the heavy black iron ingot with both hands and approached the furnace. Red-hot coals blazed inside, belching sweltering heat that seemed ready to devour me. I gripped the sturdy tongs, clamped the ingot tight, and thrust it deep into the heart of the coals. My left hand seized the handle of the massive leather bellows.
Whoooosh!Whoosh!—As I began pumping, I felt the profound changes in my body once more. Back when my strength was 10, just pulling this heavy bellows made my shoulders tremble like they might dislocate. But now, with strength at 11 and agility also hitting 11 during the day, it was entirely different.
My muscles contracted and relaxed with far greater elasticity, and my wrist snapped with feather-light precision. Air flowed exactly as I intended, in the exact amounts, straight into the furnace core without a hint of error.
Roooar!—My agile, ferocious pumping turned the flames into a raging dragon. Premium black iron was a vicious metal that resisted ordinary heat due to its insane density, but it stood no chance against the hellish temperatures from my mad bellowing.
Remaining Time: 05:40
In just over a minute and twenty seconds, the stubborn black ingot began glowing with a blinding blue-white from the outside, softening like molten candy despite its dark defiance.
"Hup!"
I snatched up the tongs and slammed the heat-soaked ingot onto the steel anvil with a thunk. My right hand grabbed the heavy iron hammer.
CLANG!!—The first strike shook the forge. The anvil rebounded the force perfectly into the black iron. The old me would've screamed from the recoil on my wrist joints, but the synergy of strength 11 and agility 11 absorbed it fluidly, priming me for the next blow.
Clang!Clang!CLANG!!—The hammer danced. What I was forging today was the "plate spring shock absorber" for the underside of Do Geom's wife's carriage. My first attempt had been crude—layering and bending thin iron scraps—but not today. I had to split this massive ingot precisely into four equal parts with heavy blows, then bend each into a perfect C-shaped sturdy frame. I recalled the master's techniques I'd burned into my eyes all day at Master Yeom's forge: the precise arcs as he struck along the grain at shallow angles, elongating the metal.
"Split!"
With the system's trajectory correction layered over my battle experience, I drove the hammer's edge like a wedge into the ingot's center. The red-hot black iron split like tofu. Two more strikes, and I had four rods of identical mass and length. Sparks flew everywhere, sweat poured like rain, but a mad grin lit my face as I hammered.
Remaining Time: 04:10
Plenty of time. I laid the four black iron rods on the anvil one by one, hammering them into broad, thick plates with steady force and rhythm. Using the anvil's rounded edge, I bent them smoothly into perfect C-shaped springs. I gathered the formed black iron shock absorbers in the tongs and plunged them unhesitatingly into the oil barrel beside the anvil.
Sizzzzzzz!!—Acrid smoke billowed as the oil boiled furiously. Tempering to maximize hardness, like freezing glass. But shock absorbers couldn't just be hard—they'd shatter under impact. I glanced at the timer.
Remaining Time: 03:30
I pulled out the four blackened, hardened rings and placed them not in the furnace's roaring core, but at the edge of the coals for gentle heat. Eyes wide, I focused every ounce of concentration on the color shifts in the oxide layer forming on the black iron's surface: from pale yellow through deep brown to that subtle, eerie purple-tinged blue.
"Now!"
I yanked the springs with the tongs and dunked them slowly into the oil barrel to cool. The internal stresses in the rigid black iron softened under the gentle heat, iron particles binding flexibly for unbreakable supreme elasticity—the annealing process perfected.
The results from the oil: worlds apart from my crude scrap plates. Surfaces mirror-smooth, the black iron's heavy, cool sheen elegantly radiant. Best of all, even slamming the hammer full force yielded a satisfying squelch followed by a clear ping! as it snapped perfectly back to shape, boasting insane resilience.
Remaining Time: 02:55
With nearly three minutes left, a dazzling golden system window cascaded across my vision like a waterfall.
"Mana and stamina rising together!"
I clenched my fist at the floating message. My first bone-deep proof that better materials meant better rewards. Scrap yielded F-rank, weapon repairs E-rank at best—but perfect process with premium black iron earned a D-rank judgment. The experience exploded, piercing two stats at once.
A prickling thrill surged through my spine. Stamina hitting 53 melted away muscle fatigue like a hot spring soak, while mana +1 expanded my dantian vessel with cool refreshment enveloping my body.
"Ha, haha!"
Mad euphoria burst into laughter. But my joy didn't stop there. My gaze locked on the fist-sized remnant black iron chunk on the anvil corner. Master Yeom had said: use any leftover after parts for your self-defense weapon. I checked the timer.
Remaining Time: 02:30
Just two and a half minutes. Normally too short even to heat up. But my body was at peak: overwhelming strength 11/agility 11 synergy, stamina reset from the recent rise.
"Can't let this precious black iron go to waste."
Eyes flashing sharp, I clamped the remnant with tongs and thrust it unhesitatingly into the furnace's deepest, still-molten core.
Whoooosh!Whoosh!—I poured every last drop of energy into insane bellowing. Agility 11's reaction speed pumped air at extreme velocity; flames exploded into near-white brilliance.
Remaining Time: 01:40
The black iron heated blue-white before it could resist. With a beastly grunt, I pulled it out and slammed it on the anvil.
"Da-da-da-da-dak!"
My right arm became a machine, unleashing mad combo strikes.
CLANG!Clang!CLANG!—The forge air tore with metallic shrieks. The rough, thick lump flattened swiftly, sharpening into a sleek, lethal dagger form.
Remaining Time: 00:30
Time tightened like a noose, but my fingertips were sharper than ever. I honed both blade edges thin, etching supreme sharpness.
Remaining Time: 00:08
Final strike done, I snatched the dagger with tongs and plunged it into the oil barrel—my personal method from yesterday's ring sword, granting max hardness and tough elasticity together.
Sizzzzzzz!!!
Remaining Time: 00:03
Acrid smoke rose as oil boiled madly. I yanked out the dagger immediately. Ink-black black iron dagger, dripping oil beads, gleamed with murderous blue edge before my eyes. In that instant, as the timer hit zero, another system window filled my vision.
"Mana... up another 1!"
Insane ecstasy slammed my brain. In one subspace session tonight, I'd crafted premium carriage parts and a black iron dagger, netting impossible growth: mana +2, stamina +1. My max mana now hit 9—meaning nine full minutes next time.
Remaining Time: 00:00
Subspace duration ended.
Returning to the real world.
The system window flashed red, vision warping sharply.
Flash—A blink, and I sat in the quiet, dark side room of the Xu Province guild workshop.
To my sides, bathed in cold moonlight, lay tonight's miracles: four perfect elastic black iron plate springs to lift Do Geom's wife's carriage on clouds, and one lethal black iron dagger to guard my life and silently carve enemy hearts.
"Status Window."
Subspace Opening (Lv.2): Consumes 9 mana to open your personal isolated Subspace Forge. (Duration: 9 minutes)
I gripped the hilt of the razor-sharp black iron dagger. From a wretched porter scavenging street scraps, in mere days I'd mastered premium black iron and achieved overwhelming growth.