Level 2 Forge
"Subspace Opening."
In the dim side room shrouded in darkness, my muffled voice scattered into the air, and at the same moment, a familiar sensation washed over my entire body.
Swoooosh—! A chilling pull as 5 mana drained from near my heart in a lump. My vision warped violently, and the cool room air and dry straw scent vanished in an instant.
Flash—. When I opened my eyes again, I stood in the center of that familiar, cramped earthen forge house. The musty mold stench and acrid charcoal smoke assaulted my nose. In one corner, the crude hearth blazed with red embers, belching sweltering heat like a welcoming roar.
Subspace (Forge) has been generated.
Duration: 5 minutes
A red timer blinked in the corner of my retina, starting its merciless countdown for survival. But tonight, my hands gripped not the light scrap metal scraps from yesterday. Master Yeom had given me premium iron ingots. Each the size of two adult fists combined, yet far heavier and denser than any ordinary rock.
I didn't hesitate, hoisting the hefty ingot with both hands and approaching the hearth.
Whoosh! Up close, the ferocious heat blasted my face like a beast's maw. I grabbed the stiff tongs from the wall, clamped the ingot tight, and plunged it deep into the glowing red charcoal pile. With my free hand, I seized the handle of the massive leather bellows and pumped it furiously, throwing my full body weight into each push and pull.
Hiiiiss—! Hiss—! The rough gusts sucked into the hearth, making the coals roar skyward like mad. The cramped earthen room turned into an oven in seconds, sweat pouring from every pore like rain. Yesterday, a minute of bellowing had heated the scraps red-hot. But this premium ingot was different. The high-density mass, impurities already filtered, stubbornly held its dark hue, repelling the heat.
"Heat up, damn it...!"
Remaining Time: 3 minutes 50 seconds
The timer ticked down relentlessly. I gritted my teeth, ramping the bellows to insane speeds. Stamina 52. Up 1 from yesterday, but my body was still too frail for this brutal heat and labor. My arm muscles screamed as if tearing, tears streaming from the choking smoke.
Remaining Time: 3 minutes 10 seconds
Nearly two minutes of bellowing later, the ingot's surface finally glowed deep orange, absorbing the heat. I gripped the tongs with all my might, yanking the heavy mass from the hearth. The weight threatened to snap my wrist.
I slammed it onto the blackened anvil with a thud. My right hand snatched the blunt-headed iron hammer.
"Hup!"
Exhaling hot air from my lungs, I swung the raised hammer down like lightning onto the ingot.
Claaang—!! A sharp, thunderous crack shook the cramped earthen house, nearly rupturing my eardrums. The collision sent a recoil far beyond yesterday's scraps surging up the handle, savaging my wrist, elbow, and shoulder like a sledgehammer.
"Gah...!"
A raw cry escaped. My hammer hand throbbed as if torn, bones ringing. It felt like punching a boulder bare-fisted—despairing. The dense ingot mocked my strength of 10, barely deforming. But my hand didn't stop. It couldn't.
In modern Korea, I'd endured scorching summer construction sites, hauling cement bags up stairs until I choked. Winters, blowing on frostbitten hands for loading gigs, scraping every penny. Those brutal bottom-rung memories fueled this wretched porter's body with grit and tenacity. I hadn't lived soft enough to yield to this pain.
"Shatter, you damn hunk of metal!"
Gritting through, I hammered again, and again.
Clang! Clang! Claaang—! The F-rank blacksmith system corrected my swings, forcing my muscles. Mimicking Master Yeom's perfect rhythm from morning. Eyes tracing the iron's grain, I targeted the softest spots, pounding relentlessly. Each strike sparked impurities away in flames. The dense mass yielded—ever so slightly, but surely—stretching, flattening under ceaseless blows and heat.
Sweat stung my eyes like rain. Vision blurred red, breath at my throat, but no time to wipe—I raised and slammed again.
Remaining Time: 1 minute 45 seconds
Time was cruelly short. The iron cooled, recoil growing fiercer. Veins bulged blue in my forearms, ready to burst; blisters burst on my palms, blood slicking the handle.
"Just... a bit more... spread out...!"
Beast-like groans leaked. I maxed my swing speed. My frail strength-10 body wailed, but my mind burned clear and hot as a furnace.
Remaining Time: 50 seconds
This sanctuary, my salvation, felt like a torturous prison testing my limits. Yet each glimpse of the shaping metal flooded my chest with creative ecstasy, numbing the agony like a drug. The thick, blunt ingot finally took the long, straight blade form I envisioned—a single-edged hwando skeleton, perfect for slashing and thrusting in battle.
Remaining Time: 20 seconds
As the metal cooled from deep orange to dark red, the final steps—edging the blade, sharpening the tip—remained. I regripped the blood-slick hammer, squeezing every ounce of weight and force to tap precisely.
Clang—! Clang—! Claaang—!! Final barrage. Strikes with no margin for error, infused with survival desperation. At last, atop the anvil gleamed a stark, unadorned blade—blue steel, heavier and sharper than any weapon, in perfect form.
Remaining Time: 12 seconds
The timer flashed red in final warning. Gasping raggedly, I tonged the tempered sword and plunged it unhesitatingly into the murky water barrel beside the anvil.
Tsssssss—!!! Water boiled wildly, white steam erupting like volcanic ash, filling the cramped room. Quenching—the process compressing metal strength to its limit, locking the structure via rapid temperature shift.
As steam cleared, I tremblingly lifted the tongs from the tub. A long, hefty hwando gleamed with cold silver-gray light. No gaudy ornaments. Pure, compressed premium iron for efficient flesh-and-bone severing—a battlefield-optimized weapon. Chilling menace emanated from the honed edge. And then—
Remaining Time: 7 seconds
As the timer raced to zero, blinding golden system windows cascaded like a waterfall across my vision.
Masterful Creation!
Heavy Steel Hwando (E-rank) completed.
Perfectly executed high-difficulty forging. Massive F-rank Blacksmith EXP gained.
EXP limit reached!
Reading it, my breath caught. Past awl and dagger were F-rank; this leaped to E-rank. Massive EXP and limit reached hammered my retina.
"Level up...!"
A hoarse croak escaped my parched throat. The moment the message appeared, dramatic changes hit my body and surroundings. First, my flesh. Stamina ups brought muscle relaxation and surging vitality; this mana +1 was different—cool, minty clarity piercing my mind. From crown to spine to dantian, cold pure energy settled, bursting through blocked meridians refreshingly. Not just vigor; my invisible mana vessel fundamentally expanded.
Current max mana increased to 6.
Max Subspace duration extended to 6 minutes.
"Duration increased!"
Just one minute's difference. To me, always racing 5-minute deadlines with life-or-death hammering, this extra minute revolutionized survival and crafting quality. Changes didn't stop at my body.
Rumble—! The shabby earthen house quivered faintly. The dusty, uneven dirt floor compacted into smooth, solid clay. Straw patching wall cracks vanished, replaced by sturdier bricks; space subtly widened. Biggest shift: the anvil. Its pitted black surface shed its skin, reborn smooth and steely.
Level 2 forge. Still a humble village shop, but evolved from beggar hovel to stable, professional workspace.
Next level would demand far more EXP and toil, but for now, this miraculous growth intoxicated me.
Remaining Time: 0 seconds
Subspace duration ended.
Returning to reality.
The retinal window flashed red, and my vision warped once more.