Time Flies, Iron Forges, and Galactic Dreams
Time flies in the Iron Age.
Even back when humans lived less than a hundred years, you'd blink and a year would be gone—two years, even. Now that I'd become an eternal Outer God without any concept of lifespan, it felt even faster. I could see why dragons in fantasy worlds always say time spent with humans passes in the blink of an eye.
Two more years had slipped by since Rasl discovered metal, Mu-wan expanded his territory, and Rodri pushed all the way to the coastal village.
Yujin, who'd been wrestling with his identity, seemed to have reached some conclusion. After that, he stopped approaching me or looking lost in thought.
Instead, that vague goal of learning magic to get strong and become a space adventurer had shifted into something else. From that day on, he started acting differently.
For instance, to build a positive image among the Meias tribe—who'd never cared whether they discriminated against him or not—he threw himself into volunteer work, helping them out. He actively showcased his incredible magic talent alongside his good character.
"Did you hear? Yujin took down that monster that showed up on the neighboring planet."
"Yeah, it was something the Meias highways or magic corps should've handled, but he jumped in to help."
And it worked pretty well. Whether they disliked or liked Yujin, the common Meias stance had been that they basically couldn't stand him because he was Terra race.
After two years of effort, Yujin had successfully swayed a good chunk of public opinion.
At first, reactions were things like "He'll quit soon enough," or "What an ass-kisser." But as the saying goes, sincerity moves heaven and earth. Two years of tirelessly using his abilities to help people gradually built positive buzz around him.
"At this point, he's better than those elders who just sit on their asses."
"Hey, keep it down."
"What? It's true—they're not as good as him."
Opinions even emerged that he was better than the elders who just looked down from their high seats without lifting a finger to help. Thanks to his exceptional magic skills despite being Terra and those two years of effort, Yujin was seamlessly integrating into Meias society.
And suddenly, he started reaching out to the Terra race—who'd ignored his military recruitment offers—building friendly ties.
"Haha, so you're really not thinking of joining our forces? With your talent, you'd be a shoo-in for next elder."
"Well, we're the same race, so we'll stay on good terms, but the military's a bit much."
"Hohoho, you're one unique guy."
Now he was even chatting directly with James Cobalt, the elder and overall military commander, skipping past Rigel officer entirely.
On top of that, he seemed to be messaging Con Arche, the Terra adventurer he'd briefly connected with via interview.
It wasn't hard to figure out why Yujin was doing this. He was building his own faction.
Not just minions or comrades who followed him blindly, but across Meias and Terra—he was making friends everywhere, stacking up a network of allies who could help him when the time came.
Friendships unnecessary for a simple wandering space adventurer. He wanted a massive supporting force to do something big.
'Screw it, might as well embrace being a cheat mage reincarnated in this sci-fi world. And the Galactic Union? I'm taking it.'
Oh... look at those fucking massive ambitions. Galactic overlord? Total alpha male energy.
Seizing the Galactic Union, becoming its chairman himself. Putting all the cosmic sectors it controls under his thumb.
It was a grand goal, but... yeah, honestly, as a fragment of a cosmic entity, he needed aims that big.
The drama had shifted from space travelogue to space conquest saga! I was rooting for you, Yujin!
Which meant from now on, Yujin would get seriously proactive. I finally understood properly why he'd clash with the Rubaran elder in the Galactic Union.
To devour the Union, you'd have to take out the de facto leader—the Rubaran elder.
And that lab's true nature... yeah, if he latched onto that, he'd have not just military but political grounds to oust them. No matter how you slice it, capturing interesting species, dissecting them, analyzing traits to boost their science? That's messed up. Just human experimentation to get stronger.
That's why I'd hesitated on making TranspoX. As machine lifeforms, those Rubarans would've eagerly dissected my creations, whether they killed them themselves or scavenged corpses.
At least elves had no standout traits beyond good physiques and high intelligence, so they probably wouldn't make prime dissection fodder. Lucky. If the Union ever dissected my created races after expanding there, I'd have been pissed enough to wipe them out.
Honestly, dealing with the aftermath—filling vacancies, quelling chaos among other races—would've been a hassle, so I'd hidden it and gone with elves...
Letting Dalos create the Metalian TranspoX equivalents was fine since he'd handle the smashing and cleanup. ...Or would he? These guys might just smash and bail on the mess.
Whatever. If Yujin uncovered it and flipped the table, it'd be great. The Metalians, neighboring elves, would get all sorts of help too.
Speaking of which, any interesting intelligent life gets captured and dissected? ...Kinda reminds me of that creeping Chaos vibe.
Maybe Ubo Sathla referenced the Rubarans when creating them. That mad, curiosity-fueled drive is perfect for scientific progress.
Hmm, but at this level, it's basically cosmic domination, right? The life force absorbed from test subjects must be negligible.
Anyway, I didn't like those guys. If Yujin took the Union, elves and Metalians could expand without interference or attacks. Win-win.
Oh! But wait— I'd planned to install elves as the Union's head race. Wouldn't that pit them against Yujin?
A fragment vs. created race showdown. Civil war vibes...
Now that Yujin was seriously gunning for the Galactic Union, the elves were each hitting their own revolutions.
"How about this! This is the blast furnace. It reaches temperatures hot enough to melt red stone."
Rakus from Lumorasl village unveiled a new furnace design.
It used specially heat-resistant, well-insulating clay, and the interior was coated with graphite—previously used for writing tools—to withstand even higher heats.
Truly a curious, progress-hungry race. They quickly figured out efficient uses for their given environments and resources.
Silicon, ceramics, or ultra-high-temp synthetic refractories would've been way better, but with chemistry not advanced yet, that was their best shot.
And with that setup, good oxygen supply inside could push temps to 1900 degrees. Worlds apart from their old junk that barely melted copper or rust.
Barring military-grade metals like tungsten with insane melting points and strength, it could melt most metals.
With this, they melted their discovered red stone—iron—into ingots. Meaning they were primed for the true Iron Age revolution.
Whoa... iron discovery this early? At this rate, Lumorasl might crown itself strongest village.
...Or so you'd think, but surprisingly, not yet.
Iron Age or not, they were still stuck at arrows, swords, spears. Primitive cold weapons with better materials didn't change much. Without modern firearms, it'd still be bows, brawls, and close-quarters spear-thrusting.
They'd just have a big edge in those scraps—not overwhelming massacre potential.
That said, Mu-wan's side was no slouch. They'd absorbed two more nearby villages, forming a massive coalition of four.
Naturally, elf population exploded. Including newborns, over 5,000 strong.
Lumorasl, despite breakneck progress, hovered around 1,500. Even with families birthing three kids in nine years, that's all they had.
Focused on expansion and farming to support it, Mu-wan's village was still Stone Age. But sheer numbers meant collective intellect and labor. If they wanted, progress would skyrocket.
Hyper-accelerating tech city Lumorasl? Or population-bullying powerhouse Mu-wan?
Who'd claim elf supremacy first?
...Wait, why am I assuming conflict? Elves have deep tribal bonds, harmony-loving folk!
Wouldn't it be better if they all got along and advanced together? No fighting—join hands, haha-ho-ho progress instead.