Chapter 6

“Woah...”

The Scarlet Flame, centered on Se-Hoon’s right hand, flickered up to his elbow. It had such overwhelming pressure that even experienced blacksmiths would have been intimidated. But Se-Hoon chuckled instead; although the flames were ferocious, they never climbed past his elbow.

This is way bigger than I imagined.

He had been able to easily handle flames of this magnitude before his regression, but it was nearly impossible for him to deal with it with his current body. While he could control the flames, his mana was too lacking for him to maintain it.

However, despite his lack of mana, he possessed a skill that made it possible to maintain the flames efficiently, and that was Bond Imprint, an additional skill to Blacksmith of Bonds.

[Bond Imprint]

[Allows you to equip Fatestones on your body and use them. The current body parts they can be equipped to are ‘left hand’ and ‘right hand’.]

Previously, the Fatestones had only been materials for forging. But with this skill, he could now equip one directly onto his body. He had never seen this skill before, but the possibilities it could bring were endless, as evidenced by its effectiveness here.

It was effective when gathering the flames from the flame-infused metal. It was applied to the right hand to trap the Scarlet Flame.

Additionally, by leveraging the Master of Flames skill obtained during the entrance exam, he adeptly manipulated the Scarlet Flame, harnessing the additional resistance and power he had acquired over flames.

With a few additional aspects, the level-one Fatestone, which he had struggled to utilize effectively before the regression, had now become incredibly valuable.

Well, the shape is pretty clunky... but this should be enough.

Smiling at the sight of the Scarlet Flame in his hands, Se-Hoon picked up the materials he had picked out beforehand.

Hydraigt and rosefury, these two should do the trick.

Much like the materials that Hans picked, they were materials that were both enchanted and filled with fire-attribute elemental mana. Michael frowned at Se-Hoon’s choice. Although it may have been a coincidence, these materials directly opposed the materials with water elemental mana Hans had picked. But the irritation was short-lived.

Seems like you’ve got quite a personality... but your lack of skill is going to be your doom.

Se-Hoon’s choice of materials and the control of the Scarlet Flame in his right hand were pretty decent. However, his understanding of alchemical forging seemed woefully inadequate to Michael.

To prevent elemental mana from running amok during alchemical forging, only pure mana is used to produce resonance. But I’ve never seen someone handle flames like that....

Michael thought that Se-Hoon was probably trying to make it easier for himself to produce resonance by using the flame to make up for his lack of mana. However, flaws could appear not only during the process when elemental mana was removed but also when it was added.

This was a typical mistake caused by a lack of knowledge regarding the nature of alchemical forging. Michael scoffed inwardly at Se-Hoon’s misstep.

Booom-!

Once again, the thunderous roar of explosions filled the air.

Booom! Booom! Booom!

With his left hand, Se-Hoon tossed the ignition stones like a pebble, and the flames in his right hand engulfed the stones and flickered and burned like mad. It was an incredible sight, but the real surprise was his fist at the center of the flames.

Amidst the fiercely swirling flames, the Scarlet Flame danced with unrestrained fluidity, gracefully enveloping his fist. And in it, the

hydraigt

and rosefury melted perfectly and merged into a single scarlet, molten liquid.

“What...” As he watched the entire process, Michael’s expression turned to disbelief.

The melting of the two ores was fast, but that was not the surprising factor here. After all, Se-Hoon was using a fire powerful enough to cause an explosion.

What he couldn't understand was how the ores were still able to retain their elemental mana properties despite being melted in such a rough way.

When those ores are melted with a fire of that strength, it’s only natural that it would stimulate the elemental mana and run wild. That’s to be expected, but...

He examined them carefully to figure out how Se-Hoon had melted those two ores so quickly while keeping the elemental mana from going berserk.

“Lee Se-Hoon is a fascinating individual,” said Ryu Eun-Ha as she examined Se-Hoon’s hands with an expressionless face.

“To make both of the ores resonate at the same time as he triggered alchemical forging, he either has a thorough understanding of his materials or an innate sense for mana.”

“He produced resonance in both of the ores while using alchemical forging?” Michael astonishingly exclaimed.

“Yes, that’s probably how he maintained the elemental mana properties.”

Eun-Ha’s calm response made Michael incredulous.

The process of alchemical forging could be split into two main steps. The first step was to make the ore resonate with his mana to configure its properties. The second was to forge a weapon out of the configured ore.

Neither of the steps was simple, but the first step of configuration was more difficult.

Even the same ore can have different ways of resonating depending on how the mana is arranged and the environment around it...

Even Hans, who had mastered alchemical forging, couldn’t produce resonance yet. Michael himself took more than ten minutes to produce it unless he was working with materials he was already familiar with.

But for an incoming student to complete the entire process the moment he began, it was not simply a matter of having a good understanding or a good sense.

...There’s something else.

There was no way such talent and skill could be displayed by such an insignificant student.

I don’t know what tricks you have set up, but it’s not going to work out like you think.

For Michael, student-level tricks could easily be figured out. Deciding to take a closer look, he activated his main skill, Jewel Eyes (A).

When he activated his skill, he heard a ring and his vision changed. These eyes could even detect a fault in an A-rank blacksmith’s work; the flow of mana inside the ore, changes in the properties of the ore, and Se-Hoon’s movement of mana were all clearly visible to him.

Michael looked closely at Se-Hoon with these eyes that were the major contributors to his reputation.

“...Huh?”

He saw that the flow inside the ore was more orderly than anything he had seen in other ore.

***

He sure is trying hard.

Se-Hoon sneered at the way Michael glared at him.

There was a strange glint in Michael’s eyes, as he was probably using a skill to discern if Se-Hoon was cheating or not.

Well, I guess it’s to be expected.

A student with nothing special on paper had suddenly turned out to be adept at alchemical forging. From the perspective of a leading expert in alchemical forging, this was an unbelievable situation.

But I don’t have the obligation to help him understand this situation.

While Michael and Hans seemed to think of alchemical forging as a more advanced form of forging that used alchemy and magic, Se-Hoon saw it differently. After all, alchemical forging was created for people to forge weapons using only magic and alchemy in situations where traditional forging was impossible. Thus, the path it pursued was completely different from traditional forging.

Alchemical forging is about developing life within the ore.

It had a completely different structure than traditional forging, which broke down the ore and let the blacksmith’s life seep into it. If one didn’t understand this difference and performed alchemical forging like traditional forging, they were simply bragging about how much mana they had.

Fwoosh!

The resonance in the flames separated all the impurities in the ore, and scarlet molten liquid flowed together with the Scarlet Flame. The life of the two ores, the Ore Essence, was extracted into his hands.

“Whew...!”

In alchemical forging, resonance was all about finding the root of the Ore Essence and isolating it. But Hans was trying to shape the Ore Essence into the shape he wanted, which not only wasted time but resulted in a product with impurities.

“

Ughhh

...”

Hans glanced over, then bit his lips and glared at his own magic array. He was probably feeling a bit nervous now that the opponent he belittled had gotten the better of him.

It was already pretty messy to start with, but the amount of impurities in it just keeps growing.

It didn’t mean that he couldn’t forge a weapon out of it, but the impurities could make it less durable and more prone to the infused elemental mana running wild, making it a ticking time bomb. This was one of the greatest downsides to alchemical forging. And Luize Valente, one of the three Dogs, would later experience misfortune because of this issue.

When I was in Babel, I was poor... and this asshole named Barmuth told me he could forge armor for cheap if I did some odd jobs for him, so I worked for him for a few months, and he sold me this bomb.

Before Se-Hoon’s regression, the three Dogs had always claimed that they were this way because they had been wronged in the past. Of course, it was impossible to know if they were telling the truth or not, plus he didn’t really want to know at that time. But he felt different this time.

I’ll need their strength to defeat the Six Harbingers anyway, so I might as well make it easier for me to persuade them.

This time, Se-Hoon was going to set these Dogs on the right path, both physically and mentally, and then drag them to the frontlines. And his plans started with a thorough trampling of Hans Barmuth, the quack blacksmith who left Luize Valente with serious trauma and forced her to drop out of school.

Now it begins.

When making a weapon from Ore Essence, only minimal intent was to be put into it to avoid damage. The “intent” in this case referred to the nature of the person who would be wielding the weapon.

And the suitable candidate here would be...

He glanced at Ryu Eun-Ha, the red-haired woman in front of him, who was looking at him indifferently. Then he took a deep breath.

“Watch closely,” he said to Hans, who was struggling beside him.

The Ore Essence gathered in Se-Hoon’s hands began to bloom into life.

Fwoosh-!

The Scarlet Flame spun in a circle, gradually forming an ellipse and taking shape just as Se-Hoon planned it.

Its basic form was a scabbard since it was supposed to support the Five-Flame Sword. But a simple scabbard wouldn’t be enough for him to become an honor student, and it most certainly wasn’t enough for the cranky vice dean.

Considering these factors, the Scarlet Flame was gradually taking shape in his hands, and the scarlet Ore Essence slowly flowed into it.

There was no splendor of dozens of magic arrays forming or the grandeur of intermingled ores pulsating with brilliance. There was just the Scarlet Flame burning without sound and the scarlet Ore Essence that flowed within it.

A brand new life was forged at his fingertips.

Analysis complete

Bang-!

A massive pulsation shook the entire room.

[Equipment ‘Flaming Scabbard’ has been completed!

The most important thing about using a skill is to understand the intent behind it! Despite the lack of power in the flames and the quality of materials used, the blacksmith’s skill can only be described as first-rate as he breathed new life into the ore.

The tier evaluation for ‘Flaming Scabbard’ is ‘Rare’.]

[Elemental Mana ‘Scarlet Flame (F)’ has been developed.]

Achievement messages emerged hazily in front of him. However, Se-Hoon’s focus was not on these messages but on his right hand, which was clasping the newly created scabbard for the Five-Flame Sword—the Flaming Scabbard.

Fwoosh-!

Mana was elegantly burning, just like the flames he used moments ago. At the sight of this familiar elemental mana, he immediately looked over its information.

[Scarlet Flame] 『F』

[Fire-attribute elemental mana that resembles crimson fire. It’s used for melting metals.]

Wow... this takes me back.

Before the regression, this was the first elemental mana that he had successfully developed when he was an apprentice blacksmith. Even though he had developed an elemental mana much later than others, he had used it with excitement every day since then. And now, just like before, the Scarlet Flame was the first to bloom.

Scarlet Flame isn’t bad to develop at this stage.

Compared to the Genesis Flame he had used before his regression, the size was as trivial as fire from a matchstick, but this would have to do for now. Deciding to relearn all of his skills one step at a time, he examined the finished scabbard.

[

Flaming Scabbard

]

[Tier: Rare] [Quality: Poor]

[A scabbard infused with fire-attribute elemental mana.

It perfectly retains the Ore Essence it was made from, amplifying the power of fire-attribute elemental mana. A flame can be stored inside, and maximizing the flame’s flow can create immense power.

This scabbard highlights the blacksmith’s ingenuity.

*Stores and amplifies fire-attribute elemental mana

*Enables the use of the skill ‘Untamed Fire’]

Hm. The qualities of the Fatestone have been applied to it after all.

While the materials were infused with fire-attribute elemental mana, the Flaming Scabbard was endowed with the properties of the Flame-Infused metal, which enabled it to store flames. Perhaps using Bond Imprint during the forging process resulted in the Fatestone’s properties naturally melding into the item.

With this, the range of possible applications truly becomes boundless.

He could recreate equipment he had forged before the regression or possibly even forge them to be even more exceptional. As a blacksmith, his creative spirit was brimming with all sorts of ideas.

Bang!

Something snapped off his right hand.

[Bond Imprint ‘Flame Inclusion’ has been exhausted.]

He was disappointed as the system message informed him that the Flame-Infused metal in his right hand was used up.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

I guess level one Fatestones don’t last too long.

Still, it was better than not being able to use it at all. Content with the result, he looked at Hans, who was still working on configuring the properties of his equipment.

“Ugh...”

Hans was disheartened when he saw what Se-Hoon had forged. It seemed he possessed some level of ability, as he clearly recognized the gap in skill between him and Se-Hoon.

It looks like he knows his place now.

Se-Hoon smirked as he sat back and waited for the exam to end.

“The test is over!”

Kim In-Cheol’s voice signaled the end of the additional test.