TNG Vol. 22 Chapter 2 Part 3
by nellstewartAfter a night’s rest and finishing breakfast, the group headed to the forge, guided by Kluck.
The purpose was to exchange techniques with each other. It seemed that the method of forging iron with imbued magic was still shrouded in mystery, and they asked Shin to demonstrate his forging process.
In return, Shin would be shown some research materials and given a tour of the various departments’ facilities.
Even though Shin was offering a demonstration, it felt to him like he was receiving far more in the exchange, considering the content of the facilities they were being shown.
When he confirmed with Kluck during the walk, it turned out that, just as Shin had suspected, there were indeed many technologies that hadn’t been publicly disclosed. Normally, such things wouldn’t be shared so easily, but it appeared this was also part of a gesture of gratitude for Shin cleaning up the mess caused by FunkyFunky.
From their past actions, it seemed the Black Faction judged that Shin and his group were unlikely to leak information.
“Just a heads up—it’s a secret technique, so I won’t be going all-out. Hope that’s okay.”
“No problem at all. Just seeing an unknown technique is more than enough.”
Druk Yulk, who had already hit it off with Shin, responded with sparkling eyes.
He had dropped polite speech altogether during their blacksmithing chats. Alongside Druk were the department heads and their assistants who had come to watch.
Just as Shin was about to begin and picked up his hammer, he sensed someone approaching.
Looking in that direction, he saw the outer wall surrounding the forge. Near the edge where the wall ended, someone appeared to be hiding.
“Hm? What’s—hey! Who’s there?”
Following Shin’s gaze, Druk called out with a booming voice that matched his burly build.
The figure seemed to realize they’d been spotted and slowly stepped out.
What first caught one’s eye were the large, twisted horns extending from the sides of her head. They looked a bit bigger than the ones Shin was familiar with, but their backward curl was unmistakably characteristic of a Dragnil.
Despite the large horns, her build was petite—around 150 cemels tall.
Her hair was short and messy, and she wore a white T-shirt with a tied-down jumpsuit around her waist. Judging by the curves beneath the shirt, she was likely a girl.
“Hey… weren’t you supposed to be working on an imbuement experiment today? Don’t waste time hanging around here… go on already.”
Druk waved her off, clearly familiar with her.
“I know, but… that guy has techniques we don’t have, right? Please, let me see! I’ve hit a wall with my work!”
She bowed her head deeply, her voice urgent. She had likely heard about Shin and rushed over, unable to sit still.
Given her mention of hitting a wall, she must have hoped for a hint or breakthrough. If the roles were reversed, Shin probably would’ve done the same.
“What do you think? I don’t mind if we have one more observer.”
“Hmm… yeah…”
Shin expected Druk to agree immediately, but instead, Druk looked contemplative.
It didn’t seem like he was hesitating because of the experiment.
“Druk, once she’s made up her mind, Retoneka won’t budge an inch.”
It was Vank Tenorg, head of the unexplored technology department, who addressed Druk.
His slightly exasperated look suggested this wasn’t a rare occurrence. But to Shin, his expression also carried a trace of sadness.
“…Sigh, fine. Just stay out of the way if you’re going to watch.”
“Thank you!”
Defeated by her persistence, Druk gave in. The girl—Retoneka—took a place at the edge of the observers and focused intently on Shin.
Shin felt something a little off about her expression but decided this wasn’t the time to address it. He began preparing for the task.
He would be using iron with few impurities.
The forge appeared to be a magic furnace, and the iron quickly glowed red-hot.
Shin placed the metal on the anvil and brought down his hammer.
All the equipment was provided by the Black Faction.
The materials were made of magic steel, but by Shin’s standards, they were poor at conducting magic and lacked strength. So, he kept the amount of magic he infused to a minimum.
“……”
No one said a word.
In the quiet forge, the rhythmic sound of hammering echoed.
Among the high-pitched rings of metal, another sound—like a chime of struck glass—began to mix in, drawing the attention of the observerse.
Then, something even clearer than the sound happened to the heated iron.
“…!”
Someone gasped.
The iron, which should’ve been changing shape only gradually, visibly shifted form.
Some watched in awe at the unknown technique, while others grew grim at the overwhelming gap in skill.
With the final strike, a louder-than-usual clang rang out.
The observers understood the demonstration had ended.
On the anvil sat a single-edged sword blade, about 80 cemels in length; a weapon of lower-end special unique rank.
“…I see. Kluck, now I understand why you called this ‘divine craftsmanship.’ This is on a completely different level from what we’re used to.”
“Yes. Even seeing it again, it gave me chills.”
Druk and Kluck sighed, but neither seemed discouraged.
“If you’d like, you can use this for research.”
“We’d be grateful, but are you sure?”
“Wouldn’t you like to see how much of the technique you can reverse-engineer?”
Shin added a slight challenge to his words.
After all, the true technique was in how it was made; this was a test to see how well they could analyze it.
Druk grinned in response, clearly up for the challenge.
“Then I’ll gladly accept. Kluck, take this to the special storage. From here on out, I’ll need to go all-out.”
“Understood.”
The sword had already cooled, so it was safe to handle. Kluck wrapped it in thick cloth and left the forge.
“Now, unlike Shin-dono, my process takes time. It might be a little boring for your companions. If anyone wants to see something else, I can arrange a tour. How about it?”
At Druk’s suggestion, Schnee and Yuzuha chose to stay at the forge.
The others split up: Filma to the production department, Shibaid to civil engineering, Tiera to agriculture, and Sety and Milt to the unexplored technology department.
“No one’s interested in the marine department…”
Shima Larmain looked slightly dejected, so Shin and Schnee promised to visit after the tour.
She smiled brightly and returned to her lab with an enthusiastic “I’ll be waiting!”
The other department heads also left, taking their respective guests along.
“Retoneka. It’s time for you to head back too. You know my process better than anyone.”
Druk tried to usher her out, but she didn’t budge.
“No, I’m staying. I haven’t seen you this fired up in ages.”
“Sheesh… you really are something. Ah, right—sorry I didn’t introduce her sooner. This is Retoneka. She’s like family to us.”
According to Druk, she was a Chosen One; born with a natural talent for blacksmithing. Due to certain circumstances, she had grown up on Parda Island, the Black Faction’s main base, since childhood.
Though only fifteen years old, she had the second-best blacksmithing skills in the department, after Druk himself, and trained every day to improve.
After a brief introduction, Druk turned to face the iron, his presence radiating pressure that made the air tense.
“All right, let’s begin. Just so you know, I’m not a Chosen One. What I’m about to show you is how far a regular dwarf can go with just these arms.”
Not a naturally gifted Chosen One; just a craftsman who rose to lead the weapons department through sheer effort and skill.
Shin, too, grew serious as he watched, eager to witness Druk Yulk’s true strength.
𑁋
With the task complete, Druk Yulk wiped the sweat from his brow.
There was nothing especially unique about Druk’s technique.
He simply heated the iron and struck it, over and over again, gradually shaping it into a sword.
While his hammer was imbued with magic, the method itself was similar to that of Kluck and the Cave King. The amount of magic infused was also less than Shin’s. Since the material this time was iron, the difference in how much magic could be infused wasn’t that significant. Even so, the gap in the finished product was large.
The one-handed sword Druk created, if given a rank, would fall into the same lower-tier Unique class as Shin’s. However, in terms of performance, there was no doubt that Shin’s sword was clearly superior.
“All that’s left is sharpening. Might’ve been a bit dull for you, Shin-dono.”
“Not at all. You’ve shown me how far someone can come through dedication alone. Honestly, I’m a bit moved.”
Druk wasn’t a Chosen One. While he had acquired some skills, blacksmithing wasn’t so lenient that skill alone could produce something of the Unique class.
That’s exactly why Shin couldn’t begin to imagine the amount of effort that had gone into gaining the skills to forge the sword before him.
How difficult it was to bring ordinary iron up to Unique class; Shin understood from personal experience.
When he asked Druk directly, he learned that Druk’s blacksmithing skill had manifested naturally over time.
Not through a secret manual or inherited legacy; he had awakened the skill on his own. Even with the skill, it was fair to say he remained essentially a highly capable ordinary person.
It was a fusion of skill, non-skill-based technique, and an immense reservoir of experience.
In some ways, Druk was even more valuable than a Chosen One: those born with innate abilities.
“Hearing that from someone like you, Shin-dono, is truly an honor. Now then, it’s about time. Let’s eat. Lady Yuki, would that be alright with you?”
“Yes. I’ve been shown something truly fascinating. Thank you very much.”
“Mmm, getting praised this much is a little embarrassing…”
Chuckling awkwardly, Druk began cleaning up his tools. Watching all this silently was Retoneka.
“Shin-dono, tomorrow you’ll be touring the departments. Where would you like to start?”
Just as they were about to part ways after finishing their meal, Druk asked for confirmation.
It would make things smoother for both sides if the route was decided in advance.
“To be honest, they all sound interesting. Yuki, is there a place you want to start with?”
“We’ll be visiting all of them in the end, so I don’t really have any preferences to prioritize.”
“I see. Then let’s see… let’s start with the blacksmithing department. After that—production, agriculture, civil engineering, unexplored technology, and finally the marine department.”
Shin didn’t have a strong preference for where to begin, so he just listed the departments in the order that came to mind.
“Understood. Tomorrow, we’ll have a special experiment lined up. I’ll make sure you get to see it. I’ll come pick you up at the cafeteria around nine.”
Perhaps because the blacksmithing department was first, Druk would be acting as the guide himself.
“Are you sure? Don’t you have other work?”
“It’s no problem. I’ll be participating in the experiment too, and even if I step away for a while, I’ve delegated the work so nothing falls apart. Besides, there’s no one who knows more about the blacksmithing department than me.”
Shin gave a wry smile at Druk’s overly convincing words and agreed.
The others had already started touring the facilities, so chatting with Druk might be a good way to gather background info.
With that thought in mind, Shin, Schnee, and Yuzuha headed to the cafeteria.
◆◆◆◆