The Retired Top Ranker Was Abducted to Another World - Chapter 16

Jake gazed at the flame with a look of enchantment.

“What… what is this flame?”
“It’s a flame created by ability, isn’t it?”
“Ha… I can’t believe it…”

Never in his life did he expect to see such a flame.
A spirit’s flame? Compared to this, it was like a firefly before the sun.

‘If I make a weapon with this…’

Ingots have impurities.
They have to be removed with fire.
However, every flame has a different capacity to remove impurities.
A high-level spirit’s flame can achieve a maximum of 99 percent purity.
But… if it’s done with this flame…

‘That theoretically possible 100 percent might be achieved…’

What would happen then?
It would not only increase magical conductivity but also create much sharper weapons.

“Let me have… this flame!”

He wanted to make a sword just once with this flame.
If he could, he would even be willing to become a slave.
A desire as an artisan sparked brightly.

“All you have to do is put it in the forge, right?”
“You… you’re giving it to me?”
“It’s not a difficult task, so why not?”
“Ha… you are my benefactor! Anything you need—frying pan? Pot? I’ll make as many as you’d like!”

Jake drooled as he stared at the flame.
His slightly deranged appearance made me instinctively step back.

“Hehehe, with that…!”

Was it a mistake to show him that?
It was a day of unexpected regret.

***

Clang! Clang!

The sound of hammering echoed.

“Mister… why are you up at this hour?”

It was still the early morning, not yet fully light.
Jake was up, hammering ingots in the forge.

“You woke up? I just couldn’t sit still.”
“Do you like it that much?”
“Of course! Haha! Look at this! Isn’t the ingot glowing?”

It looked the same to me…

“Here! I made another frying pan! Try it out.”
“Huh? You already made me one.”
“Hehe, you won’t be able to compare it to the last one!”

Jake’s eyes shone like a child’s.
But a bearded older man doing so was just creepy.

“Alright. What’s changed?”

I put some leftover meat in the frying pan.
Then…

“Huh? Why is this happening?”

Without even turning on the flame, the pan began to heat and cook the meat on its own.

“I tried embedding a magic stone!”
“A magic stone?”
“Yes. Can’t you see it in the handle?”
“Ah, this?”

I thought it was just decorative.
Who would embed a magic stone in a frying pan?

“How is it? Do you like it?”
“I do like it, but… is it really necessary to do this?”

After all, you can light a fire anywhere, so why bother?

“Hey! Have a little romance! When you use it, the seasoning seeps in perfectly, isn’t that amazing?”
“Perfect seasoning?”
“Yes! There’s never been a better frying pan in history!”
“Ooooo! Incredible!”

That changes things.

“Do you think that’s it? It cooks evenly without burning. Heat distribution is perfect, isn’t it marvelous?”
“It really is amazing! You truly are a master!”
“*Ahem!* You just realized that?”

Jake’s mouth twisted into a smile.
Pretending not to care but he was clearly pleased.

“It’s all thanks to your flame.”
“Flame?”
“Yes. Without that flame, this frying pan wouldn’t have been born.”

Embedding a magic stone in a frying pan is unheard of.
Magic stones are rare, and if there are excess impurities, magic cannot be transmitted.
But after removing the impurities with the flame, it was different.
Even simple iron rivaled mithril in magic transmission efficiency now.

“Really? I’m glad it helped!”
“Is that all?”
“Do I need something more?”

I wanted a different… kind of reaction…
Honestly, this was a surprising response.
Didn’t he realize how incredible this was?

“Do you know what mithril is?”
“Of course, I do.”

Mithril is an ore.
It’s the highest in magical conductivity among all ores in existence.
Even in the modern age, if cleared from a gate, it was a rare reward.
Weapons with even a trace of mithril went up in price several-fold.

“Then why aren’t you surprised? Simple iron is rivaling mithril here!”
“Well… I don’t use weapons, so I’m not really interested.”

“…Is that so?”

Right… I shouldn’t have expected common sense from this one…

“Is there a reason you don’t use weapons?”
“No, it’s just more efficient to create them from ice.”
“That ice?”

It was indeed impressive, but compared to real weapons, wasn’t it lacking?

“Want to see?”
“Sure. Show me.”

Let’s see how impressive it is not to use weapons!

“This… this is…”

Is this really just ice?
It’s harder than iron and has better magical conductivity than mithril.
It may not be balanced, but other than that, it’s superior to any ore I’ve seen.

“Pretty good, right?”
“It’s beyond good! This is… revolutionary!”

If such an ore existed, there would be countless dwarves willing to give everything to possess it.
Not just dwarves, any artisan would want to handle it at least once.

“How much of this can you make…?”
“Infinite.”
“…!”

This is a monstrous existence!

‘I’m envious!’

Jake was genuinely envious of Baek Yeon-woo.
If he had that ice and flame…

‘I would have become the greatest artisan in dwarf history!’

Why would the divine give such power to someone so oblivious?

“Could you refine it?”
“That’s not possible. I can change its shape as I please, but refining is impossible.”

I’ve tried with hopeful thoughts before.
If distributed, it could be helpful to others.
But not only is refining impossible, even shaping it is beyond reach.

“Aaaah! Damn!”

If it was possible, I would have made a sword out of it!

“You… learn from me…”
“Learn what?”
“Blacksmithing!”
“Do I have to?”
“Wasting this ability is an insult to the divine! There’s a reason you were given such a gift!”

“The divine? But it’s not the god of this world, so does it matter?”

If there was a divine in the modern world, the power granted to me would belong to them, not the gods here.
I was brought here against my will…

“Stop babbling! You have the makings of the greatest blacksmith!”
“Hmm… well, okay.”
“Great! I’ll teach you all my skills!”

Jake was ecstatic.
The idea of Baek Yeon-woo, trained in his skills, becoming the greatest blacksmith…
The very thought was exciting.

***

“Faye. The man said he’ll teach us blacksmithing.”
“Is that so?”

Having just woken up, Faye seemed groggy.

“I’ll start learning from today. Would you care to join?”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Even if I listen, I can’t do it.”

The difference is in their anatomy—his paws and the hands of Jake and Baek Yeon-woo were unequal.
Hands that can freely grip objects.
But she was different.

“But! You could use wind like hands!”
“Is that so? Hmm… alright, then.”

Buzz!
Faye’s tail spun like a propeller.

“Let’s go!”
“Understood.”

We went to the man’s place.

“You’re here? Hm? Are you planning to listen too?”
“He invited me to join.”
“Ah, okay. That’s fine.”

There’s no issue with an extra wolf listening.

“Now, look here. We have an iron ingot.”
“Wow, that’s a lot?”
“Yep. Out of these ten, find the one with the highest purity.”
“Okay.”

Ten iron ingots.
Among them, the one with the highest purity…

“This one?”
“I agree.”

The seventh ingot.

“That’s correct. But how did you guess right on the first try?”

It took me a month to do that!

“If you look at it with magic, you can see it.”
“What nonsense are you talking? How do you see magic?”
“Huh? You can’t see it?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”

We tilted our heads, looking at each other.

“No one can see magic with the naked eye!”
“But I can see it.”

Even now, I see it clearly.
Colorful, vividly glowing magic.

“Faye, how did you know?”
“I tested it by infusing wind.”
“Precisely! That’s normal! You’re the abnormal one!”

Infusing magic into something is quite a sophisticated task.
It’s amazing to do it in one go, but they are both strong, so it’s not unbelievable.
After all, they both control magic.
But what Baek Yeon-woo is talking about is on a different level.
Magic itself cannot be seen; it can only be felt.

“How can you see it…”
“By concentrating magic in my eyes, it’s visible.”
“…? In that case, it should only enhance eyesight…”

When magic is concentrated in the eyes, vision improves, and one can see further.
But nothing more than that.

“Really? This doesn’t seem important, so let’s continue with the lesson!”

Is this less important than the lesson?
This is the first discovery of its kind in human history!

“No… never mind. Talking about it would just waste my breath.”

Yeah… here he’s abnormal.
What he does is weird, being a kid in the Forest of Calamity makes him weird, everything about him is just weird.
Constantly reminding myself not to try to understand him.

“Ahem… First, after heating the ingot, hammer it to shape it.”

Clang! Clang!

The ingot gradually took shape.

“A dagger?”
“Yes. It’s the first step. I also made a dagger first.”

It requires less material and is suitable for beginners.

“Is that so? Got it.”

Jake quickly and nimbly crafted a dagger.

“Whew… that’s how you do it.”
“Hmm… understood!”

I roughly understood what to do.
I assumed the stance and heated the ingot.

‘When it’s heated enough… now!’

Clang! Clang!

An even tempo and sound came from the ingot.
Jake was astonished.

‘He’s hammering evenly!’
A steady beat and consistent force!
That’s incredibly difficult.

‘That guy… he’s a genius.’

Someone who can grasp ten teachings from just one.
Jake was eager to see…
How much time would it take for him to surpass himself…

***

“Hey, you… do it!”

But that eagerness crumbled just after a day.
Talent? It wasn’t the issue.
Baek Yeon-woo indeed possessed remarkable talent.
But…

“Why aren’t you doing anything!”

He’s incredibly lazy.
How can someone just eat and sleep without doing anything?

“But it’s bothersome.”
“Why! What’s bothering!”

You’re doing well! So why!

“It’s not fun.”
“What…? You have such talent, and you say it’s not fun…?”

It’s usually fun if you’re talented at something…

“I’m done now.”
“Aaaa! My dream!”

My hope for the disciple to become the best blacksmith!

“Oh divine! Why did you bestow such talent to him!”

That dream was thwarted by an overly lazy individual.
In endless persuasion, the one that conceded was Jake.