The clearing behind the village.
A little over twenty people had gathered. They were warriors and young men.
They were healthy men between eighteen and thirty, and all of them were ready to work.
The morning sunlight slanted down, and dew on the blades of grass sparkled. When the sunlight shone on the dew, tiny rainbows glittered. White breaths rose from people's mouths, and the cool air unique to an autumn morning lingered. The wind blew cold, and leaves rustled.
The people rubbed their hands together to warm themselves. Some raised their arms high and stretched, while others ran in place to loosen their bodies.
"Did everyone sleep well?"
I asked.
"Yes!"
"We slept well!"
"No, because you woke us too early, Chieftain...."
Running Deer grumbled. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.
Laughter burst out around him.
"Haha, Running Deer sleeps late in the mornings!"
"Right, he always sleeps until the very end!"
"Still, you came out quickly today, didn't you?"
"How am I supposed to sleep when Solid Rock is shouting right by my ear?!"
The people laughed again. Running Deer scratched his head sheepishly.
"Starting today, we begin important work."
I spoke seriously.
"The bronze I mentioned yesterday—that is what we will make."
The atmosphere grew serious. The laughter stopped, and the people focused on me. Around twenty pairs of eyes turned toward me. Their gazes were mixed with expectation and tension. Someone clenched his fists, and someone else swallowed.
"You mean the new metal?"
A man asked.
"Yes."
I nodded.
"But to do that, we need a smelting furnace first."
"A smelting furnace? What is that?"
Fierce Eyes tilted his head and asked.
"Simply put, it is a hearth that makes an extremely hot fire."
I explained.
"To melt metal, an ordinary fire will not do. We need a much hotter fire. Hot enough to melt stone."
"How hot is that?"
Running Deer asked in surprise.
"Hot enough that flesh burns the instant it touches it."
I spoke calmly.
"If you touch it once, your flesh will burn in an instant, and you will be able to see bone."
The people stirred. Someone gulped, and someone else looked down at his hands. One man stared hard at his palm, while another unconsciously hid his hands behind his back.
"C-Can fire truly be that hot?"
Fierce Eyes asked again.
"How do you make such a fire?"
"By blowing air into it."
I explained with gestures.
"If you blow strong wind into a fire, the temperature rises. If you light charcoal and keep blowing wind into it, the fire grows hotter and hotter. From red to yellow, and from yellow to white."
"Ah...."
A light of understanding appeared in the people's eyes. Some nodded.
"Ah, so that is why they use bellows at the forge!"
Running Deer slapped his knee.
"Yes. So you know about it."
"Yes. I saw Old Man Hot Hands use them. When he made knives, he made the fire hotter with bellows."
"Good. Bring Old Man Hot Hands here."
I nodded.
"We need to work together. I need his experience. Handling fire is tricky."
"Understood!"
Running Deer sprinted toward the village. His back vanished into the fog, and only the sound of his footsteps gradually grew farther away.
"Now, the rest of you will divide the work."
I divided the people into three teams. I counted them off one by one with my fingers.
Ding!
『Crafting Quest: Smelting Furnace Construction』
→ Required Materials: high-quality clay, hard stone, oak charcoal
→ Estimated Time Required: 3 days
"The first team will dig up clay."
I pointed toward the river as I spoke.
"There should be good clay by the riverside. Bring as much as possible."
"What kind of clay is good?"
A man asked.
"Sticky and heavy clay is good."
I mimed touching clay with my hands.
"Clay mixed with a lot of sand will not do. It should not break apart easily when you clump it together with your hands."
"Understood!"
"We will do it!"
Five men raised their hands.
"The second team will gather stones."
I clenched my fist to show the size.
"Hard ones about the size of a fist. Granite is good. Gray or pink stones."
"Why granite?"
Fierce Eyes asked.
"Because it is hard and withstands heat well. Other stones split when heated."
"Yes!"
"We will find them!"
Five more men raised their hands.
"The third team will cut trees."
I pointed toward the forest.
"We need to make charcoal. Oak is good."
"Oak? What kind of tree is that?"
A man asked.
"I know!"
Another man shouted.
"You mean the acorn tree, right?"
"Yes. Oak charcoal burns hottest."
I nodded.
"It lasts longer than other wood, and its heat is stronger. Bring thick ones."
"Understood!"
"We will cut them!"
The remaining people raised their hands.
The people scattered. The three teams ran in their respective directions. To the river, to the mountain, and to the forest.
The clay team carried large baskets and ran toward the river.
The stone team shouldered leather sacks and headed for the foot of the mountain. The wood team held stone axes and disappeared into the forest.
Footsteps scattered in every direction.
The sound of stepping on dirt, the sound of pushing through grass, the sound of breaking branches.
Only Solid Rock remained by my side.
"Chieftain, what should I do?"
"You will refine the smelting furnace design with me."
I pointed to the picture drawn on the ground as I spoke.
"To actually build it, we need a more detailed plan."
"Understood."
I began drawing a more detailed picture on the ground. I sharpened the end of the branch and drew fine lines.
"See this?"
I pointed at the picture as I spoke.
"This is the combustion chamber. It is where we put the charcoal. Its height will be about this much, and its width this much."
"Why that size?"
Solid Rock asked.
"For charcoal to burn evenly, the space needs to be right. If it is too narrow, air will not circulate properly, and if it is too wide, the heat will scatter."
"Ah...."
Solid Rock nodded and examined the picture seriously. His eyes moved over the drawing, and he tried to understand the structure while following each line. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
"We will place the crucible above that."
I spoke while drawing a circle on the picture.
"A crucible is a vessel that holds metal. It is a vessel made of clay, and we place copper and tin inside it to melt them."
"You make it from clay?"
Solid Rock asked.
"Yes. It must be fired and made very hard. It has to be even harder than the smelting furnace."
"Why?"
"Because it has to hold molten metal. If it is weak, it will not withstand the weight of the metal."
"How do you make it hard?"
"We shape the clay, let it dry slowly, and then fire it."
I explained with gestures.
"Then it hardens. First with a weak fire, then later with a strong fire. That way, it will not crack."
"Oh...."
Solid Rock exclaimed in admiration.
His eyes widened, and his mouth opened.
"Chieftain, you truly know so much. Where did you learn such knowledge?"
"I learned it in a dream."
I shrugged.
"The ancestors taught me directly. One by one, pointing it out with their own hands."
"The ancestors are incredible."
Solid Rock lowered his head.
"Truly incredible. To pass down such wisdom."
"Indeed."
A short while later, Running Deer returned with an old man.
He was an old man whose hands were covered in burn scars.
His fingers were bent, and the skin on the backs of his hands had risen unevenly.
Both of his hands were covered in wounds.
His finger joints were twisted, and his nails were blackened.
The marks of decades spent handling fire were carved into them in their entirety. But his eyes alone were still sharp and vivid.
"This is Old Man Hot Hands."
Running Deer introduced him.
"Did you call for me, Chieftain?"
The old man bowed at the waist. As a sign of respect, he clasped both hands to his chest.
"Old man, I am trying to make a new metal, and I need your help."
"A new metal?"
Curiosity appeared in the old man's eyes, and they gleamed.
"What kind of metal? Do you mean red stone?"
"Yes. A metal far harder than red stone."
I explained.
"It will neither bend nor break. It will be stronger than stone."