Chapter 22: The Regressor Completes It

[A bond with ‘Inoue Erica’ has been established.]

“...What?”

As soon as he stepped out of the forest, the content of the notification that appeared made Isehun's eyes widen.

Why would a bond with Erica, who had been out of touch until now, suddenly be established?

In the face of this sudden situation, Isehun naturally recalled the recent events.

‘Did she peek?’

His previously ambiguous evaluation had been upgraded after the battle with Seits, leading to the establishment of the bond.

While it might seem like an overactive imagination, considering how Erica had been staring at him intently at random times, it seemed plausible.

‘But, I can't really tell what she's thinking.’

From the fact that the bond was established when he revealed his abilities, it seemed she had a practical inclination, but the reason for it was completely unclear.

After pondering Erica for a moment, Isehun quickly cleared his thoughts.

‘So what?’

Since the bond is established, he would find out when they meet again later.

Deciding to check his status first, Isehun examined the bond stone with Ryu Eunha attached to his right arm.

[Bond - Tamcheol]

[Grade: High] [Quality: Best]

Iron that consumes other iron to generate heat.

It erodes the core of the iron it touches and assimilates it into its own core.

*Consumes iron to produce ‘Kwanghyeol’ (矿血).

*Remaining durability: 78%

‘Maybe because of the high quality. It’s not as worn out as I thought.’

At this rate, he could probably use it two or three more times. Smiling at the less than expected wear, Isehun recalled the sensation he had just felt.

‘That must have been the “taste” Ryu Eunha feels when consuming weapons.’

The taste that flowed through his body when he consumed the weapon. Although he had tasted expensive foods before, this was completely different in structure.

An existence that couldn’t be replaced by ordinary food. Still feeling the thick, intense taste lingering in his mouth, Isehun unconsciously licked his lips.

‘There’s a reason for her expressionless demeanor...’

Living while feeling such intense tastes, it’s only natural that she would become desensitized to ordinary stimuli.

Having gained a better understanding of Ryu Eunha before the regression, Isehun continued to savor the taste of the weapon.

‘Hmm. With this, I can aim for her taste in the future.’

The most challenging part when making weapons for Ryu Eunha was matching her taste, so experiencing the taste of the weapon was a huge gain.

If he could use this well, he would not only be able to obtain bond stones smoothly but also level up faster.

‘These are also quite usable.’

The ten daggers he received as compensation from Seits.

They were too crude to use as they were, but with a few adjustments, they could be linked with the Black Spirit and become quite usable.

Although it was a bit troublesome, Isehun was satisfied with the not-so-bad gain and checked the time.

‘Was it mineral analysis in the afternoon?’

A popular major in the Metallurgy Department, taught by Professor Kim Incheol.

‘After all, he’s one of the top 100 craftsmen.’

One of the top 100 craftsmen in the world, with a hero rank of A, but his actual value was practically S.

‘I wonder how he’ll conduct the class...’

While thinking about various things, Isehun arrived at the main building of the Metallurgy Department and went straight to the lecture hall.

“...”

“...”

The lecture hall, which had been somewhat noisy, suddenly fell silent, and all eyes turned to Isehun.

Having become accustomed to such gazes, Isehun shrugged it off and sat in a corner, sighing.

‘I’m a bit tired...’

After the sparring with Jake and the fight with Seits, and the backlash from using Tamcheol to drastically enhance his physical abilities, his body ached all over.

The fatigue symptoms rising due to the lack of stamina and mana. As he sat there dazed, feeling the floating sensation.

Rattle—

The door to the lecture hall opened, and Kim Incheol entered.

Behind him, a large cart followed on its own without anyone pushing it, which piqued Isehun's interest.

‘A golem?’

While blacksmiths are often thought to only make weapons, they actually deal with any material that involves metal.

Golems, in particular, are popular items made in collaboration with mages, and Isehun had made a few before the regression.

‘Come to think of it, Louise was also good at making golems.’

Recalling Louise Valente, one of the three dogs, Isehun was thinking about her when...

“I will start the class now. Everyone, open your textbooks to page 16.”

Standing at the lectern, Kim Incheol immediately began the class, and Isehun quickly wore a bored expression as he listened.

‘What? It’s just a theory class.’

Kim Incheol explained the content of the textbook with his own experiences, which was somewhat useful, so the other students listened attentively. However, for Isehun, who had experience comparable to Kim Incheol, it was a tedious story.

‘Did I expect too much...’

While metal refining and tool understanding involved some physical activity, this class required just sitting and listening, which was quite challenging.

As Isehun listened to Kim Incheol's class with a detached expression, Kim Incheol said:

“I think the explanation is sufficient. Let’s move on to the practical part now.”

Covering the textbook, Kim Incheol took out small iron ingots from the cart beside him and placed them on the table in front.

“As I explained, even if the metal is the same, the form can vary greatly depending on how the mana arrangement is altered.”

Hum—

Mana rose from Kim Incheol's fingertips, and he lightly tapped the iron ingots on the table.

Hum—

The iron ingots began to vibrate faintly and started to change in various ways.

Crack! Snap! Creak!

The iron ingots changed in various ways, some shrinking inward, some twisting into spirals, and some expanding.

The students watched with curious expressions, and Isehun slightly raised the corners of his mouth.

‘He’s good at it.’

It was possible because he had a perfect grasp of how to arrange the mana in such small iron ingots, which required both experience and excellent senses.

“To determine the diversity of weapons, it depends on how the form changes are applied. Therefore, a blacksmith must fully understand the potential of the metal they handle.”

Tap tap!

Kim Incheol tapped the iron ingots again with his fingers, and they instantly returned to their original form.

“Wow...”

Without using any special skills, to perfectly restore the iron ingots like that. The students were amazed, and Kim Incheol continued his explanation nonchalantly.

“Today, we will practice the deformation of metal using these iron ingots. They have been adjusted to react more sensitively than ordinary iron ingots, so handle them carefully.”

Each student was given an iron ingot, and Isehun also took one to examine.

‘Hmm. The mana arrangement and the core of the metal are connected to make it more sensitive to deformation.’

Thinking that Vice Principal Michael would grind his teeth at Kim Incheol’s rejection of magical refining, it turned out he didn’t.

As Isehun looked at it with interest, Kim Incheol lifted an iron ingot.

“Let’s start with the basics. Manipulate the mana arrangement to create a 3cm scratch in the center of the iron ingot and then restore it. The time limit is 10 minutes.”

Following Kim Incheol’s instructions, the students placed their hands on the iron ingots and began to manipulate the mana arrangement to deform them as they had learned.

“Eh, eh... Why is this happening?”

“It won’t return to its original form...”

There was a huge difference between hearing it and actually doing it.

Most students failed to deform the iron ingots, and even the top students struggled to adjust the position and depth of the scratch.

However, there were two people who were not part of this chaos.

“I’m done.”

“I have completed it.”

They were Isehun, the top student, and Hans, the second.

“Then, you two move on to the next step. I will show you an example of the arrangement, so apply it.”

Kim Incheol immediately showed the next step of deformation as a hologram in the air, and the two quickly manipulated the mana arrangement of the iron ingots to change their form.

The two completed the arrangement at almost the same speed. Isehun was slightly faster, but the difference was not significant, and the silent competition drew the attention of the other students.

‘I can do it... I can do it this time...!’

The speed was almost the same, and the quality was not much worse. Determined to catch up to Isehun, Hans clenched his teeth and began to deform the iron ingot.

Kim Incheol, who had been watching quietly, calmly showed the next arrangement in the air.

“...This is the next arrangement. Apply it.”

An arrangement so complex that it was impossible to guess how it would deform. For the first time, the two had different reactions.

“...”

“This is it...!”

Isehun, who was just looking at the iron ingot without deforming it. On the other hand, Hans immediately began to deform the iron ingot.

The iron ingot, split into an X, slowly curled up into a small sphere with four curved bones. Seeing this, Hans inwardly rejoiced.

‘Got it!’

A perfectly deformed iron ingot that anyone could see.

In contrast, Isehun still just looked at the iron ingot without any movement, which made Hans smile confidently.

Just as he was about to announce his completion triumphantly.

“Hans Barumut.”

Kim Incheol called his name in a cold voice.

“Restore the iron ingot to its original form.”

“...What?”

“Exactly as I said. Restore it.”

Surprised by the sudden instruction, Hans placed his hands on the iron ingot he had deformed, and his eyes widened.

No matter how he tried to restore the deformed mana arrangement, it wouldn’t return to its original state.

“This... This is...”

The iron ingot was completely ‘damaged’.

Seeing this, Hans was dumbfounded, and Kim Incheol calmly explained.

“This iron ingot couldn’t withstand the deformation method you just used. In other words, it was a ‘wrong’ processing method from the beginning. Did you know that?”

“I... I just did as the professor instructed...”

“I mentioned it before. You need to fully understand the potential of the metal.”

It’s not just about deforming it but also about whether it can withstand the deformation. Hans bit his lip at Kim Incheol’s words.

“If the manipulated arrangement cannot be restored, the equipment is not deformed but ‘degraded’. This creates significant variables in quality and performance, so be thorough in this aspect from now on.”

Hans nodded with a gloomy expression at Kim Incheol’s criticism.

“I will remember it.”

To lose such a rare opportunity so futilely.

Hans, feeling a surge of anger, looked at Isehun, who still showed no movement.

‘Did he realize it right away?’

Maybe he just couldn’t follow the deformation method and was just standing there, and it happened by chance.

As Hans looked at Isehun with a dissatisfied expression.

“Hmm.”

Isehun muttered and shaped the iron ingot in his hand into a spherical form like Hans. Everyone looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“It will work.”

Swish—

The deformed iron ingot was restored right before their eyes.

“...”

“...”

A strange silence filled the lecture hall, and a voice broke the silence.

“...Student Isehun.”

Although he tried to speak calmly, the students could feel a subtle tremor in his voice. Isehun, who had been late to react, looked at Kim Incheol.

“Yes?”

“Come down with the iron ingot.”

“Oh, yes.”

Isehun, who had a puzzled expression, went down to the front of the lecture hall, and Kim Incheol looked at the iron ingot in his hand with a serious expression.

“Can you repeat the deformation you just performed?”

The red light and mana in Kim Incheol’s eyes. It seemed he was using a skill to properly examine it, and Isehun finally realized what was happening.

‘Ah, this... Did I make him think I was faking it?’

He seemed a bit flustered by the unexpected situation.

Although he thought about explaining it, he decided it would be faster to show it, so Isehun immediately deformed the iron ingot in his hand.

Swish—

The iron ingot split into four parts, curved, and formed a sphere, and then it returned to its original form perfectly, as if rewinding the process.

A variation of the deformation method he had shown earlier. It was so perfect that it was hard to believe a freshman had modified it on the spot, and Kim Incheol looked both amazed and disappointed.

“...I see. This was possible because it was an ‘iron ingot’.”

The deformation method Kim Incheol showed was based on internationally circulated iron ingots, but the ones used in today’s practice had additives to make them easier for students to handle.

Therefore, a deformation that would have been impossible with ordinary iron ingots was performed by Isehun.

‘To be so surprised by this...’

Kim Incheol, who was smiling bitterly at his own reaction, had a reason for being so surprised.

The person who created the deformation method in the textbook was none other than the headmaster Ludwig, a perfect climber and the best blacksmith, ‘Seonghwagong’ (圣火工).

‘Even then, it shouldn’t have been possible.’

The ‘Truth of Iron’ distributed before he became a perfect climber, which had remained unbroken for decades, was a challenge and a fundamental principle for all blacksmiths.

‘Did he think it might be possible for this guy?’

It seemed like an excessive expectation for a freshman, but considering his past performances, who knows what might happen in the future.

Kim Incheol, who had been pondering this for a while, made a decision and looked at Isehun.

“Even if you applied the existing deformation method, it would have been difficult to adjust it to the state of the iron ingot. Well done.”

“Thank you.”

“Return to your seat.”

Isehun, who had taken the iron ingot, returned to his seat, and the surrounding students cast curious glances.

To receive such praise from Professor Kim Incheol. The students realized how impressive Isehun’s performance had been.

“...”

Among them was Hans, who had lost all his spirit, feeling the significant gap. Isehun, seeing this, smiled and turned his gaze back to the iron ingot.

‘The challenge of iron...’

Seonghwagong Lee Kense, the perfect climber and the best blacksmith.

Recalling the extremely noisy old man, Isehun smiled.

‘If I break it again, it will be the second time.’