The Infinite Forge

Infinite Forge, even the name sounded overpowered.

Standing behind the wizard, Edwyn carefully extended his mind toward the previously dormant forge within his soul.

He had to figure out what this thing actually did, fast.

Fortunately, the process was simple.

The moment Edwyn's spirit touched the forge, knowledge about its function poured straight into his mind.

In short, the Infinite Forge could extract anything usable from a given "material." That usable part could be a physical substance or an embedded piece of information.

During the refining process, Edwyn needed to provide constant "fuel." The type and amount of fuel varied based on what he wanted to extract.

Extracting information consumed mental energy (Spiritforce).

Extracting substances required raw energy.

The testing concluded quickly. Over a hundred children had been tested in under an hour. Only seven passed the Spiritforce test.

"All right. Send the rest of the children home," the black-robed wizard instructed the steward.

"Yes, Master Wizard," Ellison replied with a bow.

As the others were led away, the seven remaining children exchanged uncertain glances.

Among them were a farmer's son, a baker's daughter, a blacksmith's foster child, a merchant's youngest son... They spanned nearly every class in the territory, and yet now they stood together, awaiting the wizard's judgment.

"Good, children," the wizard said. "As those who passed, you are far more exceptional than the rest. You are now the 432nd class of apprentice sorcerers of the Black Tower Magus Academy. You will walk the path to truth within its walls."

He sounded genuinely pleased. Seven qualified children from a backwater like Black Forest, clearly above expectations.

He gestured to Baron Drelis.

"Take these children to bathe and change their clothes."

He pointed at Edwyn.

"And tend to this boy's wounds. If he dies on the journey because of those injuries… hmph."

The threat was unspoken, but the meaning was crystal clear.

"I understand, my lord," the baron replied firmly.

Baron Drelis immediately ordered his servants to escort the children to the lower level of the castle.

Below, there was a grand bathhouse. Natural hot springs from underground had been cleverly converted into pools by the baron.

As Edwyn soaked, the pain from his wounds returned as the heat worked its way in.

A hot bath was an unthinkable luxury for a commoner. Firewood alone was too valuable to waste on water, let alone geothermal springs, something reserved for nobles.

After washing off the grime, Edwyn quickly got out. He still had to tend to his injuries.

Outside the bath, Edwyn put on fresh clothes laid out by the maids.

The new cotton garments were a bit loose but wonderfully warm.

Standing before a mirror, Edwyn examined himself.

Shoulder-length red hair, deep blue eyes, a sharp nose, thin pale lips, he didn't look like a commoner. More like a noble who'd fallen on hard times.

"My lord, you must have noble blood in you," a maid remarked admiringly.

"Oh... Is that so?" Edwyn raised an eyebrow and followed her to the second floor of the castle.

The corridor was lined with portraits, clearly generations of Black Forest barons.

At the end, Edwyn spotted a portrait of the first baron clad in armor, wielding a greatsword with both hands.

Next to the painting, a broken greatsword was mounted on the wall.

"Hm."

The moment Edwyn laid eyes on the blade, the Infinite Forge stirred inside him.

"Is that the sword of the first Baron of Black Forest?" he asked.

"Yes, my lord," the maid replied.

Edwyn stepped forward and touched the blade.

[Material: Broken Sword of The First Baron of Black Forest]

[Extractable Skill: Wind Crow Sword Style]

[Extraction Cost: 5 Spiritforce]

[Proceed with Extraction?]

Wind Crow Sword Style!

Edwyn's heart skipped a beat.

That was the signature swordsmanship with which the baron once dominated battlefields.

Even as a lowly peasant, Edwyn had heard bards sing about it.

It was said this technique had been lost for over three centuries, part of the reason the Black Forest lineage had declined.

Faced with such a treasure, Edwyn didn't hesitate.

Opportunities like this don't come twice.

As soon as he chose to extract, a wave of fatigue crashed over him. He felt like he'd just sat through a morning of advanced calculus lectures, his brain foggy and overwhelmed.

But before he could fully slip into sleepiness, something shocking jolted him awake.

The sword vanished.

The maid blinked in surprise. That sword was massive, where had it gone?

But a heartbeat later, the blade reappeared exactly where it had been.

Had she imagined it?

She rubbed her eyes. The sword was still there, and the young lord was looking at her curiously.

"What is it?" Edwyn asked.

"N-nothing, my lord. Let's go see the Apothecary now," she replied quickly.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Edwyn calmed down.

He hadn't expected the forge to consume the object during the extraction, even if only briefly.

When the sword disappeared, his heart nearly stopped.

Thankfully, the forge worked quickly. The sword returned before anyone could react.

His attention returned to the Infinite Forge.

A sphere of white light now pulsed above it.

When he mentally reached out to it, a wave of fragmented memories flooded his mind like flashing images.

He was on brutal battlefields, wielding a sword, cutting down enemy after enemy.

"My lord? My lord? We've arrived at the Apothecary's office."

The maid's voice brought Edwyn back from the haze. His mental strength was still weak, just receiving the memories of a long-gone warrior had nearly sent him reeling.

"Ah, right," he muttered, entering the infirmary.

Half an hour later, Edwyn emerged, pale and unsteady.

The surgery had been done without anesthetic. Just cheap liquor for pain relief.

Thankfully, the Apothecary was quick. In thirty minutes, he'd cleaned the wounds, removed dead flesh, stitched them up, and applied medicine.

At that moment, Baron Drelis appeared.

"Young Wizard Edwyn, the Grand Wizard is ready to depart."

Outside the castle, Edwyn now wore clean cotton clothes. Though still malnourished, he looked like a completely different person.

"Hmm. Not bad," the black-robed wizard said approvingly.

With a wave of his sleeve, a strange force wrapped around the seven children, suspending them like bubbles in the air.

"This is Levitation Magic. You'll learn it in the Academy."

Then the wizard fired a fireball into the sky.

Boom!

It exploded high above.

A beam of light pierced the gray clouds and shot down from the heavens.

"What the…?"

Edwyn stared skyward, stunned, as a massive gray silhouette began to emerge from the clouds.

It was hundreds of meters long, an airship shaped like a colossal whale. The beam of light was its "eye."

Then Edwyn remembered something.

A legend he'd heard while asking about magic.

A tale of a sky beast that visited every ten years from the Northwild Mountains.

A creature the size of a mountain, with a gaze bright as lightning.

Now, the legend stood before him, no longer cloaked in myth.

The black-robed wizard opened his arms and rose into the air, bringing the children with him toward the beam of light, like saints ascending to heaven.

In that moment, Edwyn heard the wizard's voice, filled with warmth and excitement, ring out in his mind and the minds of the other children:

"Welcome aboard the Zeppelin-Class Arcane Airship, my young apprentices."