Several days later—
I finally returned to the Aldric territory.
Honestly—
The mont the carriage crossed back into the snowy familiar lands, I felt strangely relieved.
The capital was exhausting.
Mostly because of one specific black-haired nace.
Eventually the carriage rolled through the gates of the Aldric manor before coming to a stop.
I stepped outside stretching slightly after the long trip.
Then imdiately—
"Leon!"
My mother quickly walked down the manor steps toward with visible relief.
"You’re finally back."
I smiled slightly.
"Yeah."
She imdiately pulled into a quick hug before stepping back and looking over carefully.
"...Where’s father and Alex?" I asked after noticing the manor felt quieter than usual.
My mother’s expression shifted slightly.
"They’re dealing with border matters."
"...Border matters?"
She nodded slowly.
"There’s been rising tension with the neighboring kingdom recently."
Her voice beca more serious.
"Trade disputes. Territorial argunts. Military movent near the border."
I frowned slightly.
"And?"
"...It’s likely war may break out within the next few months."
That imdiately caught my attention.
War.
Honestly—
That was bad timing.
Very bad timing.
Especially considering I was currently building industrial technology inside a dieval fantasy world.
Still—
There wasn’t much I could do about it right now.
After speaking with my mother a little longer, I eventually left the manor and headed toward the forest shack.
Or rather—
What used to be a shack.
At this point it honestly looked more like a proper workshop complex.
Smoke rose from the bloories while the waterwheels slowly turned beside the river.
The mont I arrived, I spotted Finn near the furnaces tending the flas.
He looked up after hearing footsteps.
Then imdiately grinned.
"Leon!"
"Finn."
Honestly—
It felt good being back.
The mont I approached, Finn imdiately started asking questions about the capital and the rchant deal.
So naturally—
I told him the price Lady Seraphina Valare agreed paying for the steel.
The mont I finished speaking—
Finn froze completely.
"...Wait."
Then his eyes widened.
"...Per ingot?"
"Per ingot."
Silence.
Then—
"ARE THEY INSANE?!"
Finn nearly dropped the steel tongs in his hands.
"That much money for ONE?!"
Honestly—
His reaction was reasonable.
Even I still thought the numbers sounded ridiculous.
Finn grabbed both sides of his head dramatically.
"We’re rich."
"Not yet."
"LEON WE’RE RICH."
Honestly—
Fair point.
After Finn finally cald down slightly, I asked the important question.
"So. Anything go wrong while I was away?"
Finn shook his head.
"Not really."
Then he paused slightly.
"Though..."
"Hm?"
"That weird manure pit thing."
"The nitrate bed."
"Yeah that."
Finn pointed toward the distant covered pit area.
"There were weird salt-like crystals forming in it."
For a mont—
I just stared at him.
Then slowly—
A grin spread across my face.
Finn looked confused imdiately.
"...Why are you smiling like that?"
"That’s amazing."
"...What?"
I imdiately started walking toward the nitrate bed excitedly.
Finn quickly followed behind looking completely lost.
Honestly—
If crystals were already forming this early—
Things were progressing even faster than expected.
And if I was right—
The next stage of Leon Aldric’s industrial revolution was finally about to begin.
Finn spent the next several weeks tending the nitrate beds almost like they were crops.
Every morning he carefully turned the rotting mixture with a shovel while Leon occasionally inspected the strange white crystal growth forming within certain sections of the bed. The sll was absolutely horrific, especially once the warr days arrived, but Leon insisted the process was working perfectly.
Water was filtered slowly through layers of ash, earth, straw, and aged waste before being collected inside large barrels near the workshop. Afterward the liquid was heated and refined repeatedly while Finn grumbled the entire ti about how he went from being a blacksmith assistant to apparently becoming a farr for glowing dirt water.
Over ti, pale salt-like crystals slowly began forming in the drying trays Leon had prepared. The mont Leon saw them, his eyes practically lit up with excitent while Finn just stared in confusion at the tiny white flakes that had apparently consud months of effort.
To Finn, they looked worthless.
To Leon—
They were the foundation of a weapon that could one day shake kingdoms.
Over the next few days, Leon and Finn prepared several fresh ingots of refined steel for sale.
The workshop remained busy from morning until night as the bloories roared constantly beside the river while the waterwheels steadily powered the bellows without pause.
At this point, producing steel had beco far smoother than when they first started months ago.
The carbon ratios were more controlled.
The impurities were lower.
And the consistency between ingots had improved massively.
Even Finn—who once barely understood what Leon was doing—could now identify flaws within steel by sight alone.
Eventually, once enough ingots were prepared, the two loaded them carefully onto the cart behind Potato before heading toward town.
The mont they arrived near the rchant district, they quickly spotted a familiar carriage bearing the emblem of the Valare Trading Corporation.
Beside it stood Cedric Ross.
The sharply dressed rchant imdiately smiled upon noticing Leon and Finn approach.
"Master Leon," Cedric greeted politely.
Honestly—
Hearing people call him "Master" still felt strange.
Finn anwhile looked incredibly smug hearing that.
The steel ingots were carefully unloaded one by one while Cedric inspected them thoroughly.
As expected—
The rchant’s expression only beca more impressed.
"Incredible consistency once again," Cedric muttered while examining one of the ingots closely beneath the sunlight.
"Most smiths can barely maintain this quality across a single blade, yet you produce it repeatedly."
Leon simply shrugged slightly.
anwhile Finn looked like he wanted to brag for an hour straight.
Eventually the deal was finalized.
Cedric handed over a heavy pouch filled with coins.
The mont Finn felt the weight—
His eyes widened.
The amount of money felt unreal.
A single small gold coin per ingot.
Honestly—
It was enough money to completely change both their lives.
Just as Cedric prepared leaving though, Finn suddenly spoke up.
"Wait."
Cedric paused.
"Yes?"
Finn glanced toward Leon briefly before asking,
"Do you happen to have any sulfur?"
Cedric blinked slightly.
"Sulfur?"
"A yellow mineral," Leon added casually. "Used occasionally by alchemists."
The rchant looked thoughtful for a mont before nodding.
"I only carry small quantities currently."
Then he motioned toward one of the carriage workers, who returned monts later carrying several wrapped bundles.
A faint unpleasant sll imdiately followed them.
Finn grimaced.
"That slls awful."
"It’s sulfur," Leon replied simply.
Cedric handed over the bundles before speaking again.
"If you require larger amounts, I can arrange it by my next visit."
That imdiately caught Leon’s attention.
"How much larger?"
Cedric smiled faintly.
"The Valare Corporation can acquire most things in quantity."
Honestly—
That was an extrely useful connection to have.
Leon nodded.
"That would help."
Cedric gave a polite bow before returning toward his carriage.
"Then I shall inform Lady Seraphina."
Not long afterward, Leon and Finn departed town once again with:
- fresh money,
- new supplies,
- and several bundles of sulfur loaded onto the cart beside them.
As Potato slowly carried them back toward the forest workshop, Finn glanced toward the sulfur suspiciously.
"So..."
He frowned.
"What horrifying thing are we making next?"
Leon simply grinned slightly while staring ahead toward the distant workshop.
Honestly—
The next stage was about to begin.
By the ti Leon and Finn returned to the workshop, the sun had already begun setting behind the snowy trees.
The cart creaked softly as Potato dragged it toward the shack while smoke continued rising from the bloories nearby.
Several sacks of charcoal sat beside the sulfur and refined nitrate crystals.
Finn stared at all three materials suspiciously.
Then slowly looked toward Leon.
"...You’re smiling again."
Leon ignored him completely.
Instead he imdiately began organizing everything across the workshop tables with unusual focus.
The atmosphere itself started feeling different.
More serious.
Even Finn could sense it.
For the next several hours Leon worked carefully while Finn assisted despite having absolutely no understanding of what Leon was attempting create.
The strange mixture was refined repeatedly.
Ground down.
Filtered.
Adjusted.
Leon tested tiny amounts several tis while muttering calculations beneath his breath.
Twice small flashes startled Finn badly enough that he nearly threw a hamr across the room.
"LEON!"
"I said be careful near it."
"YOU SAID THAT AFTER IT EXPLODED!"
"It barely exploded."
Finn stared at him in disbelief.
Eventually—
Late into the night—
Leon carefully poured a small amount of black powder-like material across a flat stone surface.
Then he stepped back silently.
Finn watched cautiously.
"...That’s it?"
Leon slowly nodded.
Honestly—
Even he felt slightly nervous.
After all—
This was the first ti he had recreated sothing this dangerous within this world.
Leon carefully reached forward with a burning splint.
Then touched the powder.
For half a second—
Nothing happened.
Then suddenly—
FWOOOM.
A violent flash erupted instantly alongside a thunderous crack that echoed through the forest.
The explosion startled birds from distant trees while smoke burst outward across the workshop.
Finn imdiately stumbled backward in shock.
"What in the hells WAS THAT?!"
Leon stared silently at the scorched stone.
The powder was gone.
Completely gone.
Only black burn marks remained behind.
Slowly—
A grin spread across Leon’s face.
Because sitting before him was not magic.
Not mana.
Not so mystical artifact.
It was science.
And in that mont—
Leon realized he had just created sothing capable of changing warfare forever.
Reviews
All reviews (0)