The door clicked shut behind Lysa, leaving Levi in the soft quiet of twilight. The iron pieces she left behind clinked in his hand, cool and dense. He turned one slowly between his fingers, feeling its weight.
And then it happened.
[System Notification: STEEL 1]
No glow. No music. Just the soft, familiar window flashing before his eyes. Levi didn't flinch. He exhaled through his nose, calm and unreadable.
"Steel, huh?" he muttered. "You sure about that? Looks like iron to ."
The system stayed silent.
He looked to the door, then back at the lump of tal. "Thank you, Lysa," he said quietly. Not just for the report. Not just for the effort. But for this.
She had also left behind two golden dragons. The coins glinted in a small pouch on the table. Unspent. Returned.
Levi ran a thumb along the edge of one iron bar. "Five pieces. That should be enough."
He opened the pouch, set the dragons inside, and tied it shut. Then he stood and walked to the window, peering out over the marsh village.
The fog hadn't lifted, but the silhouettes of laborers were still moving about. The stone slabs they'd laid across the muddy paths looked rough, and moss still clung to most of them. But the villagers walked them with care . Nearby, a stubby wall was beginning to take shape – half-built and uneven.
"They didn't even scrape off the moss," Levi mumbled. "But... it's walkable. Doesn't have to be perfect."
He turned the iron in his hand again, weighing it. "So. Not steel. Just iron. That's fine. I'll make do. No more complaining. Just act."
His fingers tightened around the bar.
"Timor wants to open a forge," he said to himself. "This will do just fine."
He set the iron down on the table and began writing on a scrap of parchnt. Notes for Timor.
Once the forge is up and running, and the boys who want to co and learn are ready, try these iron bars first. See how they lt. Shape them. Let know how brittle or strong they feel.
He paused.
Decide what to make first. A weapon? Or armor?
Levi stood again and walked outside. The faint glow of evening painted the buildings in gold and gray. Villagers passed him with nods. So carried buckets. Others help push stone slabs. All of them moved with purpose.
He looked again at the road then at the tiny wall slowly growing at its edge.
"If I throw in more stone slabs, even if they're mossy... they won't be scared, right?"
He looked toward the southern fields where the road dipped back into bog and brush.
Then he cracked his knuckles.
"Two moons (months) of work... huh? Let's see if we can make it one moon instead."
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