The forge was still cold in the morning, but Rei returned to it anyway.
He hadn't told anyone about the message. About the system. About the words only he had seen.
He wasn't sure if it had been real.
But the feeling it left behind, like pressure in his chest and a tingling in his hands, hadn't gone away.
He searched the ruin again and found a few old tools buried in ash and rubble. Rusted tongs. A cracked mold. A chisel with half a handle.
He wiped them clean with a strip of cloth and laid them in a line on the cold stone. His heart beat faster just looking at them.
No one else came near.
The forge was abandoned. Everyone else had other duties: scavenging wood, repairing walls, hauling water. Most of the older kids gave him a wide berth. Maybe it was because he still looked half-dead, or maybe because none of them wanted to bother with someone whose Class wasn't good for anything obvious.
Rei wasn't assigned anything yet. Maybe they didn't expect much from a Blacksmith.
Maybe they thought he'd leave soon.
He didn't.
He placed the metal scrap he'd found the night before into the old firebed.
"Ignite," he said aloud, half-joking.
Nothing happened.
Then the warmth in his chest pulsed again.
[Material: Iron Scrap]
[Quality: Poor]
[Living Forge detected compatible resource. Activate shaping interface?]
He didn't know what that meant. But he nodded anyway.
[Activation accepted. Begin shaping? Bind item to Living Forge? This will consume one Crafting Slot]
[Crafting Slot: {1/1}]
[Note: Living Forge-bound items can evolve and receive commands. Mundane items crafted outside the slot will not gain affinity or growth]
He hesitated, then accepted.
[Shaping begun. Crafting Slot {1/1} engaged. Remaining bound item capacity: 0/1]
The scrap lifted on its own. Not far, just enough to hover, faintly glowing.
Rei stared.
Shapes flickered in his mind—outlines and frames. Tool types. Blades. Joints. A thousand options, all half-familiar.
He reached out instinctively, his fingers tracing lines in the air he didn't fully understand.
And the metal responded.
Not by melting. Not by heating.
By unfolding.
Like it wanted to be something new.
He shaped a simple edge. Not a weapon, more a hooked blade. The kind you might use to strip bark or dig. A survival tool.
The glow brightened, then dimmed.
[Item Created: Primitive Iron Hookblade]
[Quality: Crude]
[Durability: 24/24]
[Affinity Detected: 1%]
[Command Input Possible. Sentience Threshold Not Met]
[Crafting Slot {1/1} - Occupied]
He stared at it.
It wasn't impressive. It looked like something hammered together in a hurry.
But it was his.
A voice broke the quiet.
"What are you doing?"
He turned. A girl stood a few paces back, watching. She looked about his age, maybe a year younger. Short black hair, patched tunic. Arms crossed, expression guarded.
"Did you just make that?"
Rei nodded.
"How?" she asked. "That's not how forges work. There's no fire."
He hesitated. "I don't know. I just... tried."
She walked closer, peering at the blade.
"You're the new Blacksmith, right?"
"Apparently."
She looked at him for a moment. "Most people just get that class and end up sharpening tools. You made something float."
Rei stayed quiet.
She tapped the hilt of the blade with a finger. "Weird, but kind of useful. I'm Naomi. I run with the scavengers. If you make stuff we can actually use, you'll be of help."
Then she turned and left without waiting for a reply.
Rei looked back at the hookblade.
It sank gently into his hand and stopped glowing. It was cold now. Solid. But real.
And waiting.
That evening, he checked his system again.
[Name: Rei Kurogane]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Blacksmith]
[Level: 1]
[EXP: 4/100]
[Strength: 1.2]
[Agility: 1.1]
[Constitution: 1.4]
[Intelligence: 2.9]
[Attribute Points: 0]
[Skills: Basic Forging, Material Sense]
[Class Skill: Crafting Slot {1/1} - 1 Bound Item]
[Note: Crafting additional bound items requires slot expansion]
[Gift: Living Forge]
[Status: Stable]
He didn't know how he'd earned experience.
Maybe it was from crafting.
Maybe it was from being seen.
But the hookblade was real. His first step.
He would build more.
He had to.
Because the world only respected strength.
And this forge, cold as it was, might just burn again.
The next morning, someone left a basket of bent nails and broken hinges beside the forge.
Rei didn't know who. No note, no name. Just junk metal. But it made him smile.
It meant someone had noticed.
He spent the day sorting the scraps, testing his new ability to sense materials. He couldn't explain how, but when he focused, he felt textures and qualities through more than just touch. Some pieces felt dull. Others had potential. One old hinge pulsed faintly, and when he touched it, his system flickered again.
[Material: Treated Iron Hinge]
[Quality: Moderate]
[Material Affinity: 6%]
[Shaping Potential: Medium]
He grinned. It wasn't much, but it was better than rust flakes.
Later, he walked through the village carrying his finished hookblade. No one spoke to him directly, but a few glanced his way. A younger boy stared openly. One of the older girls narrowed her eyes as he passed.
He didn't need their approval.
He just needed time.
He found Naomi again that evening, near the edge of the woods where the scavengers camped before heading out.
She looked up from a bundle of cloth and rope as he approached.
"You following me now?"
"No," he said. "I thought you might want this."
He held out the hookblade.
She took it carefully, tested the grip, and gave it a few short swings.
"Balanced weird, but light. Sharp enough."
"It's not great," Rei admitted. "But it's the first thing I made."
Naomi looked at him for a long moment, then handed it back.
"Keep it," she said. "You'll need it. But give me the next one. Something better."
He nodded. "Deal."
She paused, then added, "We go out at dawn. If you're still here by next week, I'll tell the others you're worth watching."
Then she turned back to her work.
Rei walked away, the blade still in hand.
He didn't know if he would still be here in a week.
But he was starting to think he wanted to be.