Winter in the Black Forest was bitterly cold. Snow and wind blowing down from the Northwild Mountains painted the filthy land of Black Forest white, like someone had spilled a bucket of white paint.
In a drafty, ramshackle wooden hut on the outskirts of the Black Forest, Edwyn curled up in the hay, hugging his thin clothes tightly to conserve body heat.
"Hsss… so cold. Damn… being an isekai protagonist sure ain't glamorous."
A month ago, Edwyn, a broke sleep-starved college student had arrived in this world due to a traffic accident with a speeding truck. He now lived under the rule of Baron Black Forest, the son of an old peasant named Rickard.
The old man was a hopeless drunk. Under the care of his alcoholic father, Edwyn's daily life consisted of starvation and beatings.
Even worse, due to long-term malnutrition, his frail body couldn't even resist the abuse.
Luckily, that drunken old man was dead now.
The bad news? The drunk had traded everything of value in the house for low-grade moonshine. Edwyn had eaten the family's last grain of food just the day before.
Cold, hunger, and the untreated external wounds from a beating days earlier had left Edwyn curled in the hay, feeling like he was about to ascend to heaven.
"I can't sleep. No way. You're a transmigrator with a cheat item, damn it. You can't die like this!"
Yes, Edwyn wasn't entirely without a lucky item.
When he transmigrated into this new body, he discovered a furnace deep within his soul.
But he still didn't know what the furnace did.
Even so, in this moment, it gave him hope.
To a drowning man, even a straw is salvation.
Knock knock knock!
In a daze, Edwyn seemed to hear knocking.
Who'd be out visiting in this kind of weather?
BANG!
When there was no response, someone outside kicked the door open.
"Old Rickard, are you still alive?"
The sound snapped Edwyn awake. He scrambled up from the hay.
He recognized the voice, it belonged to Lord Ellison, the estate's steward and the highest-ranking administrator under Baron Black Forest.
"My Lord Steward, my father froze to death two days ago, but I'm still alive. If there's anything you need, please leave it to me."
A figure like the estate steward wouldn't show up at a peasant's shack without a reason.
This was an opportunity.
"Oh, you're little Edwyn, aren't you?"
Ellison frowned as he looked him over, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to cover his nose.
You couldn't really blame him, Edwyn looked awful.
Unkempt shoulder-length hair clung together in matted strands. His face was filthy, his clothes were ragged and stained, and his untreated wounds were blackening with rot.
Compared to Edwyn, even a vagrant looked dashing and tidy.
"I am, my lord," Edwyn replied, forcing himself to give a half-bow despite his weakened body.
Rumor had it that Lord Ellison was a stickler for etiquette, even with the dumbest peasant, he'd still demand proper manners.
Edwyn hoped the rumor was true.
Ellison's eyes flashed with surprise.
He'd dealt with enough smallfolk to become numb to their lack of manners. While he often corrected them out of duty, he never expected much.
But here stood a boy, clearly on the brink of death, still bowing with respect.
That was noble spirit.
"Good lad. You're alive, that's what matters. Come with me. Just do as you're told."
"Yes, my lord."
As they stepped out of the hut, thick clouds blanketed the sky, blocking even the weakest rays from the poor man's cheapest source of heat, the sun.
A gust of wind made Edwyn shiver violently.
Wearing only thin clothing, he may as well have been naked against the chill.
"Damn it, Guard! Take off your coat! Now!"
Ellison frowned and barked at one of his accompanying soldiers.
The soldier froze. Giving up his coat in this freezing weather, to a filthy peasant, no less, was outrageous.
"My lord, if we're short one, we're short one. The territory's huge. That wizard won't notice how many kids we got…"
"Silence! Don't insult the wizard's wisdom with your petty logic!"
At the mere mention of the word "wizard," Ellison's face darkened, and he lashed out at the soldier with a furious tone.
"If I hear you speak like that again, you'll be hanging by your neck! Now strip and give that coat to the boy!"
Careless words. But Edwyn heard them loud and clear.
Wizard.
This world had magic.
Edwyn had asked around after arriving here, hoping to learn about the supernatural. But the Black Forest was remote, and as a low-born peasant, he'd heard nothing but folk tales.
But now, it was clear. Magic did exist in this world.
Wrapped in the soldier's coat, still warm with body heat, Edwyn felt much better.
But Ellison's good mood was ruined, and he snapped at Edwyn, "Get moving! If the wizard gets impatient, we're all dead meat!"
They boarded a carriage and headed for the baron's castle in the center of the territory.
The main hall of the castle was dimly lit. Torches on the walls and a central hearth provided the only light.
In the center, over a hundred children of all classes had gathered, quietly waiting for the wizard to speak.
"Lord Wizard, my Lord Baron, all children between twelve and fifteen are here."
Ellison reported to a shadowy figure deep in the hall, a man in a black robe and a pointed tricorn hat who slowly stood up.
"Hehehe… Not many kids in Black Forest this year, are there, Drelis?"
Next to him, Baron Black Forest was sweating profusely, trying to maintain a sycophantic smile.
"Yes, my lord. The harvest has been poor. Quite a few peasants starved."
"That won't do." The wizard patted the baron's shoulder, making the fat noble flinch.
"The Academy needs children of age to enroll. If I can't meet the quota, I get punished."
"And I don't like being punished."
"So if I come back and there are still this few kids…"
"You can spend the rest of your life as a maggot eating shit in a latrine!"
His voice grew louder and more feral until the entire hall fell silent in fear.
"Good." The wizard turned toward the children. "Now that it's quiet, line up. One by one. Come forward for testing."
"Don't make me repeat myself."
The kids immediately formed a line.
They might not know how powerful a wizard really was, but seeing the baron pale and shaking was enough to teach them how to act.
Edwyn stood near the middle, at a bend in the line where he could just see the wizard.
The wizard pulled a crystal orb from under his robe and had each child place their hand on it. The orb would glow faintly, and then he'd announce the results.
"Spiritforce: 9. Not qualified. Next."
"Spiritforce: 8. Not qualified."
"Spiritforce: 7. Not qualified."
"Spiritforce: 10. Barely passed. Stand behind me."
"Spiritforce: 9. Not qualified."
...
The test moved quickly, and soon it was Edwyn's turn.
"Not qualified. Next."
The boy in front stepped aside, and Edwyn, nervous, walked up to the wizard.
Now closer, he could finally see the wizard's face under the hat's shadow.
Surprisingly, it wasn't terrifying, white hair, a face full of wrinkles, sunken eyes behind a monocle.
He actually looked somewhat kind.
Yet standing in front of him, Edwyn couldn't stop trembling.
It felt like standing before a predator.
"Put your hand on the orb."
"Yes, my lord."
Edwyn nervously placed his hand on the crystal orb, waiting for fate to decide his future.
Would he freeze to death in a shack, or follow the wizard? This moment would decide.
The orb lit up gradually. A current of energy flowed from the orb into Edwyn's body, circulating through him, and finally into his brain.
At the same time, the Infinite Forge in his soul stirred to life.
A message echoed within:
[Infinite Forge Activated]
At that very moment, the wizard announced Edwyn's result:
"Spiritforce: 15. Qualified!"