The First Material
Morning sunlight leaked through the dusty windows of the adventurer's guild. The air smelled like roasted meat and cheap beer. Ruko sat at a corner table, spinning a silver coin on the surface while Kazuma and Aqua argued about the party's latest debt.
"Another fine day of being broke," Ruko muttered.
"Join the club," Kazuma said, slumping into the seat beside him. "You're the only one here who hasn't completely lost hope."
"Not yet," Ruko replied, his voice half-tired, half-amused. "But I'm close."
He checked the guild board, eyes narrowing. Monster subjugation requests, material hunts, escort missions—none paid much. Still, he needed the money. Not just to live, but to start building his weapon.
Ruko's power was immense, but it came with limits. The seal fragments still bound his body, keeping him from using more than one percent of his true strength. And worse, he couldn't touch ordinary weapons—they shattered or turned to dust at his touch.
To fight properly, he'd have to forge a weapon that resonated with his soul. For that, he needed three materials:
Core Alloy – to change shape or body form of any type of weapon's without limitation.
Soul Vein Ore – to craft the mask that would channel his energy while changing form and disguise without detection.
Eternal Thread – to bind both to his bloodline, keeping them synchronized while granted stealth, silence, and the ability to change into any clothes/armor with a thought.
Each one was rare enough to make an entire nation fight over. But Ruko wasn't afraid. He had his wits—and his 1000 IQ.
---
Later that day, he found himself standing in front of a local blacksmith's shop. The sign above the door read "Rokstein's Forge", and the sound of hammering echoed from within. He stepped inside, greeted by heat and the sharp smell of molten metal.
The blacksmith, a stout man with burn marks on his arms, looked up. "What can I do for ya, kid? You look like you can't afford even a butter knife."
Ruko smirked. "You're right. But I'm not here to buy—I'm here to build."
The man's hammer paused midair. "Build? You some kind of craftsman?"
"Something like that," Ruko said. "I need materials. Rare ones. The kind that don't exist in normal markets."
The blacksmith laughed. "You and every fool who walks through my door. What makes you think you can handle something like that?"
Ruko leaned closer, his golden eyes glinting. "Because I don't need to handle it. I just need to bleed on it."
The blacksmith blinked. "...You're insane."
"Probably."
They both shared a short, sharp grin before Ruko stepped back. He wasn't joking—the weapon he envisioned wasn't something forged by hammer and flame alone. It needed him. His blood would merge with the materials, giving them shape and will. But to even start, he needed that first ore—the Core Alloy.
---
That night, Ruko sat outside the inn, staring up at the sky. The moons of this world shimmered faintly blue. He closed his eyes, feeling his mana pulse quietly under his skin.
[True Copy: Locked]
[Seal/Unseal: 1% Synced]
[IQ System: Active – Observation Mode]
His mind worked in overdrive, mapping out every possible location where Core Alloy might exist. Ancient ruins? Underground mines? Hidden vaults? The answer came to him like a flash—he'd need to explore the Abandoned Mine of Granzel, a place supposedly cursed by undead miners.
Of course, it was marked as a "suicide zone" on the guild board.
Perfect.
He smirked, standing up. "Guess it's time to make bad decisions again."
---
The next morning, he informed Kazuma's party of his plan. Predictably, they panicked.
"You're going where?!" Aqua shouted. "That place is haunted!"
"I know," Ruko replied. "But ghosts don't bite."
"Some of them explode," Megumin added cheerfully.
Kazuma facepalmed. "You can't just waltz into a cursed mine, man. You'll die."
Ruko shrugged. "Then I'll respawn."
They all stared at him, confused. He didn't bother explaining further.
As he walked out of the guild, a few adventurer girls whispered to each other, watching him go.
"Who's that guy?"
"He's kinda hot."
"Yeah, but broke as hell."
"Still hot though…"
Ruko heard every word and chuckled. "At least my rizz still works."
His confident grin faded slightly when he checked his coin pouch—three copper left. Barely enough for food. "Damn. Even poverty followed me to another world."
---
As the sun dipped behind the mountains, Ruko reached the mouth of the Granzel Mine. Cold air seeped from within, carrying the faint sound of metal clinking against stone.
He took a deep breath, stretching his fingers. The seal fragments on his arm pulsed faintly, responding to his intent.
"This is it," he whispered. "The start of something bigger."
And with that, he stepped into the darkness, unaware that something—or someone—was already watching him from deep within.