Chapter 77 — The Furnace Breathes
S.C. 1510 — Early December
Foosha Forest — Clearing Near the Shed
Ren arrived early, mist still rising from the forest floor. Dew clung to every leaf, turning the world silver in the morning light.
The crude furnace he built yesterday sat in the center of the clearing like a wounded beast—cracked, blackened by soot, and still warm.
Zemo circled it with narrowed eyes, sniffing every charred spot as if interrogating a suspect.
Ren tapped the weakest crack with a stick.
"You survived one burn," he murmured. "Barely."
He crouched, brushing soot from the clay, noting how fragile the walls felt.
Problems from yesterday:
Walls too thin
Heat escaping everywhere
Airflow inconsistent
No top cover
Ore softened but didn't melt
Ren stood, determined.
"No more half-measures. Today, you're getting an upgrade."
Zemo barked like a foreman approving the plan.
---
Thickening the Walls
Ren returned with a bucket of river clay—dense, heavy, cold.
Mixed with sand for structure.
Mixed with determination for everything else.
He slapped a thick layer onto the furnace walls.
Clay smeared across his arms.
A streak painted his cheek.
His hair already had dirt in it.
Zemo stepped in the clay and began stomping like he was performing some ancient fox dance.
"Zemo—stop—no—okay—fine."
Ren sighed… then laughed.
"Alright, you're hired. Clay-packing specialist."
Zemo puffed out his little chest like he'd received a medal.
When they finished smoothing the walls, the furnace looked sturdier.
Heavier.
Ready.
---
A Better Breath — The New Bellows
Ren dismantled yesterday's bellows and rebuilt them piece by piece:
Thicker hide
Firmer wood
Leaf-leather valve that didn't flap stupidly
A tube sealed with resin for tighter airflow
He pumped.
FWOOSH!
Zemo jumped backward and bristled like a startled squirrel.
Ren grinned.
"That's the sound of progress."
He attached the airflow tube to the furnace's side port.
---
The Missing Piece: A Lid
Yesterday's biggest flaw: the open top.
Heat escaped freely—like Luffy escaping Makino's scolding.
So Ren shaped a dome from clay, smoothing it carefully. Zemo sat beside it like a loyal guard, occasionally pushing it with his nose to "test stability."
Hours later, the domed lid dried enough to use.
Ren placed it gently on top of the furnace.
It was suddenly a real furnace—not just a clay pot pretending to be one.
---
Preparing the Ore
He poured out several stones onto a wooden board:
Red-brown iron ore
Dark streaked ore
A few shiny black stones
Zemo poked one of the black stones, yelped dramatically when it rolled, and then glared at it.
Ren chuckled.
"It shocks you because it's dense. Something inside it reacts differently."
He scraped the black stone with a small metal shard—
SPARK.
Ren froze.
"…Interesting."
The stone glimmered faintly under sunlight.
Not normal iron.
Not normal anything.
A reminder:
This world wasn't identical to Earth.
Its minerals held secrets too.
---
The Second Burn
Ren filled the furnace with:
Charcoal
Ore
More charcoal
He lit the fire.
Flames danced.
Heat grew.
Ren took a deep breath and started pumping the new bellows.
Slowly first.
Then steadily.
The furnace responded immediately—
a deep roaring WHOOMPH as heat trapped inside.
The walls glowed.
The lid trembled gently.
White-orange flames swirled like a living creature.
Zemo pressed close to Ren's leg, eyes wide, mesmerized.
Ren's heart pounded.
"Yes… this is the temperature we need."
Minutes turned into long minutes.
Then—
Plip.
Ren froze.
Zemo's ears shot straight up.
"…Was that metal?"
He pumped again.
Plip—drip.
A small molten droplet slid down the furnace interior.
Ren's breath caught.
"It's working."
He forced himself to stop pumping before the furnace cracked under the pressure.
"Hold… just hold…"
The furnace held.
Barely.
---
Birth of Metal
After nearly an hour of cooling, Ren removed the lid and peered inside. Using tongs made from animal bone and wrapped wood, he pulled out the bloom.
A rough, half-melted lump.
Ugly.
Part slag, part metal.
But when he tapped it—
TONK.
A clear metallic ring.
Ren's throat tightened.
"…I did it."
Zemo barked triumphantly.
Ren lifted the warm chunk with both hands. Heavy. Solid.
A crude, early version of smelted metal.
Not pure iron.
Not perfect.
But real.
The first real metal he had made in this world.
"This," Ren whispered, "is the beginning."
He scraped at the black veins inside the bloom. They gleamed faintly.
Two metals had mingled and survived—
a hint of combinations
a hint of new alloys
a hint of a future discovery he didn't yet have a name for.
But someday…
Someday it would become KEA.
---
End of Chapter 77