SOUL FORGE CHRONICLES
Chapter 2 — The Soul Forge and the Forgotten Sword
The Soul Forge — a name that resonated with mystery and power.
Standing behind Sorcerer Mordecai, Aldric carefully used his Aether Resonance to reach out to the forge that had never responded before.
He needed to figure out its function as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the process was not as complicated as he had imagined.
The moment Aldric's mind touched the forge, information about its function flowed automatically into his consciousness.
Simply put, the Soul Forge could extract anything useful from a piece of "raw material" — whether it was a substance contained within the material itself, or information stored inside it.
During the refinement process, the Soul Forge required a continuous supply of "fuel." The amount of fuel consumed varied depending on what was being extracted.
Extracting information required mental energy, while extracting matter required physical energy.
...
The examination moved quickly. More than a hundred children had been tested in less than an hour, and only seven had passed the Aether Resonance test.
"Very well. Let the other children return." After testing the last child, Sorcerer Mordecai gave the order to Sir Gareth.
"Yes, Your Excellency," Sir Gareth bowed respectfully.
Watching the other children leave one by one, the seven remaining children exchanged confused glances.
Among the seven were the son of a farmer, the daughter of a baker, the adopted son of a blacksmith, and the youngest son of a merchant.
They represented nearly every social class in Thornwood Territory, yet now they stood together, waiting for Sorcerer Mordecai's announcement.
"Very well, children. As qualified individuals, you are far superior to the others."
Mordecai's voice sounded warmer than before.
"You will now become the 432nd class of sorcery students at the Grey Tower Academy of Magic, seeking the path of truth within the academy."
The sorcerer seemed quite pleased that Thornwood Territory had produced seven qualified children. He gestured to Baron Varek, who stood nervously nearby.
"Varek, bathe these children and change their clothes."
"And this child," Mordecai pointed directly at Aldric, "treat his wounds first. If he suffers complications on the journey because of those injuries..."
The sorcerer left his sentence unfinished, but everyone in the room understood the implication.
"I understand, Master Mordecai," Baron Varek replied quickly.
With that, Baron Varek ordered the servants of Ironmere Castle to bring the seven children to the lower level of the castle.
There was a large bath there that utilized a natural underground hot spring — a luxury that only nobles could afford.
It was in that bath that the wounds on Aldric's body, numb from the cold all this time, began to hurt again.
A hot bath was a luxury that felt almost sinful to commoners. The firewood used to boil water alone could cook meals for days.
Not to mention a natural hot spring like this — something only the nobility could possess.
Aldric stayed in the water longer than the others. Only after washing away all the grime and dirt from his body did he step out to tend to his wounds.
...
Coming out of the bath, Aldric put on the new clothes that had been prepared by the servants.
The clothes were made of cotton, slightly loose, but warm and clean.
After changing, Aldric stood in front of a mirror and carefully examined his own appearance.
Long black hair now neatly flowing, sunken yet sharp eyes, a straight nose, and pale thin lips — he didn't look like an ordinary peasant boy. He more closely resembled a fallen noble.
"Young Master, you must have noble blood," praised a maidservant standing nearby.
"Is that so?" Aldric raised an eyebrow, then followed the servant toward the second floor of the castle.
The corridor on the second floor was lined with portraits — apparently portraits of the Barons of Thornwood through the generations.
Reaching the end of the corridor, Aldric saw the portrait of the first Baron of Thornwood. The man in the portrait wore full armor and held a massive double-edged sword with pride.
Beside the portrait, a large broken sword hung on the wall.
"Hmm."
The moment Aldric gazed at the broken sword, the Soul Forge within him trembled.
Aldric's heart stirred.
This broken sword was a material chosen by the forge.
"Is this the sword of the first Baron of Thornwood?" Aldric asked the servant beside him.
"Yes, Young Master," the servant answered.
Aldric stepped forward and slowly touched the broken sword.
Instantly, information flowed into his mind —
[Material: Broken Sword of the Earl of Thornwood]
[Refinable Skill: Storm Eagle Sword Technique]
[Refinement Cost: 5 Mental Energy]
[Refine?]
The Storm Eagle Sword Technique!
Aldric's heart pounded.
This was the legendary sword technique said to have been used by the first Earl of Thornwood to wreak havoc on battlefields hundreds of years ago. Its fame was so great that even Aldric, a lowly peasant boy, had heard poets speak its name.
Yet reportedly, this sword technique had been lost three hundred years ago — and that was what had caused the decline of the Thornwood bloodline.
Faced with a treasure like this, Aldric didn't hesitate for a single moment.
This was an opportunity not to be missed!
The moment Aldric made his decision, a heavy drowsiness struck — like someone who had been listening to the most boring lecture of their life all morning, his head spinning and his eyes growing heavy.
But before the drowsiness could take over, the sight before him jolted him awake.
The broken sword had vanished!
The maidservant standing beside him was shocked. Where had such a large sword gone?
But in the blink of an eye, the broken sword reappeared in its original place.
Had she seen wrong?
The servant rubbed her eyes, confirming that the sword was still hanging in its place. Meanwhile, Aldric beside her looked at her with a deliberately confused expression.
"What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, Young Master. Come, let's go to the doctor quickly," the servant said hurriedly.
...
Seeing that he had gotten away with it, Aldric quietly let out a sigh of relief.
He hadn't expected the Soul Forge to absorb information and simultaneously absorb the physical form of the object — even if only for a moment.
His heart had nearly stopped when he saw the sword disappear.
Fortunately, the Soul Forge completed the refinement process extremely quickly, and the broken sword returned to its original position in an instant.
Aldric focused his gaze inward, toward where the Soul Forge resided within his soul.
Above it, a small white ball of light floated up and down serenely.
Aldric touched it with his mind, and in an instant, fragments of memories flashed through his consciousness like lightning.
He was transported from one battlefield to another — swinging a sword, cleaving through air, cutting down one enemy after another with movements that flowed like the wind.
"Young Master? Young Master? We've arrived at the doctor's room."
The servant's voice pulled Aldric out of his trance. His mind was still too weak — even just receiving the battle memories left behind by powerful figures from the past was enough to disorient him.
"Oh. Right."
Aldric snapped back to reality and promptly entered the doctor's room.
Half an hour later, Aldric stepped out with slightly unsteady steps, leaning lightly against the corridor wall.
The castle doctor had no anesthetics — only liquor to dull the pain. But the doctor was swift enough to remove the necrotic tissue, stitch the wounds, and apply healing salve in under half an hour.
Just then, Sir Gareth appeared on the second floor.
"Young sorcerer, Sorcerer Mordecai will be departing soon."
...
Outside Ironmere Castle, Aldric stood in his new cotton clothes.
His face still looked thin, but his bearing was already vastly different from the ragged peasant boy who had been near death from cold just a few hours ago.
"Hmm, looking much better." Sorcerer Mordecai looked at Aldric and gave a satisfied nod.
Then, with a single wave of his robe sleeve, a mysterious force enveloped all seven children at once — lifting them like weightless bubbles floating beside the sorcerer.
"This is levitation magic. You'll learn it at the academy later," Mordecai explained casually.
Then he fired a fireball into the sky.
BOOM!
The fireball exploded above them, tearing through the low-hanging grey clouds.
A beam of bright light pierced through the gap in the clouds, descending straight to earth like the finger of a giant pointing down.
"What is this...?"
Aldric looked up at the sky. Beyond the parting thick clouds, a massive grey silhouette slowly came into focus.
"My god... what is that?!"
Aldric's voice trembled as he stared upward with disbelieving eyes.
A massive airship — hundreds of meters long — emerged from behind the clouds like a blue whale rising from the ocean. The beam of light that had pierced through the clouds was the spotlight of this giant creature.
In his stunned state, Aldric suddenly recalled a legend he had heard while searching for information about extraordinary things in this world.
The legend said that once every ten years, a giant creature from the clouds would emerge from the direction of the Northern Glacier Mountains.
Its body was as large as a mountain. Its gaze was as bright as lightning.
Now that legend was unfolding before his very eyes!
Sorcerer Mordecai stretched out his arms, leading the seven children up into the sky toward the beam of light — like holy figures ascending to heaven.
Cold wind struck Aldric's face as he was lifted higher and higher, but he no longer felt it.
His eyes couldn't look away from the massive airship that was now becoming clearer before him.
Then Mordecai's voice reached them — grand and full of excitement, carrying to the ears of all seven new students.
"Ladies and gentlemen — welcome aboard the Zephyr-class magic airship!"
— End of Chapter 2 —