"There's no reason for it..." He really couldn't see what was special about this stone. Yet in his vision, a line extended from its edge, pointing diagonally into empty space, with a single word written above it: flame!
This had never appeared before!
Tetsu no Sosuke knew he had an exceptionally unusual golden finger, but it very rarely displayed hints like this.
So far, the only one he knew of was a scale resembling a thermometer that appeared when he smelted iron material.
Now another kind had actually appeared.
This word seemed to be telling Tetsu no Sosuke that the stone contained the power of "flame"!
"Could setting this kind of stone into a weapon give it a flame attribute?"
Tetsu no Sosuke found it rather mysterious.
How could such an ordinary stone have an effect like that?
He had assumed that stones used for inlaying would be gemstones.
Rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and the like—after all, they were dazzling enough.
But now... his fantasy had been shattered.
He tossed the stone in his hand into the air, then caught it. After playing with it a couple of times, he began to wonder why this stone was so special.
Since he had found one, could he find a second?
He put the stone away and began searching the area.
Spurred on by this discovery, he even forgot his hunger.
It didn't take Tetsu no Sosuke long to find a second stone.
It was just as black and drab, looking particularly unremarkable. The difference between it and the first was that this one seemed slightly darker.
Sure enough, when he looked at the stone, it also had a label: flame!
"That makes things easier." Tetsu no Sosuke put the stone away and kept searching.
The main reason he said this was that