Miracle Furnace

The Miracle Furnace—something that sounded impressive just from the name.

Standing behind the wizard, Richard cautiously used his mind to make contact with the furnace that had shown no reaction until now.

He needed to figure out what this thing did as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the process was not complicated.

The instant Richard's mind touched the furnace, information about the Miracle Furnace's functions automatically flowed into his brain.

In short, the Miracle Furnace could extract from "raw materials" anything the host could use. This could be a certain substance within the raw material itself, or some kind of information contained within it.

When refining, the Miracle Furnace required the host to continuously provide "fuel." Different extractions consumed different amounts of fuel.

Extracting information required mental power, while extracting substances required energy.

The testing proceeded swiftly. More than a hundred children were tested in less than an hour, and only seven passed the mental power test.

"All right. Send these children back." After testing the last child, the Black Robe Wizard ordered the steward.

"Yes, Wizard." The steward bowed.

As the other children left one after another, the remaining seven exchanged uneasy glances.

Among the seven were a farmer's son, a baker's daughter, a blacksmith's adopted son, and a merchant's youngest son...

They represented nearly every class in the territory, yet now they stood together, waiting for the Black Robe Wizard's judgment.

"All right, children. As those who passed, you are far more outstanding than the others. Next, you will become the 432nd class of Wizard Apprentices at the Black Tower Wizard Academy, where you will seek the path to truth."

The wizard sounded pleased. Apparently, he was very satisfied that Black Forest Territory had produced seven qualified children.

He crooked a finger, signaling for Baron Black Forest at his side to come over.

"Delis, take these children to bathe and change their clothes."

"And this child." The wizard pointed at Richard. "Treat the wounds on his body properly. If his injuries cause any problems during the journey ahead... heh heh."

The wizard did not finish, but everyone understood the meaning hidden in his words.

"I understand, sir," the baron replied decisively.

With that, Baron Delis arranged for the castle servants to lead the other children to the lower levels of the castle.

There was a large bathhouse in the castle's lower levels. Baron Black Forest had cleverly converted an underground hot spring into bathing pools.

In the bath, the wounds on Richard's body went from numb to painful.

A hot bath was such an extravagant thing that, for commoners, it was practically a crime. The firewood used to heat the water could have cooked who knew how many meals.

Not to mention a natural hot spring, something only nobles could afford to use.

Richard stayed in the water for a while, then immediately climbed out once he had scrubbed the mud and grime from his body.

His time was more pressing than the others'. He still needed to have his wounds treated.

After leaving the bathhouse, Richard put on the new clothes prepared by the maid.

The clothes were made of cotton and were somewhat loose, but at least they were warm.

After changing, Richard stood before a mirror and carefully studied his appearance.

Shoulder-length black hair, deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips pale in color—he did not look like a commoner at all, but more like a noble fallen on hard times.

"You must have noble blood in you, sir," the maid beside him praised.

"Is that so?" Richard raised an eyebrow, then followed the maid to the second floor of the castle.

The second-floor corridor was filled with portraits, seemingly of the successive Barons Black Forest.

At the very end, Richard saw a portrait of the first Baron Black Forest. The man in the painting wore armor and held a Two-handed Greatsword.

Beside the portrait, a broken Greatsword hung upon the wall.

"Hmm."

The moment Richard saw the Broken Sword, the Miracle Furnace within him stirred.

"Was this the first Baron Black Forest's sword?" Richard's heart moved.

This Broken Sword was raw material recognized by the furnace.

"Yes, sir," the maid replied.

Richard stepped forward and lightly touched the Broken Sword.

[Raw Material: Count Black Forest's Broken Sword]

[Refinable Skill: Wind Raven Swordplay]

[Refinement Cost: 5 Mental Power]

[Refine?]

Wind Raven Swordplay!

Richard's heart jolted.

This was the famous sword art Count Black Forest had used to slaughter enemies in every direction on the battlefield.

Even Richard, a farmer from the lowest rung of society, had heard bards tell of this sword art.

But it was said that this sword art had been lost three hundred years ago.

That was also why the Black Forest line had declined.

Faced with such a precious treasure, Richard naturally chose to extract it without hesitation.

An opportunity like this could not be missed!

As Richard chose extraction, he instantly felt exhausted, his whole head muddled as though he had sat through a morning of advanced mathematics lectures.

But before drowsiness could overtake him, the sight before his eyes jolted him wide awake.

The Broken Sword had vanished!

The maid beside him froze. Where had such a huge sword gone?

Yet in the blink of an eye, she saw the Broken Sword return.

Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

The maid rubbed her eyes and confirmed that the Broken Sword was still in its original place. Instead, the little wizard lord beside her was looking at her in confusion.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sir. Let's hurry to the doctor," the maid said hastily.

Seeing that he had fooled her, Richard secretly let out a breath of relief.

He had not expected the Miracle Furnace to swallow the physical form once when consuming information as well.

The moment he saw the Broken Sword disappear, Richard's heart skipped a beat.

Fortunately, the Miracle Furnace completed the refinement in an instant. The Broken Sword had vanished only briefly before returning to its original place.

His attention returned to the furnace.

Above the Miracle Furnace, a cluster of white light rose and fell.

Richard touched the white light with his mind. In an instant, memories flashed through his head like fleeting glimmers.

He crossed into one perilous battlefield after another, wielding the sword in his hand and killing enemy after enemy.

"Sir? Sir? We're at the doctor's."

The maid's voice roused Richard from his trance. His mental power was still too weak; merely receiving the battle memories left behind by a past powerhouse was enough to send him into a daze.

"Oh, right."

Richard came back to himself and hurried into the doctor's room.

Half an hour later, Richard emerged from the room weakly, supporting himself against the wall.

The doctor had no anesthetic for treating external wounds. He could only use strong liquor to dull the pain.

Fortunately, the doctor's hands were quick. In less than half an hour, he had removed the rotten flesh from the wounds, stitched them up, and applied ointment.

Just then, Baron Delis arrived on the second floor as well.

"Little Wizard, the Wizard is about to depart."

When Richard arrived outside the castle, he was dressed in brand-new cotton clothes. Though his face still showed signs of malnutrition, his bearing was completely different from before.

"Hmm, not bad." The Black Robe Wizard looked at Richard and nodded in satisfaction.

Then, with a sweep of his sleeve, an inexplicable force enveloped the seven of them, suspending them beside the wizard like bubbles.

"This is Levitation. You will be able to learn it at the Academy in the future as well."

The Black Robe Wizard explained briefly, then shot a fireball into the sky.

Bang!

The fireball exploded.

A beam of light pierced through the leaden clouds, passed through the exploding fireball, and shot straight toward the earth.

"What is that?"

Richard stared at the sky. Behind the heavy cloud cover, an enormous gray silhouette gradually came into focus.

"Damn... what in the world is that?"

Richard's voice trembled as he looked skyward in disbelief.

A floating airship hundreds of meters long emerged from the clouds like a blue whale lifting its head from the sea, and the beam piercing through the clouds was the eye of that colossal creature.

In his daze, Richard suddenly remembered a legend he had heard while asking about the supernatural.

It was said that every ten years, a Cloud Giant Beast would come cruising from the Northern Barbarian Mountains.

Its body was as vast as a mountain range, its gaze as brilliant as lightning.

Now, the legend had shed its outer skin!

The Black Robe Wizard spread his arms and led everyone into the sky along the beam of light, like saints ascending to heaven.

Richard saw the Black Robe Wizard's lips move, and a grand voice tinged with joy entered the ears of every successful candidate.

"Junior brothers and sisters, welcome aboard the Zeppelin-type Mana Airship."