Jiran reached out with his aura and scooped up two metal ingots from beside the forge. Floating them over to hover in front of his face, he carefully observed the bars.

Turning to Krikk he asked, “What kind of metal is this?”

“Iron,” he said in a deadpan tone.

Right, okay, iron. So, I know that to make steel, I need to do something with oxygen and carbon. Great, that's not much help at all.

Guess I’ll just have to experiment until I figure it out.

A mad grin split Jiran’s face as he looked excitedly at the iron floating in front of him.

The old man’s eyes were finally visible as he took a shaky step away from the psychotic boy. Regret filled him as he realized letting this madman into his basement was probably a terrible idea.

Before he could voice his decision to kick Jiran out, a sun blossomed around the iron, consuming it completely.

The light that emanated from the fiery ball blinded both Jiran and Krikk. The old man yelped in pain while Jiran grit his teeth and kept looking at the fire.

“What in tarnation are ye doin' idiot boy? You try’in ta burn down me home!?”

“Relax old man, it’s perfectly safe. Do you feel any heat? Is anything other than the metal burning?”

The words caused Krikk to take a look around and see the truth for himself. He could feel neither heat on his skin nor see anything catching fire through his blurry vision.

What he could see was a molten ball of metal being kneaded in mid-air.

Jiran controlled the ball, moving it over and inside the forge where he continued massaging it with his aura and heating it with shaping. Once he felt the molten iron was hot enough, he created two small openings in his aura pressure, to allow air to flow in and around the metal.

Nothing happened that he could tell other than waves of heat escaping out of the forge chimney. He tried increasing the heat and pressure but not much changed. A few impurities were expelled from the glob in the form of black smoke.

I think I need iron that hasn't been refined yet, whatever they did to the ingots is messing with the process. For now, I’ll just make a hammer.

Jiran pressed his aura down onto the metal letting it slowly cool into the shape he wanted. A flathead hammer with a spike at the back.

While it was still hot orange, he reached out and laid his hand on the hammer. He heard a gasp from behind him but made no move to change what he was doing.

He focused on an image of strong molecular bonds while running his mana through the solid metal tool.

His mana drained at an alarming pace. Eight percent of his total was absorbed in a flash.

Shrugging at the minor loss, Jiran cooled the metal to room temperature by controlling the movement of molecules in the iron.

Once done, he grabbed it by the handle and tested its weight. With a solid swing backed only by muscle, he smashed the head into a nearby anvil.

A pleasant ringing sound filled the air as metals collided.

Done with his first test, Jiran tossed the hammer to Krikk. The geezer stared at him like he had seen an immaterial beast phase through his wall.

The old man collected himself enough to nimbly snatch the hammer out of the air. He ran his hands over the tool mumbling all the while.

He pulled out several tools and began to tinker with his new toy. Jiran gave him a few minutes but eventually realized Krikk might take longer than he expected.

"Master Krikk. How much unprocessed iron ore will this buy me?"

Jiran held up a single platinum piece. Krikk didn't seem to react to his question at all, he was so absorbed in what he was doing.

Shrugging, Jiran wrote him a quick note with the paper and ink from a nearby design table. Placing the money and note down beside Krikk, he left.

The ringing of hammers on anvils had begun to fill the street with their melody by the time Jiran made it back to the inn. Miila was cleaning tables in the commons when he arrived.

“Good morning, Miila. Is there any breakfast available?”

“Good morning, Uhm, Senior Jiran,” He smiled as she cutely stumbled over how to address him.

“Daddy just started cooking. If you don’t have time to wait, I can check if there are any leftovers from yesterday.”

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“That won’t be necessary, I doubt the library is open yet so I’ll just wait here.”

“Oh, you’re going to the library!?” Miila’s entire demeanor lit up like a festival tree upon hearing the magical word.

“That’s right, I haven’t been there yet, since I just arrived in Cruex yesterday. Do you know a lot about it?”

She made an effort to calm herself down before continuing.

“Well, I’ve only been to the library for districtees. I’m not allowed to go near the citizens' library. But our library is amazing! There are so many books with pretty pictures and each one is an adventure.

“Every morning Mrs. Sincle reads to all the kids who come to the library. Last moon I got to go and she read the most amazing story about a hero who saves travelers from beasts! Did you know there are beasts outside the city and —”

“Miila, did you forget you're supposed to be cleaning, not harassing the customers?” a calming feminine voice scolded from the door leading to the kitchen.

Jiran looked over to see an adult version of the twins. Dirty blond hair and blue eyes atop a skinny frame. Signs of exhaustion did nothing to diminish the kind smile she sent toward her daughter.

“Good morning, Mr. Jiran. My name is Alatha. Breakfast will be right out, would you care for a drink while you wait?”

“Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Alatha. Some water would be great, thank you.”

Alatha vanished into the kitchen while Miila sheepishly resumed cleaning up the previous night's mess.

Jiran enjoyed the peaceful rhythm of hammers while he waited patiently for breakfast.

After eating, he waved Alatha over to his table.

“I need a guide to the library this morning, do you know anyone who could show me the way,” Jiran tried to keep a straight face as he asked, but the wide grin that spread across Alatha’s face was infectious.

“I believe I know someone who could assist you, Mr. Jiran.”

“Thank you, would a half-silver be an acceptable payment for a morning guide?”

“Yes, I believe that would be appropriate, thank you.” After she scooped up the coin, Alatha turned around and took a deep breath.

“MIILA!”

The little girl came running and promptly arrived before them, huffing for breath.

“Miila, you shall guide Mr. Jiran to the library. He has paid for your services until Mother’s high when you shall return for lunch.” She glanced in Jiran’s direction and his nod of confirmation was met with a light smile.

She passed the girl her payment, which was met with wide eyes, then pushed them both out of the room as she began to clean up the breakfast dishes.

Miila was quiet as she fingered the coin in her hand. Her eyes had a distant look as she gazed at the steadily brightening morning sky.

“So, which way?”

“Right! This way Senior Jiran. Sorry!” Jiran laughed at the flustered girl.

“Relax, Miila. Also, please just call me Jiran.”

They walked in silence for a time. Miila guided him through several turns as they steadily made their way closer to the center of the city.

Deciding to break the awkward silence, Jiran spoke up.

“Miila, why doesn’t anyone use the side of the street over there?” He said while pointing to a portion of the road separated by a small ditch.

“That’s the lane for higher tiers. Daddy said it’s so they can move quickly and not run over little kids. I’m not allowed to go in there.”

“Ahh I see, that's smart of your father. People at a higher tier would certainly hurt a little girl if they bumped into her while running.”

With a wicked grin, Jiran flung the girl into the air on a wave of aura. She flew right onto his back where his arms clasped underneath her.

Before she could even process what had happened, he raced into the fast lane and took off in a half-strength mana-fueled sprint.

The air flew by, blasting her hair behind her wildly.

“Make sure I don’t take a wrong turn Miila!” Jiran shouted at her as he put on more speed.

Hearing his words snapped her out of her state of shock. With the wind blasting her face she let out an exultant cheer while pointing at the next turn they needed to make.

“Hold on tight!” Jiran shouted as they approached the sharp corner.

Creating a curved wall of pressure in front of them, Jiran leaped into the air. He turned midair, so his feet landed on the wall of pressure. He never stopped his run, now fully horizontal, they made the turn at high speed.

He dropped back to the ground and put on more speed while creating a cone of pressure in front of them that cut through the wind.

Miila made a sound between a scream and a laugh as they tore down the fast lane.

When they arrived at the library only minutes later, Jiran set her back on her feet and steadied her with a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh my gosh, that was so fun!

“Can we go again, please?” She squealed with glee.

Jiran just laughed at her pleading eyes and shook his head.

“We came here for a reason, remember? I have some research to do, so why don’t you join that nice lady who reads to the kids in the morning.”

“Oh, Mrs. Sincle. Okay, but are you sure? You paid so much…” She trailed off with a guilty look.

“It’s fine, go enjoy the reading. I’ll be inside if you need me for something, okay? Don’t wander off please, I’ll need your help to get back to the inn for lunch.”

“Yes, Jiran,” She said with a serious look.

It sure is nice when they’re so responsible. What a good kid.

Waving goodbye, Jiran walked into the box-shaped library. It was far larger than the surrounding buildings but only a fraction of the size of the academy. There was no wasted space inside the building. Twelve rows of bookshelves, ten meters long, filled the entire first floor.

Three women stood just inside the entrance directing people with questions. Jiran approached them and was swiftly guided to the second-floor section on mana bodies.

Out of all the subjects regarding mana and Density he had explored, the mana body remained the most elusive. This would be his first time getting to read about the frustrating phenomenon. His hands shook from excitement as he ran his fingers over the cover of each book in the small section.

The incredibly small section.

Why are there only three books!?