His mind raced. Every memory of lectures, experiments, and systems analysis surged through him with startling clarity. Tensile strength calculations, phase diagrams, alloy compositions, they were all still there, waiting to be applied. But now, his body could endure more, act faster, and recover more swiftly than before.
A strange thrill ran through him. Survival yesterday had been hard, bloody, and nearly fatal, but today, with youth and experience fused together, the possibilities multiplied. The stream's water glistened invitingly, and he drank deeply, letting the cold clarity sharpen his senses further.
"Tools… fire… metal…" he murmured to himself, his mind already cataloging resources, strategies, and experiments. "If yesterday was survival, today is a creation day..."
Li Wei's fingers brushed along the stream's edge, feeling the texture of smooth stones, the grit of sand, and the fibers of fallen branches. Every element whispered potential. This was no longer merely a test of endurance, it was the beginning of something far greater.
He gazed at the forest stretching endlessly around him, realizing that in this body, at this age, he had the perfect combination of strength, agility, and experience. The Forge System pulsed faintly in his vision, its soft whisper reminding him:
[Resources Nearby Detected]
[Potential Alloys Identified]
[Primitive Tools Can Be Upgraded]
Li Wei inhaled deeply, the crisp air filling his lungs. A grin crept across his face, mixing bloodied resolve with renewed excitement. The Bronze Age had a new player, and he held centuries of knowledge in his mind, and now, decades of vigor in his body.
Today, the first forge would rise.
Li Wei stood beside the stream, washing the last streaks of blood from his hands, and surveyed the materials scattered around him. Stones, charred wood, clay, and a few mineral fragments—enough to start a primitive furnace. His mind raced, already calculating temperatures, fuel ratios, and airflow.
He gathered dry branches and smaller twigs, stacking them into a rough teepee. Around it, he dug a shallow pit to contain heat and reflect flames toward the furnace site he would construct. Next, he scavenged clay from the stream bank, mixing it with water and mud to form crude bricks. They were uneven, crude, but solid enough to hold heat.
Using his stone knife, he hollowed out a small clay chamber, forming a simple crucible. The Forge System overlaid lines and warnings in his vision, highlighting weak points in the clay structure. Adjusting carefully, he reinforced thin walls with small stones, tapping each into place. Even the smallest crack could be catastrophic when the temperature rises.
Then came fuel preparation. He stripped bark and cut branches, laying them to dry in the weak morning sun. Using the bow-drill again, he sparked friction fire into a pile of kindling inside the pit. Smoke curled immediately, flames licking upward. He blew carefully to direct oxygen into the fire, testing airflow and controlling heat.
Next, the metal. He had spotted a small iron-rich stone nearby, faintly rusted and mixed with quartz. Scraping, weighing, and striking them against each other, he separated fragments dense enough to yield workable iron. The Forge System pulsed softly in his mind:
[Iron Ore Detected]
[Optimal Smelting Temperature: ~1200°C]
[Charcoal Fuel Recommended]
Charcoal? He had none. But the system overrode instinct with knowledge: wood, dried branches, and bark layered correctly could reach sufficient temperatures if airflow was controlled. He stacked the dry fuel, leaving space for air to flow, and inserted a makeshift blowpipe crafted from hollow bamboo.
Sweat dripped into his eyes, mixing with streaks of dried blood, but he worked methodically, every movement precise. The fire roared to life, the pit glowing red. Li Wei placed the iron fragments into the clay crucible, feeling a thrill as the raw metal began to respond to the heat.
Minutes passed by, each second stretching in tension. The temperature rose, smoke turning to thin spirals of heat haze. Using a long branch, he stirred the fragments carefully, ensuring even heat distribution. The iron started to glow faintly, orange at the edges. His pulse raced, this was it, the first step toward forging something beyond the primitive expectations of this era.
But his body had other demands. His stomach growled, loud enough to break his concentration, and the dull sting of half-healed wounds pulled him back to the present. If he pushed too hard, he would collapse before even raising a hammer. With a reluctant glance at the fire, Li Wei set the branch aside and took up a sharpened stick he had fashioned earlier.
The forest greeted him with silence and shadows. He moved cautiously, recalling both survival shows and biology lectures, tracking broken stems, faint paw prints, and disturbed soil. After nearly an hour, he spotted a small hare-like creature nibbling near the undergrowth. His throw wasn't perfect, but luck and hunger were on his side; the spear struck true.
Kneeling beside his catch, Li Wei whispered a brief thanks before skinning and roasting it over his fire. The meat was lean, gamey, but nourishing. Nearby, he noticed a cluster of broad-leafed plants with a sharp, resinous scent. Recognition flickered in his mind, the Forge System supplied knowledge like footnotes in a textbook.
It was an Antibacterial and Anti-inflammatory. Carefully, he chewed and applied the mashed pulp to the gashes along his arm, hissing as the sting faded to a soothing numbness.
Strength returning, Li Wei ate his fill, bound his wounds with strips of bark fiber, and returned to his pit furnace. The iron still smoldered within, waiting.
He could feel the knowledge in his mind guiding every movement: the molecular vibrations, the crystalline realignment, the stress points forming in the ore as it softened. This is exactly how modern steel works… only now, I'm doing it with sticks, stones, and fire.
Hours passed by, the sun climbing high and then dipping again. The crude furnace held, the iron began to coalesce into a small bloom, still rough, still brittle, but unmistakably metal. Li Wei's hands were blistered, his body aching, yet his eyes shone with exhilaration.
He removed the crucible carefully, hammering the hot metal on a flat stone. Sparks flew, smoke mingled with the fire's heat, and the first crude tool began to take shape, a small, sharp-edged knife, uneven but undeniably functional.
Holding it in his hands, Li Wei felt a surge of triumph. This was only the beginning. The Forge System hummed softly in his mind, feeding him calculations, structural insights, and potential improvements. Tomorrow, he would refine the process further, experiment with alloys, and begin crafting weapons and tools far beyond the understanding of anyone else in this world.
For the first time since waking here, Li Wei smiled without restraint. This world may be primitive, but it is a fertile ground for invention. And I… am no longer just a survivor. I am a creator.