"I—I really cannot remember anything about this world before waking up in that forest. I just suddenly woke up there. It was surprising to me too," Ars said.
"Hm…" Hypnos murmured, his eyes still closed. "Have you ever committed any crimes before coming here? What is your reason for coming to this village?"
"I don't think I've ever committed a crime. I'm not a criminal," Ars replied. "I only came here to rest on my way to Orario."
There was a brief pause. Then Hypnos spoke again.
"…You are not lying."
Ars let out a quiet breath. After that, more questions followed.
Where had he encountered the bandits? How did he capture them? Things like that.
Ars answered everything as simply as he could. When it was over, Hypnos leaned back slightly.
"Chief," he said lazily, "give him his ID. He's good to go."
The chief nodded.
A few minutes later, Ars was handed a small identification card.
It had his name written on it.
Arsalan Adeon Arvendis.
Below it was the name of the village.
Runoa village.
Ars had already given the chief his name and some basic details earlier, including his supposed age.
Now, at least, he had something that proved his identity in this world.
He stepped out of the building. The others were already gathering outside.
Twenty-seven people in total.
Most were caravan guards. A few were villagers.
But two of them stood out immediately.
"Alright, listen up!" a tall man with a scar across his cheek said, stepping forward.
"I'm Derrick. I'll be leading this group."
Beside him stood another man, slightly shorter but just as solid.
"Paul," he said simply. "I am his vice captain."
Both of them carried themselves differently from the rest.
'They must be part of a familia,' Ars thought.
"I'm Level 1," Derrick added. "Same for Paul."
"Don't get careless just because the bandits aren't part of a Familia," Paul said. "Numbers still matter."
Ars listened quietly.
Even if they were only Level 1, they were still their greatest fighting force, and their experience must have been greater than Ars'.
"We've been guarding Dalton's caravan for over two years now," Derrick continued. "This kind of job pays well, after all," Derrick added with a hearty laugh.
Paul nodded behind him.
Most Familias needed money, so guarding work seemed to be quite common for adventurers who specialise in fighting.
That made sense.
Even in his world, people took whatever work paid.
Why would it be any different here?
The group began moving soon after. They already knew the route the bandits would take. There was no time to waste.
As they walked, people started introducing themselves. Some spoke casually. Others were more guarded.
The tension from earlier had eased slightly, replaced by quiet determination.
Nolan moved closer to Ars.
"…Thanks again," he said.
"For catching those two."
Ars glanced at him.
"No problem."
Nolan scratched the back of his head.
"My cousin… she was taken that night."
His voice dropped.
"I don't even know if she's still…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Ars stayed silent. There wasn't anything he could say to that.
After a moment, Nolan forced a weak smile.
"Anyway… we'll get them back."
Ars nodded.
"Yeah."
The conversation faded. Others began talking as well. Some shared stories. Some discussed the plan.
Some simply tried to keep the mood from sinking too far.
"Hey," one of the guards called out to Ars. "How did you even catch those two? We searched the surroundings but didn't have much luck. We never thought we would catch anyone."
Ars didn't look at him.
"…Just luck."
"Luck?" the man laughed. "Then we'll be counting on your luck this time too."
Ars didn't respond. He kept walking. His mind wasn't on the conversation.
Ars carefully examined his sword. He had heard it was made of steel. After gaining his power, Perfect Replication, a thought had come to him—would he be able to turn parts of his body into metal if he understood their composition and structure?
To test that idea, Ars started with the closest metal at hand: his own sword.
As far as he could remember, steel was made from iron and carbon—an alloy, to be precise. Pure iron alone was too soft to make a proper blade—it would bend too easily.
But with a small amount of carbon added, the metal became harder and stronger, able to hold a sharp edge without losing all flexibility.
Because of this balance, steel was far more suitable than iron for weapons.
Ars didn't know everything there was to know about steel, nor about other metals. He only remembered the basics from his chemistry classes.
But then—
More came.
Unfamiliar, yet somehow he understood.
Iron. Fe. Atomic number 26. He already knew all of this beforehand.
Yet the information still suddenly appeared in his mind.
The thought surfaced clearly.
Its atoms arranged in ordered patterns—lattices. At normal conditions, a body-centered structure. Not tightly packed. That was why it was soft.
Then carbon.
Smaller atoms.
They didn't replace the iron—they slipped into the gaps between them.
Interstitial.
That word appeared in his mind without effort.
They distorted the structure, preventing layers from sliding over one another.
That was hardness. That was strength.
Then numbers followed.
Not much carbon was needed—less than one percent. Even a small fraction changed everything.
Too little meant soft. Too much made it brittle. There had to be balance.
His grip tightened.
Then came heat.
The structure changed when heated. The atoms rearranged—closer, tighter. Carbon could spread more evenly.
Then came rapid cooling—
Now they were trapped in place, locked tight and hard.
But still unstable.
So it had to be tempered—heated again, just enough to relieve internal stress.
It could not be too hard. Not too soft either.
A blade wasn't just made.
It was controlled. Forged through structure, not just fire.
Ars frowned slightly.
He hadn't consciously learned all of this.
Yet it was there. Flowing into him.
His gaze sharpened.
A faint golden aura enveloped the sword. Almost as if appraising the sword.
It wasn't just light.
It felt like… information.
It was breaking apart, reassembling, and integrating the sword.
His mind absorbed it piece by piece.
Not just the composition—
But the structure too.
Layers formed during forging.
Tiny imperfections.
Slag, faintly embedded.
Traces of other elements—manganese, maybe a hint of silicon.
It was not pure. It's never pure.
But Ars still understood it all.
His breathing slowed.
Then something even stranger came.
Images.
Fragmented images.
A hammer rising and falling.
Heat.
Sparks.
The glow of molten metal.
A craftsman's hands—steady, experienced.
Even the emotions could be felt.
The focus needed. The pride placed in the works. The fatigue from hard work.
Ars's eyes widened slightly.
Can his power… do this too?
Appraisal?
Not just understanding matter—
But its history too?
As Ars was having all these realisations, much time had passed.
Slowly and silently hours slipped by without him realizing.
They were almost at their destination.
Some people tried speaking to him, calling his name. He didn't respond. He simply followed them, yet it was clear he wasn't truly with them.
After a while, they stopped trying.
His behavior was too strange. But Ars didn't notice. It was as if he was in a trance.
Soon, he returned to normal. He was sweating and breathing heavily. His mana had been drained significantly.
Looking around, he found himself in the forest. He must have followed the group all the way here without even realizing it.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Nolan asked from behind him.
Ars nodded in response.
He looked at his hand and tried something that had been on his mind this whole time.
As his mana drained, one of his fingers turned into steel.
He could really do it.
A smile crept onto his face without him even noticing.
With enough training, he might be able to turn his entire body into steel.
Could he do the same with diamonds, titanium, tungsten, and others?
Diamond is the hardest natural material, but not the toughest. It is brittle, meaning it can shatter under strong impact despite being very resistant to scratches.
Tungsten has an extremely high melting point and is excellent for resisting heat, but it is also brittle at normal conditions.
Because of this, materials like titanium and steel are generally more practical. They offer a better balance of strength, toughness, and durability, making them more suitable for weapons and structural use.
However, diamond and tungsten are still very useful depending on the situation—diamond for cutting and abrasion, and tungsten for high-temperature or extreme environments.
He would have to look for them as soon as he could.
But he was still feeling the aftereffects. It was as if his mind had been flooded with unknown information. The headache was hard to bear.
Not to mention the amount of mana and time it had taken to understand all of it.
Just maintaining one finger as steel was already consuming his mana at a very fast rate.
Ars kept practicing turning his hand into steel.
Thankfully, he kept his hand in his pocket, so no one noticed.
Meanwhile, they began planning how to attack the bandits as they approached their destination.
They stopped near a crossroads, said to be the place where the bandits would pass by.
It seemed the bandits were coming from the opposite side of the village, so Ars and the others were able to arrive earlier, as this place was much closer to the village than the bandits' hideout.
They had an approximate time for when the bandits might appear, along with guards from the village who would be able to recognize their faces.
Now, Ars and the others hid in the forest like bandits themselves, waiting to ambush them when they appeared.
What an irony.
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