David arrived at the camp gate.
Sergeant Victor was talking with soldiers of the 23rd Regiment.
The 23rd Regiment, as they put it, was now only seven men, led by a burly fellow.
His skin was dark and glossy—not natural, but looked flame-seared from long exposure to extreme heat.
'Sorry, Sergeant Victor,' the black-skinned NCO said, 'the transport we came in was carrying plenty of ore.'
'But that ship was destroyed by traitors.'
David's approaching steps faltered.
Damn it, I knew it wouldn't go smoothly—odds are this is a dead end.
'So this is the man who needs the minerals?' The black NCO noticed David walking up and turned to him. 'Urgent?'
David nodded; the tunnel would be finished soon and the assault on Tyrok Bastion was imminent.
If they could upgrade their gear beforehand, all the better.
'None at all?' David asked hopefully.
Even if it wasn't enough for tools or armor, a decent sword would do.
The NCO and his men exchanged glances.
'I see. Since it's this urgent, we do have a backup plan.'
'First time meeting—acting commander of the 23rd Regiment, codename Fire Anvil. It's tradition; every commander inherits the name.'
As he spoke, he drew a small dagger from his tactical belt.
Even caked with dust, the metal's deep, dark sheen couldn't be hidden.
'This is made of adamantine,' Fire Anvil said.
'Our 23rd Regiment has garrisoned the ore smeltery for years; almost every veteran knows a bit of smithing and spends spare time crafting trinkets from off-cuts.'
When he finished, the six troopers behind him produced similar items:
a ring, a bracelet, even a tiny entrenching-tool pendant.
'It's adamantine, sure, but it's already forged,' David said—he needed raw material.
Fire Anvil nodded.'So we'll melt them back down on the spot.'
He looked around at his men.
'Everyone in the 23rd knows smelting; reforging trinkets is child's play for us.'
Fire Anvil moved decisively.
The seven veterans scrounged with camp personnel for hull plates stripped from the wrecked transport.
'Most of these are heat-shield coatings from the ship's skin—excellent heat resistance,' Fire Anvil explained.
What followed made David's eyes widen.
No blueprints, just experience and eyeballing.
Using the plates, rebar and scraps, the 23rd hand-rolled a smeltery.
David circled it twice—it looked familiar.
Just like the smeltery in Tinkers Construct.
Well, all smelters look alike; Tinkers took cues from real life too.
'Captain Fire Anvil, you've got the furnace—what will you burn?' David asked.
There was no magma here.
Instead of answering, Fire Anvil walked to a Leman Russ Tank and spoke briefly with the Armored Captain.
The Armored Captain nodded and patted the tank.
The steel behemoth rumbled, repositioning its twin-linked barrels toward the furnace's fire-port.
'Leman Russ Tank—renowned for ruggedness and modding potential,' Fire Anvil said.
'Every Imperial world adapts them locally. This one's a Demolisher variant fitted with twin blast-burners.'
He raised his voice toward the turret hatch: 'Watch the output—don't flip my furnace!'
'Roger, chief,' came the muffled reply.
'Fire!'
A focused tongue of incandescent white flame shot from the burner barrels into the smeltery.
Heat rolled out; standing meters away, David felt his hair start to curl.
The furnace's skin glowed dull red as the interior temperature soared.
In the corner of David's vision, a long-absent system prompt popped up:
[Smeltery constructed. Module: Tinkers Construct & warhammer add-on unlocked.]
[You can now melt metals, cast tool parts and assemble weapons and tools.]
[Acquired: tinkers construct codex x1]
Tinkers Construct—an old favorite Minecraft mod, simple and practical.
Meanwhile, Fire Anvil was feeding the collected trinkets into the furnace; under the roaring fire they slowly liquefied.
Fire Anvil watched David lean in. "Want to try it yourself?"
He stepped aside without another word.
He hated pointless chatter—whether from others or himself. Act if you want to act: that was his creed.
David inspected the smelter. One-and-a-half units of adamantium—so little. What could you do with that?
Forget it, make the pattern first. I remember it's do this, then that, finally… wait, wrong order.
David broke into a cold sweat; he hadn't touched this mod in ages.
"You… are forging a weapon."
Fire Anvil studied David's movements. "Crude technique—plenty of room to improve."
David's face reddened. If anyone here knew Tinkers Construct better than he did, he wouldn't have to do it himself—but there wasn't.
I'm doomed. The hardest part of Tinkers is the alloys later on. If I can't even handle this, how will I manage that?
[Knowledge-type mods: manuals such as the tinkers construct codex or the Mechanical Power Handbook can be shared.]
[Whoever obtains a manual can use the mod as well.]
So convenient—there's even a fool-proof mode.
It's definitely not that I can't craft; Tinkers alloys combine two or even three metals into something new.
Throw in warhammer materials like adamantium and plasteel and who knows how many hundreds of combinations exist.
With help from others it's simple: let them finish, then borrow—okay, plagiarize—their recipes.
David promptly pulled out the tinkers construct codex. "Sir Fire Anvil, I need your help."
Fire Anvil took the codex and skimmed it.
"The method isn't hard. It claims different materials give weapons various traits—is that true?"
David nodded; that was the fun of Tinkers: forge unique weapons from different materials.
Cactus-made gear grants thorns; bone weapons pierce armor, and so on.
Having finished the codex, Fire Anvil pitched in. "By the book, this much adamantium is useless."
David remembered the adamantium locker in his pack, found on that kroot ship.
"What about with these?" He tossed the locker into the smelter.
Still not enough. What weapons do you have? Let me take a look.
David produced his usual three: shield, Iron sword, and Gorg's heavy hammer.
Primitive gear, Fire Anvil thought, but he kept the opinion to himself.
"I can plate your shield with adamantium—thin coating only, given the scarcity."
"And this kroot claw will serve as a decent blade material."
David had almost forgotten the claw he'd scavenged beneath the ship.
A seasoned smith, Fire Anvil quickly devised the optimal recipe using the Tinkers manual.
Great, great, David nodded; an expert was indeed different.
He couldn't craft an adamantium pick—disappointing—but a shield would do.
Fire Anvil set to work, and David saw a familiar silhouette in him.
Back when he played modpacks, he had a fixed squad: one automated tech, one forged weapons, one handled magic. David, jack-of-all-trades, planned routes (and freeloaded).
Those days were happy; no matter how brutal the mobs,
with teamwork they cleared every hurdle in a night or two.
Then the monster called Life appeared; David lost and lost touch with them.
He gazed at Fire Anvil.
The world is a circle; after wandering, he was back at the start.
In his original world: alone with Minecraft, then friends online, then apart.
In the Warhammer Universe: born alone, then Hans, Carmine, Fire Anvil crossed his path… What ending awaits this time?
"Forging—complete," Fire Anvil announced, short and strong.