Chapter 82 — Furnace Version Three
S.C. 1510 — Late December
Foosha Forest — Furnace Clearing
Ren stood in front of the old furnace with his hands on his hips, staring at it like a parent evaluating a disappointing report card.
"Version Two… you were good," Ren sighed dramatically.
"But not melt-the-new-ore good."
Zemo sat beside him, holding a vine in his mouth, tail wagging as if saying:
"I am ready to cause chaos when needed."
Ren nodded with determination.
"Alright, Zemo. Today… we build Version Three."
Zemo barked triumphantly.
He had no idea what that meant, but he approved.
---
Breaking the Old Furnace (Zemo Helps… Kind Of)
Ren chiseled cracks into the clay walls using his newly forged KEA knife—
which cut the clay so cleanly it looked like he was slicing tofu.
Zemo helped by dragging away the broken chunks, occasionally throwing them like a dog playing fetch with himself.
Ren built the new furnace walls thicker and meaner:
triple-layered clay
mixed with sand
crushed hard stones for reinforcement
a rounder dome for heat pressure
two airflow ports instead of one
Zemo stomped the clay like a tiny construction worker.
"You're surprisingly good at that," Ren admitted.
Zemo puffed his chest proudly, then immediately stepped into wet clay and got stuck.
Ren rescued him.
Zemo pretended nothing happened.
---
Bellows Upgrade — The Frankenstein System
Version Two's single bellows?
Cute.
Weak.
Not nearly enough.
Today Ren built a big, monstrous bellows:
wooden spine
reinforced leather sides
clay-sealed airflow valve
long air tube for distance control
Then he hooked up his two smaller bellows to the extra port.
The result looked like:
"A scientific octopus that blows air violently."
He tested the system.
Small bellows → fast bursts of air
Large bellows → slow, powerful lung-like pressure
Zemo jumped when the furnace made a loud "WHOOOM," then pretended he meant to jump.
Ren grinned.
"This is going to work."
---
Beware the Shiny Charcoal
Ren grabbed the batch of charcoal touched by a drop of his grass extract—the accidental-super-charcoal.
It still shimmered faintly, looking suspiciously magical even though it wasn't.
He hesitated.
"This stuff is weird… but effective."
He mixed:
90% normal charcoal
10% shiny, enhanced charcoal
Zemo sniffed it and immediately backed up with a low whine.
"You don't like it?"
Zemo's ears went flat.
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"…Taking note. Interesting reaction."
He didn't know why Zemo reacted—
but he filed it away in his mind for future science chaos.
---
The First Burn — Version Three Breathes
Ren stacked the furnace:
charcoal
crushed iron ore + new mineral
more charcoal
He lit it.
The flame ignited politely—
then suddenly stood up straighter, brighter, and angrier like someone yelled at it.
Ren pumped the small bellows first.
FWOOOSH — FWOOOSH
The fire leaped higher.
Then he switched to the big bellows.
FWOOOOOOOOOM—!!
The flare turned into a concentrated beam of heat, almost white-orange, licking the dome from the inside.
Ren stepped back.
"This is… a lot."
Zemo hid behind a log, peeking with one eye.
The walls glowed red.
The dome vibrated with controlled pressure.
And then—
the new ore glistened.
Tiny glowing beads formed at its edges.
Ren stared.
"You're softening…!"
He pumped again, steady and strong.
The beads melted into little glowing drops.
A breakthrough.
For the first time,
the new ore was responding the way iron did.
Ren felt his heart pounding in triumph.
---
Fire Gets Serious
Suddenly—
The enhanced charcoal in the center fully ignited.
The flame shimmered faintly.
Almost impossible to see—
but Ren saw it.
A thin wave of heat rolled outward.
The furnace temperature jumped.
Not wildly.
Not dangerously.
But efficiently.
Predictably.
The new ore chunk began to collapse inward under the heat.
Ren whispered:
"…KEA 0.4 is becoming real."
His hands trembled slightly as he pumped one last cycle.
The furnace roared like a beast being awakened.
Then Ren let it cool.
---
Extraction — The Newborn Metal
When the furnace settled, Ren reached in with tongs and lifted the bloom.
It was:
darker
heavier
smoother
richer in metallic sheen
Zemo sniffed it—
and growled softly.
Not in fear,
but in acknowledgment.
Even the fox recognized the power in this new metal.
Ren held the bloom up to the light.
"This is it… the closest we've ever gotten."
It wasn't KEA alloy yet.
But it was the bridge.
The foundation.
The stable precursor for KEA Prototype 0.4.
Ren set the metal down gently.
Tomorrow, he would forge it into shape.
And another milestone in his hidden journey would begin.
---
End of Chapter 82