Standing at the edge of the stone platform, facing the rising sun, Chuck stretched his body while pondering how steel was made.
He had thought about it all night. Although he hadn't found a direct solution, he realized one thing. A large part of why he was stuck was because he was pursuing perfection.
His current goals were upgrading the stone house and building the latrine. He could have used softer limestone bricks as the main material, but to avoid future issues with wall erosion, he was determined to mass-produce quartz bricks. That was why it was so difficult.
But Chuck wasn't about to back down. Smooth sailing forever was impossible; obstacles like this were inevitable. Even if he had to retreat, he would only do so after exhausting every possible option.
After finishing his stretches, Chuck stood up and took several deep breaths, watching the jungle sway under the morning light.
Light footsteps approached from behind.
Chuck didn't turn around. A moment later, a warm, soft heaviness pressed against his back.
He was instantly enveloped in the scent of milk and mature womanhood. A gentle aura surrounded him as a pair of plump, pale arms wrapped around his waist from behind. A low, tender voice spoke.
"Hey, baby."
Chuck raised an eyebrow and slowly turned around, pulling the mature Western mare into a tight embrace.
"Up so early?"
"Couldn't sleep. Wanted to move around."
Janet's red hair clung to Chuck's neck. Her slightly damp nipples pressed against his chest, sending a distinct sensation of moisture through his skin. She looked up, her red lips parting slightly.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind. Didn't we agree you'd talk to Mommy?"
Chuck reached up and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just hit a snag. I'm figuring it out."
"Still about what you mentioned last night?"
"Yeah." Chuck nodded honestly. "Momo pointed me in the right direction, but I'm still looking for the solution."
Janet looked up at him and nodded. "Need anything from me?"
"Not for now. Thanks."
Chuck slowly raised his hand, cupping one of her heavy, fleshy breasts, feeling its substantial weight.
Janet let out a soft hum, fire lighting up in her beautiful eyes. She stood on her tiptoes and extended her warm, thick tongue, gently licking Chuck's neck.
The electric jolt of stimulation hit him instantly. This supreme teasing made Chuck raise the flag on the spot, his desire to conquer ignited.
His breathing quickened, and his grip tightened. With a satisfied moan from Janet, the already damp nipple burst forth with juice, the scent of milk filling the air.
"Baby, wait..."
Just as Chuck undid his belt, ready to explore her mature garden, Janet raised a hand to stop him.
Her blue pupils trembled. Though they burned with desire, she looked at Chuck and spoke softly. "You have work to do, and Mommy has a lot to do today too. Let's save the rest for tonight, okay?"
"Uh..."
Her sudden logic left him speechless. But with his belt undone and his dragon standing tall, Chuck felt helpless. If we aren't fucking, why did you lick my neck...
Janet noticed his restlessness, and the fire in her eyes turned teasing again. "But Mommy can help you release."
She gave him a seductive smile, pushed him gently, and turned away. She grabbed a large palm leaf used for shade, spread it on the ground, kicked off her shoes, and sat down.
Then, she extended her legs, spread them slightly, and opened her arms to Chuck.
"Come here. Let Mommy hold you."
Chuck froze, unable to muster a single thought of refusal. Drawn like a magnet, he stepped onto the leaf and sat down with his back to her, leaning back into her embrace.
The back of his head met a warm, soft sensation. Her milk-scented breasts cushioned his shoulders, sandwiching his head. The rich aroma of milk and womanhood enveloped him, making his scalp tingle.
"Close your eyes. Relax..."
Janet cradled Chuck's head, stroking his hair gently, while her thick, meaty legs wrapped around his waist.
She had already removed her socks and rolled her loose sweatpants up to her knees, revealing her rosy, mature feet.
While stroking his head, she leaned down, her red lips close to his ear, whispering.
"Good boy. Mommy will use her feet... to help you get it out, okay?"
As she spoke, her round, warm feet gently clamped around his erect, burning dragon.
The unexpected softness of her soles and the slightly rough, warm texture made Chuck suck in a breath of cold air. He leaned his upper body back completely, sinking into her soft, milk-scented embrace.
Seeing his reaction, Janet's face lit up with joy and affection.
"That's right, baby... relax. Leave everything to Mommy."
Her firm thighs slowly engaged, her toes pressing together as she began to move up and down.
The warm soles and soft toe pads rubbed gently over his most sensitive parts. The electric sensation numbed his scalp. Instinctively, he turned his head and gently bit into a mound of soft, white flesh.
"Mmm~"
Janet hummed excitedly through her nose, her eyes overflowing with maternal love.
"Little baby, so eager for breakfast? Hehe~"
She unzipped her hoodie and reached behind her back. The next second, the restraint holding her massive assets fell away, and two heavy, warm mounds bounced free.
Chuck, waiting for this moment, found the spot already beading with white droplets. He took it into his mouth. The milk exploded on his tongue instantly, and he began to suckle greedily without restraint.
"Ohhh—"
Janet's eyes rolled back for a moment. The intense sensation of nursing and happiness made her body burn. The throbbing heat of the giant object between her feet made her heart race, hearts appearing in her eyes.
The forest between her thick thighs was already flooded. Her hand gently stroked Chuck's firm pectoral muscles.
"My good baby... Mommy loves you the most."
...
Although she initially said they'd wait until tonight, things escalated until Janet was fully immersed in the nursing atmosphere.
When Chuck, no longer satisfied with just her feet, turned around and pinned her down aggressively, Janet practically tore off her pants in her eagerness.
Then came the furious pounding.
Under the brightening morning sun, at the edge of the stone platform, Chuck knelt, gripping her warm, soft feet in his hands. Interlocking his fingers with her toes—a move he often used on Julia—he pressed her snowy legs forward and unleashed the breeding version of the Breathless Barrage. Her massive white buttocks lifted high, rippling with waves of flesh under the impact of his hips.
Finally, Chuck threw his head back and exhaled, erupting powerfully against Janet's palace. Accompanied by her pig-like squeals and a large splash of fluids beneath them, both the mature toes in his hands and his lower body twitched violently.
He finally withdrew.
"Hah... hah..."
Janet's voluptuous legs were still trembling in the afterglow. She lay lazily on the palm leaf, her red curls scattered like spider lilies, looking like a beauty in an oil painting. Her face flushed, she smiled at Chuck.
"Feel good... baby?"
"Yeah. Much better."
Chuck nodded, stood up slowly, and rolled his neck. His mind felt clearer than ever.
It was the perfect time to tackle a difficult problem.
When faced with a dead end, Chuck had developed a reliable dependency path: Find a general direction, then use available resources and facilities, combined with the workbench's synthesis prompts and blueprint functions, to find the solution.
This time was no exception.
Since the goal was to reduce impurities in the pig iron, the facility was naturally the newly upgraded Advanced Furnace and the charcoal fuel. The next step was to see if he could trigger a synthesis prompt.
He wanted to carry the mature mare back to bed, but Janet wanted to lie there and cool off, so Chuck didn't insist. He dressed and went to the furnace, starting the fire.
Once the temperature was high enough, he dismantled the pig iron pickhead he made yesterday and placed it into the workbench.
[Detected item in Workbench: Cast Iron Pickhead] [Synthesis Prompt: Tools made of pig iron have high carbon content and are hard but brittle. To refine into steel, further forging is required.]
Looking at the screen, Chuck's gaze froze, and goosebumps rose all over his body.
Forging?
Hiss...
That sounded right!
In that instant, countless scenes from movies and games flashed through his mind. Whether in the East or West, blacksmiths always hammered iron!
So, the hammering process was the process of decarbonization!
From last night until now, Chuck had considered all sorts of ideas—adding materials, upgrading the furnace—but in the end, the synthesis prompt gave him two words, making him realize the answer had been simple all along.
"Phew..."
Chuck let out a long sigh.
From now on, he decided, he shouldn't overthink things. Asking the synthesis prompt was better than guessing.
...
He had a direction, but how to forge was still a question. The synthesis prompt couldn't help him there; he had to figure it out himself.
Chuck wasn't a professional blacksmith, but he remembered basics from single-player games. Heat the iron red-hot, then hammer it on an anvil until the sound becomes crisp...
The problem was, he didn't have iron tools, let alone an anvil. The hammer he had to use was bronze. He didn't know if it could withstand the red-hot iron.
But just like the first time he mined with a copper pick, the first forging was bound to be the hardest.
After some thought, Chuck used a DIY recipe to make a hammer mold. He melted the pig iron pickhead down and recast it into an iron hammerhead.
Since mining wasn't the hardest step—forging was—Chuck chose to forge a durable steel hammer as his first carbon steel tool.
Next, he moved all the quartz sandstone blocks from near the cave to the furnace to use as makeshift "anvils" for the first forging. Finally, he melted down his remaining copper and tin ore, along with some useless tools, to make three bronze hammers and a pair of bronze tongs.
With everything ready, it was late morning.
Chuck grabbed a quick breakfast during prep. The women saw him making a big fuss by the furnace and didn't disturb him.
Chuck was nervous about his first forging. He had no master to guide him; he was relying entirely on himself.
But when he took the red-hot hammerhead from the furnace, placed it on the first quartz block, and struck it tentatively with the hammer...
[Pig Iron Hammerhead: Forging in progress] [Current Forging Progress: 0.02%]
"Awesome..."
Seeing the floating screen, Chuck's nervousness vanished.
No master? No problem. Brother has a cheat.
What else was there to say?
Hammer the shit out of it!
Clang, clang, clang...
[Current Forging Progress: 5.26%] [Current Forging Progress: 12.32%]
By the roaring furnace, Chuck raised his hammer and struck the red-hot iron rhythmically.
Shirtless, sweat rolled down his bulging muscles. The scene was filled with power and masculine charm. Whenever the women passed by, they stopped, hearts in their eyes, ovulating on the spot.
As expected, both the bronze tools and the quartz sandstone struggled as hammers and anvils. The high heat of the iron softened the bronze within ten minutes, and the sandstone cracked or split in half.
Chuck had to forge while swapping tools, recasting them, and replacing the anvils.
[Current Forging Progress: 48.18%]
Hard work paid off. With every strike, the progress bar climbed steadily. By the time nearly all the sandstone was shattered and the three bronze hammers had been recast once, the progress finally broke 80%, and a new prompt appeared.
[Current Forging Progress: 81.16%] [Prompt: Under current forging techniques and conditions, optimal forging results have been reached. Continuing may damage the material. End forging?]
After thousands of strikes, Chuck's arm was sore. Seeing the prompt, he felt no regret, only relief. He chose to end it without hesitation.
[Forging Complete!] [Forging Quality: Good (80%)] [Pig Iron Hammerhead x1 -> Good Carbon Steel Hammerhead x1] [Detected: Host has mastered Forging. New Basic Blueprint unlocked!]