Eternal Forge: Starting with a SSS Rank talent and a Myth Rank Class

Leo stood still as the group of judges examined his chest plate.

He knew he had passed, but some nervousness still found its way into his heart.

Elder Thrain, the head of the judges, ran his finger along the metal. The dwarf’s eyebrows rose slightly when his finger touched the self-repair rune etched near the collarbone. He pressed his thumb against the metal, applying pressure, then released it.

The rune pulsed faintly. The metal resumed its original shape.

"A naturally occurring self-repair rune... Hmm... Impressive," Thrain murmured, his gruff voice carrying across the area.

"What?" Lady Silva let out a surprised gasp. She quickly took out her magnifying glass, examining the rune work with delicate precision. "It really is a naturally formed self-repair rune. Amazing!!"

Hearing her, the rest of the judges also began examining the chest plate frantically, awestruck. Everyone except one—Freya.

Seeing these highly respected, high-level judges clamoring over a low-level uncommon item at Master tier left her confused.

She couldn’t help but ask, "Is that a big deal? It’s a self-repair rune. Impressive, yes, but everyone here has seen one and inscribed one, I think."

Everyone looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Her face burned red with embarrassment.

The leading dwarf looked at her, his expression serious as he explained, "You’re a warrior, Princess. You know weapons, but you do not know about runes."

He continued, "Runes are usually inscribed. After the forging is complete, a blacksmith or an inscriptionist carves the rune into the metal. It’s a separate process—deliberate, controlled, and predictable. You should know this, right?"

Freya nodded.

He then gestured toward Leo’s chest plate.

"However, this rune wasn’t inscribed that way. It manifested during the forging process. The metal itself formed the rune."

He gestured to Lady Silva.

She stepped forward, straightening her spectacles.

"What Elder Thrain is trying to say is that, to carve—or rather, manifest—such a rune, the blacksmith needs to have a passionate heart for the art of crafting, a pure intent for creation, alongside a strong soul that can feel the metal and resonate with it through his passion and creativity."

Master Kael nodded and added, "Every metal has a form of memory. It remembers how it was formed, but it’s not easy to tap into that memory. To manifest this rune, the blacksmith’s willpower and soul force must both be powerful and pure enough to resonate with the metal."

He looked at the princess and continued.

"When such conditions are met, the blacksmith’s forging rhythm aligns with the laws of the universe. Self-repair is one of those laws, or rather, a part of them. Only when all these conditions are fulfilled can such a rune be produced."

Lady Silva added, "In all my years, I’ve only read about this in ancient texts. It’s called Soul Resonance Forging. Most blacksmiths never achieve it in their lifetime."

Elder Thrain nodded.

"Yes, most never achieve it, and yet here we are, seeing such a rune on a low-level item, which means the forger is still a novice."

Freya felt her horizons broaden.

All of the judges, including Freya, noted down the table number and the chest plate forger’s participant number to keep track of him in the second round.

...

While they were having this discussion, Leo felt his heart sink to hell.

Why the fuck are they taking so long? Are they gonna fail me?

Let’s see... I did everything according to the blueprint. The rank is Uncommon with Master-tier quality, one tier higher than Flawless-tier quality... I should qualify. Damn it!

Or did that princess figure out it was me and bitch about me?

No, no. She was the one who told me to participate. She shouldn’t do that.

Leo was starting to panic. But just as his overthinking was about to reach the next level, Elder Thrain marked his table with a large tick and moved toward another table.

Only then did a sigh of relief escape his lips.

He sat down on the ground, finally relaxing a little.

Soon, a group of guards came and listed all the tables marked with a tick before moving the cross-marked tables away.

Then an announcement was made.

"All participants, if you still see your forging table, then you have qualified for the second round. If your forging table has been removed, then I guess you didn’t make it. Thanks for participating."

"Now let’s start the second round. It’s about ore purification and fire control."

The competitors returned to their forging tables as the assisting guards distributed identical chunks of raw Asgardian ore.

While the competitors were returning to their tables, all the judges kept their eyes on a single table.

Soon, Leo also made his way back to his table.

The judges noted Leo’s appearance and nodded to themselves.

The only exception was Freya, who stood there completely stunned.

That level 10 guy was the one who forged that?

She found it hard to believe.

Let’s see how you do in the second competition.

....

Once all the participants returned to their forging tables, the announcer continued.

"Thirty minutes! A purity of seventy percent or higher is required. The judges will be evaluating your fire control skills."

Leo looked around.

Everyone started to call forth their Eternal Flames. Most created cauldrons made of fire and tossed the ores into them. Some hammered out the impurities by imbuing their hammers with fire.

Then Leo saw a familiar dwarf—the one who had been in the cavern talking shit about him with the elf.

The dwarf called forth his fire, wrapped his hands in the flames, and then started striking the ore with his bare hands.

Leo was stunned by the approach.

He shook his head and focused on his own ore.

Leo studied the glowing red spots, carefully analyzing their distribution.

Impurities melted differently from the surrounding metal. Too much heat, and the ore itself would soften. Too little, and the contaminants would remain trapped within.

Success depended on finding the perfect threshold—the precise temperature at which the impurities yielded while the ore remained untouched.

He raised a hand.

An Eternal Flame bloomed above his palm, swaying like a living creature. Unlike the ordinary flames dancing around the arena, his burned with an unnatural brilliance, its crimson-gold core pulsing with a steady rhythm as though it possessed a heartbeat of its own.

Leo closed his eyes.

Forge-Sight.

The world transformed.

The rough ore disappeared, replaced by a breathtaking microscopic landscape. Countless metallic atoms formed an intricate crystalline lattice, while dark clusters of foreign particles clung to the structure like stains. Every boundary between purity and contamination revealed itself with perfect clarity.

Then the Eternal Flame embraced the ore.

The instant the fire made contact, Leo felt a strange connection form. It was as though the flame had become an extension of his own senses. Every grain of impurity appeared vividly within his mind, each one mapped with flawless precision.

His fingers moved ever so slightly.

The Eternal Flame flowed through the ore like liquid silk, weaving between the metallic lattice without disturbing it. Instead of heating everything at once, Leo guided the fire directly toward each impurity cluster.

His control was absolute.

Whenever the flame reached a contaminated pocket, its temperature spiked for only a heartbeat before dropping again. Tiny red specks flared brightly as the foreign matter separated from the surrounding metal.

With another subtle motion, Leo guided the loosened impurities away from the refined ore.

Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

His arm trembled under the immense mental strain, but his focus never wavered.

"Ten minutes remaining!" the announcer’s voice echoed across the arena.

To the spectators, Leo’s method seemed almost disappointingly ordinary.

There were no dazzling explosions, no grand displays of magical craftsmanship.

In truth, he was simply applying the principles of metallurgy he had learned back at university.

The theory was simple.

The execution was anything but.

Maintaining hundreds of microscopic temperature zones simultaneously—hot enough to separate the impurities yet gentle enough to leave the metallic lattice unharmed—demanded absurd precision.

A single mistake would ruin the entire refinement.

Leo inhaled slowly.

Only the most stubborn contaminants remained, buried deep within the ore and refusing to separate.

His gaze sharpened.

The Eternal Flame compressed until it became thinner than a needle.

A crimson thread of fire pierced the remaining impurity clusters.

Crack.

The contaminants fractured into microscopic fragments.

In the next instant, the Eternal Flame consumed every combustible trace, reducing it to nothing—not even ash remained. The fragments that could not be safely burned were carefully expelled from the metallic lattice instead, leaving behind ore of remarkable purity.

Leo finally lowered his hand.

The once-clouded ore now gleamed with a clean, metallic luster.

He stepped back.

The judges approached in the same manner as they had in the previous round.

They arrived as a group and scanned the ores with their senses. Just as before, they marked the forging tables with either a tick or a cross as they moved from one table to the next.

Soon, they came across a piece of ore with 90% purity.

Thrain let out a chuckle.

"Ohhh, 90%. Not bad."

He nodded, impressed.

The other judges also nodded.

Seeing the judges’ approval, the dwarf who had purified the ore using his own fists gave a smug smile and puffed out his chest.

However, they soon came across another ore with 90% purity.

Then another.

The smug smile on the dwarf’s face faltered.

When an ore with a purity of 94% was revealed, his smug expression vanished completely, and sweat began to cover his face.

The ore belonged to one of the level 30 Asgardians Leo had noticed earlier.

The judges nodded and moved on to Leo’s table.

They were filled with anticipation.

In fact, throughout the entire second round, their eyes had never left Leo.

They had witnessed everything he did.

So Elder Thrain himself strode forward and picked up the ore.

He examined it with anticipation.

Then he froze.

He checked it again.

"Impossible."

The arena fell silent at his words.

Lady Silva called out, "What’s wrong, Elder? Is it lower than 90%? But he should still have made the cut with 70% or more. His fire control was superb."

She took the ore from Elder Thrain and examined it herself.

Then she stammered out the result.

"Nin... ninety-nine point nine nine percent."

The moment she said it, the rest of the judges’ eyes widened.

"His fire control is not just superb... it’s divine," Lady Silva corrected herself.

The rest of the judges examined the ore one after another, their shock evident.

Master Kael slowly shook his head.

"I’ve never seen anything like it."

Ironhand Bjorn slapped his thigh and laughed.

"The boy is a prodigy!"

They all gave Leo a long, meaningful look before continuing to inspect the remaining ores.

Soon, the guards came and removed the rejected tables once again, leaving only thirty tables behind.

The announcer once again addressed the participants whose tables had been removed.

"Those whose forging tables have been removed have failed to pass this round. Thank you for participating."

He then turned to the remaining contestants.

"Congratulations to everyone who passed."

"All participants who passed the second round are requested to stay in the palace. You will be treated as guests, and a banquet will be held tonight. We shall continue with the next round tomorrow at dawn."