Chapter 79 — Fire That Breathes Differently
S.C. 1510 — Mid December
Foosha Forest — Furnace Clearing
Ren opened his eyes to the gentle chirping of birds and the not-so-gentle sound of Zemo trying to drag a whole stick twice his size toward the furnace.
"Zemo, that stick is bigger than you," Ren said.
Zemo growled at the stick like it had insulted his ancestors and dragged it another inch.
Ren rubbed his face.
It was far too early for whatever this was.
But he shook away the sleep because today he felt… excited.
Not the "Luffy found a frog" kind of excited.
The "I might be on the edge of a breakthrough" kind of excited.
He knelt beside yesterday's ugly metal bloom.
A chunk shaped like a potato someone roasted badly.
But when he tapped it—
TONK.
It sang beautifully.
Ren smiled.
"…Good. But I want it better."
Higher heat.
Cleaner burns.
Stronger metal.
Ambition was a dangerous thing in a seven-year-old boy.
But Ren was already in too deep to stop.
---
Compound X Makes an Entrance… Accidentally
Ren moved to the stone shelf to reorganize his tools.
Charcoal? Check.
Ore samples? Check.
Bellows? Slightly abused by Zemo but check.
He reached for the jar containing the stabilized grass extract—Compound X.
He only wanted to move it away from the heat.
But the universe had other plans.
Zemo trotted over enthusiastically and bumped Ren's leg like he wanted an autograph.
The jar wobbled.
Ren reached for it—
"No. Please no. Please—"
PLIP.
A single drop fell.
Right onto a chunk of charcoal.
Ren froze.
Zemo froze.
Even the wind considered pausing.
"…Zemo," Ren whispered. "We might have invented something stupid."
Zemo stared proudly at the dripping charcoal like he deserved partial credit.
Ren gently lifted the altered piece.
The surface shimmered—just faintly.
Almost like the charcoal was embarrassed that it now had superpowers.
"…Only one way to test it."
---
A Furnace With Attitude
Ren layered charcoal and ore inside the furnace.
Normal charcoal at the base.
The "mysterious shiny accident charcoal™" right in the center.
He lit the fire.
It burned normally.
For two seconds.
Then the flame twisted.
Ren blinked.
The fire stiffened into a focused pillar like it suddenly wanted to become a professional.
"Oh. Uh… that's new."
Zemo yelped and scooted back, fur puffing like he'd been electrocuted.
Ren pumped the bellows experimentally.
FWOOOOOOOM—!
The furnace responded like a dragon inhaling fresh oxygen.
The flames didn't just flare up—they aimed straight upward in a concentrated beam of heat.
Ren's eyebrows rose slowly.
"I think one drop was enough."
He pumped again.
The furnace glowed brighter than ever before—
orange → deep orange → almost white-orange.
Ren scribbled observations in his notebook, but this time it didn't feel like a log:
What Just Happened:
Heat went up fast
Flame got narrower like a laser with feelings
Charcoal didn't crumble
No exploding (surprising but welcome)
Zemo hates the smell
Zemo sneezed dramatically in agreement.
Ren poked the altered charcoal with tongs and broke it open.
Inside, the structure looked… crystalline.
As if the heat flowed through it more efficiently.
Ren stared.
"You're not just burning… you're transforming the fire."
He whispered it like a secret.
Because it was a secret.
---
A Breakthrough No One Saw Coming
Ren placed the altered piece next to regular charcoal.
They did not look the same anymore.
Regular charcoal:
Dull, crumbly, normal.
Modified charcoal:
Compact, shimmering, almost metallic.
Ren's mind raced.
If one drop could enhance the burn like this…
Then with careful handling—
with tiny adjustments—
he could make:
higher temperatures
faster smelting
more controlled heat
new experimental alloys
This wasn't KEA alloy.
But it was the first spark of the fire KEA alloy needed.
Ren looked at the glowing furnace, then at Zemo.
"This can't leave the forest."
Zemo barked once:
Understood. Classified.
Ren laughed.
"We're getting closer… a lot closer."
He didn't know the name for the alloy in his future.
But today—
with one clumsy bump, one lucky drop, and one very confused fox—
he had taken a leap.
A step toward metal no one else in this world had ever forged.
And toward a future only he could see.
---
End of Chapter 79