Date: May 25, 2018 (Friday)
Location: GDA Forging Facility (Bhilai Steel Plant), India
Time: 10:00 AM
The thick black smoke rising from the massive furnaces of the Bhilai Steel Plant was no longer just a sign of industrial production. It was the last hope for humanity's survival. In the past eleven days, Richard had converted the entire plant into a GDA Forging Zone.
The rule here was simple and brutal: "Those who cannot fight, shall forge." The facility was now a hive of activity, operating under the strict mandates of the GDA.
Shankar, a sixty-year-old veteran blacksmith now in the F-Rank Support Division, had been swinging his hammer for twelve hours without a pause. His body possessed no mana, but Richard's system had granted him enhanced 'Endurance' so he would not collapse from fatigue.
Around him, thousands of workers were casting 'Cold Iron' blades. They were given minimal rations and forced to work long hours. Yet, they knew that outside the stadium walls lay death, while here they had a roof and protection.
In the GDA Command Center in Geneva, Richard Vance stood before massive screens, scanning the data of 400 million registered mutants. His analytical mind filtered through every profile, but a faint line of frustration appeared on his forehead.
"Director, we have processed the data for nearly half of the mutated population," Aris said in an exhausted tone. "But we still haven't found a single 'Blacksmith,' 'Architect,' or 'Wisdom' class mutant. Can't our normal engineers handle the workload?"
Richard turned off the screen and looked at Aris coldly.
"No, Aris. These people believe they are working with iron, but a true 'Blacksmith' class mutant can manipulate the molecular structure of metal to make it mana-conductive."
"What is being made in Bhilai right now are just sharp swords. They are primitive," Richard added. "We need 'Wisdom' classes to decode the changing laws of physics. Human science, as we knew it, is officially dead."
Richard picked up a 'Standard Issue Cold Iron Blade' from his desk. He called for a B-Rank elite guard and gave a short order: "Infuse your maximum Mana into this."
The guard gripped the sword, and a blue mana energy began to flow from his body into the blade. The metal started to glow intensely, but a strange, shrill screeching sound suddenly erupted from it.
Exactly three minutes and fourteen seconds later, the blade snapped into two pieces under the pressure of mana and thermal expansion. The metal had reached its absolute limit.
Richard stared at the broken shards.
"Human iron was never designed to withstand the pressure of mana. Three minutes... that is far too little time when facing death."
Through his 'Basic Knowledge,' Richard realized a paradoxical truth. Humanity needed 'Magic Materials' that could handle mana, but those materials could only be obtained by killing the monsters inside a 'Fracture.' To kill those monsters, however, they currently lacked the proper weapons.
He looked at the countdown on the screen: 19 Days Remaining.
"Aris, double the forging speed," Richard said, turning away. "We do not need quality right now; we need quantity. In the first Fracture, we are not just sending people to die. We are going to drench their iron in monster blood. Only then will that iron become a true weapon."