prynovel Chapter 3 Man is made of iron, food is made of steel
Chapter 3 Man is made of iron, food is made of steel
Seeing Ronan's puzzled look, Madale nodded and said, "According to procedure, after swearing allegiance to you, I need to demonstrate my magical powers to you in person."
"When did you start waiting?"
"After lunch."
"Why didn't you knock? I didn't even notice you!"
"I saw you were busy, so I didn't want to bother you."
"This isn't an intrusion; you have important business to attend to. Next time, just knock directly, or have Bart relay your message."
Ronan poured Bart a cup of lavender tea and also poured one for Madonna.
Seeing the seemingly calm and reliable girl's flattered expression as she accepted the tea, Ronan couldn't help but smile, feeling his inner frustration and fatigue dissipate considerably.
"Did you rest well today? Has the pollution improved?"
Since the contract was signed, Maddale's status has surged from 5% to 15%, and she has already reduced her contamination by 24 units. At this rate, she should be able to unlock the first node in about three days.
"Thank you, sir. I feel great."
As Maddie touched the contamination crystals on her left shoulder, Ronan noticed that the metallic skin and rust marks on her arm had faded.
"It doesn't hurt as much anymore, so I should be able to fight at full strength two or three more times without any problem."
The girl looked at the tea in her hand.
This was the first time she had rested for such a long time since becoming a witch. She didn't have to fight evil beasts or enemy troops, nor did she have to undergo high-intensity training.
She was a little uneasy while waiting at the door, afraid that Ronan would misunderstand her as being lazy. Unexpectedly, when he found out, he not only did not blame her, but also personally poured her tea.
There must be something important that requires her to do this, right?
Madale speculated, but her impression of Ronan did not change—at least he did let her experience what it felt like to be well-fed and clothed, and he wouldn't hit her for no reason, which was unimaginable for a witch.
Even without a contract, he was willing to give his life for this kind young lord at any time.
"It's best to avoid fighting; you need to rest."
Ronan sat down and said, "Just show me a little so I can understand, don't make things worse."
"it is good."
Meidel nodded and stretched out her arm.
A magical scene unfolded: the girl's delicate skin was instantly covered with a layer of silver metal, which reflected a matte finish under the light—the texture of steel!
With another grasp of the air, a mass of metal of the same texture appeared in her hand, condensing into a slender, sharp outline, vaguely resembling a cross shape with one end longer than the other.
"My magical power is called 'Steel Armament.' Its effect is to transform body parts into steel and create various steel weapons to aid in combat. Even if these weapons break in battle, I can directly repair or recreate them. However, compared to witches who can summon lightning and fire, my magical power is passable in one-on-one combat, but its effectiveness is limited when dealing with large-scale hordes of evil beasts... My lord?"
Meidel saw Ronan's mouth gradually widen, revealing an expression of surprise as if he had found money.
"show me."
"oh oh!"
Ronan took the all-steel one-handed sword from Madale and found that it was almost on par with the high-strength steel he had encountered when visiting a steel factory in his previous life—in this era, this level was a complete dimensional reduction!
Despite its rough workmanship and somewhat abstract appearance resembling a giant icicle, Ronan had no doubt about its power. In a sense, being both powerful and ugly is also a kind of aesthetic.
"These steel pieces won't disappear after they leave you, right?"
"Yes."
"So how much can you create?"
"this……"
Madonna tilted her head, clearly not expecting Ronan to ask that question.
While the quantity of weapons is related to combat power, the correlation is not significant, especially for witches.
"My magical abilities primarily involve turning myself into steel, and I only recently discovered that I can also create weapons. If I go all out, I can probably create three to five swords like this at once."
Only three to five pieces... Ronan frowned slightly; his steel empire had crashed before it even took off.
This quantity is far too small to scale up significantly. Moreover, he couldn't expect Madier to exert her full strength every time; if it exacerbated the pollution, it would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
However, even if one feels somewhat saddened, it is not advisable to show it at this time. Leaders need an unwavering composure, especially when facing difficulties.
And even if we take a step back, having something is better than having nothing.
"Not bad, that's good."
Ronan nodded calmly and smiled, "This is the first good news I've received recently. Miss Madonna, you've been a great help to us."
Seeing this, the girl smiled and said, "It's my pleasure to serve you..."
"And the material is just too good; even the custom-made knight swords of the Royal Knights can't compare. I think three to five pieces each time is already an astonishing number."
Bart also sighed.
Then, the air suddenly became quiet.
"Isn't that right?"
Bart felt a little embarrassed.
"Yeah, the material doesn't need to be that good..."
Ronan suddenly looked at Madonna, like a student who had finally figured out the answer to a challenging math problem.
"If it's wrought iron, how much can you produce?"
Madale blinked. "You mean you want me to change the weapon's material to wrought iron?"
"That's right, no... it doesn't even have to be a weapon, iron ingots, iron plates, or iron blocks will do! Even irregular lumps of iron will do!"
"That should yield more, right? I'll give it a try."
Madale had never imagined using this approach to activate magical energy.
For combat, the better the material of the weapon, the better—but she will carry out the lord's orders immediately.
As her expression became focused, one dark gray metal strip after another quickly appeared in front of Ronan: their surfaces showed a fibrous luster, but unlike the forged wrought iron, these iron billets were very uniform in texture, without any pores or slag, and without any traces of hammering.
What's your opinion?
Ronan picked up a piece and handed it to Bart.
"This is incredible..."
Bart stroked the iron ingots. "Whether for forging armor, weapons, or other tools, these iron ingots are excellent raw materials."
The price of wrought iron billets in the capital region is around 3 pence per pound, slightly more expensive in the western border, but generally about the same.
This piece weighs about 20 pounds, roughly equivalent to three sheep or 10 bushels of wheat. Given its exceptional quality, blacksmiths and merchants will surely vie to buy it!
Ronan nodded, then looked at Madonna: "How are you feeling now?"
The girl tilted her head in thought: "I don't seem to feel anything."
Like the iron ingot in Bart's hand, she wrung out ten pieces in one go, but the consumption was still less than that of the sword she created at the beginning.
Ronan's system also showed that Madonna's status value was very stable, and even rose slightly to 17% after a brief fluctuation, which meant that her pollution had not worsened.
"Could you try again? A rougher finish is fine, it doesn't have to be so refined."
"OK."
This time, Ronan took her to a relatively spacious courtyard.
The girl stood in the open space, stretched out her right hand in the air, and began to rub iron without expression.
She rubbed for a full twenty pieces before stopping, and it was only when Ronan noticed that her speed had slowed down slightly that he told her to stop; otherwise, she probably could have rubbed for a long time longer.
"How did you feel this time?"
"Um."
Meidel touched her lower abdomen with a serious expression.
"I'm feeling a little hungry... Hmm, does this count?"
She saw Ronan raise the corners of his mouth and burst into hearty laughter.
"Yes! Absolutely! Let's go have dinner!"
"Can I eat it too?"
"Of course, people need food to survive!"
For this iron-grinding girl who consumes half a ton of iron in one meal, this statement is, to some extent, literally what it says...
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