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Chapter 16
To win the “competitive bidding” against Magnus Workshop 35, led by Cassian and Laisha, for the request from the Belmore family—
“Create a metal that does not rust”—
Yujin decided to make stainless steel, a metal that truly does not rust.
To make stainless steel, the most important materials were nickel and chromium.
But in this world, both metals were not commonly used.
So he had to find ores that could be refined into them.
He began researching using the ore samples he received from the Cartier family.
However, there were so many samples that he expected it to be very difficult.
But then—
“The task you gave me is complete!”
It was Dunber—the former soldier Yujin had recently hired.
He had found all the ores among the samples that could be used to extract chromium and nickel.
‘No… how did he find all of these?’
Yujin was shocked.
He had not expected this level of result.
The task Yujin gave was basically turning a human into a search engine.
He gave the characteristics of the ores,
but the work itself was extremely repetitive and boring—
checking each ore one by one and comparing their properties.
There were hundreds of samples.
Yujin expected maybe one or two results at best…
‘He found almost everything I know…’
Not only chromite (a chromium ore),
but also chromite-like minerals such as crocoite and eskolaite.
And for nickel—
pentlandite, millerite, niccolite…
He found them all.
More precisely, he found minerals with the same properties,
even if they had different or unknown names in this world.
‘Wow… this is actually amazing.’
Yujin honestly didn’t expect this.
So he asked:
“Dunber, how did you find all of these?”
“I followed the paper you gave me and searched for matching ores.”
“That must have taken a lot of time… how did you manage it?”
“I used all my time. I went home sometimes because of my sister, but otherwise, I spent all my time finding the ores.”
“…Didn’t you sleep?”
“Please don’t worry. I made sure to get one hour of deep sleep every day.”
“….”
Yujin was speechless.
Even during his graduate school days, he had pulled all-nighters—but only for a day or two.
But this man worked for several days,
sleeping only one hour a day,
while also taking care of his sick sister.
‘…Are all soldiers in this world like this?’
That didn’t seem likely.
“Dunber, I’ll make sure you get plenty of overtime pay.”
To keep such a talented person, he needed to reward him properly.
Dunber shouted loudly:
“Yes, sir! It is an honor, Yujin-nim!”
‘Everything is good… except his loud voice.’
***
After that—
Yujin gathered the workshop’s alchemists and analyzed where the ores came from.
“This dark iron ore can be mined from several places…”
“As for this yellow ore…”
“I think this mine is the most likely…”
They narrowed down the options.
In the end, only one family remained:
[Kalibor Family]
They owned the Kalibor Magic Tower
and controlled many high-quality mines in their territory.
The ores needed for stainless steel were all found there.
Chromite-like ore (called dark iron ore)
and nickel-related ore (called yellow ore)—
both existed in Kalibor territory.
These ores were usually formed through volcanic activity,
and Kalibor’s land had the perfect conditions.
Since time was limited,
they decided it was best to deal with only one supplier.
So they chose the Kalibor family.
But—
Edgar, the workshop manager, looked worried.
“…Will the Kalibor family even meet us, Young Master?”
“Their head, Targon Kalibor, is… difficult to deal with.”
He explained:
Targon was strict and stubborn.
And because of his power, he was very hard to approach.
Edgar had dealt with him before and suffered:
“You wasted my time for such a small order?”
“S-Sorry…”
“I’ll allow it this time. But remember—my time is far more valuable than yours.”
Yujin also felt concerned.
Even though he had the Magnus name,
he was still just an illegitimate child—weak within the family.
Kalibor likely knew this.
So the Magnus name might not help much.
“…Still, this is our best option, right?”
“Yes, it is.”
“And… we did help someone from the Kalibor Magic Tower before.”
Yujin thought of Ivrin Kalibor.
“Maybe they won’t reject us completely…”
Edgar sighed.
“…That man doesn’t seem like the type to care about such things. But we have no choice.”
“Then let’s prepare quickly. We don’t have much time.”
***
A few days later—
Yujin and Edgar arrived at the Kalibor family’s castle.
The reception room was impressive.
Stone floors reflected the light from an iron fireplace.
A bronze chandelier hung from above, slightly rusted green.
It felt heavy and powerful—
the opposite of the flashy Cartier family.
It reminded Yujin of an engineering lab.
He liked it.
But—
“How unpleasant. To share a room with a half-commoner.”
Cassian and Laisha were there too.
‘Why are these idiots here?’
Yujin ignored them.
But Laisha kept talking.
“Soon you’ll be begging us for mercy, yet you say nothing?”
This competition was cruel.
If Yujin lost, he would lose everything—
unless they showed mercy.
“Shouldn’t we greet them?” Edgar whispered.
“No.”
Yujin refused.
Cassian smirked.
“You’re focusing on material quality instead of enchantment. Not a bad idea.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
“But we can secure all the good materials first. Our workshop is much larger than yours.”
‘…That’s true.’
They had more money and power.
If they bought everything first, Yujin would be stuck.
“Bow your head now, and I might show mercy.”
Then—
“The head of the family is arriving.”
Silence filled the room.
An old man entered.
He looked aged, but his body was strong and straight.
‘Is he a former soldier?’
It was Targon Kalibor.
Cassian and Laisha quickly greeted him.
“We are from Magnus Workshop 35—”
Targon looked at them.
“Why are you here?”
Cassian gave a long explanation.
In short:
They wanted full support and priority for ore supply.
But—
“Enough.”
“…Yes?”
“I have no interest in such boring talk. Leave.”
“….”
They were stunned.
“You’ll regret this.”
They left.
‘…That just happened?’
Yujin was shocked.
Even they were treated like that.
‘This won’t be easy…’
Still, he stepped forward.
“…I am Yujin Magnus of Workshop 43. It’s an honor to meet you.”
Targon looked at him.
“So you are Yujin Magnus. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Yujin became tense.
Then—
“I’m truly happy to meet such a promising young man!”
“…What?”
“I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time! Welcome!”
Targon suddenly hugged him warmly.
“Ah… thank you?”
Yujin was completely confused.
‘…I didn’t expect this at all.’
