kscans

Chapter 52 - How This Iron Was Forged

"...Yeah, this has to be Iron Sand…"

Yuri muttered to himself as he used Appraisal on a slope where the earth had been exposed by a landslide or some other force. He had been casually using Appraisal on the collapsed earth and sand, on the off chance he might find something valuable, when he confirmed the presence of Iron Sand.

Iron Sand. Magnetite and other minerals contained within rock that have separated from the bedrock during the weathering process. Its main component is triiron tetroxide, it is black in color, and possesses magnetic properties. It is used as a raw material for ironmaking.

The parts of the appraisal result that appeared as gray katakana characters were terms that did not yet exist in this world, so the Japanese words were used directly. Translated into regular Japanese, it would be…

Iron Sand. Magnetite and other minerals contained within rock that have separated from the bedrock during the weathering process. Its main component is triiron tetroxide, it is black in color, and possesses magnetic properties. It is used as a raw material for ironmaking.

"A raw material for ironmaking, huh…"

There were many things lacking in this abandoned village, which Yuri secretly called Yuri Village, and metal products were one of them. The previous inhabitants had taken everything with them when they left, so the only metal items currently in the village were a few pots, pans, and kitchen knives that he had repaired with Earth Magic after finding them broken or rusted, including those recovered from the other village ruins. For the most part, he could get by with substitutes he made with Earth Magic, so he didn't face any practical shortages or inconveniences, but he still wanted to obtain some if possible. The problem was, until now, he had no way of getting any.

That is, until this moment, in the third year since his reincarnation to this land.

"Hmm… it seems I can’t refine Iron Sand into iron just by messing with it using Earth Magic… I can change its shape, but that’s it…"

A brief explanation is in order.

This world’s Earth Magic excels at making earth, a mixture, flow and deform as a mixture before hardening it. On the other hand, it was not good at changing substances by adding or removing elements, such as removing oxygen from iron oxide to turn it into iron. That was the domain of alchemy. Therefore, even if he gathered Iron Sand, reducing it to iron, let alone adding the right amount of carbon to refine it into steel, was difficult with Earth Magic alone.

…Such common sense was unknown to the reincarnator Yuri, which was what made him Yuri. On this occasion, he consulted his trusty Rural Life Guide for a method of ironmaking and learned the procedure of reducing iron oxide by reacting it with carbon monoxide at high temperatures. The tatara method of iron manufacturing was one such example, but he also learned that it consumed a large amount of charcoal as a carbon source.

"Going to all that trouble seems like a pain… I only want to make a few tools for myself…"

It was then that Yuri had an unnecessary realization. Carbon monoxide is a gas. If so, couldn't he do something about it with Wind Magic? He immediately consulted his master, the Rural Life Guide, and…

"Ah, so it is possible… though I can’t do it right now…"

Apparently, if his Wind Magic level were 6 or higher, he could manipulate gases to some extent. It wasn't without limits, but fortunately, reducing carbon dioxide to produce carbon monoxide wasn't that difficult, provided he could supply high temperatures. Therefore, with a caveat that it would only work on a small scale, it seemed he could refine Iron Sand into iron by using Fire Magic and Wind Magic together. However, the iron produced this way was too soft, so he would need to separately add carbon to it to make it steel, a so called carbon steel. But the amount of charcoal needed for that would be small. Furthermore, if he could add chromium and nickel, he could even produce what is known as stainless steel. But at present, obtaining high purity chromium and nickel was difficult. However…

"Silicon, huh… I can probably get Quartz, and that’s silicon dioxide, right…"

The appearance of special steel in the Forea World might not be a distant dream.