When Iron woke up the next morning, his first priority was to finish what he’d spent half the night laying cables for. A power grid without any light sources was useless, so he immediately set to work making light bulbs.
He grabbed some quartz sand from his supplies and got to work. Channeling a thermal pulse, Iron instantly heated it to its melting point. Using vector pressure, he shaped the molten glass into neat, thin-walled, heat-resistant bulbs.
Next, he extracted high-melting-point iron filaments from hematite ore and carefully soldered them into the bulbs. After that, Iron pumped all the air out of the bulbs and hermetically sealed their glass bases.
Without oxygen, the red-hot metal filaments wouldn't burn out in seconds; instead, they emitted a bright, steady light.
After making a few dozen identical bulbs, Iron moved on to the chandeliers.
For the hall and larger rooms, he assembled massive chandeliers from dark wood and wrought iron, each designed to hold five high-wattage bulbs. For his own office and the remaining living quarters, he crafted more minimalist fixtures.
Finally, Iron set to work on the mechanical switches. Inside carved wooden boxes, he installed spring-loaded toggles with copper-iron contacts. Pressing the lever snapped the contacts together, closing the circuit and sending power to the bulbs, while a second click instantly broke the circuit.
With all the components ready, Iron surveyed the neat rows of finished chandeliers and switches. All that was left was to install them.
Taking the finished switches, spools of wire, and light fixtures, Iron set out to finish the job. He started with the six wooden houses, quickly mounting switches by each entrance, connecting them to the line he’d laid during the night, and hanging ceiling fixtures fitted with powerful bulbs.
Once he finished the residential sector, he headed toward the Main Building, levitating the massive five-arm chandeliers behind him. Near the entrance, he crossed paths with Elyria, who was doing somersaults through the air.
"Elyria," Iron called out to her. "When you're done fooling around, start preparing the site for the next batch of houses."
The spirit instantly froze in mid-air, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at him in utter indignation:
"Excuse me?! Why do I have to go work?! You promised me a day off!"
Iron replied in surprise:
"Me? I never promised you anything like that."
"What do you mean, you didn't?!" Elyria threw her little hands up in sheer offense. "Eliza told me you promised I'd get a break! And now you're backing out! How am I supposed to ever trust you after this?!"
Iron let out a heavy sigh and raised a hand in surrender:
"Alright, alright, you convinced me. You can take today off."
Elyria's glow flared brightly as she did a loop in the air and squealed in delight:
"Finally!"
Before Iron could get another word in, she darted off toward the forest.
Iron stood on the porch for a few seconds and muttered under his breath:
"Did I... actually promise her that?"
Shrugging, he pulled the door open and stepped inside the Main Building.
In the central hall, Iron secured the massive five-bulb chandelier, neatly connecting its wires to the main switch by the entrance. He then walked through the right and left wings, installing the fixtures there, and finally mounted the chandelier unit in his own office.
While work was in full swing at the camp, Noah was training deep in the forest, far from the noise of construction. He cleaved the air with his sword, practicing his lunges and lightning-fast blocks as the blade whistled through the air.
At one point, Noah froze and focused. All his blood rushed into his right arm. Taking a sharp step forward, he delivered a single horizontal slash.
Fifteen overlapping cuts erupted from the blade at once. They instantly slashed through a massive tree standing nearby. A dry crack echoed through the forest, and the giant trunk split into fifteen perfectly even pieces right before his eyes.
Noah lowered his sword, let out a heavy breath, and gave a restrained smirk:
"Finally..."
Suddenly, the distinct sound of breaking branches came from a nearby thicket. Noah instantly dashed toward the sound, keeping his sword at the ready. At first, he thought it was just another monster, but his keen hearing and instincts quickly told him that whatever was ahead of him wasn't a beast.
Bursting into a small clearing, Noah came to a stop. Right in front of him stood four people—three men and one girl. All of them were heavily wounded, dressed in torn, dirty clothes, with dried blood caked on their faces and hands.
"What are you doing here?" Noah asked coldly.
The strangers recoiled in fear at the sudden intrusion. The oldest of them, a middle-aged man, frantically raised his hands:
"Sorry! We're sorry! We didn't mean any trouble, honestly! We just got lost!"
Noah stared at them.
"If you just got lost, then who beat you up like this?"
The man lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds before looking up and shouting in despair:
"We don't know!"
Noah frowned slightly but decided not to interrogate them right there in the woods. He turned toward the camp:
"Fine. Follow me. Just don't fall behind."
The four strangers tensed up and hesitated, shifting nervously on their feet. Noah paused and shot them an icy glare over his shoulder.
"Are you coming?"
His tone instantly erased any doubts they had. They nodded hastily and trudged after Noah, stumbling as they went.
Twenty minutes later, Noah led them right to the edge of the camp. Stepping into the clearing, the strangers froze, looking around in awe:
"Wait here," Noah said flatly.
He pushed open the doors of the Main Building, stepped inside, and shouted across the massive hall:
"Iron! We've got people here...! Sort of."
A door on the second floor immediately opened. Iron, wiping his dust-covered hands, looked down at Noah:
"What people?"
"Hell if I know, just found them in the woods," Noah replied.
Iron quickly jogged down the right staircase, and together they went outside to meet them.
Stepping closer, Iron carefully examined the ragged, bloodied people before saying calmly:
"Introduce yourselves."
The oldest of the group, visibly nervous and stammering, took a step forward:
"M-my name is Kren."
"Kren. Got it," Iron nodded, shifting his gaze to the girl. "And you?"
"I'm... Nastya," she exhaled quietly, wrapping her torn cloak tighter around herself.
The two remaining men hurriedly added:
"I'm Vadya."
"And I'm Kane."
Well, those are some weird names... flashed through Iron's mind. Aloud, however, he simply stated in an even tone:
"My name is Iron. And this is Noah."
"'This is'?" Noah echoed, shooting him a disgruntled glare.
Iron just gave a faint smirk, then gestured toward the doors:
"Come on inside."
They exchanged hesitant glances, not daring to take a single step. At that moment, Noah turned around, intending to go about his business, but Iron immediately called out to him:
"Noah, where are you going? You're coming with us."
"What for?" he frowned.
"I need you. I really need you," Iron replied insistently, nudging him toward the entrance with a smile.
Noah sighed in annoyance, but didn't argue and trudged along.
Once inside the Main Building, the guests stared at the massive hall and its two wide staircases. Iron led them all the way to the end of the hall, opened the single central door, and invited them into his office.
"Take a seat," Iron said, pointing to a soft sofa.
The guests carefully sat down on it. Iron took a seat opposite them.
Noah stood by the wall, leaned in slightly toward Iron, and whispered quietly in his ear:
"What's all this about? You could've easily interrogated them outside."
"I have to test the place out," Iron whispered back in the same tone. "What, did I build this office for nothing?"
Pausing, Iron leaned forward slightly and addressed the guests:
"Alright, let's take this from the top. Who are you, and where are you from?"
Kren lowered his gaze, stayed quiet for a couple of seconds, and then looked Iron in the eye. "We... we don't know."
"You don't know?" Iron asked.
The other three just silently nodded in unison, confirming his words.
"Okay," Iron continued. "But how did you end up in this forest, then? This is the only settlement around."
"We really don't know," Kren exhaled loudly and desperately.
Iron leaned back into the sofa, clasping his hands behind his head, and gave them a thoughtful once-over.
"Don't know where you're from... Don't know how you got here... But you remember your names... Interesting."
He paused for a moment, then spoke with a faint smile:
"Well, since you've got nowhere to go, you're staying here. You'll work for the settlement. In return, you'll get food, housing, and protection."
Kren looked at him in surprise:
"Work for the settlement..?"
"Exactly," Iron nodded. "You will do everything I tell you to."
He leaned forward, shifting to the very edge of the sofa, and added with a serious look:
"It's very simple. First of all, you will have to do whatever Noah orders you to."
Noah, standing by the wall, instantly whipped his head toward him:
"Are you out of your mind?! I've got enough problems as it is, and now I have to babysit them, too?!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
Turning back to the strangers, he smirked:
"Just do your jobs like everyone else."
Kren exchanged glances with his companions, caught their nods, and, taking a deep breath, looked back at Iron:
"Alright... I agree."
"Yeah, we agree too," Nastya, Vadya, and Kane quietly confirmed.
"Awesome," Iron chuckled as he stood up from the sofa. "Now go with Noah. He'll show you what you'll be doing."
With those words, Iron turned and headed toward the office door, intending to head up to the third floor and finish the chandeliers. But Noah instantly stepped forward and grabbed him firmly by the elbow.
"Whoa, whoa, hold on! Where do you think you're going?!"
Iron looked back and whispered:
"Take them to Clerk and Eliza. I've still got a ton of work upstairs, I can't be distracted."
Noah shot him a heavy glare, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and let go of his arm:
"You owe me."
"No problem," Iron readily agreed and quickly marched up the stairs.
Sighing, Noah turned to the terrified guests:
"On your feet. Follow me."
He led them out of the Main Building and deeper into the forest, where the ringing blows of axes and heavy thuds of falling trees could be heard.
Spotting Noah approaching, Clerk immediately wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised a welcoming hand:
"Hello, Noah!"
Noah stopped at the edge of the clearing. Without a word, he pointed his right hand first at the four wounded strangers, and then at Clerk:
"These people are at your disposal."
"At our disposal..?" Clerk echoed in confusion.
But Noah had already turned around and was walking back toward the camp in silence.
Clerk stared blankly after Noah, then shifted his gaze to the strangers. Looking them over with a tired but good-natured expression, he handed them a pair of axes.
"Well, if Noah said so... Here you go. Your job is simple: chop some logs and drag them over to the construction site in the central square."
The workers nodded and got to work, while Clerk and three of his men headed back to the camp to fetch some extra tools.
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