A week later.

The second factory of Arad Company was finally completed.

Inside the newly constructed factory stood two kilns, designed by Arad and built with the help of the witches. The kilns were so massive that they occupied nearly half of the factory’s interior.

Late at night, under the glow of mana-stone lamps, Arad inspected the completed factory. Te, the chief director, reported from behind.

“All materials and equipment are ready, sir.”

“Well done. How about the selection of employees for the second factory?”

As I acknowledged his hard work, I asked about the progress of the project.

“Yes. We prioritized retired soldiers and their families, sorted based on manual dexterity.”

“Even if someone isn’t skilled with their hands, hire them. They can handle cleaning, basic manufacturing, or transport tasks.”

“Understood.”

“We’ll need to provide training for the selected employees.”

“Fortunately, some of the chosen workers already have experience making pottery or stoneware. We can have them teach the basics.”

“That’s excellent.”

While porcelain from the East was famous, Arcadia also had pottery and stoneware techniques. The problem was that they were far inferior—easily breakable, heavy, and, most importantly, unattractive.

Hearing Te’s report, I turned to Mary standing beside me.

“Mary, are you ready?”

“Yes! I’m ready!”

She was dressed differently than usual—wearing something resembling work clothes.

For the record, both Te and I were wearing the same outfits.

“Before we begin formal training and production, we need to create prototypes. That’s why the three of us are here tonight.”

The goal was simple: a product that could be made without magical circles, advanced magical knowledge, or specialized skills—just with human hands.

At the same time, it had to be difficult to produce and incredibly valuable under current standards.

That product was porcelain.

“Let’s begin.”

I decided to demonstrate the pottery-making process step by step in front of Mary and Te, starting from the basics. This way, I could fine-tune the production system and training protocols as efficiently as possible.

‘First, refine the clay.’

We prepared clay, feldspar, limestone, silica, and crushed low-grade mana stones, mixing them into the ideal proportions.

‘Fire the porcelain in a kiln heated with mana stones…’

Unlike Earth, mana and mana stones existed in this world. I was already curious about the characteristics of the porcelain we would produce here.

‘On top of that, I added black soil, which wasn’t even used during the First Age of Silver.’

To say I wasn’t excited would be a lie.

Thump, thump, thump.

After refining the clay, I began kneading the purified clay with my feet.

“……”

“……”

Mary and Te stared blankly as I worked.

“From here, you two can help.”

I gestured for them to join me.

“If it turns out well, you can keep the ones you make and put them to good use.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

Eagerly, the two began following my actions, stepping into the work with visible determination.

‘I’ll measure their training times and skill acquisition through this process.’

This wasn’t just about keeping them occupied. If that had been the case, I would’ve sent them home instead of having them wear work clothes.

‘Mary has excellent manual skills, while Te is average. They’re perfect test subjects.’

After kneading, we moved straight into the next step: slabbing—rolling the clay to prepare it for shaping.

The three of us completed this stage quickly, thanks to the small scale of our production.

With the clay now prepared, it was time to start shaping the pottery.

“Feel free to make any shape you like.”

We each began forming basic structures with the prepared clay.

‘Those with poor skills can handle refining, kneading, and slabbing. I’ll assign workers with better dexterity to shaping, carving, and glazing.’

Even as I shaped the clay, my mind ran through ideas for efficient workflows.

‘We’ll differentiate between standard and luxury designs. I’ll need to build an additional workshop next to the second factory for the luxury line.’

While thinking through the process, I carefully created a basic form.

“Now, follow my lead. You need to spin the wheel with your feet and delicately refine the shape.”

It was time for the crowning stage of pottery-making: wheel throwing.

Spin, spin, spin.

I spun the wheel with my foot, refining the porcelain’s detailed form.

‘They’re doing better than I expected.’

Glancing at Mary and Te, I noted that while they seemed a bit awkward at first, they were catching on quickly.

Mary, as expected, was naturally skilled with her hands, while Te adapted well due to his physical coordination as a former knight.

By the time we finished shaping on the wheel, the night had deepened into early dawn.

“We need to carve patterns and trim the base before the moisture dries.”

Without missing a beat, we began carving designs into the porcelain, smoothing the base, and refining the surfaces.

‘Mary is especially skilled.’

Mary was carefully etching patterns of swords and shields into her pottery. Her precision was impressive, even to me.

Once the shaping and carving were complete, we finally took a break.

“Now we wait until they’re completely dry.”

It was time for the drying process.

On Earth, this stage would take a significant amount of time—clay had to dry slowly in a cool, ventilated area.

But this wasn’t Earth. This was a world where magic existed.

“Take the pieces to the drying chamber. We need to test how well it works.”

A large drying chamber occupied nearly 30% of the factory space, alongside the massive kilns.

“An hour should be enough.”

The chamber’s walls and ceiling were embedded with mana stones I had meticulously crafted—wind and shadow mana stones that dramatically reduced drying time.

“While we wait, let’s clean up. In any factory, cleanliness and organization are paramount.”

While waiting for the pieces to dry, we spent the next hour cleaning and organizing the factory interior.

An hour later.

We retrieved the completely dried porcelain pieces from the chamber and placed them into the kiln.

From this point, we would begin the first firing, maintaining a temperature of 850 to 920 degrees Celsius.

Whoosh.

The flames roared to life as the kiln began its work.

I lit the first kiln, specifically set up for the initial porcelain.

The flames, powered by mana stones—befitting this fantastical world—roared to life.

“Please, let it succeed on the first try.”

Focusing intently on the fire, I mentally reviewed every MAX-level technique and knowledge I possessed.

Kilns existed in Arcadia, just as they did in the North.

As mentioned earlier, people here had long been making jars and earthenware.

But that was the extent of it.

The kilns used in Arcadia had clear limitations: poor temperature control, a lack of understanding of clay composition, and an inability to refine techniques.

This was why porcelain from the Eastern Continent was treated as a treasure.

“It’d be great if I could enchant this kiln…”

The bisque firing process took far too much time, limiting both production speed and volume. I clicked my tongue in frustration.

“If I could deploy barrier magic to manipulate time inside the kiln, production would skyrocket.”

Of course, enchanting the kiln wasn’t impossible.

In the Abyss of the Demon Realm, I had encountered barrier magic that altered the flow of time—what was inside and outside moved at different speeds.

“The problem is cost.”

Such an investment for mere porcelain was excessive.

Time-altering barrier magic was incredibly advanced, requiring at least high-grade mana stones to work.

It would make the mana stones embedded in the drying chamber look like child’s play in terms of cost.

“Let’s call it a day here. It’s too late to head back to the inner castle, so let’s rest at the temporary lodgings.”

After watching our porcelain inside the kiln for a while, I, Teo, and Mary left for the night.

The next morning.

I arrived at the second factory, only to find Mary and Teo already there.

Their eyes were filled with anticipation as they stared at the bisque-fired porcelain inside the kiln.

“I finally understand why Eastern porcelain is considered so beautiful.”

“It takes so much time and care—of course it’s beautiful.”

Their excitement was palpable, like children waiting for gifts on their birthday.

“We’ll continue right away.”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

Inside the restricted second factory, over twenty pieces of bisque-fired porcelain emerged, fresh from the kiln.

Though only 70% complete, the porcelain hadn’t yet achieved its distinctive white color or refined texture.

“Now, we’ll paint them with pigments.”

The three of us devoted ourselves to the next task.

It didn’t feel like work for Mary and Teo—they were clearly enjoying the experience like an exciting career simulation.

Their eyes sparkled with childlike joy, smiles curling at the corners of their lips.

“Mary’s doing swords and shields, while Teo’s drawing flowers and trees… Aren’t their themes reversed? Is Mary planning to gift hers to her sister? Teo mentioned he’s been meeting a lady recently…”

Watching them carve and paint on the porcelain surfaces amused me, but I quickly returned to my own work.

I played it safe, opting to design deer and other animal motifs.

“If we can truly mass-produce porcelain like this, the North will escape poverty completely.”

“Exactly. The baekja circulating the continent right now all feature Eastern motifs and designs. If Arcadia produces its own porcelain, I guarantee all the gold coins on the continent will flow to us.”

Their certainty shone in their eyes as they admired their painted work.

“It certainly will.”

I nodded in agreement.

At present, the Arcadian continent was obsessed with baekja, much like Renaissance Europe had been.

Once, Eastern spices and silk dominated Arcadia’s economy.

But that was no longer the case.

Spices had begun losing their hold thanks to the rapid spread of Arad Salt.

Silk followed suit. About ten years ago, the southern Empire and the Allied Kingdoms had successfully started their own silk production.

Porcelain, however, remained untouched.

“All right. Now carefully dip your pieces into this.”

After carving patterns, painting, and detailing, we completed the glazing process—applying a layer of clear yuyak (glaze).

Finally, it was time for the grand finale: the glost firing.

This second firing would bake the porcelain at a temperature of 1,300 degrees Celsius for over ten hours.

“We’ll come back tonight. Make sure the soldiers guard the kiln closely.”

After placing the porcelain into the second kiln, specially set up for glost firing, I turned to Mary and Teo.

“Let’s go. Time to get back to work!”

Reluctantly, I led the two away, their eyes glued to the kiln.

For a moment, I felt like I was guiding foreign tourists at a pottery workshop.

That evening, we returned to the factory under the cloak of night.

“All clear during the shift!”

“Good work.”

After encouraging the knights and soldiers who had guarded the factory, we entered and stood before the kiln.

“It’s finally time!”

“……!”

The sound of swallowing dryly and pounding heartbeats filled the air.

“Will it be a success? The bisque firing was fine, but…”

I wasn’t immune to the tension, either.

Even as someone from Earth, I didn’t know the step-by-step intricacies of porcelain-making.

Everything I had done here relied on MAX-level knowledge from Silver Age 1—a game that took place 100 years into the future.

That knowledge came from the game’s “life skills” section.

“Future techniques and knowledge from a century later—I couldn’t possibly fail, right?”

The game’s setting portrayed Arcadia in the Arcane-Punk era, a time comparable to Europe’s Belle Époque but with magic.

In some aspects, its technology even surpassed modern Earth.

This created a significant cultural and technological gap between the present Silver Age and the game’s end period.

In fact, some even proposed calling the next age the Platinum Age, claiming it had surpassed the ancient Golden Age.

“Hoo…”

But no matter how confident I was, I couldn’t completely suppress my nerves.

The success of this porcelain project would greatly influence my future plans in this other world.

“I’m opening it.”

Under the expectant gazes of Mary and Teo, I began removing the porcelain from the kiln.

“Wow…!”

“My goodness…!”

One by one, the finished porcelain pieces emerged, gleaming under the light.

Mary and Teo’s voices were filled with uncontainable awe and joy.