Chapter 258

Literature (1)

People only realize how inconvenient something is after experiencing convenience.

That saying resonates especially strongly with someone like me, who had lived in civilization before suddenly being dropped into the wilderness.

The Gallery might exist, but I still had to do most of the work by hand, and nothing would get done unless I did it myself.

I couldn’t order food with a single tap on my smartphone, nor could I purchase all sorts of machinery.

Why was I saying this?

Clang!

"Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

Because I was experiencing the importance of machinery firsthand.

The moment I swung the hammer, sparks flew toward my face, sending me into a panic.

I could have sworn I had moderated my strength, yet the sparks still flew high into the air.

’Just how much am I supposed to hold back?’

I stared at the Mithricon ingot, glowing bright yellow.

I had to keep hammering it until it roughly took the shape I wanted.

’People in the Middle Ages did this all by hand?’

There was a reason blacksmiths were considered highly skilled professionals.

From a distance, blacksmithing had seemed like a romantic profession, but now that I was trying it myself, it was anything but.

Romance, my ass. It was an absurdly difficult job. The heat, in particular, was no joke.

Sweat poured off me like rain, yet the flying sparks meant I had no choice but to wear an apron.

’No wonder blacksmiths get angry whenever someone talks to them.’

It was all about maintaining a routine.

If I deviated from that routine, the metal wouldn’t take the shape I wanted.

Even the simple hammering required to shape the metal demanded precise control over my strength. How much harder would all the other steps needed to finish an item be?

Granted, ordinary blacksmiths probably didn’t have to worry about their metal exploding, but it was still difficult.

’That dwarf probably makes it look easy.’

The more I hammered, the more respect I gained for Passing Dwarf.

At the same time, I felt discouraged. The protagonists in novels and comics always learned things so quickly.

Only my physical abilities were increasing exponentially. When it came to actual skills, I had to improve through my own efforts without any special advantages.

Perhaps that was why I looked up at the sky and muttered softly.

"...Status window?"

[Hm? Did you say something?]

"...No."

Of course nothing happened.

I let out a hollow laugh and continued hammering.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Safety regulations were written in blood.

I was experiencing the truth of that saying firsthand.

There had been quite a few dangerous moments, including the first explosion.

Sometimes, the instant I struck the ingot, the metal would shoot off somewhere.

Other times, it would soar into the air like a missile and explode the moment it hit the ground.

As if that weren’t enough, large sparks would fly directly at my face.

Thanks to that, I even put on a gas mask and took every possible safety precaution.

Fortunately, things improved once I became somewhat accustomed to the work.

’The recoil is the real problem.’

There was nothing inherently wrong with channeling aura into the hammer.

However, the metal exploded the moment I exceeded its limit.

Yet if I didn’t use aura, the metal wouldn’t take the shape I wanted.

’I really have no choice but to do this the hard way.’

I was still having difficulty controlling my aura.

If I unleashed it at full power, the metal would turn into a missile.

So I used mana solely to strengthen my body as I continued hammering.

The shape I wanted was a cylinder. That would serve as the foundation.

Once I had formed it into a cylinder, I tapered the back end slightly.

"Mister, hold this tightly."

"Mm."

Once I had shaped it roughly, it was time to make a hole through the center.

I asked Ludwig to hold it firmly, then positioned a large spike against its center.

It was a spike suited for punching holes through metal.

I repeatedly hammered the top of it.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As I continued striking it before the metal could cool, a hole gradually formed in the center.

Even Mithricon was powerless before sufficient heat.

Of course, the spike was almost completely ruined in the process.

After punching a large hole through the center, I refined the shape a few more times before plunging it into the oil barrel.

Hissssss!

After approximately two hours, the hammerhead was complete.

All I had to do was insert a wooden handle into the hole.

If anyone asked why I had made a hammer, the answer was simple.

"There’s no way the dwarf gave me a disposable one."

The hammer Passing Dwarf had given me had become flattened.

Because I had been relying on brute strength without using aura, the front of the hammer had become badly deformed.

The steel had been unable to withstand the Mithricon and was damaged.

I should make another hammer later and give it to him as a gift.

’The trees around here should be fine for the handle.’

Finally, I crafted the handle from one of the trees growing abundantly nearby.

I pushed it tightly into the hole and secured it firmly.

After approximately two and a half hours, my Mithricon hammer was complete.

’Time to eat.’

It had taken a seriously long time.

However, I hadn’t spent all that time hammering.

Heating the metal was what consumed most of the time.

Since I only had a makeshift furnace, heating the ingot inevitably took a long time.

It seemed I would need a proper smithy.

’I’m glad I don’t have to smelt the metal myself.’

If I’d had to do that too, I would have given up long ago.

I photographed the dull gray Mithricon hammer and uploaded the picture to the Gallery.

Title: My First Handmade Tool

Wild Grylls

(Photo of Wild Grylls holding the Mithricon hammer)

This is the first tool I’ve made by hand, thanks to the dwarf’s help.

I’m planning to use this hammer to make all sorts of tools from now on.

└ Heavenly Demon: It is quite respectable for your first handmade creation.

└ SwordMaster: You haven’t taken it to a whetstone yet, have you? Although I suppose that doesn’t matter since it’s a hammer.

└ Starlight Princess: Have you considered learning alchemy as well?

└ Wild Grylls: I don’t think I’d have enough time if I took up alchemy too.

└ Starlight Princess: What a shame. If you ever change your mind, please let me know. I’ll support you.

└ But if he learns alchemy, who’s he going to experiment on?

└ Kkobong?

└ Poor Kkobong;;

└ Wild Grylls: I’m not that much of a scumbag, you bastards.

└ Starlight Princess: Exactly! What do you take Mr. Grylls for?!

└ Wild Grylls: I wouldn’t make him eat all of it. Just one bite.

└ Starlight Princess:

　　　　　└ Is he a royal food taster? Lmaoooo.

└ Passing Dwarf: If you have any conscience, you’ll give me a hammer too, right?

└ Wild Grylls: Hearing you say that makes me want to give you one even less.

└ Passing Dwarf: Come on, man. Please give me just one.

└ Wild Grylls: = Yeah, but I need to build a furnace first. It’s only for heating, so can you draw up some plans for me?

└ Passing Dwarf: Yeah, yeah. Wait a bit.

└ I’m jealous of the dwarf.

└ It looks like an ordinary lump of metal, so nobody would even notice what it is. Lol.

└ Seriously, it’s the pinnacle of inefficiency. Lmaooo.

└ A hammer made from mithril and orichalcum. It’s literally every blacksmith’s dream hammer.

└ People would come charging in with their eyes blazing just to find that thing. Lmao.

└ And that guy’s a dwarf on top of that.

"Oh. Is that so?"

I paused when I saw some of the more alarming comments.

I was just beginning to wonder whether I should refrain from giving him one when Passing Dwarf posted a reply.

└ Passing Dwarf: Let them come looking for it, lmaooo. I’ll put it up for auction immediately.

└ If I can’t have it, I’ll destroy it!!!

└ He’s a formidable lunatic in his own right. Lmao.

It was an idea befitting a dwarf. I chuckled when I saw it.

In any case, I had nothing else to do until the World Tree sapling arrived, so honing my skills seemed like a good way to spend my time.

’I should wash first.’

The terrifying heat had left my entire body drenched in sweat.

I washed myself thoroughly and began preparing dinner.

"I wonder what’ll happen tomorrow."

With that thought in mind, the day passed.

[Breaking News: Alvenheim Unveils New Weapon]

[They’re saying it’s a controllable Guardian. What the hell is that thing?]

[Apparently, you can even ride it.]

[What the hell did those knife-ears make?;]

The Queen of Alvenheim had dropped an enormous bombshell.

"A rideable Guardian?"

That sounded rather tempting.

***

Gu Chil, an officer and remnant of the Blood Cult.

The last thing he remembered after entering the whale’s stomach was a slimy, sticky sensation.

He had fought enormous fish in absolute darkness and struggled desperately to escape the gastric fluids.

Fortunately, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and his external arts allowed him to endure for some time.

However, the sky whale’s stomach was far too vast.

And far too tough.

If he had been able to use his internal energy, he might have torn through its organs, but that had been impossible.

Ultimately, Gu Chil had endured for as long as he could before being forced beyond the stomach and into another organ.

Of course, he hadn’t moved there of his own volition. He had practically been swept away.

That was the last thing Gu Chil remembered.

"Ugh..."

Gu Chil groaned and struggled to open his uncooperative eyes.

His vision was blurry at first, but it cleared after he blinked several times.

Once his sight fully returned, the first thing he saw was a mass of fur.

A humanlike face was embedded in the middle of the pitch-black fur.

"Ooh!"

It was a gorilla.

Gu Chil went blank the moment he saw its face.

For an instant, he wondered whether he was dreaming, but his vivid senses told him this was reality.

While Gu Chil gathered his wits, the gorilla left for somewhere else.

That left Gu Chil alone in the room.

’Where...am I?’

Moving only his eyes, Gu Chil assessed his current situation.

The first thing he needed to do was determine the condition of his body.

He did everything he could, such as barely lifting his head and raising both arms.

’My skin...’

Even the most generous observer couldn’t have described his skin as being in good condition.

Some areas were swollen and waterlogged, while the skin had peeled away entirely in many others.

There were also traces of something having been applied here and there, but it didn’t seem to have helped much.

’If I hadn’t trained in external arts...’

His entire body would have dissolved inside that stomach.

The mere thought made him shudder.

Gu Chil checked whether he had suffered any other injuries.

In doing so, he discovered something else.

"Guuugh..."

Many parts of his body were broken.

He hadn’t noticed when he first regained consciousness, but as sensation gradually returned, so did the pain.

Judging by his injuries, he seemed to have fallen naked from a considerable height.

He had only avoided the worst outcome because someone had administered emergency treatment.

’Could that Great Ape from earlier have done it? Did it even make these splints?’

Splints had been fastened to his left arm and left leg.

Gu Chil was puzzled.

Had the gorilla he’d just seen administered first aid?

He couldn’t be certain.

’Wait. A Great Ape?’

Gu Chil’s eyes suddenly lit up as he remembered his original objective.

Why had he entered this accursed forest in the first place?

He had come bearing a sacred mission: to find the Blood Demon’s successor.

The fact that said successor was apparently a gorilla was utterly absurd, but it appeared he had finally found one.

’No. There are countless Great Apes in this forest. I need to confirm its identity first.’

The problem was that his limbs were in such terrible condition that he could barely move.

Gu Chil managed to raise his upper body and look around.

He was inside a cave, but it wasn’t a natural one.

It looked as though someone had painstakingly stacked stones to construct a sturdy chamber.

’Did the Great Apes build something like this too?’

He knew the gorillas were intelligent, but he hadn’t expected them to be this capable.

Then again, some of them could even speak, so perhaps it wasn’t that strange.

’More importantly, this pain is unbearable. I need to circulate my internal energy, even if I have to force it.’

Just as Gu Chil attempted to circulate his sluggish internal energy—

Rustle—

The gorillas appeared.

There was one particularly large gorilla, accompanied by two others guarding its sides.

Gu Chil flinched at the appearance of the gorilla, which was clearly different from the others.

Its size alone was remarkable, but the tattered clothes it wore gave it an unusual air.

The gorilla stared intently at Gu Chil before speaking in a deep voice.

"Have you regained consciousness?"

"What?"

Gu Chil heard the gorilla’s words with perfect clarity.

It wasn’t even speaking a foreign language.

It was the language of the Central Plains, where Gu Chil had been born and raised.

Its speech was somewhat archaic, but it was unquestionably the language of his homeland.

’I thought it was supposed to be white... Ah, this one must have been taught by the Blood Demon as well.’

Gu Chil was confused for a moment but quickly sorted out his thoughts.

The one shown in the Gallery had been Kkobong, the white gorilla, but Gu Chil had also heard a little about the other gorillas.

Kkobong had a brother, and that brother had also received Wi Hochang’s teachings.

He was moments away from completing his objective.

Gu Chil suppressed his excitement and replied.

"I survived thanks to you. You have my gratitude."

"Hm?"

The gorilla leader’s eyes widened when Gu Chil answered in the language of the Central Plains.

It clearly hadn’t expected him to speak the same language.

But the surprises didn’t end there.

"Are you the Great Ape taught by Wi Hochang—no, by the Blood Demon?"

"How do you know my master’s name?"

Gu Chil inwardly scoffed at the word master.

What kind of existence was a master?

In the Central Plains, one’s master was regarded as being at least equal to one’s father.

For a mere gorilla to call the great Blood Demon its master made Gu Chil want to teach it a lesson immediately.

But with his limbs broken, that was impossible.

He would have to wait patiently for an opportunity.

"I am Gu Chil, a member of the Blood Cult founded by the Blood Demon."

"Call me Wi Heuk. It is the name my master gave me."

"Where is the Blood Demon?"

"Regrettably, he has ascended to the heavens."

The more the gorilla leader spoke with Gu Chil, the more curiosity appeared on its face.

At first, it had wondered what kind of shit-covered bastard had fallen out of the sky.

As it turned out, this man was connected to its master.

He was clearly different from the man who traveled with that sloth.

"Then did the Blood Demon leave anything behind? There should be written records—perhaps books."

"Wait here. I will bring them."

The gorilla leader casually announced that it would retrieve its master’s belongings.

A short while later, it returned carrying a scroll.

Rather than paper, it consisted of rectangular wooden slats bound together.

Then again, paper would have been impossible to obtain in this place, so the Blood Demon had apparently used wood as a substitute.

"Read this one. I will watch you before entrusting the rest to you."

It seemed that even a gorilla couldn’t help being cautious.

Gu Chil understood and carefully accepted the scroll.

’This is...!’

The final legacy left behind by the Blood Demon.

There was a high probability that it was a secret martial-arts manual.

Gu Chil barely managed to calm his pounding heart before opening the scroll.

The words had been carved into the wooden slats with a sharp implement.

And the record’s opening line read:

[If you are reading this, abandon all hope.]

It was truly literary.

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