[ORV] The Indomitable Blacksmith*

"Everyone, speak up."

I said that and waited for the others to speak.

"First, anyone who needs a weapon, raise your hand."

"..."

"No one needs a weapon. Next, anyone who needs armor."

At that, everyone except Lee Hyunsung raised their hands.

"? Hyunsung, why not you?"

"My sponsor’s Stigma makes my body like steel, so I don’t want to waste resources."

"Hmm. Then, Lee Seongguk."

"M-me?"

"You said you were a designer, so try designing some clothes. I need some materials, so I’ll be heading somewhere for a while."

"Yes? O-okay."

"Jeong Minseop, come with me."

"Me too?"

I entered the mole cricket burrow where I had mined bronze last time. I had happened to locate a gold ore deposit there, so I gave Jeong Minseop a pickaxe and went inside with him. Once in the tunnel, we headed to the spot I had marked before and began digging.

Thud.

Clang.

As I dug with the shovel I had made this time, I heard a clang. We cleared away the surrounding dirt, found a vein of gold, and began mining it with our pickaxes.

Clang.

"This should be enough. Follow me."

"Yes!"

"Can you see those dark blue gemstones in the ceiling over there?"

"Yes."

"We’re collecting those now."

I said that and began collecting the gemstones around us.

[Item Mountain has finished absorbing the Grade 5 Flame Dragon Core.]

After checking the message, I sensed something rapidly flying toward me. It stopped at my side. I reached out and caught it—Mountain. And Mountain’s appearance had changed.

"It changed shape."

Hum.

[Item Information]

Name: Mountain

Rank: S

Description: A weapon that grows for its owner.

Its rank had changed as well. I looked at Mountain, then set it aside and went back to gathering a suitable amount of gemstones—mana crystals, to be exact.

"Jeong Minseop, we’re done now."

"Yes."

We returned and put the gold ore and mana crystals into crucibles I had prepared beforehand. Then we placed them in the furnace and waited. While I waited, I poured the dragon blood I had stored separately into a bucket. After an hour had passed, I poured the fully melted metal into the bucket containing the dragon blood and mixed it. I stirred at a fixed speed and in a fixed direction—five times to the right, five times to the left—for thirty minutes. The finished liquid was colorless, completely transparent, and its volume had shrunk considerably. I took out a small glass vial, filled it with the liquid, and checked its item information.

[Item Information]

Name: Supreme Mana Ink

Rank: A

Description: Supreme Mana Ink is a colorless, transparent liquid. The better the quality of mana ink, the more transparent its color becomes.

After checking the item information, I began making simple leather armor from the dragon’s hide. Every hour, one of the party members would come over to check on me. Ignoring that, I continued making armor for both the party and myself. Then I took a fountain pen from my pocket, filled it with Supreme Mana Ink, and began using it.

[Several constellations ask where you got that fountain pen.]

"It was passed down to me by my father."

I answered the constellations’ question and began drawing mana circuits onto the leather armor.

[You activate the skill [Mana Engineering Lv. 1].]

Using the skill, I began enchanting the leather armor. First, I inscribed [Blessing of Earth] for defense. Next came [Blessing of Wind] for speed, followed by [Blessing of Fire] for attack power.

[You enchant an unfinished item.]

Enchantment: [Blessing of Earth Lv. 1]

Enchantment: [Blessing of Wind Lv. 1]

Enchantment: [Blessing of Fire Lv. 1]

[You have successfully crafted an item! Please name the item.]

"Dragonhide Armor."

You have named the item.

[Item Information]

Name: Dragonhide Armor

Rank: A

Information: Leather armor made from the scales and hide of Lesser Dragon Ignir. Elemental blessings have been enchanted inside the armor: [Blessing of Earth] for defense, [Blessing of Wind] for speed, and [Blessing of Fire] for attack power.

I handed out the completed undergarment-style Dragonhide Armor to the party, then used several remaining pieces of leather to make a large bag and put the leftover materials inside it. After packing all the materials, I asked the others.

"Does everything fit?"

"Yes!"

"Yeah."

"Mine fits too, Mr. Bear."

"Ours are a little tight."

"Doesn’t it fit? I made them about the same size as Lee Jihye’s."

"Everything else fits, but the chest is tight, Bear Man."

"..."

Creak.

At that moment, I heard Lee Jihye mutter something in a quiet voice, her eyes dead.

"Those bitches with nothing but huge tits... someday I’m going to rip those tits apart."

"..."

Gulp.

[The Sea Spirit watches his incarnation warily.]

Fortunately, it seemed that only I and her sponsor had heard what she said. The others and the constellations apparently had not.

"Ahem... Hand them over. I’ll adjust the sizes."

After adjusting the armor to fit the women, Kim Dokja gathered everyone and spoke.

"This journey won’t be easy. If we fail to seize Changi Station within the next forty hours or so, our group will be annihilated."

"Well, when has anything ever been easy? Who are we up against this time?"

"A man called the Tyrant King. He’s one of Seoul’s Seven Kings, and the king with the largest territory in the northern region. He takes everyone, male or female, as concubines, and if they’re ugly, he either kills them or turns them into slaves. Or so I’ve heard."

"If they catch me, I suppose I’ll be a slave hammering iron."

"Wouldn’t you be handsome if you just shaved that beard, Cheolung?"

"Yeah, Bear Man, shave your beard. Why is it so long? You look like a dwarf."

"Too bothersome."

While we were chatting, Kim Dokja continued.

"Anyway, there are two options. We either take the flag he possesses, or take Changi Station, his main base. We’re going to Gwanghwamun."

"Hmm, didn’t you say we were going to fight those guys?"

"They’ll come there. I leaked some information. Taking into account the time it’ll take for him to move, we’ll leave a little later, so everyone should prepare in advance... Huh?"

"What’s wrong all of a sudden?"

"No, things are moving faster than I expected."

Kim Dokja said that and stared at his phone for a while.

"All right, then... I’m sorry, but I’m going to sleep for a little while."

"Isn’t that a little too relaxed?"

"There’s something I can only do while asleep."

"What kind of person is this?"

"Don’t be too hard on him. It’s probably a skill that only activates when he sleeps."

I calmed Jung Heewon down and covered Kim Dokja with the apron I had been wearing.

Chapter 15: Chapter 14

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Chapter 15: Chapter 14

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