Chapter 36
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 36. 14th Floor (4)
For a place used a long time ago and left neglected, the interior was quite neat.
Tongs and hammers hung on the walls, and even an anvil.
Everything needed to make equipment was there.
That's a relief at least.
I sighed and stood in front of the hearth.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine.
Right now, behind me stood dozens of sturdy men looking at me with sparkling eyes.
Their eyes were already burning fiercely with passion for learning.
...What do I do?
My mouth went dry.
I tried hard to act calm and put my hands behind my back.
Since it has come to this, I should first light the furnace and try whatever.
Lighting a fire is something I've done like eating meals in the workshop anyway.
"Now, everyone, please pay attention."
My voice rang through the empty smithy.
The blacksmiths simultaneously swallowed dry saliva and focused on me.
"The beginning and end of a blacksmith is fire. If you cannot handle fire, you have no right to handle minerals."
I filled the furnace with charcoal.
I struck the flint to make an ember and started pumping the bellows.
Every time wind went in, the flames rose red.
It was smooth sailing up to here.
The problem was next.
Now I have to adjust the temperature and melt the iron, but can I catch the exact timing without guidelines?
Whatever, I don't know.
I picked up a lump of iron with tongs and put it into the fire.
But.
Huh?
The sight of the iron heating up inside the furnace entered my eyes.
The iron, which was dark red, was slowly changing color.
As if the Guide was whispering next to me, numbers popped up in my head.
'It's dark red. About 600 degrees...?'
Pumping the bellows a little more, the color lightened.
'Now it's crimson. About 800 degrees.'
The heat hit my face, but I didn't take my eyes off.
The iron shone brighter and brighter, then soon became dazzlingly bright.
'It's bright yellow. 1200 degrees.'
I felt certain that the experience I've had so far was imbued in my body.
The sweat I shed hammering thousands of times in the Room of Spirit and Time called [Primeval Workshop] wasn't in vain.
They say even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after 3 years; I'm not quite at that level, but haven't I made things personally in concentrated time?
'I can do it.'
The intimidated feeling drained away like an ebb tide, and confidence filled its place.
I took out the heated iron with tongs and placed it on the anvil.
Along with a sizzling sound, white smoke rose.
"Watch carefully."
I raised the hammer high.
"Before learning to repair, you must first know how to make it. How can you fix it without knowing the structure?"
The blacksmiths nodded and came close around the anvil.
"Today, we will make a hoe, the most basic yet important farming tool."
I struck down the heated iron.
A clear and pure sound broke the silence of the smithy.
—Clang!—Clang!—Clang!
"The color you see now, bright yellow, is 1200 degrees, the best time to shape it. At this time, you must strike boldly to catch the overall shape."
I continued explaining without stopping the hammering.
"The life of a hoe is the angle of the blade and the curve of the neck. The blade must be thin and sharp to dig into the soil easily, but the neck part must endure the resistance of the soil, so it must be thick and hard."
I used the horn part of the anvil to roll the iron up roundly.
"This is the socket. The hole where the handle goes in. If this is loose, the unfortunate event of the hoe blade flying off while farming occurs. So you must hammer it as if tightening it."
The blacksmiths opened their eyes wide and watched as if not to miss a single movement of my hands.
Before I knew it, the iron lump had taken the shape of a hoe.
"Now is the most important heat treatment."
I picked up the red-hot hoe and brought it in front of the water bucket.
"You must not cool the whole thing. You dip only the blade part slightly in water to quench it rapidly to increase hardness, and the neck part, which needs to absorb shock, must be cooled slowly to leave toughness."
—Sizzzzzzle!
Along with a loud sound, water vapor rose explosively.
I took the hoe out and cooled it slowly in the air.
The hoe blade, turned dark red, was emitting a cool energy.
"Finally, if you sharpen the blade and insert the handle, it's complete."
I inserted the hoe blade into the prepared Red Oak handle and hammered a wedge to fix it.
—Tap.
Confirming it was firmly fixed, I held it out to the blacksmiths.
"How is it? How does it compare to the ones made with abilities?"
The blacksmith named Hans carefully received the hoe.
He turned the hoe this way and that and flicked the blade with his finger.
"......It's different."
His voice trembled.
"The ones made with abilities only looked plausible on the outside but felt empty inside... This is completely filled. It's heavy but doesn't strain the wrist, and the blade is alive."
Other blacksmiths also passed the hoe around and touched it.
Awe spread across their faces.
"This is... the skill of a true blacksmith."
"What we did until now was at the level of playing around."
I smiled satisfactorily at their reaction.
"Now it's your turn. Everyone take your positions. Let's do it all night until you learn it with your bodies."
At my words, they answered boomingly.
"Understood! Master!"
Huh? Master?
The title changed strangely, but it wasn't bad.
The smithy was literally a crucible of passion.
"Heave-ho!"
"Let's give it a try!"
Hammering sounds rang out along with shouts of spirit from here and there.
The problem was their skill.
I put my hands behind my back and walked around the workshop.
Every time I took a step, my eyebrow twitched.
"Wait! Stop!"
I shouted urgently and ran to one blacksmith.
He was sweating profusely in front of the hearth, absorbed in pumping the bellows.
The problem was the iron he was holding with tongs.
It had already far exceeded the appropriate temperature and turned dazzlingly white.
Sparks were flying from the surface, and the iron was burning away.
"Aren't you raising the temperature too much right now?"
"Yes? Isn't it better the higher the temperature?"
"Better my ass...!"
I snatched the tongs and threw it into the water bucket.
Along with a sizzling sound, black smoke rose.
"Iron overheated like this might look fine on the outside, but its internal structure is already completely ruined. It will break if you strike it."
The blacksmith became tearful and bowed his head.
I sighed and turned my head.
"You there!"
This time it was a friend hammering excitedly in front of the anvil.
"Yes! Master!"
"Who told you to hammer right away without removing the impurities?"
Slag, the black residue, was stuck all over the surface of the iron he was striking.
If you fold and hammer it in that state, foreign substances get embedded inside the iron.
It was as obvious as seeing a fire that the durability would drop terribly later.
"If you cool that as is, it will break even if tapped lightly. Scrape it all off with a brush and do it again!"
"Ah... Yes!"
Everywhere I turned my head was a total mess.
The guy in that corner, I couldn't tell if he was forging or torturing the iron.
He had to strike the hammer down vertically, but he was hitting it at an angle.
"I told you not to just use brute force!!!!"
Instead of Clang! Clang! sounds, dull Thud! Thud! sounds and screeching scraping sounds ran rampant here and there.
Failure in fire control, ignoring foreign substances, clumsy hammering.
They were showing all the trial and error I experienced in real-time, and collectively at that.
I lost my words for a moment and looked up at the dusty ceiling of the smithy.
Ah....
A corner of my chest felt heavy.
It seemed an invisible someone's face came to mind before my eyes.
Guide....
Is this how you felt when you looked at me?
When you told me to do it again because I made a 150g error.
When I made a sound like scratching a blackboard because of one wrong hammer strike.
I finally understand that dry sighing sound I heard every time then.
I think I know your feelings, even if just a little.
Next time, I will do as told without talking back.
Really.
I reflected deeply in my heart.
But there was no time to be soaked in sentiment.
Because I'm the only one who can clean up this pandemonium.
I rolled up my sleeves again and flashed my eyes.
"We go again from the beginning!"
Ultimately, time solved this problem.
Of course, it's no secret that I ran around like a dog during that time.
"No! Don't do the heat treatment there for too long!"
"The handle angle is crooked! Again!"
Even if I looked away for a moment, problems popped up from everywhere.
It felt like even ten bodies wouldn't be enough.
Still, it was worth the hardship.
When about a week had passed, everyone started making basic farming tools like hoes and sickles quite plausibly to some extent.
Only after 2 weeks passed could I teach them how to repair.
Perhaps because they understood the structure by making them personally, repairing was also a hurdle at first, but they adapted much faster than when they first started making them.
"Ohh! It's fixed! I fixed it!"
Every time cheers burst out from here and there, I exhaled a sigh of relief.
During that period, I stayed in the Imperial Palace with the status of a state guest.
The treatment was quite good.
Even though they said the whole Empire was struggling because of the famine, they steadily served precious meat dishes on my dining table.
"Hmm...."
I thought while chewing the tough meat.
The taste was honestly just so-so.
The seasoning was bland, and the doneness was all different.
'I think what I made would be more delicious....'
Still, considering their sincerity, I emptied it completely without leaving anything.
While staying together, I also exchanged names with the Imperial Princess.
Because being called 'Knight' or 'Climber' every time felt a bit awkward.
"My name is Kim Si-woo."
"Si-woo... It is unique, perhaps because it's a foreigner's name."
Cassia nodded and looked at me.
"You may call me comfortably too. You may call me Cassia."
I pondered for a moment at her suggestion.
Even so, she is an Imperial Princess, so calling her name casually was a bit burdensome.
"I appreciate the thought, but 'Princess' is a bit more comfortable for me. I will just call you Princess."
At my answer, Cassia's expression changed subtly.
She fiddled with her teacup and moved her lips.
"...Yes, do as you feel comfortable."
For some reason, she seemed disappointed.
I saw her shoulders droop, but I don't know why that is.
Did I make a slip of the tongue?
In the midst of such trivial daily life, glad news was heard.
"Sir Knight! Sprouts have come up! Wheat is growing from the dead land!"
It was the good news that crops were growing at a terrifying speed in the land cultivated with the [Farming Tools of Abundance] I made.
Seeing the Imperial Princess, the blacksmiths, the Royal Guards, and the servants all rejoicing together, I felt good too.
Looking at their smiling faces, I fell into thought.
'Come to think of it, since entering the Tower, this is the floor I'm staying on the longest?'
Over half a month has passed already.
How much time has passed outside?
Does time flow differently here like the Room of Spirit and Time, or does it flow the same.
It wasn't that I wasn't worried, but right now I had to focus on the task in front of me.
Late at night when everyone had gone to rest intoxicated by joy.
I remained alone in the empty smithy.
The burning flame of the hearth cast my shadow long.
I was silently holding a hammer and making farming tools.
If you ask why I bother suffering outside leaving the comfortable [Primeval Workshop], there was one reason.
Because ultimately what they had to fix was the [Farming Tools of Abundance] I made in the workshop.
Because it wasn't ordinary iron but a special alloy mixed with [Purified Blood Stone of Hob Goblin] powder.
Since materials were added and it was a high-difficulty crafting method, to teach them the repair method, I had to perfectly adapt to it first.
Without guidelines, I had to match that minute mixing and temperature with my sensation alone.
"Phew...."
I wiped the sweat forming on my forehead.
Certainly, the [Farming Tool of Abundance] work was hard to make without guidelines.
If the timing of adding the Blood Stone powder was even slightly late, the molten iron clumped up, and if the temperature was even slightly off, the red energy blew away.
But.
—Clang!
The vibration transmitted to the end of the hammer wasn't bad.
At first, failed products came out, but as the number of times repeated, I felt it getting accustomed to my hands.
When I discovered myself knowing how to make it even without guidelines, the pleasure wasn't bad at all.
I was also continuously churning out the volume of farming tools in preparation for unforeseen circumstances.
I wanted to leave enough spares so they could stand on their own even after I leave.
Dripping sweat, the clear and pure sound continued to ring in the smithy.
Confirming my skill improving little by little compared to yesterday, I didn't stop hammering late into the night.
The night of the Imperial Palace where darkness settled thickly was peaceful.
Cassia dismissed the maids and was strolling in the garden alone.
The touch of the grass stepped on by her feet and the smell of grass carried on the night wind felt exceptionally sweet today.
A faint smile, rarely seen, hung on her lips.
'Sprouts have come up....'
From the wasteland called the land of death, green life poked its head out.
On top of that, even the troublesome blacksmiths are doing their share.
She still couldn't believe the fact that all these changes occurred because of just one person.
'Si-woo....'
She carefully rolled his name in her mouth.
Kim Si-woo.
It was unfamiliar because it was a foreigner's name, but she wanted to keep calling it.
But as the conversation from that day came to mind, her brow narrowed slightly.
His firm refusal hovered in her ears.
"Like a fool..."
Cassia grumbled and kicked a small pebble with the tip of her foot.
Does he know the feeling of wanting to lay down the title of Imperial Princess and approach human to human.
His attitude of drawing a line pretending to be polite felt cruel, yet on the other hand, she felt strange that she didn't dislike that uprightness.
It was when she had walked deep into the garden immersed in such thoughts.
A faint light was leaking from the old smithy in a secluded corner far away.
"Huh?"
Cassia stopped walking.
It was definitely the time when all blacksmiths should have finished their daily routine and returned to their quarters.
But the light still hadn't gone out.
"Did someone leave without checking the fire properly?"
Worried a fire might break out by any chance, she moved her steps toward the smithy.
As she got closer, a regular sound was heard.
—Clang!—Clang!
Someone was hammering.
Who at this late hour?
Curious, Cassia followed the light leaking through the crack of the closed door and carefully looked inside.
"......."
In front of the hearth stood a person she hadn't expected.
It was Si-woo.
He was concentrating solely on hammering.
The red light of the hearth illuminated the beads of sweat flowing down his body.
Cassia held her breath and watched that sight, even forgetting to make her presence known.
"Why... alone until this late hour...."
A small mutter leaked through her lips.
He had already done enough, no, more than enough for the Empire.
Yet he was not satisfied and remained alone at the hour when everyone was asleep, silently hammering.
What on earth makes him move like that.
Then Si-woo held the heated iron with tongs and raised it high.
His arm muscles pulled tautly, and thick veins stood out above them.
His back muscles, glistening wet with sweat, wriggled every time he swung the hammer.
—Clang!
That movement and rough breathing sound nakedly stuck in Cassia's vision.
"......!"
Instantly, Cassia's face flushed red.
Her heart pounded, ringing in her ears.
She hurriedly covered her mouth.
Her gaze kept heading to his sturdy shoulders and the nape of his neck where sweat was flowing.
To forget her dignity as an Imperial Princess and peek at a man's body.
Along with shame, an unknown heat enveloped her body.
'T... This is not right.'
She shook her head vigorously.
She felt like she shouldn't watch anymore.
No, her heart was beating so loudly she felt the sound would be caught.
Cassia carefully stepped backward.
It was the moment she tried to retreat, killing her footsteps like a stray cat.
—Rustle.
Cruelly, she stepped on a dry twig under her foot.
That sound ringing in the silence sounded too loud.
The hammering sound stopped abruptly.
"Is someone there?"
Si-woo's voice was heard from inside the smithy.
Cassia's body stiffened like a stone statue.
Caught.
For an Imperial Princess to be caught secretly peeking at a man working at night.
What kind of disgrace is this.
Too flustered, she inhaled sharply and.
"Hic!"
A hiccup sound popped out.
"......?"
Footsteps were approaching from inside.
Cassia had no time to think anymore.
She grabbed the hem of her dress and sprinted into the darkness without looking back.
"Hic! Hic!"
Only the sound of hiccups was left pitifully in the place she had passed.