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129
The underground workshop in the dwarf village.
Inside, the passing on of skills was in full swing.
“Don’t let your focus scatter. First, you listen to the voice of the fire.”
“I know… that.”
Kim Jaeha, brow furrowed tightly, focused on the flame before him.
Hanbit and Isis, who had arrived some time ago, had been watching that scene for several minutes.
-Is this actually a lesson?
-Skill transfer = staring contest with fire.
-Absurd.
-Jaeha-hyung……
The viewers threw their skepticism at the situation.
Because it was a different picture from the skill transfer they had been expecting.
But that Gorik was sincere was something readable from his expression alone.
“Maintain that state until I return.”
Gorik rose to his feet and moved out of the workshop.
Hanbit and Isis followed behind him.
“Let’s talk here. We can’t be distracting that one.”
Having come up to the surface, Gorik exhaled briefly and said.
He was teaching strictly, but this was also his first apprentice.
He couldn’t help being concerned one way or another.
“So — who is that woman?”
Gorik’s gaze moved to Isis.
She had been eyeing the sword at Hanbit’s waist for some time now.
“A Holy Nation scientist I kidnapped from the forest. Simply put, she’s the mastermind behind the monster waves.”
“The mastermind?”
In an instant, anger lit in Gorik’s eyes.
A natural reaction, thinking back to the monster horde that had swept through the dwarf village.
Hanbit took a note from his inventory and handed it to him.
“Please look at this first. It’s a note from Kamon.”
“…Kamon?”
Gorik’s eyes went wide at the cherished name.
Taking the note urgently, he immediately checked its contents.
⟨This technique belongs to my dear friend and master craftsman, dwarf Gorik. If you envision a more distant future, go to the Kingdom of Hedrik in the amethyst forest. Showing the scroll and this note will bring you aid.⟩
The traces of Saelion contained in Norstun’s ring.
It was the note found together with the scroll for forcibly activating that power.
Having focused and confirmed the contents, Gorik slowly took his eyes away.
“How did this come about?”
“I’ll tell you one thing at a time.”
Hanbit conveyed to him the events that had taken place in Edelen.
Gorik, listening to the account while looking at the note, wore a slightly distant expression.
“…I had heard rumors floating around the city. That you had saved Edelen. I had my doubts, but it seems you had fulfilled Kamon’s wish.”
He recalled the slender hope his dear friend had harbored.
At the time, he had offered comfort and devised a method of using the ring — but honestly, he had thought there was no possibility.
And yet for his wish to be granted after his death.
The smile of a friend who had never once smiled seemed visible to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me this from the start? Had I known, I would never have been hostile to you.”
“I have no intention of using Kamon’s will as a tool. Thanks to that person, I was also able to save my own people.”
“…I see.”
-Is this real?
-A perfectly ordinary Agal Pungdunsul technique.
-He knows all the story so it’s just acting. Lol.
-No no, Black Dragon was being sincere.
-He really did work himself to the bone.
-Isn’t it just for the story reward?
-Did you not see when he killed Bares?
Whatever the viewers’ conflicting thoughts, Hanbit always approached things with sincerity.
The reason he maneuvered situations here and there was also because he could not treat this world lightly.
He simply wanted to produce the best possible outcome by any means.
“What I want to say is that I too am someone who opposes the devotees. But what’s most needed right now is stopping the wave using every means available. There’s nothing better than the information and knowledge held by the enemy. Especially since this one will turn entirely to our side.”
“…That woman?”
“Yes. It’s a story a little removed from common sense, so I’ll tell you about this as well.”
Hanbit followed up by conveying the series of events from Jinuk’s disappearance onward.
It was because Gorik’s strength needed to be directed with a clear purpose for him to understand the situation.
“So that’s how it was.”
He briefly closed his eyes and opened them.
The female human in front of him who seemed to fall outside the bounds of the normal.
Unlike the atmosphere he had heard in rumors about Holy Nation fanatics, she was entirely different.
“From the south to the north of the forest…….”
He organized the information and focused on the monsters’ positions.
With attacks coming from such a wide range, ordinary methods would be difficult to manage with.
“The number of monsters will reach into the thousands. So how about making use of the wall?”
“…Making use of the wall?”
The two pairs of eyes moved simultaneously toward the glass wall.
Sections collapsed throughout from the wave’s aftermath.
Repairs were scheduled to proceed quickly from night onward.
“The wall will probably collapse right as the wave begins. The Crash Bird flock will launch the first strike. Isis, that’s right, isn’t it?”
“That does seem likely. The numbers of those children are one thing, but in an enhanced state their impact force is tremendous.”
She had been examining the scabbard and gave a nod as she answered.
The Crash Bird carcass seen at the first encounter with Jinuk.
But the ones coming in the third wave were on a different level from that.
“A wall like that was going to fall apart eventually — but if it collapses, the repairs become meaningless, don’t they?”
Gorik added that the labor going into repairs was a waste.
That same time could be poured into preparation for the wave.
“No — we’re going to use it as a weapon. Since it’s going to break anyway, we’ll turn it into a massive bomb.”
“…A bomb?”
-?
-You’re blowing up the wall?
-The scale is incredible. Lol.
-Seems like it won’t just be monsters dying;
Hanbit’s statement drew puzzled reactions from everyone.
With the single exception of Isis.
“The glass wall as a bomb? That sounds fun! Exactly how do you plan to use it? Do you have a device in mind?”
Her curiosity piqued instantly, she poured out questions.
Hanbit looked at the glass wall and said:
“The image would be glass shards ejected outward. Of course that alone won’t be enough to kill enhanced monsters.”
“An accurate assessment! The children appearing in the final wave have thicker hide and exoskeleton than their previous counterparts. Ordinary glass wouldn’t come close!”
Isis enthusiastically bragging about her monsters — but the solution was already in Hanbit’s head.
He turned his gaze to Gorik.
“Your Highness, when making the repairs to the wall, would it be possible to work on the internal structure somewhat?”
“Hmm — you intend to hide a bomb inside?”
“Exactly. More precisely, it’s something like this…….”
Hanbit picked up a fallen twig and began drawing a diagram-like picture in the dirt.
Gorik, the expert, understood immediately and gave a nod.
“So the plan is to hide a bomb in the rubble of the wall brought down by the Crash Birds, then lure the monsters to it. The part about them charging toward the magic stone is definite?”
“Monsters that have gone berserk from the enhancement drug will rush toward high-density mana. Even with stabilization, that tendency can’t be eliminated.”
“…That’s a little frustrating, but it’s not wrong. Instinct simply can’t be killed entirely.”
Isis expressed disappointment that it was a problem she hadn’t been able to resolve.
Then she tapped on the drawing on the ground and continued:
“Still, a problem remains. Ordinary explosions would have a hard time dealing meaningful damage to my children. How are you planning to solve that?”
“I’ll use ice spider legs. I happen to have quite a few.”
Hanbit took out the semi-transparent material he had received from Avantgarde from his inventory.
Gorik, looking closely, asked with puzzlement.
“How do you plan to use this?”
“I’ll leave that to you, Your Highness.”
“……?”
-?
-‘Do it for me.’
-The suffering of an engineer.
-Please bring a design that actually makes sense.
Gorik’s expression going baffled — but the answer couldn’t simply be given.
Because it was through the process of finding this method that the awkward atmosphere between Gorik and the dwarves would be considerably reduced.
“But can I have a look at this? I’m curious.”
Just then, Isis looked at the scale in Hanbit’s hand and asked.
Gorik had equally been showing interest.
“Is that the reverse scale you obtained from the Snow Drake?”
“Yes. I was thinking of trying to use this in a weapon — what do you think?”
“…Hmm, let me check for a moment. The sword as well.”
Gorik looked at the dark blue scale and the sword.
Hanbit handed over the scale first, then drew the sword from his waist and passed it to him.
“…….”
Silence as some time passed.
Taking his eyes away, he stroked his chin and said:
“A quite well-made sword.”
A casually delivered impression — but that was high praise.
Gorik judging a sword well-made carried that degree of meaning.
“However, using this scale is difficult. It would not be able to be melded into the current sword. I’ll instead see about supplementing the sword in a different direction.”
He expressed a negative opinion on using the reverse scale.
Hanbit had also anticipated this result and was about to nod.
But then.
“Oh? If that’s the case, would you like to try using this?”
Suddenly, Isis, who had been watching the exchange, took a small bottle containing a yellow liquid from inside her coat.
Seeing it, Hanbit’s eyes went wide.
[Ever-Flowing Spring Water]
Rank: 6
Grade: Unique
Description: Spring water rarely discovered deep underground. Mitigates damage from all negative effects.
(However, effects on forces exceeding the spring water’s limits are reduced.)
A special spring water with an astonishing effect.
Eyes wide, Hanbit asked her:
“Why do you have this?”
“After seeing the second wave I asked for it to be brought. Did you see that devotee earlier?”
“Ah.”
The male devotee who had been found alongside Isis in the nest.
True to the role of handling the black market, he dealt in a wide variety of items.
And to think he had come back with this spring water.
The changes brought about by Glacier’s traces were just astounding.
“But what were you going to use this for?”
“Naturally, to study that cold! It seemed like I’d die if I just jumped right in.”
-Consistency GOAT.
-So transparent, so transparent.
-Going to jump into mortal danger because it seems like they’d die — need to prepare first.
-The way of thinking itself is on a different level.
The curiosity button getting firmly pressed at the sight of Glacier’s cold.
Knowing Isis’s personality, it would not have been strange for her to charge in alongside the monsters.
‘A bottle made by Astel.’
The same glass bottle as the one discovered in Bollibo’s underground storeroom.
A piece of the Holy Nation craftsman Astel’s work, which could store any item in a perfectly preserved state.
Receiving the small bottle, Hanbit asked Gorik:
“Your Highness, if we use this alongside it, would it be possible?”
“Sufficient. I never expected this spring water to emerge.”
Certainty was in his voice.
If the spring water were used in the weapon, it would be possible to ease the burden of tempering caused by the scale.
An unexpected gift-like opportunity for the sword’s growth.
And if it were to be carried out by Gorik’s hands, a considerably high effect could be achieved.
Inwardly smiling, Hanbit handed him the bottle.
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”
