This was my second time summoning an assistant.
So I thought that, compared to the first summoning, I would be far more accustomed to striking the hammer, and perhaps I might even be able to summon an SS-grade assistant beyond S-grade.
HUMMM!
But as I looked at the magic circle rising before me.
“Ugh…….”
I realized that thought had been arrogant.
After all, the magic circle appearing now looked completely different from the one that had appeared when I summoned Serin.
It was more difficult, yes, but more than that, the structure itself felt different.
It was bewildering, but I had no time to hesitate.
CLANG!
I swung the hammer.
Almost by instinct.
In cash terms, this was a challenge into which I had invested sixteen million won.
I could not afford to make a mistake.
The magic circle had changed, but my own skill had improved since last time.
I was sure of that.
So with even greater confidence.
CLANG!
I struck the Point hard.
Each time I struck a Point, its energy scattered, and the light of the magic circle grew stronger.
As that happened, I felt it.
‘It is hard.’
The Points were too hard.
If my level had been low and I had not been able to invest stats into Strength.
If I had not raised the level of the ‘Blacksmith’s Hammer.’
If I had not created Masterpieces and Masterworks, raising my stats.
It would have taken far longer than now just to break a single Point.
Feeling that, I realized.
‘This is exactly my limit right now.’
Because I had realized how useful assistants were.
I had been thinking of enhancing the Summoning Pedestal again immediately next time.
But that would not work.
If I tried to enhance it to level 3 immediately after this, I might not be able to break even a single Point with my own strength.
I would need to raise my level and increase my stats further.
I would also have to raise the hammer’s level and increase its power before the next summoning could proceed smoothly.
That thought lasted only briefly.
After focusing on the magic circle before me and swinging the hammer without rest.
CLAAANG—!!
At last, I shattered every Point floating above the magic circle.
When the dust seeped in and the magic circle shone brilliantly.
[ Summoning is complete. ]
I was able to finish the summoning process safely.
The result was.
[ Crafting Evaluation: S ]
“Whew…….”
It was S-grade.
It was the same result as last time, but even this was something to be grateful for.
When I first began hammering, I had been momentarily flustered because the magic circle was different from the one I knew.
And since the Points were harder than expected and appeared quickly, it had been difficult to keep up.
Not long after, the bright light of the magic circle filled the room.
By the time the light faded.
A new figure had appeared before me.
Its identity was.
“Bwahahaha! My turn has finally come!”
“……A Dwarf?”
“Oh? You recognize my race? There are not many who do. Are there Dwarves here too?”
“No, that is not it. They appear often in things like fantasy novels. Dwarves, I mean.”
“Hmm? Our race does not exist here, but we appear in novels? That is curious.”
Thick, short limbs.
A full beard and a hearty laugh.
He was exactly the sort of Dwarf described in novels.
Of course, I had never seen a Dwarf in person before, but his appearance was so textbook that I recognized him immediately.
The moment I saw that Dwarf.
‘A Blacksmith!’
I realized it.
This assistant’s job had to be Blacksmith.
After all, when one spoke of Dwarves, were they not known as natural-born blacksmiths and a race of artisans?
I grew excited, wondering whether I would be able to learn crafting from a Dwarf known as one of the artisan races.
[ S-grade assistant ‘Destroyer of Lumina Heavenly Mountain’ is being summoned. ]
“……?”
His epithet was a little strange.
Not Blacksmith of Lumina Heavenly Mountain, or Artisan of Lumina Heavenly Mountain, but Destroyer of Lumina Heavenly Mountain?
And when one spoke of destruction or collapse, it usually meant that a mountain or building had fallen down.
Did that not mean he had brought down a place called Lumina Heavenly Mountain?
I did not know what kind of place Lumina Heavenly Mountain was, but just from the name, it sounded like something sacred.
With that question in mind, I checked.
[ Status Window ]- Name: Toran Stonebreaker- Level: 8- Job: Miner- Ability: Rift- Strength: 36- Agility: 15- Vitality: 20- Intellect: 10- Wisdom: 12
As expected.
He was not a Blacksmith.
When I checked the Skill Window as well.
[ Skill Window ]1. Mining Lv 52. Ore Vein Detection Lv 43. Smite Lv 44. Tenacity Lv 3…….
He was definitely a Miner.
If there was a difference between him and Serin, it was the number of skills.
Serin had learned a wide variety of skills at relatively low skill levels.
But this Dwarf.
Toran Stonebreaker had fewer skills, but their skill levels were on the higher side.
However.
‘What kind of person’s name is Toran Stonebreaker?’
I could not get used to the name at all.
“Um, may I call you Toran?”
“Bwahahaha! It is a fine name, is it not? Call me whatever you like!”
“It is…… a fine name.”
“What is your name, master?”
“Ah, I did not even introduce myself. I am Jang Gang-cheol. I look forward to working with you.”
“Jang Gang-cheol? That is a name made precisely for becoming a Blacksmith! Bwahahaha!”
Then were you named to break taro roots?
……I swallowed that unkind thought.
“The last time I counted my age, I was 225, so I can speak casually, right?”
“……225 years old?”
“Bwahahaha! A human would be surprised. Was the human lifespan around sixty years? We Dwarves live close to three hundred years, you see!”
“That is incredible.”
“Even that is nothing compared to Elves. In any case, I look forward to working with you, kid!”
Kid.
His reaction was completely different from Serin, who called me Master and treated me with utmost courtesy.
Well, I had not expected to be spoken to politely anyway.
And it was not as if he was merely old. He was over 225 years old, so I had nothing to say.
“I look forward to working with you.”
In any case, after we finished greeting each other.
Just like Serin, Toran too.
“Now then, let us go straight to the Mine!”
He headed to the Mine.
After Serin exchanged a suitable greeting with him, she slipped away to the hunting ground.
I passed through the Forge and arrived at the entrance of the Mine with Toran.
Since he was a Dwarf, I had expected him to show at least some interest in the Forge, but he did not seem interested in it at all.
Instead, the moment he entered the Mine.
“Ohh, this is a completely new Mine!”
“Haha…….”
He began admiring the Mine.
“As expected, it is the Mine of the ‘Forge of Time!’ It is on a completely different level from ordinary Mines. Ore veins are everywhere.”
“Things did come out even when I dug at random.”
“That is because you were near the entrance. Once you go a little deeper, if you dig carelessly, mining becomes difficult.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! Also, if you had dug any farther than this, even solid terrain might have collapsed. If you are going to dig a tunnel, you must install proper support beams!”
“Ah…… I am a complete layman in that area.”
“I cannot stand this! Give me a pickaxe! A used one will do!”
“Here you go.”
Then he immediately took up the pickaxe.
The pickaxe I handed to him was a Standard Pickaxe I had made.
Even if it was called a Standard Pickaxe, it was still an S-grade pickaxe.
I was confident that it was still quite usable.
Toran also.
“This is a usable pickaxe! Your skill seems rather good.”
“Thank you.”
He evaluated my pickaxe favorably.
At that instant.
“Now, let us begin! Stand back!”
Toran made me step back.
Then.
“Hup!”
WHOOSH!
It was on a completely different level from when I swung it.
He had merely swung the pickaxe, yet a sharp sound tore through the air.
“Cha!”
CRUNCH!
The pickaxe embedded itself cleanly into the wall of the Mine.
One whole side of the pickaxe head had sunk into the wall.
Its power was on a completely different level from when I swung it.
And that was not all.
Centered around where the pickaxe had struck.
CRACKLE—.
Cracks spread widely like a spiderweb.
That was probably Toran’s unique ability.
Then Toran pulled out the pickaxe and swung it precisely at the center once more.
CRRRUNCH!
The cracks grew even larger.
CRUMBLE—.
The cracked wall began to collapse.
Its power was tremendous.
That alone was astonishing, but the moment the wall collapsed.
“Ohh!”
An enormous number of Iron Ores came rolling down.
It was speed and power on an entirely different level from when I used the pickaxe.
“Bwahahaha! To think this much comes out when I did not even dig into the center of the ore vein, but only scratched the surface. As expected of the Mine of the ‘Forge of Time!’ If I dig just a little deeper, I will be able to mine minerals comparable to those of Lumina Heavenly Mountain!”
“Where is Lumina Heavenly Mountain?”
“It is the place where a god named Lumina is said to have ascended, and it had an enormous deposit of Orichalcum. But since none of those cowards would go there, I went and mined it all out.”
“……Is that not blasphemy?”
“Leaving glittering Orichalcum unmined is an insult to minerals!”
I see.
I understood why Toran had been summoned as an S-grade Miner with the epithet Destroyer of Lumina Heavenly Mountain.
Still, his skill alone had to be acknowledged.
With this, I no longer had any reason to spend time on Mining either.
Automatic mining had now been applied to the Mine as well.
I would still have to obtain miscellaneous wood from the forest myself, but that could not be helped.
Now that I had a new assistant.
‘Should I make him a new pickaxe?’
Just as I had made equipment for Serin.
I decided to make Toran a pickaxe, which could be called his main equipment.
The pickaxe he had now was good enough, but it was still the pickaxe I had been using.
And just as with Serin, I wanted to give him a gift.
“Toran, what did the pickaxe you used before look like?”
“Hmm? Why do you ask?”
“I am going to make you a new one.”
“This one is good enough! More than enough!”
“Even so. If you tell me the shape of the pickaxe you used before, I will try to make it as similar as possible.”
“Hmm…… In that case.”
Just as I had done with Serin.
I began asking Toran about the equipment he had used in the past.
After finishing that interview.
I left Toran, who was completely absorbed in Mining, in the Mine and returned to the Forge.
[ Using the Special Crafting skill. ][ Please draw the blueprint for the specially crafted item. ]
I immediately used Special Crafting.
Based on what Toran had told me, I began making the blueprint.
When I made Serin’s bow, it had taken some time because it was difficult to determine the form of the recurve bow.
But honestly, how different could the shape of a pickaxe be?
The form of the pickaxe Toran described was the same.
The shape of the pickaxe itself was not that different. Only the length, weight, handle shape, and such differed slightly.
Even so, I recalled Toran’s words as much as possible and mobilized every bit of my imagination.
[ Blueprint complete. ]
As a result, I was able to complete a satisfying blueprint.
Satisfied with that.
[ Please select the materials. ]
I selected the materials.
In truth, this was where the core began.
The shape of the pickaxe Toran had used was not greatly different from an ordinary pickaxe, but the materials were different.
Usually, the shaft of a pickaxe was made from wood.
But Toran said even the shaft of the pickaxe he had used was made from iron.
That was why I added Iron Ore as a material.
According to Toran, the pickaxe head had also been made of iron, so it would have been better to add Iron Ore there as well.
But after thinking for a moment.
Instead of Iron Ore.
[ Frenzied Boar’s Tusk ]
I added the material Serin had obtained after clearing the Gate.
The Boar’s Tusk.
Perhaps because it was a material from a boss monster, the tusk’s weight and hardness were no less impressive than iron.
No, it was even sturdier than that.
More than anything, since this was a gift for my new assistant, I wanted to make something stronger and more memorable.
The moment I added all the materials.
[ Crafting begins. ]
Crafting began.
I felt it the moment I struck the rising Point.
It was hard.
Harder than any Point I had struck until now.
The Points appeared slowly, and there were few variables.
But for the sole reason that the Points were hard, it felt as if the crafting difficulty had sharply increased.
It was similar to when I swung the hammer at the Summoning Pedestal.
If my strength had been even slightly lacking, it could have been dangerous.
I pushed aside the thought that I would have to focus my stats on Strength for a while, and that I would need to search for other ways to raise my stats.
CLANG!
I began striking the Points with even greater strength.
Was that why?
I did not notice.
“Hey, kid! After swinging this a few times, I can tell this pickaxe is plenty useful. There is no need to go out of your way to make me a new…… Hm?”
The intended recipient of my gift.
Toran Stonebreaker had returned to the Forge and was watching me.