As soon as I returned to the Forge, I began thinking through various ways to make use of the ‘Origin Stone of Strength.’
Fortunately, I had experience from making all kinds of items in Final Gate.
Recalling those, I was able to determine the item’s form fairly quickly.
However.
‘The materials are a shame.’
The Origin Stone of Strength was certainly a good material.
Even if I used only this, I would undoubtedly be able to make an item that would help me.
But using only this still felt like a waste.
If I used a proper material together with it, I felt as though I could draw out the power contained within the Origin Stone of Strength even further.
As I was worrying over that.
“Master, were you still working?”
“Ah, Serin. You are back?”
“Please take care of your body and proceed slowly. You have only just begun, so there is no need to rush ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Serin had come to find me.
She must have hunted very cleanly, because even though she had just returned from hunting, not a single drop of blood stained her clothes.
A bag was slung over her shoulder, and its identity was.
[ Blacksmith’s Bag Lv 1 ]
My Subspace Bag.
Thankfully, Serin could use my bag as well. Thanks to that, she took it with her and brought back all the spoils she obtained after hunting.
Sure enough, this time as well.
CLATTER—.
An enormous number of spoils poured out from her bag.
“What is this?”
“It is a type of monster material that newly appeared this time.”
Among them were monster materials I had never seen before.
As my level rose, the monsters in the hunting ground had also grown stronger.
It seemed that new monsters had been added as a result.
While looking through the new materials with curiosity.
“What is this?”
I discovered a material that caught my eye.
[ Brown Bear Hide ]
“It is a material from a newly appeared monster. Since only one appeared, there is not a great deal of hide.”
The moment I saw that material.
“This is it!”
An idea flashed through my mind.
An item that would use the Origin Stone of Strength and increase my Strength.
The instant I realized that.
“Thank you, Serin!”
“Pardon?”
I immediately began working.
Instead of blindly using Special Crafting.
[ Crude Boar Bow ]
I took out one of the items Serin had brought back as spoils from clearing the Gate.
Just as its name suggested, it was a bow so crude that it could not even be compared to the equipment I made.
I placed it on the Anvil and used Disassembly.
[ You have successfully disassembled Crude Boar Bow. ][ Lowest-grade Wood has been created. ][ Boar Tendon has been created. ]
Then I obtained the wood that had served as the bowstave and the tendon that had served as the bowstring.
The wood that had been the bowstave looked so old that it could no longer fulfill its role, so I ignored it.
I took the Boar Tendon, which at least looked usable.
With that, the preparations were complete.
Recalling the equipment from Final Gate and the information in the Codex.
[ Using the Special Crafting skill. ][ Please draw the blueprint for the specially crafted item. ]
I began creating the blueprint in earnest.
Honestly, this was not very difficult.
The item I was about to make was not very complicated.
The identity of the blueprint that began appearing before me was.
‘Gloves.’
Yes, gloves.
The number and size of the materials were limited.
And if I wanted an item that increased Strength, gloves seemed the most fitting.
I also felt that wearing gloves that fit my hands perfectly while swinging the hammer would help me.
[ Blueprint complete. ]
After the blueprint was completed.
[ Please select the materials. ]
I added the Bear Hide, Boar Tendon, and Origin Stone of Strength that I would use as materials.
[ Crafting begins. ]
CLANG!
Then I immediately began crafting.
First, I had to cut the Bear Hide.
Each time I swung the hammer, Points shattered, and along with them, the Bear Hide was cut to fit the size of my palm.
I wove the cut Bear Hide together with the Boar Tendon as though sewing it.
That was not all.
In order to make proper use of the Boar Tendon’s elasticity, I also arranged it appropriately around the fingers.
Finally, the most important process.
CLANG!
When I struck the Point, the Origin Stone of Strength that had risen upward split into fine fragments.
As the Point shattered, the Origin Stone of Strength also completely broke apart, turning into powder and scattering.
The powder was fully absorbed into the gloves made from Bear Hide.
And the moment a vivid scarlet light shimmered from the gloves.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: SS ][ You have obtained ‘Gloves of Strength’. ]
The item was completed.
Its evaluation was SS-grade.
It was an extremely satisfying result.
[ A Masterwork (名作) has been born. ][ A Masterwork worthy of making your name known to the world has been completed. Through the inspiration gained from it, your stats increase. ][ Strength increases by 3. ]
Then came the Masterwork judgment.
With that, I could be certain that this crafting had succeeded perfectly.
And with the effect of creating a Masterwork, my Strength had increased by as much as 3, so the lack of Strength I had wanted to address had been filled to some extent.
Still, what mattered most was the item.
With an excited heart, I checked the item information.
[ Beast’s Brute Strength Gloves ]Form: GlovesGrade: SSRequirement: Level 8 or higherDescription: Brute strength gloves made from the materials of a beast possessing especially great power among wild animals, with powdered Origin Stone of Strength absorbed into them.Defense: 71Ability: Strength Lv 5
I could not help being surprised.
“Strength level 5?”
I had already been surprised that the ‘Mountain-toppling Frenzied Tusk’ I had made just before had a level 4 ability.
Yet this had ended up with a level 5 ability.
Of course, in exchange, it had no other abilities and only Strength.
But to me, that was actually a good thing.
Just wearing this would be enough to fill the Strength I had recently felt was lacking.
Pleased, I put on the gloves.
SNAP!
“This is good.”
As expected, they fit my hands perfectly.
That was only natural.
These gloves had been made for the purpose of being used by me, so they had been crafted to fit the size of my hands perfectly.
As soon as I equipped them.
“Ohh!”
I felt it immediately.
Until now, whenever I made other equipment, I had sometimes picked it up briefly to check it.
But abilities of only level 1 or 2 were not very noticeable.
As expected, a level 5 ability was different.
The moment I put them on, I could feel strength welling up in my body.
Using Special Crafting consecutively had consumed quite a bit of my physical and mental energy.
But after making and wearing gloves like these, I could not simply stay still.
“What should I make first?”
Thanks to Toran, Iron Ore was overflowing.
Thanks to Serin, monster materials were overflowing.
It was a shame that I had to obtain wood personally, but that did not matter.
I could either make equipment that did not require wood, or use monster materials as substitutes for the parts that needed wood.
And so, the first item I chose to craft was.
[ Standard Iron Shield ]
An iron shield.
Since it was a shield made from iron, the Points that appeared during crafting were especially hard.
In any case, it was not Special Crafting, but merely making an item from the Codex as-is, so there was no need to create a separate blueprint.
[ Crafting begins. ]
Crafting began immediately.
The Points that rose looked quite hard at a glance.
CLANG!
“Ohh!”
The Points that looked hard.
The Points I would have had to strike several times before.
SHATTER!
Broke apart in a single blow.
I had put in a great deal of strength, but even so, for the Point to break in one strike.
I could clearly feel the power of ‘Strength Lv 5’ attached to the gloves.
Thanks to that.
[ Crafting is complete. ][ Crafting Evaluation: S ][ You have obtained ‘Standard Iron Shield’. ]
“This is easy.”
Enjoying the power of the gloves.
I continued crafting items for quite some time.
“Ugh, I am exhausted.”
I had overdone it while testing the power of the gloves.
Feeling muscle pain for the first time in a while, I drank one of the potions I had bought in advance.
Then.
“Serin, Toran!”
“Yes, Master.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Let us go eat!”
I called Serin and Toran.
As the saying goes, even Geumgang Mountain is best seen after a meal. Should we not eat before working?
More than anything.
GROWL—.
I was extremely hungry.
Fair enough. Ever since putting on the gloves, I had been absorbed in crafting items without thinking.
It was only natural for me to be hungry.
Also, today was the day Toran had joined as a new assistant.
“Toran, is there anything you want to eat?”
I tried to choose a menu for Toran.
“Something I want to eat? Hmm, spicy rock porridge? Mole soup?”
“……We do not have anything like that.”
However, we failed to communicate from the very beginning.
What was spicy rock porridge supposed to be, and what was mole soup?
At least the meat stew Serin had mentioned had sounded somewhat normal.
I could not think of anything even remotely similar to the dishes Toran mentioned.
I almost ordered a bowl of taro soup on my own, but then.
“Tch, to think you do not have such delicious things. People here do not know taste. Fine, just order me something spicy and hearty.”
“I will. Is that all right with you too, Serin?”
“I would prefer something a little milder…….”
“Hmm.”
Still, since it was his first day, I decided to respect their opinions as much as possible.
Something spicy and hearty, and something mild.
While looking through the delivery app and wondering what would be good.
“This is it!”
I found a menu that could satisfy both Toran and Serin’s different requests.
I immediately placed the order, and not long after.
DING-DONG.
The doorbell rang.
When I opened the door, an enormous number of food containers had been placed there.
Recently, I had been ordering this much food almost every meal, three times a day.
I wondered what the delivery driver thought of me.
In any case, after bringing in all the delivered food.
“Ta-da!”
I began opening the menu items in front of the two of them.
“What is this?”
“Pork Kimchi Stew! As you said, Toran, I ordered something spicy and hearty.”
“Why is the broth so red? Did you put blood in it?”
“No. Nothing like that. Try it for now. I do not know whether it will suit your taste, but it is certainly spicy and hearty.”
“Ahem.”
What I had prepared for Toran was Kimchi Stew.
Specifically, Kimchi Stew filled generously with pork.
He had said he liked spicy and hearty food, but perhaps this kind of dish was new to him. Toran gripped his spoon and hesitated for a moment.
“Mm.”
Then he took a large bite of the Kimchi Stew.
Pork, kimchi, and tofu, all scooped evenly together in one mouthful.
He chewed for a moment, then swallowed.
“KUOOOOOOH!”
Toran sprang up from his seat.
“What in the world is this? This spicy, hearty flavor is no joke!”
“It is delicious, right?”
“It is beyond delicious!”
“Eat it with rice. I ordered plenty, so eat as much as you like.”
“I shall eat well!”
Then Toran began hurriedly spooning up the Kimchi Stew.
Next was Serin.
The menu I had prepared for her was.
“Master, this is…….”
“It is Seafood Doenjang Stew.”
“Mm, thank you for the meal.”
It was Seafood Doenjang Stew.
I had ordered it because I thought she might have difficulty adjusting to the spiciness of Kimchi Stew.
Since she had lived in the mountains, I wondered if seafood might feel unfamiliar to her.
“……!”
“How is it?”
“It is delicious! The broth tastes so refreshing…… No, the temperature is not cool, but the flavor is so refreshing!”
“Oh, did the place you came from also have the expression ‘refreshing taste’?”
“No, but this is that kind of taste! That is the most fitting expression!”
It seemed she was satisfied as well.
What I ordered for myself was Soft Tofu Stew.
The harmony between the spicy broth and the soft tofu was superb.
In addition, there was Tuna Kimchi Stew, Beef Brisket Kimchi Stew, and more.
Since I had ordered every kind of menu the restaurant had, we were able to enjoy a plentiful meal.
After filling my stomach to a suitable extent.
Leaving the two still in the middle of eating, I opened the Exchange.
And the first thing I searched for was.
‘Elixirs.’
Elixirs that would fill my lacking stats.