8) Python Going to the North

The blacksmiths at Jonas Castle decided to process the leather and horns of the Fire Salamander King.

“If I don’t make it with my own hands then I will spend my whole life regretting it.”

“There is no need to hand it over after we complete it.”

“I would rather hide or dispose of it than hand it over to a villain.”

They might have ulterior motives but the dwarves sincerely worked on it. The horns of the Fire Salamander King were as hard as a diamond so they were difficult to dent.“I didn’t realize something his hard existed.”

“Morul Hand, you will only start to know it from now on.”

“Yes! Dwarves can’t give up so easily.”

The dwarves encountered some difficulties. They were so focused on the horns that they forgot about Weed. The humans worked on the leather. They tried to use sharp swords to cut up the leather.

Swords had an effect on it but magic was no use. The leather would simply absorb the magic and become cold.

“Even loosely cutting it has produced a perfect piece. The armour made from this leather would outperform any equipment by a dozen times.”

“The smooth texture is good and there is magic defense. Isn’t it possible for us to wear this to hunt monsters?”

The tailors could imagine facing strong monsters with armour made from this leather. They would be astonished if they knew that Weed could hunt such monsters with his own ability. Weed would use the leather and horns to fight against the Beiner Kingdom and their allies. The residents devoted themselves to the sword and armour. The goods weren’t specifically made to damage the Beiner Kingdom due to the war with the Embinyu Church in the future.

“What is the Embinyu Church?”

“I don’t know. But they seem to be a group trying to destroy this world. And he is a warrior trying to save the world.”

“Do you believe that?”

“The G.o.ddess Hestia showed up in my dream and told me everything.”

“The dream of a dwarf is real.”

Weed had a special bond with Hestia, the G.o.ddess of the Forge.

A grand building, Hestia’s Forge was built in Morata and he made a considerable donation to the church. Hestia existed in this time and unexpectedly had many followers.

Magicians with faith would go to school to learn fire magic. The Blacksmith G.o.d was in charge of minerals rather than fire so not all dwarves wors.h.i.+pped him. Some didn’t care about the G.o.ds and just drank beer heartily and slept while snoring. Only heroes in the world would receive the attention of the G.o.ds.

Hestia helped Weed a little bit. The dwarves needed a way to work the horns from the Fire Salamander King.

“This processing method isn’t working. There isn’t one scratch.”

“Should we leave the circular handle attached like that?”

“A length is beyond 5 metres… It will be big and beautiful but handling it might be inconvenient.”

“Somehow we need to process this properly. The pride of the dwarves is hanging on this.”

The 100 blacksmiths at Jonas Castle were stuck. In fact, they had only previously handled iron so they were apprehensive about it. The form or length of a sword didn’t really matter to a sword master. They could basically beat small opponents with just their power. If he took advantage of Sculptural Transformation to turn into an ogre then is physical power and agility would be sufficient. Sculptural Destruction could also be used to handle the horns.

However, the dwarven blacksmiths had their own pride and wouldn’t give up. They used numerous methods but couldn’t physically cut or break it.

“The last resort is to place it in the furnace.”

“Are you sure? If it melts then we’ll have to discard it….”

“This level of strength won’t melt it. Do you see any other way to try?”

“Let’s just give it a little try!”

There was a long horn in the middle and two small ones on the side. The dwarven blacksmiths placed a small horn in the furnace as a test.

“It is starting. Remove it immediately if there is some type of accident. Hrmm, it seems to be working well.”

“Now I’m starting.”

However, there was little reaction from the horn.

“Morul Hand, this seems to be too weak so raise the power of the fire.”

Wood was tossed on the hearth to enhance the power of the fire. And there was a change in the furnace. The horn of the Fire Salamander King glowed with a white light and started eating the flames.

“Is this something?”

“I don’t know. Continue lighting the fire!”

The furnace had been turned off due to the horn absorbing the fire. The dwarves continued stoking a new fire. But no matter how big and strong the fire was, it was soon gone. The dwarves were immersed in the work and continued lighting the fire until it was finished.

By the time Weed came to Jonas Castle, the tailors and blacksmiths were almost like corpses.

“The things?”

“Here.”

The humans handed over the leather armour first. The material was leather but the structure was as solid as steel armour. The red leather was soft and warm to touch. It also wasn’t heavy as it was light in his hands.

“Um.”

Weed was satisfied in his heart. It felt like choosing clothes at a luxury department store!

But he still needed to check the quality of the clothes even if it came from a luxury brand. But his eyes didn’t notice any shortcomings in the armour.

Weed used his Sewing skill but couldn’t find any faults. The b.u.t.tons were made from gold clam sh.e.l.ls and there was no lint on it. But Weed didn’t show any satisfaction on his face. The tailors seemed to notice and said.

“The pattern of the leather will be revealed with heat.”

“Hrmm, is that so?”

Weed decided to check the information of the armour. If there was something wrong then the tailors would be dead immediately.

“Inspect!”

“Hrmm.”

There was no need to talk about how impressed he was with the armour. Weed already had absurd combat capabilities and defense so they were just like extra wings. In particular, he had never worn tailored clothes since middle school. Weed could take advantage of the armour when activating fire skills in battle. Then the armour would reveal a glamourous and elegant pattern. Even if he had no interest in the options, he would feel better while wearing such good looking armour.

“This is worthwhile. Good work.”

“Thank you.”

“Attendant, reward these people.”

“How much?”

Weed felt good so he only hesitated for a moment. Then he said in a small voice.

“Give them 200 gold.”

“Yes!”

His stingy spirit was unwillingly to part with more for the labour cost despite the sweat shed and effort. The tailors were just glad they could keep their lives and didn’t complain. His overwhelming dignity and infamy meant they naturally accepted it. He had already gained the most infamy on the continent that no human could compete with him. Weed wore the majestic leather armour. The s.h.i.+ny bald head and fierce eyes gave him a cruel and vile impression. But the clothes suited him well.

“Then let me see what you made.”

This time it was the dwarves’ turn. He had high expectations for the dwarves so he would kill them all if it wasn’t met.

“We…hrmm, you should see it directly rather than with words.”

Morul Hand took out three unusual looking swords. The swords were made to be connected with each other in accordance to Weed’s command. The hand of the dwarves trembled as they handed it over.

‘It looks fine.’

The colours seemed normal on the surface. It shone with colourful hues in the sunlight. The sword that seemed to be made of a black diamond chunk had a clear l.u.s.tre. The dwarves explained the work.

“We were able to process it once it absorbed ultra-high heat. Of course, it wasn’t easy to be shaped with a hammer. The strength required gradually went down as the flames were amplified. We managed to reduce it to the form of the current sword now. It was impossible without a lot of power so us dwarves drained ourselves.”

The secret to processing the horns of the Fire Salamander King as to apply heat. The explanation from Morul Hand was brief but it couldn’t express the amount of effort the dwarves put into it.

Despite the sweat, elbow grease, innate arm strength and the natural blacksmithing skill of the dwarves, they were barely able to change the shape of the horns. It required at least 2,000 hammers to shape it into a sword. It was a work created by the combined efforts of the blacksmiths!

“Ah, it was like that.”

Weed had many thoughts after listening to Morul Hand’s words. If he didn’t like the work then the dwarf’s words would just confirm it.

“Inspect!”

It had to be an excellent weapon if inspection had failed. Usually there was magic hidden if Inspect failed.

Only good magicians could release the seal. Normally he checked usual items so it was rare that Inspect would fail. It sometimes happened when identifying unique items. Weed’s mouth became thin.

“Inspect!”

“Well!”

Weed confirmed the contents a few times. It was like a person who won the lottery looking at the numbers on the piece of paper again.

He really wanted to fight something after seeing this weapon. It was like giving the best football shoes to a barefoot football player. There was a level limit so Weed could barely use it.

Then he had a thought.

‘This weapon will disappear when I return to my original world. I will use it to my heart’s content in the meantime.’

Weed’s face suddenly hardened! His eyes trembled and his mouth thinned.

“The light is deceptive.”

The dwarves were now so frightened that they didn’t dare move.

“Attendant.”

“Yes!”

“Give the dwarves 30 gold.”

The dwarves didn’t even rest properly at night in order to make the best weapon and only received 30 gold in return.

It was at that moment that Weed became even more infamous. The march of the Embinyu Church! Weed knew they were approaching so he a.s.sembled the captured soldiers from the n.o.bles that surrendered in front of Jonas Castle. The soldiers that were forced to conscript increased the army to 650,000 people. Weed and the desert warriors had overwhelming skills but the rest of the soldiers also weren’t ordinary. This was the warring period so the solders and n.o.bles had a higher than normal level. The conscripts on the battlefield had some capabilities but he couldn’t expect a lot from them. In addition, there were 300,000 soldiers that could only hold a sword.

“They are prey that I will throw towards the Embinyu Church.”

Weed planned for himself and the desert warriors to play a key role in the war. He would conduct the strong, armed forces.

So he was willing to throw the victims into the fray. He had also demonstrated the efficiency during the previous battles.

“But it won’t hold out long.”

Weed looked down at the plains from the archer’s tower in Jonas Castle.

Despite the fact that a huge 650,000 troops were gathered, everyone was nervous and frightened. The citizens’ training wasn’t high and morale wasn’t good because they were forced to become soldiers. It was unclear how long they would endure once the Embinyu Church started using witchcraft, brainwas.h.i.+ng, confusion and other curses.

Weed viewed the current army like cheap junk food.

“They should at least make the magicians consume their mana before collapsing. Having a large number of troops isn’t always good. If they do something wrong then the desert army will catch their ankles.”

He didn’t plan to use the walls of Jonas Castle against the Embinyu Church. He had found a much better place to fight. The Mapon and Beiner armies had retreated to Dulmore Fortress! Then the day after tomorrow, the Dulmore Fortress would encounter the Embinyu Church.

It was natural for the Mapon and Beiner Kingdoms to be drawn into combat. It was a plan that would take care of the Embinyu Church and two kingdoms at the same time.

“This strategy is good.”

Weed was perfectly satisfied with his plan. War heroes in the past would’ve probably had a similar plan. A sneaky and wicked operation that succeeded would be enough to cause admiring glances. In particular, it would be best if the Embinyu Church thoroughly smashed the Beiner and Mapon Kingdoms.

“Everybody move.”

Weed ordered the army to march towards Dulmore Fortress. There was no end to the number of supply wagons.

They contained all the loot and supplies plundered. The humans and dwarves in Jonas Castle watched the troops leaving.

“It is good that we are alive.”

“Yes, his infamy might be high but that human kept his promise.

They were just praising Weed when white smoke rose from Jonas Castle.

“Fire!”

“The castle is on fire!”

Flames rose out the windows of Jonas Castle. The flames spread quickly and soon the entire castle was engulfed in fire. The fire also broke out in the city around it.

“Bring water to put out the fire!”

“No. The wells have been blocked!”

The fire spread through the entire city. Weed had made sure to clean it up.

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Tailor Drago.

Doll eyes, b.u.t.tons, clothes etc. He finished every new stage of the Master Quest successfully.

“A white wedding dress… It is necessary for a tailor to tackle this challenge.”

The most beautiful bridal dress. It was good to achieve fame as a tailor. The Central Continent was engulfed in a fierce war so sewing related occupations were very common.

Wealthy merchants and n.o.bles came to request dresses for royal parties. Making dresses for high ranking n.o.bles had a lot of benefits. Drago was already experienced with making many different types of dresses.

“I need to make a dress that will reach the climax of pure beauty.”

The finest cloths were brought to Morata and modified at a nearby smithy.

“Attach these crystals to the clothes.”

In the past, he received a huge quest to attach 10,000 crystals to a dress. He focused while sewing each piece to the cloth with st.i.tches. He had many feelings as a tailor.

“I became a tailor in vain.”

Drago thought this occupation was seriously broken. In addition to the Master Quest, he couldn’t relax due to other orders. Cadmus was his compet.i.tor in the north but he still needed to steadily provide high level users with leather armour, boots, etc.

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The land of the farmer Miretas was enough to occupy a huge 3% of the Arpen Kingdom. He achieved a tremendous harvest and continued to invest in and buy land. Grains were grown on s.p.a.cious, flat land and herbs on the hills and mountains.

The farmer Miretas had the nickname of Golden Hands because any seeds he planted would grow into huge money. But these days, Miretas’s waist seemed to be broken.

“There seems to be no end to this farming.”

So far digging the gravel and rocks to create a granary was good but he needed to manage a large area. For example, he needed to make a reservoir that connected to the farmland in case of a drought. He also needed to keep a lookout for swarms of locusts. Miretas knew how much work was involved in ripening just one piece of grain.

“There is no time. I can’t do anything outside of farming.”

The first mission of a farmer was to prevent hunger.

Food production was essential for a place like the Arpen Kingdom that had a quick growth. Lack of food would cause the price of food to rise and population would stop increasing. Disrupting the food supply would cause a setback to areas like trading, adventuring, economic development and technological development.

Miretas needed to continue cultivating the land to feed the exploding growth of the population. He also owned rice paddies and bulk purchased cattle from Morata. When the time came for the Haven Empire to invade, there would be enough food to ensure that no one would starve in battle.

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The warrior Python. He had become stronger after conquering the monsters in Averian Forest. It was broadcasted and his popularity rose but he had thoughts about the wider world.

“I can’t just continue catching more monsters.”

There were senior monsters inside dungeons that could use spells like anaesthesia, fainting, confusion, stun etc. so it was impossible to win against them alone. Python realized the limitations of fighting alone.

It was no joke as he watched the broadcast of Weed and the desert warriors rising about level 400. Python’s chest started burning as he watched them risk their lives during the growth quest.

“I need to explore more places to discover the meaning of a warrior.”

Python was also part of a prestigious guild with tons of friends. In fact, back in the day he had joined a social guild but they had disappeared due to the war in the Central Continent. He was a warrior seeking a place to fight. This time he decided to go to the north. It felt good to walk the path to the north as a warrior.

“I think that many people will recognize me due to the broadcast. I shouldn’t wear armour and my sword in the city and should hide my face.

Python wore a straw hat on his head and wore tourist attire. And he rode a wild horse towards the north.

Call of the Wild Horse! It was a somewhat unusual skill that allowed him to catch and ride wild horses.

As he pa.s.sed through the Central Continent to the north, he saw many scenes of devastation caused by Draymond’s resurrected legion. Cities were left in ruins and many residents were migrating.

“If you go a little further then you will arrive in the Northern Continent.”

Unlike what he expected, Python didn’t encounter many monsters while heading to the north but saw countless merchants travelling back and forth. There were horse drawn carriages that contained 30~100 people.

“Unlike the rumours, the north is very productive and requires many things.” The reality was somewhat different from Python’s thoughts. In the past, merchants had sold imported goods from the Central Continent to the north. Trading was accomplished and increased due to the number of beginners.

The Central Continent was engulfed in war so now many beginners of Royal Road started in the north.

From a merchant’s point of view, there were greater benefit in the north so they travelled there from the Central Continent.

In the Central Continent, they could sleep in the square all day and might sell a few things if they were lucky. But in the large cities in the north like Morata, there was no need to wait in the squares and could see things near the gates.

There was a demand for intermediate products and luxury goods.

In the past, there was a huge consumption and a market was born. However, the north was also starting investigations, terrain exploration and mining development. Although Hestia’s Forge and other Grand Buildings were created, there was a temporary lack of materials because of the distance.

The north’s internal trade started expanding.

“When looking at the economics and technology, there is no end to the north’s growth.”

“The population doesn’t match the reported statistics. I only came once and unconditionally sold everything. There is no need to talk in this situation.”

“The orc merchants in the area is a joke. They are selling it for 10 times the market prices so won’t it be easy to sell for a good price?”

The merchants headed to the north to chase their dreams.

“The Hemir River is coming up… Is there a way to go around it?”

Python pondered for a moment while looking at the map he purchased. The easiest solution was to swim against the river. But he would have to let the wild horse go and start walking.

While he was being distressed, the merchants just headed straight toward Hemir River. There were also merchants with empty carriages coming from the opposite side so something was strange.

“Are there boats that will cross the river?”

There wasn’t a city around here…. Anyway, he was glad. But when Python arrived at Hemir River, there was an immensely long bridge crossing both sides. The width was at least 3 kilometres and built with st.u.r.dy stone.

“Unbelievable! Is it possible to create such a bridge?”

Python became numb after seeing the grandeur of the stone bridge.

Stone was often used as a building material but the limitations of it were clear. The heavy volume meant it was almost impossible to use in large buildings. Furthermore, the bridge wasn’t just created from stone.

It was flattened and finely inscribed with images. The pillars were carved with phoenixes, bulls and the northern cities. The centre of the bridge was built high enough that cruise s.h.i.+ps and fis.h.i.+ng boats could comfortably pa.s.s underneath.

Python rode the wild horse towards the bridge and saw sentences engraved at regular intervals.

-Welcome to the North. Come to Trivan Village and see our engineers! Transportation to the core of the north, Morata is free.

-Keatu will distribute land that needs to be cultivated for free. Come at once if you want to dig at the land. Shovels will also be given for free.

-Special packages will be given for travellers who want to explore cities in the north. Taste the representative gra.s.s porridge of each region!

Phrases were written to promote cities and villages in the north to travellers. The name of the users who carried the stones were carved on the top.

“This bridge can’t be built alone… How many rocks were required to build just one bridge?”

Python continued staring blankly at the outrageous bridge.

“Tsk tsk, it must be the first time that horseman has come to the north.”

“Yes. There have been many who stood and stared at the bridge.”

“It still isn’t over. Isn’t this a symbol of the ideology of the north? There are days when hundreds of people just stand around.”

Merchants spoke as they hurriedly pulled the carriages past.

It was common for users to look up as they entered cities in Royal Road. But Weed started a culture of wearing simple tourist clothes when travelling around the north.

Initially high level users headed to Morata but it was impossible to compare them to Weed. In addition, there was a surprising number of high level users and warriors quietly adventuring in the north.

Dark Gamers drank at the cheapest tavern. The Dark Gamers that came to the north experienced an unexpected prosperity at the hunting grounds. There was a never ending list of requests that involved things like ruins exploration, treasure excavation and helping the public.

A considerable amount of beginners also struggled in the north. Level 60 or so. They were overconfident about their abilities. It felt great when stats like strength and speed rose.

The dispute in the Central Continent also caused magicians around level 420 to head to the north.

Therefore, these days the users didn’t dare attack any travellers wearing ordinary clothes. Because they could be high level users. Of course, there were ways to tell if they looked closely at the boots, cloak, rings, necklaces etc.

In Python’s case, he was carrying a large sword and riding on the back of a wild horse so people soon discovered he wasn’t a beginner.

“I’ve never seen a bridge like this while wandering around the Central Continent.”

Python crossed the bridge on horseback. The bridge was wide enough that there was plenty of room for carriages to pa.s.s in both directions.

“Wow, this is the Northern Continent!”

“Is Morata beyond here?”

“No, you have to go further. How wide is the north?”

“I want to go quickly.”

“Run!”

The users coming from the Central Continent continued making a fuss. They were heading towards the north in antic.i.p.ation of a new life.

Merchants could be seen enjoying the scenery in the middle of the bridge. And after crossing the bridge, Python finally learned the name of the bridge.

Grand Buildings that were hard to find in the Central Continent!

The culture and economy of the Central Continent was originally developed so the Grand Buildings were already built. However, many were destroyed due to the wars. When the owner of a castle changed due to the siege, there were many cases where the defensive areas were destroyed.

Architect was the most envied occupation in the Arpen Kingdom. Architects could make a name for themselves through Grand Buildings, especially if the work involved thousands of users.

There were 6 Grand Buildings that were bridges in the north.

The Arpen Kingdom gathered the money in order to create Grand Buildings. The buildings weren’t just a financial waste as they were important resources for the north.

Users hunted, adventured, took part in production and erected Grand Buildings. The connecting bridges helped spread the culture and technology of each region. Now it was the lifeblood of the north.

“For the name of a Grand Building to be St.u.r.dy Stone Bridge, this is a truly fun place.”

Python crossed the stone bridge and entered the north.

“Ohh, there is also this effect!”

He had dedicated himself to hunting in the Averian Forest so he wasn’t aware of matters in the north. Now he received a real surprise.

Gone were the days where there were no users in the north. It was an era of prosperity for the north.

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