Ch.140140. Kukum’s Gift

“Ah. Kukum. And that thing you promised to make for me. Make it into a sword.”

“I thought you’d say that. Do you have a design in mind?”

“What color is it?”

“Hmm. It’s black with a slight blue tint.”

I pondered for a moment.

What kind of design would be good?

Naturally, I wanted something cool.

A one-of-a-kind, stylish sword.

Something so impressive that people would ask, “Wow, what sword is that? What’s its grade?” just by looking at it.

But could I come up with such a design?

I could copy cool designs, but I wasn’t confident in creating one myself.

So I gave Kukum an assignment.

“I’m going to test your sense of style.”

“…?”

“Make it simple yet meaningful. A design with profound depth. You know what I mean?”

“Haha. So you like that kind of feel. Alright. I’ll try to make something like that.”

“How long will it take?”

“2-3 days should be enough.”

“You’re not just rushing it, are you?”

Making a sword isn’t easy.

Tempering and cooling. Tempering and cooling again.

I know it takes countless hours and effort.

It was the same in Farming World.

Of course, skills can shorten that time, but Kukum is an ancient dwarf.

He wouldn’t rely on skills but make it himself.

“Here, mysterious forces help me finish quickly.”

“No. Don’t rely on that. You should pour your soul into it. Wasn’t it precious ore?”

“Don’t worry, friend. It’s ore I brought to create my life’s masterpiece.”

It seemed like both Kukum and Rierre brought something with them when they came here.

Well, I decided to trust him for now.

It’s not like I could do anything if I didn’t.

Kukum and Rierre packed up the remaining eel.

The drinking party finally ended around 3 AM.

“Tomorrow I’ll spend the day catching more eels.”

Even if I sleep now, I’ll wake up at 9 at the earliest.

I can’t afford to receive a penalty, and I need to catch plenty of eels to replace what we ate today.

Despite eating a lot, it was only about 2-3 blood eels, which made me marvel again at their size.

“Ahh. So refreshing.”

After grilling meat over charcoal outside in the sweltering tropical night, entering the hut felt like heaven.

I roughly washed off the smell that had permeated my body and went to bed.

—————-

Splash.

When my ankle sinks in, I jump using the rebound.

Even without using Leap, after days of unpleasant experiences in the swamp, I’ve developed my own technique.

“This is it.”

It’s not some new technique I developed here; it was a movement method shared in the Farming World community for traversing swamps more easily.

It involves jumping using the rebound as if stepping on solid ground before your ankle sinks too deep. It’s not easy.

It requires a lot of focus, and since it’s not solid ground, you need decent strength to support it.

Not easy, but still useful when you don’t have Leap.

Though there was no real reason not to use Leap.

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

It’s more for style, I guess.

“Cool, right? Can’t you do it?”

“No… I’m too scared to put my foot in the swamp again because I can’t get out once I sink.”

I’m hunting crocodiles in the swamp with Chunsik.

More precisely, Chunsik is just watching while I hunt crocodiles.

Rather than Leap, Chunsik found this practical swamp technique more fascinating and cool, so I was showing it off occasionally.

“It’s around here, right?”

“Yes! There it is.”

The reason I’m in the swamp area instead of the Black Swamp today, postponing my blood eel hunting, is because of Lee Jihyun’s request.

She wrote down some herbs needed for making mud potions, and instead of wasting time searching the swamp myself, I brought a guide from the Naru tribe to help me.

The Naru tribe might not be very useful in general, but they’re quite helpful for finding paths.

“So you’re not completely useless after all.”

“Hehe. I’m glad.”

“Don’t giggle like a girl. Want me to cut off your dick, boy?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“That’s right. Be manly. That ‘hehe’ stuff is for Chunbong.”

“Yes!”

“Come down here. I’ll teach you the swamp-stepping technique.”

“Wow. Really?”

The Naru tribe, having never received even elementary education, are quite naive.

Even when I made up a strange name like “swamp-stepping technique,” he excitedly came down, thinking it was cool. If there were loan scams here, the entire Naru tribe could be used as collateral for a big score.

It’s surprising that someone who claimed to be scared is now coming down without hesitation, trusting me despite only knowing me for a few days.

The adult in me wants to teach him a lesson about the harshness of the world.

“Here. Step on it.”

But I don’t see the need to be mean to someone who thinks well of me, so I actually teach him.

When his ankle is about to sink, I help him apply a little force and pull him out as if throwing his body.

“Waaah!”

Unable to handle my strength, Chunsik jumps and sinks deep into the swamp.

“Gwaack.”

As he struggles and gets sucked into the swamp, I grab him by the scruff of his neck and pull him up.

“How was it? Get the feeling?”

“Ugh. Yes. It’s amazing. I can’t believe I could do that.”

“You didn’t do it; I helped you.”

The good thing is that he doesn’t get discouraged.

Either the kid is genuinely gentle or just stupid.

At least he’s less afraid now, so he might practice on his own later.

After wandering around for a few hours, we fortunately gathered all the necessary ingredients, albeit in small amounts, and I sent Chunsik back to the village.

“Please call me again if you need anything!”

The young boy smiles purely and waves at me.

So this is what affection feels like.

I regret that I’ve lived 26 years without understanding anything.

“He has passion, perseverance, and determination. A truly excellent talent.”

Hmm. Yes. I should save such talent and have him migrate near my home to give him opportunities to work hard.

I spent the rest of my time diligently catching blood eels.

——————

At 6 AM on exactly the third day, Kukum came to the front of the hut.

“Yaaawn.”

Today I had planned to enter the forbidden swamp area to hunt a boss, so I had just woken up with an 8-hour buff and was stretching when I ran into him.

“What? Is it done?”

The small figure holding something long wrapped in leather was obviously carrying a packaged sword.

“It’s complete. My masterpiece.”

“Ooh. That was fast.”

When he said 2-3 days, I thought it would take quite a while.

It’s not a long time, but in the Rift Dimension where each day passes quickly, 2-3 days seemed like it would feel like a long wait.

But while hunting in the swamp for Lee Jihyun’s request and catching blood eels that fattened my wallet with each catch, time flew by.

Well, I was catching blood eels more as my personal health food for life rather than for money, which made time pass quickly.

Kukum handed me the sword.

Taking it, it felt a bit long.

I took out my Sewer Sword to compare.

“It’s a bit long?”

“I remembered you also use greatswords, so I made it like this. It’s a bit longer and thicker than a regular sword, but thinner and shorter than a greatsword.”

“Oh. If it’s in-between, it might not be great…”

I was intrigued by Kukum’s consideration in making something I hadn’t even ordered.

A one-handed sword is a one-handed sword, and a greatsword is a greatsword.

Each has its pros and cons, and mixing the two doesn’t necessarily preserve only the advantages.

It might even emphasize the disadvantages while losing the advantages of both.

Shhhhk-

As the leather was removed and the sword revealed itself.

“Wow. This looks incredible.”

Such concerns vanished instantly.

As Kukum said, it was longer and thicker than the Sewer Sword, but it didn’t feel like a greatsword.

Whoosh-

The slightly heavy blade swung with destructive force yet remained light and sharp.

Greatswords are inherently heavy, difficult to wield one-handed without my level of strength, but this felt like a one-handed greatsword made specifically for me.

[Light Demon Sword]

– Grade: SS+

– A sword made from light demon stone that absorbs everything but only truly embraces and illuminates mana.

– A masterpiece created by a craftsman who poured his life into it.

– Attack Power +130

– When Magic Power is SS or higher, all skill effects +100%

– When Magic Power is SS or higher, all skill mana consumption -50%

– Can cut through anything made of mana.

The options are simply applause-worthy.

“Kukum. You’re truly amazing.”

He said he’d make an SS-grade weapon but delivered an SS+ instead. How should I interpret this kindness and sweetness?

The attack power is almost twice that of the Greatsword of Madness, and the two special options have restrictions that even I can’t use yet.

“Ahem. This much is the dwarven code of honor for a friend. If you purify this rift with the Light Demon Sword, that will be enough.”

“Right. I’ll go and slaughter all those electric eels with this first.”

Even with two locked options, it’s far better than using the Sewer Sword.

Moreover, “Can cut through anything made of mana” is practically a mythical option for someone like me who has close combat as an ability.

I immediately went into the hut and called Kim Sujeong.

“Give Kukum a few eels. And some beer.”

Give and take.

I rewarded my friend’s gift.