episode_0023

“In connection with the expansion of the village, it was decided to increase security forces. I think we need to replace the equipment that will be used by the workforce and the existing equipment that has reached the end of its useful life. There are quite a few things that are needed. Will it take a long time?”

“You need to know exactly how much you need so you can make an estimated schedule.”

“Um… … .”

The guard captain must have remembered the items needed, so he looked back on his memory for a moment and told me the items needed.

Thirty iron plates to be used as body armor, fifty spear points, ten gauntlets made of iron only on the backs of the hands, twenty steel helmets with brims to block the sunlight, and a pole with a chain-linked mace attached to a stick as long as the forearm. Five sacks a day, etc.

They were asking for all kinds of things. There were a few things that I just knew what shape they would look like and would not make them.

“That would be enough in 10 days. However, I have never made a flail or gauntlet, so it may take a little longer.”

“It only takes 10 days? Are you okay? I came here last time when your father was there, and he said he didn’t know when it would be because he had to make the goods ordered by the merchant first.”

“Oh, that just finished. Didn’t the top come out earlier?”

“I guess our paths diverged.”

I shrugged my shoulders when I saw the guard captain shaking his head, saying he didn’t see the top. There’s nothing you can do if you haven’t seen it.

“All the items ordered by the top were completed and handed over. So you can start working right away.”

“Good. Then how much does the item cost?”

“Wait a minute. Let’s see this… … .”

I began to set prices for the items the man had mentioned. How much is the iron plate and how much is the spear point? After deciding on the prices of all the items, the price came out to be quite reasonable.

All you had to do was spread the iron plate to be used as a breastplate, bend it, and then drill a hole, but other tasks required a lot of work. Even if there were no labor costs, production took a long time, so costs were bound to increase. In that time, I could have made two other products.

“If you do everything, you will get about 130,000 meds, but I will just neatly get 1 million meds.”

“Made? It’s very cheap.”

A million meds could be said to be a lot of money, but when it comes to the cost of arming the guards, it wasn’t that much. If it weren’t for me, I would have to go from village to village and get orders from blacksmiths, and everything in that process involved money.

It was clear that if I were to purchase the quantity I wanted now from various sources, it would probably cost several times more. It was natural that it would take dozens of times as much time.

“How do I pay?”

“Hmm… … . Well, I’ll just get it later. It’s not like I saw you for a day or two.”

There seemed to be no need to receive an advance or down payment. There was no way the guards protecting the village would take the money. Although there was a disadvantage that the plan could suddenly change, if that happened, the quantity produced could simply be sold to mercenaries. So, I was able to make the payment in arrears.

Anyway, after signing the verbal contract, the skeletons started moving again with all their might.

The skeletons that had been standing blankly moved in unison, picking up pieces of iron with tongs one by one and putting them into the kiln. The blazing flames heated the iron balls red-hot, and the skeletons carried them onto the anvil and pounded them.

bang! bang! bang!

As if idols from a previous life were dancing in synchronized dance, the skeletons struck the iron bars with the same beat. Thanks to this, the sound was further amplified, making it feel like something truly amazing was being created. In reality, it was done to make iron plates for body armor.

Anyway, the iron plates for armor were made at a rapid pace. The time required to make it was very short because all you had to do was simply unfold the iron, create a slightly curved surface to comfortably wrap around the body, and drill a hole to insert a string to fasten it to the body. To use it as a string, all you had to do was roughly cut the leather into a thin, long piece and tie it.

After creating the iron plate for armor in an instant, the next thing I made was a helmet. All he had to do was take a round, spherical anvil that was collecting dust in the blacksmith warehouse, make an iron plate like a chest armor, and pound it on the anvil. By pounding it into a round shape, it could wrap around a person’s head and create a slight visor at the front. Later, you could put something like cotton, leather, or cloth inside it and fasten it by inserting a string into a hole drilled on the side.

However, making other items took a little more time. Even the spear point, which was the simplest of the remaining items, had to be sharpened and a part that could be fixed so that the spear shaft could be inserted was also made. I had no choice but to work harder.

Still, it could be said that he was a nobleman. This is because I was wondering how on earth to make gauntlets and flails that I had never made before. First of all, I received the order right away, but it was a little embarrassing.

“Father! Help!”

“… … What is help? Are you asking for help?”

“Ah, yes. I need to make a gauntlet and a flail, but I don’t know how.”

“It looks like you received an order for something that requires a lot of work.”

“Have you ever made a father’s too?”

“How many years do you think this uncle has been running the blacksmith shop? Of course, I also made a contribution.”

Sometimes, at the national level, blacksmiths are instructed to make things, and it seemed like my uncle had done that. Well, my uncle ran a blacksmith shop even before I was born, so it would be natural for him to make all kinds of things.

“First of all, I probably put the blueprint for the gauntlet somewhere in a corner. I’ll find it and give it to you. Also, to make a flail, you can make a chain by making a long stick, and then connect it to the stick and the mace head.”

My father explained by moving his hands around and even drawing pictures on the floor. Although it was a little difficult, I still figured out how to make it.

And, the design I found somewhere in the house was also pretty neat. I guess I received a blueprint while making a donation, and it was a very detailed blueprint.

Looking at the blueprint, the gauntlet was a type of object that made movement possible by attaching and connecting several small steel plates.

“Because each person’s hand size is different, the adjustment part must be made carefully. The connecting part must also be strong.”

Following advice from his father, who had made his own gauntlets, he immediately began making items using skeletons. It might be harder than I thought – Contrary to what I thought, making the gauntlet was easier than I thought because I had the blueprint.

In particular, the goblin skeletons were making things well. This is because the bones were dense and the finger bones were very thin. The work involved adding and connecting iron plates, and since it was a goblin skeleton with much smaller hands than a human, the internal connection work was very easy.

However, creating chains for the flail was a problem, which inevitably required a large amount of dark magic to be invested.

After processing the iron into the shape of a long bar, a large amount of black magic was used to create a protective shield in the hands of the Orc skeletons and bend them with force. This is because it was very difficult to shape it by holding it with tongs and hitting it with a hammer. It was an even more difficult task because the chain was not that big.

Thanks to this, after making the flail, I used up quite a bit of black magic, to the point where I felt helpless. Dark magic had to be continually invested to keep the orc skeletons’ bones from melting despite the scorching heat, so the amount consumed was enormous.

“Wow, I’m exhausted.”

Feeling helpless after completing the flail, I sat down in my chair and collapsed. As I was thinking about burning some tobacco to quickly recover my black magic, someone came into the blacksmith shop.

I immediately turned my gaze to see if it was a guest, but there was a very welcoming face there.

“Andrew Warlock. I brought blood.”

“Father Thomas? Oh, welcome!”

I felt even more welcome when I heard that they had brought blood that had been collected with great effort. I was already wishing there was more dark magic, but the timing is really good.

“Did the blood collection work go well?”

“Yes, it is going very well. There are even people who come every day as if they were going to work.”

Moreover, I heard that the blood collection process was going very smoothly, which made me even more happy than I already was.

“Would you like to check the blood first?”

“Good!”

As I thought about the blood that would increase my dark magic power, I felt the sense of helplessness I felt disappearing in an instant. I jumped up from my seat and immediately left the blacksmith shop with Father Thomas.

There were several carts standing in front of the blacksmith shop, and each of them was filled with jars. Naturally, the jars were artifacts that could preserve blood, and the insides were filled with blood. I had no treasure.

“It looks like it went really well. I never thought there would be this many… … .”

“Almost all the poor in the city sell their blood. Although some gamblers spend their money on gambling, most poor people are trying to make a living on their own. Thanks to this, we are receiving inquiries from other branches as well.”

A new blood bag… … Rather, I couldn’t help but smile when I heard that there might be a branch doing good work.

“That’s a good thing. Oh, I’ll settle the cost first. If it’s this much… … .”

One jar had a capacity of 40 glasses when filled with beer glasses. Since the standard for blood collection was the same volume as a beer glass, it contained the amount of blood from 40 blood draws.

What he meant was that I would pay 8,000 Med per jar. The cost to pay for one blood draw was 200 Med.

Although we spent quite a bit of money to create a new skeleton, the money we received from delivering it to the merchant was enormous. Of course, the price of a cartload of blood could be paid very lightly.

After paying the money, the blood in the jar was immediately collected. Father Thomas had to take the jar again so he could bring blood next time, so he didn’t take down the whole jar.

Skeletons who were working at the blacksmith stopped their work and came over, and began transferring blood into a large blood storage jar that had been made in advance. A crunching sound was heard and the blood gathered in one place. The work was completed only after the giant jar was filled to about 90% of the blood.

“Hehe.”

I tried to stop myself from laughing, but in the end I couldn’t hold back the laughter that escaped my lips.

But Father Thomas must not have heard, so he was purchasing items using the money I paid. Although there was some relief for the poor by purchasing blood, the plan to relieve the poor by farming independently was still in progress. I was in the process of purchasing farm equipment to give myself more opportunities.

“Then let’s go.”

Father Thomas, who received the blood money and used the money to buy plenty of farming equipment, left the village with a pleasant smile.

After seeing Father Thomas off for a moment, he immediately processed the blood into blood essence to increase his dark magic power. Thanks to the sudden increase in black magic, the feeling of helplessness completely disappeared and I was able to work at a slightly faster speed.

Naturally, since the skeletons could be operated more strongly and more delicately, the speed at which items to be delivered to the guards were produced also increased.

Even though I thought it would take at least 10 days, I was able to produce all the items after a week.

When they said that the items were completed, the guard commander came running with his soldiers, looking very surprised.

“Andrew, are you saying the equipment has already been completed? I think they said it would definitely take 10 days.”

“I was able to make the skeleton a little stronger.”

The time was greatly reduced as chain making, which took the longest, could be done in an instant. This is because the orc skeletons were able to use black magic to the extent that they remained intact even if they kneaded the heated iron for a long time.

“I see. Do you mind if I check some things?”

“As much as you want.”

The guard captain began to carefully check the items. Sometimes they put on a breastplate, wore a helmet, or pounded a spear point. I swung the flail lightly and even used the stick of the flail to check whether the gauntlet was properly absorbing the shock.

“All the items are good! I can break the heads of all the thieves!”

After checking the condition of the item, the man looked very excited and put down a bundle containing one million med worth of coins. I checked the bundle I put down with a thud sound and nodded when I saw that it was 1 million meds.

“Thank you for your purchase! Come again!”

I saw off the man who was leaving with the soldiers carrying their belongings. A customer who generously donates a million meds in one transaction is worth sending off.