Halo Quest (5)
-A 3,500HP bonus for a member who uses their power well.
“I feel a bit bad about that bonus. Administrator… administrator?”
-3,000HP bonus!
“He’s started again.”
-2,000HP bonus!
After the five scarecrows, Kang Shin-hyuk made a plow and even led the plowing of the field by himself, all while emitting his Golden Dragon. He then ran away from the elves who cheered him on as he widened the field as they tried to rinse him off, enjoying a bath as best he could while avoiding them. The world was destroyed, but fortunately, clean water was readily available. He sat soaking in the warm water, rebuffing the elves’ attempts to break into the bathroom and peek in on him, when one of Halo’s leaves found its way onto his head.
[The material is ready, so come out and check it, Anvil.]
“Finally?” It had been a long day of work before he had been able to reach the goal of the quest. An elf was waiting to guide him outside the bath.
“It’s here.”
“Outside the facility? Well, I have a rough guess.” When it came to shackles that could hold a giant, it would have to be large enough that it wouldn’t be carriable. Not only that, but it couldn’t use ordinary steel. Halo revealed the nuance of preparing the materials himself.
[I cut the largest and thickest of my roots.]
It was the pieces of Halo’s terminal.
“Do you think I can process it?” Kang Shin-hyuk heaved a sigh as he looked at the thick tree roots that filled the vacant lot. Even if he sprinted around it for ten minutes at top speed, he would have trouble going around it, and he was supposed to process this himself? It felt like a joke, but Halo responded firmly.
[If it’s you, it’s possible. Watching you work with those low-quality branches, I could feel the possibilities.]
“That’s…” He wanted to refuse and say that was thanks to Halo’s help, but he knew the administrator would refute it. He decided to accept it, though he wasn’t fully satisfied.
[No matter your rank in metallurgy, I realized that Anvil is still Anvil. Tsukuyo didn’t quiet down for nothing.]
“Why are you suddenly bringing up Tsukuyo all of a sudden?” Kang Shin-hyuk hesitated, feeling a bit uncomfortable discussing her, but Halo replied with a laugh.
[Isn’t she the one who is obsessed with Anvil more than anyone else in the Hero Universe? That she acknowledged, you mean that there is no question about your skill. However, I don’t particularly appreciate that she is always buying all the products crafted by you… right. While I’m asking, how many of my side quests will you accept while you are staying here?]
“Each time I talk to you, you have more for me to do!” Still, the reward seemed pretty hefty, so he decided to accept it.
[But the important thing now is the shackles. How about it, Anvil. Will you do it?]
“Hmm.” He felt like it was still too early for him to try work on such an enormous scale. But as he looked at the tree roots, an idea came to his mind. It was clearer in his mind than the scarecrows had been. It wouldn’t be possible with his skills as they were, but if he slowly worked at it, his production ability should increase enough for it to be possible.
“Let’s do it.”
[Thank you!]
“By the way, is it possible to return to Earth during the quest?”
-If a mutual agreement is reached, it is possible.
[Although the destruction is decided, there is plenty of time until then, Anvil.]
Then it was decided. Kang Shin-hyuk hurried to the tree roots after getting a definite answer from the administrator and Halo. He thought about shaving it into the shape he envisioned, but he changed his mind after trying it a few times with his sword.
“This is metal.”
[I changed it a bit as I thought it would be better for you to handle.]
“You’re talking about some pretty unbelievable things, but good job!” If it were metal, it would be better to melt, hammer, and then grind out. However, there wasn’t a forge in the world that could melt this thing whole. He had no choice but to melt it and shape it partially.
“I don’t know… but I’ll finish it before I die.”
-2,500HP bonus!
As such, Kang Shin-hyuk began to make a pair of full-fledged shackles with firewood and hammer in hand using the tree roots. The most important part of the work was his spiritual power. He needed to instill his spiritual power into the roots as he melted and shaped them. Once he reached his limit with spiritual power, he would focus on other work that didn’t require it while he waited to recover.
“If it’s daily necessities, you don’t need to add spiritual power.”
“Master Anvil! We need a table…”
“I would like a little more variety in our cooking tools. Please!”
“Master Anvil, the items for tonight…” As Halo had previously told him, the elves living in the underground shelters had many things they lacked. Even Halo couldn’t afford to buy each and everything they needed, so they had no choice but to live with the inconvenience so far.
“Master Anvil, that… could underwear be possible?”
“It’s time for me to challenge sewing… but wouldn’t it be better to just buy some from Earth?”
“I want to wear the underwear that Master Anvil made!”
“Are all elves perverts like you…?” For Kang Shin-hyuk, who could travel back and forth from Earth and Mirotoz at any time, it was faster to buy the daily necessities they needed from Earth. However, it seemed like there would be no end after four days in Mirotoz, so he stopped by Earth to buy some things, yet… none of the objects could hold up for long and soon melted away.
-This world’s standards are too high, member. Earth’s mass-produced products cannot stand here. It’s not just because of the giant’s steps. The atmosphere of the world suppresses the weak. It was because of this that you were withheld from accepting the quest before.
“Ah…” Kang Shin-hyuk, a member of the Hero Universe, had been receiving system-level protection from it, so he hadn’t noticed. Perhaps a lower-level world, like Kieron, wouldn’t have any problems, but Mirotoz was on another level. A world where the average rank of the survivors was S-rank, but what did that mean? It meant that beings or objects of a lower level than that had difficulty enduring here.
“How did the people here survive?” Even now, the steps of the giant shook the world, bearing down on the hearts of those who survived. Kang Shin-hyuk could indirectly feel the weight that the survivors bore and let out bleak laughter. There were less than one-hundred people here, quietly waiting for their end. What did they think of in their day-to-day lives/?
“This is the underwear Anvil made!”
“Me too! I want some too!”
“Auction, let’s do this fairly with an auction!” No, maybe he really didn’t need to think about anything. Kang Shin-hyuk resumed his work while the elves started their auction of the underwear he had made. Now he was focusing on sewing a new fabric provided by the elves. The only thing that remained in this dead world was raw materials not burned by human hands.
“Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could do it well… but it’s working.”
-It’s almost impossible for one person to master more than one of the crafting skills. However, if you have mastered one skill, you can use it in other production processes. It is a form of All-craft. Since you reached that level once in the past, you can still embody some of it.
He had trouble following the administrator’s words, but he nodded along as he focused on sewing. It was quite fun, all in all, though he hoped that the female elves would stop coming up to him, asking to be measured.
-You have realized some of the infinite possibilities of metallurgy. Metallurgy has grown to A-rank! Strength has grown to S+ rank! Spiritual Power has grown to S+ rank!
-Synchronization has accelerated- current rate of 28.2%.
After doing various work like that, his metallurgy grew to A-rank. He was working on metallurgy when it grew, but he wondered if maybe his other work had an effect on his growth as well.
‘All my stats are S+ except for agility and Golden Dragon Fighting now… no more excuses.’ It was easy to forget when there weren’t any monsters around, but the rank of S+ was in the realm of elite superhumans, which only a handful could reach.
-You will continue to grow faster in the future.
“I can really see it.” He wondered if he would’ve become this strong before accessing the Hero Universe. He probably would’ve been satisfied with his growth back then, too. But now he knew that there was still a long way to go. Kang Shin-hyuk let out a laugh and continued shaping the roots that were slowly, very slowly, taking on the form he wanted.
“Shall we stay up all night again?”
-It would be nice to return to Earth tomorrow.
“Yes, that would be good.” Kang Shin-hyuk looked up at the sky with a satisfied sigh. There was nothing to see beyond the branches of Halo. With a shrug, he went back to work.
The fourth week of summer vacation was coming to an end.