“Where is everyone going?”
Sinhyeok asked as he watched them leave as a group, carrying bows and arrows.
The old knight who had been leading the residents turned back with a smile.
“Haha. We’re going to level up too!”
“Ah!”
A fiery passion showed in his eyes.
“After fighting that battle before, we realized just how weak we were. We can’t keep going on like that, can we?”
Sinhyeok felt slightly uncomfortable, as if he had overlooked their feelings.
‘I keep forgetting.’
He kept forgetting that these people were the original inhabitants of this city.
“It’s reassuring to have the captain here, but this is still our city. We should muster our strength and protect it too.”
“Right! So trust us too!”
“Of course!”
As Sinhyeok looked at them, he regretted even the slightest thought he had held that they were weak and a burden.
He accepted them with a respectful bow of his head.
“Thank you.”
“What’s there to thank us for! We’re the ones who are grateful! So let’s all do our best together!”
For some reason, the resident’s words about doing their best together gave him strength.
With a smile at the corners of his mouth, Sinhyeok cheered them on.
“Understood. I’ll be rooting for you to have a pleasant level-up.”
“Hahaha. We’ll grow stronger every moment! You’ll be quite surprised!”
The sight of the old knight making such a bold promise was truly pleasing.
Seeing him so full of vitality and hope, Sinhyeok felt that he was still in his “youth.”
“He lives younger than I do.”
Sinhyeok walked with them, accompanying them all the way to the exit.
As they walked together, he checked the equipment they had brought.
‘Most of them are bows and crossbows. The crossbows are pretty worn out.’
He examined them carefully.
‘Once I finish Ichan’s, I should take care of theirs too. Hm?’
While looking over the residents, he spotted a fairly wealthy-looking young man carrying a rather large old-fashioned cannon on his shoulder.
“Um, Sir Knight? What is that?”
Greywayne turned around and checked what Sinhyeok was pointing at.
“Ah? That? It’s a mana cannon. That one’s an early model, so its firepower probably isn’t much. Still, it’s better than nothing.”
“A cannon?”
[Akashic Pocket – Viewing Mode]
[Equipment - Mana Cannon]
[A projectile-type artifact equipped with magic circles that accumulate mana, condense mana, and modify Magic Arrow inside the cannon.]
[The cannon’s ammunition is mana, and it uses magic stones as fuel.]
“We couldn’t use it because we had no magic stones, but now that we’ve found some, I brought it out to check whether it still works.”
‘That’s basically a gun made of mana.’
Of course, it was ridiculously large.
“Please make sure to show me that later.”
“Haha. Don’t worry. That’s the only one that works properly, but there are a few usable ones.”
Before they knew it, they had reached the boundary.
Everyone began putting on Sky Step.
Sinhyeok followed them and shot upward as well.
“Then I wish you luck.”
The old knight drew out his fighting spirit and nodded silently.
Once the entire group came outside, they saw undead swarming below.
‘Let’s watch for just a bit before I go.’
After confirming that everyone in the group had risen into the air, the old knight Greywayne shouted.
“Everyone, fire!”
At his command, arrows and stones rained down.
Of course, the undead did not die from just one volley.
The old knight did not give up and kept shouting.
“Shoot until they die!”
‘Their willpower is incredible.’
Even though they had all awakened, they must still have been awkward and weak, yet they gritted their teeth, drew their bowstrings, and aimed.
‘What I’m most curious about is that.’
The mana cannon was slowly condensing mana.
The barrel turned blue. Blue light gathered at the muzzle.
“Firing!”
Pang!
The sound of the shot was quite light.
But the result was astonishing.
Boom!
It dealt a heavy impact to the earth and smashed more than twenty undead to pieces.
At the overwhelming sight, everyone cheered.
“Nice!”
“Waaah!”
“Kill them!”
Sinhyeok’s gaze was stolen by the cannon.
‘I like that thing! If I copy a whole bunch of them, install them on the wall, and make them fire automatically, that would be amazing, wouldn’t it?’
He fell into a blissful fantasy.
‘Master. When are you coming?’
“Ah. I’m coming!”
Sinhyeok hurried off.
‘Everyone’s busy, so I should go and come back quickly.’
He rushed over, and what Opsir had discovered was a slime.
A gray slime was wobbling.
Opsir stood quietly on top of them, waiting.
“This is it?”
Opsir nodded.
“It does seem like it’s the right thing.”
He picked up a stone and threw it.
When the stone touched the rippling surface of the slime, it took on a sheen and hardened.
Ting.
The stone bounced off.
They were staying atop the wreckage of a ruined spaceship.
‘There really are all kinds of things here.’
[Magic Transmutation - Wind]
The wind blew powerfully.
It snatched up the smallest slime that had absorbed a mineral.
[A new type of organism has been recorded in the Akashic Pocket.]
[It is a new species of slime. Please name it.]
With the slime held aloft by the wind, Sinhyeok said,
“Make it Iron Slime.”
[Iron Slime has been added to the category - Organisms.]
“Let’s hurry back. There’s a lot to do.”
He returned immediately.
* * *
When he came back, Sinhyeok found the residents still hunting.
“Huff. Huff.”
They were all hunting until blood ran down their hands and their mouths tasted bitter.
“Ugh.”
It was quite painful to watch, and just as Sinhyeok was about to approach, the old knight stopped him with his eyes.
“Ah.”
That look held a firm will that said, “Not now.”
Respecting that will, he did not stop them and quietly went inside.
He dug a hole beside the resurrection herb and buried the Iron Slime he had caught.
“Stay here and don’t go anywhere.”
Then he headed straight into the castle.
‘I should at least fix those mana cannons and give them a few more.’
He looked for Malakai, who remained inside the castle.
When Malakai saw Sinhyeok, he greeted him with a broad smile.
“Well, if it isn’t the young captain.”
“Mage. Do you happen to have any mana cannons?”
“Ah! I do. But none of them are intact.”
“Please show them to me. I want to see if I can fix them.”
At the mention of fixing the broken mana cannons, Malakai’s eyes widened.
“That’s possible? At minimum, a sixth-circle mage engraved those magic circles.”
“I think I’ll know once I see them.”
Sinhyeok pushed ahead stubbornly for now.
Under Sinhyeok’s momentum, Malakai decided to show him the mana cannons.
They went down to the castle basement and opened the door to a huge storeroom in the corner.
Inside, nine mana cannons were piled up.
“Because of excessive use, the barrels have cracked, and on a few of them, the internal magic circles are damaged.”
When Sinhyeok tapped one with his hand, an update began immediately.
[Data on the relevant equipment exists in the Akashic Pocket.]
[The design of the internal magic circle also exists.]
‘You~ good little thing. I like you very, very much.’
He tapped the barrel with his hand and sent a faint stream of mana through it.
Woooong.
It spread out, releasing a light wave.
Seeing the complex mixture of colors, he asked Malakai,
“It looks like at least four different minerals were used. Is this made by attaching two separate alloys together?”
“Hm? That’s probably right. The inside has to maintain the magic circle, so they likely mixed magic stones with minerals like mithril, and the outside probably used a mineral resistant to secondary mana impact.”
‘The inside is relatively intact.’
Touching the cracked portion on the outside, he carefully melted it.
[Partial Transmutation - Melting]
‘I don’t have materials, so I should restore it carefully.’
Sinhyeok smoothed the exterior and reached inside to check the raised magic circle.
[Mana Cannon - Internal Design]
He opened the design helpfully recorded in the system.
“This part is severed. And this part and this part have completely vanished.”
Sinhyeok reached in and brushed away the dust.
‘The magic circle engraved inside seems to have been drawn with magic stone and… something else mixed together?’
“I’ll need some time for a few of these.”
Sinhyeok immediately checked all the rest.
“I think two of them can be used right away. The insides are intact.”
‘Some of the runes have faded, but this much can be patched up with magic stone easily enough.’
“What?!”
[Partial Transmutation - Synthesis]
He repaired them in an instant.
Sinhyeok grabbed the cannon with both hands and lifted it.
“I’ll go give these to the residents who are hunting.”
“How truly fascinating, indeed!”
Sinhyeok immediately delivered the repaired mana cannons to the residents hunting outside.
“Ohhh! We’ll put them to good use! Everyone, grab these and fire!”
In an instant, their firepower increased.
Sinhyeok watched with satisfaction, then headed toward the Iron Slime.
“Very good. I’ll be able to make it in a good mood.”
He took out the underground slime, part of the resurrection herb, and soul crystals.
“Right. I didn’t bring any World Tree material.”
He quietly got up and carefully headed toward the World Tree.
‘I need to break off a branch.’
Even on ordinary days, Ichan hated it when the children played around the World Tree.
And if the children accidentally so much as touched the bark of the World Tree, he would get incredibly angry.
Sneaking along so he would not be caught.
He carefully approached and grabbed a branch.
At that moment, Ichan’s ears perked up.
“Hyung…?”
Ichan called out first, then slowly opened his eyes.
Sinhyeok hurriedly moved.
Crack.
At the strange sound that should never have been heard, Ichan’s eyes flew open.
But Sinhyeok was already running away.
“No! Hey! Are you insane?!”
“Ahem! How dare you say ‘hey’ to your hyung!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Sinhyeok laughed as he temporarily blocked the entrance to the wall.
Bang, bang, bang.
The sound of the dark elf violently pounding in a fit came through terrifyingly.
“Anyway, he’s still an elf, all right. It’s just a tree branch.”
“Just?! A sacred part of my father?!”
“I’ll use it well and return it to you.”
“Just give it back…!”
He felt sorry, but he ignored Ichan’s words.
Sinhyeok sat back down on the ground and laid out the missing materials.
“That’s everything, and the last thing is the remnant of the lich’s source.”
He took out the black heart that had been cut in half.
He seemed to hear someone’s faint voice.
‘Let go, I said let go! What do you think you’re doing?!’
“Good, you’re still alive and well.”
Sinhyeok paid no attention to the voice.
Checking the materials, he first decided on the base.
“The branch will be the main component, and I’ll give it hardness with this guy.”
He pulled the Iron Slime over.
‘If this thing’s role is its characteristic of absorbing minerals.’
“I need minerals.”
Just then, one thing came to mind.
‘Oh! Let’s use one of those mana cannon barrels.’
Sinhyeok opened the entrance he had blocked so he could leave.
“Uaaaargh!”
Ichan, who had been putting force into it, pitched forward.
Thud.
Sinhyeok stepped over the fallen Ichan and ran.
“If you touch that, I’m never making equipment for you again!”
“Urk….”
At those words, Ichan flinched.
“Damn it!! Damn it!!!”
Ichan looked sorrowfully at the branch that had already been broken off.
“Father….”
“Your father is perfectly fine over there!”
A moment later, Sinhyeok’s sharp voice was heard as he returned carrying a mana cannon.
Ichan pretended not to hear it.
“Out you come.”
Sinhyeok set down the barrel and checked the materials again.
“I’ll add the devouring characteristic with the resurrection herb, and set the direction with the World Tree and soul crystal.”
He pulled the materials to the side and arranged them.
The last thing remaining was the half-black heart.
‘You’re dead! Hey!’
“Should I purify this or something?”
Ichan, who had been blankly watching from behind, cut in.
“You don’t have to. Just put it in.”
“Huh? Really?”
“As the World Tree grows, it’ll probably naturally annihilate or purify it. So you can leave it be.”
“Ah? Is that so?”
Since the one who knew the World Tree best said so, he decided to just mix it in.
[Activating simulation.]
[Scanning materials.]
[The confirmed materials are as follows.]
[Branch of the World Tree of Night, Soul Crystal, Iron Slime, Mana Cannon Barrel, Fragmented Life Vessel of a Lich, Resurrection Herb]
[Precautions]
[For fragments of a transcendent being, genetic factors cannot be selected.]
“Yeah, I know. Let’s add a few runes here.”
He added what was needed for form and function.
[Enchantments have been added. The contents regarding dagger and Undeadrise will be engraved in runes.]
Since it was proceeding properly, Sinhyeok immediately gave the next instruction.
“Proceed right away.”
[Virtual synthesis in progress ………]
Ping.
His brain worked fiercely.
His head throbbed.
Sinhyeok naturally ended up lying down backward.
“Ugh, this really sucks….”
It felt as though someone was stepping on his head.
As if they were trampling on it relentlessly and shouting at him to work.
The materials floated into the air and clumped together.
He thought he heard someone’s scream, but Sinhyeok ignored it.
[Synthesis in progress………]
[Synthesis complete.]
[Information on the synthesized organism cannot be known until the seed germinates and grows.]
A small sprout had emerged from the ground.
Sinhyeok lay on his side and stared at the seed.
He tapped it with his finger.
“How am I supposed to know whether this worked or not?”
When he tapped it, the seed was quite stiff.
A little blood flowed from the tip of his finger.
“Heh….”
Cut by the sprout’s tiny leaf, Sinhyeok showed Ichan the trail of blood.
“You see that? The leaf is insanely sharp.”
Ichan became interested in the bizarre sprout.
“Hyung, you really can’t make anything normal. It’s amazing.”
“Hah?! Ichan, that comment leaves a lot to be desired.”
Carefully accepting the sprout, Ichan asked Sinhyeok,
“When will this be fully grown?”
“Who knows.”
[Estimated time until growth completion: 10 days.]
“Oh, it says ten days.”
“That’s cutting it close.”
The time for them to enter the real world again was roughly around then.
“It’d be good if we can see it in time.”
‘What if it comes out as trash? It’ll also be a problem if it doesn’t have the shape of a dagger…. Ah, whatever. It’ll work out. I should finish repairing the cannons.’