How to Raise Your Skeletons

Chapter 42: Forest and Stone (3)

I swallowed hard and swung my staff.

—Thud, thud, thud!

[Using skill ‘Summon Balanced Skeleton’ (C-rank).]

[Consuming 10 energy.]

[Summoning ‘Bonehead 6.’]

Boney 6 made his entrance!

“Hm?”

Dagnar hesitated at my sudden action. It was understandable since I had acted in the middle of our conversation.

I smiled brightly. “Mr. Dagnar?”

“What’s the matter? And why did you summon that suddenly?”

“You mentioned before that dwarves never forget a favor and always repay it.”

“Ahem, I sure did! Dwarves never utter empty words. We stake our lives on them, swearing by the name of Demir the Great.”

“Oh, I see.”

But wait, who’s this Demir the Great? Isn’t the chief supposed to be Vulcanus?

“Haha, your face is honest.”

“Pardon?”

“You look like you’re curious about Demir.”

“Oh, yes.”

What is this, are you a mind reader? It seems like I’m surrounded by people who can read my mind, just like that old man.

“Demir is a legendary figure among dwarves. He’s the father of all blacksmiths, the hero of the Rock Tribe, and our spiritual leader.”

“…”

When he mentioned Demir, I thought I saw Boney 6 flinch slightly… Was it just my imagination?

If it wasn’t, that would be incredible. To think that the name itself could cause such a reaction even after death…

“All of our dwarven blacksmithing skills come from him. Well, anyway…” Dagnar stroked his long, braided beard. “Why are you bringing up favors all of a sudden?”

“Ah.” I smacked my lips. “About that pile of minerals over there.” I gazed at them with greedy eyes. “Can I use them?”

“You mean those?” Dagnar’s expression seemed to suggest that he couldn’t understand why. “Well, like I said before, it’s fine, but… what are you going to do with them? I should warn you that if you can’t extract metal from those piles, they’re pretty much useless.”

“I’m aware of that.”

I grinned and motioned for Boney 6 to move forward. Seeming quite excited about the piles of minerals, it started to explore the area. Then it instinctively found a small, makeshift furnace nearby.

“How do you operate this?”

“…You just need to light a hot fire underneath… But don’t tell me you plan to smelt those minerals yourself?”

Dagnar looked at me in disbelief. It was only natural for him to react this way, given that I—a non-dwarf—was claiming to use their lost technology.

“Let me show you rather than explain.”

[‘Bonehead 5’ used the skill ‘Fireball’ (Lv. Max).]

—Fwoosh!

I used Boney 5 to light the furnace. Simultaneously, Boney 6 began to move like a natural.

—Creak!

It grabbed the nearby pile of iron ore and began pouring it into the furnace.

[Using skill ‘Intermediate Smelting’ (Lv.1).]

[Crafted 1 ‘Iron Ingot.’]

[Crafted 1 ‘Iron Ingot.’]

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[Crafted ‘Waste Pile.’]

[Proficiency increased by 1.]

Slowly but surely, iron ingots began to pile up.

“Wh-What in the world?” Dagnar was astonished. “This doesn’t make sense at all! Normally, smelting requires a highly complex process! But it seems like all you need to do is pour it in, and out come perfectly formed ingots!”

“Well, you could call it a technique unique to my race.”

It was hard to explain skills to him, so I had to pass it off as a special technique.

“Unbelievable!” Dagnar stared at me with wide eyes, unable to close his mouth. “Could it be that you are a hero blessed by the God of Stone to save us in these troubled times?” Then his eyes began to sparkle. “Say, could you…?”

“Yes?”

“Can you forge things too?”

“Forge? Let’s see.”

I rummaged through my belongings. I was looking through the blueprints I had obtained through alchemy. Blueprints were rare, so I kept every single one I could get.

Hmm.

Since dwarves mainly used hammers…

This one!

[Item: Sturdy Steel Hammer]

[Rank: C]

[Type: Blueprint]

[Description: A blueprint for crafting a ‘Sturdy Steel Hammer.’]

[Effect 1: Allows the crafting of ‘Sturdy Steel Hammer.’]

[Effect 2: Requires 10 iron ingots and 2 wooden pieces.]

The required materials were simple, and it seemed much better than the hammer Dagnar was currently using.

“Boney 6.”

—Creak?

I handed the blueprint and iron ingots to Boney 6. The wooden pieces could be obtained by dismantling some pickaxes from the mine.

With a nod, Boney 6 took his bone hammer and moved toward the nearby anvil.

“Dagnar.”

“Uh, yes?”

Looking at the short, stout man who couldn’t keep his mouth closed the whole time, I gave him a gentle smile.

“Just wait a moment for me. I’ll make you a hammer much better than the one you’re using now.”

“Y-You can really make it? Truly?”

And so the crafting process began in earnest.

[Using skill ‘Intermediate Item Crafting’ (Lv1).]

[Using Blueprint: ‘Sturdy Steel Hammer.’]

—Bang! Bang!

Boney 6 began hammering away at the iron ingots.

[Completion rate: 30%]

The completion rate steadily increased.

[Completion rate: 50%]

The hammer began to take shape.

[Completion rate: 99%]

After about an hour, a fine-looking hammer was born.

[Completion rate: 100%]

[Acquired ‘Sturdy Steel Hammer’ (C-rank).]

[Proficiency increased by 1.]

Crafting items is a bit tougher.

Unlike smelting or weaving where the items were produced instantly, item crafting required considerably more time.

Not only does it require a lot of money but also time…

Now I understood why high-ranking production-class hunters were so rare and valuable.

“Y-You actually made it. And in such a short time too! It felt like I was… watching the god of blacksmithing himself at work!”

“It’s not that impressive. I’m still a novice.”

It was true. This was my first time crafting an item.

“May I take a look?”

“Go ahead.”

I handed the completed hammer to Dagnar.

[Item: Sturdy Steel Hammer]

[Rank: C]

[Type: Hammer]

[Description: A sturdy hammer made of steel compressed by immense strength. Crafted by ‘Bonehead 6.’]

[Effect 1: Increases strength by 10.]

[Effect 2: 0.1% chance to destroy weapons below C-rank.]

“Oh, this is impressive!”

“It’s not that impressive at all.”

“Indeed, it’s still far from our old dwarven craftsmanship. But…!” Dagnar slowly nodded. “If you can make weapons of this quality in such a short time, it could give us an edge in the war against the elves.”

“Are the dwarves’ weapons really that outdated?”

I found it strange. An item of this level would sell for a decent price on Earth, but it wasn’t exactly rare.

“Hm.” After a moment of hesitation, Dagnar nodded. “Yes, most dwarven weapons are of similar quality to mine… It’s the bitter truth. So I have a request.”

Hopeful anticipation flickered in Dagnar’s eyes.

“May I ask you for a favor? I know it might seem shameless, but we’re in a desperate situation.”

“Please go ahead, I’m listening.”

“We’ve forgotten the art of blacksmithing for over a hundred years. On top of that, the Chief’s stubbornness has forced us to focus solely on physical training. In such a situation, would it be possible for you to craft weapons for us?”

“…!”

I cheered internally. This was an opportunity—a golden opportunity. I could legally and continuously build my skill proficiency using someone else’s materials!

However, I shouldn’t agree too quickly. Even if this was an opportunity for me, it could be a matter of desperation for the dwarves. So I had every right to make more demands. Moreover, according to the system, I was currently their benefactor.

“I could do that.”

“Really?”

“But whoever wants a weapon must bring their own materials to me.”

“So, you’re asking us to mine? That’s only fair! Is that all?”

“Well… A small fee would be appreciated, too.”

“A fee?”

That’s how the world works. Sometimes, charging for your services makes others value them more.

“Yes, well… Like blueprints, blueprints, or perhaps blueprints.”

“Blueprints?”

“Yes, the ones you mentioned trying to restore.”

I hadn’t forgotten what Dagnar said earlier.

“It’s too late to regret now. It’s impossible even if we try to restore things by looking at old records. Skills are best learned through experience.”

Their old records—that’s what I was after. I had a gut feeling that every dwarf had at least one blueprint hidden in their house.

“Hmm… I’ll have to discuss it with the others first.”

* * *

Reaper Scans

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* * *

After Dagnar returned to the village, the dwarves began to gather one by one.

“Benefactor of the tribe! Can you really make weapons for us?”

“My hammer is all worn out! Can you repair it? Or better yet, make me a new one?”

“Me too! Make one for me!”

At first, there weren’t that many. You could call them the early birds. Most approached cautiously, not fully convinced.

I looked at them and smiled. “Yes, I’ll take orders on a first-come, first-served basis. And please bring freshly mined materials from inside, not the ones lying around here.”

The minerals here were communal property, so I was only asking for the effort required to mine them as the price. Think of it as a time-saving fee.

“Got it.”

“We’ll do anything if you’ll make us weapons.”

“I heard from Dagnar that you’ve got some skills.”

“I need to see it with my own eyes! How can a non-dwarf master our smithing techniques?”

“Me too! I won’t believe it until I see it!”

I had a good feeling about this. The fact that they were this interested was already a good sign. In the future, they would all become valuable customers.

—Clang! Clang!

Boney 6 continued hammering away. Time passed, and sturdy steel hammers began piling up.

“Oh, wow! So it’s true!”

“I never thought I’d see blacksmithing again in my lifetime!”

“I-I’m so moved! Why are tears suddenly flowing from my eyes…?”

After fulfilling their mining quota, the dwarves took their new hammers and left.

Word continued to spread. All I had to do was smelt, craft items, and train with my skeletons.

“…My disciple, you really know how to work the system,” the old man exclaimed, impressed after realizing the situation. “I didn’t know you were so passionate about blacksmithing.”

“Oh, come on, elder. Don’t say that. I’m just as passionate about All Techniques, too.”

“I’m not scolding you. I’m sincerely impressed. I didn’t expect you to use this world to build your proficiency like this. Impressive, for a hard-head.”

“…That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

I didn’t neglect my training with the old man either. I made sure to summon him for lessons for an hour each day. As much as Boney 6 was important to me, so was learning All Techniques from the old man.

And after about a week…

[Proficiency increased by 1.]

[The skill level of ‘Intermediate Smelting’ (Lv.1) has increased by 1.]

[The skill level of ‘Intermediate Item Crafting’ (Lv.1) has increased by 1.]

Finally, the two skills that stubbornly refused to level up had reached Level 2.

Moreover…

“Hey, could you take a look at this blueprint?”

“It’s an heirloom that’s been passed down in our family… Can you make this weapon, too?”

One by one, more dwarves began bringing blueprints.

Finally!

I cheered inwardly.