chapter 218 – Building a Castle(6)

Just as Kang Shin-hyuk awoke a new form of power in his Golden Dragon energy, there were various ways of dealing with magical power in the world. The same went for the flame that the Yeomin dealt with. Their energy, named photobase, boasted very strong heat and destructive properties, but it also had the unexpected property of causing certain changes in certain substances.

[Can it be processed into metal again?]

“No, itcan’t.”

[I’ll show you again. How about this feeling of energy right next toyou?]

“Hot, hot!” An extremely excited Kwati lit a fire next to him. Even his SS-rank flame resistance couldn’t completely block it, which was frightening.

“Returning what has changed is different than changing it in the first place. I don’t need to worry about that. If it’s fire, you can makeit?”

[We’ll need our energy to build the walls, right?]

“Sure… could you light a flame from a little further? I want to analyze it.”

[As much as you want.]

Kwati’s attitude had become rather cooperative after she confirmed Shin-hyuk’s abilities. With her help, he analyzed the photobase for a few minutes. With his spiritual power active, he could read the limits and potential of her abilities, though Kwati was unaware of it.

“Okay, with this…” Kang Shin-hyuk produced a notebook and started to design it. The structure would be simple; the point was that it needed to mass-produce building materials for the wall. That meant bricks. He needed to configure an inlet the soil would go into, a frame to process it into bricks, and an outlet that would produce thebrick.

“How fast can the bricks… no, how well can the artifact withstand theenergy…”

“Grandpa is awesome, but I’ve no clue what he’s doing!” Kang Shin-hyuk patted Shu’s head as he focused on his design.

“Shu iscute!”

“Am I not? Am I not?” Yeah, he still didn’t know how old she was.

[So, is itpossible?]

“Yes, I think it will. But it’ll be difficult to make it work forever. Somehow, while I’m here, I have to complete the wall.”

[If you can stop those damn lizards, we will cooperate with whatever you haveplanned.]

Kang Shin-hyuk decided to start by making a new alloy that could withstand their energy. Once the explosive gold was made into the metal with the application of heat, it hardened instantaneously, making it virtually impossible to alloy. Or so everyone thought.

[How… how?]

“It’s not that difficult. I just persuaded this guy.” The explosive gold flowed red in its liquid state. It was only the Yeomin who could make it, but they were seeing it in a liquid state for the first time. It melted quickly and hardened near immediately, so it couldn’t be processed well. But that was solved by Kang Shin-hyuk.

[You convinced the metal? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.]

“If it’s grandpa, then it’s doable. He’s the smartest in the Hero Universe!” Shu was impressed with the idea that he had communicated with the metal and seemed to believe him completely. Kwati was no fool to deny the obvious results, but she was curious, so she dipped her hand in the metal. It was ridiculously hot, but she was fine.

[The molten metal is flowing like a liquid… but it’s impossible to keep it going.]

“I’ve already completely analyzed the materials. I’ve brought everything else I need…” Kang Shin-hyuk produced the iron bars he prepared and threw them into the molten liquid. Each one was a metal that Kang Shin-hyuk had refined himself, so there were no impurities, and as they set, the metal began to emit a strange light. Kang Shin-hyuk produced a beautiful blue orb at the sight of it, pouring the magical power in it into the liquid metal. The light emitted by the metal turned dark in an instant. Nodding, he stored the water orb back into hisinventory.

“Okay, I think it’s done now.

[You’re saying you made an alloy out of that nonsense?]

“I set it in the proportions I thought fit best. If it’s wrong, then we’ll need to go through trial and error a few more times.”

[Ha… it’s soridiculous.]

“Wow, the color changed!” Shu’s cheers ceased as Kwati struggled with her excitement. The metal had turned into a surprising black color, gradually hardening in accordance with the shape’s frame.

[Ice SaltGold]

[SS+ Rank]

[An alloy whose properties were changed by mixing various metals with explosive gold. It transmits all kinds of properties, including heat, but the form never changes. It is not easy to destroy and will block the cold, although its shape will change easily.]

“Okay, it worked. Using the water orb was the right answer.”

[Anvil, this… it’s a really different metal from explosive gold…]

“But why did you make this, grandpa? It’s not usable as a weapon; even if it does block the cold, it means nothing if the shape collapses.” Kwati looked at him in disbelief. He had just made a perfect alloy by randomly mixingmetals.

“Think about it, Shu. Now it will never melt in theirflames.”

“Of course it won’t melt even in the fire lizards flames…so, are you building a wall with this? It will keep the lizards out, but Jormungand…”

“Not a wall, but a machine to produce the materials to make one.”

“Well…aha!” Shu, having thought for a long time, finally clapped her hands as she realized his plan.

“You’re making a frame for bricks out of this!”

“That’s right. Shu is really cute!” He had found a suitable item on the trading board. It was a frost glove that expelled C-class cold air when worn. It was also only about 1.2 million HP, so it was cheap. When he grasped the lump of ice salt gold, it distorted immediately. Now it was as malleable as clay, exactly asintended.

“Now, let’s make it. It probably won’t take long, so Kwati, work with theYeomin.”

[Work? How much do you need?]

“As much as possible. Everyone has nothing to do anyway; Shu took care of all the fighting.”

“Because I’mstrong!”

[We’re strong too! Those lizards ignore fire!]

“So work instead, until the basin is noticeably lower.” Kang Shin-hyuk began to combine and carve out chunks of the ice salt gold to create a large kiln. It wasn’t a kiln that made clay, but rather one that carved bricks out of explosivegold.

“What are they,grandpa?”

“Orbs.” After shaping the giant kiln, what he took out were three orbs: the water orb, the earth orb, and the Great Heavenly Spirit. The water orb would give energy to the explosive gold until it hardened, while the earth orb would strengthen it. The Great Heavenly Spirit would serve as a medium to amplify the energy given to the kiln.

“Wow, the energy of all three isn’t that great, but the nature is?! The only one that can make such a thing is Anvil!”

“The only one I made myself was the Great Heavenly Spirit.”

“It’s the best one!” He gently placed the three orbs into the kiln, a subtle luster flowing through it. Kang Shin-hyuk laid his hands on it, feeling intuitively that he had been successful.

[The Brazier of Nephritis]

[Cannot beconfirmed]

[A furnace that can handle all the heart in the world. It can contain the flames of myth. However, it is vulnerable to cold and cannot protect the craftsman from theflames.]

[The performance is maintained by the exquisite balance of the three treasures. It is very likely that others without the craftsman’s spiritual power and traits cannot handle it properly.]

[Currently, it is possible to produce objects of a specific shape (cube) with the frame installed. The production speed is three times faster due to the furnace’s traits.]

“What?” He intended to make a kiln, but something bigger came out. Brazier of Nephritis. Wasn’t that a pointlessly grandiose name? Unlike the expected form of ice salt gold, it was instead a blazing red color.

[Haaah!]

[Look atthat…!]

[That’s attention-grabbing.]

[I want to go inside.]

Were those guyscrazy?

“Hey, stop, it’s not a bathroom!”

[What is this? Are you sure you can put dirt inthis?]

“Yes. Divide the teams into three from now on. One team pours in the dirt; one team provides flames. And the remaining team…” Kang Shin-hyuk drew out the blueprint of a huge city wall around thebasin.

“Will build the walls like this. Simple, isn’t it?”

[Are you going to work us into the ground?]

Kang Shin-hyuk raised his head wordlessly and beckoned to the bottom of the mountain, where more lizards were already climbing up. This time they were bigger.

“If you want to continue fighting them, do whatever youwant.”

[… Let’s test itonce.]

Three seconds later, the explosive gold was refined into bricks. Kwati sighed and divided the Yeomin into three groups, seeing the bricks wouldn’t melt even in her flames.

“Grandpa, shall we catch the big one over there and grillit?”

“Choose the bestone.”

“Yes!”

Thus, the wall constructionbegan.