015. Oil

tick tick-

The pendulum of the grandfather clock placed in one of the rooms is shaking.

Taktak-

The gentle noise blends with Kim Woo-jin’s fingers tapping on the table.

In the world, there is a trade-off. Nothing can exist that is only good. If there is, there must have been a sacrifice of someone unknown behind it.

So is the current situation.

Purgatory is strong.

As it is a prison built to confine the warriors, there is nothing that is not sturdy from the outer wall to the inside facilities.

It is incomparable to the air defense shelters made with earth’s technology.

However, if the subject of the attack is the World Tree, the story is a little different. world tree. The divine tree surrounding purgatory was well-deserved of its undeserved name.

Branches and roots clamped down on the purgatory, and the outer walls as well as the interior were partially damaged. The wave of mana overloaded Purgatory’s management system and almost paralyzed it.

Fortunately, it did not touch the solitary management system, the last and last resort.

There is no indication that anything more will be done.

However, that does not mean that the fact that some of the collapsed parts need to be restored is not going away. And Kim Woo-jin’s worries were here.

“Using the prisoners will cause problems too, right?”

“There must be a strong chance of that.”

Purgatory is a special prison with magic circles plastered on its outer walls. There is nothing that I would not pay close attention to, and there was no place that did not use magic.

If prisoners are mobilized for restoration work, they will inevitably be caught. No matter how much chores are done and important parts are excluded, since they are warriors, they have to assume the worst.

However, if the prisoners are not mobilized, we don’t know how long it will take to restore purgatory. As it was specially built, it takes a lot of time and effort to restore it.

The difference between adding and not adding high-quality human resources called warrior dwarves would make a considerable difference in time.

But it’s not right to think negatively, because broken parts will eventually make jailbreak easier.

In the end, it is up to you to take the risk and recover quickly, or to recover slowly and take the risk in the meantime.

It is also one-on-one.

“The most certain thing is to keep the prisoners in solitary confinement without using them.”

“And the young plants will all die.”

Unlike the monsters at the barn, which are good if fed on time, the plants in the gardening class are all delicate. If it is not properly managed, it is not strange if it dies like a sunfish.

Youngcho is not difficult to grow for nothing.

Prison guards are impossible. They are not suitable for growing young plants.

“…Okay, I’ve decided.”

long time for that After much thought, Kim Woo-jin came to a conclusion.

* * *

“We will resume our service from today.”

In the lobby on the first floor of the prison, not many prisoners come.

At most, the first day of admission, the day of being led by the convoy and handed over to the prison guards, is all.

In addition, when going out, prisoners go out through the back door or side door, not the front door on the first floor.

Why do they do that, the prisoners don’t know why. I just want to do it.

But that’s why it was strange that they were gathering in a lobby where they didn’t usually gather. It is also the case that the deputy director, rather than a prison guard, directly comes out and leads.

The prisoners noticed that something had happened and was happening.

“Prisoners 1088, 1099, 1152, 1169, 1191, and finally 1178, forward.”

Six numbers were called. They were all elves with pointy ears.

“All of you go to the gardening class. Any questions?”

“You’re going to entrust us with the gardening class?”

At Siena Olm’s question, the deputy director nodded.

“The director said that if there was a noticeable achievement, he would be rewarded sufficiently.”

“I am Soji.”

“Prisoner number 1178, Julia Karsen. For the time being, the holding business is suspended. Let’s go to the horticultural squad.”

“I don’t understand that.”

Yulia offered the seed of the World Tree to become Soji. Even if it was part of the plan, it doesn’t change the value of the seed itself.

It was unreasonable profiteering to end the value of such seeds already.

“I said for a while. And in the first place, this is not a matter of wanting your understanding.”

However, prison was originally a place where such nonsensical things were done, and the warden’s words were the law.

“Everything else is dedicated to restoring the broken prison. Please follow me.”

Among the 33 prisoners, 27 prisoners, excluding the high elves and 6 elves, followed the deputy warden and the guards.

The stump of a tree whose top was cut off. Huge trees stacked on one side. A pit dug here and there to pull out roots and a leveled land.

The place where everything was jumbled was the place where the prisoners, including Derkain, had been released countless times.

“What is all this?”

But it was a little different from before.

After logging is finished, the ground is dug up, the base is pulled out, and leveling is done. Because of this, it becomes an empty field.

In the place where there should be nothing, there were things that showed their presence, as if they had been there from the beginning.

A mountain of materials made up of ores, trees, and reagents.

And at the top sat the person who called them here. With a blue bird on her shoulder.

“It is the material.”

Tak, Kim Woo-jin landed lightly.

The eyes of the prisoners moved from the mountains of materials to Kim Woo-jin.

“You guys, make a workshop out of this. Refine the materials and proceed to repair Purgatory.”

“…are you asking us to repair purgatory?”

“yes.”

“Are you kidding?”

“Does it look like you’re joking?”

Derkhain smiled dejectedly. Of course you have to do it Nothing else but to do.

He doesn’t want to go to the punishment room, but he doesn’t want to lose the power of a warrior and get out of prison, so he has no choice but to do it if the warden tells him to.

However, there is a distinct difference between being released and repairing in purgatory. I didn’t look closely, but he was an excellent craftsman and a magic engineer. You can get a rough sense of what kind of structure Purgatory is and how complex it is.

Each of the spells and magic circles inscribed there supports Purgatory, puts pressure on prisoners, and makes prison guards comfortable.

And repairing the broken Purgatory means giving you access to those spells.

I won’t openly entrust the important part to the prisoners, but all of them are warriors with experience saving a world. They are so competent that you can figure out their own structure just by looking at them.

“Why, don’t you want to?”

Derkhain couldn’t find anything to say at the question that came back.

A cheeky guy who shows his manners in private interviews, but in a public setting where everyone is together, he bluntly speaks plain language.

I thought prisoners hated breaking out, but didn’t they?

“Even making workshops?”

“I know you have to set up a workshop to properly repair it.”

“That is not wrong. There is definitely a big difference between having a workshop and not having one. Especially in purgatory, if there is no workshop, it is no different than just putting mud on a ruined house.”

The presence or absence of proper facilities is great.

“But is it really okay?”

In other words, workshops are needed not only in Purgatory, but also when making other advanced equipment. And that was no different from giving the dwarves infinite possibilities.

It was the warden who had prevented the building of a workshop because he knew that until now.

“It’s okay. I, the warden, said I would give permission, but no one would vomit.”

Kim Woo-jin pointed to one side.

“Make a workshop over there. There will be more than enough material. Instead, include the guards in all productions, including blueprints, and report them.”

“Remember.”

“I’m sure you’d better not play crap. Purgatory and I won’t be easy enough to get out easily just because I made something.”

After saying that, Kim Woo-jin disappeared.

“No. 1077. you are the foreman Lead the prisoners and build the workshop first. If necessary, you may ask for help from prison guards. However, everything must be properly reported.”

“Sure.”

Derkain held a large piece of paper and called the dwarves together.

“I’ll start by making the blueprints. Whatever the reason, the opportunity has come, so grab it. Didn’t everyone think it would be nice to have at least one studio?”

“Yes.”

“of course.”

“As big, wide and good as possible. The ingredients seem to be sufficient anyway.”

“Yes.”

Derkhain looked at the guards and lowered his voice.

“This is an opportunity. Whether there is a workshop or not, it means a lot to us. But don’t be too rash at first. Maybe it’s a trap deliberately dug.”

“…You mean the warden found out about our plans?”

“I don’t know. But there’s nothing good about being careful, right?”

First of all, it is right to be careful.

* * *

ground pounding-

When a hammer and iron collide, sparks fly and emit shock.

Once, one time piles up to become dozens of times, and those dozens of times pile up to become a constant flow.

It’s a kind of sense of beat. Sometimes light, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, sometimes angry.

The hammer contains the emotions of the blacksmith. That’s why it’s beautiful, and that’s why it contains a lifetime.

earth-

Derkhain’s hammer was rusty. I can’t remember the last time I held a hammer.

But even though the head forgot, the body remembers. It’s impossible to easily forget what you’ve done your whole life, what you’ve made into your business.

The movement, which was awkward at first, soon turned into a skillful one. The noise that had been squeaking like a cacophony became a magnificent movement.

When it blended with the heat of the furnace and the flowing sweat, Dercain felt that he was alive.

I thought I would never pick up a hammer again. I thought I would never go back to the studio again.

How could I have forgotten this pleasure.

How could I live without ignoring it? screams of the body.

The desires that I had tried to ignore and push back boiled over.

Even if there are blacksmiths who took a break from workshop work, there are no blacksmiths who quit work altogether.

The Dwarfs are like that. Once you grab the hammer, you can’t let go until you die. They are dwarfs who enjoy creating works by visiting the studio until the moment they die.

Derkain realized that he was one of those common dwarves.

‘Was it this?’

Doing so, I got a sense of what the warden was aiming for.

drug. To the dwarves, the work of the workshop is like a drug. The dwarves won’t be able to go back to their original situation because they managed to bring out the memories they had barely turned away from.

It might be a hasty generalization, but at least Derkhain did.

‘Jailbreak.’

I wanted to do it anytime. Prepared calmly while waiting for the right time.

That day 20 years ago. Twenty years have passed since the day Purgatory burned and the moment I first met the warden.

I despaired of my crushed hopes and it took me five years to come to my senses. And prepared for 15 years. Slowly, without haste, but surely.

‘If you make a few tools, it will become more certain.’

maybe it’s a trap No, the possibility of that is extremely high.

However, the embers that barely survived in the dying heart can no longer burn if they are extinguished again.

Even if this was what the warden was aiming for, it couldn’t be helped. Anyway, the future left for him is not that long.

It is now. It must be now or not.

“Derkain-nim. Could you please make a magic amplifier? I think I almost found the sure way you said then.”

An encounter with a rookie human prisoner fueled his spark even more.