Chapter 97: New Materials Needed
After looking around the warehouse once, Edgar walked out and moved towards his next destination.
He walked along the wall and reached the Agricultural House, where he found Oswald.
The old man turned to look at Edgar and let out a small smile. "Young master."
"Did something happen?" Edgar asked, walking up the ramp. "You don’t--."
His words were cut off when he noticed that all the plants blooming on the first floor were dead.
Oswald walked just after him and let out a small sigh.
"It seems like once you removed the ’Unbroken Fire’ last night, the Eternal Night messed with the plants."
The once-vibrant green leaves had turned ash-grey overnight.
Edgar slowly moved through all the corrupted plants. "Is this supposed to happen?"
"There is a reason all the food is planted inside and close to the fire, young master." Oswald replied slowly. "They always turn out like... this if not cared for properly."
The blonde boy turned his head to look at the old man. "Will this create any problems?"
Oswald shook his head. "We have enough food to keep us afloat for weeks."
The time it would take to replant everything would only be around twenty-four hours.
The only thing Edgar regretted was the loss of all the Nightmare Wheat that he had personally planted.
’...We always lose something...’
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar walked towards old man Oswald, who looked much younger now.
"Please ask all the farmers to work on it quickly." He instructed. "I want it fixed before we face any food crisis."
The old man nodded his head. "I am already working on it."
Edgar stayed at the Agricultural House with his hands folded.
He turned to look at the old man once again.
"How do you think people will react to a very big tree in the middle of the Fortress?"
Faced with such an obscure question, Oswald remained silent for a long moment.
"I don’t think anyone will mind it, young master." He said after a while. "It’s not like they are unaware of your... achievements."
Edgar nodded without saying anything else.
The reason he asked such a question was because of his desire to plant the World Tree Seed as quickly as possible.
Even though most of the information he got from the system about the tree was vague, Edgar still had the feeling that it might be more than just a tree.
In the end, he was still a newbie and had little knowledge about this world.
Planting the World Tree was a gamble, but the reward could be worth the trouble.
’I wonder if Semele has any idea about elves and their homeland.’ Edgar mused to himself.
The oldest pair talked for a while before the farmers returned to work.
Edgar walked away and let them do their work without being a bother.
After inspecting some ⟨Watch Tower⟩s, he reached the Smithing House.
The rhythmic clang of metal echoed from inside the building long before Edgar reached it.
Heat rolled out through the open doorway, carrying with it the smell of molten iron and burning coal.
Edgar stepped inside, having a look around the place for a while.
Sir Steven took notice of Edgar but didn’t stop his work.
The old blacksmith only paused when he was done hammering the steel flat.
He took a piece of cloth and wiped his sweat as he said, "Things were nasty last night, weren’t they?"
"They were." Edgar didn’t try to hide it. "Shit was so scary I thought the Fortress was a lost cause."
The old man chuckled softly. "No one would have blamed you if you had run away."
"Where am I supposed to run during the Eternal Night?"
The blacksmith shrugged. "True." He then looked at Edgar seriously. "What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to check on all the gear." He said. "And I want you to work on a new weapon."
"You can check the gear once it’s all complete." Steven dismissed his words without worry. "As for the weapon, I am all ears."
Edgar nodded his head and picked up a piece of charcoal that had been discarded to the side.
He drew four broad swords, each around two metres long, that he remembered seeing in a movie back on Earth.
The drawing was crude because of his choice of charcoal, but Edgar made it understandable for Steven.
"I want four swords like this." He said, taking a step back.
Steven crouched beside the rough sketch and remained silent for nearly a minute.
"Hm..."
He rubbed his beard before tracing the outline with one thick finger.
"This isn’t a sword." He shook his head. "This is an iron club with an edge."
"...That’s one way to put it."
Steven slowly stood up. "...Who exactly is going to swing something this heavy?"
"I am."
The old blacksmith stared at him, his eyes tracing Edgar’s relatively lean frame.
Sir Steven stayed silent for a while before replying, "I can’t do it."
Edgar raised his brow in surprise. "It’s not that hard."
"It’s not, my lord." Steven said with a trace of annoyance in his tone. "But we don’t have enough materials to create these giant swords."
’...Ah, right.’
Edgar rubbed the back of his head, aware of the problem.
’We don’t have enough metal to work on the things I asked for before.’
"Come back once you have all the items required." Sir Steven said before turning around. "Now, if you will excuse me."
Edgar nodded his head and let the old man do his work in peace.
’...I need to do something about the ores and metals.’
Even though most of the things Edgar had were enough to run a Fortress, he still needed weapons.
Things would only get more difficult if he had all the ideas but not enough materials to bring them to life.
’What a pain...’
He let out a sigh and walked towards the left side of the Smithing House.
There, the Level 2 ⟨Tower of Souls⟩, built solely to defend the Fortress, stood.
Right beside it were the two dead bodies of the Commanders and several other bodies.
Edgar smiled and rolled up his sleeves.
’This better be worth it.’