Chapter 12
After raising my stats to their target values through exercise, the first thing I did was find a place that could serve as both my home and workshop.
Unlike before, I expected to work on extra-large sculptures frequently from now on.
I'd also be dealing with stone and monster materials.
There were many things I needed to consider.
Fortunately, one of the guards noticed what I was worrying about and reported it to Kim Sang-hyeon.
That solved the workshop problem surprisingly quickly.
"I heard you're looking for a suitable workshop property. If you don't mind, may I recommend one?"
He told me Yeonwoo Guild owned a property they were willing to sell.
I had no reason to refuse.
The first reason was that it was close to the guild.
The closer I am, the easier it'll be for Yeonwoo Guild to protect me.
The second reason was the photograph of the property Kim Sang-hyeon showed me.
A stylish single-story house.
And behind it, a massive warehouse.
It was exactly the kind of place I'd dreamed about.
To obtain my dream house and the land beneath it, I had to spend the money from selling the Scale Sword, the payment from Shin Ha-gyeon's private commission...
And finally, part of the money I'd earned by selling the mana stones given to me by Taepyeong Guild Master Kim Gi-hun.
I paid for it all in cash.
I'd be able to make money again easily from now on, so I closed my eyes and accepted the massive expense.
"Thank you very much, Guild Master Kim Gi-hun of Taepyeong Guild."
I gave the business card a tiny bow before placing it back inside a drawer in my newly purchased worktable.
If I had my way, I would've accepted a commission from him immediately.
Unfortunately, I had something far more urgent to do first.
"All right. Shall we get started?"
Now that I'd raised my stats to the target levels through training, it was time to make my personal sculpting tools.
And while I was at it, I'd make some equipment I could wear at all times too.
I examined the ebony wood and Portuguese marble I'd purchased right after moving in.
Every piece was top quality.
Shin Ha-gyeon's gift of gathering reporters around me had helped more than I'd expected.
"Oh, you're the first person in our country with an S-Class production skill... right?"
Conversations with dealers usually began like that.
Then, after exchanging a few words, they ended something like this.
"Haha! If anything, it's an honor for us to be able to help a crafter like you! Ah, if it's all right, perhaps later at a gathering we could..."
And suddenly, materials that had previously been impossible to obtain somehow ended up in my possession.
In the form of perfectly legitimate sales contracts.
Obtaining wood large enough for full-block carving, or sculpture-grade stone like marble, already required specialized brokers and several layers of personal connections if you wanted top-quality materials.
My newly acquired fame had turned out to be a remarkably useful business card.
So fame doesn't only help when selling artwork...?
There was a reason Shin Ha-gyeon had called it a gift.
After staring at the large materials for a while, I turned around.
Several small blocks of ebony were sitting on the worktable.
The shop that sold me the sculpting-grade ebony had thrown them in for free.
"I was going to split up the larger ebony anyway. Guess I saved some wood."
First, the basic carving tools.
These were the carving knives used on relatively soft materials like wood or soap.
Depending on their shapes, they were called spear chisels, round chisels, shallow gouges, flat chisels, curved gouges, V-tools, and so on.
It was good to make several round and flat chisels in different sizes.
Ah, and I needed a carving knife too...
If I'm doing this anyway, I should make them comfortable to use.
Maybe I should tailor them exactly to my palm length and my usual habits.
I first rounded out the wood with a carving knife.
Then I measured the length of my hand and marked it with a pencil.
Using those marks, I gradually carved down the section connecting the blade to the handle.
After shaping the most important part, the blade, I refined the handle.
Thinking about how I usually gripped carving tools, I carved shallow grooves in several places along the handle.
Then I shaped the end into something resembling a rounded horn.
Basic carving tools were usually held like pencils or gripped close to the blade with both hands.
So I had marked the areas where force naturally gathered according to my hand shape and habits.
A little while later, I straightened my back after having hunched so low over the worktable that I'd nearly buried my face in it.
One of the long ebony blocks had taken on the shape of a spear chisel.
"Having more Strength really does make this easier."
Ebony was famously hard.
One of its nicknames was ironwood.
Its beautiful black color, befitting the name ebony, made it extremely popular.
But that same hardness made it difficult to carve.
Without proper technique, it was easy to injure yourself.
Detailed shaping was difficult too.
On the other hand, that also meant the finished product was extremely durable.
Before awakening, I never would've chosen ebony for carving tools.
Money aside, I had so many things to make today.
Why would I have picked such troublesome wood?
But now things were different.
I had the technique.
The strength.
The stamina.
And even the money.
"Phew... Pygmalion!"
Crack...!
Soon, a fresh status window appeared in front of me.
[Custom Carving Tool - 6mm Round Chisel (C+)]
A custom carving tool made to fit Do Hwa-in's hand.
Hard.
Created by Do Hwa-in.
Strength +2
I immediately inspected the upper section first.
Replica warning?
None.
It included the description Hard.
And my name was listed as its creator.
Then I looked down and confirmed the words Strength +2.
"Good start."
Success.
I clenched a small fist and gave it a little pump.
This was an excellent beginning.
If only the rest come out like this too.
I quickly adjusted my posture and began carving another tool.
The handles would all use the same basic shape.
Some time passed.
Again and again, brilliant flashes filled the workshop.
[Custom Carving Tool - 24mm Flat Chisel (C+)]
[Custom Carving Tool - 15mm Round Chisel (C+)]
[Custom Carving Tool - 18mm Shallow Gouge (C+)]
·
·
·
"Haa! Hah..."
[Your Mana stat has increased by 1 through repeated skill usage.]
THUD!
A sudden wave of dizziness overwhelmed me, and my upper body slammed against the worktable.
Flutter!
"What happened?! What happened?! ...Dad!"
Something warm, but still cooler than a living bird, pressed against the back of my neck.
Wow. That was seriously close.
The dizziness itself had startled me.
But the brief instant when my vision went completely black was genuinely frightening.
Even though my Mana rose by 1 and I recovered almost immediately, my heart continued pounding wildly.
Thump. Thump. Thump...
I stared at the notification telling me my Mana had increased.
This happened last time too... The more I think about it, using my skill often matters, but pushing my Mana close to its limit seems to increase it much faster.
In a way, it resembled the principle behind muscle growth.
Push yourself close to the limit.
Then recover.
Of course, if I completely drained my Mana, I'd apparently experience horrifying pain.
So I would have to control it carefully.
"Peep! Peeeeep!"
Even after I raised my body from the table, I didn't react for a while.
Chaeri began crying.
Apparently, she was worried I'd lost consciousness while still sitting up.
I carefully reached behind me and stroked her.
Her cries gradually quieted.
"...You're not dead, right?"
"Y-Yeah... Ahem. I'm fine. I got too excited and forgot I needed to keep track of my remaining Mana before using the skill."
"...Dad is stupid!"
"Hahaha. Sorry."
Even while comforting Chaeri, part of my mind was already considering solutions.
Should I work while drinking Mana Potions? I'd basically be buying time with money. But that might slow down the rate at which my Mana stat increases...
Hmm.
Right.
Progress requires effort.
"Since I have plenty of time anyway, I'll raise my Mana too."
Once I got a feel for it, I thought I'd be able to regulate myself properly.
...Still, I should keep a few Mana Potions nearby for emergencies.
Remembering that chilling sensation, I stroked Chaeri with even more enthusiasm.
Furry friends really were the best.
Still, I got an unexpected result.
I pulled Chaeri closer against my chest while using my other hand to pick up one of the completed carving tools.
[Custom Carving Tool - 15mm Round Chisel (C+)]
A custom carving tool made to fit Do Hwa-in's hand.
Hard.
Created by Do Hwa-in.
*Other items exist that can be linked into a set.
If you name the set, part of the status window will change.
Strength +2, Stamina +1]
When I focused on the set portion of the status window, my gaze was naturally drawn toward the other carving tools resting on the table.
It felt as though someone were manipulating my optic nerves.
"A set item..."
Set items were rarely discovered inside Gates.
From what I'd heard, they didn't all come from the same Gate.
Instead, individual pieces appeared in Assault-Type Gates that shared similar ecosystems.
The reason even I knew about them was simple.
When you only had one piece, the effect could be negligible.
But once every piece was collected and the set was completed, an additional effect appeared.
Sometimes you apparently hit the jackpot.
"Could my carving tools be the same?"
My eyes naturally locked onto the sentence:
If you name the set, part of the status window will change.
"Hmm... I'll finish making everything first."
I deliberately forced myself to think about something else.
There was still a lot to make.
Besides, if I let my imagination run wild and start fantasizing about some incredible jackpot, I'd only suffer later.
Instead, I thought about Pygmalion.
There was something I'd realized while making several carving tools.
Apparently, the abilities and skills attached to an item were influenced by what I wished for at the moment I activated Pygmalion.
The evidence was this.
[Custom Carving Tool - 24mm Flat Chisel (D+)]
A custom carving tool made to fit Do Hwa-in's hand.
Created by Do Hwa-in.
Skill: "A Single Line"
*Once, and only once, it can cut one chosen object.
Until the skill is used, it cannot affect anything.]
A disposable item.
This 24mm flat chisel had been the tool I made immediately after the 3mm round chisel.
At the time, I used Pygmalion while thinking something along the lines of, Wouldn't it be nice if I got one ridiculously awesome skill?
And this was what came out.
Worse, despite having the same basic description as the other carving tools, it couldn't even be included in the set.
"Tsk. It's basically a one-use box cutter. Is this what people call something too good to throw away but too useless to use?"
More precisely, Pygmalion seemed to reflect what I wanted to some extent at the moment I used it.
I didn't know how closely my wishes matched the final result.
And I had no idea how to increase that match rate.
Should I perform some dramatic prayer every time I activated my skill?
Still, this discovery helped me understand why the gerbera bouquet and Scale Sword had gained the abilities they did.
For the gerbera bouquet, the only thing I'd really wanted was for the flowers not to wilt.
So all it needed to do was function as a lush bouquet.
The Scale Sword, on the other hand, was a replica, meaning it had a clear original.
