Chapter 34
The next day.
Northern Rock Tribe.
“OOOOOH! It’s finally finished!”
Jack shouted.
His entire body was covered in dirt.
“Shaman! Chief! We actually did it!”
Topu hugged him.
“It finally looks safe now! At least we won’t get eaten by monsters while sleeping!”
The two cried tears of joy together near the village entrance.
Why Topu had remained here for days and voluntarily joined the heavy labor...
I had no idea.
Still...
More hands meant faster work.
So I wasn’t complaining.
“Hiiing...”
Beside them...
Topu’s old donkey, Donkey, staggered while breathing heavily.
Because its owner had become a merchant who specialized in barbarians...
Poor Donkey had spent days pulling carts of heavy construction materials.
It had already been old.
Now it looked like it had aged another ten years in only a few days.
Wow.
We actually did it.
I stood with my hands behind my back and looked around.
Only a few days ago...
The village had been surrounded by a rotten wooden fence.
It looked like even Donkey could have broken through it with a simple body slam.
Now...
A thick, sturdy log wall completely surrounded the village.
“You worked hard.”
I nodded.
“It’s a hundred times better than before.”
The sturdy Steelwood logs that Zakan and Malko had cut in the forest.
A cart filled with iron nails and materials Topu received from the Lord of Teren.
Jack’s carpentry skills.
And the delicate craftsmanship of the Beetle Craftsmen Guild.
All of those had come together to create this wall.
Raise front leg.
The leader beetle hung from the top of the wall.
It proudly raised one front leg.
Then danced as if asking what I thought.
Jack scratched his head.
“The barbarians are so insanely... Ah! I mean, impressively strong!”
He laughed awkwardly.
“Raising the pillars was incredibly easy thanks to them.”
Then he looked at the beetles.
“And the Beetle Craftsmen are truly extraordinary.”
Jack was acting humble.
But his own skill had impressed me far more than expected.
When I first put him in charge...
I had wondered whether he would waste time and run away.
I wasn’t even sure if he was truly skilled.
Yet now...
He had become one of the most important brains in the village.
He could squeeze one hundred and twenty percent value out of terrible materials.
“Jack, you did your share as well.”
I looked directly at him.
“You’re an excellent carpenter.”
“Sh-Shaman...!”
Jack’s eyes filled with tears.
My praise wasn’t empty.
The Steelwood pieces he designed locked together precisely like blocks.
Iron nails and Iron-Sinew Kudzu ropes bound them tightly.
The result was a defensive wall sturdy enough to resist most ordinary monster charges.
“I...”
Jack sniffled.
“I never thought I would be able to work as a carpenter again.”
He wiped his eyes.
“Every day feels like I have been born again because you believed in me.”
He bowed.
“Everything is thanks to you, Shaman.”
“Good. Keep working hard.”
Leaving the emotional Jack behind...
I inspected the huge gate blocking the village entrance.
The beetles had amazingly carved the pieces of metal Topu brought from Teren.
They had created proper hinges and rotating joints.
Thanks to that...
Even though the Steelwood gate was thick and incredibly heavy...
It opened smoothly.
Of course, this can’t compare to the stone fortresses or iron defenses in the center of the Empire.
But who cares?
Compared to a few days ago...
This was incredible progress.
Later...
Once we expanded the farms and earned more money...
We could build kilns.
Bake bricks.
Recruit blacksmiths.
Then upgrade the village again.
And every improvement...
Raised my chances of survival.
Good!
Let’s keep working!
Jack stood beside me.
“We didn’t have many proper tools or metal parts, so it may look a little rough.”
Then he proudly struck the wall.
“But the Steelwood pillars are buried deep into the ground and perfectly linked together.”
He grinned.
“Most monsters will never break through this!”
“WAAAAH!”
The children who had worked on the construction raised their fists.
“Rock Tribe is best!”
“We are smart barbarians who fixed our own home!”
For barbarians who had spent their entire lives sleeping in freezing open plains...
How precious must this sturdy wall feel?
Zakan placed one thick hand against the wall.
His usual expression remained flat.
“Everyone worked hard.”
His voice was dry.
But...
I noticed a slight tremble in his eyes.
As the Chief responsible for this village...
Perhaps the thought that his people could finally sleep safely behind strong walls...
Was more emotional than he wanted to show.
I smiled.
Then spent a long time quietly watching Zakan stand before the new wall.
A short while later.
This thing...
No matter how many times I see it, I can’t get used to it.
CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH.
GULP.
“MOOO!”
The giant cow-headed plant slowly wandered around the village.
The Special Crop born from the Ancient Seed...
The Crunch-Crunch Moo Flower.
It was diligently protecting the area from pests while filling its stomach.
Its vine-like tentacles snatched Three-Stripe Piercing Mosquitoes from the air.
It also grabbed grasshopper scouts.
Then...
Straight into the mouth.
Our farm now had a wonderful natural pest-control system.
The potato sprouts were growing beautifully.
And...
At one corner of the field...
A small black furball lay comfortably in the cool shade.
Its stomach rested against the soil.
The legendary Divine Beast.
The young wolf that had defeated the mutant grasshopper.
I had expected it to immediately return to the forest as usual.
But it hadn’t.
Instead...
It remained at the edge of my farm.
Its blue eyes stared directly at me.
Why isn’t this thing returning to the forest?
Did it decide to live here?
I stopped pulling weeds for a moment.
Then watched it.
Did it like the village?
There was plenty of delicious food here.
And plenty of barbarians.
Still...
I had no way to understand the heart of a beast.
So I returned to work.
[C-Rank Potato x20 obtained.]
[Achievement unlocked! Barbarian First! You are the first barbarian to harvest a C-Rank Crop. Experience gained.]
[Title acquired! ‘Now a True Intermediate Farmer!’ Stat Point +1, Fame +1, Cultivation Speed +5%.]
“Whoa!”
I lifted a dirt-covered potato.
“Finally! A C-Rank Potato!”
Now that my Potato Understanding had passed sixty percent...
C-Rank Potatoes were beginning to appear.
“BARBARIAN!”
[Skill ‘Peeking’ activated.]
==========
【Target Information】
• Name: Potato
• Grade: C-Rank
【Details】
• Fullness x2: Keeps you full throughout the entire day.
• Calories x2: Contains twice the calories of an ordinary potato and provides long-lasting stamina.
==========
“...”
Potatoes were mostly carbohydrates.
Being twice as filling was useful...
But for barbarians who burned through energy after swinging an axe a few times...
That fullness disappeared quickly.
But twice the calories?
That was different.
It meant the energy efficiency itself had doubled.
Doesn’t that mean...
My barbarian army can fight twice as long without getting tired?!
That’s good.
Mercenaries.
Knights.
Even common laborers who performed heavy physical work.
What food could be better?
It might not equal expensive meat...
