Chapter 47
When Jack and I entered the village...
Yangko and the other children were sitting quietly in the middle of the village.
Zakan had apparently scolded them severely yesterday.
Normally...
The instant they saw me, they would run over, grab my legs, and fool around.
Today...
They only glanced at me nervously.
They sat on the ground drawing in the dirt.
Cute.
And headache-inducing.
I crouched in the middle of them.
Then called Zakan and Jack over.
I roughly flattened the ground.
Then picked up a straight stick.
The children immediately became curious.
Jack leaned closer.
“What are you drawing, Shaman?”
I drew a large square.
The Rock Tribe village.
“The children already dug up half the village.”
Then...
“So we might as well use this chance to remove the old tents and properly redesign the entire village.”
Zakan looked at the drawing.
“The layout you mentioned before?”
“Right.”
I looked toward Jack.
“Jack, pay close attention.”
Then...
“You’re going to supervise this construction.”
First...
I drew two thick, straight lines from the gate toward the center of the village.
“We’ll build a main road from the gate to the central square.”
Then...
“Pack the soil until it becomes hard.”
I made the road wide.
Jack tilted his head.
“Shaman, we don’t have wagons.”
Then...
“We don’t even have animals that pull cargo.”
He pointed toward the drawing.
“Why make the road this wide?”
Jack scratched his chin.
“Wouldn’t it be better to use the space for another log house?”
I tapped the road with my stick.
“Don’t only think about what we need today.”
Then...
“Think about the future.”
Jack listened.
“If the amount of supplies entering the Rock Tribe increases, a narrow entrance will prevent carts and wagons from entering.”
Then...
“We can’t leave every wagon outside the wall and carry every piece of cargo inside by hand.”
Jack blinked.
“The amount of supplies will increase?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“One day, two or three cargo wagons might enter at the same time.”
Then...
“If the roads are narrow, movement becomes a mess.”
I pointed toward the road.
“Make it wide enough for two cargo wagons to pass beside each other.”
City planning was half road design.
Back in South Korea...
Roads were constantly being torn apart and widened because someone had failed to plan ahead.
We’ll do it properly from the beginning.
Jack nodded slowly.
“I see.”
Then...
“Now that you explain it, planning carefully from the start really does make sense.”
He wrote notes in his small notebook.
I continued drawing.
“Along both sides of the main road, we’ll create a commercial and workshop district.”
Small boxes appeared beside the road.
“Mari’s workshop.”
Another.
“Storage space for Topu’s goods.”
Then another on the opposite side.
I looked toward Zakan.
“And here...”
I pointed.
“A forge.”
Zakan crossed his arms.
“A forge?”
Then...
“I understand that we need a blacksmith to process the steel balls created by the Pink Smilers.”
His expression remained flat.
“But where will we find a blacksmith in the Northern Frontier?”
“We’ll find one somehow.”
“Do you have a plan?”
No.
Absolutely not.
Why would a skilled blacksmith voluntarily come to this barren, monster-filled Frontier?
Still...
We definitely need one eventually.
I answered,
“For now, we’ll store the steel balls.”
Then...
“When the time comes, we will definitely bring in a blacksmith.”
Zakan still looked doubtful.
I moved my stick toward the center of the map.
“The main road ends here.”
I drew a large open area.
“This will be the village square.”
Then...
“The Chief’s residence will be built here.”
Another large structure.
“And beside it, a village hall that also serves as a communal dining hall.”
Zakan frowned.
“A communal dining hall?”
He looked toward the current fire pit.
“Don’t we already gather around the bonfire to eat?”
I clicked my tongue.
“Will you sit outside eating under snow during a blizzard?”
Zakan fell silent.
“We need a roof.”
Then...
“A proper stove.”
I continued.
“Even during terrible weather, everyone should be able to gather somewhere warm and eat together.”
Zakan nodded.
“...A good idea.”
Then I moved the stick toward the farthest section from the entrance.
The safest part of the village.
“And finally...”
I drew a large rectangle.
“Behind the square, we’ll build the communal residence.”
Then...
“An apartment.”
Jack frowned.
“Shaman...”
He struggled with the unfamiliar word.
“A-pa... apartment?”
Then...
“What exactly is that?”
“The land inside the wall is limited.”
I pointed upward.
“So instead of spreading houses sideways, we build upward.”
Then...
“Dozens of people live inside one large building.”
Zakan frowned deeply.
It seemed he had imagined something horrifying.
“You mean placing one tent on top of another?”
Then he shook his head.
“Izak. That is dangerous.”
His expression became serious.
“The people sleeping below will be crushed by the weight of those above.”
“...”
What kind of building do you think I’m making?
“We are not stacking pieces of animal hide.”
Then...
“We use thick logs to build strong pillars and construct a proper wooden building.”
Jack’s mouth fell open.
“S-Shaman!”
His eyes widened.
“A building going upward that can hold dozens of people?”
Then...
“Isn’t that basically a castle where nobles or lords live?”
The carpenter immediately gave the realistic answer.
“We don’t even have proper nails or metal brackets!”
Jack pointed toward the construction site.
“If we build a second floor using only mortise-and-tenon joints between wooden pieces, the logs used for pillars must be unbelievably thick.”
He was right.
The structure had to withstand its own weight.
“And...”
Jack continued.
“To connect such huge logs by carving grooves and fitting them together with almost no error...”
He raised his hammer.
“You need tremendous impact force.”
Then he shook his head.
“My hammering strength...”
Another shake.
“No, the strength of any normal human is nowhere near enough!”
I slowly raised my head.
Then smiled at Jack.
“You’re right.”
Jack blinked.
“Normal humans couldn’t do it.”
“Huh?”
I repeated,
“Normal humans.”
Then I turned.
Jack’s gaze naturally followed mine.
At the end...
Zakan stood there.
Muscles bulging.
Nearby...
Even though they were crouched on the ground...
The barbarian children were large enough to slap most adult men unconscious.
Jack stared.
“Ah...!”
He finally understood.
I spread both arms proudly.
“Exactly!”
Then shouted,
“We are barbarians!”
The detailed calculations and design were Jack’s job.
The beetle craftsmen would handle the precise carving.
But...
Lifting gigantic wooden pillars into the air...
Positioning them correctly...
Then forcing the joints together with overwhelming strength...
That was the job of barbarians whose physical strength far surpassed normal humans.
A strange madness began shining in Jack’s eyes.
The madness of a craftsman.
