Chapter 77: Forged in Silence

“War, you say?”

“It’s not something we’ll start immediately. We’re just making preparations.”

“…Don’t say such scary things. If it actually happens, I’ll put my life on the line, but that’s a bit much, isn’t it?”

“Don’t worry. Just because I said ‘preparations’ doesn’t mean it’s happening right now. You know that, right?”

“Whew. Still, you shouldn’t talk about things like that so lightly.”

“Even so, we must prepare.”

I looked seriously at Esty and Pling, who were trying to dissuade me.

‘I need power. Much faster than I expected.’

When I sent my brother to the Royal Academy, I felt the lack of strength keenly.

When I first stepped into the Holy City, I was satisfied with just dealing with the Underworld—the insects eating away at the family.

‘There were more insects than I thought.’

The bloated insects were not just in the Underworld, but in the Noble Families as well.

I had dealt with them all.

Once the Spiritual Land returned to normal, I thought about spending my time quietly doing chores, first under my Father and later under my Older Brother.

I had plenty to do.

‘I planned to study Magic and research along with my Mugong.’

I wanted to learn Mugong to a satisfying degree, something I couldn’t achieve in my previous life.

The novelty of Magic stimulated my academic passion.

And…

‘My memories as Kim Seonggeon are precious too.’

In my second life, I died after working like an ox for my entire existence.

Rather than spending this life working until death like that, I wanted to enjoy some rest.

‘But what do you know?’

I thought if I rested well, enjoyed a moderate amount of power, and made sure the territory ran smoothly, no one would touch me.

‘It’s too insufficient. Far too insufficient.’

The world won’t leave me alone.

There is the Marquis, the Duke, and the Royal Family who interfere under the guise of keeping the noble factions in check.

On top of that, there are monsters at the border.

From what I can see, those Black Mage nobodies who use Demonic Mana are slowly starting to stir.

Even though I reported it to the Royal Family, they haven’t even made an announcement.

They’re probably worried about causing chaos.

‘It’s not like they’re going to step up and handle it, either.’

I tried to enjoy the life of a high-ranking noble who could boss others around, but there is always a bigger fish above me.

‘I must make it so they can’t easily mess with me.’

I need power.

With that power, I had to make sure they wouldn’t dare touch me—no, I had to make them look up to me.

Only then would my life become comfortable.

I must become stronger.

‘Even if I stay still, things are heading toward a situation where someone will attack. I have many enemies.’

I had to strike before someone struck me.

It didn’t suit my personality to live as a victim.

Therefore, preparation was simply one step in the process of becoming stronger.

‘I must act proactively.’

This preparation was for that purpose.

“You’re being serious, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

At the look in my eyes, Pling and Esty’s expressions turned serious as well.

They, who had been moving by my side, had become good vassals who followed my will at some point.

I needed them to help me.

Pling and Esty no longer objected.

Instead, they became proactive.

“How do you plan to prepare?”

“We need to build our strength.”

“Just say the word. We will follow you no matter what.”

It was a pretty good feeling to know that there were people who would follow me regardless of what I did.

Action speaks louder than words.

“First, run the Refinery at maximum capacity.”

“I’ll implement that immediately.”

We continuously fed iron ore into the Refinery.

It was a much larger amount than what we had been inputting before.

Clang— Clang—

The refined iron was immediately handed over to the blacksmiths.

The iron, which contained a small amount of Mana, was quickly transformed into weapons.

The Guard Corps, the defense forces, and even the reserves began to be supplied with newly forged weapons.

These were sharper and more powerful weapons infused with Mana.

As for the Knights, I provided them with even higher-quality armaments.

“This is better, even if it takes time. It helps significantly with training, too.”

In my spare time, I consumed my mana to etch Sharpness onto them.

First-Class Magic: Sharpness is a spell that adds such keenness to a sword that even an ordinary blade would look like a treasured sword.

I was only etching a simple First-Class Magic, but…

‘The story changes when someone at the Knight level holds a treasured sword.’

There are many Knights who don’t even own a sword of this caliber.

I was creating such magic swords for them.

‘We’ll start with Sharpness for now… Once the facilities and capital are in place, I’ll have to give them even better ones.’

The problem was that the magic power in our territory was almost non-existent.

Although my Master, who is at the Fifth-Class, has been covering for us, our territory’s magic strength is incredibly low for an Earl’s Territory.

There are five Knight Orders directly under us.

While the number of Knights and Knight Orders led by the various Viscounts and Barons is large, there are no mages.

At best, there might be some First or Second-Class Mages.

Even then, they are mostly used for simple magic or communication spells.

Originally, a mage was only considered a true military asset if they could use large-scale slaughter magic, which usually starts at the Third-Class.

Clumsy First or Second-Class Mages often died vainly on the battlefield.

‘It’s also rare to find someone with the talent for a War Mage.’

As a result, it was hard to call the First or Second-Class Mages in the territory a military force.

‘Our magic power is practically non-existent. I need to find some soon.’

Because of that, I had to be the one to etch the spells and create the magic swords almost entirely on my own.

At least on the surface, I was alone.

In reality…

“My… My Lord… I’m practically dying here.”

“I’m the one etching the magic circles myself. You just activate them. Just activate them. I’m helping too, aren’t I?”

“You… you’re doing it so easily. Heugh.“

In the Underground Fortress, I was drawing(?) upon Reton’s mana.

It was a method where I etched the magic circles onto the swords using my Aura, and he used his mana to activate them.

Originally, etching the magic circles itself was a huge task.

The circles had to be etched precisely and evenly for the magic sword to function properly.

That’s why even a magic sword with a First-Class spell becomes expensive.

A sword that costs ten gold coins would jump to well over fifty gold coins just by having Sharpness etched onto it.

If it gets a bit more complex, it easily exceeds 100 gold coins.

That is how difficult it is to etch magic circles.

Of course, for me…

Wuuuung— Scribble—

I was handling it easily by raising my Aura and etching the circles.

For an ordinary mage, calculating the magic circle takes forever.

Even etching it required the dexterity of a master craftsman.

Even then, if it wasn’t uniform, it would shatter with a bang!

But since I could calculate it instantly and etch it with Aura, it couldn’t be difficult!

This was only possible because I had mastered both Magic and Mugong!

If I were lacking in either, I never could have done it.

When he first saw me etching magic circles, Reton’s eyes had nearly popped out of his head.

But now, he looked miserable.

‘…Ugh. At this rate, I’m going to suffer from mana exhaustion.’

“Hmm. From what I can see, you still have one-third of your mana left? Don’t forget, I’m a mage too. I can feel your mana levels at a glance.”

“…Damn it.”

“Stop complaining and hurry up and activate it.”

In any case, with my etching and Reton’s activation, we were churning out magic swords like a home-based factory.

“How many more do we have to do?”

“We’re only doing about ten a day, aren’t we? Just the Knights alone number 750. We have to do it for the squires and reserves too, don’t we?”

“…Crazy! How are we supposed to do all that!”

“Just try it. It’ll all get done. Besides, Father supplied some before, so we won’t need to do every single one.”

“It’s still too many!

I’d rather you just kill me!”

“Really!? Should I? Huh?”

“…I’ll just shut up and do it.”

***

As the days passed, Reton seemed to be losing his mind(?), but the magic swords were being produced steadily.

At about ten swords a day, that was a production of about 300 swords a month.

It definitely wasn’t a small amount.

‘The problem is that’s not the end of it.’

I planned to provide magic swords not just to the Knights, but to the Iron Fist as well.

‘Since I need to build up our strength quickly, I’ll have to plaster everything, not just swords, with magic.’

Armor, hoods, and even cloaks.

I’ll embed magic circles into every possible thing.

If I combine Mugong with being covered in magic gear, wouldn’t they transform into Knight-level fighters in no time!

‘I shouldn’t tell him yet.’

If he heard my plan, Reton might be the first person in this world to attempt a strike.

Sometimes, a false hope is better than a gutter-like reality.

“Now, now. We have to keep going. The end is in sight.”

“…That’s the only thing I’m looking forward to as I work.”

While coaxing Reton, the military strength of the territory was quietly increasing.

He was a good magic slave.

It was already the height of summer.

Expanding production and increasing the territory’s strength seemed to be going smoothly.

“How is the recruitment of craftsmen going?”

“They are slowly gathering. If all else fails, we are searching for and buying slaves with relevant skills.”

“You did well.”

I used the funds from the Brewery.

The Brewery, which was continuously bringing in money, served as a reliable source of funding.

‘I should create and spread alcohol from the central plains or Korea as well.’

Developing and spreading those techniques would make for an even more reliable source of funds.

I didn’t even have to rack my brain over it.

‘What’s the point of having talented people if you don’t use them?’

‘I just need to give them the concept and draw up the plan.’

The implementation is for the talented people in my heart’s treasure chest to handle.

All I have to do is conceive the idea and get it rolling!

‘Perfect.’

Regardless, the Refinery was producing a lot every day, and with the money earned from the Brewery, we were recruiting craftsmen.

“Is there still no news regarding the mages?”

“As you know, First or Second-Class Mages are easy… but Third-Class and above are difficult.”

“Hmm. That’s a problem. What should we do? Try raising the pay. We need magic strength one way or another.”

“I will do my best.”

I continued to invest.

“I finally created it!”

“Congratulations. You finally created it. That is what we call a Danjeon.”

“Hehe. I’ll remember that. It’s all thanks to you!”

While I was spending my time productively, teaching Manar in between my own training, things were starting to take shape.

‘Is it finally coming together?’

While I was busy moving to develop the territory, people appeared to put a brake on my progress.

It happened while I was teaching Manar alongside my own cultivation and organizing the Mugong to be passed on to the Knights at the Territory Administrator’s office.

Pling arrived, exuding a heavy atmosphere.

It had been a long time since he, who was in charge of the Refinery and weapon production, had worn such an expression.

“What is it? At this hour?”

“Administrative Officer. It’s another problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“The procurement of iron ore has become difficult.”

“What?”

“Interference is coming in.

It’s not just one or two cases.”

“Hmm…”

At any rate, there were plenty of people who couldn’t stand to see others succeed.

The problem was, I wish they would just watch.

‘So, they’ve made their move.’

It meant that those quick to act were feeling jealous.

A brake had been applied to the territory development plan.

“Have you investigated the reason?”

“It’s here.

These are the ones we’ve identified so far.”

“…This is driving me crazy.”