Chapter 42: Festival of Hammers

As soon as I arrived at the Floating Island, Elenia whooshed over and asked.

“How was business?”

“Well, here’s the thing. People were eating my kimbap and losing their minds?”

“Your cooking excites even the gourmet elves. Those who eat this sober are rare in the world.”

“Ah, now that I think about it, that makes sense.”

It’s food packed with great ingredients from the Floating Island.  

Plus, the sesame oil airlifted from the East Continent offers a savoriness they’ve never encountered before.

Moreover, after days of camping and eating only hard bread, suddenly experiencing a feast of flavors—such strong stimulation could make the brain faint for a moment.

“Anyway, business was a huge hit, so everything turned out well.”

The adventurers were satisfied, and for me, the dungeon stall was a good experience.

Then, shall I make the rest of the day productive too?

After that, I did farm work, manufactured products for the herb shop, and stayed busy.  

As days passed, the tasks became familiar, flowing naturally like water.

The more my hands touched it, the more vibrant and abundant the Floating Island became.  

Watching that filled me with fulfillment and pride.

This is why I farm.

“Ha, I need to stretch my back for a moment.”

Taking a breather, I straightened my waist.

“…Was the sky always this clear?”

The sky I glanced up at seemed much higher and clearer.

“Oh no! I don’t have time to stand around.”

I hurried to the dwarf workshop.  

I couldn’t slack on practice for the upcoming apprentice competition.

***

One day, when I opened my eyes in the morning, the dawn air had turned chilly.

Yes, this is definite.

“Autumn must be coming.”

“That’s right. Soon the mountains and fields will be covered in autumn leaves.”

“I want some warm broth this morning.”

“Me too.”

“Piiit!”

It felt like just yesterday I was craving cool watermelon juice in the morning, but the season for warm broth had already arrived.

Da.

“There should be some anchovy stock left from last time. Shall we make banquet noodles with that?”

I boiled water in a pot and cooked the somen noodles.

“Don’t you boil them in the stock?”

“Somen should be boiled separately to keep the broth clear.”

I simmered the anchovy stock separately and took the drained somen to the well.

“You have to rinse somen thoroughly in cold water before it swells. Washing off the starch prevents the noodles from being stodgy.”

I squeezed the rinsed noodles firmly, put them in a bowl, and finally poured the boiling stock over them.

“Let’s eat while it’s warm.”

We gathered around the table.

“Add the seasoning sauce in front and eat with kimchi.”

“This is kimchi!”

“Yujin’s mother’s kimjang skills are amazing. But it might be a bit spicy.”

“Let me try it.”

“Piiit!”

I slurped the broth straight from the bowl.  

The warm heat traveled down my throat and warmed my chest.

“Wow. This is it!”

The clean broth taste is incredible!

“The noodles are delicious, but eating them with kimchi makes it even better!”

“Piiit!”

“The kimchi is a bit spicy, right? It was made with home-dried chili powder.”

Spicy but clean—it’s deliciously spicy.  

I absolutely have to learn kimchi when we do kimjang this time.

I’m already excited thinking about how tasty kimchi made with vegetables grown on the Floating Island will be.

“That was delicious!”

After cleaning up, I immediately prepared to head to the dwarf village.

“Today is the apprentice competition, right?”

“Yes.”

“I want to go with you, but I can’t leave the Floating Island. Still, I’ll cheer hard from here.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back.”

“Don’t feel too pressured—just do your best without regrets and come back.”

***

Today, the dwarf village was a festival ground.

…As expected, when skilled craftsmen prepare a festival, it’s on another level.

The stage and competition area set up in the village square had no sloppy finishes anywhere—every edge was precise.  

It almost looked unnecessarily luxurious.

I passed the square and headed to the workshop.

“You’re early.”

“I left early in case I was late.”

“How do you feel?”

“A little nervous. But it’s a good kind of nervous.”

“Good. Grab the materials and let’s head to the square.”

I went with Kadu to the square where the competition would take place.

“We don’t know the theme, but your fundamentals are so solid you’ll do well with most anything. Just do what you’ve been doing, exactly as you’ve been doing!”

Kadu kept encouraging me.

As competition time approached, dwarves gathered in the square one by one.

“We will now begin the competition. Audience, please welcome the apprentices with loud applause.”

“Do well!”

“Show them what you’ve got!”

As the blacksmith apprentices stepped onto the stage, cheers and applause erupted from the seats.

Including me, fifteen apprentices would compete.  

But among them, the only human was me.

“Look there. That’s the human Kadu took as a disciple.”

“They say his hammering strength is amazing, but looking at him, he doesn’t seem that strong?”

“Is the rumor exaggerated?”

Murmur murmur.

As I appeared, the dwarves’ gazes locked onto me.  

They looked at me with curiosity and a hint of hostility.

“Please take your stations.”

A massive furnace blazed in the center, surrounded by fifteen anvils.

I stood in front of one of them.

“Now, we will determine today’s competition theme.”

A roulette wheel sat in front of the host, divided into sections with various equipment and weapons written on them.

“What theme will we compete with today?”

The host spun the roulette vigorously.

Whirr whirr—click.

The wheel spun and eventually stopped.

“Today’s theme is swords!”

The host shouted in an even more excited voice.

“Please create one sword within the time limit. Participants, if you’re ready—begin!”

Gong.

The starting gong rang out, and as if waiting, competitors threw iron ingots into the furnace.

“A sword, huh…”

After a brief moment of thought, I put three iron ingots into the furnace.

The competition area heated up as much as the red-hot ingots.

Ting! Ting!

I began hammering the ingot carefully.

“Look at that human! He’s hammering the ingot. His form is pretty decent?”

“His arms look scrawny, but he surprisingly has power. Still, we can’t judge from this alone.”

As the only human participant, attention naturally focused on me.

The gathering stares already added pressure, but I steadied my mind to stay focused.

Ting! Ting!

With every hammer strike on the iron, my heart pounded strongly in sync.

A sword.

It’s undoubtedly the flower of metallurgy.  

There are dozens of types. 

Forms vary widely.

Even swords of the same type become completely different depending on the blacksmith’s intent.

…What kind of sword do I want to make?

One image was already clear in my mind.

Ting! Ting!

Hiss—

“Time is running out. Apprentices, give your best until the end.”

The competition was nearing its climax.  

Some around me were already in the finishing stages.

“Ugh. Just a bit! Just a little more!”

Tight time. 

Tension choked my throat, but rushing and making a mistake would ruin everything.

At that moment.

“Focus! It’s not over until it’s over!”

My master’s voice rang in my mind like a bell.  

In that instant, passion ignited in my chest.

“I can do it! I can!”

Chanting it like a spell, I concentrated all my nerves on my fingertips.  

Gritting my teeth, I burned with effort until the last second.

Clang!

Finally, with the last hammer strike.

Gong!

The ending gong sounded.

“Time’s up. Apprentices, please remove your hands from the anvils. Hammering now will result in disqualification!”

Participants stood at attention.

“Phew, it’s roughly done.”

I let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from my forehead.

“Look at that human apprentice. He finished the sword in time.”

“Even dwarf apprentices find the time tight, so a human finishing on time deserves praise.”

“Still, we need to check the sword. If the quality is poor, it doesn’t count as complete.”

Murmur murmur.

“While judging proceeds, participants please exit the stage.”

We returned to the waiting area and watched the stage with tense eyes.

“For fair judging in this competition, we have invited external judges. Please give them a big round of applause.”

A sturdy man stepped onto the stage.

Contrary to expectations, he wasn’t a dwarf—he was a human man, like me.

“Hello? I am Vitus, an advanced adventurer invited as a judge to the dwarf village.”

As if proving his words, a golden necklace gleamed at his neck.

As expected of an advanced adventurer, it was on a different level from Cayton’s.

Murmur murmur.

“Using an adventurer as a judge?”

“Ugh, what’s the point! Craftsmen should judge this!”

“In the past, Kadu, who had no disciple, judged, but now he has one. There’s no dwarf craftsman available to judge.”

“Still, how much does an adventurer know about swords?”

The dwarves couldn’t hide their bewilderment at the unexpected appearance, but the proceedings continued despite the commotion.

“Thank you for participating in the judging on behalf of the dwarf village. Please say a few words before we begin.”

Vitus stepped forward.

“I don’t know much about blacksmithing techniques. But I can confidently say I’ve swung swords more than anyone here.”

It was a statement that soothed the dwarf craftsmen’s concerns.  

With that one line, their dissatisfaction eased somewhat.

“I have my own standards from using swords all this time. I will actively reflect them in the judging.”

“So you’ll evaluate the swords as a practical user. Understood. Then, please examine each one carefully and judge.”

Vitus began inspecting the fifteen swords lined up on a long table one by one.

The fifteen apprentices, including me, stood with hands clasped in front, tense.

Ah

…

Judging began with Vitus’s low hum.