“The appearance of the worm will restore what was lost. Heh heh.”
Tarunga’s voice stopped Suho just as he was about to step away from the refrigerator.
“Restore what was lost?”
“Yes. Thanks to this, we’ll be able to complete the Giant’s new equipment even better.”
The materials were in short supply.
There were just enough to make one piece of equipment, but not enough to make two.
Because of that, the work had been delayed.
Now that a new material had appeared, Tarunga was in high spirits.
Suho, on the other hand, was puzzled.
“How so? Can the worm really be used as a material?”
The worm had been burned by Balryong.
Before that, it was already infused with Magic.
“It was invaded by Magic, but it was purified by the Dragon’s Breath, so there should be usable parts.
Besides, a monster of that level is bound to contain a Magic Stone.”
Magic Stone.
It is a crystal formed from accumulated magical power inside a monster’s body.
They hold strong magic and are used in various ways, but their discovery rate is extremely low.
While Suho recalled information about Magic Stones, Tarunga continued.
“Of course, the Magic Stone might not be perfectly intact due to the Magic, but we’ll try to regenerate it somehow. With the flame granted by the God of Anvil and Hammer, it should be possible.”
“I see. Thank you. Anyway, please make it well.”
“No problem. I’m doing my best, so please wait just a little longer.”
After a brief exchange, Suho stepped away from the refrigerator.
He headed toward the front.
“Wilson, can I talk to you for a moment?”
“Suho, did the Dungeon run go well?”
Wilson greeted Suho warmly.
“It went well. But some problems have come up.”
“Problems? At home?”
“Monsters appeared in the Dwarf Village.”
“Monsters? Such unfortunate news!”
Wilson’s face grew troubled.
When it came to knowledge about monsters and demon possession, no one rivaled Wilson.
“Well, here’s what happened…”
Suho recounted what had happened in the Dwarf Village.
“Demons have appeared! Have you heard anything about them?”
“I tried to get some info but failed because they got agitated.”
“All we can do is prepare as best we can. The Dwarves’ architectural skills are excellent, so that’s a relief. But the fact that the Worm appeared worries me. Who knows what other monsters the demons might summon for invasion.”
“Actually, I wanted to ask you about that.”
Wilson nodded.
“Is there any way to stop underground monsters? It looks like it’s going to be tough for the Dwarves to prepare on their own.”
Wilson fell silent.
The Shelter’s capabilities had limits.
It was possible to make something for Suho individually, but not enough resources existed to produce equipment to defend the entire Dwarf fortress walls.
“Is it hard?”
“Sorry, my friend. The Shelter’s resources and manpower are limited. The production facilities are limited, too. We’ve been repairing the broken walls for months, but we haven’t even fixed half yet. If we try to make something to defend the entire fortress, we’d have to stop all other work.”
“I see. That’s alright, Wilson. Don’t apologize. The Shelter comes first, naturally.”
“I’ll try to finish the wall repairs first. Meanwhile, we can still make small items. Let me know if you need anything.”
Wilson responded.
From his words, Suho suddenly realized something.
‘Wait, wall repairs?’
When he first met Wilson, monsters had broken through the fortress walls.
‘That wasn’t broken just that day.’
Suho quickly turned his gaze outside the Shelter.
A few repair robots were fixing the walls.
But they were slow.
The walls were tall and thick, and there didn’t seem to be enough materials to fill the damaged parts.
‘At this rate, it’ll take months to fully repair.’
If monsters attacked during repairs, everything would be for nothing.
‘But the wall structure doesn’t look that complicated.’
Suho examined the broken parts closely.
There were no special mechanisms inside the walls.
“Maybe I can help.”
He turned his gaze back inside the Shelter.
“Wilson, about the walls. Are there any special magical engineering devices installed on them?”
“No, just simple, thick walls. All the special devices are installed on the outer walls of the Shelter.”
Suho called Kye Jae.
“Then should I help with the wall repairs?”
“You?”
“Yeah. If I help, it’ll be done quickly.”
“Really? If you can, I’ll leave it to you!”
The moment Wilson replied, a message popped up before Suho’s eyes.
[Dimensional Mission [Shelter Wall Repair] acquired.]
[Check the Dimensional Panel for details.]
***
“Bobby, thanks. I asked you in a hurry, but you still came.”
“This is nothing. Just say the word anytime.”
“Uncle Suho, I’m always ready to cut wood for you!”
“That’s right, always ready to help!”
“I’ll help again!”
Following Bobby, the Vivani babies shouted.
“Thanks, everyone. I’ll come again next time.”
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
Seeing them off, Suho headed toward the freezer.
“Blton!”
Blton ran up at Suho’s call.
“Yes! Blton is here!”
He was covered in dirt and cement stains, probably from working on the walls.
“Sorry to bother you when you’re busy. I have something to ask.”
“Not busy at all. I just woke up from a nap. Just say what you need!”
“Haha, I have to repair a big wall. Could you help me out?”
“The wall? The Giant’s house, you mean?”
“It’s not my house, a friend’s. Is it possible?”
“Of course. Just tell me the size and shape of the wall, and I’ll figure out how to repair it.”
“Well then, the wall thickness is… and the broken parts are about this much…”
Suho explained the wall’s size and shape.
“That’s a pretty large area to fill. We’ll need materials.”
“I actually brought some Steelwood.”
“Oh— that’s more than enough. Leave it to me. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
“Thanks.”
Suho stepped away from the refrigerator.
He checked the dimensional mission again.
[Shelter Wall Repair]
- The walls of the Shelter where survivor Wilson lives are broken. The Shelter’s resources are being heavily invested, but repairing such a large wall requires a long time. Help with the ongoing, months-long repair work.
- Reward: Survivor Wilson’s satisfaction.
The phrase about many resources being invested in wall repair caught his eye.
“If I help with the wall repair, it should free up some manpower. Then I can ask Wilson to make equipment to defend against underground monsters.”
Ding-dong—
The bell on the shop door interrupted Suho’s thoughts.
“Welcome.”
Suho greeted the customer.
…
The customer looked disappointed.
They wanted to buy a machete but there was none in stock.
‘I should start accepting pre-orders. Maybe I should post on Hunter App.’
Suho picked up his smartphone, deep in thought.
***
A few days later.
“Wilson, everything’s ready. Shall we begin?”
“Mm, I’ll watch on the screen.”
With Wilson’s approval, Suho moved his gaze to the wall.
The ‘blocks’ Suho had brought were laid out.
Massive rectangular blocks woven from Steelwood and filled with cement.
‘Blton must have worked hard.’
Suho thanked Blton for his hard work in making the blocks and started working.
“First, I’ll clean up the wall.”
The Flame Thorn Magic Sword entered the screen.
Slice by slice—
The blade cut through the broken, jagged wall.
After a few minutes of trimming, the jagged parts were neatly smoothed away.
“Now to fit these in.”
Suho lifted a block and inserted it into the wall.
One by one, the blocks were stacked in order from the bottom.
—These wall stones are incredibly precise and sturdy.
—Too big to be called just wall stones, haha!
Wilson’s voice came through the repair robots’ speaker.
He was watching Suho’s work through the screen.
“Because it’s Dwarven craftsmanship, you’d be surprised to see it yourself. Some parts can’t be explained by science.”
—I really want to meet them in person someday.
‘Yeah. I want to introduce you to my lonely friend, too.’
Suho hid his thoughts and continued working.
Click!
The grid-shaped joints between blocks fit perfectly, filling the wall.
The process repeated.
A few minutes later, the fortress wall was complete.
—No way! The Dwarves spent a hundred years polishing their craft, but your magical engineering is even greater!
“Guess that’s because I’m grown-up now.”
—It’s not just size. You’re neat, kind, and make good friends.
“Are you one of those good friends?”
—You’re quick to catch on!
As the banter with Wilson ended, a message appeared before Suho’s eyes.
[Dimensional Mission [Shelter Wall Repair] completed.]
[Survivor Wilson’s satisfaction increased by 20.]
The wall repair was successfully completed.
After turning his gaze inside the Shelter, Wilson asked Suho.
“Suho, you said you wanted to improve the weak points of the Dwarf Village’s fortress walls, right?”
“Hm, do you have any ideas?”
Suho answered eagerly.
“Because you repaired the walls, the Shelter has some extra hands. Or should I say, robot hands?”
Wilson chuckled to himself and continued.
“So I made some prototypes. Of course, they’re not equipment that can cover the entire Dwarf fortress walls, but they’re prototypes you can use on a smaller scale.”
“What are they?”
“Take a look first.”
Wilson took something from the Shelter’s walls and sent it to Suho.
It looked like a wide strip of adhesive tape.
[Installation-type Electric Capture Device]
- A tape-shaped trap. Attach it to the floor and it emits an electric shock when pressure is applied. It periodically fires electricity, continuously paralyzing caught targets.
- Item grade: Rare
- Installation item
- Durability: 240
“Electric Capture Device?”
Suho asked as Wilson began explaining.
“Before using it on the Dwarf fortress walls, I made some items for your shop first. It’ll take a while to make the ones for the walls.”
“Ah, so that’s why they’re prototypes.”
“Right. Just stick this tape on the shop floor. It’ll catch intruders. You can turn it on and off, so only activate it at night or when you’re away.”
Good.
This was exactly what Suho’s shop needed.
“Thanks, Wilson. But isn’t this only useful for enemies coming above ground? It’s perfect for the shop, but I’m not sure about the Dwarf fortress walls.”
“It’s a prototype. I made one that reacts only to pressure from above. If it works well, next time I’ll make one that reacts to ground vibrations and pressure from all directions. I’m thinking of making a cable-type one to bury underground.”
As expected of a magical engineer!
If you put your mind to it, results come fast.
“Thanks, Wilson. You’re amazing.”
“No need for praise. Let’s go install it quickly.”
“Yeah, I’ll install it right away.”
Suho stepped back from TV.
***
Dark night.
Zzzzzap—!
Two small flickering lights turned on in the room.
Balryong, still lying down, moved only his eyes to check on Suho.
“Phew— He’s completely out cold.”
Balryong was thrilled.
The long-awaited moment had come.
[Silence]
Balryong cast Silence magic on himself.
[Fly]
He also cast Fly magic.
He couldn’t move his wings around like usual.
If he did, Suho might wake up.
Softly—
Balryong’s body floated in midair.
Sliding like a snake, he crossed the bed and headed toward the bedside table.
“Gotta be careful here. Fly!”
Balryong cast the magic again.
Fly magic lifted Suho’s smartphone from the bedside table.
“That’s much smoother.”
Every night, Balryong spent many sleepless nights preparing to play on Suho’s phone.
Thanks to that, he had learned that Chicken is called ‘Chineunim (God Chicken: nickname for fried chicken),’ so it was worth it.
Though it was exhausting every night, it was true.
“Keu-keu. Going to the dungeon was worth it.”
But the situation had changed after going to the Dungeon.
Thanks to increased magic power, he could cast various spells repeatedly.
‘Stealing the phone got way easier.’
“Then let’s enjoy it.”
The phone was in Balryong’s hand.
He smiled, baring his white teeth.
“Ah—”
But at that moment, something caught Balryong’s senses.
Someone was opening the shop door.
“Damn it, are flies invading the house at this hour?!”
This was serious.
If this went on, sensitive Suho would surely wake up.
“Go back!”
Balryong hurriedly managed his magic.
The phone floated back onto the bedside table.
At the same time, Suho opened his eyes.
“Hmm? Not sleeping? What are you doing?”
“Hu… I was about to wake you. Looks like they invaded the shop.”
“Right? I felt uneasy. Why the sigh? Did you do something sneaky?”
“I-I have never done sneaky bad things!”
Suho didn’t say it was sneaky.
He got up slowly from bed.
Almost caught