Weed spoke his own thoughts under the cover of humility.
“Oh, please. I just happened to find it by chance.”
“…”
“Since I looked all over in Kuruso, wasn’t that the only place where it could be?”
“…”
“There’s nothing special or spectacular about what I did, it’s just that the efforts of other Dwarves fell short.”
His way of speaking that greatly lowered their affection towards him!
It was awkward for Weed to take the compliments of others, so he’d done the best he could to pass it off as a joke.
‘It’s definitely no good to receive compliments!’
In those days when he was working as a minor, when he couldn’t do the work well he was always sworn at. Those were the days when he got more curses than food.
But with effort, he was able to overcome his insufficiencies. He mastered the techniques and did as much work as other people.
He lifted and carried more flats of bricks, attached more eyes to dolls, and delivered the newspapers well.
“So you had some talent in this field.”
“You’re an outstanding individual we absolutely need.”
As the compliments from the President increased, the amount of work he had to do also accumulated.
It became worse was when he worked part-time at a pub.
“You’re really outstanding! This perfect taste matches well! From now on I’ll have Hyun Lee do this kind of work.”
With each compliment, his ears were joyful, but Weed knew that soon enough, his whole body would be exhausted.
Even though in this case, that wasn’t Herman intent, Weed had instinctively counteracted.
And he wasn’t deceiving them on purpose either.
By law, all discoveries made after great lengths of effort were seen to be obvious in the end.
“As a Sculptor, it wouldn’t do to just look for the complete works. No matter what sculpture it is, if you understand the materials used to make it, the place, and its characteristics, what I did is possible.”
“Understand the materials and characteristics… It’s not just about completing the sword, but really immersing yourself in the process?”
They were ordinary words, but Herman thought about them for a long time, as if he’d gotten some kind of hint from them.
Pin hesitated for a long time before carefully asking.
“Now that you’ve succeeded in completing the quest, will you leave Kuruso?”
She, too, was aware he had completed almost all of the Sculptor quests, and he’d even discovered Kendellev’s trail. In reality, Weed had completed many different kinds of commissions.
Requests that had to do with adventures or fighting, sewing and blacksmithing production requests, requests that had to do with creating sculptures off of impressions… He’d done them all!
As a jack of all trades, the requests he could receive expanded.
Usually, when Dwarves saw Weed, they immediately gave him a request.
“The Eastern coal mine is overflowing with lead worms. Won’t you take care of them?”
Lead worms were monsters with levels in the high 300s.
It wasn’t impossible for Weed to hunt them with his level, but because they burrowed through the earth, they were hard monsters to catch without magic. Additionally, if they felt any danger, they spewed a poison that was hard to detoxify.
“A sword that can even pulverize cast iron, and can’t even be blocked by amour, there’s a rumor of a legendary sword that’s hiding somewhere in our Kingdom, can you believe it? I’ll be happy if you can find it.”
A legendary sword quest.
With a difficulty of rank A, it was a specialty quest that no one in Kuruso had been able to solve.
There weren’t very many clues, but there was a strong chance he could only do it by raising his intimacy with the Dwarven residents to the max.
Weed, who could flatter any day, thought it was a worthwhile to challenge quest. However, he had no choice but to give up on it. He lacked the Advanced Blacksmithing skills that were needed in the middle of the quest.
“They say there’s a fruit that can extend the lives of Dwarves which can be found in Kuruso’s Southern swamp, but no one has succeeded in finding it. Would you try it once?”
It was a rank B quest.
If you partied with a Cleric, you could struggle to find the fruit in the dungeon within the swamp.
These kinds of rank A and rank B quests poured out continuously.
It was literally a flood of quests.
Weed answered Pin’s question simply.
“I suppose I’ll have to leave.”
“I thought so…”
“But it’s not time yet. The reason I came here — I think I can achieve it.”
He couldn’t be certain, but it didn’t seem like Kendellev had master level sculpturing.
‘Since I found his trail, if he’d been a Master Sculptor, he would’ve left a secret about sculptures.’
However, thanks to him, Weed was able to figure out what he had to sculpt.
He guessed Kendellev had been a sculptor with an impressive affinity towards sculptures. To be able to create a sculpture out of water meant that he must have completely learned the characteristics of water, enough to be able to control it like his own body.
The Sculptor’s secret!
If you raised your affinity with the inanimate matter to the highest degree, it was possible to sculpt anything.
Weed, who was a Moonlight Sculptor, learned to control light. There were special sculptors everywhere. There were those who sculpted because they wanted to. Their love of sculpting became their driving force and motivation.
Now, he gained the confidence to sculpt the mysterious existences that begged him to sculpt them.
— You incompetent sculptor, use your dull head and hands to sculpt me.
— What is the reason why you won’t sculpt me. I’ll listen to everything so make me!
‘I have to understand them. I have to make them with the feelings they exude.’
The reason why a water droplet shimmered so beautifully was because it brought all the best characteristics to life. Wind expressed freedom, and rainbows were fantastical.
The faintly visible characteristics of a rainbow you see as if you’re in a dream were alive in Kendellev’s sculpture. The ample emotion that forced adults to fall back into childhood innocence!
Weed held the sculpting knives in both of his hands.
‘I will become them. I will absorb the feelings they are giving me. I will sculpt them as my heart leads me.’
— Sculptor, will you make me?
The cordial and dignified voice, the warmly encouraging yet not impolite voice — Weed decided to preserve that sensation inside his being.
Human, monster, or however it looked, putting a name on it was difficult. To classify it, he must focus on the voice.
The voice held a lot of information.
Its current emotions and personality, the matching body, and the overall inclination that remained intact, could be felt.
‘Eyes that are alight with warmth, hands that are at least average in size, wide and healthy shoulders and body. I can’t omit the gallant feeling and the warmth.’
Instead of agonizing on what to make beforehand, he created the sculpture by following the flow of emotion.
The legs were long, as were the arms. Everything was a little longer than they were on humans. But it was not hideous like a monster, and was a sculpture that gave off the feeling of a tenderly benevolent gentleman.
“This is the sculpture I have made for you.”
Ding!
— You have learned the art of Elemental Spirit Sculpture Creation.
— Elemental Sculpture Creation: A Sculpture which can now create bodies for new Elemental Spirits.