The Retired Top Ranker Was Abducted to Another World - Chapter 15

“Do you need anything else, mister?”
“Ahem… It would be great to have a forge.”
“A forge?”
“Yeah. I want to do some hammering.”
“Do you have an anvil and hammer?”
“Of course!”

Could a dwarf ever be without an anvil and a hammer?

“They’re loaded in the car!”

Even if he were to lose his life, the anvil and hammer could not be lost. That’s what it means to be a dwarf!

“Hmm… But there’s no iron.”
“Iron?”
“Hmm… It’s been a while since I did some mining!”

If there’s no iron, you just have to find it. The joy of discovering a mine! Just thinking about feeling that again after so long made him happy.

“But… do you have a pickaxe?”
“…No…”

Jake became sullen again in response to Baek Yeon-woo’s question. He lost his pickaxe. He went outside with it, thinking there wasn’t anything else that could be used as a weapon, and ended up having it taken by a monster.

“I’ll make you a pickaxe.”
“What? How?”
“Like this.”

Crack…

An ice pickaxe was instantly created.

“This is…”
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“How could I like it!”
“Whoa! Why are you upset!”
“What? Look at the balance! How could you make it with the weight concentrated at the back!”

To call this a pickaxe! Admittedly, an ice pickaxe was fascinating. But that’s about it. His pride as a craftsman wouldn’t allow it.

“Are you telling me to use this junk? Are you joking!”
“What’s wrong with it! Just use it!”
“No! If you’re going to make it, do it properly!”

I was bewildered. What exactly was this dwarf expecting?

“I don’t know about those things!”

How should I know about that? If it was a sword and not a pickaxe, I could probably make something decent. After all, they were sometimes used as weapons. But why properly make a pickaxe? It’s not like I’ll be cracking rocks with it.

“Ha-ha, I’ll teach you!”
“What…?”
“You just have to learn if you don’t know. I’ll guide you.”
“Oh…”

Why did his eyes suddenly light up?

“Fine. I’ll give it a shot.”

Well, isn’t it somewhat fun? While staying idle was nice too, this had its own kind of enjoyment. I could assist the mister later when he’s mining iron ore. Baek Yeon-woo, with his empty thoughts, learned from him how to craft a pickaxe.

“This isn’t it! The balance is still off!”
“Isn’t it roughly right?”
“Roughly..? Did you just say roughly?”

He glared at Baek Yeon-woo with wide eyes.

“How can you make equipment roughly? Huh? Is that even possible?”
“No… It’s not.”
“Exactly! It absolutely shouldn’t be! Poorly made equipment can harm the user!”
“Uh… Okay…”

In the end, unable to beat the mister’s passion, I repeatedly made and broke pickaxes for a while. And a few days later…

“Hmm… I think this will do…”

Finally, I was able to craft a pickaxe that won the mister’s approval.

“Ugh… Even fighting monsters wasn’t this hard…”

I suddenly gained new respect for craftsmen.

***

“Hm-hm! I’m going to dig a mine here!”
“Work hard.”
“Yeah!”

Jake started digging into the ground with the pickaxe.

Thud! Thud!

The pickaxe Baek Yeon-woo made was very effective at digging into the ground.

“Hmm… I can’t believe ice can be this hard…”

Jake was genuinely amazed. No matter how hard the ice, if continually used like this, it’d eventually melt or break. But there wasn’t even a hint of that problem. It was a pickaxe that, true to the ultimate form, didn’t wear out at all!

“Darn it! It’s frustrating!”

Even I can’t make a pickaxe like this! His competitive spirit as a craftsman flared up.

“Hm-hm! This feels really good!”

The tactile sensation when digging into the ground! Absolutely perfect.

“Hehehe! This is great! It’s really great!”

But then why on earth!

“Isn’t any iron coming out!”

Despite digging so deep, why! Jake kept digging downward. Then suddenly…

Thunk!

“Huh? What’s this?”

Could it be a big rock? Without much thought, he swung his pickaxe hard onto it.

“Whoa! What’s this!”

The rock… moved.

“Mister! What’s going on!”

Hearing Jake’s cry, Baek Yeon-woo descended into the tunnel.

“Over there! The rock! The rock is moving!”
“Rock..? That’s not a rock!”

The thing moving all around. It was definitely not a rock.

Fwoosh!

Upon lighting a fire and seeing the result. Its identity…

“A worm?”

A worm with an entirely black body.

“A monster?”

It seemed the worm’s identity was a monster.

“Mister, stand back.”
“Y-Yeah.”

He quickly moved to hide behind Baek Yeon-woo.

Crack…

“Huh? What’s this? I froze it for sure?”

Its movement stopped. But why wouldn’t the outer shell freeze?

“Whoa! Hold on!”

Jake hurriedly checked the shell.

“This texture… This feeling… It’s all iron!”
“Iron? This is?”
“Yes! This guy’s entire shell is iron! And of high purity!”

To think there was iron of such high purity! Jake was already thrilled. What should be made from this… Armor? A sword? A spear? Or maybe even a mace!

“Ah! By the way! Do you need anything? I’ll make anything for you!”
“Seriously?”
“Of course! A dwarf never goes back on his word!”
“Then… a frying pan?”
“Frying pan? Is that a type of weapon?”
“No, it’s for cooking.”
“Cooking? Is that a type of battle?”
“Mister? Don’t ignore it.”

Jake was deliberately avoiding the topic. Did he really not want to make it that much?

“Why! Why! Why! Why a frying pan instead of a sword, spear, or bow!”

He cried out.

“Because I don’t have a frying pan.”
“Other humans are desperate to get their hands on weapons made by dwarves! Why you!”
“I don’t particularly need weapons.”
“Why! Haven’t you ever used a dwarf-made weapon!”
“Well, no?”

There weren’t any dwarves in the world I lived in, after all.

“That’s it! That was the problem! Huh? Once you try it, your opinion will change!”
“No, never mind that, the frying…”
“Stop! Just wait a moment!”

He quickly lit a fire and, after preparing, swiftly made a sword.

“It’s not entirely satisfactory, but it’s much better than weapons made by humans! How is it?”

Swish! Swish!

“Well, it’s certainly good, but I don’t need weapons, so the frying pan…”
“What’s wrong with you! Huh? Does the world change without a frying pan?”
“The quality of food changes.”

Right now, all I can do is grill over fire. But with a frying pan, it’d be different. I could stir-fry food. Just thinking about it made my mouth water.

“Darn it! Fine. I’ll make it for you, okay!”

He eventually gave in and created the frying pan. There were moments he wanted to abandon it, but he held out and persevered.

“Wow! Awesome! It’s non-stick and really great! Now I understand why you were so confident!”

It took you this long to realize that? With a non-weapon frying pan?

“Could you also make a pot?”
“I-I’ll make it…”

If that’s what’s needed… Jake muttered with a resigned look on his face.

“A pot… just that…”

For some reason, Jake felt like his pride had been slightly bruised.

***

“Oh-oh! Splendid!”

The cooking tools Jake made were truly splendid. Saying it was perfect was an understatement.

“Wow! Fey! Try this!”
“It tastes different from usual.”
“Right? Grilling directly over the fire is good, but cooking on a frying pan is different, right? I also boiled something; try this too!”
“Mm, it’s delicious.”
“Ah, you have taste!”

To be able to tell the difference in flavor! As expected, Fey knew how to appreciate good food.

“Do you want some too, mister?”
“Yeah… I’ll try it…”

He took a bite of the meat.

‘What’s so different…’

For him to be so obsessed with the frying pan. Unlike Fey, his taste buds were dull. He couldn’t really tell the difference.

“Shall I make soup for dinner?”
“Soup? What’s that?”
“It’s a dish where you put water and ingredients in a pot and boil it until it bubbles.”
“Hmm… Is it good?”
“Of course! It feels warming to the body too!”

I would have made miso soup if there had been miso here, but there isn’t, so…

“I’ll make potato soup instead!”
“Will you add meat too?”
“Yeah. Obviously.”
“Great.”

I got up and put in potatoes and carrots. Both are fruits from trees, but oh well.

‘Who would have thought the fruits from the trees would taste like potatoes and carrots?’

When I first discovered a fruit that tasted like potatoes, I couldn’t help but shout Eureka. Roasting it over the fire made it taste just like steamed potatoes.

“Hm-hmm~”

Baek Yeon-woo quickly finished making the soup.

“Here! Try it!”

Slurp…

“It’s delicious. Just like you said, it’s warming.”
“Right? It’s good, isn’t it?”

The subtly crunchy sweetness of the carrots and the meat’s juices. Even though I made it, it’s truly delicious!

“It’s all thanks to the pot you made, mister!”
“Yeah… I’m glad…”

Jake savored the hot soup, finally coming to his senses.

“Oh-oh, it’s really tasty!”
“Right? My cooking skills are quite good too!”
“Indeed. Except for your sense of aesthetics, you’re almost perfect!”
“..Is that a compliment..?”

Why do you keep adding that I lack aesthetic sense? Was it that shocking?

‘I think it’s just stylish though..’

Baek Yeon-woo became sullen again.

“By the way, how do you like the forge, mister?”
“I like it, but… there’s one thing I’m not satisfied with.”
“What is it?”
“The fire!”
“Fire?”

Isn’t all fire the same? How is it different?

“The fire we dwarves use is the flame of the spirit.”
“Spirit?”
“Long ago, the ancestors of dwarves made a pact with a high-ranking fire spirit. From then on, the fire we used was all the flame of the spirit.”
“Used to be? Does that mean it’s different now?”
“When we were chased from our homeland, the pact was severed.”
“Ah…”
“The flame of the high-ranking spirit is different from normal fire. First of all, the firepower is different.”

The efficiency of rapidly heating ingots. And the spirit’s flame had a unique magical power. The difference was quite significant.

“Isn’t there any way to get the flame of the spirit..?”

It didn’t matter if it was a lower or middle spirit, the grade wasn’t important. He just wanted to use the flame of a spirit.

“Should I help you?”
“Huh? How?”
“The spirit’s flame might be impossible, but… there’s another fire.”

Confidently smiling, Baek Yeon-woo snapped his fingers.

Flare!

“This… this is…”

The blazing flame. To ordinary people, it would seem indistinguishable. But Jake could definitely see it.

“The purest flame…”

The purest of all flames in this world…