A Craftsman Chooses His Tools (2)
The repercussions of Alvenheim’s unveiling of the artificial guardian spread throughout the world.
Ordinarily, given the limitations of communication technology, only the highest-ranking officials would have learned about it so quickly.
Although it had been unveiled publicly on a grand scale, information traveled extremely slowly. Ordinary people busy with their daily lives would naturally remain unaware of it.
However, thanks to the Gallery, everyone learned what Alvenheim had unveiled, regardless of their social standing.
"So, what do we do now?"
"There’s nothing we can do. Let’s just pray we don’t get conscripted."
"Damn it. My father was conscripted too, and now it might happen to me?"
Naturally, people grew anxious.
The world might appear peaceful on the surface, but conflicts were brewing in many places.
There was the tension between the Messiah Empire and the Iris Kingdom, not to mention Eldorado, where the Undying King incident had occurred.
Beyond those, many nations suffered from internal or external instability.
Even short-lived humans felt that war was closer than peace. How much more strongly must the other races have felt it?
While people were gripped by anxiety, a post appeared on the Gallery.
Title: Grylls’s Declaration
(A screenshot of Grylls’s declaration posted on the Gallery)
He declared that if Alvenheim starts a war, he’ll shower Mountain with mithril-orichalcum alloy, lmao.
└ Mountain must feel reassured, lmao.
└ Come on, lmao. If something like that could stop the war, they wouldn’t have considered starting one in the first place.
└ Nope. Grylls has an infinite supply of mithril~
└ Even 100 grams of mithril would cause an uproar, but this guy has it by the kilogram, lmao.
└ His entire cave is made of orichalcum too, holy shit.
└ And since he’s in the Forest of Four Seasons, nobody can do anything to him, lmao.
He was declaring that the instant Alvenheim started a war, he would support its victims.
What kind of minerals were mithril and orichalcum? Mere rumors about them were enough to draw the attention of entire nations.
Combining the two made the alloy’s value utterly beyond description.
If even a single ingot appeared in the world, a blood-soaked competition would erupt over it.
It was a threat Grylls could make because he knew its value—or perhaps a form of apology.
After all, in a sense, the artificial guardian had also been created with Grylls’s assistance.
It seemed that Grylls’s declaration would weaken the momentum toward war, but matters unfolded in an unexpected direction.
Title: Isn’t He Basically Trolling Them?
If I were them, I’d be begging the elves to start a war, lmao.
It would be one thing if he were offering gold or silver, but we’re talking about mithril and orichalcum.
That bastard Grylls must genuinely think they’re only worth about as much as gold and silver, lmao.
└ International troll, holy shit.
└ Warmonger, holy shit.
└ God of War, holy shit.
└ Is Grylls bald, by any chance?
└ No? Why?
└ "God of War" made me think of a bald guy.
Title: The Thing About Grylls Is...
Considering how long he’s survived, he seems smart, but he occasionally does something incredibly stupid.
And whenever he does, the scale of it is completely insane, lmaooo.
└ Did it start with him recording one of the Undying King’s relatives?
└ No, proving that the Forest of Four Seasons existed was the first problem.
└ So his very existence was the problem.
└ For real. His existence itself causes all kinds of problems, lmaooo.
└ But there’s nothing we can do about it, right?
└ Ah, lmao. Let’s just enjoy the show.
Grylls had understood only that releasing the alloy onto the market would be dangerous.
But deliberately provoking a war to obtain those minerals?
Having survived thanks to the Gallery users’ goodwill, such a thought had never even crossed his mind.
This situation had arisen because it was too far removed from what Grylls considered common sense.
Title: No, That Doesn’t Make Any Sense
Wild Grylls
They’d start a war just to get their hands on that one thing? Isn’t that completely insane?
└ Does destroying an entire city with a single bomb make sense, then?
└ Wild Grylls: Ah.
A war might actually break out because nations wanted to receive Mithricon.
To be fair, Grylls was somewhat blameless in this regard.
No matter how much of this world’s common sense he had absorbed, there were still many things he did not understand.
He had never properly grasped just how valuable mithril and orichalcum were.
In fact, Grylls only came to understand it belatedly after a certain sage offered him an analogy.
Mithricon alloy did not possess destructive power comparable to a nuclear bomb, but its value was comparable to one.
Furthermore, Grylls had said he would provide a continuous supply of it. It was hardly surprising that people were horrified.
Title: To Explain How Absurdly Overpowered Mithril Is
It makes an enormous difference even when it comes to aura.
If orichalcum has an affinity for mana, mithril has the effect of amplifying it.
People say a true craftsman doesn’t blame his tools, but mithril is an exception. It’s simply on another level.
To exaggerate slightly, it would allow a knight who had only just awakened aura to fight a knight who had mastered the Aura Blade.
└ Heavenly Demon: Could you explain it in the terminology of the Central Plains?
└ It means a third-rate martial artist could fight evenly against a Supreme Peak master.
└ Heavenly Demon: Then a sword made entirely of true silver must be even more extraordinary.
└ There’s no such sword in the world, lmao.
└ Didn’t Grylls give Ludwig one before?
└ Was that sword made from Mithricon?
└ Yeah, everyone talks as if it was.
└ Come to think of it, he’s never actually shown it to us, has he?
There was one ambiguous point: Grylls had never personally revealed it.
That was partly because the performance of a Mithricon sword was absurdly exceptional and partly because its appearance was far too distinctive.
Whenever mana was infused into it, a green galaxy appeared across the blade. It was impossible for such a weapon not to attract attention.
That was why Grylls had not posted about the Mithricon sword after gifting one to the Heavenly Demon.
The only exception was when he had provided Ludwig with one to help him.
"Could it be the sword he gave Master?"
"What are you talking about?"
Reina, the Hero Asella’s steadfast supporter and close aide, quietly muttered to herself.
Hearing her, Asella—who had been carefully monitoring the Gallery—looked at her curiously.
"The Mithricon that fellow Grylls mentioned. I was wondering whether it was the sword he gave Master."
"Ah. You mean the sword that helped Master Ludwig survive?"
"Yeah. Did I ever tell you about that sword?"
"No. You never mentioned the sword itself."
Reina nodded. She had forgotten about it because she had been so busy lately.
However, it was a sight one could never forget after seeing it once, so she could describe it in detail.
"I suppose I’d call it a sword containing a green galaxy. At first, even I thought Master had advanced to a higher level."
"Just hearing that description makes it sound holier than a holy sword."
"Hmm... Perhaps. Even its effects were incredible. It felt as though the sword was dragging Master around."
"That sounds more like a demonic sword than a holy sword."
A true craftsman does not blame his tools.
That saying was half-correct.
More precisely, it would be better to say that too much of a good thing could be harmful.
A tool suited to the wielder’s level—or one beneath it—was fine, but a tool that far surpassed its wielder would only harm them.
"A demonic sword... Perhaps it was. But imagine if dozens of those demonic swords entered circulation instead of just one..."
"That would cause quite a headache."
"And this man says he’ll distribute the material needed to make those demonic swords. Perhaps it really is dangerous."
"Hmm..."
Reina had said it partly in jest, but it was not something they could simply dismiss.
She had personally witnessed the effects of the "material" Grylls mentioned.
It had been immensely helpful even in the Forest of Four Seasons, where mana could not be used.
Those were merely the effects they knew about. It might possess even greater powers.
Come to think of it, didn’t he say the mithril regenerates naturally?
Mithril grew naturally at the back of Grylls’s cave. It had even given Ludwig a new prosthetic leg.
That was not all. Even the dwarf known as Passing Dwarf had given up on processing it.
He had warned that it contained far too much mana compared to ordinary minerals and therefore had to be handled carefully.
Of course, it could not be processed without a specialized furnace.
But that doesn’t matter in this case, since he processed the mithril in its pure form.
There was no such thing as a sword made entirely from mithril in this world.
Even the expression "a sword made of mithril" was something of an exaggeration.
Ordinarily, a sword was called a mithril sword even if only a small amount of mithril had been mixed into it.
Yet even such swords possessed such absurd performance that people fought over them.
"For now, all we can do is watch. The Holy Kingdom doesn’t even have the capacity to wage war at the moment."
"Right? Still, do you think a war will really break out?"
"Only the Goddess knows."
The Holy Kingdom was currently undergoing reforms and had no capacity to wage war.
At least it still maintained the minimum necessary defenses.
For the time being, we have no choice but to watch.
Wars did not begin overnight.
Given how publicly Alvenheim had unveiled its artificial guardian, it was unlikely to be planning an immediate war.
Mountain’s reaction was the greater concern. Feeling threatened, it might launch a preemptive attack.
It even possessed perfect justification. Considering all the atrocities the elves had committed thus far, everyone would understand.
"What if the head admin decides this is getting out of hand and bans him?"
"A... ban?"
Asella flinched at Reina’s suggestion and quietly repeated the word.
Fortunately, Reina was looking at the Gallery and did not notice Asella’s reaction.
"Yeah. It would feel unfair from this man’s perspective, but the head admin must be starting to see him as dangerous. In a way, even the artificial guardian was invented using the guardian core this man provided."
"Th-Then we wouldn’t be able to find Master either."
"That’s our problem, not the head admin’s."
The head admin is sitting right beside you.
Asella barely managed to swallow the words that had risen to her throat.
At the same time, she felt relieved that she was the head admin.
If someone else held the position, they probably would have assessed Grylls as highly dangerous and banned him, just as Reina had suggested.
It would drive Grylls mad with injustice, but this concerned war.
Even posts that merely provoked conflict between nations warranted bans, so what if they threatened to cause an actual war?
It certainly would be a valid reason to ban him.
Of course, Asella had no intention of banning him. She could not repay his kindness with betrayal.
However, one wrong move could turn public opinion within the Gallery against him.
No one had mentioned banning him yet, but the subject was bound to arise eventually.
If possible, I should ask Grylls to exercise some restraint. Ah, come to think of it...
While reading through the messages, something suddenly occurred to her.
It was the conversation that had taken place between the Heavenly Demon and Grylls. The head admin could secretly view every conversation.
Asella had once skimmed past a conversation in which Grylls mentioned gifting the Heavenly Demon a sword he had made.
She had not thought much of it at the time, but considering the circumstances, the sword had clearly been made from Mithricon.
I should ask the Heavenly Demon how powerful it is.
She temporarily postponed her warning to Grylls. Confirming the material’s effects came first.
Asella cautiously sent a greeting to the Heavenly Demon, Yu Sowol.
[Don’t Abandon the Hero: Hello, moderator! Are you working right now?]
[Heavenly Demon: This sovereign is always present. What is it?]
[Don’t Abandon the Hero: It’s about that sword Grylls gave you last time! Was it made from Mithricon?]
[Heavenly Demon: Indeed. Why do you ask?]
[Don’t Abandon the Hero: I was curious about its effects!]
[Heavenly Demon: Though this sovereign swung it lightly, the heavens were cleaved apart.]
It had cleaved the heavens.
It was an exceedingly Heavenly Demon-like description.
Yet it did not sound exaggerated at all, especially considering the power Reina had described.
More importantly, there’s a very high probability that she truly is the Heavenly Demon.
Asella had learned that from a private conversation Grylls had held with her.
He had told her that he did not care whether she was truly the Heavenly Demon and that it was far better for her to act as she usually did.
He had even joked that if she wanted to be worshipped like she was by everyone else, she should come to the Forest of Four Seasons.
It was such a heartwarming conversation that merely reading it should have made anyone smile, yet Asella felt strangely irritated.
...Huh? What am I thinking?
Asella shook her head vigorously, dispelling the irreverent thoughts.
She then thanked the Heavenly Demon for the information and resumed browsing the Gallery.
"H-Hey, Asella."
"Yes?"
"Look at the post this bastard just uploaded."
Reina urgently called out to Asella.
After a brief moment of confusion, Asella realized which post Reina wanted her to see.
It was obviously another post by Grylls. She immediately opened it.
Title: I’m Causing a War?
Wild Grylls
(A photograph of a Mithricon ingot)
Then I’ll give this Mithricon to all the good countries that don’t go to war!
└ Heavenly Demon: This sovereign has already received some, so I have no need for it.
└ SwordMaster: Wow... You really are incredibly good at trolling people...
└ He’s seriously trolling entire nations, lmaooo.
└ But can you even call this trolling? He’s practically preventing a war, lmao.
└ The other countries will get so pissed off that they’ll refuse to go to war, lmao.
└ Passing Dwarf: Fuck, he’s saying whatever he wants because he can’t be conscripted.
└ Wild Grylls: I was already conscripted once and then discharged. :O
└ Passing Dwarf: ...
└ Wild Grylls: If you get conscripted, make sure you work yourself to the bone, lol.
└ Lmaooooooooo.
└ Ah, lmao. "I’ve already done my time."
└ But didn’t Grylls volunteer? I heard he was exempt because he was an orphan.
└ Yeah, I heard he enlisted because he had nothing else to do.
└ That bastard is something else too...
└ Robert, Master of Domestic Affairs: I’m fortunate to have retired, haha.
└ Were you a soldier?
└ Robert, Master of Domestic Affairs: Not a soldier, but I was a public servant. I’ve handed the position over to my son now.
└ You can pass a public-sector position down to your son?
└ Robert, Master of Domestic Affairs: Nepotism.
└ Just how capable is his son if he got him a public-sector position through nepotism? Lmao.
└ Is that even possible? Lmaooo.
This was trolling on an entirely unprecedented level.
Asella was rendered speechless.
However, it was also trolling that cleverly exploited human psychology.
It would restrain nations from going to war by making them think, I refuse to let that bastard be the one who gets it!
Should I ban him for just one day?
Asella seriously considered it.
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