42 Even Slugs Have a Knack for Rolling

Ko Byeong-gap worked diligently. The alchemy device spat out wooden swords and wooden spears without a break.

The two women who came to see him helped him move the finished goods.

“Lord, why are you making this?”

“To train the kids.”

Doran reacted as if she didn’t understand.

“Train them to fight?”

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Why? Because you have to train to win against your enemies.”

“Ah, are you going to fight the monsters outside that fog?”

“How did you know there are monsters outside the fog?”

“Ea told me.”

“Me? What did I do?”

Just in time, Ea appeared behind them and asked. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and took a deep breath.

“How many are you going to make? I think we’ve already moved thirty of these things.”

“Well, I’m going to make enough for all the children.”

“Then you’ll have to make three hundred more.”

Push!

The alchemy device shot out a bundle of wooden spears. Byeong-gap opened the container and brought out all the contents. It was a very simple form of weaponry that seemed to be solid and well-made. He swung it around once to test it.

“The alchemy thing. I want to learn that, too.”

“You?”

“Yes. Last time, I saw that there was nothing you couldn’t make with it, right? We made clothes and weapons. I would like to make something, too. I’m pretty good with my hands.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

He nodded and agreed.

So far, he had taught alchemy only to Gobung. But contrary to his expectations, Gobung’s performance had not been very good. Alchemy was too much for him because it required a high level of imagination.

‘I feel like Ea can do a good job.’

The talkative Spirit, Ea. Having observed her all the time, he saw that Ea was meticulous and savvy at her job. In other words, she had a unique delicacy.

“Then I’ll teach you later in the evening.”

“Oh, really? Thank you!”

“What about me? Teach me, too!”

“You…”

Doran barged in, and Byeong-gap mumbled the end of his words.

‘She’s a bit pushy.’

Doran’s behavior was rather clumsy. He felt like she was always two percent short no matter what she did, so Byeong-gap replied evasively after a moment of hesitation.

“Let me think about it. Move this.”

He handed her a bundle of wooden spears. Doran pouted her lips, but she grudgingly accepted it. She walked, wobbling as she carried more than ten wooden spears.

“She’s strong.”

She was small in stature, and her arms and legs were thin, so he didn’t know where that strength came from. On the other hand, Ea was struggling to carry five bags.

Byeong-gap burned a cigarette to catch his breath. He stared at the pile of wood and sighed.

“Wow, I’m gonna have to make these all evening.”

After a while, he crushed the butt of the cigarette and immersed himself in work again. The combustion unit worked all day long.

***

Beep beep! Beep beep beep!

The alarm was loud. Byeong-gap opened his eyes groggily and checked his cell phone. It was a little past five in the morning.

‘Let’s take a day off.’

He turned off the alarm and closed his eyes again. He was very tired. Yesterday, he had made four hundred wooden swords and spears all together and taught Ea alchemy until late in the evening.

He had gone beyond genius and became superhuman, but to be tired was to be tired.

He slept like a log, and it was around 9 am when he woke up again.

After having a quick meal, he went to Ashvilam.

“Hup.”

He stretched out to the fullest as he walked around. Ashvilam was as quiet and peaceful as ever.

The first place he headed to was the chicken coop.

Gugugu—

The hens were pecking at the feed. Somehow, they seemed to be much bigger than they were yesterday.

Byeong-gap looked inside the fence in case there were eggs.

“There’s a real one.”

Inside the pen was an egg that some chickens were holding dear. Because it was an unfertilized egg, there would be no chick coming out.

‘That’s interesting.’

Oh my god. He had never imagined that he would one day be able to raise chickens and even see an egg. The egg gave him a strange sense of confidence; maybe he could even raise other livestock such as cows, pigs, and goats.

Cuckoo!

There was a rather fierce sound coming from the rooster coop next door. The chickens glared at him as he stared at them.

‘Why do they look so mean?’

He decided to just give them more food. Byeong-gap scattered a handful of feed in the rooster cage and walked away.

His next destination was the field. He could already recognize, even from a distance, that something unusual had happened to it.

‘…What is this?’

It was definitely still a field yesterday…

But it was now a jungle. The sprouts of potatoes and sweet potatoes had grown almost to his knees. There were also tall weeds interspersed among the plants.

‘If I leave it like this, will it last for four more months?’

Byeong-gap strode in and grabbed a sweet potato stem, pulling it carefully. He felt something heavy in the ground.

“No… What is this…?!”

He strengthened his posture and pulled the stem of the sweet potato. After a while, something huge popped out of the ground.

He was speechless.

“Is this a sweet potato or a pumpkin?”

Without exaggeration, a sweet potato the size of an adult male’s calves popped out of the ground. It easily exceeded the size of three or four regular sweet potatoes combined.

Byeong-gap stared at the gigantic sweet potato with a blank expression.

“Oh, Lord. You’re here.”

“Lord. Hi.”

Two Normal Goblins appeared with a watering can. They pumped water out of the rubber basin with rhythmic movements.

“Hey, what are you guys up to?”

“Water. Give. Lord. Didn’t you order it?”

“Hey, stop, stop.”

Byeong-gap quickly stopped them from watering the sweet potatoes. He showed them the sweet potato he had harvested that was bigger than his face.

“You don’t need to build a house out of these sweet potatoes. Hey, little one. Go to the cave and get ten Goblins.”

“Ten Goblins?”

“Yes. We’ll have to pull all of these out today.”

“Oh, I see.”

The Goblin, who was pointed out, hurriedly moved away.

After shaking off the soil clinging to the sweet potato, Byeong-gap split it in half, revealing its white and firm inside. He roughly peeled off the skin and took a big bite. Sweet juice exploded and spread throughout his mouth.

As he chewed on the sweet potato, he could feel a gaze coming from the Goblin next to him. Byeong-gap held out the other half.

“Try it.”

“Thanks!”

“Hey, you have to shake off the dirt before eating it.”

“Oh, I get it.”

The Goblin peeled off the skin with his teeth as Byeong-gap ordered. After peeling, he took a big bite of the flesh, and his eyes widened.

“Isn’t it good?”

“Delicious! Sweet!”

“It tastes better if you grill it. We should grill sweet potatoes for lunch today.”

“Good!”

After a while, the Goblin who went to get reinforcements came back with ten others. Byeong-gap made the twelve Goblins work.

“You guys, go to the warehouse and bring out a cart. The rest of you, come here.”

He sat the Goblins down and demonstrated how to pick the sweet potatoes.

“Don’t pull it too hard. Do it carefully, like this.”

“Oh!”

In his hands, another bunch of sweet potatoes saw the light of the world. The Goblins watched him and exclaimed.

“You have to pull it out like this so that the stem doesn’t break off and the potato comes out. Give it a try.”

“Oh, I see!”

A Hob Goblin stepped up to the field. He repeated Byeong-gap’s movements and pulled out a sweet potato.

“You’re good. That’s how you do it.”

“Yes!”

“We’re going to harvest all the sweet potatoes here today. Let’s get started.”

He rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

“Lord. You will do it too?”

“Oh, I don’t have anything else to do in the morning anyway. Why, don’t you want me to join?”

“No! That’s great!”

“What are you doing? Let’s do it together.”

“Yep!”

Byeong-gap pulled out sweet potatoes with the Goblins. Every time a large sweet potato was pulled up, there was a burst of exclamation.

As they were working, the Goblins that were sent off earlier came back dragging a cart behind them.

“Put the sweet potatoes we picked in the cart and bring it to the campsite.”

“Yes, sir.”

The warm sun shone, and the cool breeze blew.

Byeong-gap and the Goblins stood in a row and conquered the sweet potatoes in the field one by one. The stems that came out with the potatoes were bundled and collected in one place. If they stir-fried it in oil, it would be good food.

“What are you doing, Lord?”

As he was busy working, he suddenly heard a clear voice behind him. It was Doran.

Byeong-gap straightened his back and sighed.

“I’m picking sweet potatoes. What are you doing? You’re not helping.”

“I was helping and came to see you. The Goblins brought something weird.”

Doran paused for a while before continuing.

“Can I try it too?”

“Whatever.”

“Yay!”

She strode into the field full of willpower, and Byeong-gap taught her how to pick sweet potatoes.

“Can you do it?”

“Of course! If you just pull on this—”

Pot!

The stem snapped as she pulled.

“Huh? Why did it cut off?”

“Hey, you have to pull it carefully. If you do it like that, of course, it’ll break off!”

Byeong-gap clicked his tongue.

“Look at me.”

He dug into the ground and pulled up the sweet potato with a broken stem.

“Ah, I want to try again!”

“The furrow next to me is empty. Go there.”

“Okay!”

She stepped forward enthusiastically, but the results were the same.

Pot! Pot! Pot! Pot!

Every stem she pulled in a row was snapped. At this point, Byeong-gap wondered if she was doing it on purpose.

“What are you doing?”

“Why does this keep…”

Doran stuttered in despair, and Byeong-gap sighed deeply.

“I’m sorry. I was trying to help.”

“That’s fine. People make mistakes.”

“Ah, right? Then I’ll try again—”

“Go help Ea. It’s going to be lunchtime soon.”

“……”

Doran pursed her lips. After a moment, her shoulders dropped, and she nodded her head.

“Okay…”

She trudged out of the field.

He was surprised that it was already lunchtime because they had been working hard. The sweet potato field was halfway done.

‘I’ll order the kids to finish this in the afternoon. We’ll dig up the potatoes tomorrow.’

“Let’s go eat!”

“Yes!”

He led the workers back to the camp, where Ea was smiling and preparing their meal.

The menu was simple. She just added roasted sweet potatoes to the leftover rice soup they had yesterday. The smell wafting from her cooking was great.

The Goblins blew on and ate the sweet potatoes. When they took their first bite, they all glowed and exclaimed. Byeong-gap was sandwiched between them and ate roasted sweet potatoes as well. They were so big that even one piece could almost fill his stomach.

“Oh, you’re here?”

As he was about to take another bite, Ea came up and spoke to him. She was very excited, pointing to the sweet potatoes piled up on the far side of the campsite.

“I’ve never seen such a wonderful crop in my life. I wondered what was planted in the field, and it turned out to be treasures.”

“You’re just in time. I have something to say.”

“Something to say? What is it? Is it related to Doran again?”

“No, you know the henhouse over there?”

“Yes, of course, I know it. What happened to the chickens?”

“That’s not it. If you go inside, you’ll find some eggs. Take those too and use them for cooking.”

“Oh really? That’s great news.”

Ea chuckled, then she suddenly revealed the object she had been hiding behind her back. Byeong-gap looked up to check it out.

“Ta-da! What do you think?”

“…Did you make that?”

“Yes! I made it with the alchemy you taught me yesterday!”

It was a coat made of monster leather. The structure was simple, but the shape and finish were pretty good.

‘This achievement after just one day? That’s great.’

He didn’t show it, but he was a little impressed inside.

Ea suddenly held it out to him.

“This is yours.”

“Mine?”

“Yes! I learned something good from you, so I want to give you a gift in return. I’m a Spirit who knows shame.”

“Why didn’t you make your own? Anyway, thank you. I’ll use it well.”

He accepted the coat, but to be honest, he was unsure whether he would wear it or not. Besides, it was midsummer, and this was a thick leather coat.

Still, it felt good to receive a gift.

“…….”

Meanwhile…

From a distance, Doran watched Ea and Byeong-gap talking. There was anxiety in her eyes.

Lunch was over soon.

Byeong-gap ordered the Goblins to stay out of work and harvest in the fields instead. The Goblins obeyed him without a murmur. After a while, everyone else gathered near him except for the Goblins who were already on the field, and Ea.

The first thing Byeong-gap did was imprint them all with a combat textbook.

“Let’s get started.”

“Yep!”

The Goblins began engraving the swordsmanship textbooks. Everyone had experience, so the preliminary work was quickly completed. The aftermath was different, though.

He then distributed the wooden swords and spears to the Goblins. He took a wooden sword for himself as well.

“Listen, everyone. As some of you already know, beyond that fog, monsters called Grugles wreak havoc. We will probably inevitably have to fight them.”

Byeong-gap glanced in the direction of the fog and continued.

“You may have gotten a lot stronger recently, but you still have a long way to go. So from today, you’re going to train with me in combat. Today is the first day, so let’s do it together, and we’ll decide the order from tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Well, let’s start with grouping yourselves into three. The configuration doesn’t matter. You just have to get together with like-minded people.”

The Goblins looked back and forth at each other. It took a while, but they managed to gather in groups of three at the behest of Byeong-gap.

“Hey, guys in the attack squad, get out of there.”

“Are we out?”

“Yes, you’ll do well on your own even if I don’t teach you.”

“Ah… Yes.”

The attack squad that went around the cracks with Byeong-gap walked away. There wasn’t much for him to teach them. He was sure that the achievement rate of their textbooks had already gone up quite a bit.

“Well then. You guys, come forward first.”

“Ah, ah! Yes!”

A group of two Normal Goblins and one Hob Goblin stepped forward.

Byeong-gap spoke to them calmly.

“The training is simple. When I give you the signal, attack me. I’m determined to receive you.”

“Huh?”

The Goblins were startled. It was such an unconventional training method.

‘This is the only way for now.’

Byeong-gap was not an expert in tactics or military law. He wasn’t a man that lived in ancient times, so there was only one way to train right now.

‘We have to increase their individual skills.’

He couldn’t create a fantastic team, but fantastic individuals could be made. And when outstanding individuals come together, a wonderful team was bound to be formed.

‘I’m sure I’ll be able to improve my skills as I compete with these kids.’

As he became stronger, this was a pretty good way to train.

“What are you doing? Come on, come on.”

“Ha, but. How dare we. Dear Lord…”

The Goblins hesitated. It must be difficult for them to brandish a weapon against their Lord. Byeong-gap felt the steam coming out of his ears and announced a threat.

“Everyone, take note! I can’t stand people who don’t actively participate in training!”

“Oh, I got it!”

Only then did the Goblins become serious.

“Come!”

“Yes!”

The three Goblins attacked in unison, and the results were exactly in line with his expectations.

“Gasp!”

“Gasp!”

The Goblins could not swing their swords properly and fell to the ground.

While Byeong-gap’s swordsmanship textbook achievement was close to 95%, they had only just learned it.

‘Everyone had basic combat skills, but they were too clumsy.’

The Goblins fought purely by instinct. As a result, their movements were unnecessarily large and numerous. Some parts still need to be corrected while learning the textbook.

‘By the time all the Goblins in Ashvilam are able to raise their low-grade textbook, there won’t be a problem.’

That was what Byeong-gap thought as he easily dodged the flying wooden spears. He stabbed his wooden sword in a quick, continuous motion.

“Argh!”

The Goblins, who were hit by his wooden sword, fell down. They didn’t get hurt much because he controlled his strength.

He drew his sword and muttered.

“Alright, get ready for the next group.”

Their training continued. The Goblins, who were grouped into three, attacked Byeong-gap sequentially. Sometimes, some teams were able to push against him, like a group made up of a Giant Goblin and two Beast Goblins. Eventually, however, the group was overwhelmed by Byeong-gap. The gap between their swordsmanship skills was just too great.

They fought for a long time without a break until Byeong-gap sat on the floor sweating profusely.

“Let’s take a break.”

“Lord, is it okay if we look after the children while the Lord is resting?”

“Oh, that’s fine. Good. You keep an eye on the kids.”

“Okay.”

The attack squad dealt with the Goblins while he smoked and watched the sight in front of him. It looked pretty good.

He was just wishing he had a bucket of popcorn with him when he suddenly heard clear voices from behind.

“What are you doing?”

It was Doran and Ea.