#32 New Seoul
Pop. Pop.
Cheoldu and Jintae, who came out through the New Seoul portal, were speechless at the sight before their eyes.
The well-organized roads, buildings, and scenery of Paju were understandable.
If heavy construction equipment was used, it would be enough to build that much in a few months.
“Wow, this place is more than just a village?”
“Yeah, it is.”
Like the Cheongju portal, this portal was located at the top of a low hill, offering a clear view of the surrounding area. Houses stretched out in every direction, north, south, east, and west.
Even though it was called New Seoul, they didn't expect much due to the limitations of civilization, but it exceeded their expectations.
There was a palisade fence in the distance, and inside it were houses, fields, and even a ranch on one side, seemingly raising animals.
They didn't know what kind of animals though.
At this scale, it would take quite a while just to get from one end of the town to the other.
It felt like they'd stepped into a medieval city, but the houses were distinctly Korean, giving it a vibe of time-traveling to the Joseon Dynasty.
“Look at the tile-roofed houses. The pottery workshop must be quite large.”
“Heh heh, impressive.”
Some houses had roofs made of wooden planks, but most were roofed with tiles.
“Let’s go down. There’s only one gate over there.”
The hilltop offered a clear view of the surroundings, but it was enclosed by walls, so the only way out was through the main gate on one side.
As they slowly descended the slope and stood in front of the gate, two men like gatekeepers, holding spears, blocked their path.
“Heh heh, you look exactly like country bumpkins visiting Seoul for the first time.”
“Welcome to New Seoul. Is this both your first time?”
“Yes.”
Looking closely, they saw names embroidered on their chests.
Private Kim Jong-soo
Private Park Su-nam
“Entrance fee is 5 joo-hwa. Lodging fees are included in the inn's price, so you won't be charged extra while you're staying there. You can sleep on the streets like a bum, but I wouldn't recommend it.”
“Um, here you go.”
Having already heard about it, they paid 5 joo-hwa each without complaint.
“What are your names?”
“Kang Cheoldu.”
“Kim Jintae.”
The gatekeeper, a Private, grabbed something like a pencil and wrote in a guestbook – surprisingly, it was made of paper.
The surface looked rough, but it seemed they even made and circulated paper.
“Ah, yes.”
“And, you know, murder, robbery, rape, and anything that messes with public order are all prohibited.”
“Yes.”
After rattling off the town's rules, the Private handed over a large sheet of paper.
“This is a map of New Seoul. If it’s your first time, I recommend buying it.”
“How much is it?”
“5 joo-hwa.”
“One, please.”
“Hope you find what you're looking for.”
“Ah, yes.”
Jintae quickly pulled Cheoldu, who'd been huffing and puffing, away from the portal zone.
Advertisements
“Everything is money.”
“Bear with it. You were prepared for this since we’re not joining the military anyway.”
“Tch, I just felt bad. Let’s build a town like this too.”
Even if they built a smaller town than this, the living expenses here in New Seoul would probably be cheaper than the maintenance costs, but a guy's gotta have his dreams, right?
“Let’s do it. I'll build you a kick-ass house.”
“Let’s go look at equipment first.”
“Okay.”
They had around 1000 joo-hwa combined, but they weren’t too worried.
If they ran out, they could go outside the walls to hunt and come back.
“We came in on the evening of the 26th, so roughly a day and…”
Kim Jintae counted the days on his fingers and soon said.
“If we plan to leave around the evening of the 31st, we can stay for about 30 days before leaving.”
“Good.”
Cheoldu nodded.
He'd already scored an axe in just 5 days at the Cheongju portal zone.
He figured 30 days would be enough to get some decent gear, even if he had to grind it out by hunting.
The two first went to the blacksmith as indicated on the map to check the market prices.
Seoul was so huge that it took a good while to head west, even from the portal zone in the center.
“They did a solid job with the city planning, though. Kinda weird how all the infrastructure is crammed in the center.”
“What about inns?”
“Inns and houses are all on the outskirts.”
“Hmm.”
Cheoldu stroked his chin.
“Must be a lot of raids from outside.”
“Why?”
“There’s a palisade fence.”
“Ah, I guess so.”
That palisade fence isn't just for collecting tolls.
“Still, it’s a relief. Commercial facilities are in the center, so we should be able to hit them all by tomorrow.”
The sun had already passed its peak and was indicating the afternoon.
Today, they'd check out the blacksmiths together, then grab an inn. Tomorrow, they'd split up to get a feel for the prices and meet back up in the commercial district on the other side.
Clang! Clang!
They walked for a bit, following the sound of banging metal.
There were quite a few buildings that looked like blacksmiths with furnaces, but surprisingly few places were actually hammering metal.
“Ah, we only hammer brass. Do you need bowls?”
“This is a pottery workshop. The blacksmith is over there.”
After passing a bunch of buildings with chimneys, they finally got to the blacksmith they were looking for.
Clang! Clang!
It was afternoon, so the sound of clanging metal was everywhere.
“Looks like they sell farming tools here.”
“Hmm.”
Cheoldu looked through the items displayed in front of the blacksmith building.
He picked up a hoe and examined it from side to side.
‘Not good.’
The wood is sturdy, but the metal is softer than expected.
Advertisements
“Are you looking for farming tools?”
“I’m looking for weapons.”
“Nah, that place over there is good for weapons. We just sell farming tools made of scrap iron.”
He followed the guy's finger to a blacksmith with a wooden sign: Yeongho Workshop.
Cheoldu went there and looked at the weapons laid out on the stall.
There were three swords, four small iron axes, and ten spearheads without shafts.
“Have a look.”
Cheoldu picked up a sword and examined it.
It was about 90 centimeters long, with a blade length of around 60. You'd need two hands to really use it, but in Cheoldu's grip, it felt like a one-handed sword.
Ting!
Cheoldu casually flicked the sword blade with his finger, and a clear sound rang out, exceeding his expectations.
He didn't know anything about swords, but the feeling wasn't bad.
“Oh, do you know how to look at swords?”
“Just gave it a tap.”
“……”
“How much is this?”
“It’s 120 joo-hwa.”
“Hmm?”
The price was cheaper than he thought.
The guy seemed to get Cheoldu's surprise wrong and started rambling on.
“You know, iron's hard to come by these days. But that one's made from melted-down lizardman spearheads, so it's way better than scrap iron.”
Cheoldu asked, just in case.
“Do you know about orc axes?”
“Ah? Those. If you get one of those, it's like hitting the jackpot. The metal's a bit soft, but it's so heavy you could make at least 10 swords like this one.”
Cheoldu understood the price structure of weapons.
The price of iron seemed to matter more than the labor.
Maybe it is a bit pricey, come to think of it.
Unless he planned on catching wolves barehanded, it felt kinda steep to buy a sword right off the bat.
“How much is this spearhead?”
“That’s 30 joo-hwa.”
“Ah.”
Cheoldu peeked inside the blacksmith.
“Got any axes?”
“Over there.”
“No, not wood-chopping axes. Like, real battle axes.”
“Huh, who uses battle axes?”
“What?”
“I mean, iron's precious. Why waste it on an axe?”
“Ah.”
“And who'd use something that heavy as a weapon?”
I do.
Cheoldu took out a battle axe from his inventory.
Pop. Pop.
“Whoa!”
Advertisements
Looking at the surprised employee, he asked.
“Can you do modifications?”
The orc axe he'd found was good weight-wise, but the metal was soft and the blade was dull.
He figured if it just had the strength and sharpness of that sword, it'd be perfect.
“Hey, boss!”
The employee hurriedly went inside the workshop and came out with a bald man.
“Hmm?”
The guy, who was obviously the owner of Yeongho Workshop, looked back and forth between the orc battle axe and Cheoldu, his eyes practically glowing.
“Come inside.”
“……?”
“Too many people watching. Come inside, let's talk.”
“Sure.”
Cheoldu and Jintae stepped inside the blacksmith shop, and the heat hit them like a wall.
The owner passed through the workshop and strode into a door attached to the inside. Cheoldu followed, and a small yard and a small house beyond it appeared.
It wasn't a separate house; it was built right into the blacksmith shop.
He led them to some rough chairs that looked like tree stumps on one side of the yard.
“Sit here.”
“Yes.”
“Boss, this guy picked out a steel sword right away and knew what he was looking at.”
“You go back to work.”
“Ah, yes.”
The owner sent the excited employee away and just stared at Cheoldu.
“There aren't any orcs around here.”
Cheoldu decided to give this socially awkward blacksmith owner, who hadn't even introduced himself, a taste of his own medicine – K-Barbarian style.
“I caught it somewhere else.”
“Where? Gangneung?”
“Cheongju portal zone.”
“Cheongju? Huh, another portal has opened up?”
Yeongho, the owner of Yeongho Workshop, spoke without caring about the young man’s informal speech.
“Around here, you can only get copper or bronze. Lizardmen drop them. The place where those guys live is a swamp…”
Before the barbarian's patience ran out, he cut him off.
“Get to the point.”
“Iron's rare. That's cast iron. It's tough, but it's already chipped, see? It'll break soon.”
“Make it stronger.”
Cheoldu, a man of his word, spoke simply to the point. Yeongho was a man who only said what he wanted to say, but he was good at understanding what others were saying.
“Half.”
Cheoldu shook his head.
Half for the processing fee was too much of a rip-off.
“My axe needs to be big and heavy.”
“Then I'm losing out. Making it out of steel takes other materials, too.”
Cheoldu took out more hand axes from his inventory.
Pop. Pop.
The amount of iron in five hand axes was also considerable.
When even Jintae took out one, six hand axes appeared.
“Wh-what the? You both have inventories?”
Advertisements
“Yeah.”
“Huh, you guys are higher level than I thought. What's with the clothes, though?”
Cheoldu couldn’t think of any excuses.
These are all the clothes I have?
“Gotta save money.”
“True that.”
Yeongho was a man who was quick to agree.
He pondered for a moment, then spoke coolly.
“Alright, I'll be straight with you. Most weapons are made of wrought iron. That's just how the tech is right now.”
“Get to the point.”
The barbarian’s conversational skills made Yeongho’s patience run out.
“Goddamn it. Why the hell have you been talking down to me this whole time?”
“Cause you were.”
“Yeah, I guess that's fair.”
Yeongho nodded and chuckled.
Been on Nova for 10 years.
Age ain't nothin' but a number.
“Anyway, I'm trying to refine carbon steel. It's my job quest. Or, I guess, a skill quest?”
“……?”
It was a quest he had never heard of before.
“I'll make you a steel axe. But you gotta bring me all the iron you find. Skill-ups need a ton of materials.”
“For free?”
“You gotta pay, of course. But since you have inventories, I'm making you this offer.”
“Deal.”
“Heh heh, good. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Choi Yeongho.”
“Heh heh, I’m Kang Cheoldu.”
“Good name. I knew I liked you for some reason.”
And just like that, Cheoldu became business partners with New Seoul's top steel fanatic.
