Chapter 35
Ossan, works
The larger the mana capacity a person has, the more time it will take for it to recover once it has been depleted .
It was helpful to test out the magic to build the piers two days ago, but it was a stroke of bad luck to had been found out by the group of picky craftsmen .
The piers, to which Zeros had been made to painstakingly make corrections and fine-tune details over and over while being shouted at, were reborn as magnificent works of art . But, from the point of view of the person in question, it was nothing but hell .
He had to carve two sculptures on each of the 45 pillars, and even carry the bosses with flight magic while receiving precise instructions on every single detail he had to adjust . Moreover, he was yelled at whenever he made even the slightest mistake .
He was subjected to do nothing but unreasonable things . There was no way an amateur could recreate in practice the ideas of a professional in the same way as them even if he was made to do a mind-numbing work like that .
The dwarves of Hanba Construction really didn’t know what the word ‘compromise’ meant .
In the end, he was barely able to finish the work .
—
“Ou, so you were up already? Is your mana back?”
“I think it’s about a third of the way full . Since I was made to use magic until it ran out, the recovery is going to take a while . ”
“Then, can you still work? We were plannin’ to make five piers for today, but…”
“I’ll be fine as long as I don’t have to work like as I did two days ago . If I have to do something like that again, I’ll probably be stuck in bed for three additional days before I can recover . ”
Naguri quickly averts his eyes . In the first place, it was he who proposed Zeros to work for them, and it was that same Naguri who said before, ‘I won’t allow any half-assed things in my presence!’ while coercing him into making changes to the sculptures he carved out of the pillars he built as a way to test his new magic .
It would be a catastrophe if his mana were completely exhausted causing the construction of the bridge to be delayed .
Naguri, too, thinks deep down that he might have gone too overboard with it .
Nevertheless, to Zeros, there’s one thing he can be sure of –which is that dwarves turn into demons[oni] when it comes to architecture and works of art, and that perhaps, they’re not able to suppress the overwhelming feelings that well up inside of themselves whenever they see one .
They almost betrayed the trust placed on their work .
“I’ve named this spell 〖Base Creation[Fundation construction*]〗”
(*T . N: between parenthesis [] is the meaning of the kanjis 礎構築 ; read as Base Creation)
“Well, I guess the name fit . But, more importantly, do you wanna drink this mana potion?”
“Yes, thank you very much . Having only a third of my mana makes me feel somewhat light-headed, so every little bit I can recover helps . ”
He drinks the potion that he received from Naguri in one gulp, however, he only recovered a minuscule amount of mana, though it was still better than nothing .
But, to put it in a concise manner, he felt light-headed due to being the first time experiencing mana depletion . Although, even if he only had a third of his mana, it was still an amount far greater than what an ordinary magician would possess .
Slight dizziness assaulted this middle-aged uncle every time he turned his head a little .
“Well then, let’s get started . I’m countin’ on ya!”
“I will try my best . It’s alright if I do it like how I practiced two days ago, right?”
“Oh? Did you memorize the width of the piers? It’s fine if ya take a look at the blueprints, y’know?”
“It’s alright, thank you . Well then, let’s start . ”
As Zeros goes in front of the cliff, he holds out both of his arms, activating the magic formula, and casting the spell on the place he visualized in his mind . Soon, a pillar of light extends upwards from the riverbed, gradually expanding as if pushing back the water’s surface .
As the inside of the barrier becomes the formwork for the pier, things like the mud and stones flowing down the river start to accumulate inside of it, eventually starting to solidify as the pressure rising within the barrier produces heat by way of compression, later expelling the water outside of its boundaries as it boils up turning into vapor .
A large amount of steam could be seen rising from the river’s current .
“Woah, amazing!”
“As expected, only a magician can control this kind of magic . ”
“Looks like it’s gonna be possible to build the piers this way . ”
“Kukuku… My arms are screaming to go!!”
They were frustrated, seeing as they couldn’t get to work for around three days . And as if they were waiting for ages for this chance to come, the dwarves were all cracking their knuckles and grinning fiercely .
They were severe workaholics to the extent of going hunting in the forest to level up to increase their mana capacity .
Dwarves are craftsmen, but they also have a natural inclination to be warriors . In addition to their sturdy physiques and impressive brute strength, now that they have earth attribute magic, they have become true construction warriors .
Of course, unlike combat engineers on a battlefield, they have raised their levels for the sole purpose of architecture . They do only what they have to for the sake of their craft .
After all, they once completely annihilated a bandit group that thoughtlessly came to attack them in the middle of their work, which goes to show the intense zeal they hold for it . It would appear that the dwarves from Hanba Constructions have no mercy for anyone that tries to disturb their work .
…Though it’s a mystery what the bandits were aiming for at that time .
—
In the meantime, a second pier was built . Seeing this, the dwarves’ tension immediately rose .
“Let’s go, you lazy pieces of shit!! We gotta show our strength here!”
““““Yee––––––eeess!!””””
It was pure, uncontrollable rock’n’roll .
(*T . N: I thought at first to find a less cringe epithet, but decided against it . Suffer with the author’s cringe as well . )
They set out to their respective workstations as they overflowed with construction spirit, fired up and ready to fulfill their roles .
“First team, move forward!”
“““Yee––––––eeess!!”””
“Get ready!”
““““Work, work, work!!””””
“Go!!”
““““I’m rock’n’roll!!!””””
(*T . N: said in English to make it more cringe I guess . )
Those who do not work, do not eat . All dwarves have one thing in common, which is, they give their all when it comes to their jobs, whether it is being farmers or warriors . Their zeal is as long-lived as their lives .
The dwarves cast 〖Gaia Control〗 onto the piers to start building and consequently connect the bridge’s foundations .
What they lacked in mana capacity they made up for in numbers and teamwork . As such, when they are about to run out of mana, the supply team hands them mana potions .
With a single command, the group stops casting the spell in a flawlessly coordinated manner, and with a snap of the fingers, another team, waiting on standby and perfectly lined up, appears and casts 〖Rock Forming〗, replacing the first team of dwarves, who ‘moonwalk’ their way out to then go pick up and transport the building stones back to the same spot and proceeding to start affixing them in place .
Nevertheless, it was the 〖Gaia Control〗 team that was responsible for molding and transforming the soil into the required form . They were the main players in this event .
And so, the first team continues to build the foundations while the 〖Rock Forming〗 team assists them, and the back-up supply team moves around, taking and handing out recovery potions .
A group of dwarves, who were stacking up more building stones on top of the finished sections of the bridge, and a second group, who were placing the completed ornamentations onto them, were doing headspins on top of the stones as if they were doing some sort of artistic performance .
(*T . N: yeah, you didn’t read that wrong; 完成した個所に石材を積むドワーフ達は、装飾済みの石材を置いた連中は石の上でヘッドスピンをかましていたりと、まるでエンターテイメントである。)
And yet, they perfectly did their jobs .
—
While Zeros was astonishingly watching this performance unfolding before his eyes, the bridge’s foundations were finished .
His gaze meets with Naguri’s .
“You do it too!”
“…For real!?”
His eyes were completely serious(for real) .
(*T . N: just a simple pun that kinda gets lost in translation . At least I think it’s slightly funnier in Japanese; 本気[honki], ‘seriousness’ here is read as マジ[maji], ‘for real’ . So, it’s like the narrator saying ‘yeah he for real’ between lines . )
Zeros had no interest in the entertainment world, so he wasn’t good at these kinds of things .
The only celebrity he knows is that person . The problem was that he was worse than an amateur at imitating other people… which he demonstrated at the year-end party that one time…
“I-It’s showtime!”
(*T . N: said in English, probably from some Japanese variety show’s host . Only a tv show from the Philippines came out when I googled it so)
—
At first, he started doing it because he didn’t want to get beaten up by the dwarves, but the troublesome task gradually started becoming fun . Before he knew it, he had become one of them . This middle-aged uncle was ‘BAD . ’
Normally, the work would have been delayed if the workers started messing around, but oddly enough, they completed their work at an unbelievable speed .
Whenever they got stuck at some point in the construction, they proceeded to dance to make the work go smoother . In many ways, these dwarves were masters of their craft .
On that day, one uncle and a group of dwarves were connected by a strange power .
The construction started early in the morning and continued until sunset .
Almost like great entertainers… An old man dancing with some dwarves .
—
There were three different levels in the bridge’s structure . The first two were the foundations while the third remaining was the main body .
The dwarven craftsmen, whose restrains have been broken off, and smoothly, like fishes in the water, ended up taking only a few days in completing the foundations .
Dancing madmen–– The people at Hanba Constructions were certainly all sort of crazy .
Early in the morning, Zeros wakes up with muscle pain all over his body . There was too much of a difference between the muscles used to do farming work in his own field, and the ones used to do heavy construction work while dancing around .
This middle-aged uncle’s body has been exhausted by the abuse suffered over the past few days .
“Ouch… my body hurts… How are you guys fine?”
“Huh? Because we’re trained . ”
“We gettin’ tired already, Anchan? Ye shouldn’t make a sound like that . ”
“Well, it was pretty good for an amateur, y’know?”
In other words, they are dancing every day . At this point, they shouldn’t be considered construction workers .
“Dancing construction workers, is it? … How fearsome, this otherworld…”
As he was suffering from muscle pain, Zeros realizes once again how big this world really is .
The dwarves eating breakfast in front of him didn’t seem to be feeling any sort of fatigue from yesterday’s work .
“Today we’ll pass from finishing up the second level to building the bridge’s main body at the same time, so put it some spirit you damned bastards!”
““““Ooohhh!!””””
They will continue to build the bridge while dancing today . It will be hard for Zeros, who still hasn’t recovered his mana .
The work at Hanba Constructions was surprisingly normal if set aside the whole dancing around part . Each of them has their own role to play in order to make the work more efficiently… Though, they were beatboxing while doing so…
The people in charge of the masonry and the ornamentation walk away from the ones in charge of the bridge’s construction and start moving their chisels and hammers . The sound they made was a particularly intense eighth-note beat, which, along with the distinct timbre of tapping sound of the tools, made it even more uplifting .
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It was a peculiarity of their race . Because they liked festivals and partying in general, this beat helped them raise their spirits and fired them up in order to work .
Zeros, who was unable to move due to his muscle pain, was simply watching them in a daze .
“How is it that you haven’t had any accidents so far? …It’s incredibly dangerous no matter how I look at it . ”
—
The bridge was arched and had three different levels that were stacked on top of each other . From the first level, dwarves were picking up and carrying logs towards the upper levels without a safety rope while following the beat’s rhythm .
They were building scaffolds around the bridge to add ornamentations to the places they couldn’t reach on their own . Nevertheless, there was a flowing river at their feet .
Even if the world was different, it was a clear violation of workplace safety laws .
The cliffs stood at around 20 meters from the river, and no matter how gentle the current was, they wouldn’t end up unscathed if they fell . The river’s flow was still too strong for a person to swim through .
“Hey! Hanba Constructions! We have come here to help this time!”
“Ou, Meiga Public Works! C’mon, our relationship ain’t like that . No need to be so uptight!”
“We came to give ye a hand! Let’s show that fuckin’ Count how’s done!”
“We countin’ on ya, Chubrie Constructions!”
One by one, different companies from the construction industry started to gather . All of them have worked and drank alongside Hanba Constructions at least once in the past . Their information network was so extensive that they even knew the inner workings of each nobleman’s domain . In a sense, they were the kind of people no one would want to make enemies of .
Initially, Meiga Public Works undertook the construction of the highway but later were pushed to also take on the bridge’s construction .
In the beginning, the road was planned to be built in a straight line, starting from Jacbuckham County and going towards the neighboring territory, but then they were suddenly tasked with the construction of a bridge without any previous notice, leaving them to having to do a monumental feat on their own . And moreover, the request came from the feudal lord, so they couldn’t refuse it .
In actuality, they didn’t know that the construction of the bridge was still at the planning stages, and although designs had been made, the construction itself was nowhere near ready to start .
So, they negotiated with Hanba Constructions, which ended up with them undertaking that project .
“That fuckin’ Count didn’t learn his lesson after being beaten up once . This time imma leave him half dead!”
“What’s even the point of building a bridge here?”
“The fuck would I know!?”
The country had more or less a plan, which was to create a town in an unexplored region and develop it to help boost the economy . Naturally, a good amount of money would have to be spent on this project, however, there was a good chance of finding an area with rich ore deposits in the mountains located there for then to develop mines .
This was still at the planning stages but it was decided to expand the roads while they still had the budget to do so .
If the pioneering plan succeeded, many merchants and artisans will come and go along this road, which will encourage the circulation of goods .
It was Count Jacbuckham who first set his eyes onto that region, taking the initiative and pushing for the construction of a highway . Nevertheless, regarding the bridge, he simply made an impulsive decision without consulting with anyone .
Nobles are like the governors and mayors [in modern Japan] if the position were hereditary, however, their authority was not absolute . Even with a hereditary system, depending on the people’s dissatisfaction, another nobleman could simply be appointed as the new feudal lord .
Aristocrats who have ruled over a territory for a long time are usually responsible in their decisions, but it is the newer noble families who often take that responsibility lightly .
There are many who have received a noble status as recognition for their achievements, but they become corrupt as soon as they obtain power .
Count Jacbuckham is the third generation Lord, and while his grandfather was a capable man, the current head of the house was a spoiled and foolish man . Despite being quick to talk about money, he didn’t know what to do with that information .
The Duke of Solisthea had improved and built roads in his territory as a form of upfront investment . Nonetheless, Count Jacbuckham had only imitated him .
Once the highway was finished, the Count would take over its management, however, he hadn’t noticed the fire being lit at his feet, as complaints against the current ruler had reached the ears of the royal family . And, since the construction of the bridge wasn’t included in the budget given by the nation, he had to bear its costs .
Long story short, the Count forged the application form to make it seem like it was an official request from the country, when in fact, it hadn’t been authorized by it . This alone would be enough to sentence him to death, but being so obsessed with money and power he never once considered that outcome .
He skipped every procedure to act upon his own desires . He thought that if he succeeded he would get praise and if he failed, he could just squeeze the money out of the people involved in the construction .
He didn’t have anything else in mind other than his own safety .
Even if the bridge was built, its budget would have to come out of his own funds, and at the same time, it would come to light that he falsified the royal decree to commission the craftsmen .
The situation would have been different if he had obtained the King’s permission, but given as he didn’t even follow that simple of a procedure, he will be inevitably held accountable . It begs the question of whether he’s actually a genius or a simple fool .
Incidentally, the noble who had ordered to change the designs after the building was already under construction, had been the same Count Jacbuckham, who ended up receiving Naguri’s iron fist .
(*T . N: flashback to uhh chapter 20 or smt? I don’t remember anymore . )
Since then, Hanba Constructions has been his sworn enemy .
Clients who repeatedly change their minds about the designs are often frowned upon . The problem that time was so severe that Naguri couldn’t stand it any longer and beat him up, so he began to unilaterally bear a grudge against them .
Despite wanting to have the mansion decorated to the point of obscenity, he tried to even bargain the construction costs, which would make any craftsman lose their temper .
“Your lil brother’s side is lookin’ better, ain’t it? The current Lord seems to wanna crush us . ”
“Nah, but well… Seems like my brother’s gonna become the next head before long . It’s fine that way, though . ”
“We can still go beat’em up if ye want . ”
From the beginning, it was an unreasonable request, and despite being a royal decree, the person in charge was still Count Jacbuckham .
It’s true that without Zeros, this job would have been impossible to do, but even if the royal decree were real, they still should have informed the King about the state of affairs of the region and try to stop this plan from coming into fruition .
(*T . N: The wording is a bit confusing, kinda makes it seem like Zeros had the responsibility for stopping the Count, but that doesn’t really make much sense; ゼロスがいなければ、この仕事が成り立たなかったのは確かだが、仮に国王命令であれば土地の状況を伝え計画を止めるのが役割である。)
However, since the Count had unreasonably pushed ahead with his plan for the bridge’s construction, without consulting with anyone from the beginning, it would seem that he was going to pay a hefty price for it .
The eyes of the construction workers were particularly scary . Glaring like bloodthirsty beasts .
There seemed to be a great deal of resentment piled up against him .
“Alright, let’s get started!”
““““Ohh!!””””
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They all immediately separated and went to their respective work stations… while dancing .
“So you’re going to dance after all… Why do I have to do it as well?”
“Everyone asks that when we’re workin’ . Wonder why’s that, though?”
“…Why are you asking me? That’s what I want to know . ”
He takes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it up .
The bridge’s construction site had become some kind of big show .
A group of around 20 people was running through the forest . Everyone was equally frightened and sensitive to even the slightest rustle of leaves . Alarmed by their surroundings, they start running off again when they deem it safe .
But what laid ahead of them was a cliff .
Despair could be seen in their faces .
“Oi, look at that!!”
They turned their heads as someone’s voice rang out and saw a bridge under construction . The thought that they might finally escape harm’s way gives them strength .
“Let’s go over there… Before that thing comes . ”
They all nodded and started running in harmony .
The group was comprised of mostly young men and women holding small children in their arms, with their clothes tattered and covered in blood and dirt .
One day, a black beast suddenly attacked their village . It killed and devoured the villagers as if it truly were the Devil . All they could do was run away whilst their friends, husbands, wives, and children were slaughtered .
Some of them wielded weapons and stood up against the beast, but it goes without saying that they couldn’t do much against it .
And so, they head towards the bridge screaming as loudly as they could .
“P-Please help us!”
The dwarves, who were in the middle of their work, noticed something was wrong as they saw the villagers desperately screaming .
They quickly build steps around the cliff with 〖Gaia Control〗 to try rescuing them .
The villagers were so awfully haggard and worn out that the dwarves decided to suspend their work for the time being, and then proceeded to guide them towards the resting area and gave them a meal .
The craftsmen also took care of their injuries while they heard about the villagers’ situation in detail .
“How terrible it must’ve been . Are you guys refugees from somewhere near here?”
“We ain’t refugees . Our village was attacked by a monster and we had no choice but to run away . ”
“A monster?”
“A black monster . It’s a big man-eater beast that changes form while eating people . ”
The figure of an unusual monster with regenerative abilities flashes in Zeros’ mind . It had no sense of pain, and even if its limbs were severed, it would continue to charge blindly .
“Excuse me, do you know how many monsters there were in total?”
“F-Four… Those things… even my wife… uuugh…”
“So there were three other monsters…”
“How d’you know!?”
“I was attacked by one of them when I was testing a spell… I killed it, but it was terrifying, wasn’t it? I’m not sure if it can even be called a living creature . ”
Its unusual power and regeneration abilities . As compensation for that, it was stricken by an insatiable hunger . Just remembering its appearance makes Zeros shiver . It was only for a moment, but that monster managed to overpower the cheat that is Zeros .
It was hard for him to think about a more terrifying creature .
“You could defeat it!? Then, it should be easy for ya, right?”
“It’s hard to say for certain, you know? I wasn’t outnumbered at that time, and more importantly, they have that strange regenerative ability . ”
“Like with Ogres and Orcs?”
“It’s far more superior . But in exchange for that, they’re constantly assaulted by a feeling of hunger, and they can’t survive without continuously attacking and predating on creatures all the time . As a living being, you can say that it’s a failure, though . ”
The basic instinct of a living being is to survive and to leave offsprings behind . However, this is not the case for the Black Monster . It only continues to predate on everything that moves without leaving anything behind .
“I think it would be better to send the workers back temporarily . ”
“Aight, I’m on it . I’m havin’ a bad feeling ‘bout this, so I’m gonna carry my weapon . ”
“That thing has no sense of pain . Even if you attack it, it will keep trying to charge towards you, you know?”
“Seriously? … How the hell did you defeat it?”
“I just restrained it and burned it off without leaving even a speck of dust behind . ”
Naguri recalls the crater-like traces left behind at the place were Zeros conducted his magic experiment . He also remembers how the ground was vitrified and was giving off a very high temperature .
“So that’s what that thing was… So you fought at that place . ”
“Because that thing did not feel any pain, it was as if it could draw its strength to its limits . Plus, it had that super-fast regeneration . Honestly, it’s a monster I wouldn’t want to fight again . ”
At that time, it was the first time he felt his life was truly in danger .
――― Gan! Gan! Gan!
The sound of metal being struck suddenly echoes .
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On top of the watchtower erected at the construction site, a dwarf rings the alarm bell .
“They are here…”
“Let’s go! I can’t have’em thrashing my workplace!”
Zeros leaves the construction site along with Naguri and the dwarves . But as they hurriedly ran towards the bridge, a humanoid beast covered in dark bristle appears on the opposite bank of the river .
Unfortunately, it seemed to have a very good vision, given that it furiously started rushing towards their direction as soon as it spotted them .
“Eh…Ehh!!”
“So that’s the monster… Get ready, you damn bastards!”
““““Ohhhh!!!””””
The dwarves were faster to cast their magic than the beast to reach them with its charge .
““““〖Gaia Control〗””””
As the spell is invoked, the ground fractures and creases like ripples on water . As soon as the monster reaches that place, it’s caught by the ground and sinks down as if it were quicksands .
“Affix it!”
““““〖Rock Forming〗””””
The surrounding soil was perfectly solidified, completely stopping the monster’s advance . It couldn’t escape from the hardened ground and rampaged around until its claws broke .
It’s what happens when dwarves take up weapons…
―――Buju, Bichi, Bujuu…
With a disgusting sound, the monster forcefully tries to continue advancing while ripping off its lower half .
“F-Freak…”
It was a sight so bizarre that left everyone speechless .
The monster’s wound began to close up and regenerate, and despite losing its lower half, it started growing eerie spider legs from its back .
No one dared to move in the presence of such an unnerving spectacle . All except for one person…
Zeros immediately closes the gap between them and hurls the blinding fireball he produced from his palm, immediately jumping backward to avoid getting caught up in the explosion .
A scorching fire envelops the creature accompanied by a nauseating smell that drifted from it .
Even until the end, it didn’t scream as it was burned and turned into dust before disappearing .
“I’ve never expected to see a monster that would rip its own body apart…”
“Yeah . Just what the hell was that thing…?”
“It’s not a natural-born creature . It probably was artificially created . ”
“Yer tellin’ me someone made this disgusting freak!? You’d have to be a pretty fucked up bastard…”
It wasn’t a creature that was born naturally .
The possibility couldn’t be said to be zero, but it’s unlikely that it was a coincidence that the four creatures appeared at the same time and place .
Depending on the circumstances, there are cases when mutant species of monsters are born, however, it’s usually only of them are born within their group at a time .
If one applies the theory of probabilities, then certainly, the probability is not zero albeit incredibly minuscule, and for four of these mutant creatures to appear at the same exact time and place, it’s more likely to suspect human intervention .
“… This leaves two of them left . ”
“Don’t say unpleasant things, please . Well, it’s the truth, sadly…”
They couldn’t be relieved as there were still two other monsters lurking in the forest at the opposite shore of the river, which they didn’t know when they were going to attack . And, at the same time, it would force them to interrupt the construction work .
The dwarves glared at the forest on the other side with extreme contempt .
Inside the dark forest, two monsters were grappling with each other . It wasn’t a fight per sé, as they were predating on, and feeding each other .
What was once a person is no longer there .
The constant onslaught of insatiable hunger is what makes these monsters even more dangerous .
As they still had their uselessly powerful regeneration abilities, neither side could finish off the other, and so they were forced into a drawn-out battle . They ate when their arms were torn apart, and they ate when their entrails spilled out of their bodies .
The beasts, possessed by the unstoppable hunger, had already reached their limits . Their fast regeneration can’t keep up as all of their cells in their body are screaming . But even with that, an incredible amount of mana continues to spring forth, therefore, they won’t die .
Eventually, when one of the monsters slows down, the other one manages to pin it down and starts devouring it, tearing apart its flesh with its sharp fangs .
The sound of bones being crushed and flesh being ripped apart echoes through the forest as this monster finally consumed its last remaining kin .
―――Guuohhh!!!
A roar reverberates in the darkness . When it was eating its own kind, it swallows up a small broken fragment [of the black stone] .
It grants it further power, and for the first time, its hunger is satiated . But, suddenly its body swells to twice its former size, and thus, this monster once carrying a humanoid appearance changes even further .
At the same time, the maddening hunger strikes it again, causing it to start moving again in order to devour more .
It attacks other monsters, both small and big, and eats them to increase its own strength .
Eventually, it made its way to the side of the cliff and it bellows in delight as it senses the presence of living things ahead .
The monster started moving towards the opposite bank of the river .