The dirt hill on the outskirts of Black Mountain Village had a smithy on it, and the place was full of iron filings. Not even a single blade of grass grew there. When it rained, the smell of iron vibrated through the air.
Blacksmith Malrux was doing preliminary work in front of Rowan when he turned his eyes to him.
"You really want to watch from start to finish?"
"Yeah. You said you'd charge differently depending on how much folding and quenching you do. So I should check."
"Geez, don't you trust me?"
"How could I not trust you, Mr. Malrux? But I don't trust a tired body."
'That damn mouth of his.'
Working on Rowan's claymore, which began at 6 AM, started like that. Naturally, it took so much work that they had to share breakfast, lunch, and dinner together. It took that much time.
For that, Malrux received two silver coins. It was big money, enough to rest for two months, and naturally, it was all of Rowan's emergency funds. Of course, it was all his currency. Goods overflowed in the warehouse.
Rowan was still only 15 years old, but his unexpectedly rapid growth rate had greatly twisted his plans.
At 15, he stood 170cm tall. It wasn't an exaggeration to say he already had an adult's body.
"Leather keeps piling up but no merchants are coming. It's killing me."
Rowan sighed. Malrux felt the same way.
"Soon the youth association is planning to take goods to Torch Fortress and stop by villages along the way to sell stuff. If you're interested, gather up as much as you can."
Rowan, who didn't participate much in youth association activities, was hearing about this for the first time.
"Really? Ah! Come to think of it, for the past few days there've been quite a few villagers coming to buy quality leather..."
"They're probably going to process it by hand and resell it. Haha!"
Malrux laughed cheerfully watching Rowan make a face like he'd been had.
"Normally I'd charge five silver coins, but I said I'd give you the leftover steel, so I cut you a deal."
"A deal, my ass... You think I don't know market prices?"
Rowan immediately called out Malrux's words. Because the axe part of Sendabil's halberd was exceptionally large compared to normal halberds, when re-melted, it could yield an enormous amount of steel.
If remade into weapons and resold, it could fetch seven silver coins or even more. Just as steel ingots alone, four to five silver coins were possible.
"How do you know the market prices for what blacksmiths use?"
Malrux shook his head as Rowan explained point by point while eating. Rowan didn't show up often at the youth association, but he knew everything about this and that. He had no interest in village affairs but had a lot of knowledge.
Especially about money, he was sensitive. Also, from way back, he'd done this job and that job to earn tuition for Rakson's lessons, so he knew a fair bit from skimming the surface. There was a big difference between not knowing and roughly knowing how things worked.
After examining the completed claymore, Rowan made a comment.
"The edge isn't all that sharp, is it?"
"Can't help it because of the weight. If I sharpen the edge too much, won't it break the moment you swing it once?"
"Ah."
Rowan nodded. The 170cm claymore had destructive power beyond imagination. It was twice the length of an 85cm wood-splitting axe. If you sharpened the edge, it would just get crushed or chip off in fragments.
Satisfied, Rowan walked home along the night path. He skillfully put the greatsword into its scabbard and slung it over his shoulder.
'It's seriously long.'
The reason he gave up the halberd was simple. He didn't have as much strength as Sendabil. Conversely, the reason he chose the claymore was because he was attracted to the destructive power of heavy weapons.
'Unless it's a secret defensive technique, it'd be hard to block even one strike.'
Even he himself couldn't charge at Sendabil recklessly. That experience melted into him and helped him change his equipment. He'd felt that destructive power alone could brilliantly change combat situations.
With just one torch for light, Rowan stood in the front yard of the ranch. He planned to swing the claymore once before going inside.
'Ugh. It's hard to maintain the high guard, huh?'
After lifting the greatsword and holding it for about 5 seconds, Rowan realized it wasn't easy. So instead of the original technique he wanted to use, he switched to one he'd modified to his own taste. Of course, it was a modified version that kept the advantages of the twelve techniques he'd gotten from Rakson.
'Jump forward while striking down!'
He stretched his hands holding the greatsword high toward the sky and struck down. The tip of the claymore touched the ground. Rowan snapped his wrist to re-grip the handle and took another step forward. If right-handed, the greatsword would block weapons on the right side, so his body had to be on the left. If left-handed, the opposite.
By getting super close like that, he could strike hard at the armpit with the blade near the sword handle. That was his real intention.
It was called Achselhohle Ober (armpit false high guard). Originally it was a technique done with a spear. When you strike the ground with the spear shaft, it bounces up from the recoil, and you use that to strike the opponent's armpit and lower jaw. It was a technique that used the worst weakness of spears, attack failure, as bait.
The fatal spear technique's bait couldn't be used with a greatsword. Because if you struck the ground with a greatsword, instead of bouncing up, it would just stick in with a thunk.
A greatsword's failed attack was just a failed attack.
'Plus, with a greatsword, there's no bait either.'
So he'd added one step to get super close. Otherwise, there was no way to avoid the opponent's attack. It was like when boxers get too close and clinched together, making it hard to land hits.
But Rowan was different. He could approach while blocking the enemy's attack with the greatsword, then pull the greatsword upward to strike the armpit from below.
The armpit was one of humanity's vital points. The moment he struck it with a greatsword, victory would be within reach.
Without fail, Rowan's daily routine of steady improvement continued the same way today.
The next day, the Skull Mercenary Group arriving at the village entrance didn't look pleased.
Rowan's reputation was well-known around Black Mountain Village. Small villages without much gossip fodder would deeply debate the truth and lies about everything from Rowan's father to his brother, and even the suspicion he was gay because he'd never had a relationship with a woman.
In that situation, they could immediately tell Rowan wasn't Sendabil, and there were quite a few stories about him catching a bear so big that some people went to see it in person.
Merein was in favor of buying that hide and going somewhere else. But even after deciding that, Consensus Yuval had left three people in the rear to keep watch.
"You never know unless you check for yourself."
Excluding Yuval and Merein, the other three had climbed up the mountain to a spot overlooking the village.
The village entrance showed signs of considerable effort. There was a watchtower, and on it, several loaded crossbows were mounted. Above it was a canopy so the light wouldn't obstruct their vision.
Below the watchtower, one person sat in a chair. Above, one person kept watch. At a glance, the guy on top was the watchman, a young guy in that position. Below, a youth association member of decent age was leisurely goofing off.
"Where you coming from? Haven't seen you before..."
Wary eyes poured down. The guy in the watchtower, lacking experience, immediately grabbed a crossbow.
"What if you just point a loaded crossbow at someone?"
Yuval spoke smoothly while waving his hands. The crossbow turned aside casually.
"Heard there's a big bear hide, so I came to take a look."
"Don't see a cart or peddler's wooden crate. How you planning to take it?"
"More people are coming behind us. Plus, I'm not trading dozens of silver coins and you're not gonna give me something to carry it in, right?"
At Yuval's smooth words, the villager nodded.
"Go on in."
That was the inspection at a mountain village. Just exchanging a few words got you through. Just showing you were a reasonable person was enough to pass safely.
Merein poked Yuval and whispered.
"From the inspection alone, this is just a mountain village, right?"
"Mountain villages don't have watchtowers in that good condition. Not to mention mounted crossbows."
Yuval didn't let go of his suspicions, but within three hours, he dropped them.
"I'm telling you! It was a huge deal!"
From Manuel, who was drinking even in broad daylight, they heard about all the things the village had gone through just this year from that villager's perspective. This especially gave Yuval certainty.
"Occupied by bandits and a 15-year-old relied on wolves and went in alone? Really?"
Yuval raised his voice and showed his disbelief. Manuel the carpenter told the situation in even more detail. Merein wasn't interested and just tilted her drink.
'Tastes good.'
It was liquor with a good finish and nice aroma. When Yuval finished the conversation, she was thinking of asking what kind of liquor it was.
"But this lady here... are you two married?"
Before Yuval could open his mouth, Merein firmly grabbed and pulled on his forearm. His forearm was buried right in her ample chest.
"Yes! We got married recently. Do we look like a couple?"
"Sure do. You match really well!"
Manuel's eyes, as he said that, were fixed on Merein's chest, contrary to what he was saying. He clearly didn't look like he could hide anything.
After getting an empty house, the two went around homes to prepare dinner.
"So fresh~."
"Of course. Just picked these from our garden. These add so much aroma to soup. Even tastier if you grill them and sprinkle salt on top."
Merein took the lead buying necessary ingredients on the spot and handed over copper coins. The villagers were very happy. They were glad when money was coming in, and Merein didn't even haggle. She asked about Rowan, but there wasn't a single bad word.
"Guy's got some serious ambition. Paid tuition and learned how to fight from some retired veteran named Rakson."
"He's a deep forest hunter now."
The thing about controlling wolves was suspicious. Mountain folks could mistake large dogs for wolves. Meat was precious everywhere, so they didn't buy any. With whole wheat flour, they poured lukewarm water that had been boiled and cooled beforehand, and started kneading dough.
In the meantime, the other three arrived.
"Do I smell something savory?"
"I'm baking whole wheat bread."
"Did I bring sauce?"
"I've got it."
Youngest Sen answered readily.
They ate dinner early while talking to each other. It was time for Yuval and Merein to brief them on the information they'd gathered in the village.
Rowan, who'd shown promise since the goblin incident, was a big topic. And when they learned that the opponent he'd beaten was Handless Sendabil, youngest Sen felt a twinge of jealousy.
Because he'd done something an ordinary person could never do. Because he'd powerfully turned the tide to handle the bandits by himself.
Merein also talked about the bear hide.
"We came up empty, but it's a bear hide in good condition, they say. That peddler Yove guy was here. Everything he said was true. The guy who came with him tried to steal the hide. Tempting enough for someone making a fresh start."
Taxidermists would go crazy for it. They could tell without seeing it, and if they had connections, they could sell it to nobles at full price.
Of course, a mere mercenary wouldn't have the connections to sell goods to nobles at full price.
When they finished eating, the world was dyed crimson. It was the time when hunters returned from the hunt.
They headed to the ranch where Rowan was. For convenience, he hadn't become independent yet and still lived in one house with Haldanak and Sernhac. His father and older brother told him to move out once he was pulling his weight, but he just answered readily without really listening.