Wei began cutting wood.
"Ha… I need a roof over my head."
With the help of his inventory, building would be much easier. He didn't need to carry heavy logs himself. Using his sword, he cut down several trees, stored the logs in his inventory, and gathered them in one place.
Days passed as he worked on his small hut.
But it wasn't easy.
Sometimes one wall collapsed.
Sometimes the entire structure fell apart.
Wei scratched his head in frustration.
"Looks like I need pillars first."
After setting up several wooden pillars, he finally managed to create a stable structure. Little by little, after many failed attempts, Wei successfully built a simple hut.
The roof still had many holes, so he covered them with thick grass. After that, he spread mud over the roof to seal it, protecting the hut from rain, heat, and cold.
Finally, he stepped back and looked at his work.
A rough hut stood in front of him.
It wasn't beautiful.
But it was home.
Suddenly, a familiar sound rang out in his mind.
Ding! New Skill Acquired: Carpenter
Wei blinked in surprise.
Before he could react, another message appeared.
Ding! Reward Received: Carpentry Manual
Without hesitation, Wei accepted it.
The manual instantly dissolved into streams of light and flowed directly into his mind. In a moment, knowledge about building structures, shaping wood, making stronger joints, and constructing better homes filled his head.
Wei's eyes widened.
"So that's how real carpenters do it…"
If he rebuilt the hut now, he knew he could make something much stronger.
During the rest of the day, Wei practiced absorbing the strange energy in the air.
The Qi around him slowly flowed into his body and gathered inside the core in his abdomen.
At first, the energy moved slowly, like a small stream. But as Wei continued practicing day after day, the flow became smoother and stronger.
After several weeks of practice, Wei noticed something interesting.
His body no longer needed as much food as before.
And the Qi inside him was slowly increasing.
However, the system didn't give him any new quests.
Wei didn't mind.
He was busy preparing for survival.
Winter would come sooner or later, and if he wanted to survive it, he needed to be ready.
"I need to gather food and water," he muttered.
Food wasn't a big problem.
Because of his inventory, nothing spoiled.
The real problem was water.
To get water, he had to go outside the barrier and travel near the lake—
The place filled with countless Poison Worms.
Wei had already given that place a name.
Worm City.
Thinking about it made his skin crawl.
The worm meat itself wasn't bad, surprisingly.
It actually tasted a little like beef.
The only problem was that he didn't have any seasoning.
Still, he had enough meat stored to last about five months, thanks to the inventory keeping everything fresh.
At first, Wei thought the meat might be poisonous.
But after performing the Universal Edibility Test—smell, sight, touch, and taste—he confirmed it was safe.
Wei smiled slightly.
"I'm really glad I learned survival skills in my previous life."
"Otherwise… I might have starved to death in this world already."
Wei looked down at the sword the system had given him.
The blade was already starting to wear down.
"It looks like it could break at any moment," he muttered.
"I need a new weapon."
He sighed.
"If only I had some iron…"
But then another problem appeared in his mind.
"I don't even know where to find iron."
"And I've never forged anything before."
Wei rubbed his chin and thought carefully.
"Well… I guess I don't have a choice."
"If I want a better weapon, I'll have to make iron myself."
First, he needed iron-rich soil or stone.
That part might not be too difficult.
After all, the mountain was filled with rocks and minerals.
"There must be some iron ore somewhere."
So Wei began collecting stones that looked different from the others.
Anything that seemed heavy or slightly reddish, he picked up and stored in his inventory.
After gathering a large pile of rocks, he started crushing them.
Using another stone as a hammer, he slowly broke them into small pieces.
Then smaller pieces.
Until finally they turned into powder.
After finishing, he stored all the powdered ore inside his inventory.
"Now I need a furnace…"
Wei tried to remember something he had once read.
"Right… an ancient furnace."
"A bloomery."
If he remembered correctly, early humans used this simple furnace to make iron.
After making up his mind, Wei began gathering stones and mud.
Slowly, he built a furnace structure.
It looked a little like a small volcano.
At the bottom, he left a hole where air could enter.
Then he covered the entire structure with wet mud to make it stable and sealed.
After letting it dry, the furnace was ready.
Wei lit a fire inside it.
Soon the inside of the furnace began to grow hotter and hotter.
Carefully, he poured some of the powdered ore inside.
"Now I only have one job…"
"Keep the fire burning."
For an entire day, Wei continuously fed wood into the furnace.
The heat inside became intense.
Finally, after enough time had passed, Wei broke open the furnace to see the result.
He searched through the ashes carefully.
Then—
"There it is!"
Wei's face lit up with excitement.
"I did it!"
Inside the ashes was a small lump of iron.
It wasn't much.
Barely about one hundred grams.
But to Wei, it was a huge success.
After that, Wei had only two goals in mind. The first was to produce enough iron, and the second was to continue practicing his Qi. Every day he repeated the same routine without rest. He gathered ore, refined it in the furnace, and spent hours meditating to strengthen his Qi.
Days slowly turned into weeks. The work was hard and exhausting, but Wei refused to give up. Little by little, he finally managed to produce enough iron for what he truly needed.
Instead of making weapons first, Wei knew he needed proper tools. Without the right tools, he could never become a true forger.
So he began with the most important item of all—a hammer.
He heated the iron in the furnace until it glowed bright orange. Then, with great focus, he started shaping the metal. Strike after strike echoed through the small workshop as sparks flew into the air.
After many careful blows, the shape of a solid forging hammer slowly appeared. When it cooled, Wei lifted it in his hand and smiled slightly. It was simple and rough, but it was his first real forging tool.
Next, he forged the other tools he would need: a pair of iron tongs to hold the hot metal, a small chisel for shaping, and a sturdy punch for making holes.
Now, with proper tools in his hands and Qi flowing steadily through his body, Wei finally felt ready to begin the true path of forging.
After finishing his forging tools, Wei decided it was time to create real weapons. His first goal was a sword.
He placed the metal into the furnace and waited until it glowed bright orange. Once it was hot enough, he pulled it out with his tongs and placed it on the anvil. Then he began hammering it again and again, shaping the metal slowly. Each strike made sparks fly through the air as the rough shape of a blade slowly appeared.
Wei worked carefully, focusing on every strike. After many hours of hammering, reheating, and shaping, the metal finally began to look like a real sword. It was not perfect, but it was strong and sharp.
After completing the sword, Wei continued forging. Next, he made a sturdy axe for chopping wood and hunting. After that, he forged a long spear, perfect for fighting from a distance.
By the time the first snow of winter began to fall, Wei had already finished all of his weapons. Now he was ready for the hunt.
Just as he finished preparing, a notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
New Skill Acquired: Blacksmith
Wei blinked in surprise as another message appeared.
Reward: Blacksmithing Manual
Seeing this, Wei was overjoyed. Without hesitation, he selected Accept.
The moment he did, the manual suddenly dissolved into light and rushed into his mind. Instantly, countless pieces of knowledge filled his head—methods of heating metal, proper hammer techniques, blade balancing, weapon strengthening, and many other secrets of blacksmithing.
Wei stood there in shock.
In just a few seconds, he had gained the knowledge that normally took blacksmiths many years to learn.
A smile slowly appeared on his face.
Now, with real weapons in his hands and the knowledge of a true blacksmith in his mind, Wei felt more ready than ever to face the dangerous world outside.