It had been six years since Satisfy started, but it wasn’t an official record. This was because the six years included the closed beta period most people didn’t know about. Consequently, it only became a special meaning for a certain number of users selected for the closed beta.
[We found the North End Cave!]
Finally...
[You have successfully explored every part of the West Continent!]
The 1st ranked explorer, Skunk, managed a great achievement. It was an accomplishment that none of the challengers had achieved.
[It is an achievement that will remain in history!]
[The title ‘More Than Anyone Has Seen’ has been acquired as an achievement reward!]
[You are the first player to acquire a Complete Map!]
[As a reward for the Complete Map, your ‘Highest Grade Compass’ is promoted to ‘Compass of Truth’!]
[New map completion rate has automatically increased by 10%!]
[One ‘Seedling’ can be planted in every region in the future. If the seedlings grow and become trees, they will be your eyes and ears. Destroyed seedlings and trees can’t be restored.]
[★A legend that has never appeared in history has started to quicken! ★]
[Skills experience, character experience, and quest acquisition rate will increase by 80% over the next 10 days!]
“Ah... Ahh...”
His hard work came to mind. Tears filled Skunk’s lightly wrinkled eyes. After walking on one path for a long time, he was able to achieve his goal and receive reasonable compensation.
“Congratulations. It is a reward that makes up for all the damage you suffered at the Sword Grave.” The congratulations came from Dog Woman.
Skunk received the handkerchief she handed over and smiled. “I can’t say that work was a loss. We accumulated enough experience and knowledge and received Grid’s favor.
“Does Grid really have good feelings toward us? Common combat classes make fun of us while Grid is a production class and a warrior who fights on the front line. He might wonder why we can’t do it as well.”
“No, I think differently. Grid understands the position of people like us because he is a production class. In fact, it is rumored that blacksmiths are the class that receives the best treatment in the Overgeared Kingdom.”
“Well, there is no point discussing it. Who will dare abuse our Skunk, who has obtained the qualification to be a legend and the Compass of Truth? In the future, won’t every player be crawling in front of you? Of course, Grid is the same.”
“...”
Certainly, it was true. After grasping all the terrain of the West Continent and the location of hidden pieces, Skunk’s value was now astronomical. Any ambitious person would be tempted to turn Skunk into a colleague. Skunk himself was also aware of this. However—
“We’ll see... I don’t think it would be nice to see people’s attitudes changing.”
Skunk hadn’t started playing Satisfy to rule. He wanted to dig out all the secrets hidden in the larger wall. Earning money at the same time was the icing on the cake. It was up to there. Skunk loved freedom and had no intention of belonging to anyone. He had only one plan in the future—a new expedition.
Skunk opened the Complete Map. It was a map with the terrain of the entire West Continent. Was it a perfect map? No. Unfortunately, it wasn’t perfect. The world wasn’t only the West Continent. There was the Red Sea and the East Continent. They were shrouded in veils and were still uncharted land for Skunk.
Of course, he had visited the East Continent several times, but it was only at the beginning. Even now, the soldiers of the Cho Kingdom rejected those from the West Continent, making it virtually impossible to explore the East Continent. He didn’t know exactly when it had happened. Last year, he revisited the East Continent and found the starting city of Pangea empty, while the soldiers of the Cho Kingdom were extremely alert to people of the West Continent.
‘The Red Sea.’
They couldn’t go to the East Continent right now. Thus, Skunk turned to the unknown sea that wasn’t covered in books.
‘Explore the Red Sea.’
The world’s foremost explorer had bright eyes. His decision making speed was fast.
“Let’s go to Galest.”
“Galest? The empire?”
“Yes.”
Galest was the largest port city in the empire. It was the only city that rented out the best ships on the West Continent, armed with state-of-the-art artillery. Consequently, it was necessary to go to Galest in order to reach the Red Sea. However, Dog Woman’s reaction wasn’t good. “It is a battlefield right now. The water clan king is playing around.”
The water clan king was classified as a named NPC. Having visited several different ethnic groups throughout the West Continent before, Skunk’s group were able to gauge the power of the water clan king. It was highly likely they would be swept away by the war if they headed to Galest. Skunk spoke firmly to his concerned colleagues, “Do you know the power of the empire? Even the water clan king would be forced to flee.”
The war in Galest would be over. Skunk was convinced of it. “Let’s depart for Galest immediately.”
***
“It is slightly different. We have to design it this way.”
“Like this?”
“No. The angle should be a bit further down...”
“Aha. I understand.”
This was the first time since the creation of the White Tiger Sword that Grid was creating a new item with other people. Grid was surrounded by the best blacksmiths of the Overgeared Kingdom as he carefully drew the blueprint for the new cannon. It was a cannon with wheels and a mechanism that pushed the artillery shells toward the back of the barrel (referred to from now on as the breech-loading cannon). The cannon was capable of firing at both low and high angles.
This was the basic feature of the new weapon. The soldiers could drag around the cannon themselves, and it had good mobility. It had a much faster firing speed than other cannons, and the shooting position was flexible. The blacksmiths of the East Continent explained the merits of the new weapon enthusiastically.
“The biggest advantage of the cannon is that the length of the barrel doesn’t affect the reloading speed. Thus, we can maximize the strength, accuracy, and range by making the barrel longer.”
People kept speaking.
“T-That’s right. Then should we increase the length of the barrel?”
“No. If will increase it that much, the weight will be too heavy.”
“What about making it out of black iron? Black iron is lighter than steel, and it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“The length is too long even if we’re considering black iron. To accommodate this length, we need to increase the support and wheels area. This means we will have to deploy five people per cannon.”
“Should we use blue orichalcum instead of black iron? Then the weight problem will be solved.”
“Blue orichalcum is a problem because the quantity is too limited, and it is rather light. Every time it is fired, the barrel will shake and we will have to strengthen the support barrel. Then the wheels will need to increase. Thus, this problem won’t be solved by blue orichalcum.”
“...In the end, the barrel length can only be increased to this extent?”
“Yes.”
Grid listened to the blacksmiths’ explanation while drawing on his experience and knowledge. He was drawing and nodding as he tried to understand the design intentions of the blacksmiths. It was the limit of his efforts. Up to the present, Grid had been drawing his own designs, but he couldn’t understand the scientific and technical principles behind them.
The areas where Grid could intervene in the design were limited. The blacksmiths talked all day, but Grid couldn’t understand it. Of course, there were no problems. Nothing was wrong. What player in the world could acquire and understand all knowledge?
The Legendary Blacksmith’s Creation skill was kind. The system understood and analyzed all the principles that confused Grid and described them in the blueprint. It was the same phenomenon as when Grid created Failure. However, the current situation couldn’t be compared to the creation of Failure. This time, it wasn’t just the system supporting Grid but the best blacksmiths as well. The new cannon was likely to be completed with a quality that couldn’t compare to Failure.
“It is also necessary to guarantee the safety of the artillery. How about building a small wall on top of the turret?”
“Ohh.”
“Truly great!”
The blacksmiths assisting Grid were only focused on the performance of the cannon, but Grid cared about lives. Grid assumed that the soldiers shooting the cannon could die from arrows and magic, and so he placed a shield over the turret. The design of the cannon was spectacular.
At first, it was a design where the barrel was placed between two wheels. Now, there was a square wall over the barrel, resulting in a stable and profound feeling. Of course, the disadvantage was the increased weight but it wasn’t heavy enough to cause problems. Grid didn’t care since it was the soldiers dragging the cannons around.
‘It is good to save their lives in return for their labor.’
“Awesome. Compared to the cannons used in the empire, the speed and accuracy rate will be greatly improved. As for the power and range... you’ll know when you see it yourself.”
Panmir was amazed when he read the details of the blueprint that Grid shared. The 1st ranked blacksmith’s discerning eye was great enough that he could get a fairly accurate estimate of the power of the new cannon. He asked, “What is its name? The name of the new cannon that will shake the Overgeared Kingdom in the future.”
“I’ve decided.”
“Ohh!” Panmir’s anticipation was heightened. The blacksmiths gulped.
All eyes were gathered on him as Grid declared with a solemn expression, “It is Overgeared Cannon.”
“Indeed...” Panmir was dumbfounded, but it wasn’t because of the name Overgeared Cannon. It was because of his ears. Although it might be due to being a member of the Overgeared Guild and Overgeared Kingdom, the name didn’t feel strange to him.
“It is too plain and bland,” Panmir couldn’t help muttering after he laughed.
“It’s plain? Should I add something like super ultra in front?”
“...Don’t do that.” Panmir had a serious expression. It was a reaction that showed the name Super Ultra Overgeared Cannon could never be possible. Grid was satisfied with Overgeared Cannon.
That evening...
“Is it done now?”
“Yes, it’s perfect.”
The blueprint was finally completed. The initially blank blueprint was now filled with a cannon with a black barrel. The formulas and jargon listed on the design enhanced the value of it.
“Good.” Grid grinned and pressed the finished button at the bottom of the blueprint.
[The item creation has been completed.]
[This is a masterpiece created by the greatest craftsmen and legendary blacksmith working together!]
[The level of the created item will increase by one!]
“...!!”
The detailed information about the design along with the amazing notification windows emerged in Grid’s field of view.
[Design: Overgeared Cannon]
[Rating: Unique – Legend]
“...!!”
The most important part that Grid and the Overgeared blacksmiths focused on was mass production. It was standardized to be produced quickly and easily, and the materials used were relatively simple. That’s why the rating of the Overgeared Cannon was judged to be lower. The maximum rating was legendary and the minimum rating should be rare to epic.
One of the factors determining item rating was the quality of the materials used, making it a reasonable guess for Grid. Yet the completed Overgeared Cannon was guaranteed to be at least unique. It was the best result he had never expected.
“Nice!!”
“Congratulations Your Majesty!”
Grid and the blacksmith’s cheers filled the smithy. The unclothed men forgot their ages and identities and embraced each other. A bright future was drawn in their minds.