Apinsig
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Chapter 169 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2023-02-20 19:18:43 +0000 UTCI left my apprentices after they started making their tools. They didn’t need constant oversight, especially with the amount of practice they had. Arthur actually has gotten his smithing past the basic tier which is impressive in my opinion. So I went and started to measure out and dig what I needed to make the greenhouse.
I was about halfway done when I had to stop and rush towards the sauna. “Hey, you all stop it now. This fighting has gotten out of hand and if you don't settle down, I’ll make you practice swimming.” That made all the wolves stop.
When the snows start that melt, and the wolves could be let out again they went a bit crazy after having been locked up for so long and their fighting sometimes got really bad so when the ice went from the river I gave them swimming practice in the cold water when they got a bit too aggressive.
They did not enjoy that and after that just mentioning it brought them all back to order and it did work this time as well. Everyone else except Toto and Lucky dispersed and Lucky spent some time healing Toto.
He had gotten pretty hurt, but they still kept going as adrenaline can mask the pain. If they kept going blood loss could have gotten serious and who knows what would have happened when others weren’t used to how slow he was.
I needed to think of something they can do. They can’t just spend their time here. I scratched them both while searching the nation's land looking for something they can do. There really wasn’t anything anywhere close, but perhaps just some running would do them some good. I looked up and saw Goose also just gliding along.
I gave out a loud whistle that started both the wolves close to me. Immediately Goose started to descend, and the other wolves rushed back. I explained to them what they had to do. They would go along the river to familiarize themselves with the land and protect it from intruders.
It was a bit hard to get the concept over to them but because Goose could understand me a lot better, I had the wolves follow him which was a lot easier so off they went moving fast and hopefully expanding a lot of their extra energy.
I used this opportunity to see how my apprentices were doing and after giving a few small pointers and having them explain why after a hammer the other smithing tool should have been their next tools made.
I watched them for a little bit longer but I didn’t like what I saw so I ask George. “Tell me George why aren’t you using your own hammer that you made for blacksmithing.” The work stopped immediately, and they all looked towards me.
“Because the hammer doesn't have a handle.” Answer George simply. I gave him a disapproving look. Emma was the first to leave having figured out what they needed to do. I didn’t have to say anything as George and Arthur also quickly moved out and I followed them but I walked leisurely enjoying the sun and seeing them move towards the lumber.
Soon I could see all three of them moving back towards me and then quickly walking past me. It made me smile quite a bit when they all soon returned from the smithy while holding their hammer heads.
While making a handle taking the head with you to take measurements would be quite good especially since paper was quite an expensive commodity. With this job, I gave them a bit more advice and taught them two methods of attaching a handle.
One I knew as the Viking method was where the handle got thicker towards the top which would prevent it from flying away while doing work. The other was using wedges driven in at the top of the handle to secure the hammer head which would be a bit less secure but would allow you to make the handle more ergonomic.
I explained to them the importance of making the handle fit your own hand and how much it could help by allowing you to do a lot more work without tiring your hands. I explained to them what kind of wood would be perfect for what kind of tool and I went even deeper as I explained what properties you would want from the handles as in this world wood could be extremely different with a few evolutions so properties would be a better indicator which wood would be best.
They were all a bit sceptical when I mentioned that even the wood grain orientation was important and would increase how good of a handle you have made. But they were soon nodding their heads when I explained why that was important. I then showed a few designs of different handles and what the purpose of those handles was.
“When you start making knives, I will show you how to make and attach those kinds of handles as the methods would be completely different.” After I said that I lost them for a bit so I gave them a bit of time to digest everything and have them ask questions so I could explain things that they were unsure about.
George was able to complete an acceptable handle fastest, but he didn't rush back into the smithy but choose to stay behind and help me teach his siblings. After a few hours, they were back in the smithy making new tools but this time using their own hammer. Before I left them, I also told them to not be afraid to start again if they feel like the hammer they made wasn’t going to fit.
Before the evening I was finished digging and tapping down the sand layer. After checking on my apprentices I had to tell them to stop as they were all dead tired from the long day of working. Turns out that Emma had made herself a new hammer which I was glad about and they all had made lots of tools that were needed. I was glad to see that they had almost finished with their stone working tools as I told them to make them after the blacksmithing ones.
Tomorrow I will need to go to the quarry to get myself stone and it would be a great opportunity if they could join me otherwise, I would have to push my greenhouse construction back but then again that wouldn't be too big of a problem. I cooked them all a big dinner which they practically inhaled. They were in bed even before the sun disappeared behind the horizon.
I spent some time cleaning up and just doing some regular chores before I had to go outside and greet the returning wolves and Goose. They were all a bit tired, but they were in good spirits after their long run. I guess I should make them do this more often.
Perhaps I could even send them after weaker monsters that I knew they could take care of. That would save me a lot of time. But I would have to explain to them that they needed to bring back the core so I could give them pure energy from it so they wouldn’t consume impurities.
When the wolves were also asleep, I had to look around to figure out what to do. Technically I could continue working but it felt somehow wrong to do it at night. I didn’t even enjoy planting at night and probably won’t do it next year. It just didn't feel correct. I’m quite certain that it actually doesn’t matter but somehow even while knowing that it still felt off. I thought perhaps I should dive into some of my new traits and abilities but those might take longer than one night.
I found myself in the smithy and looked at all the steel around here. I picked up one of the ingots and made it into a tattoo. I could feel the weight of it and while keeping that tattoo on my wrist I did some stretching and exercising with that hand. It felt promising so I continued to load up as much weight as I could in specific places on my body. The result was that when I slowed down my energy movement I was actually able to work out.
A big grin appeared on my face, and I went out to run. Just running normally and feeling the burn in my muscles felt so good. I really was missing this. I mean it was kind of like a drug as my body was filled with different kinds of natural chemicals. I spent half the night exercising and while I was tired afterwards it wasn't mental exhaustion and I still felt that I didn’t want to sleep for quite a while.
I cleaned myself off by swimming in the river and practising my breath controller. You never know when you need to hold your breath, especially in this world. The rest of the night is spent getting better at reading and trying to understand the dungeon book better. When I could see the first sun rays, I got up put the book away and got the large pot and started to bang on it with a wooden spoon.
Watching my apprentices stumbling half asleep out of their rooms was enjoyable. “Time for a run and then you can get some breakfast before you start working again.” My words didn’t make them move so I brought back my drill sergeant's voice, “Move, move, move.”
That got them quickly getting dressed and while I was still watching them, they were able to do that surprisingly fast. The run that followed was fun and after an hour they were finally able to eat their breakfast.
The first quarter of the day I spent putting the finishing touches on the greenhouse foundation. When I finished driving in all those support pillars and getting them level with each other it was time to take my apprentices and teach them how to work with stone. They all had abilities that would make that work easy but I also wanted to make sure they knew the basics of working with stone even without abilities.
Comments
Apinsig
Won't be able to store water like that tattoo storage needs an item
Bonobo
Nice chapter! So a quick question, what where to happen if he went into the water and activated his tattoo ability? I mean equal weight and pressure all over the body will be soon OP to train with !
Tiresome
He's gotta shore up the town defense
