"This is the warehouse?" Owen tilted his head up to look at the large warehouse made of steel and stone.
Right in front of the doors were two statues of chimeras with the snake tail hissing fiercely and the lion head glaring forward with a stoic expression.
It was definitely because of the town being scaled up that buildings like these weren't something that Owen and other players of Garden of the Gods would be able to see by exploring.
The warehouse also has a unique architectural style that makes it different from the other houses and similar large structures surrounding it.
With its design being wide in terms of surface area and short when it comes to its height, the space inside the warehouse can fit a lot of construction materials.
The warehouse looks sturdy and simplistic. Even though it was just a warehouse, it still had a lot of personality.
This method of horizontal based storage saves a lot of effort when it comes to lifting heavy materials up and down. Although the warehouse has a second level, it is mainly used to store lighter materials.
Even from outside, Owen can see many people deliver huge blocks of stone to the warehouse. The stones inside a large iron wagon were being drawn by a beast with long front legs and large muscular hind legs. It has the body shape of a horse but it has a beak and dark scales all over.
It's a weird horse-reptile hybrid beast that people called an 'Eletal'.
Sure, some people used horses, but if there's a better alternative to horses, then it would be for sure to be those eletals.
A middle aged man with a gray beard was sitting on the eletal's saddle. He held a silver palm sized token depicting a man wearing a dragon's skull and a long robe with unknown intricate patterns.
It is also known as the Ichor Token, named after Ichor Selenkyr.
The middle aged man is the leader of the delivery caravan.
When he presented the token, a tall bearded man clad in armor made of a chalk-like white metal called with light blue and bright purple metals bordering the armor that are given the names, Lithorium and Fecterium. Lithorium comes from the word 'Lithor' which means 'sky'. Fecterium meanwhile, is named as such because of the very common purple flower called 'Fecter'.
"Those metals on the man's armor, those are Fecterium, Ocilisium and Lithorium, correct?" Owen asked in a hushed voice.
"You know that much about metals? I'm impressed you poured time into learning that." Cirnt raised his assessment of Owen by a considerable margin.
"That's correct though, these metals are decorative, functional and make the armor look mightier because of the fact that they were made to resemble draconic features. This makes the bearded man's metal pauldrons look like dragon claws because of it… Damn, I still remember our conversation earlier." Cirnt added and gave Udehr a knowing glance.
Noticing this, Udehr chuckled and said, "My idea was more correct though."
"You should add unrealistic as well." Cirnt rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, just admit you lost." Udehr didn't back down.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but isn't Ocilisium a trash metal?" Owen said while pointing at the bearded man's armor.
Cirnt's tone shifted into that of amusement. "Oh ho, not anymore it isn't."
"The metal Ocilisium that looks like chalk? Yeah, it lacks reflectiveness, hardness and tensile strength which causes it to be often regarded as a weak looking metal due to those factors." Cirnt explained.
"So, why would Ichor Selenkyr used this as an armor choice?" Owen knew that there must be something more to this.
"Because it's cheap and can be strengthened with alchemy to make it effective to use as armor. In fact, because of the Selenkyr Alchemy Guild's knowledge of this precious metallurgy formula to make the alloy, they could make Ocilisium metal useful and easy to produce." Cirnt answered, displaying his enthusiasm when it came to the subject of metals and rocks.
"And that is why it attracted unfriendly attention from those who wanted it." Udehr decided to give his own knowledge on the matter.
"Obviously, someone who singlehandedly created the Selenkyr Union, a large entity who has the best weaponry and technological innovation, soul energy utilization for military and commercial purposes, the highest agricultural power and production capacity of high quality goods like meat, fruits, fish, fabric, wood and many more, he isn't just somebody with a smart brain." Udehr shrugged.
"Why? Is he compassionate as well?" Owen meant to ask it rhetorically.
"I mean, if he wasn't, there wouldn't be sewage, clean water, and more accessible education around Adhaesit." Cirnt gestured around them to present what changes Ichor has done to help the common folk.
Adhaesit is the entire continent that is fully controlled by humans. Owen understood that for Ichor to achieve what Udehr said, that means his foundations exceed his initial thoughts.
"So he's like that…. I see.." Owen touched his chin.
While scratching the dirt off his eyebrows, Udehr continued speaking, "Although the Union is already powerful, that wasn't all that it had to offer. It was only a matter of time until the Union became even more powerful if it weren't for the lack of manpower it was currently facing."
"Where do you guys get this information?" Owen felt that their knowledge seemed oddly specific.
"The newspaper... Why? You guys don't have that in Silmoun?" Cirnt was baffled at the implications of Owen's question.
"It's probably because I live in a remote area. You guys can continue explaining." Owen dispelled their doubts with an excuse.
Udehr didn't waste any time to speak, "I heard that the power Ichor Selenkyr holds puts the Selenkyr Union in a weird spot. It has the ability to contend with kingdoms despite only being composed of guilds."
"The kingdoms aren't hostile towards them though. The Selenkyr Union has provided all of those who are willing to cooperate with a lot of benefits that they cannot refuse. If they do refuse, they will be surpassed by those who are willing to cooperate with Ichor Selenkyr in terms of development." Cirnt added.
"Me and Udehr aren't smart when it comes to politics, but we can sense the tension up there in the royal circle." Seeing that the line moved, Cirnt began to push his wagon forward.
"That's normal when you realize the terrifying technological advancement that the Union can give. It's just too precious for kingdoms to stand by and let their competitors surpass them. No one would be stupid enough to wait and see their enemies grow stronger." Udehr's knowledge of political grounds became apparent from this.
"It's either cooperate with Ichor, or watch as their enemies continuously gain power with them falling behind… I can understand that much." Owen placed his arms behind him as he walked alongside them.
"So, what kingdom does Ichor live in?" Owen asked once more.
"None." Cirnt then revealed a smile.
"Ichor currently occupies a humongous area of land where he built the home base of the Selenkyr Union. A gigantic plot of land that he called 'Earthly Paradise' that is filled with convenience and comfort that no other kingdom in the continent of Adhaesit can give." Udehr explained to him.
"Seriously, I saw the illustrations in the newspaper and the outside view of the unofficial kingdom is massive!" Udehr let go of the wagon's handlebars just to gesture with his hands. It painted the fact more clearly when imagining the scale of the kingdom.
'Earthly Paradise..? This…. Does not align with what I know about the game at all..' Owen could sense that his knowledge of Garden of the Gods is starting to become more useless the more he learned about the world.
In the middle of his thoughts, Udehr was still explaining.
"Each year, thousands of people migrate to Earthly Paradise to live and work for Ichor because of how his inventions and resources can make a person's life easier and comfortable. They are willing to work for him because at the end of the day, he is a businessman who doesn't reject capable workers."
"Wait, is he still alive?" Owen knew that Ichor Selenkyr only lived 5,000 years in Garden of the Gods before dying of old age.
If something doesn't add up, this would mean that many of his plans might not work as well as he believed.
"Of course he is.. Owen, you really must be out of touch with society for you not to know this much." Cirnt pointed out.
"We're unaware of the specifics as people like him are high class and wouldn't disclose information about them so easily. Us humans typically live for at least 100 years, but Ichor Selenkyr has lived for 10,000 years through expensive life extending methods." Udehr held up ten fingers in front of Owen.
"T- Ten thousand?? So that means he has lived through the First War of Saeffaria's Children?" Owen blurted out.
"First war of Saeffaria's Children? Why are you saying as if there's going to be a second?" Cirnt was taken aback.
'F*ck, my tongue slipped… Right, I'm still in the time where the war hasn't happened yet.' Owen cursed inwardly.
"It just sounded better if that's the first and only war. I mean, all the races in the world fought in that bloody era, so I only wish it never happens again.. Excuse me for my wording, I'm not good at speaking my thoughts." Owen quickly eased the misunderstanding by lying.
"Ah, don't worry then… It happens to birds, why not humans?" Udehr chuckled.
The line moved once again. Udehr and Cirnt pushed their wagons forward to get further ahead in the line.
"You know, I'm in awe of how great of a person Ichor is.." Owen held his left forearm and massaged it a little.
"That's just how Ichor Selenkyr works… We've been surprised again and again by his inventions that we would've never thought of at all." Cirnt spoke with a hint of admiration.
Udher added, "King of innovation. That's what people here call him."
As they talked about how the warehouse was made, a guard extended his arm with his palm facing them.
Without uttering a single word, Cirnt took the token from his pocket and showed it to the guard.
With a simple glance, the guard nodded and gestured to the other guards to open the doors.
When the warehouse fully opened, Owen was greeted by a…
Relatively normal sight.
It's a warehouse for construction materials. Come on folks, except for the strange beasts carrying the wagons taller than humans, it was fairly ordinary.
Cirnt's sight trailed towards a certain corner and looked at the two.
"That's the pile of materials that we have to push back to the site. Make sure not to damage anything or else we're not getting any money." Cirnt pointed to a neatly stacked pile of stone bricks, wooden beams, planks and wood shingles for the roof and barrels full of plaster.
Udehr and Cirnt brought their wagons over and began loading them with the materials.
Udehr grabbed stone bricks and placed them on his wagon. But as he was doing this, Udehr also placed a layer of cloth between them.
Leaning over, Owen asked about it.
"Why are you putting cloth between them? Does this serve a purpose or anything?" Owen watched his work closely.
Udehr didn't turn to look at him. "This- …"
He lifted up another stone brick and exhaled a small amount of air. "Hehh- … Is so that the bricks don't break each other when we transport them. They tend to grind each other to dust whenever there's some shaking that's going on."
"That makes sense.. What about the barrels? What's in them?" Owen pointed what's remaining of his left arm towards the wooden barrels.
"Plaster." Cirnt pushed his wagon over to them. It was already full with stone bricks and wood. They were also masterfully tied to prevent them from falling over.
Cirnt then began to help Udehr with his wagon.
"Gahh- …" Cirnt brought over two wooden beams over his shoulders to the wagon. "Think of plaster as some kind of mud that sticks things together. I feel like you've been a child once, so I'm sure you're familiar with mud that can stick small pebbles together." Cirnt moved his hand to the left as he spoke.
Udehr began tying down his wagon. "Owen, start loading your own wagon. And make sure to tie it down as well."
Cirnt slapped the back of Udehr's head. "Stop being such a horse's turd. Can't you see he's missing a hand?"
"Oh." Realizing his mistake, Udehr leapt down his wagon and waved his hand over, gesturing for Owen to follow him.
"Know what? I'll help you with the heavy ones. Just leave them to me.." Udehr picked up a stone brick only to see Owen attempting to lift a barrel of plaster.
He watched him try, but he did feel a bit worried and bothered at Owen's attempts. It was like watching your unskilled younger brother learn to play your favorite game. It wasn't something that feels right in some way.
"Just help him, man.." Cirnt moved his eyes quickly from Udehr to Owen.
Udehr got the gesture, sighed and placed the stone brick back down as he walked over to Owen, "Stop, I'll come over to help."
Just as Udehr was about to assist Owen, he fixed his posture a bit and successfully lifted the barrel by himself.
"Phew… that was harder than I thought." Owen's right arm wrapped around the barrel tightly while his left arm aided him with balance and to secure it from falling.
Vhoom..
[Weighed Down]
Vhoom..
[Discomfort-2]
==========
[Endurance Training Progress: 1/100]
[Strength Training Progress: 1/100]
==========
'I got debuffs?' Owen looked at the panels that appeared next to him. Somehow, his body felt like it was easier to move than before.
Not only that, the training feature was also there.
The training feature made Owen smile inwardly. He felt that he should take advantage of this in the future.
But because he was affected by the debuff [Weighed Down], Owen felt the effects of the buff [Light Bodied] instead.
"..."
Although the barrel wasn't something that was too heavy for Udher and Cirnt, they were working in these conditions for a long time. It was only reasonable that they were strong enough to deal with simple work.
Owen on the other hand, doesn't really get to do that kind of heavy lifting. It was apparent just by looking at the three of them because of how obvious that Owen was inexperienced.
So seeing Owen's ability to carry the barrel over his shoulder was something the two of them weren't expecting.
"Hey, are you alright? Can you hold it?" Cirnt walked over to support Owen just in case the barrel fell over.
They'll get into even greater trouble if Owen dropped and broke the barrel due to their negligence. His anxiety was natural.
"Yep, don't mind me." Owen walked to the only empty wagon.
His steps were steady and somehow very balanced. He was like an ant carrying a large piece of broken biscuit.
*Bam.*
Owen placed the barrel into the wagon without much trouble.
"Help me tie them up. I can't do so because of my hand issue." Owen said as he went to grab more supplies to load.
Being a person with common sense, Udher began to secure it on the wagon.
Although at first, the two were doubtful if Owen could truly keep up with their work, they were proven wrong.
Because he was missing his left hand, Owen had to use his right hand to be the one that mainly carries everything while the other one was just there to support it.
With the debuffs he currently had, his work became even easier. All he did was load the wagon and Udehr would tie them up for him.
Eventually, Owen filled the wagon by himself.
'If I just used my inventory to store these and just run back and forth, this job would've been done by now.'
Owen discarded this thought by telling himself, 'However, that will undoubtedly make me a living target. Instead of thinking, hey cool! There's someone who can use spatial magic here! They will instead be curious who I am, and will lead for many people who I don't even know existed to investigate me. Even if I know that they're from the Ardlew Kingdom, the hell does that help with?'
'The unstable factor regarding the people looking for Riang is dangerous, it's not really wise to reveal our location. After all, someone from Silmoun with spatial magic? They would definitely think that it's someone powerful. Then they'll realize, our target is also from Silmoun! There's no way they're going to miss out on details like that and assume the different possibilities of why I'm here. Even if they do not associate me with Riang, attracting attention to myself isn't wise.'
Owen didn't like it that even though he was aware of an enemy's presence, he didn't know what or where they were.
Right now, all he was doing was to gain enough strength to defend himself so that he could begin to wander the world and find a way to get back home.
He couldn't do that at the moment, so he needed someone to help him for now.
As Owen mentally set his priorities for the future, he helped out Cirnt and Udehr to bring back the materials to the construction site.
"Alright Owen, this might be hard for you. We use these wooden handles to push the wagon forward and it requires a strong grip. Since you can't really do that effectively, here's a solution." Udehr walked up to Owen's wagon and created a small loop on the handlebar using cloth.
"Now, try to place your wrist inside the loop." Udehr took one step back to admire his work.
Owen put his stump into the loop and placed his right hand on the handlebar before grasping it firmly.
"Hmm…" Owen tried to push the wagon forward and although it provided some help, it didn't do much because of the impaired points of contact with the handlebar.
He had to extend his left arm more than his right arm just to get some sort of pushing motion.
As he was feeling around for a good way to use the loop without the awkward positioning of his arms, Owen began to feel the familiar 'wrongness' to what he was doing.
'It's wrong?' Owen tried looking carefully at the handlebar.
This natural instinct of his was particularly sensitive at this moment.
He paid close attention to the feeling until an idea struck him when he saw the loop.
"Ah!" Owen turned to look at Udehr.
Udehr knitted his eyebrows together with a curl of his lips. It was a blend of confusion and amusement. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Can you wrap another loop around this part to fit my entire arm through?" Owen used his fingers to try and provide enough visualization for his idea.
"Why? What's going through your head? Hit me up with what you came up with." Udehr crossed his arms, ready to listen.
"I'm thinking about making it like a backpack. It would go around this area on my arms." Owen drew an invisible trail around the shoulder area. To help him visualize this idea.
"I understand what you're going for." Udehr nodded. "Cirnt, we have hemp rope, right?"
Cirnt searched his wagon and even peeked his head inside. Eventually, he pulled out a long piece of rope for them to use. "Here, catch."
Cirnt tossed it over to Udehr.
"Thanks." Udehr caught the rope and removed the cloth around the handlebar and began to tie 'backpack straps' around it using the rope.
He clearly knew what he was doing because of how unmoving the rope from the handlebar was because of the knot he used. After that, Udehr worked on the second one and he was done.
"Now, try to pull the wagon using this." Udehr presented it to Owen. "It should be able to handle the way to the site because of the even cobblestone road."
Owen walked in front of the wagon and put his arms around each loop to see if they could hold the wagon's weight while he pulled on it.
*Clack*
The wheel of the wagon rolled.
Because of this, the wagon was slowly getting pulled by Owen. Although the rope dug against his shoulders, Owen didn't feel it that much under all his armor.
"It worked." Owen nodded.
The smile on Udehr's face grew wider. "Glad I could help. Now to the real challenge, bringing these back to the unfinished house. Sometimes, I really hate wagon duty." He heaved a sigh and began pushing his wagon.
Cirnt didn't delay and pushed his wagon as well.
Owen was in the lead, giving the two behind him the opportunity to talk to each other.
"Hey, how long do you think it will take until Owen can't handle it anymore? The kid's small but surprisingly strong... I'd still say around three wagons though." Udehr looked at the steady pace that Owen was going. He then reaffirmed himself that his estimation might not be too far.
Cirnt's eyes looked forward again and said, "Four is a safer bet. I think that he has more drive than what you see. Although, mere willpower doesn't solve the body's limitations. He'll probably be sweating heavily by the end of this."
"Heh, let's see." Udehr still felt that his answer was closer.
Of course, they started to talk about something random as they pushed their wagon.
The three of them finally arrived at the site after some time.
Fritsen saw them arrive, so began speaking loudly at them, "Pile them right there! Keep them coming so that we can finish this house and go home quicker!"
"And you three! Help the kid unload his wagon. We cannot afford to delay time!" Fritsen pointed to three different men which promptly moved under his instruction.
Udehr and Cirnt were used to his way of communication and wasn't bothered by it at this point. Without any delay, they began to pile up the materials neatly because of how frequently they have done this.
Owen took his arms off the 'backpack straps' of the wagon's handlebar.
He was looking forward to upgrading his [Fatigue], so he also helped out by unloading the materials from his wagon.
Although the reason for this action was solely for himself, Fritsen acknowledged his willingness to help.
The other workers noticed Owen helping them as well. This raised their opinion of Owen.
The combined effort made the job quicker compared to just one person doing it.
When the wagon was unloaded, Owen was greeted by a panel that he quickly discarded.
*Vhoom..*
[+ 1 EXP]
"Seriously? I get experience from that?" Owen has never done trivial NPC jobs in the game, so he has no idea this was a feature.
Regardless, he didn't mind it. Better given little than nothing.
After the wagons were emptied, the three of them returned to the warehouse to start all over.
Along the way, Cirnt couldn't help but take notice of Owen and decide to talk to him.
"Have you been long here in Wiunlen?" Cirnt asked as he was pushing his wagon.
"No, I recently escaped from bandits. Didn't I tell you guys that?" Said Owen while discreetly looking at their names above their head.
"Ahhh, that explains the armor then." He scratched his eyebrow before continuing to ask, "I was wondering, why did you work here out of all places? I mean, it's not really the best place to work around here."
"Whatever job you can take to survive, you just have to take it. What else am I supposed to do but sit and wait to starve?" Owen's tone was blunt and straightforward.
Cirnt chuckled. "Yeah, I get that way of thinking. That's real life."
Udehr heard their conversation which led to him asking about Owen as well. "You're not an official employee under Fritsen. Because of that, your pay isn't going to be high enough if you keep working here. It's like the same situation as that red haired girl. I forgot what her name is though."
"If you want to survive, get multiple jobs and continue living frugally like her." He added.
Cirnt shook his head. "She's not using all she could do. If that girl were to go somewhere else from here and find a better job. With her physique, she can do a lot of higher paying jobs but no, she seems to be adamant to stay in a small area."
'There's a reason for that though….' Owen thought to himself.
He also noticed that Cirnt is the type of person who has a wider perspective. He looks at things more realistically and if they were practical.
Udehr on the other hand, was more of a guy who entertains the possible ideas and what he could do with his current situation. Although those aren't necessarily bad, he wasn't like Cirnt who actively looks for solutions.
Owen was also thinking about how Oslan would be of use. He wasn't sure what his role in the journey was going to be now that many unstable variables appeared.
'Eh, better not worry about that now…' Owen shelved the thought to the back of his head.