Chapter 63: Orichalcum (2)

Regardless of the era, humanity has obtained countless resources from nature.

Wood, water, stone, animals, plants, soil, minerals, etc. There is nothing that has not been obtained from nature.

Among them, if “wood” is the alpha and omega of human civilization, “minerals” are the resource that made it even more prosperous.

From iron, commonly used in weapons, to luxuries like diamonds and gold.

Although wood is overwhelmingly important, minerals also contributed enormously to the development of civilization.

Especially as technology advanced, properties of minerals that once seemed useless were rediscovered.

The potential of minerals was reevaluated over time.

Title) Look at this lol (stock screen full of blue)

Is mining doing badly lately? What’s going on? lol

ㄴWhat the hell happened there? lmao

ㄴThey say a mine collapsed

ㄴWhy did it collapse? Aren’t they built to be sturdy?

ㄴA land dragon came out. It caused an earthquake and it caved in

ㄴdamn…

Title) What is this thing?;; (photo of a goblin with a diamond crown)

An abandoned mine turned into a goblin lair and while clearing it out, one came out wearing a diamond crown;;

It’s not like goblins mine, so what the hell?

ㄴIt was a golden goblin lmao

ㄴAnd what do they do with that?

ㄴObviously whoever defeats it keeps it, it’s by law

ㄴimagine if it was fake lol

Title) Selling mithril (photo of a rock painted green)

Selling mithril. It’s real.

ㄴIf you’re going to scam, at least try;;

ㄴlmao it’s so badly done it’s funny

ㄴhow much? I’ll give you 1 gold

ㄴ1000 gold

ㄴshameless lmao

Title) What does Setan lack?

There’s gold. There are diamonds. There are magic stones. There’s coal. There’s everything. What isn’t there?

ㄴSunForEver) Mithril. Adamantium. Orichalcum. Eternal iron. Water.

ㄴThat doesn’t exist in other countries either lmao

ㄴIf that existed too it’d be too much lol

ㄴDid you put water out of conscience?

ㄴSunForEver) No. It really isn’t there

ㄴlmao

Thus, minerals are a topic that constantly comes up among people.

That a diamond appeared in such mine, that a rare metal was found, etc.

Being directly or indirectly tied to wealth, they can even allow someone to strike it rich overnight.

Title) Question about the 3 main metals

Mithril, adamantium, and orichalcum are the three, right?

If I find one, do I become rich fr?

ㄴDid you already find one?

ㄴno

ㄴTalk when you find one

ㄴok…

ㄴhe got sad lol

ㄴWhich one is the most expensive?

ㄴThey’re similar, but lately orichalcum is insanely expensive

ㄴWhy? Isn’t it just sensitive to mana?

ㄴBecause of that sensitivity, it has more uses now

ㄴUsing something that rare just for that?

ㄴThere are substitutes, but they don’t compare

ㄴWith orichalcum, the transmission range becomes huge, right?

ㄴThe problem is finding it

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) How strange. Why don’t they mention eternal iron?

ㄴHey old lady, do you know what mithril is?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) I am not familiar with Western terms

ㄴAnd jin-eun?

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) A metal lighter than steel but equally or more durable

ㄴYes, correct. Orichalcum is the golden metal and adamantium the black iron

ㄴHeavenlyDemon) Then all are inferior to eternal iron

ㄴJust leave it;;

ㄴI’m speechless fr;;

Mithril is much lighter than steel, but equally or more durable.

Adamantium weighs similar to steel, but its durability is on another level.

And finally, orichalcum.

This is a somewhat special mineral.

Its durability is lower than iron, but it has a very striking characteristic it is extremely sensitive to mana.

And not only that, but over time, the ways to utilize that sensitivity have increased, making it even more valuable.

Title) What can be done with orichalcum

Increase magic transmission range. Increase communication range. Infinite air conditioning and heating. Increase aircraft speed, etc. But you absolutely need orichalcum

ㄴIsn’t that broken?

ㄴNot really, there are substitutes

ㄴEverything related to mana goes up several levels

ㄴAnd where do you get that?

ㄴIn places with a lot of mana lol

That was more or less it. Quite a lot, actually.

As I read the explanation, I thought.

‘Is it like a superconductor?’

Or rather like a semiconductor.

While a semiconductor uses various materials, orichalcum works on its own.

And on top of that, as a superior version.

Practically an almost all-powerful material.

ㄴWildGrills) Can I trade this for sweets?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Will you trade it for my beer?

ㄴWildGrills) lmao go away

ㄴFor a dwarf to offer beer, that’s serious…

ㄴIs it really orichalcum?

ㄴWildGrills) No idea. Also, it’s not just this, the whole cave had this color

ㄴ??? the whole cave??

ㄴThat makes no sense

ㄴBut there are mandrakes there too…

ㄴOrichalcum depends on mana, not other minerals

ㄴShow it already

ㄴWildGrills) I’ll pass today. How do you confirm it? Do you have to hand it over?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) The easiest way is to infuse it with mana

ㄴWildGrills) And that’s it?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) If it glows more and lasts over 12h, it’s real

ㄴWildGrills) Then I’ll give it to you. You’re not going to make alcohol with it, right?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Are you crazy;;

I decided to give the stone to the dwarf.

In any case, I had to trade soon, and I wasn’t going to start mining it now.

It was like the mandrakes, just another trade item.

Besides, since it was a rare mineral, I didn’t really know what to do with it.

‘Can only the dwarf and AllFather handle this? Although SunForEver also seemed interested…’

It was surely expensive, but money was useless to me.

Maybe it would be better to make weapons with orichalcum.

With that idea, I asked.

Title) What can be made with orichalcum?

WildGrills

Can weapons be made?

ㄴMost uses are magical, it won’t help you

ㄴIt’s useful in cities, not in the field

ㄴWith mithril you make armor, but this…

ㄴBetter trade it for sweets lol

ㄴWildGrills) hm…

It was basically a giant semiconductor.

I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

Then I asked if things like refrigerators or washing machines could be made.

ㄴAnd where do you get the mana from?

ㄴWildGrills) From my body?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Wash by hand

ㄴWildGrills) ok…

ㄴlmao

Even the dwarf was that blunt about it, so there was no solution.

Just when I was about to leave the topic for later—

ㄴDemonPrincess) Would you be interested in selling it to me?

It was DemonPrincess.

An unexpected person made the offer.

Someone who, up until now, had only been giving me things.

I set aside my doubts for a moment and asked what she wanted in return.

ㄴWildGrills) Since you gave me clothes, I’ll give it to you without asking for anything. But first I’ll confirm that this is orichalcum.

ㄴDemonPrincess) Okay, I’ll wait

ㄴWildGrills) What are you going to use it for?

ㄴDemonPrincess) For transmission magic. If too much time passes, interference starts to occur

ㄴWildGrills) Orichalcum can prevent that?

ㄴDemonPrincess) Yes. It also stabilizes the waves and prevents overheating

ㄴWildGrills) Magic can overheat too?

Magic can overheat?

That left me a bit confused.

I thought that with a good spell and enough mana, you could use it nonstop.

ㄴDemonPrincess) Of course! A lot of people think that because most spells are instant-use

ㄴWildGrills) That’s interesting. I thought magic could be spammed without limit

ㄴDemonPrincess) You know StarlightPrincess, right? She couldn’t use magic either because her body was weak. It’s something similar

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Now I can use it without any problem!

ㄴWildGrills) Ohhh

I didn’t fully understand it, but I learned that magic can also overheat.

And that orichalcum helps reduce that effect.

In any case, it was still a valuable material.

ㄴWildGrills) Well, after trading with the dwarf I’ll give it to you. Do you want one too, StarlightPrincess? I collected several

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Then, could it be one of an appropriate size? My workshop is old and needs maintenance

ㄴWildGrills) Is that where you make elixirs?

ㄴStarlightPrincess) Yes. I also want to make protein while I’m at it

ㄴWildGrills) ;;;

ㄴshe turned into a gym bro lmao

ㄴwell, considering she used to be sick…

Since we were at it, it was better to give one to each of them.

For now, I only had enough for StarlightPrincess, but the cave was full.

I finished the conversation and started preparing food.

Today wouldn’t be smoked meat, but fish from the trap.

‘One for me, one for Wonmo, and the last one I’ll clean for the dwarf.’

For now, I would store the internal core.

HeavenlyDemon told me to wait at least a week before consuming it.

By then, I would already be fully adapted to the internal circulation method.

The problem was where to store it.

They say that if you leave it too long, the mana disperses into the air.

‘First I’ll put it in an empty bottle.’

A glass elixir bottle.

Maybe it would last a bit longer that way.

I stored the core and went to the river.

Since Wonmo was already awake, I had no choice but to take him with me.

Luckily, he didn’t wander off and there were no problems.

Splash! Splash!

“Kyu, Kyu!”

“Yes, yes. That’s our lunch.”

Wonmo got excited when he saw the trapped fish.

He looked desperate to eat them.

I gathered the whole trap and returned to the shelter.

There were three fish in total.

Enough to eat well for a while.

Honestly, quality of life improves a lot with a simple trap.

“Chomp chomp chomp!”

Just in case, I took out the internal core and gave the rest to Wonmo.

Even though he had already eaten snake, he devoured everything without a problem.

‘Weren’t bears supposed to like honey and salmon?’

I thought nonsense while eating.

For the sloth, as always, one pill was enough.

After eating, I cleaned the remaining fish for DwarfPassingBy.

[WildGrills has registered an item for trade]

ㄴWildGrills) I left the cleaned fish and the orichalcum here. Should I give you the crab tomorrow?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll eat one a day

ㄴWildGrills) Thanks. Do you also want the internal core?

ㄴDwarfPassingBy) I’m going to try making liquor with that

ㄴWildGrills) ;;;

There’s no one crazier than this guy to use an internal core for alcohol.

After finishing the trade, only one person remained.

AllFather.

The one who took the tiger’s heart yesterday.

Too quiet.

‘Is he still researching?’

Could be.

Waiting for his response isn’t a bad idea either.

After all, he’s already helped me a lot.

‘It’s not like I need to rush him.’

Besides, that heart was useless to me anyway.

Thinking about that, I remembered something I had forgotten.

‘Ah, right the door.’

I looked at Wonmo, who was sleeping sprawled out like a king on the mat.

He could run off again, so I decided to install a gate at the entrance.

‘Something that blocks the entrance but that I can move easily.’

I searched in the shop.

‘Not a gate there’s an iron cage.’

This would work. It fit perfectly.

I moved it around and placed it several times until it fit properly.

I also made wooden supports, in case Wonmo tried to knock it down.

‘Hmm. Perfect.’

The entrance was completely sealed.

No more escapes.

Now all that was left was to wait for the dwarf’s response.

If the mineral turned out to be orichalcum, I’d give one to DemonPrincess and another to StarlightPrincess.

‘Though this guy didn’t forget while drunk, right?’

***

And just as WildGrills feared.

“Kyah! This is amazing! It melts in your mouth! Where did you get it?”

“If I tell you, it ruins the fun. Here, mandrake liquor. Today we drink until we die.”

“The more I drink, the more energy I have! I’ve never tasted anything like this.”

“You know what’s the craziest part?”

“What?”

“That it’s not your imagination. You really become healthier the more you drink.”

“Ohhh! This is liquor of the gods!”

In the Mountain, the dwarves were partying in broad daylight.

A completely normal day for them.

“Eh? Why does it suddenly hurt?”

“D-did I drink too much…?”

After eating the fish with the internal core, they developed a fever.