Old man Johnny.

Kank!

Kank!

Naaak!

The sound of workers striking with their axes echoed throughout the area.

On the other side, another group of workers could be seen using wheelbarrows to push sand from one place to another.

"Pick up the wood and place it back on the rail! Don't let me repeat myself!" Alaric supervised, his hand stretched forward.

"Yes, my lord!" they all responded.

'This is good. At this rate, I should finish building the road in no time,' he thought to himself as he watched the workers carrying out his project with dedication.

From the little he was able to learn, making cement would have done well for the road he wanted to build. It would be more steady and stiff.

But making cement was not something he planned on doing, especially since it was urgent.

So instead, he thought of another method.

Gravel.

To replace cement, he decided to get some workers to grind rocks in large quantities, turning them into the gravel needed for the road construction.

It took the combined effort of both him and his workers to finally get enough gravel to maintain the road once construction had begun. It took about three days.

With the gravel now available, the real work began.

They started by using stakes to outline the path for the road and then measured the cobblestones they'd need based on the area size.

Cobblestone was expensive. Thankfully, there were a lot of them in the mining cave.

In less than a week, the progress had begun to show its fruit.

Holes of at least 8-12 inches deep had been made on the path meant for the road.

Then... a problem occurred.

Alaric was in his room, seated on the bed while Aurora hugged him from behind.

Spread on the bed was the print meant for building the road.

'Can't believe I forgot this world doesn't have technology. There's no plate compactor. I need another alternative. If only I had a tool heavy enough to press the gravel flat. Maybe something like a large wooden log with a flat base...' he thought to himself.

His eyes desperately scanned the paper.

"Does master need help with something? I can tell you're bothered," Aurora whispered in his ear.

"Let me ask you a question."

"A question?"

"Yes, if you want to flatten something, but it's very hard so it can't be done with just your hand, and this thing is about this thick... what do you think you'd use?" Alaric asked with a demonstration.

"Hmm... I don't really know."

Alaric sighed. 'I should have guessed so.'

"Oh! I know! What about an iron spoon? Or a flat hammer... you know, so it can just be like -"

"That's it!"

Alaric suddenly leaped up from the bed, grabbing Aurora on the shoulder with a smile on his face.

"Why didn't I think of that?! A flat hammer. That should work! Muah!" He kissed her on the forehead and ran out of the room.

Leaving Aurora on the bed, her cheeks red with a confused expression playing on her face.

...

Later that day...

Alaric and Ava made it to the only blacksmith shop in the barony.

Standing at the entrance of the shop, Alaric could already feel the heat escaping from inside.

"Lord Alaric. I know I should have asked this earlier, but what do you need a blacksmith for?" Ava asked.

Alaric looked at her for a while and then simply smiled before walking inside the shop completely.

Knowing what her master can be like, Ava immediately followed with a single shake of her head.

Arriving inside the shop, they were both greeted by a unique sight.

Materials were scattered all over the ground, flame torches arranged on the walls, along with tables connected to one another — exactly what a blacksmith shop should look like.

Yet, that wasn't what captured their sights.

It was the old white-haired man himself. The blacksmith and owner of the establishment.

He sat on the small chair, a small hammer in his hand as he slammed it against the burning blade.

Near him was a female with long pink hair, dressed in a jumpsuit that allowed her boobs to firmly pack themselves.

She was assisting him by gripping the hilt of the heated blade with an iron grip.

The moment they heard someone walk into the shop, the girl turned her attention toward the direction.

"Lord Alaric?!" she blurted out.

"Yo, long time no see... Hina," Alaric spoke back, waving his hand as he moved closer.

Hina happened to be someone Alaric had made out with once in the barony. Unlike every other woman who was obsessed with him or hated him, she didn't care much.

In fact, she never said a word to him after the incident, and he didn't bother doing the same to her.

Hence her shock; why is the suddenly famous Alaric Montclair visiting her?

"Ah, the joke of the barony has come to visit this tiny shop. I do hope all is well..." the old man spoke, pulling up his glasses to look at Alaric.

Moving his gaze from Hina, who was still in shock, to the old man, Alaric smiled.

"Old man Johnny, you are still alive and breathing!"

Johnny scoffed. "I should say that to you. Here I thought you'd drink yourself to death. Look at you being productive in the community."

"I should take that as you heard my good deeds." Alaric sat down on the chair, while Ava stood behind him.

"Oh? It's been a while since I saw you too, Ava. I heard you're a diamond rank now. What's that about? Puberty?" Johnny asked sarcastically.

"You heard right, Mr. Johnny," Ava responded.

Suddenly -

"What?! Are you for real?! You really became a diamond rank? How come?!" Hina shouted, removing her hand from the blade.

This caused the metal to hit the ground and splash, sending a bit of the hot lava directly to Alaric's position.

Pat shhrrrrr!

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Alaric screamed as soon as the hot liquid touched his hand. His body fell to the ground as he cried like a baby, while Ava tried her best to wipe off the lava from his skin.

....

[A/N: Please don't forget to support this book]