Chapter 12: Leaving the stone age behind

Day 6:

Morning came but as my consciousness came back to me i noticed something very very wrong!

While i was laying on my back on the ground in my makeshift bed, there was an audible

'tsu tsu'

Of someone else's breathing in the dark enclosure that made up my underground bedroom.

With the limited light coming in from the exhaust i turned my head, only to be greeted by the face of my yandere stalker...

But as i lay there staring at her sleeping face, one key though crossed my mind.

How did she even get in here?

The door is still sealed by a stone far to big for even a hero to lift it alone, and even if you could theoretically roll the one above ground to open the exhaust more, that holes not big enough to fit through without digging out the hole more, which it hasn't

either way

Hya Yah

Hastily sitting upright and freeing my arm from her vice like grip, quickly getting everything stored away while being extremely careful what i used my power on.

Admin's i know you're testing me but c'mon if you give me an auto collection power how about not giving me a trial to see whether or not i can control it, i mean there were time when i'd "collect" my own clothes by accident, i don't want to see my beta of this hell game end early, nor do i want to see the cinematics the admins surely created when this sleeping lunatic were to awake if i had removed even a single layer of her clothing.

Since my business here was done time to beat a hasty retreat, i collected then redeposited the giant stone that acted as the door.

Now then let's get back to it, i still need to make more weapons and good.

Since all the Kilns are now free i can load them up before lighting them this way i can idle craft and stockpile larger amounts of Charcoal to use when forging blades.

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The morning hours passed by regrettably slowly, the nuisance awoke shortly after i started loading up the first kiln, her former bedroom with logs.

Part of me wishes she'd stayed asleep so i could start by light that particular room on fire first.

But the hours passed none the less, all the work was done by me alone, not once did she offer to help just kept following me while watching and gushing sentiments that i could not even remotely reflect not wished to have heard in the first place.

Once all my dugout kilns were churning away, i returned to the surface.

Next up was the creation of my first forge, it's going to be really simple creating a stone pit which i can fill with an ample amount of charcoal which can be used as my coal bed, next would be the 3-sided walls and a topper to guard the forge fire from the wind, lastly would be creating some sort of hand fan which i could use to fan the forge and help increase the temperature to which the melting of the iron and copper would happen.

Once again i got to work, but finally the lovestruck loon did something different.

When i got start creating my new work area, she moved off and at a glance it looked like she'd finally gotten hungry or something collecting various thing from in and around the river.

Oh well i mean it gives me the peace and quiet i need to focus on the task at hand.

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With the forge build having been completed but unable to light it until my earth-based mortar to dry, i stopped declaring now was the perfect time to create my own lunch.

Lighting up a fire in my original stove, i got to work prepping some of my food stores.

The prep and cooking went well, and almost before i knew it my lunch was complete, having platted up my meat and veg in a fired piece of pottery moving over to the "table" but just as i sat down to eat, my problem re-appeared, and without even asking started to use the stove, the fire within wouldn't last much longer but unless the cooktime was more than a few minutes like meat would demand it would be enough.

But still there goes my chance, if i didn't offer food i figured she'd get hungry enough to require a trip into the city which would mean i could run for the hills, or even be gone back to the real world before her return.

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With lunch now having been over, it was back to business as usual.

I loaded the forge bed up with charcoal before lighting it ablaze, meanwhile my stalker had resumed her own position of sitting on the ground staring at me, doodling god knows what in the dirt with a stick, occasionally laughing like a loon before erasing the doodle and starting over.

While the fire was building in the forge, i got to work creating clay mold within holes i simply dug in the ground, the first few are going to be beyond rough, as I'll need to melt the copper first since it's easiest, having used my largest possible stone bowl as the melting pot placing it within the bed of coals, containing all the copper I had procured thus far through trading.

lastly was the waiting using both hands to fan the flames with the wooden paddles I'd carved out yesterday.

The time passed as slowly but surely the copper bits started to melt together into a liquid of sorts, taking care not to pull the bowl out just yet to ensure all of it was melted.

Taking care of the container while staying wary of the molten contents, hoisting it up out of the flames, with a pair of thick branches which caught fire immediately, but it mattered not their purpose would be fulfilled moments from now anyway.

As i carefully moved the bowl till it rested next to the first mold hole, which i could then tip it over to spill the contents into the mold, once the first was filled to the surface, using both branches again i moved the bowl to the next mold.

But that was it, 2 molds used up all my copper, well aside from the copper plating that had happened to the stone bowl itself thanks to the remaining copper that i couldn't get to run out of the bowl.

Once this was done, i did consider using the forge to attempt smelting iron, but decided to hold off on that for now.

Opting instead to see how well the copper casting would turn out once they cooled enough in the molds.

Since there wasn't anything else to be done, i doused the forge, taking one last look around my camp, slightly wary of what would happen to my copper casts currently resting within the earth, but shook that thought since even if i left to do some collecting, my stalker would surely follow so no harm or theft could come, but since building the forge, and simple weapons, I'd run out of stones so a replenishment run would be required.

And hey since I've got some new stone weapons i might as well break them in while gaining more monster drops in the meantime, and hey even if i don't find any i could always use more wood for charcoal.