My Alter Ego’s Path to Greatness

〈 New Garden (2) 〉

“Six million…”

I slowly stroked my chin and my eyes lit up.

It was a very satisfying result.

This was enough for me to proceed with the choice I had previously postponed due to unavoidable circumstances.

『Dimensional Barrier Relief (6000000)』

That was an option that reduced the gap between each dimension and eased the restrictions on awakened people.

Previously, when I was a little lacking in karma, I gave in to the irresistible temptation of ‘random draw’ and had no choice but to wait for the next time…

‘The point just happens to be just right.’

At this point, wouldn’t it be okay to consider it inevitable?

Now there was no need to hesitate any longer since there was nothing in particular.

‘Anyway, it looks like more time is needed to further strengthen unique skills. Other than that, I don’t need anything else right away…’

I exhaled lightly, and, overcome by a strange impulse that I had felt before, I immediately chose the second task, ‘Relaxing Dimensional Barriers’.

Immediately after that, the 6 million points that had enriched my heart just by looking at them evaporated in an instant.

“Hmm.”

Soon, I could instinctively feel that something surrounding my body had changed.

A strange sensation, as if something I had not noticed before was writhing and reacting.

However, just like the first purchase, that feeling did not last long and disappeared in an instant.

‘…is this the end?’

It was the same this time too.

I knew something had changed, but I had no idea how much it had changed.

It was like that the first time, so I fully expected it to be like this this time, but when it actually happened, I couldn’t help but feel a strange feeling.

‘Oh, by the way, this is a customer who paid a whopping 6 million at once.’

There was a small complaint, but there was nothing I could do about it, so what could I do?

I have no choice but to put up with the regret and move on.

‘Still… it seems clear that the existing functions have been further strengthened.’

Woo Woong –

I looked at the platinum light on my hand and nodded small.

Even though the same power was used, the output increased noticeably compared to before.

This is only a small portion of the energy released, but as the scale of power increases, the feeling will also increase.

‘Well, maybe this can help solve the problem about the dragon child.’

The 『Dimensional Barrier Relief』 that he identified was an ability no different from a kind of hacking tool or Easter egg.

Granting the power to bypass some of the laws that are common to all awakened people.

The fact that it was in the Karma store, which was part of the system in the first place, was a nonsense option.

‘Well, I guess it was hidden so that no one could get it.’

The condition for obtaining the special “Karma Store Ver.2 Update” was that the number of “unused Karma” exceeded 10 million.

If collecting that many points is not an ordinary thing, how many people in the world would just hoard them without even using them even if they had that ability?

Even the pure price of the option reached 5 million 6 million…

‘It’s definitely not a way that anyone can get it. … Well, anyway, isn’t there any point in thinking about that now?’

What mattered was how it would help in the future.

It seemed that the problem could not be easily solved with only the abilities allowed in the Kang Hwan world.

As I was checking the changes here and there, I quickly closed my eyes and clenched my hands tightly.

“…They are a living sacrifice that was determined before birth…”

When I thought about them, I felt sick to my stomach again.

I sighed harshly, feeling irritated for some reason and not knowing the cause.

‘I guess I can’t do it because my stomach hurts. Now Kang Hwan-gye is my new garden. But you can’t just ignore something like that.’

I promised myself again with him.

The Dragon God’s arrangements are none of my business, so I will overthrow them all at will.

In fact, if I were serious about it, it was quite possible.

In terms of divine power, Saint Heinrich stands at the pinnacle of unholy mysteries, including black magic, and the dragon Horus was born with the blessings of the entire world.

In addition, the high elf Harris, who was nothing short of an agent of Mother Nature, the new-blooded vampire Heinz II, and Harley, who now possessed the kindness of monsters, were all prominent heroes within the same country.

But there’s no way he, who encompasses such talented people, would just sit back and give up!

‘Now that things have come to this, I need to focus more on Kang Hwan-gye. Coincidentally, this time, the Demon Cult was swallowed up, creating a similar structure to that of Outerica. At this point, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have Kang Hwan-gye conduct the rehearsal for the home theater first.’

At the same time, I had to check the second change to 『Dimensional Barrier Relief』.

As a whopping 6 million points were included, it will not simply end with the previous effect becoming stronger.

Wouldn’t it be better to first clearly understand what I have?

‘I thought so…’

But it was really unexpected.

One of the additional effects of 『Dimensional Barrier Relaxation』 could be seen earlier than expected and in a completely unexpected place.

A dwarf craftsman who was hammering hard again today in a time 10 times faster than on Earth.

At the fingertips of Dwarf Howard.

***

The daily routine of Howard, the owner of a personal workshop, was simple.

Kang—! Kyaang—!

I hit the hammer, eat, then hit the hammer again, have some accompaniment with my meal, take a break, sometimes try my hand at crafting or non-metal processing, and continue to hit the hammer until it’s time to go to bed again.

Repeated over and over again—a monotonous, extremely consistent routine.

But Howard never once thought it was boring.

‘of course! ‘I can make anything I want, so how can I ever get bored?’

It wasn’t just because he was wearing the body of a dwarf.

No, maybe that influence was a very big part of it… but at least he was very satisfied with that fact.

‘There’s nothing better as a hobby than this.’

In fact, isn’t making something a major hobby that’s not particularly rare?

As if to represent his thoughts, many of the results of Howard’s hobbies were on display in one corner of the workshop.

From smooth circular shields with a star engraved in the center, to weapons that are not even remotely practical, and accessories with designs that require concern about copyright.

There, objects that looked like they came straight out of movies and games were in perfect condition.

‘It may look like that, but it pours all kinds of rare metals, including magic metals, so the actual performance isn’t that bad.’

In fact, they weren’t just made for hobby reasons.

His top priority is to complete the all-purpose combat full-body suit he designed himself, commonly known as ‘Titan’.

But the task wasn’t as easy as I thought.

The limb parts, including the arms, that had been completed earlier were somehow possible, but the torso and control head parts that connected them all together were not up to his expectations.

In such a situation, he realized his shortcomings and started working on honing his skills by refining his basic skills, but before he knew it, he had come to this point.

earth-! earth-!

And what he was making this time was a two-handed greatsword of terrifying size.

A weapon so large that not only the length of the sword body but also the width of the sword surface exceeds that of a decent adult woman.

It was a precious gem that even had uncheol (隕鐵), which was deliberately sourced from the Kanghwan world, used as material to make it extremely hard and heavy.

Kyaang—!

But at some point.

‘huh?’

From the hammer he struck, a different repulsive force than before was transmitted to his fingertips.

He paused for a moment, wriggling his insect-like eyebrows, then casually lifted the hammer and struck the metal again.

While following my instincts and using the skill “Technological Revolution” imprinted on me.

Taaang—! Taaang—!

Howard’s workshop began to make periodic metallic sounds as if it had stopped at some point.

However, his feelings were never at peace.

‘…What is this? no way?’

I feel a strange repulsive force at my fingertips.

It was completely different from the meteorite he had been dealing with so far, which had no mysteries and only had the characteristics of the metal itself.

‘The mystery within the metal is coming to life…?’

I could well guess what the cause was, but I couldn’t easily understand it.

‘No, I understand, he actually woke up after sleeping, so I can’t deny it. Then, this is the real thing….’

The “technological revolution” was the ability to intervene in the system that makes up goods in another dimension and modify part of it.

However, until now, this was only possible with a very small part of magic tools, and it was impossible to touch the very basis of the object as it is now.

Unlike his complicated mind, his body, which had become accustomed to it through long training, moved naturally without the slightest delay.

Heat the metal in the furnace and repeatedly hit it with a hammer.

Grumble—!

The furnace, which was raised to maximum temperature through the “Fire and Metal Tuner,” spewed out blue flames.

The enormous temperature was enough to cause parts of the specially designed magic furnace to melt little by little, but he did not care about such trivial matters at all.

For Hubert, who was now the owner of one of the largest merchant houses on the continent, the price of such a furnace was nothing more than pennies.

What was important now was not such trivial things.

‘I need to check. How will this result turn out?’

According to the laws between dimensions, magic tools from one world do not work in another world.

Because the fundamentals that made it up in the first place were completely different.

Also, this was not only included in completed magic tools but also in materials containing mysteries from other worlds. Is there no way that an item from the Kangwhan world, which is based on energy, can function normally in Outerica, which is based on Mana?

But now.

That ‘impossible’ thing was actually happening.

‘If this is applied to the finished product as well…’

Howard never stopped moving even though he was covered in sweat as if he were covered in water due to the extremely high heat.

revolution.

The desire of a dwarf who faced the moment before the birth of something that would twist the world’s common sense forced his body to move.

Cough! Chiiik—

forging quenching polishing.

All processes flowed smoothly.

And finally.

“her… “Uh-huh!”

Howard, whose arm muscles were bulging due to his “super strength,” lifted a large sword that was much larger than his torso with both hands.

An incredibly large, thick, and heavy double-edged greatsword.

The weapon created to kill dragons in the classic cartoon he watched as a child was recreated at his fingertips.

Embracing a mystery that cannot exist in this Outerica.

“I never thought something like this would be possible.”

He stared at the great sword blankly for a while.

Of course, this miracle was not possible through 『Dimensional Barrier Relief』 alone.

That the person who forged the material was an awakened person who was one step away from providence, that the awakened person had the ability to intervene in the properties of the product, called a “technological revolution,” and that he was at a level where he could fuse materials from two completely different worlds into one. It was a harmony created by a complex combination of things.

‘…a magic tool that transcends the limits of dimension.’

Howard looked at his masterpiece with narrowed eyes, lost in thought.

This weapon could not only be used on Outerica.

Even if I take it to Kang Hwan-gye right now, it will perform just as well as it did here.

While embracing the mystery of another world that does not exist in that world.

That moment.

Roaring—

The fiercely burning flames of the furnace shook violently once.

Immediately after, a strand of fire came out.

It wrapped around him a few times and then dispersed into the air and disappeared.

《The entity grows by meeting the conditions. The skills 「Metallurgy」 and 「Precision Crafts」 combine to evolve into the special skill 「Golden Hand」.》

“…Blessing of the furnace.”

It was the third blessing Howard received.

As expected, the God of Fire and Metal must have been quite surprised by this result.

Howard was filled with extraordinary emotions while holding the great sword.

If the first blessing was the minimum requirement to be called a ‘craftsman’ in dwarven society, the third blessing he received this time was proof of his qualifications to be a so-called ‘master craftsman’.

His teacher, Jaonic, was also a craftsman with the title of master, so Howard, who had only been into production for a few years, had already reached a similar level to his teacher.

‘Of course, the actual skills themselves are still quite different.’

Looking at his current growth rate, it won’t be long before he has the skills of a true master.

Howard calmed his excitement by taking a deep breath and carefully put down the greatsword in his hand.

Meanwhile, his eyes turned to other objects on display.

Until now, the works had been extremely satisfying…

“Tsk.”

Looking at it now, I didn’t like any of it at all.

His hand picked up one of the objects he had made before, a hammer with a short handle that contained the power of lightning.

It was a work that I really liked at the time it was made, but now it just looks like a superficial defective product.

“Let’s make it again.”

Howard muttered quietly.

It wasn’t just the hammer that caught his eye.

All the items made as a hobby and…

His eyes turned to the metal suit hanging on the mannequin stand.

Not only the completed limb parts, but also the torso and head that remain unfinished.

‘If we add Hyeonmu’s armor and use Yeouiju as an energy source…’

The inspiration that had been blocked for so long began to burst out violently.

I definitely got the feeling.

The day when it will be completed is not far away.

As expected, the first harvest in Kang Hwan-gye was quite satisfactory.