Weed sighed deeply. It was a waste to use such an expensive material, but the investment was necessary. His Sculpture Mastery skill was at Advanced level 6 – if he created just a few more sculptures he would soon reach level 7.
“Although this is really precious……”
Weed identified the metal fragments obtained from the Embinyu fortress. The materials had high density so they were hard to separate, but not too high for his blacksmithing skills, so he melted the broken pieces of gold.
“Oh God, so precious…”
The smelted gold emitted a yellowish color. The more he improved his blacksmith skills, the thinner he could make the gold. In technical terms, gilding!
“This much is not even half of what I need…”
Weed dissolved all the gold fragments, but it was not enough to cover the huge statue completely.
“Let’s try mixing some impurities?”
Weed shook his head. If the purity of gold was lower, it would deal a serious blow to the sculpture quality.
“It should be 24k gold, unconditionally.”
Weed also dissolved the ancient gold coins and the gold he obtained through hunting.
“Oh God, such a waste.”
Whenever he stirred the molten gold, an indescribable brilliance shone out. The tourists could not repress their astonishment.
“Is Sculptor Weed going to make a large statue now?”
“He is going to cover it with gold I see.”
They were curious about the appearance the statue of Lu would be created with. Whatever it was, just before it was completed, their anticipation would reach new heights. As time went by, the tourists who traveled to see the Tower of Light and the sculpture of the goddess Freya made by Weed, were increasing.
“How much do you think he collects from Morata’s tax if he puts that much into sculptures like that?”
“Well, I suppose the Lord must be stinking rich.”
“He’s nothing but a swindler. With all the users rushing to the Northern continent, how much money has he earned already?”
They were showing their envy of rich people!
However, Weed’s fame was enormous. (T/N: fame here being the stat and the ones defending him Morata’s NPCs.)
“Do not criticize our Lord for that!”
“That’s right. How could you, when our Lord maintains low tax rates for us?”
“He uses his own money to create sculptures, and goes so far as to ruin himself to create new buildings. Such a great Lord…”
“Isn’t that a good reason for you to pay a copper more than the market price? Boo hoo.”
(T/N: Great the parts I’m adding in are
The female beginners shed tears of regret for accusing him of ripping them off after hearing his story.
“If he receives more money, he’ll invest it in Morata. It’ll also benefit us!”
The users listened to the summarized version of how the Lord was a living saint and a great favorite of the residents! Weed started to relax as the tension with the tourists began to die down.
“Not a drop can be spilled.”
He poured the gold plating on the statue with all his heart. He had delivered newspapers from an early age. Layers and layers of newspapers that had to be delivered all winter long without losing a sheet.
“Papers had to be delivered swiftly! Only one per house. No crooked or protruding sheets. Compared to that, this is not difficult.”