The expedition much like a group of refugees went through many hardships but finally arrived at their destination. They were surprised yet again.
“There are flowers that bloom even in this cold ground.”
“There are trees growing.”
The yellow flowers that did not match their surroundings were blooming everywhere. The trees were blocking the strong wind that the Valley was so proud of.
The rangers did nothing but gawk.
“When we came before we didn’t.....”
“This wasn't here before, where did all of the ice go?”
Oberon asked in a calm but serious manner..
“What's going on?”
Doreum shook his head.
“I’m sorry. I do not know.”
They were happy to see a valley filled with flowers instead of ice. In fact this scene was burned into their memory for some time.
Any expression of coldness and clattering teeths dissipated. To them, the place was unlike any other.
The expedition was surprise that it was really happening. The people stood at the entrance to the Valley of Death!
They sighted Weed.
Weed, Seoyoon, and Alveron all stood downwind. Oberon and the expedition came slowly through the snow.
But all their eyes, filled with surprised, settled on Weed.
“That man, is Weed right?”
“That’s right. I saw Sculptor Weed in Rodium.”
Gaston and Pabo knew of Weed
Dark Gamer Volk also heard of him.
“A Sculptor named Weed?”
“Honey! You said the Sculptor of Rosenheim Kingdom went by the same name, right?”
“The name Weed is not uncommon. But the face... is the same! Weed. It’s the Weed who carved the bouquet I confessed with!”
Volk’s eyes were open wide surprise.
His attire was different from what he wore in Rhodium. When Volk initially met Weed he looked like the most wretched of beggars. He only noticed the similar face when Weed was dressed in rags. But after hearing the name Volk was quite certain.
“We finally meet again, Weed.”
Volk wanted to see Weed. But he would have never thought that he would find him in the Northern Continent, where no players ever ventured. He began to run towards Weed.
“Weed!”
“Hey it’s Geomchi320!”
"Come here and make me some food. I'm starving. The food you make is incredible tasty."
“Euheoheoheong”
The hungry Geomchis made their way towards Weed. Oberon, Kerberos, and Drum listened to the conversation of Volk and the others.
“Sculptor?”
Drum said with interested.
“So it seems to be.”
Oberon nodded in agreement..
“That guy is the famous Sculptor who carved the Sphinx?”
After making the Sphinx statue, all the guilds wanted to recruit him.
Oberon also sent people to recruit him but by then Weed had already left the Rosenheim Kingdom. He had wanted to somehow meet Weed, but had not expected to see him here.
Kerberos smiled brightly.
“If he is the Sculptor Weed then we are fortunate indeed.”
Drum readily agreed.
“If he created a sculpture somewhere here, it'll be a big help to the expedition.”
As usual, Weed was not pleased of their arrival. The expedition had sprouted a new awareness of the Artist Professions and the Production Professions.
Especially in extreme weather conditions, struggling to live is bound to take a toll. Open appreciation to the professions!
Other Productions and Art Professions did not have the opportunity.
They had been ignored and were not able to adapt to a normal hunting party. However, even for himself, it was difficult to survive in the Northern Continent, therefore it showed their remarkable ability.
The novice Sculptor Depp had made a fire sculpture!
A large number of people benefited from that sculpture.
The usefulness of sculptors was recognized.
Weed took the expedition to the place where his statue was.
“It’s warm.”
“Now I feel like I’ll live.”
The Geomchis were able to lie down and stretch their legs.
Oberon and the rest of the expedition saw the Geomchis and the statues.
“Could this be the effect of the statues?”
Oberon and the rest were surprised.
The air around the statue was different. It was easier to breath and gave off warmth.
Because it was cold earlier on, they were not able to use their full strength in combat. But now, they no longer felt the cold.
“Sculptors, what an amazing profession.”
But the surprise of the expedition did not end with this. When they ate the food Weed made they realized just how much their stats went up by.
The blacksmith Truman came up to Weed sneakily. He was an old man with a white beard.
“Sculptors are awesome. The dexterity behind these works is amazing, what’s skill caused this?”
Truman had knowledge about other Production classes, including the Artist Profession.
Sculptor itself was very hard to level up. But if it was leveled up, they can reveal to be a prominent profession throughout many areas.
With keen eyes, Weed scanned Truman up and down.
‘Hammer of Palmoru. It increases the effect of items forged by a Blacksmith by 20%.’
It was a unique item that could be sold over a few million won over the auction site. A Sculptor's engraving knife, unlike Blacksmith Supplies, were fairly common.
Wearing an armor exclusive to Knight Profession.
‘A blacksmith could wear any armor. Is this a person from the expedition? This was old man must be Truman.’
Weed was much happier after identifying the other person.
“I've seen you before.”
“Oh, this is amazing. You’re probably at the forefront of the Sculptors.”
Seamstress Cadmus also came up.
“Amazing Mr.Sculptor. You don’t know how much I appreciate your sculptures.”
Weed spared them no favor, only because they could be useful to him.
“Although its not much, here is a gift.”
Weed handed Truman and Cadmus some small statues as souvenirs.
They were dazzling trinklets.
It was a simple commodity that would not sell for much. But it was all that was needed to buy the favor of an opponent. It was a trivial piece with no name , but it was still made by Weed.
Weed shared friendship with Pavo, Gaston, and other Production personnels who were part of the expedition.
Then Oberon came up to Weed and introduced himself as the leader of the Cold Rose Guild.
“I have some things I would like to ask.”
“What is it?”
Weed asked politely.
It’s Weed's principal to determine their goal before trying to become friendly with them!
He had guessed that the purpose was the expedition.
Oberon said.
“We intend to occupy the Valley of Death with military force. But to be honest I don’t think it will be that easy. I wish for you to help us in this matter.”
“What can I help with?”
“A lot I hope, I'll pay any cost. At the very least I'll pay for the effects of the statue, to share it amongst us. That statue is very important for us.”
Oberon eyed the “Warm Lovers” statue.
The eyes of the Cold Rose guild members were filled with half envy and half admiration. Many of the higher levels tried many things to overcome the harsh environment but suffered, and here a simply Sculptor created a statue to do what they could not.
Weed was halfway dead from the cold, but the members of the expedition only saw a great Artist.
Working their way to their favorite Sculptor.
Artists that travel the continent making beautiful statues were highly respected.
Weed happily allowed this.
“ Its fine. Use the statue as much as you would like.”
“The price... How much will it be?”
"I don't need any. Meeting in a place like this must have been fate. We will cooperate fully."
“I cannot just take it. If you want anything tell me whenever.”
“No. I did not create this statue in the hopes of getting money so how can I ask for it?”
“But...”
Anyone who knows the usual Weed would never believe what was happening here.
Pavo and Gaston took this opportunity to glance sidewards to send a signal to Weed, but it was ignored. He was looking nowhere but at Oberon.
Eventually Oberon nodded.
"I do not want to take it for free. It would be immensely helpful to us. So how about this. I noticed that as a Sculptor you don't have wrist protectors. I will give you these ones."
Weed took the wrist guards as if he had no choice. He could not look at the item information while so many people were watching, but he could tell that it was made from rare material.
Weed then asked.
“There are level and job restrictions to wear this, right?”
Oberon kindly answered.
“The level restriction is 200 but it can be worn regardless of profession. It has good magic resistance and 2 properties. We obtained it from the Holden dungeon boss monster.”
High class!
Weed smiled widely.
“Thank you for the wonderful gift.”
Rare and unique class, depending on the properties each had the difference could be enormous. But Oberon was not the kind of person to wear luxury items if they were not good.
‘Holden Dungeon Boss monster? A rare monster that only appears once a month! And good drops don’t happen very often.’
Perhaps they discovered the dungeon before too many people knew about it and got good loot before the hunting picked up. It was Oberon’s policy to exchange things of equal value only.
‘I judged him correctly.’
Weed had very quickly analyzed Oberon.
‘A Righteous Warrior.’
He had a exceedingly good reputation known throughout the Royal Road. People assume that with good reputation, the person’s attitude is also righteous, however, it is often not the case. Oberon was one of rare people who lived up to the rumors.
Polite request!
In the Versailles Content, those who have the power, rule.
Even though he was just a Sculptor, he asked first rather than taking by force if need be.
Oberon was a loyal and respectful warrior.
For some people, it could be counterproductive if they acted in a roundabout way. Some people might try to negotiate, but end up bailing out. That's why most of the time, negotiations often lead to taking by force.
After analyzing the situation, Weed responded accordingly.
As a Sculptor, there were some skills that must be acquired!
To be able to sell goods for even 1 copper more helps greatly.
Weed wore the wrist protectors while smiling brightly.
“It fits well. Thank you