Chapter 8

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

He watched for five minutes as the trade requests poured in.

The items on offer now did not meet Ed’s standards.

Just as he was about to lower his expectations, A message popped up which caught his attention.

“Forging blueprint for a salt mine, exchangeable?”

Seeing this message, he mulled it over.

Salt was also an essential in life!

It was fine if he didn’t have salt for one or two meals, but after a while, he would find it problematic. If he obtained this forging blueprint, it would mean that he wouldn’t have to worry about getting salt in the future.

Salt was something that would help him maintain his health. Similarly, if he gathered enough of it, he could use it as a trade item. Furthermore, the price for it now was only the leftover Beggar’s Chicken.

Ed chose to trade without hesitation.

He was afraid that he might miss this item if he waited any longer. Anyway, he had been yearning for salt as well.

The last portion of the Beggar’s Chicken meat had been successfully traded!

The quality of this blueprint turned out to be not low, either. Ed was shocked to find that it was in fact Silver!

This trade could have been said to be a huge win.

The thought that this may have been somewhat immoral flashed across Ed’s mind. However, in this perilous world, such was the approach of the timid. Here, Ed had no other choice.

The two parties entered their respective cabins to collect their goods.

Soon, all three trades were concluded.

Ed smiled as he looked at the gold-quality grill blueprint, the silver-quality salt mine blueprint, and the various items scattered around.

His trades had been completely worth it!

[ Gold-quality Barbeque Grill Blueprint: Forged from a variety of materials. Allows specific control over the roasting of any food, allowing easy preparation of delicious food. ]

[ Materials required for forging: wood x1000, metal sheet x80, iron nail x40, cloth strip x80]

As he read the materials required, Ed instinctively sucked in a breath of air through his teeth.

Wasn’t this too expensive?

The resources required for this was several times more than the total consumption of everything he had made so far.

The wood alone was already ridiculously expensive, breaking into the four digits.

Moreover, there were rare materials among them, of which Ed did not currently have much of.

One word… Poor!

Ed realized that what he had now was significantly insufficient.

Comparing what was required to what he possessed, he was truly a poor bastard. Even if he were to throw everything he had into forging the grill, it would not be sufficient.

Unfortunately, there was no way that he would be able to make this now.

Ed finally understood. The seller must have also known the importance of this barbecue grill. They just didn’t have any of the materials to forge it. That was probably why they had been so willing to trade it away after seeing Ed’s advertisement.

Ed steadied himself, regaining his confidence.

He just couldn’t forge it now, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t be able to forge it in the future. It was just a matter of time.

After all, he had a godly axe in hand!

With just one swing he can clear a large area. Getting the resources wouldn’t be a problem.

He stored the grill blueprint into his storage space before looking at the salt mine blueprint.

[ Silver-quality Salt Mine Forging Blueprint: A necessity for survival. With it, the need to worry about salt will be eliminated! ]

[ Materials required for forging: Wood x200, metal x20, iron nails x20, stone x150]

Ed felt a slight relief as he saw this. The items required for this were not as ridiculous as what was needed for the barbecue grill.

However, it needed a resource that the grill didn’t, stone.

Coincidentally, Ed had 150 stones in his storage space.

He had previously been wondering what these stones could be used for. He had not expected them to come in handy so soon.

Anyway, it would be a waste to leave them in the storage space. Now was as good a time as any to use them, so he did. After reasoning with himself, Ed decided to build the salt mine first.

This way, he might be able to gather enough salt in time to better enjoy his next meal.

Withdrawing all the resources needed to forge the salt mine, he left them in the cabin before going out to choose a good location.

Soon after, a crack started forming beneath his feet.

A small well head was protruding out.

Stones surrounded the head of the well, guaranteeing its stability, and it seemed to be well made. Ed had been prepared to have to fix it down with wood himself.

Moreover, there was also a thin and light metal covering over the well that could be opened easily. It seemed to have been prepared for the intention of preventing rain from entering the well on rainy days, which would cause damage.

Ed walked up to it before opening the well lid.

A large mound of white salt came into view, as well as a wooden spoon stuck in it, allowing collection of plenty of salt with just a scoop.

He scooped up a handful before taking a pinch from it.

Bringing his fingers to his mouth, he tasted it.

He realized that it was incredibly salty!

This was pure, refined salt!

“This is a little surprising…”

Ed brought another pinch to his mouth, enjoying the taste. 

He was sure about it. This was indeed refined salt!

He had initially expected to have to filter and process the salt produced himself, thinking that the mine created the kind of crude salt that would be unusable in its state. He had not foreseen that it would actually produce usable salt directly, and with such purity.

This would save him a lot of time.

As expected of a Silver item… It was awesome!

Ed put the spoon back down before carefully replacing the lid. This was a treasure, and he couldn’t afford to lose any of it. With the amount of salt the mine produced, it would not be a stretch to say that it could supply 50 people with salt every day!

He was suddenly struck with a realization. The next time he prepared a Beggar’s Chicken, he’d be able to add salt to it. That would make it taste so much better!

He gulped, salivating at the thought.

Ed piled up a large stack of wood into the fire. He wanted the fire to burn until the next morning, worried about the dangers he may encounter if it went out. The strange light emitted by the unusual moon in the sky only fuelled his discomfort. 

On this first night, there were bound to be many people who would not be able to sleep. To be more precise, some will literally be unable to sleep.

Most were starving at the moment, or had walked into the forest, losing their lives in the process. Some had grown desperate enough to eat tree bark and turf.

Surviving would be an extremely difficult task in this cruel world.

Ed checked his surroundings, making sure it was safe.

He fell asleep soundly by the fire, awaiting the next morning.