Ribut-Ribut Tengah Malam - 16

Ribut-Ribut Tengah Malam

"Sssttt... tolong pegangin sebentar," pintaku sambil berdiri di samping Ksara yang hatinya hancur lebur. Dia sibuk mencoba menyambung lagi potongan perisai kulitnya yang terbelah.

"Hah?" Ksara menatapku bingung.

Aku mengabaikan ekspresi herannya. Tanganku menyentuh perisai kulit itu, dan sihir produksi mulai bekerja. Kurajut serat-seratnya, kusambung lagi potongannya, bahkan aku perkuat strukturnya biar lebih kokoh dari sebelumnya. Dalam sekejap, perisai itu kembali ke bentuk aslinya.

"Oh! Wah! Jadi lagi! Perisaiku! Perisai kulit orc knight-ku sembuh!" Ksara berjingkrakan kegirangan sambil teriak "Hiyah! Hiyah!"

Aku mengangguk kecil melihatnya melompat-lompat kayak anak kecil, lalu berbalik ke arah Till.

"Coba potong dikit perisainya. Pakai ujungnya aja, sedikit."

"Apa? Tapi Ksara kelihatan seneng banget..."

"Nanti aku perbaiki lagi kok, tolong ya."

Terpaksa, Till mengayunkan kapaknya pelan sambil bergumam, "Semoga aman ya..."

Karena terbuat dari kayu, kapak itu ringan dan mudah diayun. Meskipun cuma ayunan ringan, kapak itu melesat cepat melewati Ksara. Byuur!

"Huh?"

Sepotong perisai kulit jatuh lagi di depan Ksara. Dia cuma bisa melongo lemas.

"Gitu deh. Till, gimana rasanya?" tanyaku penasaran.

Till mengedip bingung, lalu menunjukkan kapaknya padaku. "Ringan banget, rasanya kayak megang angin. Nggak ada hambatan sama sekali pas diayun..."

"Oh ya? Keren. Tapi kalau nggak diasah, ketajamannya bakal berkurang seiring waktu. Soalnya cuma kayu."

Pas kami asyik ngobrol, tiba-tiba ada kehadiran di belakang. Cepat-cepat aku menoleh.

"Oh, Van-sama...! Van-sama ngapain sih sama perisaiku? Perisaiku rusak lagi... rusak lagi..."

Ksara meratap dengan sedih. Till dan Kamsin langsung melirikku dengan tatapan menyalahkan.

"Eh, denger dulu. Aku bakal perbaiki, kok. Emang dari awal mau kuperbaiki."

Dengan canggung, aku ambil perisai yang hancur dari tangan petualang malang itu. Waktu ngelakuin itu, tatapan sedih Ksara bikin hatiku tertusuk-tusuk rasa bersalah.

"Nanti kubikin lebih kuat lagi dari sebelumnya, janji."

Untuk menenangkannya, aku perbaiki perisainya sambil nguatin semaksimal mungkin. Ksara langsung sumringah lagi, matanya berbinar.

"Luar biasa! Kembali lagi...!"

Aku cuma angguk kecil. Iya iya, selamat ya.

"Hey, ada apa ini?"

"Itu Tuan Van?"

"Siapa yang ribut? Ada apa?"

Suara Ksara yang heboh ternyata ngebangunin Orto, Pluriel, dan Dee. Beberapa penduduk juga mulai keluar rumah.

"Maaf udah bangunin."

Dee melambaikan tangan. "Nggak apa-apa. Tapi lagi ngapain tengah malam gini?"

Dee menatap kami satu per satu. Kamsin langsung menunjukkan pedangnya sambil menghampiri Dee.

"Master Dee! Coba lihat ini!"

Waktu Kamsin menyodorkan pedang, Dee mengambilnya dan mengamati bilahnya dengan teliti. "Bentuknya unik. Tapi kalau setipis ini, apa nggak bakal patah kalo kena perisai atau armor? Trus ini bahan apa? Tulang hexenbiest?"

Dee tampak penasaran, menggerak-gerakkan pedang naik turun.

"Ini buatan Master Van," kata Kamsin.

Begitu denger itu, mata Dee menyipit campur kaget dan seneng. "Ya ampun! Ini... aku belum pernah lihat pedang melengkung sebagus ini. Lain kali, bikin yang dari logam ya. Ini punya potensi jadi perlengkapan bagus. Pantas saja Tuan Van."

Dee kelihatan kayak kakek-kakek yang bangga sama hasil kerajinan cucunya. Tapi Kamsin ngembus, mukanya manyun.

"Master Dee, ini senjata yang nggak bisa dibandingin sama pedang logam biasa!"

Dee mengangguk pelan dengan senyum kecut. "Iya, kamu benar. Pasti semua senjata buatan Tuan Van kualitasnya terbaik. Aku tadi cuma kurang bisa lihat potensinya. Pedang ini pasti lebih unggul dari yang logam."

Kamsin mengangguk puas. Tapi dari nada suaranya, Dee kayaknya punya perasaan lain. Untung Kamsin nggak nyadar.

Pluriel menatap kami semua. "Ngapain tengah malem gini? Udah waktunya tidur, tahu."

"Pluriel, kok nggak sopan gitu?" Orto nyaut, kesel lihat Pluriel yang jutek—mungkin karena tekanan darahnya lagi rendah. Tapi aku nggak peduli, malah minta maaf.

"Maaf udah malem-malem. Tadinya mau perkuat pertahanan desa kalau sempat. Tapi itu bukan penyebab keributan."

Semua pada melongo.

"Loh, kok nggak ada lampu?"

"Gimana cara Tuan Van mau perkuat pertahanan?"

"Oh, apa mau numpuk batu?"

Mereka ngomong kayak aku ini anak kecil nggak tahu apa-apa. Bikin kesel, tahu...

"Nanti kalian lihat aja."

Dengan perasaan gondok, aku jalan menuju gerbang.

"Wah, semangatnya bagus! Cuma masalahnya, kayaknya nggak ada pekerjaan yang bisa Tuan Van lakuin..."

Dee masih nyerocos nggak penting, tapi aku cuekin. Aku berdiri di depan gerbang desa. Gerbangnya terbuat dari kayu gelondongan yang kokoh.

Tanganku meraba konstruksi gerbang. Karena dari kayu, kayaknya aku bisa terapin teknik serat kayu yang biasa kupake buat balok. Tapi tiba-tiba kepikir soal "bobot" yang tadi Dee singgung.

Bener juga. Selama ini aku nggak mikir, tapi senjata kayak pedang, tombak, kapak itu butuh bobot buat nambah tenaga hantam. Kalau sasarannya titik vital kayak leher, senjata ringan sih oke. Tapi dalam situasi lain, senjata berat lebih efektif.

Ini harus kupikirin juga waktu bikin gerbang. Gerbang kan fondasi pertahanan, bisa nahan musuh masuk dan bikin kelompok kecil bisa menang lawan jumlah lebih besar.

Sekarang aku cuma bisa bikin dari kayu. Nanti bakal kubikin gerbang logam berat. Logam mungkin butuh lebih banyak sihir daripada kayu, tapi pelan-pelan pasti bisa.

Sambil mikir gitu, sihir produksi mulai kualirkan ke gerbang. Serat kayu yang berbeda-beda kusatukan jadi material super kuat.

"Van-sama...? Itu apa?"

Suara Dee dari belakang, tapi aku cuekin. Masih sedikit sebal soal omongannya tadi.

"....Oke, jadi."

Aku bergumam sambil mendongak. Di depanku sekarang gerbang yang lebih besar dan mewah dari sebelumnya. Ada lambang keluarga Marquis, seekor behemoth, terpampang di sana.

Engselnya terbungkus pelindung, gagangnya dibuat model palang biar orang bisa buka tutup lebih gampang. Palangnya juga bisa dipake buat tambahan pengunci. Ukurannya agak mengecil setelah perubahan, nanti harus bawa balok kayu buat balikin ukuran aslinya.

Pas aku noleh ke belakang, semuanya pada melongo. Till dan Kamsin mesem bangga lihat ekspresi kagum orang-orang.

"...Hei Orto, coba uji kekuatan gerbangnya. Coba tebas pake pedangmu. Nanti bisa diperbaiki, santai aja."

Orto ragu-ragu, tapi dia tarik pedang dan berdiri di samping gerbang. "Beneran?"

"Harus tahu seberapa kuat dia menjaga desa."

"Baiklah."

Dapat izin, Orto angkat pedang tinggi-tinggi di atas kepala. Lalu diayunkan sekuat tenaga.

"Hah!"

Ayunan Orto sempurna, kuat. Kayu biasa pasti langsung hancur.

Tapi pedang Orto nggak membelah pintu. Malah mental, dengan suara dentang logam nyaring. Telingaku sampai perlu ditutup, keras banget bunyinya. Abis suaranya reda, aku mendekati gerbang.

Orto masih melongo di sampingku. Aku periksa permukaan pintu. Ada goresan di bagian atas.

"......Mmm. Luka gores. Kayaknya kayu emang bukan material yang tepat."

Aku desah frustrasi. Wajah-wajah yang tadi beku kayak patung langsung bergerak, menerobos mendekati pintu.

"Nggak, nggak, APA?!"

"Apa? Pintu kayu nahan tebasan Orto?!"

"Ini beneran dari kayu?"

"Tuan Van! Ini, apa, tunggu... Tuan Van ini sebenarnya apa?!"

Suasana langsung chaos.

Chapter 16: Midnight Mayhem

"Hey, hold it steady for a sec," I said, standing next to Ksara whose heart was totally shattered. He'd been desperately trying to piece his leather shield back together.

"Huh?" Ksara blinked at me, confused.

Ignoring his puzzled expression, I touched the leather shield and let my production magic flow. I wove the fibers back together, reconnected the pieces, even reinforced the whole thing to make it tougher than before. In no time, it was back to its original shape.

"Oh! Whoa! It's fixed! My shield! My orc knight leather shield is healed!" Ksara started jumping around like a kid, shouting "Hyah! Hyah!" at the top of his lungs.

I nodded at the bouncing, ecstatic guy and turned to Till.

"Try cutting the shield a little. Just the edge, lightly."

"What? But Ksara looks so happy..."

"I'll fix it again later, promise."

Reluctantly, Till swung her axe gently while muttering, "Hope this goes okay..."

Since it was made of wood, the axe was light and easy to handle. Even with just a light swing, it whistled right past Ksara. Thwump!

"Huh?"

Another chunk of leather shield hit the ground in front of Ksara. He just stood there, limp and speechless.

"There we go. Till, how'd that feel?" I asked curiously.

Till blinked, then showed me the axe. "So light, it felt like holding air. Like zero resistance when I swung..."

"Really? That's awesome. But if we don't sharpen it, it'll probably dull over time. It's just wood, after all."

While we were chatting, I suddenly felt a presence behind me. Whipped around quickly.

"Oh, Van-sama...! Van-sama, what'd you do to my shield? It's broken again... broken again..."

Ksara wailed pitifully. Till and Kamsin immediately shot me accusing looks.

"Hey, hear me out. I'll fix it, okay? That was always the plan."

Awkwardly, I pried the ruined shield from the poor adventurer's hands. Doing that while seeing Ksara's sad puppy eyes? Man, my conscience felt like it was getting stabbed repeatedly.

"I'll make it even stronger than before, promise."

To calm him down, I repaired the shield while reinforcing it as much as possible. Ksara's face lit up instantly, eyes sparkling.

"Incredible! It's back...!"

I just nodded. Yeah yeah, congrats.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Is that you, Master Van?"

"Who's making all that noise? What's happening?"

Ksara's ruckus had woken up Orto, Pluriel, and Dee. A few villagers were peeking out of their houses too.

"Sorry for waking everyone."

Dee waved it off. "No problem. But what're you doing out here so late?"

He scanned our faces one by one. Kamsin immediately held up his sword and headed toward Dee.

"Master Dee! Check this out!"

When Kamsin handed over the sword, Dee took it and examined the blade carefully. "Interesting shape. But if it's this thin, won't it break hitting a shield or armor? And what's this material? Hexenbiest bones?"

Dee looked genuinely curious, moving the sword up and down.

"Master Van made it," Kamsin said proudly.

Dee's eyes narrowed, surprise and delight mixing together. "My goodness! This... I've never seen a curved blade this well-crafted. Next time, make one from metal. It has real potential as proper equipment. Just as expected from Master Van."

Dee looked like some grandpa admiring his grandson's summer craft project. Kamsin's cheeks puffed up in annoyance.

"Master Dee, this weapon's way better than those ordinary metal swords!"

Dee nodded slowly with an awkward smile. "Yes, you're right. I'm sure any weapon Master Van makes is top quality. I just couldn't see past its humble appearance earlier. This blade is definitely superior to any metal one."

Kamsin nodded, satisfied. But honestly, Dee's tone suggested otherwise. Good thing Kamsin didn't notice.

Pluriel looked at all of us. "What're you all doing out here so late? Time for bed, you know."

"Pluriel, don't be so rude!" Orto snapped, annoyed at grumpy Pluriel—probably low blood pressure or something. I didn't really care, just apologized.

"Sorry for the late hour. I was thinking of strengthening the village defenses if I had time. But that's not what caused the commotion."

Everyone stared blankly.

"Huh, why no lamps?"

"How does Master Van plan to strengthen the defenses?"

"Oh, piling up rocks maybe?"

They were talking about me like I'm some clueless little kid. Honestly, kinda ticked me off...

"You guys just watch."

Feeling a bit miffed, I headed toward the gate.

"Oh, I admire the motivation! It's just that there's not much work Master Van can really do..."

Dee kept rambling, but I tuned him out. I stood in front of the village gate—solid logs, pretty sturdy.

I placed my hand on the gate's construction. Since it's wood, I could probably apply the fiber-weaving technique I used for the woodblocks. But then something occurred to me—that comment Dee made about "weight."

He had a point. I'd never really thought about it, but weapons like swords, spears, axes need weight to increase their impact. Sure, if you're aiming for a vital spot like the neck, light weapons work fine. But other situations? Heavier ones are way more effective.

Should keep that in mind when building gates too. Gates are the cornerstone of defense—they keep enemies out, let small groups hold off larger forces.

Right now I can only make wooden ones. Later on, I'll craft a heavy metal gate. Metal probably needs more magic than wood, but I'll manage slowly.

Thinking that over, I started channeling production magic into the gate. I fused all those separate wood fibers into one super-dense material.

"Van-sama...? What on earth is that?"

Dee's voice from behind, but I ignored him. Still a bit annoyed about earlier.

"....Okay, done."

I muttered, looking up. In front of me now stood a bigger, fancier gate than before. The Marquis family's crest—a behemoth—was emblazoned on it.

The hinges had protective covers, the handles were redesigned as bars so people could open and close easier. Those bars could also serve as extra bolts. It had shrunk a bit after the transformation, so I'd need a wooden block later to restore its original size.

When I turned around, everyone's jaws were on the floor. Till and Kamsin were grinning proudly, happy that everyone was impressed.

"...Hey Orto, let's test the gate's durability. Try cutting it with your sword. I can fix it after, so don't hold back."

Orto hesitated, but drew his sword and positioned himself by the gate. "You sure?"

"Gotta know how well it'll protect the village."

"Alright."

Permission granted, Orto raised his sword high overhead. Then swung down with everything he had.

"Hah!"

Perfect form, powerful strike. A normal log wouldn't stand a chance.

But Orto's sword didn't slice through. It bounced off with a loud metallic clang. I had to cover my ears—that sound was harsh. After the ringing faded, I approached the gate.

Orto stood dumbfounded beside me. I checked the surface. There was a scratch on the upper part.

"......Mmm. Got scratched. Guess wood really isn't the right material after all."

I sighed, frustrated. Everyone who'd been frozen like statues suddenly snapped out of it, crowding around the door.

"No, no, WHAT?!"

"What? The wooden gate blocked Orto's sword?!"

"Is this really wood?"

"Master Van! This is, what, wait... Master Van, what on earth is this?!"

Absolute chaos.

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