The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Volume 18 Chapter 9 — Sculptural History

This has been brought to you by Grisia.

The Central Continent's Lords did not like Weed.

"Just because he was a little famous in the Continent of Magic they say that we shouldn't carelessly fight him in Royal Road."

"Weed is the God of War? A little territory like his would be turned into ashes if it was in the Central Continent."

"Just because he finished a couple of quests that people thought were impossible."

Each of the Lords of the Central Continent had the same mindset from their long bloody history. They were the prominent users back in the early days of Royal Road and they had emerged victorious from several user based wars with various achievements. Each of the lords had an elite squad of at least 80 thousand units. Each of the territories that they owned were highly active with users.

"Morata is nothing."

Resentment and jealousy for Weed!

The war enthusiasts were quite annoyed with the reputation that the user Weed had gained from his quests. They also felt nervous over the number of beginners that were in Morata.

"Sculptures that are alive and can move...so is creating a sculpture similar to summoning a monster? To think that were was such a secret in the sculpting skill."

"With the level of growth that Morata is receiving, it might not be too far fetched that the northern lands will extend all the way down to the central continent!"

The Lords were in a rage. However, BardRay of the Hermes Guild simply waited for the result of the war. He deliberately did not watch the television. He went hunting as usual while waiting for news of Weed's demise. The Information Officer that was watching the Northern war reported the news. Even upon hearing the bad news that Morata won, there was no change in BardRay's expression.

"So It was Weed's victory."

"Yes, Morata was not damaged much either. The Northern Alliance was incompetent in many ways and they were far from united."

"But Morata's power was greater?"

BardRay did not understand what was going on. A few days ago, the stations had analyzed the reports on the power on both sides of the war. From what had been heard, the Northern Alliance should have had enough to completely overwhelm Morata.

"I'm guessing it is because of Weed's outstanding performance."

"Yes. That could be true. There are no words to describe his capabilities."

"..."

"Most of Morata participated in the war and with the show of power and tactics as well as the appearance of the Kallamore Knights will let them attract more people. The internet message boards are overflowing."

BardRay had a calm expression. To the Hermes Guild, there were only minor guilds in the North. Their total numbers could not begin to shake the top powers in the Kingdom of Haven. There was no change in his expression. But deep down it was not.

'Weed led the war and forced the Northern Alliance to surrender...!'

That was more than enough to ruin BardRay's mood.

"Selling Rotten Dagger. It cuts well and its best for hunting monsters."

"Selling Crooked Blade. It's a really good strong sword for beginners. I'll sell it for cheap."

"Selling Leather Armor. The chest area is a bit torn apart but other than that everything is fine."

Transactions between beginners were only in the numbers of coppers up to a maximum of 5 gold! Wyvern Square, Bingryong Square, Light Square and the Yellowy Square were all crowded with travelers. The four squares that he had created were now booming when it was once empty. However Morata had increased the number of beginners on a large scale because of the war. After the Royal Road's broadcast, it had opened its doors to a large number of beginners.

"Three pieces of barley bread for sale."

"Are they selling that to make a living?"

"I need to hang in there until I can buy a weapon."

"Huaaa, even though I can access a well, water doesn't help fill my stomach."

"Thank you."

Despite the cold air of spring Morata was very lively. Novice traders went around transporting 1 or two specialty products. Tens of thousands of beginners were hanging around as Pavo was building the Morata Center of Art. During this vacation, Weed had work to be done.

"I finished restoring sculptures, so I have to raise my level by hunting. I need to concentrate or else I won't have any peace of mind when winter comes by."

The trip he had went on had shortened his summer break

"Stat window!"

Name: Weed Title: Eternal Sculptor

Level: 368 Job: Legendary Moonlight Sculptor!

Title: Dragon Slaying Commander

Fame: 29,726

HP: 31360 Mana: 14405

Strength: 1315 Agility: 1005

Stamina: 159 Wisdom: 189

Intelligence: 184 Endurance: 695

Art: 1621 Charisma: 260

Leadership: 672 Luck: 215

Faith: 135 + 435 Charm: 210 +30

Fighting Spirit: 419

Mentality: 25 Honor: 95

Attack: 5329 Defense: 1761

Resistances: Fire: 27% Water: 31% Earth 35% Dark 50%

+All stats are increased by 20 points.

+Art is increased by an additional 80 points.

+30% increase in stats in the moonlit night.

+Able to learn all production skills up to the level of master. Able to learn all the subskills of each production class. High level skills can be learned.

+Sculptures with high artistic value will increase fame.

+A total of 113 stats have been raised from sculptures, skills, combat, and quests prior to having the title. Over 100 stat points have been increased from sculptures and production skills since getting the title.

+Bracelet that is currently equipped increases all stats by 15.

Weed had gotten his level back to 368 despite having given life to sculptures. Each time he leveled up he had put all of his stat points into strength and agility, while the rest of the points had been raised by quests, equipment and sculptures. His stat window showed vivid traces of the hard work he had put in. Looking at the website forums of Royal Road, his stats were something to boast about. There was no one with a stat window such as his.

"Not just Geumini, Bingryong, and the King Hydra but I'm even lower level than the Wyverns."

Because of the quests, his level had been at quite the disadvantage. That was because of the nature of the quests, in order to cling to success he could not focus on hunting. His level was too low to be strong. Instead of raising his skill proficiency, he had been raising troops for the siege battle.

"The users that are on the television are usually level 420 and above...I can't stop and wait so I need to first restore the seal."

Weed entered a small room in the Lord's Castle.

"Any sculpture will do as long as its not a great piece."

In order to level up Sculpture Repair he needed to repeatedly break sculptures. He had to go through the hard work of creating beautiful, gorgeous, and precious statues to break them and then restore them again.

"What is truly hard work, it seems that I do not yet know the meaning of hard work."

He agonized as he began to select the sculptures that he was going to break!

"This one will have to do it."

Weed chose the sculpture of the seven money demons. It had the work demon written on the forehead as it shamelessly extended its palm out to ask for money. It even had a smile on its face. A demon that was holding onto a bag of money! The fine piece had such precise meaning and was good enough to be praised. Weed looked at the completed sculpture.

“There!”

Kwagkwag! Wajangchang! Peoseog!

He took the sculptures and took a hammer to them.

He ripped out the eyes, broke the joints and then twisted the neck!

“This money demon!”

The bitterness and hatred of having to do this.

-You have damaged the sculpture.

Fame has decreased by 5 points.

Weed then reattached the pieces of the broken sculptures and then completely destroyed the newly made ones.The way to create the sculptures remained in his memory. He was able to restore the money demons quite quickly.

“This horrible money demon!”

Repeatedly breaking and repairing!

A lot of time passed.

-Sculpture Repair Skill is intermediate level.Durability and gloss of the sculpture will now be better.

Sculptural Memory has increased by 20.

It was a piece that greatly surpassed what a beginner sculptor could make. In order to get Intermediate Sculpture Repair he used the money demon.

"It needs a good sculpture to raise it aside from my passion and hatred!"

After the money demon was a statue of the Thirsty Hippo. It was a hippopotamus that was as large as Yellowy that was eating pieces of copper off of the floor. The hippose was so greedy that it was eating money with a wicked expression, a great piece with meaning! Aside from the matters of money, its artistic value was over 1400.

“Die!”

Weed hung the hippo upside down as he started a fire to burn the iron. Historically human had done all manners of atrocities against money and hippos. Yellowy who had come from the cow pasture and returned to sleep at the owner's side witnessed the scene. Geumini, Wyverns, Bingryong were outside the Lord's Castle as they watched Weed's behavior from outside the window.

"I will need to listen to the master's words more."

"We are very fortunate that we are not a hippo."

The Sculptures of Life swore loyalty to their master! Weed began to use the hippo for Sculpture Repair and managed to reach intermediate level 7. He had been working for over four days. Since he did not need to do miscellaneous things such as going to school, he was able to invest all his time into Royal Road.

"Now to restore the Ahreupen Imperial Seal."

Weed carefully pulled out the seal. He had wrapped the precious sculpture in a high quality cloth to avoid damage.

"I need to repair this sculpture..."

Aside from other skills, the sculpture repair skill required the user to use their hands.

"The memories of the Emperor Geihar Von Arpen are in this Sculpture so it'll be hard to fix."

The appearance of the sculpture seemed to be made of gold and jade. He was prepared to restore the ancient treasure.

“Sculpture Repair!”

He used his skills to mold the gold. He was trying to make it back to its original shape.

Paaaas!

He removed the parts that had crumbled with old age and repaired the worn out or missing parts. After years of abuse, there were no signs of cracks or completely broken pieces.

"Time to fix the bottom."

The seal symbolized the ruler of the continent but it was also a very important sculpture. Weed was careful to meticulously repair the pieces of the Ahreupen sculpture. Sculpture Repair depended on skill level but with an antique like the Ahreupen Imperial Seal it could bork at any minute so a lot was at stake. Thankfully he could repair the severe damage that had been down to the seal and the original appearance could be seen. He had managed to reproduce the full majesty of the golden dragon! He was even able to fix the embroidering.

-You have used the Sculpture Repair Skill.

The Sculpture Repair skill has greatly improved skill proficiency.

For restoring a lost art sculpture, Art has increased by 3 points.

It had an old antique look but it did not have the same feeling that large sculptures had.

“Was it successful?”

Weed was hiding the seal since it was difficult for him to look it. It was like eating rice without the crucial part known as kimchi.

"Identify!"

Unidentified Emperor's Seal: Durability 24/30

The Continent of Versaille's history of the Ahreupen Kingdom.

It is difficult to imagine the ability of the sculptor that made it.

A trusty sculptor had tried to restore it but it could not be fully restored because of the limitations of the number of years that have passed.

Artistic Value: 43100

Options : +95 Dignity

+55 Charisma

Maximum Loyalty and Morale of soldiers increased by 20%.

Reduces the harmful effects of all magic to the owner's body by 55%.

Intimidates nobles and knights.

“It’s still not completely restored.

The seal had been greatly fixed but it did not have the same feeling that the sculpture was supposed to originally have. He needed to fully restore the long and severe damage to the Emperor's Geihar von Arpen's sculpture.

"The gold dragon is supposed to be the symbol of imperial authority and government. The imperial seal that the Emperor made should emit light."

Weed began to resume his work, more slowly and cautious now.

"I need to reimagine the golden dragon as it would whole. It needs to have the same form as before to show the cold might of the Ahreupen Empire."

Sculptures were very sensitive to materials. Rocks have the basic natural beauty of being rough while marble and bronze were smooth materials. The object could be the decisive difference in a work of art. Gold was a very hard yet weak material. The finished product was very expensive to make. So you needed to make compromises. The sculpture was made of precious and special metal materials that were difficult to find but made it remarkably beautiful.

"There must be a reason that Emperor Geihar made this the symbol of the Empire."

Sculpting was a three dimensional art form and it was also influenced by the presence of light. Lighting could be used to change the impression and the construction of sculptures to make it more spectacular and magnificent. Rock sculptures were commonly left in places where people could see them. When dealing with light, it could give an entirely different feeling to the sculpture. A good engraver knows the importance of light and dark and learns light sculpting. The gold dragon was supposed to the one that rules over the light.

"Light sculpture. The Emperor rooted that authority into the sculpture!"

He had based it to be a golden dragon because of his own works. Weed began to use light sculpting to repair the seal. The unique light sculpture began to regain its form. He moved his hand more slowly. Every time his hand touch it, the history and glory of the empire would revive and the light would shine off of the sculpture. The brilliant Ahreupen Imperial glory and the resurrection of the golden dragon. Weed restored the sculpture to the best of his ability.

Ttiring!

-You have restored the Emperor's Seal.

The Seal of the Ahreupen Empire!

A symbol of the ruler of the continent of the long past.

-All sculpting skills have increased by 3% for restoring the royal seal.

-Sculpture Repair Skill is now Intermediate Level 8.

Handicrafting skill proficiency has increased by 9%.

Art has increased by 37.

Lord of the Continent: Durability 38/60

The seal of the ruler of the Continent of Versailles

A sculpture wrapped in mystery.

The memories of the ancient seem to remain within the seal.

Artistic Value: 49400

Options: +3000 fame.

+105 Dignity

+60 Reputation

+70 Charisma

The Authority of the Emperor is available

Maximum Loyalty and Morale of soldiers increased by 25%.

Resistance to all harmful magic to the owner's body is increased by 60%.

Nobles and Knights will be intimidated.

Golden Bird has memories of the past.

The historical treasure has generated a stat.

Dignity stat has been created.

Dignity: The Royal Family, the Nobility, and the Knight class.

A very important and dignified noble of society; residents will be respectful. Resident will have reduced complaints about paying taxes. You can increase this stat when you level up. Increases when the people are ruled wisely or whenever a king's command is fulfilled. Treasures, works of art, and even buildings can increase the stat.

He got a new stat, but until now Weed had only meant to distribute all his points into strength and agility. The dignity stat applied to various weapons and armor but he did not feel the need to raise it.

"I need to worry about how I'm going to eat for the next year instead of how dignified I am."

Weed then looked at the emperor's memories.

The thriving Ahreupen Empire!

They build a beautiful marble temple and there were many living creatures. Sculptures were man made pieces of art that all could share. He could see military birds fighting against monsters and large beasts scattering seeds onto the ground. In contrast, the human were lazy and inactive.

"No. No. I'm too old to play around like a young person."

"Bring me some beer over here, drink!"

In the middle of the day, in the Ahreupen Imperial Capital there were many humans that were relaxing. The Emperor Geihar von Arpen saw that his empire had gotten too great! The study of magic and swordsmanship were being neglicted because of an easier lifestyle. The Sculptures of Life were going exploited and abused so much that it was a joke. Then the Emperor Geihar von Arpen made a difficult decision.

"I call together my sculptures of life!"

The sculptures of life throughout the Ahreupen Empire were awaiting his commands.

"You are not longer obliged to serve the humans. You have no orders and now can seek your own freedom!"

The Sculptures of Life were given their freedom!

With the death of the Emperor Geihar, the Sculptures of Life did not follow anyone's commands. The birds formed their own kingdom. The Joinjok family. The City of the Sky Lavias was a tribe that originated from the Sculptures of Life! Not only that. Uncommon monsters with various appearances such as Trolls and Ogres could be seen living in the deep forest and jungles. The sculptures of life had been many of their ancestors. They left to live in caves and jungles to avoid human life.

"Where did you come from?"

"Emperor Geihar made me when he was 35 years old."

"Do not be rude. I was created when he was 25 years old."

"I am sorry to have been rude, Sunbae nim."

The rigorous system of the juniors and the seniors!

The Sculptures of Life built a world of their own and eventually found balance on the Continent of Versailles. Emperor Geihar made a number of monster sculptures of life that were well known. They did not feel a strong attachment to humans because they could not tolerate them. They began disputes and the destruction of the humans and would usually win the fights. The humans began to blame the monsters that Geihar had made. The Ahreupen Empire greatly declined and there was no longer an unified continent because the sculptures of life had left. Since then history books no longer talked of Emperor Geihar's sculptures of life. Their origins were soon forgotten. However deep in the east there were still some alive, far away from the humans.

Weed watched the video and trembled slightly.

“Sculptures of life were the origin of some monsters...”

It was limited to some monsters but it would be a fact that if it were known then sculpting would be condemned! It would increase the wariness towards sculptors. It would be even graver to the point that the awareness would cause the number of great sculptures to cease. Weed had a rotten smile on his face.

"It's not necessarily something that needs to be known."

The truth was not always good. Sometimes you want to bury the truth in history. The Emperor Geihar von Arpen had made countless sculptures and some of them were nothing more than monstrosities.

"It's not something to can be seen. Even less to be known."

Weed laughed like it was milk that was long past its expiration date.

“I’m fine. It’s better for you to eat.”

He had been eating herbs!

It would go unnoticed to others but not the this sculptor. Even if he knew, he decided to keep his mouth shut.

Eummeoeoeoeoeo.

Suddenly Yellowy cried out and came into the room.

The cow did all he could to remain quiet.

"The herb roots will make you stronger and more energetic."

Yellowy stood in gratitude as he rubbed his head.

He was weak to the owner's bribes and rewards. Weed had secretly thought this out so that it would have a profound impact on the Continent of Versailles.

"In the course of the sculpting quest, it's good to know the background information."

A simple sculpting quest gave skill proficiency and a bit of compensation.

But the one that he had in progress was an adventure with a much higher difficulty for a sculpting quest since it involved the history of sculpting on the Continent of Versailles.

It was possible to discover sculpting skills that no one knew before. Sculptures had contributed a lot to the history of mankind. In primitive times, a hunter would be bestowed a sculpture to encourage courage and faith. Sculptures were three dimensional representations of all things fundamental. Art is not necessarily bound by existence. The extent that it had on the Continent of Versailles was amazing.