Spending My Retirement In A Game

"Eisen?" Rouge walked up to the old man, who raised his brow and turned toward his apprentice, "Yeah?"

"Ah, just, we copied down the pattern that we used for those golem cores, and cleaned up the rest of the work surfaces for now. Is there anything else that we should do?" he asked curiously, and Eisen just smiled and shook his head.

"You two can take a break. I'll clean the rest up on my own later, don't worry. Just take a seat, and take a look at the results of your work," the old man turned back forward, as Parc and Rouge pulled up their own chairs to take a seat next to their teacher.

They were clearly feeling a bit anxious, but soon, they were able to just take it slow and enjoy the sight of the kids playing with the toys that they helped in creating.

The broad grins on both of their faces was something that Eisen never wanted to forget ever, trying to burn the sight into his mind, "Are you two happy that you joined me as my students?"

Without a moment's hesitation, they turned to Eisen and replied, "Of course!" Parc practically yelled, before Rouge finished the thought, "There is no way we would ever regret this... Not to mention that you're teaching us things that we might never be able to learn elsewhere... the places you take us, and the things that we get to experience when we're with you, are just... incomparable."

"If it weren't for you, I might be making nails right now. Or carving the legs of a table," Parc pointed out, "Which of course, I don't mind doing either, it's fun, but... here, we get to do things like this every once in a while."

Eisen crossed his legs and looked into the distance, "I'm very glad to hear that, boys. Really, you have no idea."

---

The sound of wooden hooves and legs trampling the trodden road beneath them sounded out from practically all directions. Exactly as Eisen expected, but the kids were obviously using their new toys to make their journey a little bit more enjoyable, though they didn't just keep it to themselves.

They let their parents or some of the elders right on them, and plenty of the upsized wooden figurines were carrying some of the load that a lot of the other nomads were supposed to be hauling around. Overall, they were just making the journey a lot easier.

Eisen did notice that some of the adults were trying to take these toys from the children after seeing just how useful they were, but that was something that Eisen obviously expected. As such, once it was determined that the toy had been 'stolen' from the child, it would automatically grow to its larger size, escaping the grasp of the thief, before making its way back to its owner all on its own.

Of course, that was annoying some of the adults, but Eisen was able to calm them down by making a few things for them here and there too, mostly a few things that would make their lives easier.

Nothing special though, just small matters such as switching out the straps of backpacks for ones that were specifically created to feel good on long journeys, or enchanting their shoes to make the journey easier. Especially the elder members of the nomad clan were happy with that part.

Parc's potion candy was particularly helpful in this endeavour too. Candy was something that they didn't seem to come by too often, so the sugary sweetness was something that they were happy with in the first place, but some stamina- or agility-increasing effects that came with certain flavors were more than just an added bonus.

With that, it was possible to make most of the people in the nomad clan calm down about the 'extraordinary gifts' that the children were given.

Though for the most part, the journey was quite enjoyable. It took the members of the nomad clan a little bit of time to get used to the monster soldiers that were accompanying Eisen, but soon enough, they were chatting away.

Eisen was actually extremely happy with this development, since it helped the soldiers relax a little as well, instead of just continuing that strict behaviour that trained soldiers were usually expected to display.

It was somewhat bothersome to Eisen, and he enjoyed this relaxed atmosphere many times over, hoping that things would continue to stay this way in the future, though at the end of the day, he knew that it probably wouldn't.

Especially considering that they were getting closer and closer to the giant country's capital city. In the distance, there was a mountain. It was a peak that could be seen from practically any part of this country. It was actually one of the first things that they spotted even when approaching from sea, even though it was practically on the other side of the continent.

This was, by far, the largest mountain in this world. And now that they were getting closer and the clouds weren't surrounding the foot of the mountain as much, Eisen was able to see a wonderful view. Something that instilled nothing but awe, and a distinct sense of nostalgia in him.

That mountain, that giant miracle of nature, had a chunk missing of it. As if someone stretched out their hand and scooped away a bit of clay. Usually, this would have meant the mountain should have collapsed, with as much was missing from it, but right there was the largest statue of this world, a frail man, carrying the mountain on his back and preventing it from collapsing.

On a normal day, it seemed like the clouds wouldn't even reach up to that statue's knees. In absolutely every sense of the word, that statue was that of a giant, and there was honestly little difference if you viewed it from the perspective of a human or even the greatest of giants.

And at its feet, right where their idol of protection could view and shield them at every time of day, the capital of the giant country had been erected.

It was still more than a day's journey until the city, and the nomad clan decided to rest here for tonight. But even so, the setup of the camp took a bit longer than it usually would. Even the giants, those that had grown up in this country, some of which had seen this sight numerous times, couldn't help but have to take a break to take in this unique view.

"Eisen!" Sky quickly came running up to the old man, "I think I read about this, but... you made that statue, right?"

"That? I..." Eisen turned his head, looking at the statue with a slight frown, "I don't fully remember, but... no, I don't think I did."

Taken aback, Sky turned his head, "Wait, but... no, you definitely... I read it in multiple books, talking about you creating the 'God of the Mountain'..."

"That's what I heard as well, but... no, it wasn't me," the old man smiled. It was actually a more than pleasant surprise to him. This feeling of jealousy that he hadn't experienced in a long time filled his chest.

Of course, not because he thought that he could have made something better instead, but that he didn't get the opportunity to work on something so truly monumental, something that would be viewed as a miracle of mankind's ingenuity until the end of all civilization. And of course, this craftsman's jealousy was accompanied by another feeling.

That he wanted to know the face of the person, or the people, who did create this masterpiece.

"Maybe I'll remember something about this tonight," Eisen smiled, letting out a slight, excited whistle. He did have some issues with his memories, but as long as he got to take control of it by grasping for the memory himself in that white 'space' that filled his mind when he slept, then things felt like they came to him more naturally.

And even if it was dangerous, since this could make more of his memories flood into him involuntarily, it was something that he had to do in order to proceed with his life anyway.

Sky sighed, somewhat disappointed, "Ahhh, man... and here I hoped you would be able to answer the 'great mystery' of that statue..."

Eisen raised his brow curiously. That was something he hadn't heard of yet, "What mystery?"

"Well..." Sky muttered, grabbing one of the items from his backpack. It was a spyglass, one that Eisen had made for him as he was trying to figure out things he could make for the scouts. It was good enough to see the design on someone's clothes the next town over, if the weather was good enough, of course.

Sky was aiming the spyglass at the statue's face, "...everyone just kind of wants to know why the statue looks so... scared."

A shiver ran over Eisen's back, as he grabbed the spyglass from Sky's hand to take a closer look himself. He soon saw the detailed expression of that statue. And it was exactly as Sky said. Though by now, there were many cracks and numerous plants rooted into its surface, that statue showed a sort of fear that made Eisen's blood run cold.