Chapter 14: Forced

Chapter 14: Forced

Although a momentary lapse of judgment caused Bran to forget his real business of scamming some free labor, his statue had deeply moved his brothers and sisters. In the following days, they had all volunteered to contribute to Bran’s Territory, asking for just a few statues as payment.

The help of his siblings alone was far from enough. Bran needed someone like a chief engineer, otherwise, nothing could even begin. However, such a person was someone the current Bran could not afford to hire.

He could not give up; there had to be a way. Even though his father treated this as a joke, he could not. Only by doing this step well could he gain more autonomy. Otherwise, he would just have to wait and idle away the time until adulthood, which would probably feel worse than death. Bran pondered in his heart.

Charging into the Duke’s study, Bran made his request. “I want to visit the old weapons warehouse and try to make a weapon for myself.”

The Duke chuckled and shook his head. “Young Bran, swords and knives are not just about having a shape; they require many steps to make.”

“I want to try,” Bran pleaded.

“It’s good to try,” the Duke said, glancing at the model on his desk and smiling. “You may use anything in the old weapons warehouse freely.”

On the way to the warehouse, Bran was blocked by his Sister. She pinched his cheek and said, “The statue you owe me, time to give it to me, right?”

“Owe?” Bran looked puzzled.

His Sister reminded him, “Look, I promised to help you build your Territory, and you would make a statue for me.”

“But the Territory hasn’t even started construction yet?”

“I don’t care, you have to give me the statue.”

“Sister, one must be reasonable.”

“I am your Sister, you should listen to your Sister, right?”

“And I am your younger brother, you should cherish me.”

“Will you make it or not?”

“I need materials, Sister. At least you have to provide the materials, right?”

His Sister looked displeased and said, “You wait, I’ll bring it to you right now.”

Bran looked at the Dinner Knife in his hand and felt like crying but had no tears. He looked up at his Sister and asked, “You stole this, aren’t you afraid of getting spanked?”

“What does it matter? Hurry up and make it.”

After hesitating repeatedly, Bran signaled his Sister to lean in and whispered, “Actually, metal isn’t necessary. Stone or Wood will work, it just requires a bit more Mana.”

“You should have said so earlier!” His Sister snatched the Dinner Knife. “Wait, I’ll put this back.”

When she returned, she was carrying a stone the size of a human head and dropped it at Bran’s feet, saying, “No cat.”

“Okay,” Bran replied. He placed his hand on the stone. With the faint sound of stone dust falling, a full-body statue resembling his Third Sister gradually appeared.

Handing the statue to his Sister, Bran asked proudly, “Looks like her, right?”

Third Sister took the statue and examined it carefully, then said, “Don’t go. I’ll get two more stones; you make two more.”

Bran…

In this backward and savage World, exquisite dolls (Statues) were highly attractive to children. Over the next few days, Bran worked like a beast of burden for his brothers and sisters, exhausting his Mana completely every day before he could get away. But all this was not without reward. The former Idiot quickly transformed into the good younger brother, good older brother in the mouths of his siblings during these days.

And the physical discomfort caused by daily Mana exhaustion also made Bran gradually adapt. This feeling of discomfort lessened day by day. Bran decided to persist with this behavior, exhausting his Mana completely every day for a while to see the specific effects. Perhaps this was a good training method.