I, Stone Golem, only want to forge.

Chapter 32: Offering a hammer totem.

Siri also glanced at the two people opposite him, his gaze first sweeping over Murphy, especially the dragon scale-like rocks on Murphy's body.

Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly and focused his attention on the skeleton on the other side.

Although the skeleton's body was very similar to its skull, he could still tell that it was made entirely by hand.

More importantly, the soul inside this skull is definitely not ordinary.

He could even vaguely see the traces of status that only legendary powerhouses could leave behind.

These two are quite extraordinary.

However, he didn't say anything, but simply greeted them in a calm and collected manner.

"I heard from the nearby slime lord that there's a highly skilled craftsman around here. Could it be you?"

After he finished speaking, he extended his hand and then introduced himself.

"Sri is a druid."

"Murphy, what brings you here?"

Murphy still politely extended her hand and shook hands with him.

Siri also heard Murphy's voice in his mind, which immediately confirmed his guess.

It really was telepathy.

He didn't make a sound, but instead looked at another skeleton and then reached out his hand as well.

"And what should I call this person?"

Just call me Lao Ke.

Old Skeleton was very knowledgeable and could tell at a glance that the druid in front of him was different from others. The flames in his eye sockets flickered.

After greeting everyone, Sri explained to Murphy.

"Mr. Murphy, you misunderstand. I came here to check on things myself, and I just happened to run into you."

Are you very familiar with these trees?

Murphy remembered what Sri had just said, and then asked.

"I wouldn't say I understand it, I just know a little bit about it."

As he spoke, he walked to the tree and waved his hand.

A branch, still attached to its leaves, landed in my hand.

He walked up to Murphy with the branch in his hand, then dripped a drop of blood onto it, but the blood was not absorbed.

Then, in the same manner, he flicked a drop of blood onto the intact tree next to him.

This time, the blood seeped in very quickly.

After the demonstration, Sri waved his hand, and the branch in his hand flew back to its original position, just like that, and he caught it again.

"What falls down can't be absorbed... You mean nutrients?"

After watching the presentation, Murphy had a pretty good idea of what Sri was trying to say.

The reason is simple: blood is needed as a nutrient.

The fallen branch, lacking nutrients, should absorb blood more quickly.

However, the truth is that it didn't absorb a single drop.

Sri nodded, and then said.

"As you said, this tree is called the Blood Tree of the Strange Serpent. It absorbs the blood, not as nutrients."

Instead, it involves re-injecting unwanted nutrients into the bloodstream and then expelling them.

Upon hearing this explanation, Old Ke instantly understood and exclaimed in realization.

"So that's how those fruits came about."

Siri nodded and then elaborated on the point further.

"And the substances that the Bloodwood of the Strange Serpent does not need are exactly what we bloodline creatures need."

The moment Sri finished speaking, Murphy had a few ideas forming in his mind.

However, before that, it needs to figure out what nutrients the wood needs.

Without much hesitation, he asked directly.

"What nutrients does this wood need?"

Siri didn't answer, but instead took the opportunity to finally reveal his purpose.

"Mr. Murphy, how about we make a deal? If you agree..."

I can give you all the information about this rare snake-blood tree, and tell you how to cultivate this tree in different regions to make it flower and bear fruit.

Murphy was puzzled by Sri's request.

It initially thought this person wanted to use information related to the Bloodwood Serpent as a bargaining chip in the transaction.

But this person clearly meant that as long as it agreed to the deal, it would tell him all these things directly.

Offering unsolicited favors is always motivated by ulterior motives.

Siri immediately began communicating with Murphy as a craftsman, so it was clear that his aim was to get Murphy to forge things for him.

In other words, forging something is quite troublesome, right?

This might be something an ordinary craftsman might consider, but for Murphy, the more difficult the job, the more willing he is to take it on.

"Do you want me to build something?"

"Exactly."

After nodding, Sridharma stated his request.

"You should know about cold waves, right? A group of refugees I know were driven here from the north by a cold wave."

They need to settle here to withstand the cold wave, so they need a lot of houses, a lot of food, and heating equipment.

After he finished speaking, he paused briefly, sighed, and continued.

"These things all need to be built, and they all need to be accumulated little by little, but we don't have enough time."

Siri took out a list of the necessary items from his pocket and handed it to Murphy.

"I think you can help us. I've seen the things you created at the Goblin Lord's place; they're very innovative. I hope to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with you."

Murphy took the order from her and glanced at it.

It was densely packed, almost completely filled with writing.

It can be said that it lacks everything and has nothing at all.

After scanning the paper slip, it looked up and asked a question in return.

"Long-term cooperation?"

After taking a deep breath, Sridharma slowly exhaled and spoke to Murphy with great seriousness and sincerity.

"Equipment for cultivating farmland, selection of building materials, improvement of planting systems, etc."

Even if we have a good design, we still need a skilled craftsman to bring it to life.

We don't have as many resources or the corresponding government assistance as other human villages.

We can only rely on ourselves. I've also looked for other craftsmen in the area, but none of them were satisfactory...

To be precise, he wasn't there to discuss business with Murphy.

So many transactions, so much deep involvement in the development.

This is less of a transaction and more of an investment.

"You're a craftsman, right?"

Now that things had come to this, Sri finally stopped hiding his intentions and extended a direct invitation.

"You'll need a lot of materials, someone to help you with miscellaneous tasks, someone to help you deal with the defective products after forging, and so on... We can help you with all of these things."

Upon hearing this, and considering the druid's northern origins, Old Ke stroked his smooth chin with his fingers, then glanced at Murphy.

Then it discovered that Murphy was about to agree without any hesitation, so it quickly reached out to stop him.

Murphy looked at Old K with some confusion, and Old K gave him a thumbs up.

"Let me carry some more things for you, wait a moment."

Although it didn't know what Old Ke was up to, it didn't lose anything anyway, so it shut its mouth and didn't say anything more.

Old Ke turned his head and asked, word by word:

"You're from the north, you must have heard of totems, right? Aren't these things you're talking about things that totems should be doing?"

Sri's pupils contracted slightly, clearly surprised, but knowing it was unlikely he could hide it from Old K, he could only say:

"Totems... We are all refugees, and our totems are all different. Now that we've gathered together, there's naturally no such thing anymore."

"Isn't that perfect? Murphy actually needs someone to help it? Isn't that a perfect opportunity for you to use it as your totem?"

"What is a totem?" Murphy scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.

"You can think of them as beings that are worshipped by intelligent life."

Old Ke immediately explained to Murphy, then looked at Sri and pressured him:

"Murphy has done so much for you, and you've only given him menial tasks. That's a bit unfair, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, a hint of anger and hesitation flashed in Sri's eyes.

Long-term cooperation and worship of totems result in drastically different treatment; the former can be described as equal or nearly equal.

The latter... clearly submitted.

But before he could even agree or refuse...

Murphy shook his head first.

"If you want to make offerings, offer a hammer."

After it finished speaking, it summoned its hammer and waved it in front of them.

He looked very serious.

(O_O)

Old Ke and Siri stared at the swaying hammer, falling silent and momentarily unable to follow Murphy's train of thought.

Fortunately, Murphy eventually explained it himself.

"If others make offerings, it will be a burden, a hassle, and will affect the forging process."

Old Ke was speechless at this very craftsman-like statement, even though it had neither an esophagus nor the ability to breathe, let alone saliva.

But after it calmed down, it realized that Murphy's suggestion was actually quite good!

And Siri had the same idea.

If the object being worshipped is a hammer, it can be interpreted as an act or ideology being worshipped.

In that case, there is naturally no question of a subservient relationship.

Similarly, if the worship is of the same behavior or ideology, then Murphy, as the one who initiated the worship, would naturally have an extraordinary status and benefits.

But this only represents the position of a leader, not a conqueror.

This is acceptable to Sri.

His gaze fell on Murphy's earnest and honest face.

For a moment, it was unclear whether the stone man had come up with this method by chance, or whether he was playing good cop/bad cop with Old K.

I deliberately gave him a way out so that he could better accept this approach.

Siri took a few deep breaths, licked his lips, and was about to agree.

"Okay, I agree..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Murphy interrupted him again.

"Let's talk about it after it's finished."

Murphy spoke slowly and matter-of-factly.

Sri: ?

Siri's eyelids twitched. He was unsure whether to admire Murphy's work ethic or think it was a bit too cumbersome.