48. Back To Be Slave
Rangga wasted no time. He immediately opened the Explosion Core crafting menu. All the required materials were already available.
Charcoal. Sulfur. Saltpeter. Reinforced Alloy Plates.
"Let's do it."
He pressed the Craft button several times. The fire inside the furnace flared brighter as metal clanks and mechanical sounds echoed together.
Whuuumm...
Moments later, several fist-sized metal cylinders were neatly arranged inside the furnace's output tray.
Each one contained a faint crimson core that pulsed softly.
Explosion Core ×50
Rangga immediately carried them over to the crafting bench.
He reopened the Weapon Modules menu and, without hesitation, selected Explosive Arrowhead.
One by one, the alloy arrows and Explosion Cores dissolved into light.
A few moments later, forty-five brand-new arrows were lined up neatly across the workbench.
Their arrowheads looked slightly different now.
Behind each tip was a small metal capsule seamlessly integrated into the blade.
Explosive Arrowhead ×45
He then moved on to the next recipe.
Melee Explosion Core.
Once again, light engulfed the workbench. Several minutes later, forty-five small cylindrical metal modules appeared.
Their shape fit perfectly into the empty slot on his Javelins.
Melee Explosion Core ×45
Rangga grinned.
"Alright... Time to test them."
He picked up one Explosive Arrowhead, nocked it onto his new longbow, and walked away from the house.
In the distance stood the tree trunk he had been using for target practice.
Rangga drew the longbow until the string was fully taut.
"Hmm... Hope this thing doesn't blow up in my hand."
Twang!
The arrow shot forward.
Thunk!
It struck the tree trunk dead center. For a brief moment nothing happened. Rangga frowned.
"Huh?"
Then—
BOOM!!
A small explosion erupted from the impact point. Wood fragments exploded in every direction. Part of the tree trunk shattered apart.
Rangga instinctively took a step backward.
"Holy crap!"
His eyes widened.
The explosion wasn't massive but it was more than powerful enough to destroy anything it hit directly.
A huge grin spread across his face.
"Yeah... This thing hurts."
Without waiting any longer, he picked up one of the Javelins.
He inserted a Melee Explosion Core into the empty slot near the spearhead.
Click.
The module locked perfectly into place. Thin lines running along the shaft suddenly began glowing faintly.
Rangga nodded.
"Fits perfectly."
He moved to another practice target farther away.
"Second test."
The Javelin spun in his hand before—
Whoosh!
It streaked through the air.
Thunk!
The spear embedded itself squarely into the center of the target. But there was no explosion. Rangga blinked.
"Huh?"
The instant the spear struck—
Tssssst!
A high-pressure stream of molten metallic fluid shot straight out from a tiny opening near the spearhead. It moved so fast it was almost invisible.
CRACK!
The target behind it was instantly punched through. The jet continued traveling until—
Thunk!
It slammed directly into the outer wall of Rangga's house and Rangga froze.
"..."
He immediately sprinted over and his eyes widened.
A perfectly clean fist-sized hole had been punched straight through the wall. It went completely through the house.
Rangga gently touched the edge of the hole.
"Holy... It... punched a hole through it?"
He looked back at the Javelin still embedded in the target. Then at the hole in his house.
"So... It doesn't explode... It injects a high-pressure stream of molten metal... to pierce through anything?"
Rangga swallowed hard.
If that hadn't been his house... If it had hit a Protoceratops... Or a Vespersaurus... He could already imagine just how terrifying that level of penetration would be.
He awkwardly looked at the hole in his wall and gave a sheepish grin.
"Uh... I'll patch that tomorrow..."
Rangga remained standing there, staring at the hole in the wall. He slowly shook his head with a small laugh.
"This thing is seriously dangerous."
In an even better mood than before, he turned his attention toward the other buildings on his island.
"What else should I upgrade?"
His eyes immediately settled on the furnace.
"Oh, right."
He walked over. The moment he opened the menu, another blue screen appeared.
Smelting Furnace Lv.2
Upgrade Requirements
50 Hardwood
50 Clay
50 Stone
20 Thermal Cores
---
Rangga glanced inside the warehouse.
"Huh? I've got everything?"
A broad smile spread across his face.
"Upgrade it."
Every material instantly transformed into streams of light and flowed into the furnace.
The flames roared even higher. The furnace itself grew taller.
Its chimney split into two and an additional combustion chamber appeared on one side, along with several new metal molds.
Moments later, a new recipe appeared.
Iron Ingot
Materials:
5 Iron Ore
2 Charcoal
---
Rangga read it before nodding happily.
"Now that's more like it."
Finally, all the iron ore he'd been collecting could be processed. Without another thought, he opened the charcoal crafting menu.
The moment he did, he stopped.
Charcoal
Materials:
1 Hardwood (0)
---
"..."
Rangga blinked. He tried crafting it anyway.
Click.
A red notification immediately appeared.
Out of Hardwood.
"..."
The smile slowly disappeared from his face. He stared at the screen for several seconds before hurriedly walking toward the warehouse.
When he opened the door, he looked across the storage shelves. Now all that remained was—
20 Stone
15 Wood
15 Copper Ore
2 Copper Ingots
7 Clay
30 Iron Ore
----
Rangga stood there silently. Only a few hours ago, the warehouse had been packed with materials.
Now, It was nearly empty and he slowly scratched his head.
"Damn... My workload just keeps piling up."
He began counting on his fingers.
"Need more hardwood... Ran out of clay... Almost out of stone... And now I need charcoal too."
"I've got plenty of iron ore... But I can't even smelt it."
All he could do was let out a long sigh.
"Maaan..."
His progress had been incredibly fast. But the cost of continuing that progress had skyrocketed just as quickly.
He slowly closed the warehouse door.
Click.
Then casually walked back toward his house with both hands in his pockets.
"So... Back to slave labor tomorrow... Damn it..."
Back on Earth, millions of viewers watched without blinking.
First, Rangga equipped his brand-new Swamp Armor. Then he upgraded his bow into a Composite Alloy Longbow.
After that, all five of his spears became Javelins. Then came the crafting of Explosion Cores...
Followed by explosive arrows... And finally, a Javelin powerful enough to punch straight through his own house.
The comment section completely exploded.
"HOLY CRAP, THE ARROWS EXPLODE!"
"Those aren't arrows anymore!"
"That bow is insane!"
"His new armor looks incredible!"
"He went from survivor to full-on hunter!"
The Javelin pierced a wall!
"That's not a spear—that's a cannon!"
"Rangga's power creep is insane."
"Everything got upgraded today!"
"This crafting simulator just turned into a war game!"
Even viewers who had only just opened the livestream that night were completely confused.
"Wait... wasn't he using a stone spear yesterday?"
"How does he already have weapons like this?"
"His progress is ridiculously fast."
"What has he been doing all day?!"
Across the world, analysts immediately got to work.
Every new recipe. Every material. Every weapon transformation. Everything was carefully documented.
They replayed the exploding arrow sequence over and over. Then replayed the Javelin punching through Rangga's house.
At the Presidential Palace of Garuda Nation, General Suryo continued watching the giant screen.
He watched the replay of the exploding arrow. Then the replay of the Javelin piercing the wall.
The room fell silent and several analysts exchanged glances. One researcher finally spoke.
"The technology is evolving... It's no longer just metal weapons."
Another analyst nodded.
"They're now utilizing specialized materials to create entirely different combat effects."
General Suryo slowly nodded.
"And it's only been eleven days."
His words silenced the room once again. Only eleven days had passed. Yet Rangga's progress had already far exceeded everyone's expectations.
From a construction worker wielding a stone axe. He had become a hunter clad in specialized armor... Armed with a Composite Alloy Longbow... Five Javelins... And weapons capable of explosive and high-penetration attacks.
It was no surprise that, that night, Rangga's livestream once again shattered the worldwide record for concurrent viewers.