Having mastered the art of steel forging, the subsequent work was simply a matter of lighting the furnace, casting the iron, and hammering it into shape.
With the forging table, the progress of each strike increased significantly. In just under two hours, a set of brand-new steel tools was complete.
A steel axe, a steel pickaxe, and a steel wedge—the three most crucial tools were now in hand. Their forging progress was around 85%, and their quality was all [Good].
It seemed that unless he developed new casting techniques or his blacksmithing skills reached perfection, [Good] quality steel was the current limit.
Holding the cold, gleaming steel axe, Chuck approached a piece of leftover hardwood from yesterday—a log as thick as a bowl. He raised the axe and swung.
Thud, thud, crack.
The sound of chopping carried an indescribably crisp quality. One strike to embed, a second to split, and with the third, the wood separated cleanly.
Chuck picked up the split wood, examining the smooth break with a satisfied nod.
It seemed that like the hammer, the strength of these tools was on a whole new level.
As the women woke up one by one, the sun rose, and the temperature climbed to a level even Chuck found unbearable.
After breakfast, the women attended to their respective duties before efficiently moving necessary supplies into the artificial cave.
Aside from food, water, and bedding, a small episode occurred.
"Baby, I've noticed these little guys get lethargic and lose their appetite when it gets this hot," Janet said softly, bringing a wooden board covered in mulberry leaves to Chuck.
Chuck looked down. On the board were the twenty-odd silkworms he had brought back. After a few days, they seemed to have molted once; they were noticeably plumper and lighter in color than when he first found them. But as Janet said, they looked listless in the heat.
"I think it's better to keep them in the cave from now on. Could you build me a rack later? You're good with your hands, and it would make feeding them easier."
Chuck naturally agreed, earning a passionate kiss from the mature mare.
Once everything was ready, the women retreated into the cave for a leisurely escape from the heat.
Valentina was among them. The silver-haired warrior, freshly deflowered by Chuck, limped out of the cabin carrying a basket of wild fruit and dried meat. She cast a complex glance at Chuck before ducking into the cave she had grown tired of—but now had no choice but to re-enter.
Chuck wasn't in a hurry. He walked to the pile of quartz sandstone beneath the cliff and placed a steel wedge and a whole block of sandstone into the workbench.
The synthesis button lit up.
[Detected: Quartz Sandstone (Medium), Good Steel Wedge] [Can process into: Quartz Sandstone Brick x3. Time required: 3 hours]
Three hours...
Chuck nodded knowingly. Previously, cutting one block with a bronze wedge took two hours. With steel, the time was halved, and he wouldn't have to worry about the tool breaking after a single use.
He pressed the synthesis button without hesitation. As the light orb appeared, he shielded his eyes from the scorching sun and strode quickly into the cave.
The light dimmed instantly, and the oppressive heat was replaced by coolness.
Seeing the women chatting relaxedly on the beds, Chuck felt validated in his decision to prioritize excavating this shelter.
"Darling~"
Seeing Chuck enter, Julia, who had been waiting for a long time, opened her soft arms to him. The other women sat on the beds, their faces flushed with anticipation. Having been with Chuck for a while, they knew exactly what happened during weather that prevented work.
Deep inside the cave, there was a solitary splash of silver. In the spot where she had once been chained, Valentina sat cross-legged on the ground, back to the group, scratching marks on the wall with a stone.
Chuck glanced at her but decided not to initiate conversation. After last night, their relationship had undeniably changed—no longer enemies, but companions, even partners. However, it was natural for the stubborn warrior to need time to adjust after waking up.
"Darling, hurry up."
Julia's coquettish urging sounded again. Chuck turned and froze.
The hot, sexy blonde mare was lying on the bed, her snowy legs high in the air and spread wide. Her pink depths were already glistening. As her full breasts heaved, her toes curled slightly—inviting, seducing.
The pent-up desire from the night before filled Julia's eyes with hearts. Seeing Chuck walk in, she had immediately assumed the combat position, waiting for him to take the wheel and drive her wild.
"Do me~" Julia sucked on her finger, her voice dripping with lust.
What a stunner. Chuck smiled, his heart itching, but he raised a hand and took the newly forged steel pickaxe from his waist instead.
"Wait a moment, you little slut."
Although routine was routine, with the upgrade from bronze to steel, there might be work to do in the cave today.
When he first excavated the cave, he had planned a five-meter circular structure. However, he hit a layer of black rock far harder than quartz sandstone, which the bronze pickaxe couldn't dent, forcing him to alter the layout.
Now that he had a steel pickaxe, he wanted to see if the new tool could expand his cave further.
Seeing Chuck had business to attend to, the insatiable Julia pouted but nodded obediently, slowly lowering her legs and rubbing them together in frustration.
Chuck stood before the innermost rock face, steel pickaxe in hand. He placed his palm on the black rock, which gleamed with faint crystalline textures. It was cold and hard. He wasn't sure what kind of rock it was, but if he could mine it, not only would the cave be larger, but the stone itself would be useful!
He raised the steel pickaxe, aimed at a slight protrusion, and swung with all his might.
CLANG!
The crisp sound of metal on stone echoed through the cave, silencing the women's chatter and drawing everyone's gaze. Even Valentina put down her stone and looked over in confusion.
Chuck straightened up, feeling the vibration in the pickaxe handle. He looked at the point of impact.
Only a shallow mark had appeared on the black rock, with a spiderweb of fine cracks around it.
Chuck frowned. He had used nearly full strength, yet the efficiency was far below mining quartz with bronze.
The mark meant he could chip off a piece if he wanted, but expanding the cave significantly was nearly impossible.
Even steel tools aren't enough?
Gritting his teeth, Chuck raised the pickaxe again and swung.
Clang, clang, clang.
After about ten minutes of hammering, a black stone flake—a foot long, half a foot wide, and two palms thick—finally broke off.
But the cost was visible damage to the tip of the steel pickaxe.
Chuck calmed his breathing, stowed the pickaxe, and picked up the stone flake. Once detached, its color shifted from black to dark gray, revealing clear crystalline structures inside. The fractured edges were razor-sharp, suitable even for cutting.
He tossed it directly into the workbench to let the synthesis prompt reveal its identity.
[Detected: Granite Flake] [Synthesis Prompt: Granite is a plutonic rock fragment from the volcanic island's base. Contains quartz, feldspar, and biotite. Dense structure, extremely high hardness. One of the best construction materials. Due to small size, cannot be used for building, but can be shattered further to use as a cutting tool.]
Granite!
Chuck nodded, looking impressed. He had sacrificed the durability of a rare steel tool to identify this, primarily for its potential uses. While not a geologist, he knew granite was used for flooring in modern society, but he hadn't expected it to be this tough.
On the island, this would likely be a late-game reinforcement material. In short, Chuck had no use for it now, nor could he mine it efficiently. Expanding the cave would be a long-term project.
Chuck put the granite flake away, then quickly stripped off his clothes. Under the delighted gazes of the women, he walked toward the bed.
For now, this space was enough.
The heatwave lasted a day and a half.
The artificial cave insulated them from the oppressive heat during the day, and at night, the outdoor temperature dropped slightly.
Chuck spent the days fucking the women into oblivion in the cave. In the evenings, they would check on the house and farm, endure the residual heat to bathe, and then return to the cave to sleep.
On the first day, Chuck synthesized 15 quartz sandstone bricks before the [Good Steel Wedge] finally wore out. Taking advantage of the evening, he melted down the broken tool, added new ore, and forged three sets of steel wedges, running three synthesis queues simultaneously.
By the afternoon of the second day, when the heat finally began to fade, Chuck had synthesized a total of sixty quartz sandstone bricks. The pile of sandstone under the cliff had shrunk by half, making Chuck realize he would soon need to quarry sandstone from the cliff face just like ore.
The livestock pen and greenhouse passed the heat test with flying colors. The four goats were fine; Janet had prepared ample food and water, and as native animals, they were adapted to the climate. The crops in the greenhouse also thrived, with visible growth over the few days. Some were even close to harvest.
Unlike the storms, the island's heat didn't seem to harm the flora and fauna. This realization boosted Chuck's confidence in his farm.
At 1:00 PM, the sun dipped west. The light was less blinding, and the lingering heat was bearable.
Chuck moved the processed bricks to the pit beneath the platform. He opened the blueprint function, selected [Simple Latrine], and began construction.
Adding the sixty quartz bricks filled half the progress bar instantly. Seeing the bricks neatly lining the pit to form the septic tank structure, Chuck nodded and returned to the platform.
Forty bricks remained. He used high-quality quartz sandstone because the latrine was a long-term facility. Leakage was absolutely not an option... so quality and durability had to be maxed out.
He worked until evening, continuously cutting with the workbench and forging more steel wedges to add extra queues. With six queues running full tilt and the remaining ones handling copper pipes and mortar, he and the women worked until dusk.
The final material was added. [Simple Latrine: 100% Complete.]
With a flash of light, a stone-brick "squatty potty" latrine appeared before Chuck.
The structure was simple: a few bricks raised a squatting platform with a sloped design for drainage. Three fermentation tanks were connected by copper pipes, sealed with thick processed hardwood planks.
Chuck looked up and exhaled a long breath.
It would probably smell terrible soon. But it proved the final link in the farm's energy cycle was complete, signaling a step toward civilization and comfort.
With the farm project concluded, Chuck didn't rush to set a new goal. He decided to give himself a buffer period.
The main reason was the massive amount of stone bricks required for the stone house upgrade. Processing them all would take significant time and labor.
So, for the next few days, while mining and processing stone, Chuck took the time to handle a few things he had been putting off.