“Well, it looks brighter blue than Adamantine Steel. I flowed a little Mana through it, and it was smoother than Adamantine Steel. It might change once it solidifies, so I can’t say for sure, and I don’t know about its strength or hardness yet. That’s all I can say for now.”
Ed is explaining the trial alloy.
The Mana flow feels good, but it’s still in a molten state, so he said he wouldn’t know until it completely cools.
Indeed, without it solidifying, it’s impossible to know its hardness or strength, so that’s unavoidable.
“I was thinking of adding a small amount of Adamantine Steel and Crystal Silver to Magic Silver, but I never expected you to throw in an entire ingot. Since you used a total of three ingots, even a rough calculation would mean the weight is equivalent to three ingots.”
Ingots also exist for the Helios Orb, and apparently, they can be made easily using dedicated equipment and a Craft Magic called Deforming.
Even if it’s said to be easy, Deforming is a magic that changes and shapes things. If it doesn’t meet the size requirements regulated by the Crafter’s Guild, you have to heat the metal mass, melt it slightly, mix it, and then use Deforming after it cools and solidifies.
By the way, ingots in this world aren’t for measuring weight, but rather for standardizing their size to make them easier to use as materials.
A standard ingot is 50x20x10 in size, and ingots twice or half that size also exist.
“Ah…”
When I said that, Ed froze.
Had he not considered that?
“Well, it will be the weight of three ingots, but since the amount is also three times, you just need to divide it by three. If you compare it to an ingot of the same size, it will probably be lighter than Adamantine Steel.”
“Yamato, you…!”
No, it’s a simple calculation problem.
You should have realized that before you started.
“Ed is bad at calculations. When he makes something, he always does it by eye or by feel, so I’ve told him repeatedly that he’ll fail someday, and old man Richard and Talos also warn him.”
Marina revealed.
That’s definitely a problem.
For regular shop items, a slight difference in performance might be manageable, but for commissions, it’s fatal.
“In a pinch, Marina and Fiana will help me, so it’s fine.”
“Relying on others, huh? Try to learn a little yourself.”
“Everyone has things they can and cannot do!”
Don’t say it like a proverb.
Marina is exasperated.
“I’m used to it by now. Besides, Fiana helps out recently, so my workload has decreased.”
Fiana the Harpy, huh?
Wait, isn’t Fiana the person bought out of slavery by the Crafter’s Master?
Why can she help you guys?
“People bought out of slavery don’t have to work non-stop from morning till night like criminal slaves. They get paid, even if it’s a small amount, and they have days off. Plus, Fiana is skilled and her work is thorough, so we sometimes ask her to come to the workshop.”
I see.
Speaking of which, isn’t buying someone out of slavery incredibly cheap?
I don’t know how much they bought her out for, but in a way, she’s no different from a migrant worker.
The difference is that once the debt is paid off, or if her family pays for her, they receive the money immediately. And if she fulfills the conditions, she’s freed from slavery. Plus, the master is supposed to provide food, lodging, and clothing while she’s a slave, so I can’t find any advantage in buying a slave.
“There is. It’s cheaper than hiring regular people, and because they’re slaves, they won’t leak information. Although the initial cost is high, to earn that amount, they’d have to save a small salary, which usually takes decades. It’s not uncommon for them to die before being freed, so surprisingly few people are actually liberated.”
If you thoughtlessly buy someone out of slavery, there’s a higher chance they’ll remain a slave until death.
Even with days off, not being able to spend money is painful.
Although they don’t have to worry about food, lodging, and clothing, that alone can cause stress.
“But, it’s amazing! If you can make metal like that, the world will change!”
Raus’s eyes are shining, but I understand his excitement.
If successful, it could become a metal with performance exceeding even Magic Silver.
“I took on the job because I thought so too. It’s truly revolutionary. However, it requires a lot of Mana, so even if we were to make it, it would be difficult for races with low Mana capacity in the Crafter’s Guild or even high-level individuals.”
Is that so?
Now that I think about it, whether it’s Deforming, Adjusting, or Connecting, magic like that, called Craft Magic, can only be used if you register with the Crafter’s Guild.
Craft Magic is a Guild Magic that can be used if you are registered with the Crafter’s Guild, and of course, it becomes unusable if you are expelled.
Furthermore, if you register with the Trader’s Guild, you can use Investing, which allows you to discern the name and material of weapons, armor, and magic tools, and Counting, a commercial magic for quick calculations. If you register with the Healer’s Guild, you can use Dispelling, which can cure poison and paralysis, and Curing, a healing magic effective for minor illnesses like colds, headaches, and stomachaches.
Of course, the Hunter’s Guild also has Hunter Magic: Searching, which can show your current location on the map; Mapping, which allows you to create a map within a Labyrinth; and Questing, which displays the number and location of Monsters you’ve defeated on your License.
Questing is particularly convenient because it allows you to confirm if you’ve hunted the commissioned Monsters in the specified area and makes it easy to check the number of requests.
“Is it difficult even for Ed?”
“It’s difficult. Fortunately, I’m a Fairy-half, so it’s not impossible, but Talos couldn’t do it.”
Ed is a Fairy-half Dwarf, and Marina is a Fairy-half Dragonewt, so they have more Mana than ordinary Dwarves or Dragonewts.
This is because both of them have Fairy blood mixed in, increasing their Mana, not because they are half-breeds.
“What about Richard?”
“Grandpa might be able to do it, but he hasn’t actually tried it, so I can’t say for sure.”
“Either way, we need Grandpa Richard to save his Mana for forging weapons, so I don’t think he can make ingots.”
Ah, that’s right.
If just making an ingot consumes so much Mana, I can’t imagine how much would be consumed by forging weapons.
“Well, that’s all after everything is done. It might be clear as early as tomorrow, but based on what Yamato said, the proportions seem important, so I think we’ll have to think about that too.”
Indeed.
It’s common for the proportions of materials to affect strength and hardness, and it also changes depending on the metals used, so trial and error is essential.
I want it to be completed quickly, but if it ends up being a shoddy product due to haste, it would be a waste, so I can only leave this to Ed and Marina.
“We can only tell you to do your best, but don’t push yourselves too hard, okay?”
“Of course. If I collapse, no one will be able to stop the people in the workshop.”
That’s also questionable, you know.
“It’s not for that reason alone, but we’re also trying it with Magic Silver and Crystal Silver, and Adamantine Steel and Crystal Silver. We tried mixing one ingot each, and so far, it seems to consume less Mana than putting in three.”
“You were doing things like that too? And if an alloy of Magic Silver and Crystal Silver is successfully made, doesn’t that mean Amister can procure it alone, which would be quite significant?”
Magic Silver and Crystal Silver are both magical metals that can be considered specialties of Amister.
An alloy of those two could potentially have performance exceeding Magic Silver, thereby increasing Amister’s national strength and military power.
However, even if the Mana consumption is suppressed, it should still consume a considerable amount of Mana, right?
Please don’t push yourselves too hard.
“We’ll do what we can. So, Marina and I are heading back, what about the rest of you?”
Oops, that’s right.
Well, the answer is already decided.
“You’ll stay here. Ah, I’ll escort you guys too.”
“It feels luxurious to have a G-rank Hunter as a guard.”
“Right. More importantly, you don’t have to go to such lengths, you know?”
“We can’t do that. We have no idea what those guys might do.”
Exactly.
There’s a high chance they haven’t noticed, or are already planning their escape, but it’s better to be cautious.
“Also, are we definitely staying here?”
Give up, Rebecca.
You’ve been bothered by those fools twice today, so for safety, it’s better to be with us.
Look, Meena has already given up.
Fortunately, the Silver Ore Inn is on the way to Albert Workshop, so I can leave Prim and Mina to it. I plan to do a quick sweep of the town.
They probably won’t be found easily, but since the Order’s Guild has sealed the gates, they can’t leave the town.
If we take our time, those foolish idiots will definitely do something foolish. In some cases, we might have to directly raid the inn where those idiots are staying.
“I want to go too, but there’s also everyone else to consider, and if we’re going to annihilate them all at once, Yamato’s Engraving Magic is more suitable.”
Indeed. Area abilities are truly convenient.
And with Sonar Wave and Dolphin Eye in combination, we’re well-prepared for surprise attacks, so at least I won’t have any blind spots, I think.
“Besides, with Yamato’s Physicallring and Manallring, their attacks probably won’t be effective.”
Physicallring increases bodily defense, and Manallring increases equipment defense.
According to what I’ve heard, this defense power can nullify attacks from low-level opponents, just like in games.
I’ve never dared to test it, but at my current level, attacks from the Level 20s are almost completely ineffective, and even against Level 40 opponents, unless they are High Class, fatal attacks are almost nonexistent.
Of course, this is with Physicallring and Manallring active. Without them, even a Level 1 person could kill a high-level person.
That’s why sleep is the most dangerous time, but conversely, they say you can’t truly master it unless you can use it while sleeping.
I’ve sometimes felt I was lagging behind in magic, but I’m once again surprised by how many magics, especially Inn Magic, are superior to Engraving Magic.
