NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
Chapter
“How’s it? It’s not a big deal, right?”
Despite Rionne’s words, Enok couldn’t nod in agreement after such a long time.
First of all, it was quite a big deal.
Hundreds of thousands of swords falling down?
If Enok had been there, he was sure he would have fought bravely than anyone else.
And that such a big monster could be crushed to bits and die?
Even smaller monsters would die if crushed like that.
Isn’t it odd that they’re still alive?
“Uh, um….”
As Enok hesitated, for some reason, Undine chimed in.
[I told you not to force your standards on others! How could an idiot like that do something like that!]
It was a hurtful truth, but it made sense.
Just then, the smoke that had risen from Rionne’s attack cleared away in the wind, and Enok found himself clapping his hands unconsciously.
A pit so deep that its end was hardly visible.
Even the surrounding area was completely crystallized from whatever was done to the lava.
That shouldn’t be possible with lava’s temperature.
“Is that so? I think you could do it soon….”
“Rionne.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t think that’s the case.”
“R-really?”
As Rionne scratched her head, the dwarves who had been watching from afar rushed over.
[Oh, yes! There, dwarves! Praise me!]
Undine puffed out her chest, even though she hadn’t really done anything.
And the dwarves, rushing in like a whirlwind, just breezed past her.
[Huh?]
Ignoring Rionne as well, the dwarves were tapping the deep pit, their eyes glinting with excitement.
“Whoa…! This is amazing!”
“It’s not just ordinary melted rock! It’s been mutated by mana!”
The dwarves, who had forgotten the fact that they were saved, suddenly opened a discussion forum out of nowhere.
Right before Undine was about to scream, Riraum approached, laughing heartily.
“Ha ha! Sorry, sorry! They’re just a bunch of crazy people!”
Behind him, the dwarves who were still sane expressed their gratitude.
“Thanks to you, we survived!”
“If Riraum had caught it, the village would have been mostly destroyed.”
“By the way, they say you’re the thousand-year Swordmaster. Is that true?”
Ignoring the weird comment, Rionne pouted.
Clearing her throat, she glanced at Riraum and asked the dwarves.
“By the way, everyone, Riraum boasts that he’s the best blacksmith among dwarves. Is that true?”
Rionne hoped the dwarves would deny it and start to protest.
Then she planned to sneak in and demand that Enok have the items he needed made to prove his skills….
“Uh… well, yes. I don’t want to admit it, but…”
“At least in this village, he’s the best! In the homeland, he’s not quite at that level, but he’s… well, among the top ten?”
Riraum grinned.
“Did you hear? I’m at this level.”
“Is that really true…? Unbelievable….”
“Is it that much!?”
Rionne pouted in disappointment.
She had intended to make a lot of things for Enok on this opportunity.
“Anyway, I’ll put the debt for catching that thing on the ledger! Just tell me if you need anything! I’ll make it for you personally.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
“Yeah. Quite a few times?”
“Really?”
Riraum chuckled.
Regardless of that, Rionne began to light up her eyes and sort out the items she needed.
First, some armor for Enok, and if there’s good leather, maybe some clothes too? Would he need shoes? His foot size had been increasing lately. And also….
“Oh, right.”
Speaking of which, what happened to that custom?
“What about that custom, the qualifications and all?”
“Oh, that?”
Riraum glanced at Enok, then nodded boisterously.
“Well, you passed!”
Enok tilted his head.
“Based on what?”
“I saw you using it well just now. Normally, weapons aren’t easy to use.”
The gloves Riraum had made for Enok would usually require an adaptation period.
To wield delicate weapons effectively, one needs exceptional mana control and, of course, a process to attune one’s own mana to it.
However, Enok managed to use them quite well right from the start, so from Riraum’s perspective, he had passed.
“Be happy. It’s a piece made by Riraum, the Teenage Master, the Red Hammer.”
“Teenage Master!? You!?”
Rionne’s jaw dropped.
Riraum stared at her as if looking dumbfounded.
“Don’t you ever go outside? How could you not know this? What, did you hide a honey jar at home?”
“Ah, no… I just don’t have much reason to go out….”
“That’s why you still haven’t found a companion and are living like a loser.”
“W-what are you saying! I could create something if I wanted to!? ”
“Oh, sure, right!”
Rionne gritted her teeth but quickly suppressed her murderous instincts with superhuman patience.
“Teenage Master, Teenage Master, huh?”
They call the artisans who rank within the top ten on the continent as Teenage Masters.
Usually, about nine of them are dwarves, though.
Anyway, if he’s a Teenage Master, that’s a whole different story.
Rionne subtly checked her surroundings and sent a faint mana signal to Riraum.
It’s a technique called Sound Transmission, where sounds are carried through mana for discreet communication.
[By the way….]
“What? What with the t…eep…!”
Rionne sealed Riraum’s mouth with a whisper.
[I have a bit of adamantium tucked away?]
[W-what!? You have adamantium…!?]
Adamantium, known as the metal of the gods.
Unlike mithril, it’s one of the rarest metals, and even a superhuman would find it hard to obtain adamantium.
[How much do you have?]
[Um… enough to fully equip Enok?]
[You crazy girl! Did you report this to the family?]
[Hmph! Who cares about such a family.]
[It’s surprising you haven’t been killed yet….]
Riraum was left speechless, looking incredulous.
Rionne continued without caring.
[Anyway, can you make weapons and armor for Enok?]
[…Seriously, he’s not your son, is he?]
[I told you he isn’t.]
[Well… anyway, I’d almost like to ask you instead.]
Once she received a positive answer, a smile bloomed on Rionne’s lips.
[Then I’ll ask you!]
[Was it necessary to do this through Sound Transmission?]
[It’s a secret from Enok.]
Fully equipping him in adamantium?
A guy like Enok would be begging for trouble with such a display.
So she was planning to gift it to him when his skills had sufficiently improved.
[When will that be?]
[Not quite a Master, but maybe a Grandmaster?]
[You crazy girl.]
Is she planning to just dangle it in front of him?
*
The crazy dwarves suddenly regained their senses and joined the less crazy ones to hold a grand feast.
It was a feast to celebrate Rionne for saving the village and also a feast simply because they wanted to drink.
Thus, presently, Rionne asked a somewhat tired-looking Enok.
“How are the dwarves? They’re pretty decent folks, right?”
“Yeah. More than I expected.”
“Right!?”
Delighted, Rionne enveloped Enok in a tight hug.
“Our good Enok.”
“Hehe….”
“Now, you understand a little? You shouldn’t harbor biases based on the race itself. Sure, there are strange people, but that doesn’t mean the whole race is strange; it means that person is strange.”
This applied to her too and to different ethnicities.
While there could be groups with customs or traits that didn’t match, you wouldn’t know anything about a person unless you interacted with them.
Rionne’s thoughts were like that.
“Yeah, I get it.”
“Aw, how nice!”
However, whether Enok truly understood remained to be seen.
*
After returning from the volcano, Rionne and Enok began training again.
Seeing Rionne’s strength had sparked something in him, perhaps?
Enok was more dedicated to his training than usual, and thanks to his talents, the results were visually noticeable.
However, as much as he worked hard physically, it became a part of his routine to groan in pain afterward.
Rionne, being Enok’s mom, would not just stand by and watch something so tragic.
“Enok, it seems like Eri has finished adjusting, so why don’t we start learning spirit magic today?”
“Huh?”
Enok tilted his head.
“Why learn spirit magic?”
“Uh…? You don’t want to learn it…?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Enok pointed at Undine with his finger.
“Spirits fight on their own, right?”
“Oh, that’s what you meant?”
Ahem, Rionne cleared her throat and resumed her awkward posture.
Flustered, her expression switched from strange to a bright smile.
“Of course, the spirit itself is important in spirit magic, but equally important is the capacity of the summoner.”
Enok still seemed confused, tilting his head.
Well, having grown up seeing Undine all the time, that was understandable.
It was very rare to form a bond strong enough with a spirit like Undine.
“First, you need to be able to summon the spirit from the Spirit Realm and maintain its earthly form.”
However, for Eri, born in the Middle Realm, this process wasn’t necessary.
“Next, you need to build some level of intimacy. There’s a connection between the summoner and the spirit, called a Pass, which grows wider and sturdier as your bond deepens.”
However, Eri regarded Enok as her parent, so this step wasn’t required either.
…Hmm?
Rionne felt a little flustered but continued without showing it.
“Up to this point is the preparation phase. To fully utilize the spirit’s power, training is necessary. The academic schools are quite divided here, but since I only know one method well…, it seems that’s all I can teach you.”
She knew some methods from other schools, but it was where her ineptitude would show if mishaps occurred.
Of course, Enok didn’t care at all.
Rionne’s method?
That sounded even better.
“Really? Hehe, that’s our Enok. Where else would you find such a good kid?”
Rionne patted Enok’s head and stretched out one slender finger.
“Okay, let’s go! First one-point lesson!”
*
A few days passed since they started practicing spirit magic.
With spirit magic starting to take shape and feeling somewhat comfortable, Rionne took Enok out once more.
Today, they planned to create his identification badge, specifically making it easy to create, which would be the Mercenary Guild.