NOVEL NEXT chapter 22
Chapter 22
Good morning everyone!
It’s Yamamoto here.
I wonder how much time has passed since my consciousness was forcibly taken away?
When I woke up, it was already completely dark outside! What a surprise!
Is this the guest room? Gaga-san, you carried me here properly. Well done~
With my monster eyes (or maybe fairy eyes?) that can see in the dark, I casually get up from the bed and head towards the dining room.
A soft orange light fills the dining room, and there’s a slightly burnt smell wafting from it.
If this were in an apartment building, it’d be a full-on odor incident…
“Morning, Gaga-san. It smells a bit burnt~”
“It ain’t morning. It’s already night. How long were you gonna sleep? And in times like these, even if you think it, you’re supposed to flatter me by saying ‘What a fragrant aroma’.”
“If I said that, wouldn’t you hit me and say ‘Shut up’?”
“Shut up!”
He didn’t actually hit me, but Gaga-san’s irritated voice is a good wake-up call right after getting up. Hahaha.
Hm, wait…?
“By the way, Gaga-san, did you make dinner yourself?”
“Yeah.”
On the table is a modest dinner that Gaga-san clearly put effort into: some burnt charcoal-like eel (?) with hard black bread and a sparse dried meat soup.
The sight of it on ultra-luxurious silver cutlery always feels out of place.
I sit across from Gaga-san, resting my chin on my hand and pouting.
“If you were hungry, you could have woken me up. I could have prepared something simple~”
“From tomorrow, you’ll make your own meals. This is good practice for that.”
Huh?
“No, I’ll make it tomorrow, okay?”
“Nope, that won’t be necessary. Oh, I didn’t tell you, did I? You’re expelled.”
Expelled…?
Expelled!?
“Wait, was I your apprentice, Gaga-san!?”
“That’s where you start from!?”
Gaga-san is scratching his head like it’s troublesome, but I haven’t been told anything about this at all!
Rather, I’m shocked to be suddenly expelled!
Was there even a reason to expel me in the first place?
“Ah… Explaining is such a pain.”
Come on, try your best!
But even while saying that, Gaga-san properly explains. He’s such a tsundere.
“Originally, there’s an apprenticeship system in the Commerce Guild to keep promising producers. The concept is that active craftsmen pass on their skills to the next generation, and apprentices are taken care of in a stable environment until they can stand on their own.”
Upon hearing more details, it seems that novice craftsmen often face troubles with customers, are looked down upon due to low-quality products, or struggle financially due to high costs of facilities and materials.
It seems the Commerce Guild’s apprenticeship system aims to eliminate these issues.
And apparently, I had been incorporated into this system without realizing it.
“Using that system, Remina-san? Or was it Remine-san? Anyway, she noticed your promising future and entrusted you to me. And if possible, she thought about getting you into the blacksmith profession, which has few takers… You understand up to here, right?”
“Yeah. I understand that I’m talented.”
Though it’s 120% because of [Balance].
“You should be modest there! …Well, it can’t be helped with you. So, normally, a blacksmith would raise an apprentice as their successor.”
“Uh-huh.”
“But you have no intention of inheriting my techniques, so you’re expelled.”
What a blunt reason!
“I’m not entirely against inheriting them! I’ll inherit them if you teach me!”
“As if I’d teach someone with that attitude!? Besides, you don’t even think of me as your master, do you!?”
“Nope.”
“You should deny that!”
I thought you were just the tutorial oni-san.
“To begin with, before I can say anything, you go and procure materials on your own, forge swords as you please, and progress through your own ingenuity. Someone who can grow on their own doesn’t need a master. Or rather, I’d be in the way. That’s why I decided to let you go.”
Don’t talk like a chicken farmer who’s free-range raising their chickens~
“Well, to put it simply, your talent is too great. A small workshop like mine can’t contain you.”
“I like your workshop, Gaga-san.”
“This workshop—”
Gaga-san speaks slowly while eating his meal.
By the way, that black eel-like thing seems to be a snake. I couldn’t tell because it was so dark. I wonder if it’s tasty…?
“I built this workshop specifically to research magic sword creation. Not too busy, with regular income, and access to good water and charcoal. I chose such a place.”
“I see.”
“And thanks to you, I’ve become able to create magic swords.”
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it’s great. I feel rewarded for that. I’ve lived my life wanting to create and research magic swords. I’m happy that I can make them now, and I intend to create even more amazing magic swords from now on. But what about you?”
Me…?
“You haven’t been pursuing magic swords, have you?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“There might be even more incredible weapons in the world than the magic swords I’ve been pursuing, or unimaginably amazing armor far beyond our imagination—”
I start to imagine.
Light saber-like swords, magic guns that shoot bullets of magical power, snake-blade swords that instantly become whip-like, shield-like funnels that float in the air.
Seeing my expression, Gaga-san takes a bite of black bread and lets out a chuckle.
“Just as I thought. You’re not the type to be content with just magic swords.”
I want to say that’s not true, but thinking about all the dream weapons and armaments that might exist in LIA, or that I might be able to create myself, it’s no use.
I can’t help but grin.
“You’re still as easy to read as ever. That’s why I made this…”
Gaga-san stops eating and pulls out a fairly large box from under his feet.
It’s not very decorated, but… is this a treasure chest?
“Open it.”
As told, I open it, and something pops out with a bang and stays fixed in the air.
Eh, what’s this? What kind of technology? Amazing!
Wait, this is the circlet I made, isn’t it? Though it’s almost unrecognizable…
I involuntarily use [Appraisal].
==========================
[Float Circlet]
Rarity: 5
Quality: Medium
Durability: 200/200
Creators: Gaga, Yamamoto
Performance: Physical Defense +7 (Slash Attribute)
Magical Defense +12 (All Attributes)
Auto-Recovery (Small)
[Concealment] Lv1
Notes: A circlet with enhanced abilities by a master craftsman’s hand. Perhaps due to the use of special ore and alchemical materials, it naturally floats.
*Auto-Recovery (Small): Recovers 3% of max HP every 4 seconds.
==========================
“Gaga-san, this…”
While the original design is faintly visible, the circlet, adjusted with supreme skill, has become so luxurious it wouldn’t look out of place on royalty.
It’s such a drastic change, like going from anime art to the detailed illustrations of the original work.
Also, there’s an incredibly intricate pattern on the lower part of the circlet. Is this what grants the [Concealment] skill?
And… the material has changed too!
This semi-transparent material intertwined with the base iron is definitely [Crystal Steel]!
“Gaga-san, you used [Crystal Steel] in this!”
“Yeah. I used it in the mechanism to keep your head from flying off. I made it into quite an interesting contraption.”
According to Gaga-san, by mixing [Crystal Steel] with a different material instead of [Hellfire Grass] when forging, he made it so that it wouldn’t separate from the other parts beyond a certain distance, and also made it float.
“What did you mix to make it do that?”
“It wouldn’t be fun if I told you everything! Find out for yourself!”
He says! How strict
He says! How strict!
“I made the other part into a choker necklace. You can wear it around your neck, but if you’re worried, I designed it so it wouldn’t look odd wrapped around your wrist either.”
That attention to detail is quite Gaga-san-like.
But I have a lot of questions too!
“I’m really happy, but why is there a veil attached to the circlet?”
“You wear your thoughts on your face, so it’s to hide your expressions.”
What an unnecessary function!
There’s no one more suited to a poker face than me!
“You’re thinking it’s a useless function, aren’t you? That’s exactly what I mean.”
Huh? Are my emotions really that easy to read?
That’s kind of shocking…
Well, let’s think positively!
Currently, searching for Yamamoto is trending, right? If I think of it as a way to escape from that, it’s super useful!
“Well, think of that accessory as a parting gift for your expulsion.”
“I’ve never heard of a parting gift for expulsion before?”
“It’s not like I wanted to expel you. If anything, it’s your fault for having too much potential to be limited to just magic swords.”
“No way~”
I feel disappointed.
Gaga-san looks straight at me as I deflate, and quietly puts down his utensils.
Huh? What’s this atmosphere…
Could it be a confession!?
“Yamamoto, you should go out and see more of the world.”
It wasn’t a confession! Of course not!
“The world is vast. In that vast world, there must be things that can satisfy you. People, objects, events, anything. Feel everything, absorb everything. And when you’ve sublimated it all and created the ‘ultimate’ thing beyond that, come back and show it to me. By then, I’ll probably have created the ultimate magic sword too. And then…”
At that point, Gaga-san grinned childishly.
He really suits that kind of expression. That’s Gaga-san for you.
“Let’s drink the night away with that as our feast!”
“That’s fine, but I’ll prepare proper snacks for the alcohol, okay?”
“Ha! Drinking while eating rare delicacies from around the world doesn’t sound bad either!”
Gaga-san laughs in high spirits, but I’d like to gather delicious things if we’re going to do this.
After all, searching for and creating delicious things in this game is becoming my life’s work.
As I thought about that, I suddenly realized something.
“Gaga-san… What if I end up becoming a chef instead of a blacksmith in the future…?”
“You’re supposed to say you’ll stick to being a blacksmith!?”
While being scolded by Gaga-san, I enjoy this fun time.
But it’s also true that I feel a bit sad thinking this time might be coming to an end.
As I become a little sentimental,
▶Event “The Pursuit of Sword Master Gaga” cleared.
▶Due to max trust with Gaga, acquired title [Sword Master’s Ally].
5 SP added.
▶For achieving the True End of the event, the following skills will be inherited:
[Magic Sword Creation] Skill Lv1 acquired.
[Magic Steel Refining] Skill Lv1 acquired.
…………
Developers!
I’m inheriting skills even though I didn’t particularly inherit any skills!
What kind of judgment is this?
It’s so loose!
▶[Balance] has been activated.
Adjusting skill balance.
Huh.
Wait? Please don’t do anything more than that?
Please, [Balance]!
▶[Magic Armor Creation] Skill Lv1 acquired.
▶[Magic Item Creation] Skill Lv1 acquired.
▶Integrating [Magic Sword Creation], [Magic Armor Creation], and [Magic Item Creation] skills.
[Divine Artifact Creation] Skill Lv1 acquired.
▶[Balance] has been activated.
Adjusting skill level balance.
▶[Magic Steel Refining] Skill has become Lv5.
▶[Divine Artifact Creation] Skill has become Lv5.
This is bad. If I tell Gaga-san about this, he might die from rage…
Please read the room, [Balance]!
■□■
Yes. At this time, I hadn’t yet realized—
The reason Gaga-san was creating magic swords was to aim for “S-rank blacksmith,” and I, who had acquired all related skills and even integrated them into an unprecedented skill like [Divine Artifact Creation], had no idea what kind of existence I had become…
At this time, I didn’t understand it at all!
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This concludes Chapter One.
Next time, we plan to start Chapter Two after inserting a bulletin board interlude.