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Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Chapter 51
“Come in.”
Looking around Jake’s accommodations with a curious expression, Se-Hoon noticed that the interior was spotless, with not a speck of dust in sight. The place seemed more like a model home than a place that someone actually lived in.
“Wait, did you clean up because I was coming?”
“Well, I didn’t do anything special.... Want something to drink?”
Stopping Jake who looked like he was about to head into the kitchen right away, Se-Hoon shook his head.
“No. Let’s look at the materials first. Where are they?”
“In that room over there. Follow me.”
Entering the room Jake had led him to, he became slightly surprised by what he saw. There was a large cabinet occupying an entire wall, holding various ores that were neatly arranged, each one sharing a common feature.
“These ores here, did you test your grip on them all?”
“Well... yes.”
Noticing Jake’s sheepish expression, he examined the ores placed in the cabinet again. Each had been squished like clay, obviously from being tightly clenched in one hand. There were even several Hero ores renowned for their durability, but they had also been squashed by Jake’s grip.
So even ores of this caliber couldn’t withstand it.... I guess regular ores aren’t a good match after all.
Having finished scanning all of the materials inside the cabinet, he finally noticed something placed in the middle of the room.
All alone in the middle was a white basin that was about two-thirds full of a blue liquid that had been created from liquefying magic stones. Even with just a glance, the liquid seemed highly concentrated.
That should be worth about 200 million.
Jake had prepared everything exactly—no, even better than ordered. It was like he was flaunting that his background wasn’t ordinary.
Realizing once again how wealthy the Myers family was, he approached the basin to inspect the material submerged inside.
“Hm...”
A fist-sized blue orb lay at the bottom, absorbing the mana from the liquid. Its faint glow resembled a large firefly.
This is not bad.
With just one glance, it already looked satisfactory. Deciding to check it in depth himself, he rolled up his right sleeve and dipped his hand into the basin.
The moment his hand touched the magic stone liquid, it began to scatter light and churn violently, rejecting the mana within his body.
Seeing that, Jake reached out in panic.
“Wait...!”
He thought that if he let Se-Hoon continue, the magic stone liquid would splash everywhere, just like when he carelessly put his hand in before, rendering it unusable.
He reached out to hastily pull Se-Hoon’s hand out but then suddenly stopped, a bewildered expression on his face.
“Uh... huh?”
Instead of sloshing out, the magic stone liquid regained its calm, looking as if it had never churned. And that peaceful state was maintained, regardless of Se-Hoon’s movements.
Did he really adjust the mana within his arm to match the mana of the magic stone liquid as soon as he put his hand in?
Though it wasn’t impossible, dealing with magic stone liquid was not an easy task unless one had a lot of experience or the natural talent for it.
Considering the price, it shouldn’t be that he has experience with it... did he actually do it by instinct?
When his thoughts reached that point, Jake internally began to marvel with interest as he watched.
Meanwhile, Se-Hoon was checking the blue orb’s information after taking it out of the basin.
[Water Golem Core]
[Tier: Rare] [Quality: Perfect]
[The power source of a naturally formed water golem.
It uses absorbed mana to create a special liquid with the same durability as the body of the subdued water golem.
*Creates special liquid equivalent to the amount of mana consumed
*Current grade of special liquid: D
*Current mana charged: 100%]
“Hm... this looks good enough.”
Satisfied by how there were no scratches and by how it was fully filled with mana, he turned to Jake, who approached him curiously.
“So how do you plan to forge a sword with this?” Jake asked.
While the Water Golem Core was commonly used as construction materials, and for alchemy and creating familiars, it was not commonly used for forging. The durability of the magic circuits inside was too weak, which would cause it to easily break down during the forging process.
“We can’t use it as it is; it needs to be further developed a bit.”
“Developed?”
“I’ll show you.”
Inspecting the Water Golem Core, Se-Hoon spread out the index finger of his left hand and used White Light Surge.
Sssss-
A sharp, white aura flowed from the tip of his finger. Seeing that it looked a bit unstable, he focused his mind.
A bit thinner...
The aura flowing downwards gradually focused at the tip of the finger, forming a uniform shape.
Though it wasn’t Sword Aura, to the untrained eye, it was stable enough to be mistaken for it. Refined to his satisfaction, he immediately swung his finger toward the Water Golem Core.
Slice-
His finger, moving effortlessly through the air, was followed by thin lines, each etched onto the surface of the core, that overlapped to form a complex magic array.
“Hm~”
“...”
Though he seemed to be carelessly swinging his finger while humming, the end result seemed like something that had been meticulously worked on for days.
And even though Jake had watched the whole process unfold before his eyes, it felt so surreal that it made him wear a strange expression.
Finished with the etching of all the magic arrays, Se-Hoon dissipated the aura created by White Light Surge and thoroughly inspected the core.
“Hm. Done.”
He placed the core, now intricately engraved with numerous magic arrays, back into the basin of magic stone liquid.
Immediately, the lines of the magic array began to glow blue and the magic stone liquid became slightly transparent as it faintly churned.
Realizing that the core was absorbing mana, Jake let out an exclamation.
“Ah! Are you overcharging it?”
Overcharging was a technique that used magic arrays to fill the material with mana beyond its limit. It was often used with lower-quality materials, requiring a deep understanding of both magic arrays and the materials themselves, making it a rather complicated skill.
“Right. A full one hundred percent won’t be enough.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just use a higher-tier core then? That one could overload and break if something goes wrong.”
Jake looked worried, but Se-Hoon just smiled confidently.
“Just watch and see.”
When the magic arrays engraved on the core of the water golem were fully charged, Se-Hoon gathered mana in his mouth and used Incantation Attribute.
“Property Assimilation, Awareness Enhancement.”
Dissolving into the magic stone liquid, the fragments of the spells soon formed small bubbles. Together, they created a chaotic mix that, supposedly, wasn’t even worth deciphering.
A moment after the chaotic mix seeped into the core, the magic arrays began to glow and tremble.
“Your right hand.”
“...Huh?”
“Give me your right hand.”
“Ah, sorry. Here.”
Waking up from his blank stare, Jake belatedly stretched out his right hand. Seeing it, Se-Hoon resummoned White Light Surge to nick the tip of Jake’s finger slightly.
Drip-
Jake’s blood dropped into the basin.
Instead of mixing with the magic stone liquid, it sank like a bead to the bottom, where the Water Golem Core was emitting light.
The core trembled faintly and then absorbed the blood. At that moment, Jake suddenly felt a strange sensation despite there seemingly having been no significant change on the outside.
Just now, it almost felt like it was a part of me...
Like it was a part of his body, he felt both a similarity in mana and a bizarre sense of kinship.
Faced with a situation he had never experienced before, he looked on with a peculiar expression while Se-Hoon continued to squeeze out more blood from his fingertip.
“For the next week, drop blood into the magic stone liquid like so once a day. The amount of blood should match the amount the core can absorb for that day, which is on average about ten milliliters a day. It can vary, so you’ll need to do it daily.”
“What exactly is this process?”
“It’s complicated to explain, but to put it simply... it’s a kind of trick.”
“A trick?”
At Jake’s puzzled expression, Se-Hoon pointed to the hand that was dripping blood.
“The reason for your abnormal grip strength. Mana compression isn’t easy to control as it happens unconsciously, almost like an instinct.”
“Such...”
“So, instead of trying to control it the hard way, we’re going to use a trick that can bypass it by using your own body.”
That was what Se-Hoon had come up with to overcome Jake’s grip strength; it had been tricky since it was the result of a skill that only activated under certain conditions.
Hearing the plausible explanation, Jake became captivated.
“By shedding blood into it, we can trick it into thinking the weapon is part of your body through assimilation.”
“A part of my body...”
“Of course, it doesn’t literally become a part of your body. It’s mainly about creating that sensation, and that should be pretty doable now.”
If his grip strength, presumed to be a unique skill, fully awakened and became even stronger, there was a high chance that even this method couldn’t withstand it. However, that was a problem to be solved when the time came.
Pondering Se-Hoon’s explanation, Jake slowly nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“Of course. Any further questions?”
“Not for now. I’ll see the outcome in a week anyway.”
Normally, he would inquired about the entire forging process that followed, but he realized there was no need to ask after the thorough explanation. Listening to it wouldn’t make a difference after all, since it was a completely different method from the norm.
Realistically, it’s no different than gambling.
It was a method that was unprecedented and untried by anyone. From a client’s perspective, it was an unsettling story, but Jake was surprisingly not worried.
He had faith that Se-Hoon, of all people, would nonchalantly complete his weapon, just as he had been doing with everything he created until now.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.”
Hearing the excitement reminiscent of a child anticipating a birthday gift in Jake’s voice, Se-Hoon chuckled and then stood up.
“Keep it up then. It seems like you’ve already exceeded ten milliliters, but from how it’s still trembling, it might need a lot more.”
“Got it. So I do this until it stops trembling?”
“That’s right. I have class now, so I’ll leave.”
Now alone in the room, Jake continued to drip blood from his fingertip into the basin. He looked down at the core submerged within.
“How much longer do I have to...”
Assuming the average was about ten milliliters, a little more should suffice. With that thought, he stared blankly at the falling blood.
“...Huh?”
But even after thirty minutes, the core did not stop trembling.
***
Jake... he seems to be more stubborn than he looks.
Having returned to Borsippa, Se-Hoon wore a curious expression as he thought about what had just happened.
The assimilation process varied depending on one’s personality, typically taking longer for those with stronger wills. In other words, it meant that despite being constantly dragged around everywhere, Jake was still considerably stubborn.
I should keep this in mind when creating his Fatestone later.
Since his view of Jake was still a bit ambiguous, he postponed the Bond Extraction. However, seeing as how Jake would be filled with anticipation throughout the week, it should be possible to create a fairly usable Fatestone after.
Organized his thoughts, he arrived at the main building of the Department of Blacksmithing and headed straight for the classroom where In-Cheol’s class was being held.
The location isn’t as good as I expected.
Considering that In-Cheol was receiving a lot of funding, enough to be ranked among the top five most funded figures at Babel, Se-Hoon had assumed the classroom would be in a prime location. However, it seemed rather tucked away and small.
However, given In-Cheol’s personality, it made sense that he would choose a smaller classroom if there weren’t that many students attending his lectures.
It’s good that he doesn’t put on airs... but it would be problematic if he also cut back on the spending for it.
The main reason he chose to take this class was to earn Ludwig’s attention and tap into his substantial budget. Therefore, In-Cheol’s unnecessary frugality could be a hindrance.
With a somewhat worried expression due to the not-so-great first impression, he entered the classroom.
“Ugh...”
“Urk...”
“Mmm...”
And saw five students, each clutching distinct tools and glaring at them.
“...”
He looked on with a curious expression at the students, who were holding a sword, a shield, a pick, a shovel, and a frying pan.
The topic of Origin of Equipment was complex enough to anticipate an unconventional class, but this completely exceeded his expectations.
What should I make of this...
Chuckling at the sight, he heard footsteps sound from behind, and then Kim In-Chul appeared.
“Oh, glad to see you here. Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I’m completely recovered now.”
“That’s good to hear. I was thinking of paying a visit, but the start of the semester has been quite hectic. Sorry about that.”
Se-Hoon shook his head at In-Cheol’s sheepish look.
“No, it wasn’t a serious injury anyway. But...”
Quickly glancing around the classroom, he turned to In-Cheol.
“What are they doing?”
“Ah, come to think of it, you haven’t attended the lecture before. I’ll explain it to you; come this way.”
Despite his entrance, the students paid him no attention and remained focused on their tools. Similarly, In-Cheol walked in without minding them.
Taking a seat at the front, Se-Hoon looked up at In-Cheol standing before him.
“Origin of Equipment, as the name suggests, is about understanding what the origin of the equipment we forge is and how we can comprehend and encapsulate that.”
Picking up a long sword placed on one side of the classroom, he showed it to Se-Hoon.
“Take this sword, for example. What do you think the blacksmith intended when forging it?”
“It seems specialized for stabbing. Looking at where its center of gravity lies, it seems to be made for someone who leans on their right foot.”
Hearing Se-Hoon’s immediate response, In-Cheol nodded with slight admiration.
“Correct. I did think you would get somewhere close... impressive.”
“The more skilled the blacksmith is, the more it shows on their sword.”
“Hm. Can you discern any other intentions behind it?”
Receiving the sword from In-Cheol, he examined the blade, the handle, and then finally the emotions emanating from within, before answering.
“It seems the creator of this sword did not want to kill anyone.”
“...Why do you think that?”
“The blade is quite blunt, yet the balance of the sword itself is excellently maintained. Therefore, the degree of dullness has to be intentional rather than due to poor maintenance.... Usually, blacksmiths who forge swords are reluctant to do this.”
This was a sword that its creator did not want to use to harm anyone, but, because they also didn’t want it to break in battle, they eventually reached a compromise between the two.
Hearing his explanation, In-Cheol’s eyes widened, and then he smiled and nodded.
“Correct. The intention behind a tool like a sword is typically to slice through something, but that can change depending on who makes it and how.”
Taking back the sword, In-Cheol gently stroked the dull blade.
“So, in the end, is the origin of this sword the intent to kill that all weapons carry, or is it the intent that it isn’t used to kill which was wished by the blacksmith who forged it? That’s what my class is about.”
“I see...”
Upon hearing the full explanation, Se-Hoon became intrigued.
Before the regression, the study of the origin of equipment that he had encountered was vaguely about discovering the universal origin of all equipment.
However, what In-Cheol was teaching was more of a detailed and realistic examination, which Se-Hoon found more appealing.
It’s better that he starts with something small and with potential than starting with grand theories without practical application.
Though it might be a bit challenging, once mastered, the field could become highly useful if a bit more structure was added.
He was now developing a sense of anticipation for how the class would proceed, but that was when In-Cheol spoke up with a troubled voice, “It seems you’ve already completed all the learning materials for this semester’s course.”
“Excuse me?”
“This semester’s lessons are about discerning the meanings embedded in equipment. That’s why everyone was staring at the equipment they were holding like that,” he said, gesturing behind him.
Se-Hoon looked over his shoulder.
“...”
“...”
No longer focused on the equipment in their hands, the five students were now staring at him dazed. Realizing he had perhaps moved too quickly through the material, Se-Hoon turned back to In-Cheol.
“Then... what happens now?”
“Well, what else can we do?”
Responding to his question, In-Cheol just laughed and finished his answer.
“You’ll just be getting full marks for this semester.”