Chapter 23— The Blacksmith's Secret [1]
"…Let's call it a day for now."
After separating the bones from the tenth Rock Lizard's corpse, I went over to the pile where I had gathered all the other bones.
"With this amount, the enhancement… I'm not sure how far it'll go."
If this were a game, I could have roughly guessed the enhancement potential just by the number of items I had. But here, that was impossible.
Just by looking at these actual bones—not game items—there was no way to gauge the enhancement value.
"I'd better head back quickly."
It was a little past nine. My goal was to finish everything and be back by eleven, so there was no time to rest.
"It'd be nice if I could finish the enhancement today, while I'm at it..."
I began stuffing the Rock Lizard bones into the large leather pouch I had brought. Once I had gathered them all, I started descending the rocky mountain.
After walking for about twenty minutes, a small village came into view.
'Daigon Village.'
It was a settlement located near the Academy.
The rocky mountain I had just descended from was a mining site rich with minerals, and most of the residents of this village were miners.
In other words, this was a place built by people who gathered here to mine ore.
'And this village is where that blacksmith lives.'
To craft or enhance weapons and equipment, I had to come all the way to this village each time.
Technically, I could also do it at the Academy— after all, the Academy had its own forge.
But I had a reason for insisting on coming all the way here.
"I think it was around here somewhere..."
Since it was late, the streets were completely empty.
As expected from a medieval fantasy world, there were no streetlights, so the night was pitch-dark.
Still, thanks to the bright moonlight, I managed to find my way somehow.
"Here it is."
The blacksmith's workshop looked exactly as I remembered it from the game.
Part of me wanted to knock and enter right away, but it was already nearing ten at night.
In the game, I could enhance items anytime regardless of the hour— but this wasn't a game.
Showing up at a blacksmith's door at ten at night and asking for work… might be a bit shameless.
'Still, coming all the way back here tomorrow would be such a pain. Let's just do it tonight.'
After sorting out my thoughts, I knocked on the door of the forge.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a blacksmith with a rather irritated look.
"I don't know who you are, but I'm closed at this hour. Hm? Judging by your clothes, you're a noble, aren't you…? Even so, I don't—"
"Will this do?"
I pulled out two gold coins from my pocket.
In this world, two gold coins equaled a commoner's entire month's living expenses.
The blacksmith eyed the coins briefly before snatching them up without hesitation.
"Come on in."
"Thank you."
As expected, money truly was the best.
Smiling, I stepped into the blacksmith's home.
"This way, please. The forge is over here."
"Got it, Mr. Regnil."
"…How do you know my name?"
"Among the skilled blacksmiths in Daigon Village, there's no one else but you, Mr. Regnil."
"I didn't know my name was that well-known."
Regnil and I stepped into the forge located deeper inside his house.
As soon as we entered, Regnil lit the furnace at the center of the forge.
However, it wasn't lit in the usual, mundane way I knew.
When Regnil muttered something under his breath and waved his hand, flames suddenly appeared above his palm.
'So that's magic.'
In this world, blacksmiths were, by default, all mages.
It was a rule here that one had to be capable of using magic in order to craft weapons.
'Fascinating.'
I had known that magic existed, but seeing it firsthand was still a strange experience.
To think that fire could bloom from a hand with just a few whispered words.
It was a sight I'd have to get used to from now on.
"So, young noble, what brings you here at such a late hour? Judging from your attire, I assume you're a student of Lysquare Academy."
"I came to enhance my weapon."
I took out the Mistcatcher and handed it to Regnil.
"Is that possible?"
"It's possible. But this sword…"
Regnil examined the Mistcatcher with a look of curiosity.
"This isn't an Imperial blade. Is it from an eastern country?"
"Yes, that's right."
"How interesting. Even after working as a blacksmith for decades, I haven't seen many swords of this kind."
"Is that so? Then, is there any issue with enhancing it…?"
"There's no problem with enhancement. Just a moment."
Regnil cast another spell.
A faint light emanated from his hands as he slowly ran them along the Mistcatcher's blade.
"The enhancement limit is quite high… and it requires the bones of a specific monster to strengthen it. Also, once it reaches a certain level, it'll need additional materials."
"I have the materials right here."
I handed Regnil the pouch filled with Rock Lizard bones.
"Please use all of these."
"Hmm… this much should be enough. However, bones aren't the only thing needed for enhancement..."
"You'll need Slime Cores as well, right?"
I knew that well—I'd once strengthened the Mistcatcher nearly to its limit.
And if my memory served me right—
"They sell Slime Cores here, don't they?"
"There are plenty."
"I'll buy fifty."
I handed him a gold coin.
"You can keep the change."
"…Understood."
[To be Continue]