CH.222 Testing the new Forge
“Master. The forge is ready.” Legendary Flame Lord came to interrupt our practice session and informed me.
Not that I’m opposed to taking a break. While both Lua and I could likely keep going, Alice looks like she is ready to drop.
Alice had been practicing with Giltia the D. Knight. Just because I really think having Dark Paladin as her partner would have been way too difficult for her. And I don’t have any other monsters that use a swordstaff as their weapon. But Giltia has a trident thingy so that is close enough.
My swordsmanship teacher of the day was Warrior Dai Grepher and Lua was learning the basics of the mace from Dark Scorpion - Gorg the Strong. Even though I feel like Gorg isn’t the best teacher. He just hits things, harder. No real technique or anything.
Also, I just lack monsters that use a mace or other blunt weapon. Sure I have Goblin Attack Force, but … yeah. And at the same time, I feel like Lua might want to practice more with using the mace as a source of vampiric steel, which she can break off into tiny needles to shoot at people or something, instead of trying to get blunt weapons technique. She already has the staff technique skill, but as that is more focused on self defense, she wanted to also get blunt weapons technique. But hey, to each their own.
“Oh. Alright. I guess we will call it now.” I said. “How are you on time, Flame? I think you are running out, right?” I asked my Flame Lord.
“Yes. Both myself and Granmarg are almost out. You should unsummon us soon, Master.” He confirmed.
Between the dance practice and then the weapon practice, we had had a very physical two hours while that duo had worked on the forge. But now, we could take it a bit easier.
“Sure. Everyone, thanks for being our instructors for the day. You can go now.” I said to our three teachers and unsummoned them. Then we walked over to where my new forge was and I unsummoned Granmarg and Flame Lord.
“Now then, let’s test it out.” I said. “Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu.”
First, I summoned my smith.
“Hello, Master. I see that the forge is finished.” He said.
“Yeah. Sure is. How about testing it out?”
“Yes. We shall. What may I make for you?”
“Alice.” I called her over. “How about your swordstaff?” I offered.
“Wha? Really? Yes! Please.” She agreed.
“Alright. Hand the pole to Kotetsu. I’ll get a bronze sword, so he can combine the two.” I said I dug my storage for a bronze sword. I did get two of them from the dungeon, so we can just use one of them. I picked up the one with the shorter blade. Technically, I think this is a shortsword, but that should actually make it better for what we are about to do. The blade of this shortsword was only about 50 cm long. In comparison, my arming sword has a blade length of 90 cm.
“So, Kotetsu, what do you think? Can you combine the two into a practice swordstaff?”
“Of course. But we do need a fire, if you would.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll get it.” I said as I pulled open my collection.
“... Brian, that might be a problem.” Lua commented. “We do have firewood, but not coal or charcoal. Do you have some?”
“Lua, who do you think you are talking to?” I asked. “If everything else fails, I can just have a dragon breath fire. But I do have something better for this. Hinotama Soul.” I located the card I wanted and summoned it.
“Why do we need a fire when I can just summon a ball of flames?” I asked.
“... I guess I should have expected that.” Lua admitted.
“Yeah. I’ve even used it to boil water for tea. … but I guess that was when you were out because of your evolution, so you wouldn’t know about that.” I explained. “Anyway, can you two make it work?”
“Of course. We already practiced this in the factory.” Kotetsu answered.
Hinotama Soul couldn’t actually speak, at least no a language I could understand, so he just quickly floated up and down like he was nodding.
“Thanks.” I thanked my monsters and turned back to the girls. “So, how about lunch?”
We enjoyed lunch with the rest of the villagers. I was on cooking duty again, because if I didn’t cook, the villagers would only have blood. And because I thought back to the time Lua was evolving, I recalled enjoying eggs at that time. Well truthfully I didn’t really enjoy them at that time, as I really had no appetite, but I did eat them. So I felt like making some again and I cooked up a few Monster Eggs.
They weren’t half bad, but I really wish I had some more seasonings with me. I had some salt and some cheap pepper that I picked up back in Alewatch, but I really need more. I need to find a spice shop and buy it out. … okay, maybe not completely out. I might just pick up like 10% of their stock. Maybe 20% if they don’t have that much. That way, they won’t be out and I should get a decent amount of spices. I also want some ketchup. Sure I can make the tomato paste stuff from Mystic Tomato, but that isn’t quite ketchup. But I think if I mix it with some vegetable oils, spices and other stuff, I’ll have ketchup. That’s how ketchup is made, right? Tomatoes, vegetable oil and spices?1 Maybe Kitchen Dragonmaid will know the recipe. I’ll have to ask her.
“Here you go, Miss. Please hold it and tell me how it feels.” Kotetsu said, as he handed the swordstaff to Alice.
In all simplicity, what he had done was take the bronze staff… well, more like a rod, as it really isn’t a magic staff in any way. So yeah, he took that and attached a short sword to it. It was crude, it was ugly, but it would work. Almost.
“It will work as a practice weapon, but it really shouldn’t be used for actual combat.” Kotetsu warned. “The bronze, while metal, is quite the soft metal, compared to even things like iron, not to mention tempered steel. If you use that one in combat, it will require at least some maintenance after every battle.”
“Yes. Thank you very much. It feels alright.” Alice said, as she received her … practice weapon. “Brian, thank you. … so, how much does this cost?”
Oh? Alice is offering to pay? Really? … well this is a first, I think. Hmm. The materials were basically free and so it Kotetsu. … okay, I shouldn’t say that. Kotetsu is a master smith capable of making legendary weapons. Just look at his card art. He is literally forging the Legendary Sword.
And I guess I could have sold the materials instead, so I should add some level of cost to them.
… I really don’t know the cost of weapons. I really should do more market research. Her staff, when we bought it, was forty gold. Ria’s armor, which has bronze, had an estimated cost of 62 gold. …
“Brian?” Alice asked.
“... 20 gold coins.” I said. That might be cheap, it might be expensive, but I’ll just make up for it when I make a better one for her. If I asked for too much this time, I’ll give her a good deal. If that was too little, her next one won’t have a great deal.
“Okay. … But I don’t have that much with me. Can I pay you when we get back to Grandfather’s estate?” Alice asked.
“Sure. That’s fine.” I agreed.
“Miss, you should take some practice swings with it. Test it out. If you feel anything wrong, I’ll fix it for you.” Kotetsu reminded Alice.
She did as instructed and swung the swordstaff around.
“... wah. It’s heavy…” Alice said, after she almost lost her balance.
“Miss, you don’t have that much body mass, so you might have to make up for that with technique or other skills.” Kotetsu said. “We could also have someone enchant it with lighten, but that will only get you so far. And weapons made of other materials might be even heavier than that is.”
“You might be able to use your new flight skill for that.” I told her. I don’t actually know if she can, but I feel like she might be able to.
“Really? I’ll try.”
“... Maybe learn how to use that skill first.” I reminded her to calm her down. “You shouldn’t jump to advanced things. Master the basics first.”
“... alright. I’ll do that.” Alice agreed.
I unsummoned both Kotetsu and Hinotama Soul, and then I took the new forge into my storage. It worked, so that is good. Now I’ll just leave the space isolated room for Laura and the others to figure out.
“Then just let the mana out.” Mana was instructing Alice on how to fly with her new skill. As I assumed, Alice’s flight skill is the same one Mana uses.
To double up on efficiency, Lua was also practicing flying, but she was doing it with Vampire Lady.
Both of them, learning how to fly. And here I am, just floating myself with telekinesis. I guess I could also try to learn how the Mana Flight is used. I think. I’m not sure what advantages and disadvantages it has over floating with telekinesis, but there might be some. Maybe speed? Or maybe the mana usage? Or maybe how little concentration it takes? Or maybe it is easier to cast spells while flying with Mana Flight?
Could be any of those reasons, or multiple combined. Well, I’ll listen in on the mana flight lesson and see if I want to try that. I guess I could try it in the factory first, then see if it is worth trying to learn outside. It probably is, so I should just go for it though.
By the end of the lesson, Alice had learned how to float in the air. She still really couldn't move around and she would fall down if she lost concentration for any amount of time. It is actually kind of similar to how I was with telekinesis before I got used to it.
Lua, for her part, learned how to infuse mana into her wings. But she still struggled a bit with moving them, so she couldn’t really attempt to take flight. But I’m sure she will get there. And again, like with me, she can practice in the factory. Not that I’m sure how much the factory cheats will help her.
“I have just one left.” Lua said. “Then I’ll come back to the city. You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
“Of course. But we will still see each other every morning and evening in the factory, right? You won’t stop showing up?”
“No! Of course not.”
“... thanks.” I said, honestly relieved that she didn’t deny my wish to see her each day. “And as soon as you are ready, call me. I’ll come pick you up.” I promised.
“Yes. I will.”
Our flight home, on dragons and/or a firebird, went fine. Again, I made sure we landed far enough away from the city where we wouldn’t be seen by too many people. Sure there will likely be some that saw us, but as long as it is only a few, it should be fine. And the gate guards did know about it.
Well, we just swapped our dragons for Overdrive and drove into the city.
“Paulina, look, I can fly!” Alice called to Paulina when we met and floated into the air with her new skill.
“... wh? Brian? Are you doing that?” She asked.
“Nope. That’s all her.” I answered.
“... she can … fly?”
“Yes. Can’t you see?” Alice asked.
“Technically, that’s floating.” I quipped.
“... I’m still learning. I’ll be flying in no time.” Alice countered.
“But how?” Paulina asked. “Is that telekinesis?”
“Nope.” Alice answered. “It’s mana flight!” As she called that out, she must have lost concentration, as she fell back to the floor. Well, fell is questionable, as she was only floating about 10 cm in the air.
“... is it an extra skill?” Paulina asked.
“Sure is.” Alice confirmed. “Mana uses the same skill to fly, so she can teach me now.”
“... I see. That is amazing.” Paulina said, with a melancholic voice.
“I’m sure you can learn it as well.” I said to Paulina. “From what I gathered, it is quite similar to telekinesis. Just controlling mana and expelling it from your body in a certain way. It might actually be easier than telekinesis.”
“... really?” Paulina perked up.
“Yeah. I was actually thinking of trying to learn it myself. Want to try that with me?” I asked.
“Yes. Of course.” She answered. “... but you can already fly with telekinesis, so why would you do that?”
“... because I can. And I think that skill will be better for flying than telekinesis. Maybe. It is designed for flying after all. Telekinesis might eventually hit a wall in how fast I can move myself with it. I don’t know if that flight skill will.” I explained.
“Let’s all practice together!” Alice exclaimed.
“Sure.” I agreed.
“... yes. Let’s.”
The rest of the day was spent with more practice. Not that Paulina or I could even lift ourselves from the floor yet, but we will get there. Hopefully.
Of course there is always space magic for me, fire and blood magic, as well as vampiric body modification for Ria.
And ending the day is the time I’ve been looking forward to the most. Level ups. We could still go for a few days before the Earl’s ban on level ups will come into effect. Ten days to the birthday, but as some of the other guests will start to arrive in the days before it, he asked that we stop a week before. … well, I think I’ll still be leveling up skills. Just leave the overall level be for now, as that does seem to be the main cause of evolutions. I hope just leveling up skills won’t cause it. But we will never find out, unless we try just leveling up skills.
Anyway, back on track. For myself, I decided to level up Mana Control. Just so I won’t forget it. Ria got a level in Flickering Step. … I should also try to learn that skill. It could be useful, and it seems simple enough.
… My defense is no longer my highest stat … I don’t know how to feel about that. It just used to be, but I guess having magic as the highest stat isn’t that bad. But I should try to get another defensive skill. Maybe I’ll use my next install to gain one. I’ll ask Laura tomorrow how soon that can be done. I think either United we Stand or Spell Economics should fully integrate with my body soon, so I can install another card.
Well, tomorrow is another day of practice, I think. Or maybe some adventuring time. Well, I’ll decide tomorrow. Good night.
CH.222 Testing the new Forge
“Master. The forge is ready.” Legendary Flame Lord came to interrupt our practice session and informed me.
Not that I’m opposed to taking a break. While both Lua and I could likely keep going, Alice looks like she is ready to drop.
Alice had been practicing with Giltia the D. Knight. Just because I really think having Dark Paladin as her partner would have been way too difficult for her. And I don’t have any other monsters that use a swordstaff as their weapon. But Giltia has a trident thingy so that is close enough.
My swordsmanship teacher of the day was Warrior Dai Grepher and Lua was learning the basics of the mace from Dark Scorpion - Gorg the Strong. Even though I feel like Gorg isn’t the best teacher. He just hits things, harder. No real technique or anything.
Also, I just lack monsters that use a mace or other blunt weapon. Sure I have Goblin Attack Force, but … yeah. And at the same time, I feel like Lua might want to practice more with using the mace as a source of vampiric steel, which she can break off into tiny needles to shoot at people or something, instead of trying to get blunt weapons technique. She already has the staff technique skill, but as that is more focused on self defense, she wanted to also get blunt weapons technique. But hey, to each their own.
“Oh. Alright. I guess we will call it now.” I said. “How are you on time, Flame? I think you are running out, right?” I asked my Flame Lord.
“Yes. Both myself and Granmarg are almost out. You should unsummon us soon, Master.” He confirmed.
Between the dance practice and then the weapon practice, we had had a very physical two hours while that duo had worked on the forge. But now, we could take it a bit easier.
“Sure. Everyone, thanks for being our instructors for the day. You can go now.” I said to our three teachers and unsummoned them. Then we walked over to where my new forge was and I unsummoned Granmarg and Flame Lord.
“Now then, let’s test it out.” I said. “Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu.”
First, I summoned my smith.
“Hello, Master. I see that the forge is finished.” He said.
“Yeah. Sure is. How about testing it out?”
“Yes. We shall. What may I make for you?”
“Alice.” I called her over. “How about your swordstaff?” I offered.
“Wha? Really? Yes! Please.” She agreed.
“Alright. Hand the pole to Kotetsu. I’ll get a bronze sword, so he can combine the two.” I said I dug my storage for a bronze sword. I did get two of them from the dungeon, so we can just use one of them. I picked up the one with the shorter blade. Technically, I think this is a shortsword, but that should actually make it better for what we are about to do. The blade of this shortsword was only about 50 cm long. In comparison, my arming sword has a blade length of 90 cm.
“So, Kotetsu, what do you think? Can you combine the two into a practice swordstaff?”
“Of course. But we do need a fire, if you would.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll get it.” I said as I pulled open my collection.
“... Brian, that might be a problem.” Lua commented. “We do have firewood, but not coal or charcoal. Do you have some?”
“Lua, who do you think you are talking to?” I asked. “If everything else fails, I can just have a dragon breath fire. But I do have something better for this. Hinotama Soul.” I located the card I wanted and summoned it.
“Why do we need a fire when I can just summon a ball of flames?” I asked.
“... I guess I should have expected that.” Lua admitted.
“Yeah. I’ve even used it to boil water for tea. … but I guess that was when you were out because of your evolution, so you wouldn’t know about that.” I explained. “Anyway, can you two make it work?”
“Of course. We already practiced this in the factory.” Kotetsu answered.
Hinotama Soul couldn’t actually speak, at least no a language I could understand, so he just quickly floated up and down like he was nodding.
“Thanks.” I thanked my monsters and turned back to the girls. “So, how about lunch?”
We enjoyed lunch with the rest of the villagers. I was on cooking duty again, because if I didn’t cook, the villagers would only have blood. And because I thought back to the time Lua was evolving, I recalled enjoying eggs at that time. Well truthfully I didn’t really enjoy them at that time, as I really had no appetite, but I did eat them. So I felt like making some again and I cooked up a few Monster Eggs.
They weren’t half bad, but I really wish I had some more seasonings with me. I had some salt and some cheap pepper that I picked up back in Alewatch, but I really need more. I need to find a spice shop and buy it out. … okay, maybe not completely out. I might just pick up like 10% of their stock. Maybe 20% if they don’t have that much. That way, they won’t be out and I should get a decent amount of spices. I also want some ketchup. Sure I can make the tomato paste stuff from Mystic Tomato, but that isn’t quite ketchup. But I think if I mix it with some vegetable oils, spices and other stuff, I’ll have ketchup. That’s how ketchup is made, right? Tomatoes, vegetable oil and spices?1 Maybe Kitchen Dragonmaid will know the recipe. I’ll have to ask her.
“Here you go, Miss. Please hold it and tell me how it feels.” Kotetsu said, as he handed the swordstaff to Alice.
In all simplicity, what he had done was take the bronze staff… well, more like a rod, as it really isn’t a magic staff in any way. So yeah, he took that and attached a short sword to it. It was crude, it was ugly, but it would work. Almost.
“It will work as a practice weapon, but it really shouldn’t be used for actual combat.” Kotetsu warned. “The bronze, while metal, is quite the soft metal, compared to even things like iron, not to mention tempered steel. If you use that one in combat, it will require at least some maintenance after every battle.”
“Yes. Thank you very much. It feels alright.” Alice said, as she received her … practice weapon. “Brian, thank you. … so, how much does this cost?”
Oh? Alice is offering to pay? Really? … well this is a first, I think. Hmm. The materials were basically free and so it Kotetsu. … okay, I shouldn’t say that. Kotetsu is a master smith capable of making legendary weapons. Just look at his card art. He is literally forging the Legendary Sword.
And I guess I could have sold the materials instead, so I should add some level of cost to them.
… I really don’t know the cost of weapons. I really should do more market research. Her staff, when we bought it, was forty gold. Ria’s armor, which has bronze, had an estimated cost of 62 gold. …
“Brian?” Alice asked.
“... 20 gold coins.” I said. That might be cheap, it might be expensive, but I’ll just make up for it when I make a better one for her. If I asked for too much this time, I’ll give her a good deal. If that was too little, her next one won’t have a great deal.
“Okay. … But I don’t have that much with me. Can I pay you when we get back to Grandfather’s estate?” Alice asked.
“Sure. That’s fine.” I agreed.
“Miss, you should take some practice swings with it. Test it out. If you feel anything wrong, I’ll fix it for you.” Kotetsu reminded Alice.
She did as instructed and swung the swordstaff around.
“... wah. It’s heavy…” Alice said, after she almost lost her balance.
“Miss, you don’t have that much body mass, so you might have to make up for that with technique or other skills.” Kotetsu said. “We could also have someone enchant it with lighten, but that will only get you so far. And weapons made of other materials might be even heavier than that is.”
“You might be able to use your new flight skill for that.” I told her. I don’t actually know if she can, but I feel like she might be able to.
“Really? I’ll try.”
“... Maybe learn how to use that skill first.” I reminded her to calm her down. “You shouldn’t jump to advanced things. Master the basics first.”
“... alright. I’ll do that.” Alice agreed.
I unsummoned both Kotetsu and Hinotama Soul, and then I took the new forge into my storage. It worked, so that is good. Now I’ll just leave the space isolated room for Laura and the others to figure out.
“Then just let the mana out.” Mana was instructing Alice on how to fly with her new skill. As I assumed, Alice’s flight skill is the same one Mana uses.
To double up on efficiency, Lua was also practicing flying, but she was doing it with Vampire Lady.
Both of them, learning how to fly. And here I am, just floating myself with telekinesis. I guess I could also try to learn how the Mana Flight is used. I think. I’m not sure what advantages and disadvantages it has over floating with telekinesis, but there might be some. Maybe speed? Or maybe the mana usage? Or maybe how little concentration it takes? Or maybe it is easier to cast spells while flying with Mana Flight?
Could be any of those reasons, or multiple combined. Well, I’ll listen in on the mana flight lesson and see if I want to try that. I guess I could try it in the factory first, then see if it is worth trying to learn outside. It probably is, so I should just go for it though.
By the end of the lesson, Alice had learned how to float in the air. She still really couldn't move around and she would fall down if she lost concentration for any amount of time. It is actually kind of similar to how I was with telekinesis before I got used to it.
Lua, for her part, learned how to infuse mana into her wings. But she still struggled a bit with moving them, so she couldn’t really attempt to take flight. But I’m sure she will get there. And again, like with me, she can practice in the factory. Not that I’m sure how much the factory cheats will help her.
“I have just one left.” Lua said. “Then I’ll come back to the city. You’ll wait for me, won’t you?”
“Of course. But we will still see each other every morning and evening in the factory, right? You won’t stop showing up?”
“No! Of course not.”
“... thanks.” I said, honestly relieved that she didn’t deny my wish to see her each day. “And as soon as you are ready, call me. I’ll come pick you up.” I promised.
“Yes. I will.”
Our flight home, on dragons and/or a firebird, went fine. Again, I made sure we landed far enough away from the city where we wouldn’t be seen by too many people. Sure there will likely be some that saw us, but as long as it is only a few, it should be fine. And the gate guards did know about it.
Well, we just swapped our dragons for Overdrive and drove into the city.
“Paulina, look, I can fly!” Alice called to Paulina when we met and floated into the air with her new skill.
“... wh? Brian? Are you doing that?” She asked.
“Nope. That’s all her.” I answered.
“... she can … fly?”
“Yes. Can’t you see?” Alice asked.
“Technically, that’s floating.” I quipped.
“... I’m still learning. I’ll be flying in no time.” Alice countered.
“But how?” Paulina asked. “Is that telekinesis?”
“Nope.” Alice answered. “It’s mana flight!” As she called that out, she must have lost concentration, as she fell back to the floor. Well, fell is questionable, as she was only floating about 10 cm in the air.
“... is it an extra skill?” Paulina asked.
“Sure is.” Alice confirmed. “Mana uses the same skill to fly, so she can teach me now.”
“... I see. That is amazing.” Paulina said, with a melancholic voice.
“I’m sure you can learn it as well.” I said to Paulina. “From what I gathered, it is quite similar to telekinesis. Just controlling mana and expelling it from your body in a certain way. It might actually be easier than telekinesis.”
“... really?” Paulina perked up.
“Yeah. I was actually thinking of trying to learn it myself. Want to try that with me?” I asked.
“Yes. Of course.” She answered. “... but you can already fly with telekinesis, so why would you do that?”
“... because I can. And I think that skill will be better for flying than telekinesis. Maybe. It is designed for flying after all. Telekinesis might eventually hit a wall in how fast I can move myself with it. I don’t know if that flight skill will.” I explained.
“Let’s all practice together!” Alice exclaimed.
“Sure.” I agreed.
“... yes. Let’s.”
The rest of the day was spent with more practice. Not that Paulina or I could even lift ourselves from the floor yet, but we will get there. Hopefully.
Of course there is always space magic for me, fire and blood magic, as well as vampiric body modification for Ria.
And ending the day is the time I’ve been looking forward to the most. Level ups. We could still go for a few days before the Earl’s ban on level ups will come into effect. Ten days to the birthday, but as some of the other guests will start to arrive in the days before it, he asked that we stop a week before. … well, I think I’ll still be leveling up skills. Just leave the overall level be for now, as that does seem to be the main cause of evolutions. I hope just leveling up skills won’t cause it. But we will never find out, unless we try just leveling up skills.
Anyway, back on track. For myself, I decided to level up Mana Control. Just so I won’t forget it. Ria got a level in Flickering Step. … I should also try to learn that skill. It could be useful, and it seems simple enough.
… My defense is no longer my highest stat … I don’t know how to feel about that. It just used to be, but I guess having magic as the highest stat isn’t that bad. But I should try to get another defensive skill. Maybe I’ll use my next install to gain one. I’ll ask Laura tomorrow how soon that can be done. I think either United we Stand or Spell Economics should fully integrate with my body soon, so I can install another card.
Well, tomorrow is another day of practice, I think. Or maybe some adventuring time. Well, I’ll decide tomorrow. Good night.
