An Unprecedented Commission
Equipment Workshop. “Found it!” Dayman arrived at the workshop wearing a satisfied grin and stepped inside. The students and staff already present turned to stare at him with open displeasure the moment he entered.
“Excuse me, young man! This is the place that sells wands and staffs, right?”
Paying no attention to their expressions, Dayman marched straight up to the nearest employee and asked his question. The staff member gave him a look of pure contempt before sighing and tapping away at a keyboard.
“Let me guess. You want another magic sword with an automatic aura-generation function? I’ve already told you—while aura generation is possible, precise control becomes impossible. No matter how much we raise the circuit density, we can’t match the output or precision of the Blessed or professionally trained knights.”
“Ah, you’re quite right. That’s exactly what I thought when I looked at wands. While an onboard calculation system lets ordinary people use magic, it makes fine control and adaptability to various situations impossible. Has Dayman been making those kinds of requests lately? What a fool.”
Expecting the usual shouting about how their “garbage weapons” had caused him to fail another evaluation, the employee was instead met with an eerily fluent imitation of an old man’s speech. Dayman smiled brightly as he spoke. A spark of interest flashed in the employee’s eyes.
“Did you eat something strange?”
“Haha! There was an accident! He was riding something called a motorcycle and crashed. Bumped his head a bit, and now he’s like this! After the accident, he became a completely different person! Let’s just go with that explanation!! Today I need a wand and a staff!!”
“A wand and a staff? I’m sorry, but those are magic tools……”
“That’s exactly why I’m here to buy them! Starting today, I plan to attend classes in the Magic Department!!!”
A snort of laughter finally escaped from someone nearby, and it quickly spread. Students who had come to buy or repair equipment—whether from the Magic, Knight, or General Departments—couldn’t hold back their ridicule.
Dayman was extremely famous at Romeln Academy. The ultimate idiot among idiots. A fifth-year who was notorious for losing fights even against first-years. A pathetic fool who would have been expelled long ago if not for his family’s influence and physical talent. And now that same fool, who could barely keep up even in the Knight Department—which valued physical ability over intellect—was declaring he would join the Magic Department? Of course laughter followed.
“The Magic Department……?”
“That’s right. A mage needs a wand and a staff, doesn’t he? Hurry up and make me one. There are a few complicated conditions, though. Can you handle them?”
The employee stared at Dayman closely, wondering if this was truly the same spoiled brat from the Callidos family who always threw tantrums demanding magic swords with knight-level aura control. It was definitely the same bastard. He’d heard the boy was scheduled for expulsion soon…… What kind of nonsense was this now?
Still, a customer was a customer. He couldn’t refuse.
“What kind of wand or staff are you looking for? We have a catalog, so you can look through it and decide.”
“Oh ho! There’s a catalog? Let me see if what I want is in there!!”
Grinning eagerly, Dayman snatched up the catalog and hurried to a corner. After flipping through it for a while, he returned with a deeply dissatisfied expression.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Dayman-nim.”
“Why are most of the options basically the same? The number of amplification cores, the materials for the wand or staff, the properties of the tip—they’re all identical. The only difference is the appearance. How is this even called a catalog?!”
A smirk finally broke through on the employee’s face.
“……Are you saying you want a custom-made wand or staff?”
“That’s right. That’s what I want.”
More laughter erupted around them. Custom-made. It referred to wands or staffs specially commissioned by mages who had reached the pinnacle of their craft, tailored to their unique specialties. These were not the versatile, general-purpose settings found in catalogs, but extremely personalized configurations that only the individual mage could handle. In other words, they were weapons even ordinary mages would struggle to use.
And now this famous idiot was requesting something so complex? The accident must have driven him insane.
“We can make it if you insist…… but I should warn you, the price will be quite high.”
“Money isn’t an issue. So don’t worry about that. As a student, is it possible to commission a custom-made wand and staff?”
“It is. A few upperclassmen already use custom-made staffs. Are you really sure you want one made?”
“Yes. Make them right away.”
Despite the surrounding snickers and whispers, Dayman remained completely composed. Since the customer was willing to pay, the employee had no choice but to comply. He stood up and led Dayman deeper into the workshop.
“Oho!!!!”
Upon reaching the inner workshop where the wand artisans worked, Dayman’s eyes lit up. The place was filled with all manner of processing and crafting tools. 3D printers and precision machining equipment caught his attention.
“Haha! Technology has truly advanced tremendously! The more I see, the more amazed I am!!”
The employee let out a dry laugh. This guy must have really hit his head hard. It was ridiculous to see a thuggish-looking punk who looked like he belonged shaking his hips in a club speaking in such an old-fashioned manner while marveling at technological progress.
“Here. You can speak with this person. He’ll also tell you the price.”
“Ah, thank you!! Young man, go on and get back to work!!”
“‘Young man,’ my ass……”
The employee shook his head and left. Dayman approached an artisan who was busy working on something with a small drill. Noticing the newcomer, the artisan set the drill down and looked up. He was a stern-looking man in his fifties with a clean-shaven face, a thin frame, and prominent cheekbones that suggested a stubborn personality.
“What do you want?”
The artisan asked with tired, sharp eyes. Dayman met his gaze for a moment before smiling.
“I’ve come to commission a wand and a staff. Can you make them?”
The artisan frowned at his manner of speech. What’s with this guy? his expression seemed to say.
“I can. As long as you pay.”
“Good. Then let me ask a few questions. Has the wand-making process changed much compared to seventy-three years ago?”
“What?”
The artisan had assumed he was dealing with a thug, but the question was completely unexpected.
“Answer the question. Compared to seventy-three years ago, have there been any new additions or changes in the manufacturing process or materials?”
“……We added the step of installing calculation systems, and many new materials have been developed.”
“Remove the calculation system from the process. I have no need for something only idiots use. Let’s start with the body material. Has anything with better mana conductivity than pure mithril been developed?”
The artisan let out a disbelieving chuckle, but he continued answering, remembering that this was still a customer.
“Three types have been developed. But none of them are suitable for wand-making. One is far too expensive, another causes over-conduction, and the last overheats too easily.”
“In other words, pure mithril is still the best?”
“That’s right. Though it’s quite expensive.”
“That depends on the purity, doesn’t it? What’s the purity of pure mithril these days? Back in my time, seventy-three percent was the best we could manage.”
“99.99999999%. We’ve raised the purity to ten decimal places.”
“The absorption rate must be ridiculous. Can you make the body with that pure mithril? The process must be quite complex.”
“It’s possible, student.”
“Then the body will be made from that. What about the cores? How many can you pack in without causing mana backflow?”
“It depends on the length.”
“Let’s base it on seventy centimeters for the staff and twenty-five centimeters for the wand.”
“If we pack them as densely as possible…… three hundred fifty for the staff and seventy for the wand.”
“Then put in the maximum number.”
The artisan shook his head, convinced the student was bluffing.
“Listen, student. Do you have any idea how difficult it becomes to control magic with that many amplification cores? If you’re not an expert, just pouring mana into it will cause a runaway reaction.”
“I am that expert, so you don’t need to worry. Now, finally, the tip.”
The gem attached to the end of the wooden staff commonly associated with magic items—that was the tip. It was a component that required extremely precise craftsmanship. In a society capable of engraving micro-scale magic circuits onto smartphones, Dayman was intensely curious about how far the technology had advanced.
“Do you still make tips from crystals or gemstones?”
“Those are only used for industrial equipment. These days, gold is more commonly used for wand tips.”
“Oh? Is the effect that much better than crystal?”
“It’s far more stable, handles overheating better, and most importantly, allows for more diverse circuit engraving than crystal. It’s the same material used in smartphone circuit boards.”
“What’s the calculation speed per second?”
“Using the latest product as reference—an imodium alloy mixed with adamantite, orichalcum, and mithril—it can handle up to twenty-four cores at 5.6 GHz per core.”
“……Cores? 5.6 GHz? Shouldn’t calculation speed be measured in bytes?”
The artisan gave him a look that said he had no idea how to respond. After listening to a brief explanation, Dayman’s face went blank with shock.
“You can pack twenty-four cores, each processing 5.6 gigabytes of information per second? Has technology really advanced this far?”
“It has.”
“What a magnificent era! Truly magnificent!! Then make the tip with that. And absolutely do not install any calculation systems.”
The artisan silently considered Dayman’s specifications before bursting into laughter.
“If I make the staff exactly as you ordered, only a mage of at least tenth circle, eighth class or higher would be able to control it. At your level, you wouldn’t even be able to cast a spell. More amplification cores don’t automatically mean better.”
“Stop talking and just make it as I ordered. I’m commissioning it because I can handle that level easily. How much will it cost?”
Dayman’s confident attitude made the artisan chuckle. Fine. If he wants to bluff, I’ll make it exactly as requested.
“I’ll need at least twenty thousand runes. That’s after factoring in material costs, transportation, and everything else.”
“I’ll pay. How long will it take?”
“About three weeks. Do you have any preferences for the shape?”
“Shape, huh. Do you have paper and a pen?”
The artisan handed them over, and Dayman began sketching the forms of the wand and staff without hesitation.
“Can you make them in these shapes?”
The wand had a smoothly curved handle, while the staff featured an S-shaped shaft with a crow’s beak-shaped tip positioned near the head. The artisan studied the designs for a long moment before snickering and shaking his head.
“Unusual shapes. Listen, student. I’ll make them exactly as you specified, but if you come back later saying they don’t work and demand a refund, it’ll be too late. This is custom-made. You have to accept that risk.”
“Ah, I understand. Just make them quickly. Where do I pay?”
“Just tell the receptionist on your way out. I’ll send the price information now.”
Watching the artisan lightly tap at his computer, Dayman grinned with satisfaction.
“I’ll pay via internet banking. What a convenient era this has become! Hahaha!!!!”
The artisan watched Dayman’s retreating figure for a long while. Once he was gone, the man shook his head and muttered to himself.
A notorious idiot and thug from the Knight Department suddenly starts speaking like an old man after an accident and requests a staff with such extreme specifications that even upperclassmen in the Magic Department might struggle to control it?
There was only one conclusion the artisan could reach.
“That kid’s completely insane.”