Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Emily Epiris (3)
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After finishing my meal, I decided to test out the Item Creation skill first.
Conveniently, my afternoon class had been canceled, leaving me with some free time.
"What are you gonna make?"
Fortunately, after some time had passed since eating, Rafne had calmed down and approached me with a curious expression.
As I sorted out the equipment for item creation, I held up the iron ingot I'd brought along.
"I'm thinking of starting with something simple, like a weapon."
I wanted to check how the Item Creation skill worked.
In the game, you just handed materials to an NPC, and even without playing any minigames, it got made automatically.
But this wasn't a game anymore—it was reality.
Even activating the skill would probably involve some kind of process.
The equipment prepared in Ken's room was proof of that.
"Phew, this should do it."
"I'll help too! Need anything?"
Rafne's eyes sparkled as she drew closer. For someone whose only playtime in the tower was doll games, even this crafting would be plenty of fun.
And her assistance was actually welcome. In fact, I'd come prepared assuming she'd help.
Even making a simple iron dagger required heating the iron and shaping it.
But Ken's room had the equipment, just not the firepower to melt it.
"Then light that mini furnace over there. Compress the flames to maximum intensity."
"Got it!"
On the other hand, Rafne was a top student who stayed in the upper ranks of the academy's power rankings.
For her, a fire spell hot enough to melt iron was a piece of cake.
"Ignis."
Rafne extended her hand toward the mini furnace I'd set up in advance.
She closed her eyes and quietly chanted the incantation, gathering mana in her palm until flames erupted.
"Ignis Magna." "Compressio." She followed up with the incantation for an advanced fire spell, and the flames shifted from orange to blue.
The heat reached even me, standing some distance away.
With the final incantation, the mana compressed, shrinking the flames' size.
But I could feel it—an immense heat.
From Ken's memories, the last one seemed to be a compression incantation for mana.
'Totally different from the game.'
In the game, magic was just a button click during combat.
But in reality, the spell's name became the incantation, chanted to activate it.
Watching this realistic magic activation up close felt fresh and exciting.
I was starting to get a little thrilled.
"All done! How's that? Good enough?"
"Yeah, should be plenty. Thanks."
"...Hehe."
Rafne smiled bashfully, clearly proud of showing off her skills after so long.
This level of heat would melt the iron ingot in seconds.
Well, not that she'd ever tried melting iron before.
'Now for activating the skill...'
Like magic, skills in the game were just another button click.
But now it was basically reality...
"...Rafne, this might be a weird question, but how do you use skills?"
"Huh? Skills?"
"Yeah, like your Nerve Acceleration, for example."
"Y-You just... will it in your mind, right?"
Rafne floundered a bit, as if my question was odd.
Of course—to people in this world, it was natural, so asking about it must seem weird.
Anyway, so just the intent to use it was enough.
Convenient.
I closed my eyes and focused on using the skill.
Like Rafne chanting her incantations earlier, I pictured the skill in my mind.
'Item Creation.'
Suddenly, countless categories flooded my head.
From potion crafting to equipment or even magic scroll creation.
But most were empty and useless.
The few filled ones were under equipment crafting.
I found the sword category and selected it.
'Dagger Creation.'
The only dagger blueprint started replaying in my mind.
'So that's how it's done.'
I'd never made a weapon in my life, but with the skill, it felt etched in like decades of master craftsmanship.
I opened my eyes and grabbed the crafting hammer.
Clang! Clang!
I tossed the iron ingot into Rafne's fire, heated it, and shaped it with the hammer.
A few strikes were enough to form the shape—thanks to the skill, no doubt.
I quenched the short, hot blade-shaped lump in oil for tempering.
Normally it'd take multiple rounds, but the skill let me do it in one.
Next, I sharpened the edge.
Pressing the dull blade against the spinning grindstone sent sparks flying as it sharpened.
Finally, I assembled it with the prepped handle, guard, and pommel.
The whole process took less than an hour.
"Whoa, you made it great! Amazing, Ken!"
Rafne, who'd watched every step, clapped her hands lightly in delight.
She must've found the process fun.
That aside...
'In reality, this skill would be ridiculous.'
What would've taken days finished in an hour.
Huge gains in time and stamina.
'No wonder no one crafts without this skill.'
I finally understood why, even in-game, only NPCs with the skill could craft.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Created 'Simple Knife'. Experience points awarded as first creation bonus. ⚔ STATUS ⚔ Unique Skill: Item Creation Handiwork LV 2 Equipment Crafting LV 2 - UP! Potion Crafting LV 1 Magic Artifact Crafting LV 1 As I held the finished knife, a system message popped up right away.
Then it displayed the Item Creation skill status window.
The Equipment Crafting that was Level 1 before had risen to Level 2.
'Eh, Level 2's easy to hit.'
Reaching Level 3 was quick with a bit of grinding.
The problem was after Level 3.
Skill levels progressed slowly afterward unless you achieved firsts or major feats—repetitive work gave minimal EXP.
Unlocking Level 2 in Equipment Crafting brought new categories to mind: swords, shields, armor, bows, etc.
And one that caught my eye: Accessories.
But Accessories only had basics like a simple silver necklace.
'Wonder how high I need to level to make the Goddess's Pendant...'
The Goddess's Pendant required not just materials, but the blueprint too.
In-game, it was just a basic item schematic, so I didn't know the method.
So, skill proficiency, material gathering, and blueprints were key.
Long road ahead, but a good start is half the battle.
Gathering experience and items steadily would get me there fast.
'...And I need to grab that first thing.'
I thought, eyeing the scattered materials and the knife in my hand.
...
The next day, over the weekend, I left the academy right away and headed into a certain forest.
It was beyond the city surrounding the academy—the Forest of Droplets.
The closest monster zone to the academy, so the beasts here were low-grade.
So why visit a place swarming with weak monsters?
"Hmm... around here...? No? Seeing it for real, it's hard to tell what's what..."
I lumbered through the forest with my hefty body.
The general scenery matched the game, stirring nostalgia and wonder.
But navigating in person, my sense of direction sucked, and terrain all looked the same.
"Ah, found it!"
Matching mental images diligently, I finally spotted the tree I wanted.
Among the trees, it was subtly larger, with a deeper hue, and a big natural hollow in the trunk.
"...Let's see."
I shoved my hand into the hollow. Deeper than expected, I groped around until my fingers touched something.
"This... it?"
Pulling it out revealed the smooth, fist-sized stone I'd hoped for.
A rune-like pattern was engraved in its center.
'Jackpot!'
Overjoyed, I set the stone on the ground and pulled the crafting hammer from my prepared bag.
Clang! Clang!
"Damn...! Won't break!"
Hitting harder than when making the knife, but the stone didn't budge.
In-game, if your strength was below a threshold, you couldn't break it.
Hard to think Ken's pathetic body met that.
But this was reality, not a game.
Magic needed incantations, not clicks.
This stone would shatter eventually with persistence.
Clang! Clang!
"Huff... huff..."
Dozens of strikes later, my arm ached, sweat poured, but I kept going.
Until the stone, my arm, or the hammer broke.
No stopping till one did.
And then.
Clang! ...Crack.
"...It... it worked!"
My persistent strikes finally cracked it, the fissure glowing as it split the stone in two.
The halves vanished in particles of light.
"Th-Then around here...!"
No rest—I jumped up and scanned around.
Not far off, a faint beam of light caught my eye.
I bolted there.
"Huff, huff."
Dragging my exhausted body, I arrived at a spot with a makeshift gravestone that hadn't been visible before.
No name engraved—just a rough slab of thin local rock propped up.
I started digging at the base.
Luckily, it wasn't buried deep. A shallow pit revealed it quickly.
"Found it..."
'It's really here. The exact spot from the game, with the item...'
What I'd found was the [Bag of an Unknown Traveler].
In-game, you got it from an old woman's quest in the academy city.
Its true nature: a Subspace Pouch.
The classic infinite storage bag.
"Let's see..."
I tested by putting the crafting hammer in.
The fist-sized pouch easily swallowed the oversized hammer.
"...Whoa, it actually works."
Shaking it yielded no rattle.
I reached in.
'...Hammer, ...hammer.'
Picturing it, my hand grasped it instantly.
Out came the crafting hammer from moments ago.
"Yes!"
First time using game knowledge to snag an item.
This wasn't for players, actually.
It was side-quest only—the protagonist Emily started with her own Subspace Pouch.
Useless for her, but perfect for me.
No more lugging stuff around, and infinite material farming.
'Goddess's Pendant just got a lot closer.'
Infinite materials meant infinite grinding for me, with crafting skills.
Assuming materials aplenty, of course.
"Phew, time to head back."
I stuffed my luggage into the Subspace Pouch.
My shoulders felt worlds lighter without the weight.
'Might as well gather some forest materials on the way...'
As I turned back in high spirits—
"Kyaaaaah!"
A woman's scream echoed through the forest.