Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Great Chieftain
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"I'm back, Granny."
"What brings you home so early... What the hell happened to you?"
Casa Garda blurted out the words in undisguised alarm.
Her granddaughter coming home drenched in sweat was a familiar sight by now, but stumbling in covered in wounds all over her body like this? Even by her standards, that wasn't something you saw every day.
No doubt about it—she'd gotten into a brutal fight with someone.
It used to happen pretty often back in the day, but lately, it had become a rare occurrence.
"You get like this training with that guy?"
Casa let out a disbelieving scoff.
They did have Liru handling the basic conditioning every day to build up Dawood Campbell's stamina.
Even the man himself wondered why he was stuck doing this physical drudgery instead of learning proper 'techniques,' but Casa insisted so stubbornly that it was still happening daily.
Ever since Hunter's Night had ended in earnest—
Anyway.
There was no way a simple workout like that could leave her this banged up. Even Liru was pursing her lips and shaking her head.
"No way."
"Then how the hell did this happen?"
At Casa's words, Liru fell silent for a moment.
She looked deeply conflicted, like she wasn't sure if she should even bring this up now.
"...Hey, Granny."
"What?"
"..."
Liru hemmed and hawed for a good while before finally speaking up.
"...You know the Tristan Duchess?"
"Of course I do. The sword genius who's famous across the continent, right? Why her?"
"How should I train to beat her?"
Casa's face filled with confusion.
"...Why her?"
"Just... ended up fighting her once, that's all."
Liru stroked her chin thoughtfully as she continued.
"...Fighting her feels like it'd make me stronger in one go."
Hunter's Night wouldn't last much longer, which meant the day she'd clash directly with the Great Chieftain wasn't far off either.
So, she had to pull out every means to get stronger, right?
And besides.
That wasn't the only reason.
"And."
Liru paused, letting out a sigh before going quiet.
What had happened earlier was replaying vividly in her mind.
Dawood Campbell using some mysterious power to etch that inscription on her arm.
[Cooperate. Or die. Save me.]
Or something like that.
But.
Depending on how you read it, the sentence could mean something slightly different.
That if Dawood Campbell 'himself' didn't 'cooperate' with her, he'd die.
So.
Combine that with the way that man had always seemed 'afraid' of Elnor, and you arrived at a rather unusual conclusion.
"It's not certain yet."
Liru said awkwardly.
"But it seems like he's being blackmailed. By someone."
"...What?"
Casa sounded utterly baffled as she shot back, and Liru pouted her lips in response.
"...Just."
She was clearly embarrassed, but without a doubt.
"I felt bad thinking about some poor guy forced into a marriage."
Her tone carried a resolute 'determination' loud and clear.
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Normally, you'd picture a burly blacksmith uncle when you hear 'blacksmith in charge of the Hall of Fire.'
But surprisingly, the equipment manager at the tribal alliance's top educational institution was light-years away from that image.
For starters, he wasn't even human.
[User recognized. ID confirmed. Elpante 2nd School District exchange student Dawood Campbell. Welcome to the Hall of Fire.]
"..."
No sweltering heat—just a pristine room that felt more like a reception area—and right in the center, a massive 'machine.'
In the world of Sera, which stuck to pre-modern tech levels except for the occasional over-the-top magitech gadgets, this was an especially bizarre sight.
You could believe someone if they said it belonged in a sci-fi genre instead of fantasy.
[I am Sephira, the production AI in charge of the Hall of Fire. What can I do for you?]
"Equipment crafting."
[Acknowledged. Please insert materials into the input slot and select your desired blueprint.]
With that, a side hatch opened, and he dumped everything he'd brought into the machine.
Ectoplasm. Star iron. Adaptive leather. And even the 'dragon scales' he'd gotten from pounding that water dragon recently.
Not a single low-grade material in the bunch. Any one of them was top-shelf stuff you could strut into a smithy with and get the red-carpet treatment.
'...Truth is, throwing all this in at once doesn't guarantee it'll turn out great.'
Just like dumping every ingredient into a stew doesn't make it tasty, good materials don't always mean good results.
Screw it up, and bad synergies could make it worse than if you hadn't used them at all. Any renowned artisan would wave you off and refuse outright.
They'd say they didn't have the confidence to handle this much premium stock, no doubt.
'But this one's different.'
He eyed the machine in front of him.
There was a reason he'd lugged all this here instead of some Elpante workshop.
When it came to 'making' things, no one on the continent could match a magitower brand—not even close.
Sure enough, even after dumping in all the materials, there was no reaction beyond mechanical hologram windows.
No such thing as 'impossible' from this thing. In the original story, it was an all-purpose crafter that churned out whatever you fed it, no sweat.
[All materials confirmed. Considering quality and quantity, I recommend crafting armor. Full-body coverage would be the most efficient—]
"No."
Fair point, he had to admit.
This much material made a single weapon inefficient.
But still.
"No armor. No weapons either."
Essential condition, thinking about the boss fight setup with Tatiana and Allan.
Most smiths would boot him out on the spot for demanding this, but Sephira politely responded as always.
[Understood. Please select the category of equipment you desire.]
It started with broad categories like weapons or armor, then drilled down to swords, spears, helmets, shields—the works.
Like ordering food from a kiosk, ridiculously modern design.
'...Feels like it's playing in another world by itself.'
The thought crossed his mind as he manipulated the hologram.
Even in the original, the magitower spat out stuff that felt like it belonged to a whole different genre.
Light-years ahead of the tribal alliance, the tech superpower among the great powers.
Just the fact they replaced their most prized 'equipment' production with an imported magitower gadget said it all.
The response he got proved it.
[Estimated crafting time: 30 minutes.]
"..."
Even Professor Vulcan from Elpante's crafting department would need a week for this workload, and it knocks it out in 30 minutes flat.
If they didn't use that exorbitantly priced 'magitower-grade battery' on all their gear, the world's tech level would've flipped long ago.
But they're such a closed-off bunch, they'd die before letting outsiders use their tech.
For better or worse, they're scientists obsessed with research.
'...Gotta visit them someday.'
Not far off, and with the next main scenario branch in Chapter 4, odds were high he'd build ties with the magitower soon enough.
With that in mind, he checked the 'creator' seal engraved on Sephira's interface front.
[Creator: Record Deleted.]
[Assistant: Fainol Lifek]
"..."
A familiar name.
Pretty out-of-place for a magitower gadget to bear the name of a heretical inquisitor mage, but it made sense knowing the guy's background.
And considering Fainol claimed the final boss spot in Chapter 4, this was one 'clue' he couldn't ignore.
[Crafting complete.]
Lost in those thoughts, Sephira's front panel slid open, sliding the requested gear onto the conveyor belt.
Two pairs of 'gauntlets' woven with colorful materials throughout.
Equipment straddling the fuzzy line between weapon and armor.
'Perfect.'
Better than expected—he smiled as he picked them up.
[Infinity Gauntlet]
[Gear: Unique]
[Gauntlets crafted with a variety of premium materials, granting diverse effects.]
[▶ Dragon Scales: Unbreakable and unmarred durability in any situation.]
[▶ Ectoplasm: Extremely high compatibility with various abilities. Buff and enhancement skills cast on the gear have double the effect.]
[▶ Star Iron: Extremely high curse resistance, highly reactive to divinity.]
[▶ Adaptive Leather: On impact, automatically copies the target's attribute. On the second strike, automatically weakens the target's attribute.]
'Perfect.'
This was why he'd held off using the materials until Sephira, despite hoarding them.
Every property from the inputs was flawlessly integrated.
No exaggeration—this rivaled the 'holy sword' Eliya got in the next chapter, right up to its chin.
Sure, it couldn't match the protagonist-exclusive ceiling of the holy sword, but it was still overkill for one person.
Won't break, buffs easier than standard gear, resists curses, sensitive to divinity.
And above all.
That last bit about 'weakening the target's attribute'?
Practically a sniper shot at Tatiana.
Name made it sound like you needed to slap a rock on a glove, which was kinda funny.
'...Liru'll love it if I give her a pair.'
He'd made two pairs for that reason—one for Liru.
She'd definitely be thrilled to get gear this top-tier—
[System Message]
[Special interaction unlocked between 'Liru Garda,' vessel of the 'Blue Devil,' and 'Elnor,' vessel of the 'Gray Devil.']
[Contact frequency between the two vessels increases!]
"..."
Well, he knew Liru was no saint.
Silver lining: the system window's tone suggested it wasn't some dire threat.
If it endangered his life, the system would've warned him to intervene pronto, given its nature.
'...Well, they've got a connection now, anyway.'
Even without him bridging it, they'd bumped into each other before—and she'd just gotten her ass handed to her overwhelmingly, so with Liru's personality, she'd avoid Elnor for a while. 'Increased contact frequency' made zero sense to him.
What the hell for?
"Ah, there you are."
Lost in thought, a deeply unwelcome voice tickled his ear.
He turned to see Tatiana.
Wearing that mechanical smile as always.
"..."
No clue why, but the guy who'd been lying low suddenly showed up.
Not planning to jump him here and kill him outright. He'd figure Elnor's head would roll if he tried.
Odds of a show of force were low until he had some way to 'subdue' her side.
He grimaced slightly, and Tatiana spoke in a light tone.
"The Great Chieftain will arrive at the Crucible of Strife soon. Everyone's preparing a welcome."
"...I see."
Right on cue.
Rumors of the man's visit had been flying for days.
"And."
Tatiana beamed.
"He wants to see you first, Dawood Campbell."
His expression soured in response.
'...Already setting up contact with Allan?'
No matter how he turned it over, he couldn't see the reason.
That was a hidden card this guy should keep under wraps. No need to show it off early and leak info.
"Ah."
But Tatiana pressed on, ignoring his face entirely.
"On the way, he'll be bringing Liru Garda and Casa Garda too, right?"
"..."
"The Great Chieftain wants to see those two as well."
No mistaking it—the words carried zero cheer.
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