Chapter 354: Acquiring the Materials
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 354: Acquiring the Materials
I was silent for a moment at Baronet Sheffield’s words.
“...How did you know I use a sword?”
I might be well-built for a mage, but there were plenty of other mages who enjoyed working out. In fact, most of the male students I met at the Gray Magic Tower were quite fit.
Besides, after my Metamorphosis, even the calluses on my palms had completely vanished, so it wouldn't be easy to guess I was a swordsman just by looking at me.
And yet, he spoke with a clear sense of certainty.
‘Is this the eye of a Master Smith?’
Thanks to that, my trust in the ill-tempered, drunken dwarf rose, if only by a minuscule amount.
“Are my eyes just for show? I can tell just by looking.”
After his blunt reply, he set his beer mug down on the table, stood up, and began to slowly circle me, scanning me up and down far more meticulously than before.
“...So much for a genius mage.”
Before long, as if he was done with his business, Baronet Sheffield stepped back and picked up a cigar from the table. He then cut it, put it in his mouth, and lit it.
“Hoo...”
A bittersweet scent filled the workshop.
“Take out the sword you usually use.”
“The sword? Why...?”
I was here to commission a staff, not a sword. And I didn't think the dwarf before me could craft a better sword than the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword anyway.
“Enough chatter, just take it out! Or do you not want a staff?!”
Just as you’d expect from a British noble, his temper was several times more prickly and foul than that of an ordinary dwarf.
I took the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword out of my inventory.
I wasn't worried about him finding out about my inventory. There were quite a few people who could pull out weapons like this. Of course, almost no one could store everything they owned in a subspace like I could.
Only those who had obtained a special artifact from a Gate or mages of the 7th Circle or higher could do that.
‘Come to think of it, my inventory space is starting to run out. I wonder if an expansion item will show up in the shop?’
Items that expanded inventory space used to appear occasionally, but lately, they had vanished completely, as if the system had no intention of giving me any more.
“Th-this sword...! Who in the world made this?!”
“?”
While I was momentarily distracted, Baronet Sheffield shouted, staring at the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword with a strange expression on his face.
“Beautiful! It’s so beautiful! It would not be an exaggeration to call it a divine relic forged by the great God Goibniu himself!”
Goibniu.
The blacksmith god from Celtic mythology. He was also known for brewing ridiculously delicious beer, so most dwarves worshipped him instead of going to church.
“...I picked it up in a Gate.”
“A Gate?! What kind of monster could have dropped a sword like this?!”
“That’s a state secret, so I can’t tell you.”
I shook my head, feigning a somber expression.
If I said it was a state secret, what could a British noble do about it?
“...Tsk, can’t be helped. Then, draw the sword from its sheath.”
“Why should I...”
“If I like what I see, I’ll give you a service that’ll knock your socks off.”
Shing—
I immediately drew the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword from its sheath. The jet-black blade revealed itself, scattering a gloomy aura in all directions.
“...Damn it all. I think I’m falling in love at first sight.”
The old man’s gone senile.
“I’m never selling it.”
“Of course not!” Baronet Sheffield roared, veins popping on his neck. “That sword is already yours. Besides, what good would a sword be to me, a non-knight? It would be nothing more than a decoration. A sword’s true meaning is only found when it cuts something. Never forget that.”
Perhaps all that shouting made him thirsty, because he grabbed a beer from the fridge and chugged it straight from the bottle.
“Gulp, and that sword, in particular, is a demonic sword that exists to take more lives and exploit their power.”
“A demonic sword?”
“You’re not telling me you didn’t know, are you?”
Of course, I knew. I’d fed the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword a considerable number of corpses by now.
“If it were anyone else, I would have taken that sword away immediately... but with you, it shouldn’t be a problem. You don’t seem like the kind of fool who’d let his mind be stolen by a sword.”
I had a rough idea of what he was getting at. Sometimes, when I held the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword, I would hear something like an auditory hallucination. It was probably the so-called mental erosion common to demonic swords.
‘It quieted down after I seared it with Black Flame a few times.’
In truth, nothing really changed even if I just listened to it, probably thanks to my Mental Barrier.
“By the way, why did you ask me to take out my sword when I’m here to have a staff made?”
“Tsk, tsk, you still don’t get it?”
“Pardon?”
At my words, he thumped his chest in frustration.
“Whether it’s a sword or a staff, you’re going to hold it and swing it, aren’t you! So of course I have to see what fits perfectly in your hand first!”
“...”
Did that make sense...?
It sounded like nonsense, but I decided to just keep my mouth shut.
“...Should I swing it a few times?”
“That’s enough.”
Baronet Sheffield waved his hand and walked into the back of the workshop without another word.
As I watched him go, I turned my head to look at the staves and wands hanging on the wall. I didn't read their item information, but judging by the special magical wavelengths they emitted, they were all clearly Epic grade or higher.
“Don’t just stand there gawking, hurry up and follow me!”
“Yes, sir.”
A desire to own one of them crept into my mind, but they were all undoubtedly commissioned pieces. Given his eccentric personality, he would never sell one to me, no matter how much money I offered.
Suppressing my disappointment, I followed him deeper into the workshop.
After walking down a complex corridor for nearly ten minutes, a massive iron door covered in all sorts of security devices appeared before me.
Baronet Sheffield placed his hand on the touch panel installed next to the door.
Beep—
[Iris, fingerprint, facial, and magical wavelength data matched.]
Creeeak—
With the system’s voice, the iron door began to open automatically.
“Thank you.”
“...?”
As I watched the door open, a single phrase that made me doubt my ears reached me.
“Thanks to you, I was able to see a fine sword. Inspiration is already starting to well up inside me.”
The smile that spread across Baronet Sheffield’s face gave me goosebumps. I even began to doubt if this was the same ill-tempered dwarf from a moment ago.
“Do you remember what I said earlier? About giving you a service that would knock your socks off?”
“Huh? Yes, well...”
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much. At best, I figured he’d give me a discount on the labor cost or extend the free after-sales service period.
But his next words completely shattered my expectations.
“I’ll use ‘this’ in your staff.”
Baronet Sheffield let out a thick laugh and pointed into the room—specifically, at something behind a pane of reinforced glass that took up an entire wall.
“That’s...”
Beyond the glass was a large, golden, glowing gem. At a glance, it looked bigger than my head. I unknowingly swallowed dryly at the immense magic I could feel even through the thick glass.
This was no ordinary gem.
“Have you ever heard of a Colossus?”
“...Don’t tell me.”
At Baronet Sheffield’s words, my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
A Colossus (巨神兵).
A type of golem of unknown origin, classified as an S-rank monster.
“This is the core of the S-rank monster, the Colossus ‘Gigas,’ which appeared in the middle of the North Sea decades ago and threatened Great Britain. That Winchester fellow presented it to the royal family, and I received it from them.”
Pshhh—
As he operated the touch panel, the reinforced glass split open to the left and right. As if possessed, I reached out and placed my hand on the Colossus’s core.
Ting—
[Information on the newly acquired item is being collected.]
[Core of the Colossus-α
Grade: Unique
This is the core of the Colossus Gigas, a god-slaying weapon developed by the alchemists of an ancient magical empire that once sought to defy the gods.]
“Staves and wands fundamentally require a core material to serve as their axis. Usually, byproducts from A-rank monsters are used, but for your staff, I’ll make a special exception and use this.”
“...Are you serious?”
The first thing that came to my mind upon hearing that wasn't joy, but bewilderment.
Among all the byproducts of a Colossus, the most valuable was, without a doubt, its core.
He was going to use the core of a Colossus, an item of such astronomical value that one couldn't even carelessly put a price on it, as the core material for my staff?
“If we build the body with a mithril alloy centered around the Colossus’s core—”
“I’m sorry.”
I politely bowed my head and refused his offer. No, I had no choice but to refuse.
“I know this is an opportunity far beyond what I deserve, but unfortunately, my pockets aren’t deep enough.”
This was a byproduct from an S-rank monster. Of course, I didn't know if it was a boss, sub-boss, or elite-grade monster, but the Colossus was infamous for being one of the most powerful S-rank monsters out there.
A rough estimate would easily put its value in the hundreds of billions. No, it might even be more than that.
No matter how much financial help I got from Han Lael, to afford such an amount, I would have no choice but to become a matrilocal son-in-law to the Jinryu Han family, just as she had said.
“So, regrettably, I’ll have to use other materials...”
“Just pay 100 million pounds.”
“...Pardon?”
Baronet Sheffield blew out a puff of cigar smoke and looked at me.
“Hoo... I said I’ll take 100 million pounds. Do you not understand English?”
“...”
“Of course, the cost of the other materials and the labor fee are separate. All in all, it should come to about 150 million pounds.”
150 million pounds.
That was about 270 billion won.
Considering Han Lael’s Tenebra cost 190 billion won, it was a steep price, but it was absurdly cheap considering the core of a Colossus was being used as the main ingredient.
“N-no...”
“What is it now?! Are you telling me you can’t even pay this?! I’ve never seen such a damn highway robber!”
“N-no, that’s not it! It’s just... I don’t quite understand.”
At my words, Baronet Sheffield made a displeased face.
“What is it?”
“...A staff made with the core of a Colossus for only 150 million pounds? Isn’t that less than the cost of the materials?”
He leisurely took a drag from his cigar, stroking his beard as he looked at me.
“Are you complaining?”
“Of course not. If I could, I’d bow down to you right now.”
“Don’t. I have no interest in Eastern etiquette.”
I already knew that without him telling me. If a British noble didn't even care for British etiquette, why would he care about the customs of another country?
“The Colossus’s core was bestowed upon me by the royal family. How I use it is my business, not yours to worry about. Besides, what good is it doing just sitting here as a decoration?”
“...”
What’s with this dwarf?
Is he a tsundere...?
“Get those filthy eyes off me.”
“Yes, sir.”
I turned my head to avoid his murderous gaze.
In any case, 270 billion was an amount I could manage. I could get 250 billion from Han Lael and cover the remaining 20 billion myself. Of course, considering the annual income of the Jinryu Han family that Han Lael had told me about, I could probably get the full amount, but my minimal conscience wouldn't allow it.
“Anyway, there’s something you need to do now.”
“Something I need to do...?”
“You need to go get the missing materials.”
He chugged a beer he had pulled from somewhere.
“Gulp. ‘Euphrasia.’ As a mage, you must have heard of it, right?”
Of course, I had. It was a rare flower found only in A-rank or higher Gates, primarily used as a catalyst in alchemy.
“There’s a rumor that Euphrasia will be up for auction at this year’s ‘Walpurgis Night.’ Go there and win the bid. At the current market price, 20 million pounds should be enough.”
20 million pounds.
About 35 billion won.
“Well, you’ll have to run your feet off to get an invitation, but that’s none of my business, so you figure it out.”
With those final words, Baronet Sheffield waved his hand and left the room, an empty beer bottle in his hand.
Afterward, left alone, I quietly thought of Shin Yuna and offered a prayer of gratitude.
The Walpurgis Night VIP ticket she had given me, loaded with 90 billion won, flashed through my mind.