Chapter 21

Translator: True Detective

Chapter 21. Staff of the Crimson Lord (1)

I carefully scanned the materials placed on the workbench once again.

I didn't know when practicing, but trying to go into actual combat, the intimidation was no joke.

Especially that bone was the problem.

"No, why is the breastbone so big?"

I opened my mouth wide.

The length was as tall as me, and the thickness was quite substantial.

The color was cold silver-gray light like well-refined steel rather than bone.

On the surface, magic circuits like red blood vessels were entangled grotesquely.

Make a staff with this?

It seemed faster to make a blunt weapon than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a staff.

"Phew... Right, considering the size of that Three-Faced Blood Demon, it's not incomprehensible."

I tried to calm down and turned my gaze to the core placed next to it.

The [Core of Three-Faced Blood Demon], the size of a human head, was still emitting ominous red light like a living, pulsating heart.

Just looking at it made me feel nauseous.

"Guide, let's start. What should I do first?"

"Okay. I'm confident in carving."

With the confidence gained from carving 100 Oak Staves, I picked up the carving knife.

It was a regular steel carving knife bought for practice.

I fixed the core firmly on the workbench and carefully applied the blade.

—SCREEEECH!

A creepy sound like scratching a blackboard with fingernails was heard.

But there wasn't a single scratch on the core.

Rather, the blade of my carving knife was tattered with all its teeth missing.

"......"

I looked alternately at the chipped carving knife and the intact core.

I was dumbfounded and laughed hollowly.

"True, it's Unique grade, so there's no way it would be carved with a regular carving knife."

This time, I looked at the Epic grade [Unbreakable Bone of Blood Demon].

I tapped it lightly with a hammer as a test.

—Ting!

A clear and pure metallic sound rang out.

If I tried to trim that with a wood carving knife, my wrist would obviously break first.

To handle Unique materials, I needed tools befitting them.

"Tools..."

I contemplated buying a high-grade carving knife from the Exchange but soon shook my head.

Whether there is supply right now is unknown, and even if there is, there's no guarantee I'll like it.

Above all, I had a material more trustworthy than Exchange goods.

"I had some Mithril left, right?"

I rummaged through the inventory and took out the Mithril left after making armor.

A mysterious metal emitting a subtle blue light.

This much was enough.

I lit the furnace without delay.

Familiarly melted the Mithril and lifted the hammer.

Making tools required a different delicacy than weapons or armor.

—Clang!—Clang!—Clang!

Cheerful hammering sounds echoed in the workshop.

Reviving past memories, I pounded and forged the Mithril.

How much time passed?

Finishing quenching and sharpening the blade on a whetstone, a carving knife emitting cool blue light was completed.

—Ding!

I lifted the finished carving knife and shone it under the light.

The sharpness was extraordinary.

"Kuh... The effects are better than I thought? I should make hammers or other crafting tools next time."

Holding the new partner in my hand, I stood in front of the workbench again.

The moment I held it, the heavy yet snug feeling was good.

I glared at the glistening red core.

"Now, shall we really start?"

I gripped the [Keen Mithril Carving Knife] properly.

The cool touch of Mithril transmitted to my fingertips relieved the tension.

The Guide floated blue dotted lines and complex shapes over the core.

"45 degrees. Okay."

I applied the carving knife blade to the point indicated by the guideline.

Holding my breath, I struck boldly using the snap of my wrist.

Definitely, perhaps because it was a Mithril carving knife, it went in smoothly and red debris flew.

But the moment the carving knife dug into the core, a bizarre scream rang in my head.

'Kraaaaaaah! How dare you! On my body!'

—Ding!

My vision was dyed red, and I saw hallucinations of blood filling up from the workshop floor.

In my ears, screams of thousands of people rang as if to tear my eardrums.

An ordinary person would have gone crazy and rampaged or foamed at the mouth and fainted right here.

But.

"Oh... Status immunity is God after all!"

I frowned once and picked my ear.

At my indifferent reaction, the core seemed flustered and spewed red light more violently.

It was a much more precise task than carving Oak Staves.

But in my hand was a carving knife with tool correction and the sensation I've built up so far.

—Scrape. Scrape.

Every time the carving knife passed, red crystal was carved away.

It felt more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like cutting out hard-frozen blood clots than carving stone.

Instead of powder flying, red mist rose and brushed my face.

'Die! Die! You too, go to hell with me!'

The core didn't stop resisting.

Every time I carved, it poured out stronger curses.

—Ding!

—Scrape.

"Oh hey. Be quiet a bit."

'Kugh...! Why! Why doesn't my curse work!'

I felt the malice dwelling in the core getting flustered.

I hummed and moved the carving knife.

I trimmed the surface very thinly and precisely like peeling an apple skin.

The Guide marked a red dot on the bottom of the core.

I changed my grip on the carving knife to reverse grip.

I focused power on the blade tip imbued with the [Cutting] option.

The Mithril carving knife shone blue.

"Goodbye."

A clear and beautiful sound filled the workshop.

A dark red piece fell off from the end of the core.

Then the core emitted immense killing intent as if struggling.

'Kieeeeeek!! I will chew and eat your soul!'

—Ding!

The air in the workshop froze.

Black shadows spewing from the core coiled like snakes and rushed towards my forehead all at once.

A terrible tenacity to survive even by taking over my body.

But the bastard got the wrong address.

Then bright light shone from my body and started to dye the shadows approaching me white.

'No! I can't disappear... Kuaaaack!'

Along with a desperate scream, even the last remaining piece of shadow crumbled in the air.

The ominous pulsating red light was nowhere to be found, and only a transparent and brilliant crimson gem with impurities completely removed remained in that spot.

"Yes...? Guide, you had this kind of ability...?"

You avoid it so well at times like this, our Guide?

I looked at the Guide with suspicious eyes, then finally wiped the surface of the core with a soft cloth.

A red gem precisely cut with 58 facets.

Turning it this way and that under the light, light refracted dozens of times inside, emitting fantastic radiance as if blood was moving alive.

"Phew... Is this a pass?"

I smiled satisfactorily and looked at the next material, the bone.

Since I handled the trickiest core, now it's time to make the body.