刃試しシリーズ

 

.MAGIC CORES             : 5,478 {

• FIRE          : 981
• WATER : 996
• EARTH : 1,000
• WIND : 826
• LIGHT : 460
• DARKNESS : 461
• HOLY : 200
• UNHOLY : 189
• VOID : 365

}

 

My Magic Cores has finally gotten to a point of 3 digits. I should be able to do something with them now.

 

With constant training my skills are going a long way, as I learn combat oriented skills, and get automatically added to my Martial Arts School: Techniques of a Thousand Demons Ways, although I don’t really have to call out to the names, the potency of the attack is doubled when I call out the attack or at least think about it.

 

On a side note, some dubious techniques that I just happen to come-up become a skill for some reason. I mean one day while training with a wooden sword, my childhood inklings kind of surfaced while practicing at the beach and shamelessly shouted:

 

"Techniques of a Thousand Demons Ways Ittouryuu: Kyouken"

 

And performed some 6 uncoordinated slashes but for some reason my body moved like it was a matter of fact and the supposedly uncoordinated slashes become perfectly sync.

 

At first I thought it was nothing more but a happy coincidence and a funny one at that, but when I used the skill again, I effortlessly and gracefully performed it like it was a given. The slashes where more refined though unlike the ones I used to create it.

 

Ever since then I have been experimenting techniques that would become the foundation for my martial arts school Techniques of a Thousand Demons Ways Martial Arts School. Some of the ‘chuunibyou’ like creations becomes refined and becomes a combat skill but some simple doesn’t and would simple just uncoordinated slashes.

 

While it could really just be a coincidence, there might also be a criterion for it to become one. Well for now I should stay focus on training and the results of it will have to speak for itself.

 

This is the extent of my battle prowess as of the moment. The reason for looking at my current skill is still due to the defeat had which almost cost me my life.

 

*****

 

I am currently out in the open sea, a little way up south of the island. Since there is nothing to do I pondered up on my battle prowess to ascertain my capabilities in traversing this 『』Island's forest and take my next plan of action.

 

"Was I really wrong in my assumption that the monsters near the sea bed are low level monsters?” I said out loud, and ponder some more. When I was still at the other side my instincts always save me from almost anything and so I trusted my instinct, but it would seem that the incident earlier placed a certain chip on that trust.

 

From the looks of things it would seem that if my battle powers are still somewhat lacking, it might be time to upgrade myself in order to be able to face threats like those.

 

I have just the thing in mind and for that I need to…

 

****

 

One of Grimoire Atelier's abilities that I had put off for a while because of lack of materials to do it was finally going to be put to test: Remodeling Rooms.

 

I had Grimoire Atelier set anchor in the inlet between the Southern and Western parts of the island. I still needed to be careful of pirates and other poachers so commandeering the vessels in the open sea is still a no-no.

 

For the time being, I headed to the Southwest Inlet. Here I would have to use another longer period of time not to train but to create sturdier weapons. And for that I was now going to use my hard earned Magic Cores to 《REMODEL》 the empty room in the lower deck.

 

Before doing the actual remodeling, I needed to verify something so I went to the 《POWER ROOM》 and try to locate the storage for the Magic Cores. When defeated I a lot of insect type monsters in the South Side of the island no even before that with the GREYWOLVES with my ‘cliff snipping strategy’, Magic Cores seems to be automatically collected by Grim-chan.

 

But according Lunamaya’s books Magic Cores should be dissected from the monsters to collect them. So there must be an area allocated for such cores within the Grimoire Atelier.

 

With that in mind I am now checking the most conspicuous place within the ship, the 《POWER ROOM》. After a few minutes of looking for a place to store such materials at the back of the unnaturally empty pedestal, was a small compartment and as soon as I touched it a list of the Magic Cores was brought upon me.

 

I tried to select the GIGANTIC ANTARES’ Magic Core and just like that it was now in my hand. Repeating this process, I selected all Magic Cores with Higher Grades, such as those with GIGANTIC and RAVENOUS as part of their names which I had fought in the southern and eastern areas.

 

I might not need them now, but in the future, should I be able to create magical weapons that require Magic Cores, I should save higher grade cores such as these types for those times.

 

Finally I went to the Lower Deck and imagined the place with the readymade room. There using the remaining cores and my own imagination as a basis, this is what was made from my remodeling:

• Waterfall and a river           : 425 Water Cores
• Sturdy Hearth to withstand heat as Furnace : 326 Earth Cores
• Inextinguishable Burning Fire           : 354 Fire Cores
• Increased the room Area                    : 452 Void Cores
• Light up the area                    : 225 Light Cores
• Air for breathing                    : 435 Wind Cores
• Endless Space to stop from suffocation : 220 Darkness Cores

 

I wanted to create sand as a base ground but my Earth Magic Cores were insufficient so I decided to fill it using actual sands from the beach.

 

To ensure that the bellows keep pumping in air, using what little knowledge I have in differential, I then created some wooden gears and used the waterfall as energy to maintain the flames. Although inextinguishable I needed to raise the heat for the melting process that is where the bellows powered by the water falls is needed.

 

The water rushing in the river is needed to cool off things and as safety precaution against accidental fires. I will have to create the remaining equipment and tools by my own.

 

Basic tools needed to finish my forge:

• An Anvil
• Tongs
• Cathead Hammer
• Hammers

 

All of them needed one material to create. IRON, I needed to create steel. Where do I get Iron?

 

Although I was amnesiac, but for some reason certain memories are easily accessed. This is when my knowledge in the previous world comes to handy. In the other side while teaching, I always researched fun facts to keep my students motivated and on some research I happen to search for steel making, well another reason really is because I once saw an anime where the protagonist, a green haired genius boy created steel to try and recreate a science country.

 

And in that research I have come upon a short process to create steel. Well, remembering it is one thing but actually making it is a different monster to slay.

 

To create steel first I needed to create iron, and to create iron I needed lime, coke coal and iron ore for that. For that reason I have decided to head for the mountain and try my luck in finding at least these three.

 

If that mountain is old then minerals should be abundant, for the coking process will be much of a trial and error much like the iron making, for the iron ore, I once saw in that anime about that green haired kid getting Magnetite in a river, and would be doing the same thing.

 

And with that, I will be lessening some combat training time a bit to do another battle: mining for ingredients.

 

I used the Northwestern inlet to head for the mountain, because I am hoping that just like when I was running away from the giant lizard like boss in the Southern Area and the Alpha Master Greywolf from the eastern side, the two bosses will not try to attack me… I was keeping my fingers crossed. I have made sure to load the cannon balls in the cannon fodder just in case my luck runs out.

 

Luckily, I was right the mountain was rich in minerals and was able to mine the needed materials from the mountain and the fact that the two monsters did not try to attack me. And the trial and error battle to forge steel begins.

 

According to the information I searched while researching on the subject, I needed to melt down the three materials in the blast furnace to create a hot metal. Once melted down, I needed to free it from impurities by adding steels (IRONic that I needed steel to create steel, pun intended), but for this part I only needed to create brittle steel from irons with a lot of impurities. Next to continue to heat the hot metal by stirring, raising or lowering temperature, removing gases, next casting the hot metal into cooling molds and allow it to slightly harden, then shaping through hot rolling and pressed folding by continuous hammering.

 

All the processes are going to be done manually, and a lot of trial and error will be done to get the desired result.

 

Once every five days, I would go to the mountain to collect materials then the rest of the days were forging days.

 

Of course I did not skip on combat training but it was indeed lessened. Going to that mountain is dangerous almost suicidal, if I am not combat ready, I will die before I can create my first blade.

 

‘Good luck, Captain.’ Lately Grim-chan’s telepathic messages has increased, they are still one sided though as we can’t converse normally. She just speaks in my head and then I reply then wait for another time when her reply reaches me.

 

Responding to Grimoire-chan’s heartwarming encouragement, I continued my training in both metal craft and combat. After the non-stop collecting materials and countless trial and error with steelmaking I was able to create my tools and equipment for metal forging.

 

First are the anvil, some tongs, a cathead hammer and other hammers for tempering and shaping and dubbed them ‘Blacksmith Trial Tools’.

 

Now, I only saw most of these in pictures and videos and have not actually touched them in real life but I have a clear image of how they look like and their usage, and some of the videos I have watched in making an anvil used readymade steels from scrap metals.

 

However for my Trial Tools and Equipment, I will be forging them with the steel I had manage to obtain, which is far from perfect but for now, it will do.

 

‘Mental note: I really need to study blacksmithing once I get to back to civilization’

 

Thanks to my practiced wood crafting skill, I was able to do some small carpentry work and added a small wooden cabin beside the forge and use it to store some materials, I also manage to create a small area as a dirty kitchen, where I can cook food while waiting for the melting process.

 

With the tools ready, finally I can start forging steel weapons.

 

Although I said forge, the books and articles I have read and somehow retained in my memories (despite being amnesiac) were a bit complicated, I can somehow feel that I won’t be able to recreate the whole process of blacksmithing using only those knowledge. As I have said, knowing the process and doing the process are two different monsters.

 

On a side note after finishing my forge, I had started to do battles again while only hunting near the shores of the North, West and Southern areas. My food storage were running low, I needed to replenish them. After all, I can’t eat ores.

 

I lost a lot of my wolf meats and since I can no longer hunt at the Eastern Area, I need to somehow to procure meat. I was able to fish in the river and also hunted some crab like monster in the Northern Area and somehow manage my food problems.

 

Now back to my weapons creation.

 

*****

 

For my trial steel weapons, using the method I used to create iron and steel, simply by melting hot metal, mold with the shape of the weapon I desire using sand, some easy tempering and sharpening and I get the trial blades I will need, the result shouldn’t be far from how it is really done.

 

Another 3 months passed and finally I was able to create steel weapons, it was sturdier than my Wooden Trial Series, packed with sharpness which my wooden series lacked. With this, I only have to coat a small portion of KENKI to the blades to assist in combat.

 

Although they still lack the true aesthetics of a metal based weapon, for now the steel weapons I have finally forged should be more than enough. By the way, since the weapons I have forged lacked that aesthetic of being a true forged steel I decided not to name the weapons, instead collectively dubbed these bladed weapons the ‘Metal Forged Trial Series’.

 

Now that I have bladed weapons this should help me fight in this dangerous island a bit easier of not a piece of pie, and so mark the time for me to go back in the forest and do actual combat with the bladed weapons.

 

They were sharp and sturdy, and should be more than enough to ward off even the stronger foes. The next problem is the skill to wield it.