“Tonkakke-san… You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
“I’ve only lost a bit of weight, nothing to worry about.”
“I don’t think it’s just a ‘bit’ though!?”
If he didn’t have the characteristic beard of a dwarf, I’d mistake him for a human child.
“It seems like I’ve put you through a lot.”
“Nah, it’s my fault. I lost track of time and ended up skipping meals repeatedly.”
“You should eat properly, okay?”
“I know, I know. A good body is essential for good work!”
Even said by someone who’s lost so much weight, it doesn’t sound convincing at all.
“Anyway, to the workshop. I’ll show you the finished product.”
As he said, he led me to the neatly cleaned workshop.
And there, placed in the center, was a Nata sheathed in a scabbard.
“I made the scabbard in a shape that holds the blade facing upwards. It’s a Nata after all, so it has some weight. But it’s so sharp that if it slips, it’ll slice right through, so I thought it’d be dangerous to have it facing downwards.”
“Oh, it’s that sharp?”
“Yeah. I was worried about using wood, so it’s made of leather. I used the skin from the back of an Assault Lizard. You can draw it normally, but there’s also a button with a string so you can take it out from directly above.”
“I see?”
I’ve never heard of an Assault Lizard before.
“Well, just understand that it’s made of highly blade-resistant leather. Try drawing it.”
“Understood. Heh, the blade is white.”
It’s the first time I’ve seen a pure white Nata. Of course, I’ve seen iron products that are close to white in color before, but they weren’t processed into the shape of a Nata.
“Well, it’s not metal. After grinding and grinding, it ended up with that color.”
“Amazing.”
It’s a white that draws you in. My vocabulary fails me.
“Even as it is, it’s sharp enough and quite something. But it’s inferior to single-edged swords or knives that are specialized for cutting. Make no mistake about that.”
“Well, it’s a Nata after all.”
Originally, it’s a weapon for hacking. No, maybe a weapon for hacking through. Or rather, is it even a weapon or just a tool?
“Also, flowing Magical Power into it doesn’t increase its sharpness. Normally, you’d make it so that Magical Power can be channeled to match the shape of the object, but this one didn’t work that way.”
“I see.”
When a craftsman makes a weapon, they naturally make it so that Magical Power flows through it to match the weapon. For a sword, it would be to enhance sharpness, and for a spear, it would be to enhance the sharpness of the thrust.
But depending on the original material of the weapon, it can have characteristics closer to enchantment rather than enhancement. Like a Demon Sword or something like that.
“It was pulled by the characteristics of the original material. Well, it’s not unusual with Monster Material, and I can’t make anything good if I try to change it forcibly, so I made it to match that.”
“Yeah. That’s fine, but what kind of characteristics does it have?”
“First, Regeneration Ability. Minor chips in the blade will heal naturally. It was a pain because it would heal if I flowed too much Magical Power while grinding it.”
“That’s good!”
“And that effect extends to the owner!”
“Huh?”
“In other words, if you fight while holding this and pouring Magical Power into it, you can heal minor injuries immediately. I don’t know what would happen with broken bones or anything like that, though.”
“We can’t exactly test that… but isn’t that amazing?”
It’s practically a Magic Item. Even though it’s a Nata.
“It’s not just amazing! This is completely a Demon Sword. No, a Demon Nata?”
“Let’s at least call it a Demon Weapon.”
Demon Nata sounds kind of lame.
“Ah, yeah. Well, the name doesn’t matter. Anyway, that’s the kind of characteristic it has. Regeneration is rare with Sea Monster Material, but I’ve never heard of anything that affects the user to that extent.”
Neither have I. Even in the Unified Space Force era, I didn’t know many people who had such weapons. Well, soldiers fight with supplies, so there’s no point in having such a weapon.
Even if you had one, you’d have to get permission to use it. Some weapon maniacs had them, though.
“And another thing, this one is a characteristic specialized for attack.”
“There’s more? Can I switch between them?”
“The regeneration one is always on. You just need to remember how to turn this one on and off, so there shouldn’t be any problem with switching. However, it’s probably difficult to use.”
“What kind is it?”
“It creates blades.”
“It creates, blades?”
“Well, you won’t understand unless you see it. Lend it to me for a bit, or rather, put it down, it’s dangerous.”
“Ah, yeah. Sorry.”
I put the Nata on the desk, and Tonkakke held it in one hand.
“Put that wooden board on the desk over there.”
“Yes.”
I put the board on the desk as he said. It’s quite a thick board.
“If you put Magical Power into it and swing the blade, this is what happens.”
Tonkakke said, holding down the back of the Nata with one hand and swinging it lightly. Tonkakke himself doesn’t have much Magical Power, so I can’t feel much Magical Power.
Even so… when I looked at the board, there were about four deep scratches.
“Do you understand?”
“Yeah, can I interpret ‘creating blades’ as creating clones of the blade?”
“Well, yeah. You can adjust where to put them, how many to put out, etc., centering on the original Nata. It’s perfect for surprise attacks, and even if you know about it, it’s difficult to deal with in close combat.”
“Yeah. If you block the Nata itself with a weapon, you’ll definitely take the other blades, and only the user knows where they’ll appear, so you have to keep a considerable distance to avoid them all.”
It’s a weapon that makes close combat a nightmare.
“Well, it’ll be difficult to use because of that. I’ll leave it up to you how to use it, but I know that something incredible has been created, okay?”
“Yeah. This is amazing.”
I held the Nata in my hand again. The grip seemed to stick to my palm, and I was so comfortable with it that I was under the illusion that it was a weapon I had been using for years. This is simply because Tonkakke’s skills are good.
“Is the grip okay?”
“Yeah, it fits well whether I hold it with one hand or two.”
“The handle is made from the leg of a Sharia Woodman. You’re still a child, so your hand size will grow, so I made it so that you can replace it if it doesn’t fit your body. I’m using Relic Cotton cloth for the grip cloth, so I’ll give you a spare? I have it here too, so if you can’t rewrap it, bring it to me.”
“Is it difficult to match the grip?”
“I don’t think it’s that unique? But if you do it yourself and you don’t like it, bring it to me. That’s definitely better.”
“Understood.”
That thoughtfulness is wonderful.
“Well, I was able to do a good job. So, I have a consultation.”
“Ah, are you going to pay the reward after all?”
“No, that’s fine. I don’t need it. Or rather, I might have to pay you…”
“?”
“The powder that came out when I shaved that Nata, it seems like it can be used as shaving powder, and it seems like it will be sturdy if mixed with metal. As a blacksmith, I can’t just throw it away. Is it okay if I have this as a reward?”
“I see, that’s what you mean.”
The fang that was as big as I could carry is now the size of a normal Nata. More than half of the amount has been turned into powder.
“Can I have some too? I might be able to use it for something.”
“Yeah. Grind it on a whetstone when you sharpen the blade. Ah, but be careful not to put too much force on it, or the blade side will lose?”
“I’ll be careful.”
“Well, then, that’s about it, right?”
“? Is that all you need?”
“This is Magic Powder from the blacksmith’s point of view. To be honest, I thought I was getting too much even with this, but I can’t decide on the value. Also, the more I have, the more I’m likely to rely on it. So, this much is enough. Still, the value is immeasurable.”
“You should take more.”
“If that happens, I’ll have to pay you, but as I said earlier, it’s not easy to decide the value of a one-of-a-kind Monster Material.”
Tonkakke only asked for about 10% of the total, and shook his head, saying that anything more would be excessive.
I met a good craftsman.
“Anyway, I guess I’ll try using it…”
“Yeah, be careful when using it on people, okay?”
“I don’t think I can use it casually…”
It seems like the spare short sword will be the main weapon.
However, I can’t say anything until I actually try it. The level of the weapon is high, so I’ll extend my legs to the Black Forest for the first time in a while.
…I tried test cutting, but the blade’s doppelganger was ridiculous.