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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 24

Custom-made Weapons

「Onii-sama~. I missed you so much.」

「Lily, I missed you too. Truthfully, I wanted to go home as soon as possible, you see. It looks like Mother will still be staying in the royal capital for a month or more.」

「Then when are we going to Sakuto village?」

Sigh, it is almost that time of the year already, huh. Sakuto village is a small lakeside village, but it is a summer resort exclusively for the nobility. It is only a day’s ride away by carriage, so we can head there with ease. Every summer, the Amberlius family and other nobles who have connections with us gather and spend the summer together there, but it is nothing but a waste of time for me, who wants to practice and explore the labyrinth. My mother, who holds parties almost every night, and Lily, who likes to play with the noble daughters who are of the same age as her, are looking forward to it.

「There’s no way Mother will ever forget our summer retreat in the Sakuto village, after all. I think we’ll go there in mid-July. Well, I doubt Mother would mind even if we go ahead of her anyway. Also, you see, I’ve made friends with Her Highness Princess Latiffany in the royal capital, and she may go to Sakuto Village, too. Both of you are nine years old, so please be good friends with her then.」

「Mumumu. The nine-year-old Her Highness the Princess takes the trouble to go there to spend the summer with Onii-sama… What does this mean, Onii-sama? I believe there are several princesses of the same age as you, Onii-sama, but why that lady? Onii-sama, I have to hear about what happened at the court ball from the very beginning.」

My little sister is very sharp, if I do say so myself. Are you two really nine years old? It makes me feel like I, who should be over 30 mental age-wise, am the childish one here. Lily, the genius with the sword, and Lati, the genius with magic, huh. I hope they get along well.

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「What a surprise for you to come to such a craftsmen district. At any rate, I welcome you, young master. I mean, Kars-sama, I believe?」

「Yes. I’m glad to see you are in good health, Buckworth-dono.」

I am visiting Buckworth, the Dwarven magic blacksmith. It is to have him create a weapon specially-made for me. Considering what will happen after I come of age, this is something I need.

「I’ve learned Material Enhancement skill, you see. So I want to ask for a sword that can easily transmit magical energy.」

「Hoh, you’re Jobless, aren’t you? But you can already use material enhancement, huh. Hmm, what kind of material do you want? I think mithril is still too early for you. Hmm, I guess a sword made of red iron alloy should do.」

「I’m sorry, but I barely have any knowledge about materials. Explain it to me.」

「Listen well. The metals that can easily transmit magical energy are, from the top, mithril, bronze, red iron, iron, and black iron. Black iron can barely transmit magical energy. However, it’s the best in terms of durability. If you can’t use material enhancement, a black iron sword would be the best for you. Mithril and bronze can easily transmit magical energy, but they are soft. If you put a load on them in the state where they’re not imbued with magical energy, they’ll end up breaking easily.」

「I see. Which means for someone like me, who has a small amount of magical energy, handling mithril will be a challenge, huh.」

「That’s right. Incidentally, if you can use material enhancement all the time, mithril will be your best option, but I think only high-level magic knights can handle it. That’s where red iron, which boasts a fair degree of durability and can transmit magical energy fairly easily, comes in. It’s a metal for intermediate to advanced level users. It’s just that, both red iron and mithril are costly, after all. So most of them are alloyed with iron. High-purity mithril weapons are only something for high class nobles to adorn themselves with for show.」

「Got it. In that case, the one made of red iron alloy is fine. What ratio of alloy is good?」

「For a first timer, I’d say two red iron to eight iron. With this ratio, even if you use it without imbuing it with any magical energy, I don’t think it will break.」

「That’s fine. I don’t need things like my family crest. Please make it a dull-designed one.」

「Now then, let’s decide on the length and shape. First of all….」

The reason I don’t put my family crest on it is so that in the future, when I flee the house, my true identity will not be revealed. It would be bad if a Porter is in possession of a sword with a great noble’s crest on it, after all. Besides, if I carry around a sword that can be recognized at a glance that it is a good sword, there is a possibility that the crooks would end up having an eye on me. I want to be as meticulous as possible.

「Come to think of it, you once said that only magic blacksmiths can process holy silver and divine iron, didn’t you?」

「Yes. Holy silver and divine iron rarely appear in the market. Only the Holy Church can make holy silver. Rumor has it that it’s made using mithril, but I’m not really sure. In terms of traits, it’s a superior version of mithril and can easily be imbued with enchantment magic. Divine iron can be found in the deep stratums of the Adelista Labyrinth, but it seems that nowadays, there is no one who can obtain it. In terms of traits, divine iron is hard and can easily transmit magical energy, simply put, the best metal you can find.」

「What is enchantment magic?」

「It refers to a technique where an enchanter with high proficiency in magical energy manipulation uses high grade magic stones to enchant magic into weapons and armor. They can increase its durability, make it sharper, or add attributes to it. It’s just that, equipment imbued with enchantment magic consumes a lot of magical energy. I think it would be difficult to handle unless you are a Hero or Sage.」

I see. Which means, it is not that holy sword is something that can only be wielded by a Hero, but due to its enormous magical energy consumption, only someone on the level of Hero can handle it, huh.

「Dully noted. And one more thing, can you make iron balls? Specifically, two fist-sized iron balls made with a lot of mithril.」

「Iron balls, huh. Something close to true spheres, right? I can make them, but can you handle such a thing? You can increase the offensive power of mithril by imbuing it with magical energy, but it also increases the weight, you know? I don’t think I have the strength to handle such a thing, though.」

「Well, it can be used for a variety of things, you see. It can be used to practice imbuing magical energy, and I have some other goals in mind, too. If you can do it, I would like to ask you to make it for me. This one is low on my priority list, so you can make it anytime.」

「Got it. What ratio do you want? If you’re going to use it for throwing, should I make it about five mithril to five iron?」

「That should do.」

「Alright. In that case, the red-iron alloy sword will be 5 large gold coins, and the iron balls will be 40 large gold coins each. That makes a total of 85 large gold coins.」

Are you for real? That is roughly 85 million in Japanese yen. That is not quite the sum a twelve-year-old boy’s shopping would cost. My family is crazy rich, so this much is probably a trivial amount. I guess I should think of an excuse for when I am questioned by Astor, the chamberlain of the family.

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　Two fanged dogs run toward me. Assuming a chudan stance as I wait for them, I infuse my magical energy into the red-iron alloy sword. The magical energy consumption is incomparably more severe than that of body enhancement. Just as the first fanged dog jumps at me, I swing my sword from the lower right to the upper left. I can see that the fanged dog is bleeding from its throat, but I didn’t manage to cut it off. As it is, I charge forward and close my distance with the second fanged dog. The fanged dog opens its mouth wide to threaten me, but paying it no mind, I launch a few thrusts into its mouth. The sword, enhanced through magical energy infusion, gouges into the meat deep in the back of the fanged dog’s mouth. Even as I listen to its cry, I quickly pull out my sword and then slash its throat. It is still alive, but it doesn’t seem to have the strength to fight back. I finish it off. The first one is also alive, though on the verge of dying, so I put my sword through its head and end its life.

「Splendidly done, Kars-sama.」

I have gotten tired of hearing Kardek’s flattery. I don’t take them seriously.

「Material enhancement sure is difficult, huh. It takes about five seconds just to infuse magical energy into the sword, so it’s difficult to use in a real battle. On top of that, not only is the magical energy consumption severe, it requires a considerable degree of concentration to use alongside body enhancement and instant step.」

「Yes. It is difficult for even a full-fledged knight to handle material enhancement at will. All the more so if you use it in conjunction with other skills. Once you get used to it, the time it takes to infuse magical energy will shorten, so for this one alone, training is essential.」

I have grasped the attack patterns of the monsters in the labyrinth. As long as I take my time, it is possible to deal with most monsters without taking any attacks. However, in order to master weapon enhancement in actual battle, I am deliberately fighting them while using my skills. My use of it is still awkward, not on the level where I can use it in actual batter, like me ending up being attacked as I infuse my magical energy into my sword, or the weapon enhancement ending up being undone when I use instant step. I would like to practice more, but since I end up running out of magical energy soon after, it ends up turning into nothing but grinding for levels. That is fine in its own way, but I haven’t seen any signs of leveling up after reaching level 13. Maybe it is time to go to deeper stratums.

「All right, let’s go to the second stratum once I get back from Sakuto Village. If the monsters are the same and only slightly higher in rank, I don’t think there will be any problem. If it is too much for me, we can just go back to the first stratum, after all.」

「Yes. I believe even the second stratum will pose no trouble to you, Kars-sama.」

After that, as we head for the exit while defeating the monsters we encounter, I see Aliase and Meurisse, my father’s concubines, walking down the stairs with about 20 people in tow.

「They seem to be members of the Noble Wind.」

「What’s that?」

「The gold class adventurer party led by Aliase-sama, the Noble Wind. According to what I have heard, I believe all the members are children from noble families. I heard that they defeated a small fire dragon the other day, but they may be aiming for the wind dragon next. It is also possible that they are aiming to subjugate the Lord of the Labyrinth eventually. On that occasion, I believe the elite of the Amberlius knight order will be called upon.」

「Oioi, the last time the knight order was half destroyed, right? Is there any point in going to the trouble of fighting it?」

「Yes, from generation to generation, it is customary in the Count Amberlius family that when the heir succeeds the title, the knight order will offer up materials of monsters from the labyrinth to celebrate it. Thanks to the presence of the otherworld hero, at the time of the previous head of the family, it was the Lord of the labyrinth, the three-headed great fire dragon, and at the time of the current head of the family, it was the stratum Lord, the wind dragon. And when you succeed the title, Kars-sama, I believe they will also be aiming to subjugate the Lord of the labyrinth.」

「Right now, the otherworld hero should have gotten old, right? It’s unclear if we can defeat it, and even if we do manage to subjugate the Lord of the labyrinth by sacrificing the lives of the knights, it wouldn’t make me happy, you know?」

「But presently in the Kingdom of Estorias, there is the fifteen-year-old young hero, Sylphia the Celestial. She is the master of the innate skill Heavenly Drive, which seems to allow her to fly freely in the sky. And it seems to be very effective against flying monsters such as dragons, you see. With her help, subjugating the Lord of the labyrinth is no longer a dream.」

「Oh, she can fly freely in the sky, huh. That’s amazing. 」

For her to not only have Hero as her job, but even an innate skill, she is totally a cheat character. Among the skills I saw when I was reincarnated, I think there was this Heavenly Drive. As I recall, the points required to obtain it were eighty. Which means she is an existence of the same level as a hero from another world or above. Moreover, I bet Heavenly Drive will be very effective. Dragons and other flying monsters can annihilate humans simply by attacking them with magic from the sky. It is safe to call it a one-sided slaughter. Heavenly Drive is a means to overturn that, so with her help, we may really be able to subjugate the Lord of the labyrinth.