Chapter 82 - Artificial Magic Sword Creation (2nd Attempt) – The Crawling Magic Sword
"It feels like it's been such a long time since we were last here."
"I feel the same. I guess it's because we've both been so busy."
In the tower's workshop, Dahlia and Volf were both holding work clothes in their hands.
In front of them was a dagger with screws and various materials neatly arranged.
Volf sent a messenger on the day he returned from his expedition, and they agreed to meet at the tower the following afternoon.
Although it had only been six days, it felt as though they hadn't seen each other in ages.
It was strange considering they hadn't known each other at all just a month ago.
"How was the expedition?"
"It was a harpy flock. The sheep from a nearby village were targeted, and during the hunt, a child was also taken, so I'm glad it ended without further incident."
"Was the child okay?"
"Yeah, the part where the harpy had grabbed the child healed perfectly with healing magic. Apparently, the kid had been sneaking out to play since he couldn’t go outside much. He was in high spirits, though the mother gave him a stern scolding."
"I'm glad to hear he was okay. And it's good that you didn't get injured, Volf.”
"Well, actually... I ended up injuring Randolph."
"Huh?"
Volf hesitated, glancing briefly at the Sköll Fang Bracelet on his left arm.
"When the child almost fell after being caught by the harpy, I had Randolph hold up a large shield while I jumped to catch the child. But in the process, his wrists holding up the shield got cracks on them... It was healed with magic right away, but I realize I should have been more careful with my control."
"It was an emergency, wasn’t it?"
"Well, there's more to it... The superior officer from the Mage Division who came to assist asked if it was 'Late Blooming Magic.' So, I showed it to him as a 'movement support magical tool' without letting him touch it."
"I think that was probably something that couldn’t be helped."
Even if it was mistaken for Late Blooming Magic and measured, there was no external magic on Volf.
In the end, he would only be questioned about the Sköll Fang Bracelet.
It might have been safer to explain it as a support magical tool from the start.
"I apologize for being so reckless. He didn’t ask about how I obtained it, but if he ever does, I’ll say it’s from home. I won't cause any trouble for you, Dahlia."
"Please don't worry about it. If anyone finds out, all you'd need to explain is how it's made and that it's a tool that can only be used by those without external magic. I doubt there would be any further issue. Besides, I don't think I could make the same thing, even if I tried, with the lack of magic power I have."
"You're right. It's harder for the Chivalric Order to find someone without external magic. But it seems like I often get you caught up in troublesome situations, so I'll be more careful."
The man smiled wryly and started disassembling the dagger with practiced hands.
He carefully laid out the parts, starting from what he had taken apart, on the table.
"I don’t think I’ve gotten caught up in anything troublesome. If anything, it’s you who’s been dragged into situations, Volf. Like being a guarantor for the company and the royal castle introduction, for example."
"Oh, well, I’m fine with those. It’s actually fun, so I welcome it. Anyway, I’ve finished disassembling everything."
At the end of their conversation, Volf had quickly disassembled the dagger and was happily rolling the screws around.
The dagger this time had been separated into five parts: the blade, guard, handle, scabbard, and screws.
"By the way, a hair dryer uses fire and wind magic stones and manages to use both without clashing, right? Why do they crash when it comes to magic swords?"
"Hair dryers don’t use enchantments; they use magic stones and are built with a magic circuit. We design the circuits to avoid interference as much as possible, and the same applies to the cool wind fan and the cold wind fan. As for magic swords, the switch mechanism uses water magic for cleansing, while the blade constantly activates magic... Uhm, in short, it’s like how a hair dryer can’t be enchanted with Hardening Magic."
"I now realize how unreasonable my request was..."
"No, it’s not unreasonable. I’m sure it’s possible. Maybe it’s just a matter of having the right materials or using a different approach, or perhaps it’s about refining the circuit design. After all, multi-enchanted magical tools do exist in the world."
She thought to herself that her knowledge, magic power, and skills were all lacking.
If only her father had been here, he could have taught her. She shook off the thought that had fleetingly crossed her mind.
"Well, it took some time until the second attempt, but let's move on to today's magic sword prototype."
"What are we doing today?"
"Uhm, the last dagger couldn’t be held due to the black slime, so this time we'll use yellow slime, which uses Earth Magic. There's a similar coating technique in magical tools where metals are coated using Earth Magic, so I thought we might be able to do the same with a magic sword."
"Coating with Earth Magic... but yellow slime, if left too long, can even melt metal."
"Yes, but unlike black slime, it seems to lose its dissolving power when it's powdered. I tested it back at the academy."
As she spoke, Dahlia took a box containing powdered yellow slime from a shelf.
"Sorry, the particles are fine, so please wear a mask. If you breathe it in, it might make you cough. Also, here's some gloves."
"Got it."
Both of them donned masks and gloves before carefully opening the box. Dahlia scooped up about half a cup of the pale yellow powder and poured it into a silver bucket along with a liquid solution.
"Sorry, Volf, could you slowly mix this. In the meantime, I will enchant the dagger. I’m thinking of doing it similarly to last time—self-sharpening for the blade, cleansing for the guard using Water Magic, speed enchantment on the handle, weight reduction for the scabbard, and strengthening for the screws. Is there anything you'd like to change?"
"No, that works. I want to compare it to the last one."
"Alright, I’ll stick with that."
Holding the parts of the dagger, Dahlia began enchanting magic one by one. Since she was familiar with the process from the last prototype, she worked quickly.
It took the most time for the scabbard's Weight Reduction magic, but even that was half the time it had taken previously.
However, when it came to the screws, despite applying Hardness Enchantment, it was difficult to confirm if it had been enchanted due to their small size.
In front of her, Volf was intently stirring the liquid in the silver bucket with a glass rod, his golden eyes fixed on the contents.
The liquid solution turned a grayish yellow and thickened slightly.
Dahlia then submerged the completed parts of the dagger into the bucket and cast the Fixation Spell.
Everything up to this point had gone nearly the same as last time.
"Can I start assembling it now?"
"Please do."
Once the Fixation Spell was complete, Dahlia handed the parts over to Volf.
As he fitted the handle onto the blade, he nodded.
"It's fine. There's no resistance, so it can be assembled just like this."
"That's a relief," Dahlia replied, feeling a sense of ease inside. It seemed that, just like the black slime, the yellow slime had prevented the dagger from falling apart by cutting off the individual magical energy.
With this, one more candidate for the coating agent for the magic sword had emerged.
The assembled dagger had a light yellow-gray tint, which, depending on the angle, could even seem like gold dust was mixed in.
In contrast, the previous dagger had a dark appearance with a reddish-black handle, giving it a more typical magic sword look.
Compared to that, the current dagger wouldn’t look out of place in a weapon shop.
"Such a shame..."
Volf, who had been touching the dagger, muttered in disappointment.
"What's wrong?"
"The guard isn't releasing any water, and the scabbard isn't light, so the magic was probably completely blocked."
"Oh, so the magic was completely coated. It’s a failure..."
It seemed that the yellow slime was effectively coating the magic applied to the dagger and nullifying it. With this, no matter how many enchantments were applied, it would be useless.
"With the black slime, the hands would melt from holding it, and with the yellow slime, it completely blocks the magic... I guess we’ll have to try a different material."
"Maybe we should try the unicorn horn. I'll grind some into powder next time. If that doesn’t work, we could try getting a mage’s help. Otherwise, I’ll continue looking into monster materials with magic resistance."
Enchantment magic used by alchemists and blacksmiths was often a closely guarded secret.
Dahlia had mostly relied on books and her father's notes to research monster materials, and beyond that, she could only rely on trial and error.
It seemed there was still a long road ahead.
"Come to think of it, maybe the first one, the 'Dagger of the Demon King's Minion,' went too smoothly. We managed to assemble it on the first try and it worked."
Volf, finally removing his hands from the dagger, glanced at the shelf.
There, on display, was the magic-sealing box containing the previous dagger. It had been left untouched inside the box because it would burn anyone who touched it.
Thinking back, if only that dagger could be touched, it would have been a successful product.
"...I just thought of something. If we can touch the previous dagger now, wouldn't that mean the method of crafting it wasn’t wrong after all?"
"Even if the crafting method wasn't wrong, the dangerous aspect was definitely a mistake."
Volf immediately countered her statement.
She hadn’t said that anyone would handle it with bare hands, though.
"Earth Magic works on black slime, right? So, do you think the yellow slime solution would be able to cover it? Do you think the metal underneath will melt? Or do you think it might cover the black slime and allow us to handle it safely?"
It was a fun thought experiment, but all of it was hypothetical. They wouldn’t know until they tried.
"True, Earth Magic worked when we subjugated black slimes, but... do you have any examples of experiments with yellow slimes?"
"Well, when it’s applied to walls or floors, like stone or bricks, it makes them a little stronger. But honestly, it’s easier and cheaper to just use a mage's enchantment to apply 'Hardening.'"
Many mages were capable of using wide-area Hardening Magic. It was really enviable how much magical power they had.
She'd heard that high-level mages' Hardening Magic was even more impressive. Apparently, only they could create walls with "Destruction Resistance" strong enough to withstand even large monsters.
"Stone and bricks... have you tried that on this tower?"
"Impressive that you figured that out, Volf. My father tried it on the roof. After we burned the black slime, he wanted to make sure the floor stones wouldn’t weaken."
"This tower's probably soaked with slime, huh?"
"I don’t think so..."
When she thought about it, though, she realized there were many slimes dried up all around. Some had even stuck to the walls and floors, so maybe Volf had a point.
She almost found herself looking at the workshop floor but quickly decided to forget it.
"Uhm, should we try the yellow slime solution for now?"
"...Dahlia, you're really a challenger, aren't you?"
"Yes, I suppose I am. My father and, well, my former fiancé would often stop me from doing things like this."
"Given safety concerns, should I stop you from trying too?"
"Be honest, do you want me to stop making magic swords?"
"No, not at all. In fact, I want to push you forward. But I absolutely don’t want anything dangerous to happen..."
I continue to explain to Volf, who was caught in a dilemma.
Yellow slimes took longer to melt things, so they wouldn’t cause burns immediately. They wouldn’t cause burns like black slimes either. They were using safety gloves, and they had prepared a safety test with some meat to check for any issues. They had potions on the table as well, and they went through every precaution before deciding to try.
The previous prototype, the "Dagger of the Demon King's Minion," was still safely inside its silver magic-sealing box.
Fortunately, it seemed that the black slime powder hadn’t melted the metal.
She carefully dipped the new dagger into the yellow slime solution, wearing safer gloves.
It didn’t repel the dagger or react strangely. The solution completely covered the dagger.
But the moment she cast the Fixation Spell, the solution’s color almost vanished.
The dagger had shifted from black to a slightly dark gray, making it appear worn.
"Looks like the yellow slime lost this round."
She couldn’t help but smile wryly at Volf’s words.
It wasn’t really a fight between the slimes, they were just layers of solutions, but it could also be thought of in that way.
The black slime's effect seemed to have been stronger.
"Well, let’s put some meat on it and see."
Just like last time, she placed a piece of meat on top of the dagger.
Last time, the meat had immediately dissolved, but this time, even after three minutes, nothing had changed. She moved it around a few times, and there was still no reaction.
"It seems fine."
"Alright, I’ll handle it with my bare hands. I’m not letting you take this role, Dahlia."
Before she could respond, Volf grabbed the dagger with his bare hands.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it’s fine. The scabbard’s light, and water's coming out too. It’s a success!"
"Still, it’s not finished, but this method looks promising!"
Volf placed the dagger on the table and raised both arms triumphantly.
"So, now that we have a glimpse of the path to the magic sword, how about we celebrate and grab a drink?"
"Sounds good."
"Dahlia, do you have a place you want to go to, or something you'd like to eat?"
They talked about places to go and drinks for a while, but then, she suddenly looked at the dagger again and instinctively stepped back.
"Volf, if I'm not imagining things... that dagger… isn't it moving?"
"I just noticed it too. It's only a little, but it is moving. It almost looks like it's alive."
"No, it’s not alive; It must be a result of the two types of magic competing against each other!"
On the table, the dagger was creeping forward, slower than a snail, but still moving toward the tip.
The conflicting magical effects of the black slime and yellow slime were probably causing a push in one direction.
"It really does look alive, though. This subtle creeping... um, this might be a weird question, but do magical tools ever somehow end up housing something like a soul?"
"I’ve never heard of that... but weapons and armor can house spirits, like elementals, holy spirits, or heroic spirits, right?"
"Ah, yes, that's what they say."
"Then, what about the dullahan I heard of before? What’s inside that?"
"Could be a soul? Huh? Wait, are you saying ghosts might actually inhabit magical tools?"
The moment it was said, a chill ran down her spine.
The thought that a ghost could possibly inhabit something during its creation was terrifying to even consider.
"That would be like what's inside dullahans... But there's no way it's in there, right?"
"I don’t think so. We’re in a tower, and if anything were to inhabit it, it would likely be your... no, forget I said that."
"I'm sure neither my father nor my ancestors would inhabit it!"
At least if it were her father's ghost, it would be better than some unknown spirit haunting it.
Well, she'd rather not have either of them.
"To remove the yellow slime, I just need to freeze it. Once we’re done observing, I’ll put it in a box with an ice magic stone to peel off the solution..."
Though there was a bit of fear, she had to observe and write a report.
With Volf beside her, she could manage it for a short time.
At night, she could relax with some drinks and leave the magic lamp on while she slept.
"I'll bring my own sword next time, not just the one to be enchanted, for defense."
"I'm not sure we’ll need defense, but I’ll wear two bracelets for protection just in case."
Would swords even work against ghosts? Would the magic from the bracelets do anything?
Even while talking, there was a part of her that really didn't want to think about it.
However, the more you try not to think about scary things, the more ideas come to mind.
When that happened, the best thing to do was to laugh it off.
"If it's not just because of the enchantment but a magic sword with a spirit dwelling in it, or if a new type of monster was born, it would be no laughing matter."
"Yeah, a ghost-possessed magic sword sounds like one thing, but a new monster... definitely no joke, ha-ha-ha... If it started moving on its own, would it be called the 'Crawling Magic Sword'?"
"The 'Crawling Magic Sword'... Volf, in that case, would it be targeting monsters or…?"
Both she and Volf were laughing, but their gazes remained fixed on the short sword, never meeting each other's eyes.
What was meant to be laughed off only led their thoughts to spiral in an even worse direction.
"If by some chance, a new type of monster was born, we'd be more than enemies of the capital; we'd be 'enemies of humanity,' right?"
"Yeah, one of us would end up being the 'Demon King.'"
"I’ll leave that title to you, Volf..."
"In that case, you’d be the 'Witch' next to me, Dahlia..."
Both of them watched in gloom as the magic sword continued to inch forward, slowly but steadily.
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