Chapter 26: Magic Practice and Wooden Armour

 

“Huu, huu… Freeze Shoot!”

Liliella-san shot magic at a Trap Plant, hitting it with a clump of ice, causing a part of the monster to freeze.

“Good, keep it up like that.”

What were we doing, you ask? Why Liliella-san’s chantless magic training, of course.

I was having her attack Trap Plants around the outskirts of the forest to practise her magic while I was burning it down to prevent its expansion and making roads inside it.

Like this, Liliella-san would be able to train even while I was working, and while Trap Plants wouldn’t sell for all that much, there was still a permanent request up for their subjugation, so they’d still get us some money.

Two birds with one stone.

Also, since Trap Plants were incapable of movement, if she kept a certain distance away from them, they couldn’t even retaliate.

They were really suitable monsters for training.

As a side note, there was a reason she was using ice magic to kill them.

People who used magic usually had an attribute better suited to them, and for Liliella-san, that was the water attribute.

So, I had her focus on water-attribute magic first and train that so she could get used to the sensation of using magic, with the intention of having her be able to use all four basic elements eventually.

Its always better to have more options to choose from.

♦ ♦

“I’m exhausted…”

Liliella-san said walking along, dead-tired.

“I thought I restored your mana with Transfer Mana though?”

“My mana may have recovered, but my mental exhaustion hasn’t gone anywhere.”

Quite meaningful words.

“Anyway, that’s it for today’s training.
Let’s go eat at the tavern after we’ve collected our rewards.”

“Yeah, let’s.”

Then, having arrived at the adventurers’ guild, we immediately went over to the reception to make a report and hand in the Trap Plants’ materials.

“That will be two silver coins for the twenty Trap Plants.”

“Dang that’s cheap…”

Liliella-san looked a little let down as she saw the reward.

“It’s because we have way too many materials from Trap Plants already.
Naturally, that would make the reward less as well.”

I see, if you had to put in this much effort just for such a small reward, normal adventurers wouldn’t bother with stopping the forest’s expansion and just go inside.

“I burnt down this area today, and made roads here and here.”

I said, pointing out the places I had burnt down and the places I had built roads on a map the receptionist had brought out.

“All right.
I’ll also be handing over the reward for yesterday’s work, as well as the price for the Elder Plants that you submitted alongside the Ancient Plant.”

“Thank you very much.”

Now that I think of it, I didn’t get the chance to get the rewards for the Elder Plants due to all the mayhem that happened with the Ancient Plant.

“Twenty Elder Plants will be 1800 gold coins.”

“1800!?”

“Ooh, that’s quite a lot.”

I was just a little startled by the unexpected amount.

What a big difference compared to the Trap Plants.

“That’s because they’ll become good timber.”

Said Mirisha-san, appearing from the back of the guild.

“Elder Plants are timber?”

“Yes, plant-type monsters can be used as wood, but weak ones don’t really differ from normal trees.
But Elder Plants are high-class plant-type monsters, so they’re quite valuable due to being quality wood.”

Hee, I didn’t know that.

“Also, we were grateful that you brought back so many of them.
Since they’re wood, one log alone wouldn’t be too useful.
If you wanted to build a house or construct a ship out of them, you’d want to build the whole thing out of the same material, right?”

True, if a bunch of different types of materials were mixed together in building something, both its looks and durability would be all over the place.

“But most of all, Elder Plants are only encountered very rarely.
They can only be encountered rarely very deep in the forest, and their life force and strength make them difficult opponents to beat.
Not to mention you brought back the whole thing.
With how large they are, bringing the whole monster back is rather difficult.”

Ah, since people would have to carry the whole tree back with them.

So, it was quite different to lumberjacks cutting down trees in places they were easy to carry away from.

“So that’s why they went for such a high price.”

“Yes, there’s a bonus depending on the amount brought in, and the materials currently being scarce raised the price as well.”

“They’re scarce?”

“Yes, a certain individual is seeking high-quality timber from monsters.
I also believe that the Ancient Plant will sell for quite a lot at the auction due to the very same circumstances.”

“Did you recommend the auction because you knew already?”

I asked Mirisha-san, but she just placed a finger to her lips.

“I’m still the guild chief’s assistant, you know.”

The adventurers’ guild would get a part of the winning bid from the auction as a fee.

And since it was certain that it would sell for a high price, the guild would also directly profit.

How devious.

♦ ♦

“This is your share, Liliella-san.”

Saying so, I handed over a part of the rewards for the Elder Plants to her.

“Eh!? Why!?”

She said in surprise as I held out the money for her to take.

“I mean, you did defeat an Elder Plant before I fought the Ancient Plant, didn’t you? Also, the Ancient Plant was the one that killed the majority of the Elder Plants, we just collected them.”

That’s right, if anything, the Ancient Plant was the one that had the right to collect the rewards for the Elder Plants.

Although, I did then defeat it, soo…

“Also, you were the one who suggested we collect them too.
If I had been alone, I would have definitely ignored them.”

“But the reason we managed to bring them all back here was your magic bag.”

“So we both contributed the same amount.”

“No, I really couldn’t stand that.
Without you, I would never have been able to even arrive at the centre of the forest.”

“Nono”

“Nono”

After that, we both kept handing the money back and forth until she accepted and took the full price of the one she defeated as well as an 8:2 split of the price of the ones the Ancient Plant had killed.

I would’ve felt better if she had taken a bit more, though.

“Still, that’s way too large a reward.”

Having finished dividing up the money, we went to eat.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

Liliella-san asked me while we were eating.

“What’d’you mean what are we gonna do?”

“Our plans.
We reached the centre of the forest and you defeated an S-Rank monster, no? I’ve also already completed my goals here, so neither of us really has any reason to stay here any more.”

Right, as Liliella-san said, I had basically done everything I wanted in this forest.

I had been asked by Mirisha-san to stop the forest’s expansion and make roads through it, but that request had had the condition that it was only there while it was okay for me, so I could quit whenever I wanted.

Although, perhaps I should at least make the roads I was asked to create.

“Right, once the Ancient Plant’s auction is over and we’ve got the money, we could totally move on to the next town.”

We were adventurers, so travelling suited us better than staying in the same place forever.

“Okay, that’s settled then.
And then, I have to get some new equipment for our next adventure!”

“Eh? Equipment?”

But she already had a new weapon?

“My armour’s getting old.
I’d quite like some proper armour now.”

Ah, I see, now that I look at it, she is using some rather worn-out leather armour.

Actually, rather than worn-out, it’s nearly falling apart.

“It was second-hand when I bought it in the first place, and it got completely decimated when I fought the Blade Wolves, so I really do have to buy some new equipment.”

I see, she didn’t originally spend much money on equipment, so she was taking this opportunity to buy some new armour.

“Luckily, I don’t have to worry about money thanks to the reward for the Elder Plants, and I’ll have enough left over after sending some home and living expenses to buy some new equipment!”

Liliella-san was a very kind person who still didn’t forget to send money home even though her mother had been cured.

“I know a good store nearby.
Wanna go there tomorrow?”

“Recommended by you of all people!? It sounds like an awesomeful place.”

What? It’s not scary at all.

“Then, let’s go shopping together tomorrow!”

“Yeah!”

♦ ♦

“Whaaat… I didn’t think we would be flying, we’re just going shopping.”

Liliella-san said, slumping down on the ground exhaustedly.

“And anyway, where the hell even are we!? This isn’t ‘nearby’ at all!”

The day after we collected the rewards for the Elder Plants, we exited Hexi in order to get some proper equipment for Liliella-san.

And as for where…

“This is Tougai.”

“Tougai? Wasn’t that the name of a town around five days away from Hexi?”

“Yep, that’s right! Flying got us here quicker though, didn’t it?”

“Don’t call flying for over half a day ‘nearby’!”

“Kyuuu”

The furball let out a weak furball-sound as it trembled in Liliella-san’s arms, its tail puffed up.

“Look! You even scared this impudent little thing!”

“But, all we did was fly…”

“Don’t call cutting through a flock of Wyverns in mid-air ‘just flying’!”

“Kyuukyuu!!”

Both Liliella-san and the furball were protesting for some reason.

“Eh? But it was just a flock of Wyverns.
And they weren’t able to keep up with my speed anyway, were they?”

Mhm, if I became just a tiny bit serious about flying, I’d leave something like a Wyvern behind in the blink of an eye.

There was no need to go out of my way to fight them.

“Shut up, I’m starting to seriously think you need a teacher to teach you some common sense.”

“Kyuuu!”

The furball nodded, patting Liliella-san’s hand that was holding it.

They seem to be getting along.

Wait, didn’t what she just said make it look like I have no common sense?

“Now.
Listen.
Here.
All.
Right? Normal people can’t fly! Right from that point onward, you’re not normal, and don’t you forget that!”

“Huuuh…”

Now that I think of it, I haven’t seen anyone flying outside of towns either.

Hm? So wait, when I shocked everyone in Tougai previously, it wasn’t because I was flying inside the town, but because I was flying at all?

“I didn’t know…”

What a surprise.

So the reason Liliella-san was also surprised wasn’t because she hadn’t had any chances to get to know magic users?

“Right, so people these days can’t fly!”

“They never have been able to!”

Uwaa, what a shock.

The people living in cities and towns and villages in this country can’t fly.
I’ll remember that.

“I feel like you misunderstood something again…”

♦ ♦

“So then, where are we going?”

Liliella-san asked about our destination as we entered Tougai.

“There’s a blacksmith I know here.
He has quite a good reputation among the adventurers here.”

“Hee, really.
A famous blacksmith from Tougai.
Hmm, I feel like I’ve heard something along those lines before.”

Ooh, way to go, Gordov-san.

His name had even made it to Liliella-san, who didn’t care about equipment.

“It’s this shop.”

Having arrived at Gordov-san’s shop while we had been talking, we stepped inside.

♦ ♦

“Hellooo, is Gordov-san here?”

I looked around the shop, and spotted Gordov-san polishing some weapons in a corner of the shop.

“Hm? You sound fami- …ooh, master!”

Having spotted and recognized me, Gordov-san hurriedly stood up and came over to us.

“It’s been a while, master.
I heard you had gone to a different town, so what business do you have today?”

“Well, I managed to get some new materials and was wondering if I might borrow your workshop.”

“Ooh! I’ll get to see new techniques! Please do, by all means! Use it as you please!”

Saying that, Gordov-san hurriedly turned the sign saying ‘open’ hanging from the door to saying ‘closed’.

“You don’t need to close the shop.”

“Nono, I’m getting an opportunity to see you at work! I don’t want to be distracted by anything unnecessary!”

As expected of a dwarf, he was eager to polish his craft.

“Excuse me, could I ask something?”

Liliella-san asked.

“Didn’t we come here to buy things? Why are you being called master by a dwarf?”

Ah, whoops, I haven’t introduced them yet.

“Oh, right.
He’s Gordov-san, the blacksmith and owner of this shop.
Gordov-san, this is Liliella-san with whom I am in a party, and our pet furball.”

Hmm, now that I think of it, we never did decide on a name for the furball.

We’ll have to do that too.

“Oho, a companion of master’s, eh.
So, you must have considerable talent.
You look young, but looks can be deceiving.”

Gordov-san said, looking at Liliella-san in admiration.

“Yeah, she’s definitely going to excel.”

As expected of Gordov-san, he didn’t miss Liliella-san’s talent.

“W-w-wait just a second! Did you just say Gordov! Tougai’s Gordov!? The master Gordov!?”

“Yeah, I’d guess he is.”

Now that I think of it, Jairo-kun and co.
said the same thing.

“Nono, compared to master, I’m but a novice!”

Gordov-san said laughing, then began staring at my sword and Liliella-san’s spear.

“Did you make those weapons, master?”

“Yes, I did.”

“May I have a look at them?”

“Sure.
Liliella-san, is that all right with you?”

“Eh? Yes.
It’s fine.”

“Thank you.”

Gordov-san looked at the sword and spear seriously.

“Ohh, ohh! This… so this kind of technique also existed!? And this method of forging it! Ohhhh…”

Gordov-san became more and more excited every time he looked at them from a different angle.

Although to be honest, they weren’t anything that good.

“Seriously, thank you for showing me these.
Please, use my workshop as you please.”

Having stared at the weapons to his heart’s content, Gordov-san handed them back to us.

His face was as if he had just eaten an extremely delicious and filling meal.

“Say, Rex-san.
I think I know why master Gordov calls you master.
But, you really did say we’d go to a good shop.
So, why are you borrowing his workshop?”

“Ah, well, um, because, the workshop here is better than the one in Hexi.”

“It’s slightly embarrassing for you to say that, master.”

“Seriously! You were referring to the wrong thing as being good!”

Huh? Was I?

♦ ♦

“Then, I guess I’ll get to work right away.”

I took out the Ancient Plant’s bark from my magic bag.

“Is that… bark?”

Gordov-san immediately identified the materials.

“Yes, it’s the bark of an Ancient Plant.
Try hitting it with a hammer.”

“With a hammer? All right.”

Gordov-san hit the Ancient Plant’s bark with a hammer, confused.

As he did so, it rang out, somewhat like a bell.

“W-what is this!? It’s the bark of a tree but it won’t be crushed and seems to be as hard as iron?”

Gordov-san said in surprise at the feeling of the Ancient Plant’s bark.

“The bark of an Ancient Plant is even harder than iron.
So, it’s good material for armour that is much harder and lighter than normal.”

“Wh-what… materials like this exist… oooh!? It’s so light!?”

Gordov-san lifted it up, surprised by its lightness.

“S-so, how will you form this material, master? It’s the bark of a tree, so you can’t melt it like iron.”

As expected of a master blacksmith, rather than being surprised, he was curious about how the materials would be used.

“It’s quite simple actually.
Just hit it, compressing it.
That’s all.”

“Huh!? You hit it!? But it has no softness like molten iron does!?”

“Yes, which is why you use bestowal magic and body strengthening magic to become stronger and hit it as hard as you can.
Ancient Plants’ bark might be harder than iron, but it has countless little cracks and gaps, just like normal bark.
Compressing it by hitting it and removing those gaps is the processing method.”

Saying that, I strengthened my hammer with bestowal magic and began hammering the Ancient Plant’s bark.

“You can also do it without using body strengthening magic, but you have to get the knack of it, so we’ll just use magic to make it easier.”

“Oho, so it’s possible to process it even without magic.”

Gordov-san’s eyes were glittering.

“Yeah, a craftsman I used to know taught me how.”

“Master, could you please give me a bit of these materials, if possible?”

“I have plenty, so sure.”

Most of the Ancient Plant was going to be auctioned off, but there were still some small fragments of it left over.

Handing over one of them would be perfect as a thank you for him letting us borrow his workshop.

“And then you strengthen the processed bark with magic…”

I cast bestowal magic on every single piece of bark.

“A Green Dragon’s hide should be perfect for the string holding it together.
And I guess I’ll process the scales of the Green Dragon into the fittings…”

“Argh, this is definitely going to turn into some ridiculously expensive item…”

Liliella-san muttered with an emotionless look on her face while I was having her wear some thrown-together equipment to measure what size would fit.

“You said it, girlie.
A thousand gold coins probably wouldn’t be enough for that thing.”

“Why the hell will I be wearing art?”

Nono, it’s just armour made from bark.

It just happens to be better than iron, that’s all.

♦ ♦

“Alright, finished!”

I was satisfied with how it had turned out.

“One set of Ancient Plant armour, complete! It prioritises mobility, matching your fighting style.”

“This is my armour…”

“It looks completely normal.
Or rather than bark that was hammered flat, it looks more like metal armour with a matte finish.”

“Let’s test out its performance right away.
Gordov-san, should we try hitting it with the weapon you have the most confidence in?”

“Eeh!? It’ll be hit by one of master Gordov’s weapons!? It’ll break if you do that!?”

Liliella-san said in a panic, but Gordov-san looked at me seriously.

“Master, are you sure we should use the weapon I have the most confidence in?”

“Yes.”

“Then…”

Gordov-san brought out a sword.

“This is a sword I made by mixing powder from a Dragon’s scales into it the way you taught me.
It encapsulates all my current knowledge and techniques.”

I see, so he’s saying we should try out each other’s products.

“Eeh!? Doesn’t that make it a masterpiece!?”

“Apparently so.”

“What do you mean ‘yeah I guess’, are you okay up there!?”

Just wait and see.

“All right, three, two, one, aaaand… ugh!”

Gordov-san swung his sword downwards, full of spirit.

Clang!!

Gordov-san’s sword broke.

“There’s not even a scratch on it.
As expected of you, master.”

His sword had broken, but Gordov-san was still beaming.

“I-is that all right?”

Liliella-san asked Gordov-san.

“Well, it’s not like I’m not bitter at all, but having seen that sword master made earlier, I could clearly tell my techniques hadn’t even reached his feet yet.
It was made with much more delicate methods than the first sword of his he showed me.
The techniques I saw there were just a small part of everything he knew.
‘Course I’d lose.”

“…Mhm, I know what you mean.”

“A kindred spirit!”

For some reason Liliella-san and Gordov-san shook hands, forming a friendship.

I’m a little jealous.

“Come on Liliella-san, please put it on.”

“R-right.”

Prompted by me, Liliella-san took off the equipment she had been using until then and changed into her new armour.

“Uwa, amazing.
It’s way lighter compared to what I’ve been using until now! I hardly feel like I’m wearing armour.
It just feels like a thick layer of clothes.”

“Please try moving.
It’s not too tight anywhere, is it?”

“Nope, it’s all fine.”

Liliella-san moved about to check if the armour inhibited her movement in any way.

“It’s so light I’m kind of worried whether it will actually protect me.
Although, having seen what happened earlier, it’s fine.”

“I’ve strengthened it in a bunch of ways with bestowal magic.
I’ve cast magic resistance, slash resistance, corrosion resistance, blunt damage resistance, and fire resistance on it, so it’ll even work against fire!”

Yeah, I think I did pretty good!

“…Ah, I said a thousand gold coins earlier, but ten-thousand would fit better, I think.”

“…I agree.”

Huh!? Why are they looking at me in amazement!? And why’d the price go up!?

♦ ♦

After that, I completed another set of armour for myself, after which we got ready to return to Hexi.

“Then, we’ll get going.
Thank you very much for letting me use your workshop.”

“Thank you very much!”

As Liliella-san and I bowed and thanked Gordov-san, he gestured for us to stop.

“Please don’t do that, master.
You just showed me once again how little I know.
I am still but a novice compared to you.”

“No at all, that sword was definitely better-made than the one previously.”

And I honestly thought that.

Gordov-san’s blacksmithing skills had unmistakably risen since earlier.

“Hehe, thank you.
The next time we meet, I’ll be able to use this thing properly,”

Saying that, Gordov-san held up the piece of the Ancient Plant’s bark I had given him.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

“Well then, take care.”

♦ ♦

A couple months later, I caught wind of a rumour that extraordinary wooden armour that was even harder than iron was being sold in the town of Tougai under the name ‘Gordov’s Wooden Armour’.