WeTried Translations
Translator: [IncomeElastic]
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈
Chapter 014
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I Want Them
* * *
It was a game I’d gotten into in my teens.
There wasn’t a game I couldn’t play well, and naturally, this one should have been no different.
“Whoa, hey, you’d have to try hard to be this bad. That’s a talent in itself.”
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[Result]
[Excellent] [12]
[Great] [65]
[Good] [135]
[Bad] [67]
[Miss] [56]
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But that wasn’t how it turned out.
A “Good” rating was, in other words, a judgment that landed about half a beat off the exact timing.
Something so precise that even if you tried, even if someone told you to aim for that exact timing on purpose, it’d be hard to pull off.
Back then, I’d apparently pulled that off through pure talent.
“This guy’s fucking terri-”
“What’d you say, you little shit?”
Something in me snapped a little, right then.
I couldn’t accept that some game had handed me a scorecard this shitty.
Being told I had no talent was bad enough, but what made me even angrier was this:
It didn’t make sense. There was no way I could be bad at some crudely made game like this.
I’d always had a tendency for my passion to veer off in strange directions.
The moment I locked onto something, I wouldn’t set foot outside until I’d seen it through to the end.
There’d even been stretches where I went nearly a week without eating, completely absorbed in something.
Basically, once something hooked me, that was it.
And this time, that something was a rhythm game.
The problem was, the deeper I dug in, the more addictive it got.
Starting in middle school, it followed me through high school, undergrad, my master’s, all the way into my doctorate.
Whenever writing my dissertation started feeling like shit, I’d play a round.
That was pretty much my whole life.
Write a paper in the lab, play the rhythm game. Eat, play, tell myself “just one more round” before bed, and somehow it’s four in the morning.
While I was out pounding on the doors of the job market after graduation, Yuna and I came to a certain conclusion once.
[Brother, isn’t the real problem that you play too many games?]
Guess I’ll just die, then.
[I’m being serious here.]
In the end, the negotiations collapsed into total disaster.
It was the first war ever fought between Yuna and me.
Yuna blocked the games on every device I owned, I cut her access permissions to the bare minimum, she covered my monitor with a hologram, and I threw a towel over her holographic projector.
After a week-long war, I finally managed to quit.
Well, but if quitting had actually landed me a job right away, I probably wouldn’t even be calling her Yuna now.
It was never about the rhythm game. The world simply had no more use for people.
In the end, nothing changed.
That moment in the empty lab, dragging my hands down my dry face and letting my head sink down.
That’s when I came to this world. And now.
[AAAAAAAHHH!!]
Yuna was having a PTSD moment.
Guess that whole stretch really was rough on both of us.
“…You do trust me, right?”
[I’d honestly trust that guy I met for the first time today more.]
Don’t worry, Yuna.
Earlier, I just wasn’t thinking straight, that’s all.
If I try again, I’m confident I can do it.
No, that’s not strong enough. Let me put it more precisely.
I have no confidence, no confidence at all that I’d fail.
The song itself wasn’t even playing, but just watching had been more than enough to make it possible.
I immediately grabbed the hammer, ready to try again, but…
“…Tch, what a shame.”
For one thing, there were far too many restrictions.
This hammer wasn’t mine, and this powder wasn’t mine either.
It even looked precious enough that Henrik kept it locked in a safe.
I’d managed to scrape by on the residue left over, but I wasn’t reckless enough to go pulling out more of it just for this.
That’s when it happened.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Lionel.”
“…”
Henrik came out from the back, studied my face for a moment, and the corner of his mouth curled up.
“…Ha, did you find yourself a good hammer?”
“What? No, not really.”
“You just looked so bright and happy, is all.”
“…”
“I just assumed that’s what it was.”
Had I been? Without even realizing it.
At that, I didn’t bother holding back the smile that slipped out.
“Guess I was.”
I just smiled wider, that’s all.
* * *
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Two options lay before me.
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[Earthborn Hammer][★★☆☆☆]
[Compatibility Rating][-/40]
─────────────────
『Shaped from nothing but what the earth gives. No splendor, but no lies either.』
- an unnamed artisan -
─────────────────
A 2-star forging hammer.
By my own judgment, the best one I’d handled all day.
According to Henrik, it was the most suitable hammer for a beginner.
The weight was evenly balanced, the two faces of the head were asymmetrical, and the handle was just the right length.
Basically the textbook version of the forging hammer I’d described to Dolores yesterday.
On top of that, being Earthborn, it was made from nothing but materials pulled straight from the ground, no alloys involved.
Got me curious about the synergy with the Sun Dwarves, too.
Solid. Dependable. And there’s nothing wrong with dependable.
But the second option had me really torn.
─────────────────
[Basic Enchant Hammer][★☆☆☆☆]
[Compatibility Rating][-/20]
─────────────────
『Don’t you dare think enchanting is a matter of luck.』
- Ogeron, 4th-Generation Sage Artisan -
─────────────────
During a bit of downtime, I’d looked into enchanting.
The source, naturally, was the Inner Tower community. “Enchant” turned out to be one of the hottest keywords on there.
Title: [Why Dwarf Enchanting Is Rigged.txt]
─────────────────
(Screenshot of a successful +17 enchant)
Thanks.
Mathematically, it doesn’t make sense for everyone to be lucky. The more you enhance, the more it has to regress to the mean.
I got lucky today. You’ve been unlucky your whole life.
My good luck, combined with yours, averages out.
In other words, I hit the jackpot thanks to you guys.
I owe you one.
So I hereby grant you the title of Guardians of Balance. You’re my true benefactors.
Looking forward to the next enhancement too.
─────────────────
Anon: You fucking bastard, get your act together.
─────────────────
Well, there was all kinds of other stuff too, but-
The conclusion was simple. Enchanting was in serious demand.
And what struck me was that, aside from someplace called Dwarf Company, there was basically nowhere else that did it.
A few posts claimed there were other places, but for whatever reason, every single one of those accounts had gotten banned for illegal advertising, or something along those lines.
‘Got banned.’
Probably because it really was fake advertising.
But if Dwarf Company was the only place doing official enchanting, and that was common knowledge in this world…
wouldn’t it cause quite a stir if I started enchanting myself?
Henrik had said the same thing, too, that it was basically impossible for a human.
So, I was looking forward to it.
Caught up in all that deliberating, propping my chin on both hands with a face far too serious for a 13-year-old kid,
I could feel Henrik glancing over at me again and again.
He seemed to want to say something, but I pretended not to notice.
Henrik was great and all, but… he had a bit of a chatterbox streak.
Not a bad thing, but right now was thinking time.
And then, right then.
- Ding-a-ling.
Dolores was back.
“Lionel?”
The moment she stepped in, Dolores called my name, gently, out of nowhere.
She seemed to be in an especially good mood, for some reason.
“Yes!”
I hopped down off the tall stool and ran over to her.
Really did feel like I’d become part of Dolores’s family, right down to coming running whenever she called.
Behind Dolores, Ruby stood hugging a thick book to her chest.
Her eyes were sparkling too.
Dolores held out, in one hand, a rather fine-looking piece of clothing in front of me.
“This should suit you well.”
“…Thank you.”
“Mm, good. Lionel? This one’s for you.”
- Ruffle, ruffle.
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, Dolores stroked my head.
“No need to refuse. Just say thank you.”
“Okay…”
Kind of felt like I was being raised as a pet, honestly.
Dolores tucked the clothes into her pocket space and headed for the counter.
Then, suddenly.
- Swoop.
She scooped me up with one arm.
“So, did you pick out a hammer?”
“Uh, uhhh…”
Even at thirty years old, I couldn’t help getting flustered by that kind of physical affection.
Dolores gently set my flustered self down on the counter.
In an instant, I was at eye level with her.
“These two, huh?”
“Ah, n-no. I was still deciding between them.”
“Deciding?”
Dolores glanced down for a moment,
“Henrik, how much for these?”
“Ten thousand gold, combined.”
“Mm-hm, I see.”
She met my eyes, level with hers now,
and gently brushed my bangs back.
“Do you want both of them?”
“Ah, that… that is…”
Honestly, I wanted them. Both of them.
But saying “ten thousand gold” out loud felt like a lot, regardless of how wealthy she was, I just couldn’t bring myself to ask her to buy them outright.
“…I don’t think you understand yet, just how much what you’ve done for me is worth.”
Dolores murmured quietly, gazing at me.
Only then, past Dolores’s face,
did the scene outside the shop finally register.
A carriage piled high with a mountain of books.
The single book Ruby was holding wasn’t the whole of it.
All of that out there, it looked like she’d bought every last one of them today.
- Slide.
Dolores took my hand and set it down on each of the two hammers in turn.
“Now, Lionel. Repeat after me.”
“…”
“I… want them.”
“I- I want them…”
“Good job.”
Dolores smiled, satisfied, and nodded to Henrik.
“We’ll take these two.”
“Yes.”
Henrik bowed his head.
“What’s each one for?”
“This one’s for forging. And this one… um, it’s for enchanting…”
“Enchanting.”
Dolores narrowed her eyes.
“You mean, you yourself?”
“Yes.”
There was a trace of bewilderment mixed into Dolores’s voice.
Making gear was one thing, he was an Heir of Flame, so fine. But him suddenly saying he’d enchant too? No wonder she was at a loss.
“…I think I can do it.”
I was confident.
Dolores looked at me.
Whenever she stared at me like that, it usually meant she was trying to tell whether what I’d said was true.
After a brief silence, she smiled and nodded.
“All right.”
Dolores didn’t ask anything more.
That meant she trusted me.
“Then you’ll need the powder too, I suppose.”
Guess it really was a well-known enough concept that she knew enchant powder existed at all.
That’s when it happened.
“…I’ll throw in the powder for free.”
Henrik pulled a cloth pouch out from under the counter and held it out.
It was the same pouch he’d taken out of the safe earlier.
Dolores tilted her head.
“If the person who’s actually going to use it takes it off my hands… well, that’s more than I could ask for.”
Henrik gave a wry smile.
“Just think of it as a bundle deal.”
“All right.”
Dolores let out a small laugh and paid.
Just as I reached out with both hands, figuring I’d have to carry the hammers out myself,
“Just a moment, please~”
The woman came out from the back.
She took the Earthborn Hammer and the enchant hammer, one in each hand, and set them on the counter.
Then she pulled a small brush from her apron pocket and began drawing something onto the end of each handle.
Right then.
I noticed a faint glow coming from her lower belly.
Which meant this was magic. She was channeling mana.
- Swish, swish.
Each stroke of the brush etched a gray line onto the hammer,
and before long,
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[Enchantment List]
[Weight Reduction][Lv.2]
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The same interface I’d seen on Tozar’s Thunder Hammer appeared.
“It wasn’t that heavy to begin with, so level two should be plenty.”
So she was the one who’d done the enchanting, then.
Quite the capable couple, these two.
She handed the hammers to me, and I lifted them lightly to test the weight, but…
“…Wow.”
They’d turned into a weight that fit perfectly in my hand.
Both of them.
“Are you… heading back to the duchy, Your Grace?”
“Yes. Any interest in coming back with me, Mia?”
“I appreciate the offer, but… ha ha ha.”
While the payment was being settled, I took the two hammers and walked over to Ruby.
Heh heh, can’t resist a chance to flex.
There had to be something a mere book just couldn’t give her.
I approached Ruby, waving the hammers around in front of her.
- Swish, swish.
As I kept hovering around in front of her like that, Ruby’s brow creased slightly.
“…Wha’s that.”
“Cool, right?”
- Swish, swish.
That’s when-
“…Yeah.”
“Yeah…?”
Ruby nodded.
Huh? What’s this.
This isn’t the reaction I expected.
As I stared at her,
“Wha-.”
Ruby suddenly turned her head away, pretending to read her book.
Her ears had gone slightly red.
I moved in closer to her,
“…Wha- why.”
“Wipe your mouth.”
“…Eeeeek!”
There was still chicken skewer sauce smeared on the corner of Ruby’s mouth.
Tsk, what a mess.
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