WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

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◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 82

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Incomplete Spirit Contract

* * *

- Fwip....

Sitting in her office, Dolores carefully folded something.

On the desk lay several similar-looking documents.

[Education plan for Ruby....]

[Recommended for novice mages....]

They were things Dolores had spent a long time agonizing over and writing.

She hadn't wanted to push education too hard from a young age, so it was a curriculum she'd planned to start after academy enrollment, but...

"It looks like these won't be necessary anymore, Ruby."

Dolores smiled bitterly.

If her disciple was choosing a different path, and choosing it herself rather than being pushed into it by someone else... there was no need to stop her.

"A Spirit Handler, and... a Battle Mage...."

It would truly be an interesting path, one no one had ever walked before.

Admirable, and something to be proud of, but she couldn't help feeling a little wistful all the same.

She'd grown up too fast.

Besides....

- Smooch.

Then there was that kiss on Lionel's cheek. Ostensibly, she'd just been imitating her teacher, but....

A girl that age being drawn to an attractive friend of the opposite sex was only natural, she supposed....

- Tap, tap, tap....

The fingers drumming on Dolores's desk quickened.

And then.

"...... Ah!"

She decided not to think about this part.

Just.

She simply decided not to think about it at all, and no one could say why that had to be the case.

Regardless, opening the path forward for her disciple was simply what a teacher was supposed to do.

The trouble was, Dolores didn't have much knowledge of Battle Mages.

Which reminded her....

"... Yeomhwa."

There was one Battle Mage among her acquaintances she could confidently call the best.

Though the woman herself claimed to belong to the "Intuition School," that was nonsense, but regardless....

If she asked Yeomhwa, it would be a great help to Ruby too.

That was exactly what she was thinking when...

- Ding.

A message arrived through the Inner Tower system.

"......?"

The sender was Camilla.

A heartless colleague who, ignoring how Dolores felt, had told her not to contact her for five years.

A very, very heartless colleague.

She reached out and answered.

"Camilla. What is it?"

- Dolores.

Her voice was usually low to begin with, but today it was even lower.

- Yeomhwa might die.

Dolores's expression twisted.

* * *

The next morning, Ruby was getting ready to head out somewhere, Totality in hand.

Something about a social gathering where noble children got to know each other's faces before academy enrollment, or so I'd heard.

Normally she'd never attend something like that, but....

"Can I show it off?"

"I can, right?"

"Can I say Lionel made it?"

"Hmm... sure, that's fine too."

Was there any reason to hide it?

I'd already been to the Imperial Palace and back, after all.

Ruby asked, hugging Totality tight to her chest.

"Can I hit anyone I don't like?"

Whoa, that's a bit...

"No."

This time, Dolores answered in my place.

"Yes."

Look how fast she answered.

- Squeeze.

Ruby hugged me once more and climbed into the carriage.

Yeah, okay. Have a good trip, Ruby.

The carriage left the estate, and I headed back to the workshop.

I'd asked Dolores whether I should go ahead and put an Enhancement on it right away.

'It's already more than enough to surpass a High Ranker's weapon as it is. It won't be too late to do it after she's gotten a bit more used to it.'

It was a point I could more or less agree with.

Dolores had her own established fighting style, one solid enough that pushing through purely on gear wouldn't cause any problems even right now.

But Ruby hadn't established anything like that yet, she was still in the middle of growing.

The Enhancement, I judged, could wait.

And more to the point, she hadn't even climbed the Tower yet.

Now, then.

The gift was done, so it was time to make something for myself.

Come to think of it, aside from the hammer, I hadn't really made anything just for myself.

"Hmm...."

Well, I'd get to it eventually.

First, Totality: Vision.

I'd already decided it had to be goggles, or maybe glasses.

The reason being...

─────────────────

『Wi■h one ey■, look ■pon the mor■al wor■d; wi■h the o■her, ■■■ spir■t rea■m.』

『Equ■pment ■or perce■ving the ■pir■t's fo■m ■nd vo■ce wi■hout inve■ting the bou■dary be■ween the t■o wor■ds.』

─────────────────

I didn't have the ability to work this out myself, but my super amazing little sister Yuna definitely could.

[Mm....]

[With one eye, you look at the mortal world, and with the other, the spirit realm. Equipment, maybe, for perceiving a spirit's form and voice without inverting the boundary between the two worlds? Or... something like that?]

[That's roughly what I'd guess, anyway....]

"Nice, Kim Yuna."

Yeah, that made a lot of sense.

Going by that explanation, it was probably something worn over both eyes.

Which naturally led to...

─────────────────

[Required Materials]

[Harmonics x1]

[???? x2]

[Whiteheart Iron x1]

─────────────────

Harmonics was the core material for tuning the two worlds.

If Whiteheart Iron was the frame, that left the two unknown materials.

I could only assume those question marks were the raw material for the lenses.

- Whoosh.

So what was I doing right now? Baking sand.

Everyone knows baking sand makes glass, right? Fortunately, I didn't have to go dig some up from a desert or a beach with a shovel.

Sand happened to be among the materials the Imperial Palace had supplied.

[White Quartz Sand][★★★☆☆]

White Quartz Sand, to be exact, essentially quartz sand with almost no impurities.

Melt it down hard and let it cool slowly, and it becomes glass, so maybe the game's process had actually been accurate.

There was one more thing to think over, though, hmm....

"I'm not really into glasses."

Glasses just weren't my thing.

Not my style.

Goggles, on the other hand, might work.

"... Can you bring up a hologram first?"

While I waited for the sand to melt, blue light gathered in the air, and various goggle shapes came into view.

"Let's base it on ski goggles for starters."

[Huh?]

"Just try it."

When you look at ski goggles from outside, the lenses flash rainbow colors, right?

The color even shifts depending on the angle, which seemed like a good match for Harmonics.

Not that I'd picked it based on looks alone.

I was going to keep staring at furnace flames and glowing white-hot iron for the rest of my life, so I needed something to protect my eyes.

[How about this?]

"......"

What Yuna showed me was a welding mask that covered the entire face.

"Nope!"

I absolutely hated the look of it, but....

the protective lens design on it did seem worth referencing.

Layer the lens several times to spread out impact, and add a film on the inside so that even if it shatters, no fragments get in the eyes.

"I've only got two eyeballs, after all."

Better be careful.

Using the model floating in the air as a reference, I started by making the mold for the goggles.

Once the mold was done, I made Harmonics again.

- Hiss....

Since I'd made it once before, the second time around wasn't difficult.

I poured the finished Harmonics into a mold and let it set.

What I needed today was solid Harmonics.

And then.

- Crack.

"......"

I broke the Harmonics into small pieces, put them in a mortar, and ground it down fine enough that the particles were invisible.

- Grind... grind....

I took part of it and mixed it into the molten White Quartz Sand.

White Quartz Sand was the high-purity sand that served as the raw material for glass.

Dump all the Harmonics into the lens material and the lens could end up cloudy, so I added just enough to keep it from losing transparency.

I stirred it just until the Harmonics particles spread evenly through the glass, then poured it into the mold.

"Whew...."

Was I even headed the right direction with this?

"Beats me."

Even with a recipe, it didn't exactly tell you how to make the thing.

It only told you what to use and where to end up....

How to connect the path in between was entirely up to me.

I liked that even this much respected me as the crafter.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed.

The lens had cooled without my noticing.

It was a little cloudy right now, but....

"Guess I'll polish it."

Once the lens had fully hardened, I polished the surface smooth.

- Scrape... scrape....

Bit by bit, as I ground down the rough surface, the lens grew clearer.

Finally, I sprinkled on some imperial-grade polishing powder and buffed it out.

- Gleam.

"Whoa, I can see right through it."

Through the lens, I could see the entire inside of the workshop.

What was strange, though, was that even though it was a rainbow-colored lens, it didn't tint everything rainbow.

It was perfectly clear.

"Good. Lens done."

I set the finished lens down on a cloth and headed over to the forge.

There sat the mold I'd poured Whiteheart Iron into, a shallow frame.

- Hiss....

I pulled out the Whiteheart Iron, still glowing red-hot, with tongs, checking it against the goggle shape floating in the air.

- Clang! Clang! Clang!

I built the frame of the goggles.

There were several things to keep in mind.

For one, the center had to be raised so it wouldn't press against the bridge of the nose for long stretches.

It also had to hold the lens securely so it wouldn't fall out.

And it needed to be light, but since it was Whiteheart Iron, that part was fine.

- Hiss....

Once the Whiteheart Iron had taken some shape, I dipped it in the cooling trough.

"Hmm...."

I tried fitting the lens against it, and the size matched well enough.

I added leather padding on top so the face wouldn't come into direct contact with the Whiteheart Iron.

I attached gray leather straps on both sides to hold it to the head.

Looking at all this, the listed materials alone clearly weren't enough.

It was right to just add my own touches to it in my own way.

All that was left now was assembly.

- Click, click.

I fitted the large lens right into place.

In case the lens ever broke, I made it so it could be fitted back into the goggles easily.

And then....

- Squeeze....

I folded the open edge of the Whiteheart Iron frame over to secure the lens.

"......"

I lifted the finished goggles up with both hands.

A silver frame, a sharp-looking gray leather strap, and a lens with a soft, shifting rainbow sheen.

"... Not bad."

Exactly the direction I'd wanted.

Pretty, right?

Just as I was turning the goggles over in admiration...

- Crackle....

Smoke rose from one side of the leather strap that held it to the head.

"Ooh."

The Heir of Flame's engraving had been carved into it. A Skilled Blacksmith's pattern, naturally.

Nice, perfect placement.

And the moment the mark had fully finished being carved...

something appeared before my eyes.

[The creator's ingenuity has surpassed the limits of the fixed recipe.]

[The equipment's completion level rises.]

[An additional effect not present in the recipe has been granted.]

And.

─────────────────

[Totality: Vision][★★★☆☆ -> ★★★★☆]

[Unique Equipment][Compatibility Rating][- / 100]

─────────────────

『The Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm.』

『Goggles that bring two worlds, coexisting in the same space yet unable to see one another, into a single field of view.』

─────────────────

[Overlays the mortal realm and the spirit realm onto the wearer's field of vision.]

[With one eye, look upon the mortal world; with the other, the spirit realm. Equipment for perceiving a spirit's form and voice without inverting the boundary between the two worlds.]

─────────────────

[★★★★☆]

[If a spirit's consent is obtained, an incomplete contract can be formed through Totality: Vision as the medium.]

[Cap: Mid-Rank Spirit]

[Incomplete Spirit Contract][0 / 1]

─────────────────

『It's a little embarrassing, but... the gift you gave me lets the air through so well, and it's incredibly comfortable.』

『I want to repay you, we wind spirits are always on your side...!』

- Queen of the Faraway Wind Spirits -

『Sunlight always triumphs over the north wind. It'll be a great help to you.』

- Queen of the Sunlight Spirits -

─────────────────

The equipment's star rating had risen a level.

So this had originally been a 3-star recipe, and messing around with it here and there had bumped it up to 4 stars?

Setting aside the spirit queen's shy little confession for now.

And setting aside the Queen of the Sunlight Spirits' ambition-laden approach too.

What caught my eye was the line floating above it.

"... A contract with a spirit?"

Seriously???

I'd figured I obviously had no aptitude as a Spirit Handler, so getting that close with a spirit, holding hands and all, had never even crossed my mind.

I'd thought it was enough just to see them once in a while and exchange a greeting.

Sure, it said "incomplete," but the important thing was that I could actually do something with a spirit at all, right?

"Insane."

Judging by how it sat below the symbol marking the 4-star rating, it looked like an ability I'd gained as a bonus.

It was a completely unexpected windfall, and the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward.

Sure, it was only a mid-rank spirit, but signing a contract with a spirit at all was nothing to sneeze at.

I immediately picked up the goggles and put them on.

[Totality: Vision]

[Compatibility Rating][71 / 100]

"Oh."

Even with zero aptitude as a Spirit Handler, that was a pretty solid Compatibility Rating, and I felt relieved for the moment.

The instant I put them on, rainbow light passed over the lenses.......

"......"

At last, before my eyes, the spirits appeared once more.

Millien, hands folded demurely, and the little red and blue wrigglers sitting side by side on the workbench, watching me.

I could see them again.

There were fewer spirits than the other day, but the ones that mattered all seemed to be there.

I carefully raised a hand in greeting.

"Hey there."

"Ah......!"

Millien's face lit up brightly.

"Lionel... you can see us again!"

The warm greetings could wait, just for a moment.

I was itching with impatience.

I held out my palm, eager to test the new ability right away.

"So, anyone want to make a contract with me?"

"What? Me, I want to, Lionel...!"

"You, Millien?"

Millien looked startled and stepped right up in front of me.

"Contract, contract... I want to do it... I can do it well!"

"Ah... well... aren't you a high-rank spirit?"

"Yes, that's right, I'm a high-rank spirit... a direct disciple of the Queen... I'm really confident I'll do great...."

I had no idea what exactly she kept insisting she'd do so well at.

The problem was that Millien was a high-rank spirit.

The equipment's limit capped out at mid-rank spirits. It wasn't enough yet to contract with Millien.

"I'd love to, but my skill's a bit lacking, so I don't think I can manage a high-rank spirit."

I shook my head with a regretful look.

"Ah...."

Millien's shoulders drooped, her expression falling.

The way her head hung low was a little pitiful, but.......

"Should I go back to being a mid-rank spirit..."

Leaving Millien's mutter behind me.

"Anyone among the mid-rank spirits want to do it with me?"

Right then.

"Meeeeeeee!!!!"

- Flash!

The blue wriggler's hand shot up high.

"Me! I want to do it!"

- Hop!

It leapt off the workbench before it even finished answering.

Then it floated up into the air, drifted over, and landed on my palm.

A cool sensation tickled my palm.

"You're really going to contract with me?"

"Yes!"

The blue wriggler nodded.

Well, fine by me.

- Poke.

The wriggler grabbed my index finger tight with both hands.

Absolutely adorable.

The contract method was cuter than I'd expected.

I curled my finger slightly and clasped its hands back.

At that moment.

- Hum....

Blue wind rose up between us.

A cool current wrapped around my wrist and climbed up... touching the lens of the goggles.

─────────────────

[The mid-rank wind spirit's will and the wearer's align.]

[A spirit contract is formed through Totality: Vision as the medium.]

[Incomplete Spirit Contract][1 / 1]

─────────────────

I had succeeded in forming a contract with a spirit.

"......"

- Hop!

The blue spirit settled onto the shoulder of my still-dazed self.

Actually, there was something I'd been thinking about.

If I could ever borrow a spirit's power, what exactly should I ask for?

And the conclusion I'd reached was....

- Whoosh....

I went straight over to the crucible furnace and lit the fire.

"Hey, friend, what should I call you?"

"Whiri! Call me Whiri!"

"Alright, Whiri... want to try something together?"

I carefully set Whiri down in front of the air vent beneath the crucible furnace.

It was the spot where I'd normally have to pump the bellows pedal half to death to blow air in.

"Can you blow some wind in here?"

This was the use I'd thought up for a spirit.

Namely.

An unpowered, infinite bellows.

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Yuna, don't laugh.

I'm being completely serious.

"Yes! I can do it!"

Whiri spread both arms wide and started hopping up and down.

Blue energy gathered around the little thing.

- Whirrr!

Blue energy poured into the air vent.

- Whoooosh!!

The crucible furnace's flames shot up instantly.

"Oh, my god...."

I couldn't contain the indescribable feeling welling up in me and pressed a hand to my forehead.

I was moved. Genuinely, this was on another level.

Did this even make sense?

An unpowered, infinite bellows had just fallen out of the sky.

And an incredibly cute one, at that.

Right then.

"I can do this too!"

"Hm?"

This time Whiri reached its tiny hand out toward me.

- Whirrrr!

"Huh?"

A cool breeze slipped inside my clothes and swept over every inch of my body.

The skin that had been baking from the crucible furnace's heat cooled....

and my sweat-soaked body turned dry and fresh in an instant, like a desk clerk sitting under the AC in the admin office in the middle of summer.

"Unbelievable."

Airflow, cooling, and drying, all at once?

I felt more satisfied than I ever had making any piece of equipment.

"Thank you, Whiri!!"

"Yahoo!!"

I carefully cupped Whiri in both hands.

I was so glad I'd made this contract.

Dreaming of how much my quality of life as a blacksmith was about to rise, the two of us bounced around together.

"...... Guess I should get demoted to mid-rank."

Millien crouched in a corner, murmuring quietly to herself.

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