WeTried Translations

Translator: [IncomeElastic]

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ I Became a Blacksmith the Rankers Are Obsessed With ◈

Chapter 86

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Set-Effect Gear

* * *

- Knock, knock.

"Who is iiit?"

A cheerful voice came from inside.

"It's me, Lionel."

"Oh? Already? Come in!"

I got permission, then opened the door and stepped into the room.

"....."

The moment I stepped in, the scent of roses filled my nose.

I hadn't had many chances to smell roses before, but thanks to the flowers in Dolores's garden, I recognized it.

This was rose scent, all right.

Yeomhwa sat cross-legged on the bed.

She looked far too lively to pass for a patient.

The only thing giving away that she was actually being treated for anything was the strip of seaweed plastered right in the middle of her forehead.

"How are you feeling?"

"Perfectly fine! Cough, cough!"

Perfectly fine, cough cough, huh....

That does sound okay... right?

"Nothing serious, I just came by to do a bit of a needs assessment."

"A needs assessment?"

Yeomhwa pressed the seaweed strip flat against her forehead so it wouldn't fall off, and tilted her head.

"I'm trying to figure out what kind of gear I should make for you."

Even the same type of weapon could turn out completely differently depending on what the user actually wanted.

With Ruby, I'd mostly just decided things myself, but....

since Yeomhwa was a High Ranker, it felt like her own requests needed to weigh more heavily this time.

Which meant, naturally, I needed to know first....

exactly what Yeomhwa actually needed.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions now."

"Ooh, an interview."

"...A conversation. Just a conversation."

"Hee hee."

I brought up the thing I'd been wanting to ask about all along.

"Could you take everything off, please?"

"......Sure!"

Yeomhwa's mouth curled up, and she pulled the blanket down, grabbed the hem of her top, and started pulling it up-

"Your gear, I mean. Whatever you're wearing. Preferably the weapon, the auxiliary weapon, and the emblem."

"Oh."

Clearing up the misunderstanding didn't take long.

Thankfully, all I ended up seeing of Yeomhwa's bare skin was a toned midriff.

Dolores would've understood exactly what I meant right away. My mistake.

Yeomhwa took off the gear she was currently wearing, along with what she normally used, and laid it all out on the floor.

What I wanted to look at were the three main pieces, the weapon, the auxiliary weapon, and the emblem.

What surprised me was that even though Yeomhwa was called a Battle Mage and I'd heard she used guns....

"...A book?"

Her main weapon turned out to be, surprisingly, a book that glowed red.

Set into the cover was a silver, circular ornament, finely worked into the design....

'A cylinder.'

It was shaped like the cylinder of a revolver.

I checked its info right away.

─────────────────

[Tyram's Grimoire][★★★★★]

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

─────────────────

『An age when guns and cannons had only just begun to appear in the world.』

『Court mage Tyram scoffed at the world's mockery, that guns were slower and weaker than magic.』

『So he carved his spells like bullets, magic engraved into papyrus.』

『Open to load. Close to fire.』

─────────────────

【Converts the incantations recorded in the grimoire into the form of "magic bullets."】

【Temporarily manifests whichever firearm best suits the incantation recorded on each page.】

─────────────────

『You'll only come to your senses once there's a hole through your head. I'm different, you fools.』

- Marcus Tyram, Court Archmage -

─────────────────

Open to load.

Close to fire.

Well, I could tell Mr. Tyram had a foul temper, at least.

"......This gear."

This is way too good, what the fuck?

I'd seen footage of Yeomhwa in combat before, and the moment she pointed a finger somewhere, a massive gun would appear out of thin air.

And then a bullet would fire from it.

So I'd assumed her main weapon was the gun itself, but... that wasn't it at all.

It was the book doing all the work.

The gun was just a form the magic took when manifested, this book was the actual core of it.

"Normally it's open to load, close to fire, that's the basic version, but...."

Yeomhwa tucked the book into her chest and pointed a finger at the window.

"I optimized mine, so... I just condensed it down to this."

"Down to what?"

"Bang."

- Pew.

A red laser shot out of Yeomhwa's hand and set the curtain on fire.

"Gasp."

- Pat, pat, pat, pat.

Yeomhwa smacked at the curtain frantically to put the fire out, and then....

"Keep this a secret from Dolores!"

"....."

I genuinely didn't know what to say.

So that's what that was.

Then this... wouldn't need any work from me.

I picked up the book and held it against Yeomhwa, and the Compatibility Rating that came up right after was....

─────────────────

[Tyram's Grimoire][★★★★★]

[Unique Equipment] [Compatibility Rating][ 75 / 100]

─────────────────

"Wow."

I'd never seen anything like this before, not once in my whole life.

A fully completed 5-star piece of gear that suited its user perfectly, and had already been optimized?

Guess it hit different, since I'd only ever seen Rankers limping along in garbage gear.

Definitely not talking about Dolores.

Main weapon, pass. I wasn't touching this one.

So that's why Yeomhwa was strong.

Which meant the two remaining pieces were what I needed to look at.

Next was the emblem.

What Yeomhwa handed me was a black badge.

"Kind of cool, huh?"

It was about two finger-joints wide.

So this is what an emblem looked like. Kind of cute.

Looked kind of like a beetle. Its shell was split right down the middle, like a bug with its wings folded.

I held the beetle-shaped thing up against Yeomhwa.

─────────────────

[Silence's Final Movement][★★★★☆]

[Unique Equipment][Compatibility Rating][15 / 80]

─────────────────

『A beetle folds its wings before death.』

『Seven days of endurance, then a cry wrenched out.』

『Explosive mana dwells within, and releases.』

─────────────────

【Stores a portion of the vibration from any sound-based magic the user casts, as reverberation.】

【Layers the stored reverberation onto the next sound-based spell, amplifying its power.】

─────────────────

Hm, this is good stuff.

Reverberation, that kind of thing, sure, I liked it.

Accumulates it, and, uh, amplifies the power....

Seemed like a genuinely solid emblem.

...Except this was sound magic.

"Do you use sound magic?"

"No? I'm a Battle Mage."

"Then, do you happen to sing well?"

"How'd you know!?"

Ah, I see.

She'd probably scraped together those fifteen points just from being good at singing.

This was a problem that came up for most Rankers.

No matter how good an appraisal machine you used, there was no way to know a piece of gear's actual, precise effect.

At best, this was probably about all it would've shown her.

─────────────────

[Silence's Final Movement][★★★★☆]

[Unique Equipment]

─────────────────

『A beetle folds its wings before death.』

『Seven days of endurance, then a cry wrenched out.』

『Explosive mana dwells within, and releases.』

─────────────────

4-star, and something about explosive mana....

From Yeomhwa's side, she probably just figured it was some kind of amplifying emblem.

[I wish she'd just thrown it away ㅠㅠ]

Fair.

"So, did you actually like this thing?"

"...It's amazing~"

[ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Her tone alone made it obvious she didn't mean a word of it.

"What was so good about it?"

"It's 4-star."

"Okay."

I got the general picture.

Yeomhwa's level, on this front.

Honestly I'd been kind of impressed looking at her main weapon, but it seemed like that was just pure luck.

In that case, let's make the emblem the top priority.

I'd never made one before, so I was kind of excited. This seemed like it'd be a pretty fun project.

"What about your auxiliary weapon?"

"Um... don't have one."

"What?"

"It got destroyed last time...."

"It got destroyed?"

"Yeah...."

Yeomhwa explained what had happened like it was no big deal.

The auxiliary weapon she'd been using before was called 'Preparation.'

Apparently it was gear that instantly pulled up mana and released it in an explosive burst.

"I was literally right on the edge of breaking through to the next floor."

"Right."

"I figured I just needed a little more firepower, so... I ran the Circle and Preparation together, and... boom."

She'd used the Ether Circle together with something that pumps mana on top of it?

The Ether Circle was a bracelet that abnormally accumulated mana and sent it violently backflowing into the wearer's circuits.

If I remembered right, more mana wasn't always simply better....

No wonder her body ended up in trouble.

"My body's been out of whack ever since."

"....."

She really was the type to push herself way too hard.

So in the end, that meant she currently had no auxiliary weapon at all?

I'd been planning to make the emblem first, but....

Cancel that.

Even a garbage emblem was better than nothing.

The auxiliary weapon would come first, then the emblem.

"...Then I'll make you an auxiliary weapon."

"Yay!"

Still sitting cross-legged on the bed, Yeomhwa's shoulders bounced with joy.

"Oh, how much is it? What materials do you need?"

"......?"

What was she talking about?

"The cost is fine, and as for materials... I won't know until I actually look things over."

How would I even ask for materials before I knew what I'd be using?

"Huh?"

Yeomhwa blinked, looking like she couldn't quite understand.

"You're not taking money?"

"No, not yet, anyway."

"And you're the one sourcing the materials?"

"That's right."

"Hmm... baby, the way big sister sees it...."

Wait, hadn't she called herself "auntie" last time?

Now she'd suddenly switched to "big sister."

Just how old was this "big sister," exactly....

"So, usually, when a climber commissions a blacksmith, here's how it goes...."

Yeomhwa explained, counting the points off on her fingers one by one.

The full commission fee gets paid up front, at the time of the contract.

The client has to keep supplying whatever materials are needed for the whole process.

Even if the crafting fails, you don't get back the materials that were used up.

On top of that, apparently even if the finished piece didn't reach the grade you wanted, it was hard to hold the blacksmith responsible at all.

What was that supposed to mean.

Sounded like blacksmiths got treated like untouchable royalty who never had to answer for anything.

"...That's way too aristocratic."

"Well yeah, they're basically nobility! And people still line up for a famous blacksmith anyway."

"So who exactly are these famous blacksmiths?"

I suddenly got curious.

Now that the Sun Dwarves were basically wrecked, who exactly were these hoodlums falsely claim- no, self-proclaiming themselves famous blacksmiths?

Felt like the industry could use some serious cleaning up.

"Well, the Sun Dwarves are... barely around anymore, and all they make is mass-produced stuff anyway."

...That was kind of a sad thing to hear.

"The Frost Tribe. For custom work, I guess the Black Anvil Tribe?"

"The Black Anvil Tribe...."

"So, baby, if you're gonna keep doing this blacksmith thing going forward, don't you think you should be getting paid, or getting materials, or something?"

Yeomhwa's advice, I appreciated.

I hadn't known a custom like that even existed.

Money, sure, I could probably just set some price and take it, but....

but materials were trickier, even if I wanted to receive something, since I didn't decide what I was making ahead of time, it was awkward to just ask for specific things upfront.

Only after checking out the wearer and figuring out what direction the gear needed to go did any usable materials actually come to mind.

"Well then, Yeomhwa...."

"Yeah, quick, quick."

In the end, since that was apparently just how things worked, it sounded like she meant I should take money.

Taking too much felt a little off too, okay, 10,000 gold was worth 100 million, so, fine.

"Just 10,000 gold...."

Just gimme 100 million.

Right at that moment.

- Squish.

Yeomhwa gently grabbed both my cheeks.

"Big sister's got plenty of money, you know?"

"...Sure, must be nice."

"Name a higher number."

What kind of negotiation was this.

Wasn't I the one supposed to be getting paid...?

"If it were Ruby, I'd have threatened her with a kiss...."

Yeomhwa muttered, sounding almost disappointed, as she kneaded my cheeks between her fingers.

"Guess I can't really do that with you, huh, baby."

- Rattle.

Right then, the doorknob rattled.

"......?"

I looked toward the door, but nobody actually came in.

"Anyway, name a higher number!"

"...20,000 gold?"

"More."

"50,000."

"More."

"1... 100,000...?"

Only then did Yeomhwa finally smile, satisfied.

"That'll do fine as pocket money, for now."

"Pocket money, for now?"

"Yep, I'll think about the actual commission fee later, about what I should do for you, baby."

Turns out being a blacksmith was, apparently, even more than I'd thought....

"So this is just how things work around here?"

"Yep!"

a far more lucrative profession than I'd realized.

"Well then, for now...."

This would be my first time making an auxiliary weapon.

Since it was a type I'd never made before, I needed something to reference.

I looked at the red grimoire sitting on the floor.

"I'm going to borrow the book."

"...Gasp."

Yeomhwa hurriedly clutched Tyram's Grimoire to her chest, but.

"Just to use as reference."

When it came to crafting, I didn't negotiate.

"Waaah...."

I managed to pry it away from her.

I pointed at the silver cylinder set into the grimoire's cover.

"Your weapon's really impressive...."

Just my own personal thought, and admittedly a bit of a leap, but.

Wasn't the whole point of an auxiliary weapon that it was supposed to support the main weapon, that's why it was called auxiliary in the first place?

Climbers just happened to use two unrelated pieces of gear because they had no other choice.

Fundamentally, shouldn't they blend together deliciously, like a good oriental dressing salad?

That was the thought that came to mind.

"I want to make it fit together like it was always meant to be one set."

The main weapon and the auxiliary weapon.

Two pieces of gear, filling in each other's gaps, forming a single set.

"...Like set gear?"

"Yeah."

From what I'd heard, set gear was supposedly only a thing for total low-level junk items.

Like industrial work gloves and industrial boots, that kind of set.

I'd never once heard of good gear having a set effect.

"Guess we'll just try it, then."

An auxiliary weapon that supported the main weapon... plus a healing effect on top.

I could do it. If it was me.

Worth taking a shot at, at least once.

This was my first time attempting it, and honestly it was still just an idea floating around in my head, but....

That was exactly what made it seem more fun.

It was a whole new field I'd never touched before, after all.

I grabbed Tyram's Grimoire and stood up.

"Well, I'll get going, then!"

"Already?"

"Gotta start right away."

Honestly, seeing this grimoire had lit a bit of a fire under me.

This thing seemed like the best piece of gear I'd seen yet, at least among what I'd looked at.

So I guess you could say it gave me a little push.

I opened the door just like that.

- Fling!

- Crash!

Along with some tremendous noise.

"......?"

Standing at the door was a woman with disheveled silver hair, Dolores.

"...Maman?"

- Flinch.

Dolores avoided my eyes, fumbling with the doorknob.

"Oh, h-hi, Lionel...."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was... waiting.... I have something to talk to Yeomhwa about...."

"...Sure, okay."

Guess she had something separate to discuss.

I passed by Dolores without thinking much of it.

"I'll head to the workshop, then."

"Mm-hm, be careful on your way."

Dolores kept her gaze fixed unusually hard on my face, studying something, and then....

- Creeeak....

she stepped into Yeomhwa's room.

And then.

"Wait, Dolores, I didn't do anything-"

"Shh... the kid can hear."

- Slam!

The door shut.

"......Oh boy."

Guess she got caught for burning the curtain.

I said a quick prayer for Yeomhwa's safety.

Leaving the two of them behind, I headed for the workshop, Tyram's Grimoire held in my arms.

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