WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 55: Wearable Talisman
──────
Lately, there was one place I always checked first with great satisfaction whenever I unlocked my phone.
It had been steadily climbing the popularity rankings on the Goblin Fire Community.
The [Spirit Beast Handler Tab]!
[Daily Life] Don’t you think there’ve been a ton more newbies in this tab lately?
└ Yeah, the number of newcomers has exploded.
└ Has spring finally come for spirit beast handlers?
└ Didn’t I say we’d take off?! Didn’t I?! Ah, finally~
└ It’s all because of Do Emperor’s key rings.
└ Do Emperor is the best! Do Emperor is the best!
That’s right!
The sealing key rings I’d released had caused a boom, and interest in spirit beast handlers, who had always been treated as a niche group, had exploded along with it!
Keeping familiars no longer meant taking them around was inconvenient or spending a fortune, so it was only natural.
Thanks to that, the spirit beast handler tab, which had been dead lately, was now packed with questions from newbies.
[Question] I brought home a goat. How long would it take to raise it until it becomes a spirit beast?
└ Who has the time to raise one? lol
└ Did you get it as a baby?
└ Nah, of course I got a full-grown one.
└ At that rate, the goat will grow old and die before it Awakens.
└ Seriously, who has time for that;;
└ Just go to a spirit beast market and buy one that’s already Awakened.
└ Where’d you even get a goat? lol
└ I bought it at a neighborhood market?
└ Uh, no. That’s not it.
A field that had been treated as a niche suddenly becoming promising because of one Ritual Implement I made?
It was more satisfying than I’d expected.
That was why I kept coming back.
[Daily Life] By the way, has anyone who bought a limited edition posted a review yet??
└ I have a million questions, but everyone’s being quiet.
└ Aside from that General Woongi guy, they were all blank accounts. No posts at all.
└ Just wait. With that guy’s personality, he’ll definitely post one today or tomorrow.
'Oh.'
I’d been waiting eagerly too.
Before long, just as everyone expected, a review post appeared.
[HOT] Limited edition review is up!!
Author: General Woongi
Hey, I’m here. It’s your big bro~
Today, I’m unboxing the Do Emperor limited-edition Erupting Tiger that you’ve all been waiting for~
(A paulownia box slowly opening GIF)
Ah... Look at that gorgeous finish. Damn, it looks premium.
Now I’m going to put Janggun in it. You all know Janggun is a 600-kilogram brown bear, right?
(A massive brown bear getting sucked into the key ring GIF)
Kyaaaaa.... It really works lololol
The feeling when they slip right in is insanely good.
There’s this tingling vibration in your palm.
How should I put it? It’s like vacuuming up an elephant.
Or like you think you’ve hooked a trophy catch, only for a whale to slide right up?
Anyway, it’s so good. So thrilling. I’m crying.
The catharsis is seriously insane. I’m crying.
└ lol This old guy is ridiculously excited.
└ The gap between this way of talking and his office profile picture is wild.
└ The key ring feels amazing. I keep putting our boar in and taking it out too.
└ If the standard version feels this good, I can’t even imagine what that one’s like.
[HOT] LOL Looks like Janggun likes the key ring too
Author: General Woongi
(A large paw tapping a tiny key ring GIF)
I let Janggun out for a moment, and they were so confused that they kept tapping the key ring.
They’re throwing a fit because they want me to put them back in lololol
└ lololol Look at them grunting. They’re so freaking cute.
└ I want to squish Janggun’s paw pads and tease them so bad.
└ Newbies, search Spirit Beast Diary if you want to see Janggun when they were tiny. There are tons of Janggun pics.
└ But if a spirit beast wants to go inside on its own that badly, how comfortable is it in there?
[HOT] Third Erupting Tiger review~
Author: General Woongi
This thing is seriously awesome. Janggun usually gets tired quickly because they’re so big.
But we did three jobs today, and they still aren’t tired lololol
(A bear charging with crimson flames wrapped around its body GIF)
Look at this. They’re having the time of their life.
└ Damn, that’s terrifying. What is that?
└ A flaming armored tank lololol
└ Brown bear, but it’s literally on fire.
└ lol The review tab has been full of Ungbi Exorcism Office posts lately.
└ If he does three jobs a day, he’ll pay off the price of that key ring he bought on credit in no time.
* * *
'Hmm-hmm. It looks like our VIP customer is very satisfied.'
The entire time I read the reviews, the corners of my mouth kept twitching upward.
Seeing someone enjoy using something I’d made made me happy too.
'...I really think this job is my calling.'
No, to be honest, maybe it was because of the absurd balance I’d just seen in my banking app?
“Heh heh heh...”
[Meowwwww―]
Just then, a cute cry came from by my feet.
It was Yaongi, the gray cat Yu-ha had rescued in Japan and brought back with her.
Still sitting in my chair, I slipped both hands under her front legs and lifted her up.
Then I set her on my lap and bounced her up and down.
“Yeah, yeah. You like it too, don’t you, Yaongi? Huh?”
[Meow! Meow!]
She happily fluttered her front paws.
That’s right. Your big brother is rich. Rich.
Churu? I could buy you a million tubes if I wanted.
“No, should I just build you a whole Churu factory?”
[Meowww―]
In a good mood, she relaxed against me and began purring.
She stretched out her toes to show off her pink paw pads, looking as tempting as could be.
Scratch, scratch.
I pulled her into my arms and gently scratched under her chin.
'What a cute little brat.'
She had been especially affectionate toward me ever since the day we first met.
Playing with her whenever I had a spare moment had become one of my healing routines lately.
Tap.
After rubbing against me to her heart’s content, she hopped down to the floor.
Then she trotted off somewhere.
Clink.
She returned with something in her mouth and set it by my feet.
A cat-shaped sealing key ring.
“...Again?”
[Meow!]
She wanted me to put her in and take her out again.
That’s right!
This little girl had gotten completely hooked lately.
She loved going in and out of the key ring so much that I kept doing it because she was cute, and I’d accidentally taught her a bad habit.
Now, she wouldn’t eat until I’d put her in and taken her out at least five times.
“Haah. This is really the last one, okay?”
[Meow!]
She sure answered decisively.
I pulled the chain and poured in Spiritual Power.
Pop. Shwoooosh―
[Meowww~]
With a pleased cry, she was sucked into the key ring.
Only after I’d done that exactly five times did she settle in front of her food bowl with a satisfied expression.
Crunch. Crunch.
“Tch...”
A sulky voice came from behind me.
When I turned around, Yu-ha was standing halfway down the stairs, looking this way.
More precisely, at Yaongi peacefully chewing her food.
“Yaongi never comes over to me even once. Whenever I try to pet her, she only tries to scratch me... I’m the one who rescued her.”
Her lips were pushed out in a full pout.
“Don’t you have a job today, Yu-ha?”
“No. It’s my day off today...”
“Ah, that worked out perfectly.”
I rose from my seat.
“It’s finished. Would you like to try it on?”
“...! Already?”
* * *
Yu-ha had a naturally low total amount of Spiritual Power.
Since defensive Ritual Implements had to remain active throughout a battle, maintaining one was an enormous burden on her limited reserves of Spiritual Power.
That was why she said she always carried around single-use Protective Talismans.
An ordinary blacksmith would have stopped after engraving armor with circuits that pushed Spiritual Power efficiency to the absolute limit.
'But that wouldn’t be any fun.'
I’d made this armor with the Protective Talismans she used in mind.
Yellow Talisman Paper. Wasn’t the paper used to make Talismans specially made to absorb and contain Spiritual Power?
So I applied the principle of Yellow Talisman Paper to fabric.
Yellow Talisman Paper was made by repeatedly soaking and drying mulberry paper in juice pressed from Gwaehwang tree fruit.
Then why not soak thread in that juice?
I wove the lining from thread steeped in Gwaehwang tree juice, twisted together with finely shredded traditional paper fibers.
The outer layer was leather, but this time I mixed Gwaehwang tree infusion into the tannin used for tanning so the leather itself would absorb Spiritual Power.
I laid the pattern over the leather and sliced it smoothly with a cutting knife.
From here on, it was a process my hands had mastered after making hundreds of sets of light armor back in the game.
I ran a finger over the cut leather panels.
Sizzle.
On the chest panel, I engraved an [Impact Mitigation Spell Formula].
It was the most basic defensive formula, dispersing the force of impacts that struck the torso.
On the back panel, I engraved an [Iron Wall Spell Formula].
I divided [Lightweight Spell Formula] and [Swiftness Spell Formula] between the two sleeves, then added [Flexibility Spell Formula] wherever the joints bent.
The weight of armor was a shackle. It needed to be as light as a feather without impeding movement.
And on the lining...
Szzzt.
[Spiritual Power Efficiency Circulation Circuit]―
I created one large current that ran around the entire garment, with smaller currents branching off to meet the Spell Formulas engraved into each leather panel.
That way, the effects of each Spell Formula wouldn’t remain only where they had been engraved. They would travel through the circuit and spread evenly across the whole garment.
Then came the stitching.
Leather wasn’t like cloth. A needle wouldn’t pass through it on its own.
I had to use a fork-shaped chisel called a pricking iron, place it against the seam, and hammer out the needle holes first.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
At every hole, I saddle-stitched the thread using two needles.
Of course, carefully enough that I wouldn’t damage the engraved circuits.
With every stitch of Gwaehwang tree juice-soaked thread, the Spell Formulas on the outer layer linked to the circuit in the lining through the thread and locked together more firmly.
The final step was finishing.
I heated a leather iron in the forge, applied beeswax to the leather edges, then pressed and sealed them.
Sizzle―
The wax-soaked edges gleamed smoothly.
That was how I completed what was essentially a wearable Protective Talisman.
A Protective Garment.
* * *
I took the jacket from the hanger and handed it to Yu-ha.
“I’ve already filled it with Spiritual Power.”
Now, the wearer wouldn’t have to drain their own Spiritual Power throughout a fight.
As long as they charged the garment in advance whenever they had time, the defensive Spell Formulas would automatically activate during battle using the Spiritual Power stored in the clothing, without consuming even a drop of the wearer’s own power!
'Heh. I’ve made another thing that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.'
There was nothing like the thrill of seeing something I’d only turned over in my head emerge as a finished item.
This was why I made things.
“You can touch it. It should be incredibly light.”
Yu-ha cautiously put on the jacket.
“Wow... It’s a leather jacket, but it isn’t uncomfortable at all. I can barely feel the weight, either.”
“I engraved Lightweight Spell Formulas, and I added Flexibility Spell Formulas around the joints so they’d stretch properly.”
I’d paid attention to every finishing line to improve mobility without ruining its fit.
Despite being a leather jacket, it wouldn’t hinder her movements in the slightest.
“It has one additional function too.”
“An additional function?”
I turned back the front of the jacket slightly to show her the lining.
The pattern of a Protective Talisman I’d drawn onto the inside of the chest.
They said a Protective Talisman had to contain the Imprinted Intent to protect.
That part had been easy.
My precious customer couldn’t get hurt.
“It has the same effect as a Protective Talisman. If it takes a lethal hit beyond what this garment can handle, it’ll release all the Spiritual Power stored in it at once. Just once, it’ll block the attack perfectly.”
“...!”
“Now then. We need to test it properly to make sure it works...”
'...Hmm.'
That gave me pause.
To check the armor’s performance, someone ultimately had to hit it.
When handing over armor, showing its performance directly to the customer was something I’d always done in the game. I’d have them put on the freshly made armor, grab a passing swordsman, and tell them to take a swing.
'...But now that I thought about it.'
This was reality, and she was a customer.
Would you like to get hit with a club, ma’am?
'...The image was a little awkward, wasn’t it?'
“Um, well... getting hit yourself would be a little much, right? Ha ha. Then maybe we could use a mannequin or...”
“No.”
Yu-ha shook her head.
“It’s better to get hit here first than test it for the first time in a real battle. I’m a sorcerer too.”
'Oh.'
A professional.
“And...”
Yu-ha smiled slightly as she gripped her sleeve.
“You made it, Master.”
Nice. Then all I needed was someone to do the hitting.
It wasn’t like I could grab a wooden club enhanced to +99 and hit her myself.
I turned to call the guy lounging on the sofa.
“Hey, Mu-yeong. Come here for a second.”
“Yes, hyung!”
Mu-yeong put down his pizza and sprang to his feet.
“You said you’ve been using an iron club lately, right? Give it a swing.”
“Me???”
Mu-yeong flinched and looked back and forth between Yu-ha and me.
“M-Me? Hit Yu-ha?!”
“Hit the clothes. The clothes.”
“N-No, I mean... are you sure this is okay?”
Yu-ha nodded as if to say it was fine.
“No, hyung. What if the Spell Formula doesn’t work? If I hit her wrong, her bones could...”
“There’s no way it won’t work.”
“...”
“I made it.”
“...Well, that’s true.”
He accepted that awfully quickly.
“You’re right. Hyung made it, after all. Then I won’t hold back...!”
Mu-yeong grinned and picked up the iron club he’d leaned against the sofa.
Yu-ha took a breath and stood with her arms slightly spread.
“H-Here I go? I’m really doing it? ...Hut, cha!”
Whoosh―
The club, filled with sorcerous power, flew toward Yu-ha’s side.
Swoooosh―
It was an attack from a Grade-3 sorcerer. Even a veteran sorcerer would have their ribs collapse if they let their guard down and took a hit like that.
Boom!
With a dull explosion, faint light flared over the jacket’s surface before fading away.
Then...
Crack. Piiiiing!
“...Huh?”
A strange sound rang out.
Not from Yu-ha’s side, but Mu-yeong’s.
His iron club had snapped cleanly in half, leaving only the handle in his hand while the rest rolled across the floor.
“A-Are you okay?!”
“...Huh? Ah, yes. It didn’t hurt at all.”
Yu-ha looked down at her side with a stunned expression.
The one who looked like he was about to cry was Mu-yeong.
“H-Hyung... my club... I saved up for so long to buy this...”
“...Sorry. I’ll make you a new one.”
“Really?! You mean that? You really mean it?!”
As if he had never been sad, Mu-yeong’s eyes sparkled brightly.
'This brat. At least pretend to mourn it.'
Yu-ha didn’t take off the jacket for the rest of the day.
Not indoors. Not even while eating.
“...Yu-ha, aren’t you hot?”
“Not at all.”
Heh heh. She must’ve really liked it.
* * *
Now then. I’d finished one job nicely, so it was time to choose the next one.
Actually, I already had someone in mind.
I turned on my tablet and opened the post at the top of the request inbox Ji-an had organized.
[Geumgang Spirit Beast Training Center] Request for a Ritual Implement exclusively for spirit beasts.
The reason this request had caught my eye was the sender’s payment account. The name had looked familiar.
'...Lightning Hawk.'
It was the bidder who had quietly appeared right before the auction ended and snatched up the hawk key ring with a last-second snipe.
'Oh?'
I’d been curious about their review too.
They wanted a Ritual Implement exclusively for a spirit beast.
The requested item was a set of armor.
And...
'...Nunchucks?'
The attached photo showed a monkey standing with its arms crossed.
Though calling it a monkey felt a little inaccurate.
It was a gray gibbon about the size of an average adult man.
'Nunchucks... for a monkey?'
I grinned.
This was going to be fun. Really fun.
“I should hurry up and make the next one too.”
Footnotes:
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