WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈
Chapter 56: Nunchucks for a Monkey
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Spirit beasts were usually brought in and raised from infancy.
It was rare for one to be a spirit beast from birth.
The standard approach was for the owner to feed it their own Spiritual Power as they raised it, building a bond in the process.
Over time, a spirit beast could even take after its owner's attribute. After all, it grew by consuming its owner's Spiritual Power like food.
...Though.
Not every case worked out that way.
[Question] Urgent!!! When Awakening a spirit beast, you’re supposed to channel Spiritual Power into its tank, right??
Author: Flame Man
I caught a crucian carp while fishing yesterday.
I was going to make spicy fish stew, but the little guy looked unusually sharp. Something about it seemed special.
I heard spirit beast taming’s been popular lately, so I figured I’d try raising one myself and immediately put it in a tank.
Last night, I put my hand in the tank and poured in lots of Spiritual Power before bed so we could bond a little.
But when I woke up this morning, it was floating on its back with its white belly up?
It’s just sleeping, right? T_T
└ What? Lol, the method’s right. Why’d it die, though?
└ Are you non-elemental by any chance? Fish need some water attribute mixed in at first so they can adjust.
└ No, I’m not non-elemental.
└ ??? Then what’s your attribute?
└ Fire attribute.
└ .......
└ You lunatic, how could you pour Fire Energy into a fish? LOL
└ You carefully steamed that crucian carp all night, lol
└ So you ended up making spicy fish stew after all lmao
‘...Seriously.’
I snickered and lowered my phone.
Ever since I’d started lurking around the community, I’d been picking up more and more random facts about spirit beast taming.
These people took sharing information more seriously than I’d expected.
“What are you reading that’s so entertaining?”
Seo Ji-an asked from across the table, sipping her coffee.
“Ah. You could say I’m studying spirit beast taming.”
We were in a private room at an upscale cafe tucked inside the Goblin Market.
Today, I was meeting a new client here.
The client who had won the Lightning Hawk.
The Geumgang Spirit Beast Training Center had commissioned a spirit beast-specific Ritual Implement.
A set of armor and a pair of nunchucks.
“Ji-an, spirit beasts with a lightning attribute are pretty rare, aren’t they?”
“Of course. Most have water, wood, or fire attributes. Everything else is extremely rare.”
‘...I see.’
No wonder the Lightning Hawk had sold for the lowest price out of the limited-edition three-element series.
Was that why?
‘Well, it was still insanely expensive.’
Just then, the door to the private room opened.
“I’m sorry...! I’m a little late, aren’t I?”
The person who rushed in, breathing hard, was unexpectedly a young woman.
She had bright blond hair tied tightly back and wore a hoodie and training pants.
A large duffel bag hung from her shoulder.
...Was she an athlete?
“No, we just got here too. Please, have a seat.”
Seo Ji-an smoothly offered her a seat.
“Hello! I’m Choi Yu-jin, the one who won the Lightning Hawk!”
She bowed brightly.
“Nice to meet you. I read your request carefully. You said Wukong’s weapons keep breaking?”
“Yes, that’s right. Our Wukong’s weapons...”
Choi Yu-jin sighed, looking miserable.
“This is already the third one this month. Every weapon I buy ends up breaking...”
Rustle.
She pulled a blackened lump of metal from her duffel bag.
...It looked like it had originally been a pair of nunchucks.
The sticks were covered in fine cracks, and one side of the connecting chain had completely melted and fused together.
“At first, I thought it was because I’d bought cheap ones, so I switched to much better weapons. But even the expensive ones broke the same way...”
“Hmm.”
I took the wreckage and examined it from every angle.
Fine cracks covered the entire weapon, but only the chain and striking ends had melted.
‘...’
I couldn’t figure it out from the remains alone.
When making something, you had to see the one using it.
Customizing it for the user was my style, too.
“I’ll need to see Wukong in person.”
“Pardon?”
“Wukong. I need to watch it wield a weapon firsthand.”
Choi Yu-jin’s face brightened.
“Would you like to go right now? The training center is close by!”
* * *
Geumgang Spirit Beast Training Center.
Based on the sign alone, I’d imagined some mountain dojo.
But when I walked through the doors, what unfolded before me was unmistakably a boxing gym.
A square ring stood in the center.
Heavy bags lined the walls.
...Though the scale was a little unusual.
Every bag was the size of an oil drum, with several layers of cowhide covering the surface.
‘Ritual Implements? They even have defensive Spell Formulas engraved on them.’
Thick chains surrounded the ring in place of ropes, while claw marks gouged the floor here and there.
Off to one side, a boar with a tire around its neck was running on a treadmill.
‘...?’
A pig on a treadmill?
You really did see everything if you lived long enough.
“All right, then!”
Choi Yu-jin untied something from her waist and placed it on her palm.
It was familiar.
A fist-sized black hawk carved from lightning-struck jujube wood.
The Lightning Hawk I had made.
Clatter.
She pulled the chain.
Pop. Swoooosh!
Crackle!
With a streak of light, a gray blur shot out.
A gray gibbon as large as an adult man.
It landed lightly on the floor, then folded its long arms across its chest.
It looked exactly like the photo attached to the request.
“Wukong! We have guests!”
‘Oh. She’s using it very well.’
[Kreee.]
Wukong gave me a slow once-over.
...What was with that smug look?
“Oh, right, Master! I absolutely love the key ring! Thank you so much!”
Choi Yu-jin clasped her hands together excitedly.
“Ever since Wukong started using this, it’s become a completely different spirit beast. Its movements are noticeably faster, and the lightning is seriously no joke! Here, Wukong, hands!”
[Kreee!]
Wukong stretched out an arm.
Sure enough.
Blue lightning crawled through the gray fur like tiny snakes.
‘...The Lightning Energy Refinement worked perfectly.’
That was satisfying.
“And Wukong loves it so much. Lately, after every match, it brings me the key ring and begs to be sealed inside. Right, Wukong?”
Nod. Nod.
‘This one seems to understand human speech.’
“Could you have Wukong swing its weapon the way it normally does?”
“Sure! Wukong, where are the new nunchucks? Let’s give them a demonstration!”
[Ook-ook!]
Wukong took a pair of nunchucks from the equipment locker in the corner.
They gleamed brightly. It looked like they were the fourth new pair she had bought.
Wukong stood before a heavy bag and cracked its neck.
Then.
Whoosh!
Its figure blurred.
Whiiirl! Whiiirl!
The nunchucks spun like tops at the ends of its long arms.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blue trails hammered the heavy bag from every direction.
‘Fast.’
I loosened my Suppression Talisman and gathered Spiritual Power in my eyes.
Then I could see it.
Every time a strike landed, Wukong’s Lightning Energy surged down the weapon.
...But the lightning had nowhere to go.
Thud! Thud! Bam!
Lightning Energy built up at the striking ends with nowhere to escape. It pooled, compressed, and swelled until...
Ting!
The chain finally gave out and snapped.
Crunch.
One half of the nunchucks flew off and embedded itself in the far wall.
“...Ah.”
Choi Yu-jin pressed a hand to her forehead.
“You saw that, right? It’s always like this... These days, Wukong gets nervous whenever it picks up a weapon.”
[Kreee...]
Wukong stared sadly at the broken nunchucks, its shoulders drooping.
‘...I see.’
The cause was clear.
First, its refined Lightning Energy exceeded the Ritual Implement’s limits.
Lightning-aspected Spiritual Power with nowhere to escape pooled at the point of impact. The Ritual Implement couldn’t withstand the accumulated energy and eventually burst apart.
Second, there was its speed.
The weapon was taking the full recoil every time it struck. That was the cause of the cracks covering the sticks.
It was like putting a fighter jet engine in a compact car.
Of course, I was the one who had installed that engine.
‘Ahem...’
Because I had strengthened Wukong’s Lightning Energy, the weapons it had been using perfectly fine had begun exploding one after another.
Well, well.
I sold it a key ring, then I was going to sell it a Ritual Implement too.
I’d accidentally built the perfect closed-loop economy.
Ahem.
What could I do?
The person who caused the problem had to clean it up too.
“I’ll make one for you.”
“R-Really?!”
That brief demonstration had been enough for me to get a general read on Wukong’s movements.
Its wrist snap. Its swing angles. Even its habit of tugging the chain right before impact to add speed.
‘At this rate, I can draw up the blueprint right away...’
[Kreee...]
Just then, a bored Wukong grabbed a mop from the corner.
Then, with practiced hands, it pulled the mop head right off.
Whiiirl! Whiiirl!
The long handle spun rapidly, leaving afterimages.
It twirled it around, planted it against the floor to launch into the air, then balanced it on its palm.
‘...It’s having fun.’
Crack.
“...”
“...”
The handle snapped cleanly in half.
[Kreee...]
Wukong pretended not to notice and slowly hid the broken handle behind its back.
I saw that.
“Can Wukong use anything besides nunchucks?”
Now that I looked closer, among the broken nunchucks piled in the corner were several charred, snapped staffs.
“Ah... Wukong does use a staff too.”
“Then could you show me how it uses a staff?”
“Ah... Sure! Of course. Wukong! Staff!”
[Kree?]
Wukong tilted its head, then took an old wooden training staff from the equipment locker.
“Don’t use Spiritual Power. Just show me your movements.”
Perhaps it understood me, because Wukong bared its teeth in a grin and spun the staff.
Then.
Tap!
It kicked off the floor.
The tip of the staff planted firmly against the ground, launching its body into the air with the rebound.
One spin in midair. Then two.
The moment it landed, it pivoted around the staff and lashed a long leg into the heavy bag.
Boom!
A wide sweep followed. A thrust. A leap using the staff as a springboard.
At the end, Wukong lightly stepped onto the top of the upright staff with both feet, folded its arms, and looked down at me.
[Ook-ook!]
Its face seemed to say, How was that?
‘...Wow.’
It was like watching a circus act.
“Wukong handles both well. Does it switch between them during matches?”
“No, that’s the thing... Only one weapon is allowed in the ring.”
Choi Yu-jin sighed.
“So before every match, I have to worry about which weapon to send Wukong in with against which opponent.”
‘Oh?’
Come to think of it, each stick of Wukong’s nunchucks was as large as a decent club.
Well, with arms that long, they had to be.
Grin.
‘Good. I’ve got an idea.’
“I think I can make it pretty quickly.”
Footnotes:
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