WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

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◈ The Occult World’s Coveted Blacksmith ◈

Chapter 57: Then Why Not Combine Them into One? (Revised)

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"Then will you leave the weapon's form to me?"

"Huh? Ah, yes! Of course! I'll trust you, Master Do!"

Once I took out a tape measure and got Wukong's measurements, we were done.

.

.

.

After returning to the workshop, I sat down at the workbench right away.

'All right, let's sort this out.'

'...First, the lightning.'

The biggest problem was the electrical charge.

The lightning Wukong wrapped around itself surged into one point of the weapon at the moment of impact. With nowhere for it to escape, it built up inside until it eventually exploded.

'Lightning explodes when you trap it.'

Then the answer was simple.

Don't trap it. Let it flow out.

You might ask whether electricity didn't already flow through metal.

It did.

The problem came after that.

For incoming lightning to escape, it needed an outlet.

Like lightning running down a lightning rod into the ground.

But the only possible outlet for this weapon was the body of whoever got hit.

...And that wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Thick animal hide, dense fur. And a spirit beast's own Spiritual Power could even repel someone else's Lightning Energy.

Contact only lasted an instant. The area of contact was barely the size of a palm.

Only a tiny fraction of the Lightning Energy transferred in that brief moment.

The rest remained trapped in the weapon, building up with nowhere to go.

Eventually, the thinnest chain couldn't take it anymore and snapped with a bang.

'...I see.'

Then the circuit needed to do two things.

First, create a path that guided Lightning Energy from the handle to the tip of the striking end, keeping it from pooling inside the weapon.

Second, create an outlet at the end that opened wide the moment it made contact.

'The outlet... Water would work well.'

I would inscribe a [Water-Sprinkling Spell Formula] at the tip of the striking end.

The instant it struck, a small amount of Spiritual Power would briefly turn into water and splash across the contact point.

Water could seep through fur and into gaps in hide.

And lightning loved nothing more than spreading through moisture.

'Like getting hit with a bucket of water.'

The Lightning Energy gathered at the striking end would run through that splash of water and seep directly into the opponent's body.

Then the weapon would empty itself every time it swung.

And whoever got hit would be electrocuted from head to toe before they could react.

I called it the [Discharge Circuit].

"...Wait. So you're saying..."

Seo Ji-an asked in shock after hearing my explanation.

"While drawing out the lightning so the weapon doesn't break, you're also dumping it directly onto the opponent?"

"Yeah. Two birds with one stone."

"That too, but...! Wukong has a lightning attribute. You're using lightning-attribute Spiritual Power to cast a water Spell Formula...? How does that even..."

Ahem. It wasn't that difficult.

She was pretty surprised, though.

All right, on to the next issue.

'Good. What about recoil?'

Even if I let the electrical charge flow out, that ridiculous speed remained.

It moved so fast that the recoil from a single swing alone put strain on the weapon.

'...Making it tougher won't solve it.'

It was the opposite, really.

The harder a weapon was, the more easily it broke.

'It can't just be hard. It has to bend.'

It needed to flex slightly when it took an impact, then spring back.

Like bamboo that didn't break even in strong winds.

It would disperse the impact through elasticity.

Nunchaku didn't have that problem since the chain joints naturally swayed and dispersed the impact.

The staff was the issue.

'Then I'll just inscribe a circuit that gives the staff elasticity.'

I called it the [Elasticity Circuit].

* * *

I chose an alloy with excellent conductivity for the material.

I stoked the forge.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

I hammered the red-hot metal into three long staff sections.

Why three?

Because I was making a Three-Section Staff.

"Could I make it a Three-Section Staff instead of nunchaku?"

I'd noticed several broken Three-Section Staves mixed into the pile of shattered weapons.

"Oh! Wukong is good with a Three-Section Staff too! But it's such an unpopular Ritual Implement that I haven't been able to get one."

"That works out nicely. You'll see the details once the item is finished."

"Ah, okay! I'll leave it to you!"

Nunchaku had two sections, while a Three-Section Staff had three.

It could be held short for rapid strikes or extended for reach comparable to a staff.

It was also that much harder to handle.

Next came the chains.

Every nunchaku that had broken so far had melted from the chain first.

The thinnest part, the chain, must have become the path where trapped lightning gathered in search of an escape.

So this time, I made the chain part of that path from the start.

The issue was that a chain consisted of separate links.

Its structure made it physically impossible to draw one continuous circuit.

'...Then I'll make it jump over the gaps.'

Wasn't that what lightning did best?

It split the sky and struck the ground. Could it really fail to cross a tiny gap between links?

I inscribed a [Leaping Contact Point] on each link.

When Lightning Energy flowed in, it would spark toward the next link's contact point and cross over on its own.

Crackle. Bzzzzzt.

Each time I traced out a circuit with my fingertip, thin grooves formed across the metal's surface, filling with a bluish glow.

The [Discharge Circuit] ran through all three staff sections and the chain.

Overlapping it was the [Elasticity Circuit].

At the ends of both striking sections, I added the [Water-Sprinkling Spell Formula] that would serve as the outlet.

Finally, the connecting mechanism.

When Spiritual Power flowed into the handle,

Shrrrk.

The chain wound into the staff sections, pulling them together, and the ends clicked into place.

They became one long staff.

A second flow of Spiritual Power released them back into a Three-Section Staff.

A semi-automatic mechanism that didn't need to be twisted and locked by hand.

'All right, now I've got a weapon that's both a Bongi and a Three-Section Staff.'

Hehe.

The armor was relatively easy.

Since Wukong relied on speed, I made it light, with just a breastplate and bracers.

I laid the basic armor formula, [Impact Mitigation Spell Formula], over each leather plate.

Then I inscribed the [Insulation Circuit] inside and out so the armor wouldn't be damaged by the electrical charge around its body.

If I added [Lightweight] and [Flexibility] Spell Formulas at every joint, it would be able to move without restriction.

'All right, now this...'

It was complete.

"Wow... Do-hyeon, you're a genius. A total genius."

Seo Ji-an, who had quietly watched me work, finally spoke.

"I've seen so much by now that I thought nothing could surprise me anymore..."

She shook her head as she looked back and forth between the weapon and armor.

She inhaled sharply.

"Every time I see you work... I honestly have no idea where your limits are."

* * *

Three days later.

I brought the finished items and returned to the Geumgang Spirit Beast Training Center with Ji-an.

"You're here, Master Do!"

Choi Yu-jin ran out in a hurry, with Wukong ambling along behind her.

[Screee!]

I started with the armor.

"Wow..."

Choi Yu-jin's eyes widened as she accepted the breastplate.

"This is armor? It barely feels like it weighs anything."

Wukong swung the arm fitted with a bracer around a few times, then thumped the breastplate with its fist as if it liked it.

[Screech!]

"Now, this is the main item."

I unwrapped the long cloth bundle.

Rustle.

What appeared was a long staff with a dark blue sheen.

"...Huh?"

Choi Yu-jin blinked.

"Um, Master Do...? You said you'd make it a Three-Section Staff..."

"Would you try flowing some Spiritual Power into it?"

"Pardon?"

"Right here."

Choi Yu-jin accepted the staff with a confused expression. The moment she gently flowed Spiritual Power into the indicated spot,

Click.

The connector came loose.

Shrrrk.

Bongi separated into three sections, and silver chains spilled out between them.

"...!!"

It was a Three-Section Staff.

"W-What is this?!"

"The Three-Section Staff you ordered."

I shrugged.

"It can become a staff when you put it together. That means you can bring both forms into the ring, right?"

What? A Ritual Implement user could only bring one weapon into the ring?

Then put two functions into one weapon!

Simple, right?

"..."

Choi Yu-jin opened and closed her mouth, looking between the Three-Section Staff in her hand and me.

"The Three-Section Staff becomes a Bongi, and Bongi becomes a Three-Section Staff...? I can change weapons during a match?"

"Something like that."

[Screee!]

Unable to stand it any longer, Wukong snatched the Three-Section Staff from her hands.

Whoosh. Whooosh.

The three sections traced different paths as they spun around Wukong's arms.

After swinging it around a few times, its eyes gradually widened.

Crackle!

It gently fed in its Lightning Energy, then froze.

Lightning raced freely through the staff.

Blue sparks danced at the ends of the striking sections.

No matter how much power it put into it, the weapon neither heated up nor cracked.

[Ookii!]

Wukong rushed straight at a punching bag.

Bangbangbangbang! Crack!

Every time a blue flash burst forth, the punching bag as thick as a drum lurched wildly.

Then.

Booom!

The moment the final blow struck.

Pop!

The punching bag, reinforced with layers of leather and inscribed with defensive Spell Formulas, burst open and vomited out its stuffing.

Pssshhh.

Bright white filling scattered from the torn gap like snow.

"...Huh?"

Choi Yu-jin's mouth fell open.

"T-That's a custom punching bag with defensive Spell Formulas inscribed on it... I've never seen anyone burst one since this place opened..."

That custom punching bag was reduced to tatters in only a few exchanges.

After happily pounding away at it, Wukong spun around and held up its weapon.

It was perfectly fine.

Not a single scratch on the chain.

[Screech! Ookiki!!]

"Aah! It didn't break! Master Do, it didn't break!!"

Choi Yu-jin jumped up and down in place.

Wukong turned the Three-Section Staff back into a regular staff and hugged it tightly to its chest as though it were precious.

Then it slowly began backing away.

"Wukong? Bring that over here for a second. Let big sister take a look too."

[Screech!]

When Choi Yu-jin reached out, it sprang onto the ring with the staff clutched in its arms.

Its expression said it would never let anyone take it away.

"Oh, come on, you little..."

'Looks like it likes it.'

Of course.

An item only felt right when the person using it liked it.

* * *

All right, here's the problem.

I'd handed over the item, and we'd tested it with a few hits.

But blacksmiths had something else they wanted to know most.

'How will it perform in a real fight?'

I wanted to see how it actually worked out there.

The issue was how.

With Yu-ha, I could just have Mu-yeong take a hit in the workshop, but this was different.

'It's not like I can trail after a client's work all day.'

As I smacked my lips in disappointment, someone called out.

"Um, Master Do!"

Choi Yu-jin, who had been struggling with Wukong on the ring, suddenly ran over as if she'd just remembered something.

"Wukong has a match tonight!"

She rummaged through a duffel bag and held out two tickets.

[Octagon VIP Invitation]

"If it's okay with you... would you come watch? It's Wukong's first match with its new weapon!"

'Oh.'

I stared at the tickets in front of me.

A match.

In other words...

I'd get to watch a live review of my item being used in a real fight.

Grin.

"Of course I'll go."

Obviously.

It was my baby's debut match.

Footnotes:

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