Weakest Occupation “Blacksmith” Become The Strongest – Chapter 52

Here’s the new chapter today.
Enjoy~

TL: NyX
ED: Onihikage

 

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Chapter 52 – Armor

 

When I got to the management office, Linear-san was already there, and handed me a slip of paper. “Here are the results of yesterday’s investigation. There seem to be about a hundred of them left.”

“Oh, I see… There were more left than I thought.”

“Yes. For now, I’ll set up the trap like yesterday.”

“Alright, I’ve already poisoned the bait. Shall we get going?”

Linear-san nodded when I showed her the bag, and we entered the underground aqueduct and split up to prepare the traps. We set them here and there, then left the underground aqueduct.

“Okay, then, let’s go look at armor until the traps have taken effect.”

“Alright, lead the way.”

The guild wasn’t that far into the central district where the management office was located. It was only a short distance from the management office, but there were some armor shops on the same street as the guild. I walked next to Linear-san.

“So what kind of armor do you want, Relius?”

“What do you mean? Oh, is this about the appearance?”

“You have to choose armor that suits your fighting style. If mobility is important to you, don’t wear heavy equipment. If anything, focus on light equipment and evasion, try to avoid getting attacked as much as possible, and leave the armor for protecting your vitals.”

“I see…”

“If you’re good at long-range attacks, it’s a similar tactic, but there you should try to select the most powerful equipment that uses magic ore, as that will affect your magic.”

“You mean mithril, right?”

“I think it’s still too early for that.”

Too early, she says.

“Certainly, there were some general and special magic ores, right?”

“Yes. The metals most commonly used for armor include bronze, iron, steel, silver, gold and platinum magic ore.”

I know a little about that due to some of the things I can make. However, when I made them, it was only possible by consuming a magic stone. Then, even if I dismantled it, I wouldn’t get it back as magic ore, only the magic stone.

Eventually, I might be able to make weapons from silver and gold.

“Rare magic ores include Mithril and Orichalcum, right?”

“Yes. The rest is Hihi’irokane*, Adamantite, Damascus Magic Ore, and so on. They can be found very rarely in the labyrinth. If you get it, you might want to make your own armor with that.”

…In my case, could I actually make that armor? If I could make armor out of Mithril, would it have comparable power to a Divine Treasure?

“For the time being, I think an F to E-rank adventurer should have armor that combines bronze with monster materials.”

“I actually have plenty of money, so I want something as good as possible.”

“In that case… I think the store probably has steel armor.”

“Then I’d like to settle that with them.”

“Let’s get over there, then. Follow me.”

I entered the back alley with Linear-san. I’ve never been around here… this seems like a place where criminals hang out. Some of the people seemed like tramps. Just the sight of their dull eyes was almost enough to stop me in my tracks. If you’re with a beautiful girl like Linear-san, they might go after you.

Reality didn’t match my expectations, though. No one reacted like they even wanted to get involved with us.

“I’ve previously given these people a good beating, so don’t worry.”

“You’re pretty strong, aren’t you?”

“I’m at C rank now, but I’ve accumulated enough points that I can move up to B rank if I take the test.”

“I see…”

There aren’t many adventurers who manage to get to B rank. Linear-san seems to have considerable skill.

We entered a house. Well, it looked more like a normal house than a shop, but once I was inside, I realized immediately that it was an armor shop. The mannequin placed right inside the entrance was wearing blue full body armor.

…It looks so cool.

When I looked at it, I found it had a skill granted to it.

Increase Damage Received [S-rank]

He~ey. It’s equipment with a disadvantageous skill, but it seems like a powerful skill to give your opponent. I wanted it. When I looked closely, I could see that all of the equipment in this store had good skills, from top to bottom.

“Oh ho, Linear! Are you bringing a customer?”

The shopkeeper was a really old lady, she almost looked like a witch. I wonder if she’s the one who made all this equipment.

“Well, something like that. I want you to choose this boy’s equipment here.”

“He~ey, I can’t believe Linear is bringing a man over.”

“It’s alright sometimes, isn’t it?”

“Sure it is, I just thought that you wouldn’t ever be with a man. Hehehe, so, it’s you. You said you wanted armor, right?”

“…Yes.”

The topic of the conversation shifted to me. The old lady came over.

“Alright, first of all, from these two accessories. Which is better?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“I think I need to assess your eyes.”

I looked at the two accessories the old lady held. A magic stone on the right, and a magic stone on the left. Both were given negative skills.

“They both look nice, but I don’t want to wear them.”

At that, the old lady opened her eyes widely. Linear-san also looked at me in surprise.

“…Linear, did you talk to him about this before?”

“Come on, grandma, it’s not like I can teach him anyway. Aren’t your questions different every time? I haven’t told him anything.”

“Oooh, hee hee, that’s right! Hey, do you want to work here? You can make a good living with just those eyes.”

Apparently, she was surprised to find that those items had negative skills.

“Oh, I’m not really interested in that right now.”

“That’s a waste, isn’t it? You have good eyes. I made these two items; they have bad effects, don’t they?”

I hesitated, then said, “That’s right.”

“Eighty percent of the merchants in the world don’t have eyes as good as yours. That’s why you have more talent as a merchant.”

Sure, there are more valuable things out there that I can think of. In actual fact, valuable things are often not properly evaluated.

“I’m happy to hear that, but I’m more of a craftsman.”

“A craftsman? I mean, was your occupation a craftsman?”

“No, I’m… a Blacksmith.”

“Ah, is that so? That’s too bad again.”

The grandma spoke to me warmly from the bottom of her heart. Then she glanced at Linear-san.

“So, it’s like that, huh, Linear? You want him to make you a weapon, right?”

“Yeah.”

When Linear-san nodded, the grandma laughed. “I can make anything as a [Craftsman], but the only thing I can’t make is a weapon.”

An occupation called “Craftsman” can make anything. Unlike me, they can’t make things in an instant, but they can make anything skillfully.

“You can’t make weapons?”

“That’s right. If I try to make one, my heart becomes painful. At best, I’m limited to wooden swords, sword hilts, or kitchen knives that people use on a daily basis.”

“I see.”

I wonder if her restriction is specifically against weapons meant to be used in actual combat.

“So that’s that story. Now for the armor, but first… do you see anything you like in my store?”

“Oh yeah… Can I look around for a while?”

“Sure, no problem.”

I glanced around the store. I see. There was a lot of equipment stocked. Plenty of it was steel equipment, but they often were combined with dragon scales, and from various kinds of dragons, too. I wanted to check out Val’s type later, but I was busy.

Then came the moment I found the dusty armor in the corner.

“This is…”

It might only be silver equipment, but it looks just like it’s made from hemp. It has skills, too: Damage Reduction and Slash Resistance, both S-rank. I thought it was the best armor set in the shop.

“Is this one alright?”

The granny looked at me in surprise.

“…As I thought, you have eyes given to you by heaven, don’t you?”

 

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TLN: *Hihi’irokane is a red/orange fantasy metal obtained from Hihi’irokane Ore. It is used for swords. The sword essentially comes with a fire aspect, igniting any target it hits.

Hihi’irokane is from japanese mythology, in which it is generally depicted as harder than diamond, resistant or immune to rust, an excellent conductor of heat (or even a generator of heat), and an even better conductor of souls, emotions or spiritual energy.

 

 

 

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