Chapter 191
Gengoro's new 'Ultimate Art,' 【Absolute Blade】, can dramatically enhance the bladed weapon he has equipped for ten seconds. Its intended use is to activate it and then use a combat art, giving that art power on par with other combat-based 'Ultimate Arts.' It is an unusual 'Ultimate Art' that elevates ordinary combat arts to the level of an 'Ultimate Art.'
However, in the hands of a master like Gengoro, even a normal attack while 【Absolute Blade】 is active can display power rivaling an 'Ultimate Art.' It is a trick available only to a swordsman forged through unceasing training.
"...Good grief. That was a tough fight for these old bones."
Even after cutting Saburo cleanly in two, Gengoro remained on guard until he was certain Saburo had stopped moving, then lowered his greatsword. When he turned toward Jigoro and the others, the baboons, thrown into a panic after losing their leader, were fleeing in disarray. There had been many dangerous moments, but it seemed they had managed to seize victory.
"Gengoro-han, you're all banged up! Are you all right?"
"Indeed. He was quite a formidable foe. Certainly an opponent above my level."
As he answered the worried Shichiko, Gengoro drank the potion clipped to his belt. Although all they had left to do was return, most of his exoskeleton was damaged, leaving his defense reduced. It would be safer to have even a little more vitality.
"An opponent who can give the old man trouble... This just keeps getting more fun."
"Big Bro never changes."
Jigoro and Sei joined them shortly after Shichiko. Everyone had accumulated considerable damage, though not as much as Gengoro. If they were attacked by another group of comparable size, at least two of them would certainly die and respawn. Continuing the patrol would be an act of suicide.
Moreover, they had defeated a great many baboons and even obtained a little information during the battle, so the patrol had produced sufficient results. Since they had more than fulfilled the quest's completion conditions, Gengoro decided to end the investigation here as planned.
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"Iris-sama, I'm told that the parts needed to assemble B-3 are complete."
"Thank you, Towa-san. Everyone, please put safety first and assemble it carefully so no one gets hurt!"
"Understood!"
At the shipyard within the 'Dragon Sanctuary,' Iris was assembling the unfinished sections of the floating battleship together with the Dragonnewt women. The reason none of the men were present was that caring for the Dragon Puppies was their primary duty.
'Care' encompassed far more than looking after their daily needs, including procuring food and teaching them how to fight. Even though they had been recognized by the Dragon God Almadelux, they could not neglect the Dragons they were supposed to serve. Thus, the task had fallen to the women, who handled the Dragonnewts' own household chores.
The workshop in the shipyard had every piece of equipment needed to process the battleship's parts, and they used it to create the missing components. They were not designing the ship from scratch or building machinery for the work, so they could manage even with insufficient Skill levels. No matter how dexterous Iris was or how skilled a craftsperson she was, assembling a flying ship with ease was impossible.
The battleship's AI also told them which parts were missing and how many of each they needed. As a result, the work proceeded smoothly, producing exactly the required quantities without making defective parts.
'Iris-sama, the metal reserves for parts are nearly depleted. Please take note.'
"Is that so...? Understood. Once we finish what we're working on, let's call it a day."
"Okay!"
However, because the assembly was progressing too smoothly, the supply of the junk parts used as raw materials could not keep up. Izaam was doing his best, but the work inevitably had to be interrupted. There was nothing they could do about that.
Iris operated the assembly machinery and welded armor alongside the Dragonnewts. Welding required a burner that generated intense heat, but Iris took no damage because she had already overcome 【Fire Attribute Weakness】. She worked on numerous tasks simultaneously with her countless tentacles, completing each one with care. The assembly work that had only just begun was finished in less than five minutes.
"That wraps it up. Good work, everyone!"
"Good work, everyone!"
After exchanging words of appreciation with the Dragonnewts, Iris headed to the workshop inside the ship. It contained her universal workbench, as well as the alchemical equipment brought from the old hideout that was gradually becoming Shiitake's personal property. The place was becoming the shared domain of the Nightwalkers' two production-focused members.
When Iris opened the door with a hiss, the smell of chemicals filling the room assailed her senses. Iris had no face to wrinkle, but she spoke to Shiitake, who remained absorbed in her work despite Iris's entrance.
"Shiitake-san, have you finished the new potion?"
"Hmm? Oh, it's Iris!"
Apparently Shiitake had not noticed her at all until Iris spoke, leaving Iris with no choice but to smile wryly. Without seeming to notice, Shiitake began talking animatedly about her research results.
"Listen, listen! I just finished this, and when you use herbs from Vetus Floating Island together with herbs from the Aquaria Archipelago, the effect doesn't change, but the color turns yellow! Makes no sense, right?"
Shiitake giggled as she shook the flask filled with yellow potion. She was in charge of producing the potions and other supplies Izaam's group used during their explorations, but once she had secured enough, she spent the rest of her time creating new types of items.
The clan members focused on combat and exploration, led by their leader Izaam, provided her with leftover materials, reasoning that she was making their potions. Thus, with a plentiful supply of materials at her disposal, she was making items exactly as she pleased.
"And another thing—the item for the event submission is finished!"
"Really? May I see it?"
"Go ahead, go ahead!"
The first thing Shiitake showed her was what could be called a joke item, but Iris could not help getting interested when she heard it was an item for the event submission. Shiitake had initially said she would make gag items, but recently she had been working hard on creating practical throwing items.
The impetus had been her battle with MacFarlane. As a production-class player, she was aware that she was a third-rate combatant at best. However, surrounded by players who presumably ranked among the very best in the entire game, she had come to want to ensure that she would at least not be a burden.
So how could she fulfill that wish? The only decent offensive methods available to her were magic and 【Throwing Arts】. Even those methods had their limitations: as a production-class player, her magic lacked power, while with 【Throwing Arts】, she only had the skill to hit thanks to combat-art and stat bonuses. Unlike Jigoro and the others, Shiitake's lack of athletic ability in real life was dragging down her game avatar.
Thus, Shiitake had reached the conclusion that she needed to prepare high-quality items in advance. Since she could somehow manage to hit with 【Throwing Arts】, she decided to improve the performance of the items themselves.
What Shiitake took out was a glass bottle for holding potions and the like. The bottle itself was perfectly ordinary, but its contents were anything but. It was filled with a poisonous liquid patterned in black and blue marble, repulsive enough to provoke visceral disgust.
"May I use 【Appraisal】?"
"Of course! It's my pride and joy!"
Having received permission, Iris immediately used 【Appraisal】 to determine the identity of the potion-like object. The result was as follows.
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Chilly-Scary-kun Quality: Superior Rarity: S (Special Grade)
A mysterious liquid created by a certain wandering alchemist.
Touching the liquid inside inflicts Water-attribute damage and the Fear status ailment.
The method of production is being kept secret, but there is no doubt that it involves an extraordinary process.
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"C-could it be that you came up with the name for this item, Shiitake-san?"
"Yep! Cute, right?"
Iris asked cautiously, and Shiitake immediately answered as though it were obvious. Iris felt deeply envious.
Item names were generally determined by the system. For example, Izaam's armor, the 'Poisonflame Tarrasque Robe,' would have the same name no matter who made it, provided it was a robe made from Poisonflame Tarrasque materials. Appraisal could reveal differences in workmanship and the creator, but that was all.
However, players could also name their creations. The phenomenon was first discovered mainly by players who made clothing, apparently when they completed works with innovative designs.
After various tests, it was discovered that highly original works could be given names. They needed to have an unprecedented design or performance.
Creating a practical item from newly discovered materials or an unprecedented design was far too difficult. There was another, more realistic method: decorating an item with Skills such as 【Metal Engraving】 or 【Woodworking】 to add extra effects.
This method could also produce a one-of-a-kind work that could be named. It demanded a sense for decoration, and would not work well unless the relevant Skills were highly developed, making it difficult for anyone who was not a master craftsman.
Either way, creating a unique work that could be named was extremely difficult. As a result, producing a work eligible for a unique name was becoming one of the goals of many production-class players.
"I boiled the materials I gathered in the 'Black Death Ice Forest' over a black flame, and this is what I got."
"With a method like that...? In your case, Shiitake-san, you must have been able to name it because you created a new item. I'm jealous..."
"No, no, it just happened by accident when I was doing whatever I wanted. By the way, Iris-chan, have you finished the item you're submitting?"
"Actually, not yet. I made a prototype, but..."
"The performance isn't good enough for you?"
At Shiitake's question, Iris nodded, her tentacles drooping. The item she intended to submit was a weapon, but no matter what she tried, it failed to reach the performance she envisioned. She remained unable to find a way to overcome the problem.
"If I remember correctly, it was supposed to be a 'weapon that could use multiple attributes,' right? You're really going all out."
"But I think it's theoretically possible! Dragon materials should have that much potential!"
Iris was trying to create a weapon that made use of the Dragon teeth and bones she had gathered in such abundance during the conquest of the 'Black Death Ice Forest' that she could sell them. The teeth had dropped from Spartoi, while the bones had come from Imitation Bone Dragons.
However, as the name 'Imitation' suggested, many of the bones making up the Imitation Bone Dragons came from monsters other than Dragons, so there were few actual Dragon bones. She therefore decided to preserve the bones for making weapons for her companions and submit a weapon made from teeth instead.
These Dragon teeth had grown brittle through deterioration over time and had lost their attributes. Their strength could be restored through 【Alchemy】, making them excellent weapon materials. Furthermore, fusing them with attribute-infused magic stones made it possible to imbue them with attributes.
But Iris wanted to go further. She reasoned that a material capable of taking on any attribute ought to be usable as the material for a weapon capable of controlling every attribute. Her idea was excellent, but from there, the road became a thorny one.
"I can somehow manage to imbue it with two attributes. But opposing attributes are impossible, and adding three or more doesn't work either..."
That was the limit she had reached. She had tried all sorts of things, but could not imbue it with both Fire and Water attributes, nor could she give it three or more attributes. When she tried Water, Wind, and Lightning—the composite attribute of the first two—she technically succeeded. However, only the Lightning attribute was imbued.
Apparently, a composite-attribute magic stone and the magic stones it originated from could be used at the same time, but only the composite attribute remained in the result. The same thing happened with other composite attributes, and controlling every attribute was still a distant dream.
"I feel as though the problem isn't so much my lack of Skill as it is that my approach is wrong. But... I have no idea how to fix it..."
"You'll be fine. Iris-chan can figure anything out. After all, you can make useful items like this!"
Shiitake did not say this to comfort her; she declared it as a matter of course. She was pointing at a magical tool that looked like an alcohol lamp, made by Iris and placed beneath a beaker.
It was small but excellent, with adjustable heat output. When Shiitake had said she wanted it for her experiments, Iris had made it for her immediately. The task had been simple for Iris, but Shiitake, who had commissioned it, had been amazed by her dexterity. Someone like Iris was sure to finish the weapon. She was certain of it.
"A magical tool...? That's it! A magical tool!"
"Oh!? Did you get an idea?"
"Yes! I can't sit around doing nothing! I'll finish it in one go!"
Perhaps her conversation with Shiitake had given her a hint. Iris suddenly brightened and immediately got to work. Shiitake watched her with eager anticipation, wondering what Iris would show her this time.