89-079 Operation to increase the force (4)

The training to improve our war potential continued the next day.

Basically, the two main focuses of the training were for Toya and Natsuki, who supported the front line, to be able to deal with multiple enemies, and for us rearguards to be able to destroy more enemies.

In the process, the rearguard's magic level in the skill list increased, but this seems to be because they used magic of the level set in the grimoire, rather than because their magic ability increased.

In fact, the fact that my Fire Magic level is now 3 does not increase the maximum power of my Fire Arrow, so the level itself does not contribute at all to strengthening my strength.

However, unlike the Fire Arrow, the Fireball listed as a level 3 spell is accompanied by an explosion when it lands, so it may be effective for destroying weak enemies or for checking them.

However, a direct hit on an orc would probably result in the loss of both skin and flesh, so you'll probably have to use "Fire Arrow" to blow its head off as before.

On the other hand, direct combat is not something that can be easily improved.

But in the mock battle, everyone got the same [Strengthening] skill, so you can't really tell the difference.

As for other achievements, I succeeded in gaining a new skill, "Vikadaten".

Now that I have physical defense, magic defense, and increased muscle strength, I need to increase my agility. As a result of repeated interval dashes to achieve this, I successfully obtained it.

Immediately after gaining it, he hid it and had a mock fight with Toya, and won handily, but of course, he was immediately discovered.

As a result, a few hours later, everyone got it, and the result was the same: almost no difference.

The same result.

That day, when I visited the Orc sale as usual, I was approached by Diora.

"Nao-san, the request to kill the orcs has been issued.

"Oh, so it's finally here. Did you see it on the side of the road?

No, we haven't had any sightings yet, but Nao's party has been bringing them in constantly.

Diora chuckled.

It was us, apparently.

Have you seen any orc leaders in the forest?

"They are larger than normal orcs, right?　Yes, I have seen them.

I see. I'm pretty sure they have a nest. As I said before, take it easy, okay?

Of course. Even if you make a profit, you have to stay alive.

Our goal is to survive, first and foremost. Secondly, to live at a reasonable level for the rest of our lives.

That's why we kill our enemies, get stronger, and save money.

There is no point in dying.

Can you buy the Orc's magic stone and other items?

Yes, in the back.

As usual, I took out the meat of four orcs and the magic stones that I had accumulated and sold them.

The magic stones cost about 3,000 rares per animal, but if the purchase price doubles, it's not so ridiculous.

I tightened my loose cheeks, put the bag of gold coins into my magic bag, and called out to Natsuki, who was waiting in front of the bulletin board.

"Natsuki, I heard there was a request to take down an orc nest, do you have it?

Natsuki was the only one accompanying me today. Since I've been training for the past few days, I've been coming with a couple of members who have time to go sell orcs.

I have a magic bag, so I can go by myself, but just to be on the safe side, either I or Toya, and one or two of the ladies are accompanying me.

"Yeah. Here it is.

In summary, the contents of the paper that Natsuki pointed to are: "Destroy the orc nest in the depths of the forest and defeat the higher species of orc," and "Buy the orc magic stone at double the price until the defeat is completed. These are generally the same things that Diora had told me.

It may be obvious, but there is no mention of guild-organized defeats if left unattended, or of the details of higher species.

It's dangerous to read this and think that there are only orc leaders to go and kill.

"Yes, it is. I guess they didn't dare to say that they were Orc Leaders, but that's your own responsibility.

As a guild, we haven't confirmed whether the higher species of Orcs are leaders, captains, or higher. That's why they dare to write "higher species of orcs".

It is up to the adventurers themselves to decide what action to take when they see this.

...... Although it is possible that they simply don't expect to be defeated.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'll discuss it with Haruka and the others when I get back.

I'm sure. I'm not sure what to do, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. ......

We nodded at each other and left the guild.

I'm not sure what to say.

You're right.　In a way, the timing was perfect. Tommy told me that the dagger is ready.

This was Haruka's reaction when I returned to the inn and told her about the request to defeat the orcs.

"Good timing, you're going to take them down?

I've been training for this for a while now.　That's why we've been training for a while now.

That's right. I'm pretty sure I can kill them faster now.

I'm not sure if I can kill it with the Fire Arrow either.　Last time, I was able to kill one with Haruka.

I thought they would be a little more hesitant because they had a lot of trouble last time, but they were all more aggressive than I thought.

Well, in a way, I was the only one who felt the danger. The rest of us were only grazed, at best.

Incidentally, the time required for disassembly, which was the previous issue. As a countermeasure, I have prepared a magic bag with a wide mouth.

The raw material was oak leather, and three women took turns embroidering the magic circle on it.

The purpose of making the bag was to temporarily move the orcs, but when you think about it, it seems to have many uses.

For example, after the house is finished, it could be used to buy and transport furniture, couldn't it?　As long as no one sees it.

So, shall we go to Mr. Gantz to pick up the dagger first?

"Yes. Let's get it quickly and head for the forest. Is that okay?

Yeah. I'm tired of just training.

I'm with you. It's a beautiful day.

It's been cloudy for the past few days, but today it's a beautiful autumn day. I feel like going on a picnic, but we're going to kill a demon.

We prepared for the hunt and left the inn quickly, heading for Mr. Gantz's shop.

"Oh, it's you guys. You've come to pick up your stuff, right?

The person who greeted me at the counter today was Mr. Gantz.

"Yes, sir. Is Tommy in the back?

Yeah. You know what to do. Come in and get it.

As we moved toward the back, Tommy, who was working in front of the furnace in the workshop, noticed us and turned around.

"Hey, guys. You're early, aren't you?

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to go hunting after I get it.

Oh, really? Well then, you'd better hand it over quickly.

What Tommy took out was a rather rude looking dagger.

The width of the blade was about one and a half times as wide, and the thickness was a little thicker. The slightly warped shape itself was similar to that of a small dagger, but the hilt and the tsuba were closer to what is commonly used in this world.

The scabbard that was given with the sword was also simple, and had almost none of the elegance or artistry of a Japanese sword.

Haruka and Yuki took it and nodded lightly.

It's reasonably heavy, but it's manageable enough.

Yes, it is. The center of gravity isn't bad, and it's easy to handle at this length.

I held it in my hand, and it seemed to be well balanced and easier to handle than I expected.

My first impression was that it was like a sword machete, but if I had to choose which it was closer to, I would say it was a small sword.

The first impression I had was that it was like a sword machete, but if I had to choose which was closer, it would be the kotachi. The core of the sword is made of tenacious blue iron, surrounded by magic iron and forged.

So it is made by wrapping tough blue iron with hard magic iron.

I guess they copied the method of making Japanese swords, but I wonder how effective it is.

It's sharp enough to cut through oak bark and won't spill when struck by an ordinary iron sword. It's also very tenacious, so I don't think it will break easily.

It is said that the rigidity of the magic iron is more than that of the yellow iron and the toughness is a little less than that of the blue iron, but even so, the single structure of the magic iron seems to be better than the composite structure. Isn't it possible that the two metals don't unite well due to their different properties?

When I asked this question to Tommy, he looked a little uncomfortable.

If I'm being honest, this sword is about the same, or maybe slightly less, than if it were made entirely of magic iron. However, it saves on materials, and if you have Gantz-san's level of skill, this structure seems to be stronger, so I don't think it's the wrong direction to go.

Hmmm. Well, it's not something to complain about, since they made it for me to practice with no charge. Let's see how it develops.

By the way, how would you feel if this sword and my sword went at it?

Toya's sword would be weaker, wouldn't it? If it's against yellow iron, the blade might spill, but I think it'll only need to be lightly re-sharpened. You can do it, right, Toya?

"Yeah, I have the blacksmithing skill, too.

You can use it to cut down branches like a machete, so I think it's very practical. --How about it?

It's a sub-weapon, so it's certainly useful to use outside of combat.

There are a lot of twigs and bushes that get in the way in the forest, so there will be many opportunities to use it.

Yeah, I think it's good.

I'll have to try it to understand, but it's not bad.

Oh, really?　Thank you very much!

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that both Yuki and Haruka seem to be satisfied with the product, although their expressions are slightly different.

I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

I'll have to ask Gantz-san about that. To be honest, I don't know much about it. ......

When he used the materials, he checked with Mr. Gantz, so I'm sure he didn't exceed his budget, but Tommy himself doesn't know how much the materials actually cost.

Yeah, I get it. I'll let you know how it goes when I try it out.

I'd love to!

Yeah, I'll see you at the inn. Thanks again.

As I walked out of the forge and back into the store, Mr. Ganz greeted me with a grin and a good mood.

How'd it go?　Not bad at all, huh?

"From the looks of it and the description I've heard, I have no complaints.

"Now we'll see how it fares in actual combat. Even if the specifications are good, there's a chance that the actual performance won't meet them.

You don't have to worry about that, okay?　We're in business. I'm not going to give you anything that will endanger the lives of my customers, even if it's for the sake of my apprentice's training.

So how much do I have to pay you?

Well, I'll give you 80 gold pieces for ......2.

It's not badly made using magic iron, but only 80,000 rares?

It's almost half the price of my spear.

...... is cheaper than I thought, isn't it?

"I used witch iron, but the size is a little small. However, please tell Tommy what you think of it, whether it's a compliment or a complaint. It'll help him.

I understand.

Haruka nodded, took out his wallet and began to lay out the gold coins on the counter. It was always a hassle to count dozens of coins. There may be a difference of opinion as to which is easier to count than paper money, but paper money is certainly easier to carry around.

There is a large gold coin that is equivalent to ten gold coins, but I have never seen it before. It is said that merchants of a certain size use these coins, but considering that they are worth about 100,000 yen, it is probably inevitable that they are not usually seen. Thanks to this, Haruka, who is in charge of the purse, has to struggle every time.

Toya, who had been looking at the sword while borrowing it from Haruka, suddenly asked Mr. Gantz as if he had an idea.

What is your opinion of this sword, Gantz-san?

"From my point of view, the material is not fully utilized, but as an apprentice, you're doing a great job. I don't want to pry into your past, but you're not just an amateur, are you?

"Haha, no comment on that.

I'm not going to go into the details, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out.

I can't say that I'm a complete novice, although I do have some skills.

Well, okay. If it's just skill, I'm close to being one. I don't think you need to worry about him.

Okay. That's good. Keep up the good work.

I owe you for giving me the shovel. Don't worry, I'll take care of you until you're independent.

Mr. Ganz then smiled wanly.