༺ Chieftain (1) ༻
“I’m back, Granny.”
“You came back ear— What happened to you?”
Unbecoming of her, Kasa Garda was startled.
Seeing her granddaughter always come back drenched in sweat was a familiar sight for her, but returning with bruises and injuries covering every corner of her body like this was not a common occurrence, even from her perspective.
Without a doubt, she had been in a fight and returned utterly battered.
While such incidents used to happen relatively frequently in the past, they had become fairly rare recently.
“Did you become like this after training with that guy?”
Kaya asked with an incredulous voice.
Basic exercises to improve Dowd Campbell’s stamina was something she had already been making Riru supervise everyday.
Even the person in question had his doubts about why he was spending his time on such physical training rather than learning proper ‘techniques’, but due to Kasa’s stubborn insistence, it had continued everyday.
Anyway…
Getting injured to this extent from just that much training was absurd. After all, even Riru was pouting, denying her suspicions, as she shook her head.
“Obviously not.”
“Then how did you end up in this state?”
Riru fell silent for a moment at Kasa’s question.
She was clearly in deep thought, pondering whether it was right to consult Kasa about this.
“…Hey, Granny.”
“What is it?”
“…”
Riru pursed her lips with hesitation for a long while, before finally managing to speak.
“…That Lady Tristan. Do you know about her?”
“I’ve heard of her. Isn’t she well-known throughout the entire continent as the swordsmanship genius? What about her?”
“What is a good way to train if I want to fight and win against her?”
Kasa’s expression was filled with questions.
“…Why against her?”
“It’s just… I somehow ended up fighting her once.”
Riru stroked her chin in contemplation as she continued.
“…I thought I could become immediately stronger if I fought against her.”
There wasn’t much time left until the end of the Hunter’s Night which also meant there was not much time left until she could directly confront the Chieftain.
In that case, she needed to try out every possible means that could make her stronger.
And…
It wasn’t like that was the only reason either.
“Also…”
Riru, who was about to continue, let out a sigh instead.
In her mind, the incident from earlier came rushing back.
The unidentifiable power that Dowd Campbell had used to engrave that sentence on her arm.
[Cooperate. Death if don’t. Save me.]
—She was sure that was what he said.
But, the problem was…
Depending on the interpretation, it could be seen as a slightly different sentence.
It could potentially mean that if Dowd Campbell ‘himself’ did not ‘cooperate’, he would die.
So…
Combined with his usual tendencies of being ‘scared’ of Eleanor, quite a novel conclusion could be drawn.
“I’m not certain yet, but…”
Riru fidgeted awkwardly.
“I feel like someone is getting threatened.”
“…What?”
As Kasa responded in a bewildered tone, Riru pouted.
“…You know…”
Her embarrassment was abundantly clear, but, without a doubt…
“Wouldn’t it be pitiful if someone were to be forced into marriage against their own will?”
Her determined ‘will’ was more than apparent in the tone of her voice.
Honestly, if one guessed how the Chief Blacksmith in charge of the Hall of Flame would look like, it was normal to think of a rough and rowdy old man.
However, surprisingly, the person responsible for managing the equipment of the best educational institution of the Tribal Alliance was light years away from such an image.
For one, it wasn’t even a person.
[User Recognition. ID Verification. Elfante 2nd-Year Exchange Student Dowd Campbell. Welcome to the Hall of Flame.]
“…”
There wasn’t even any scorching heat. Rather, when I entered, a neatly designed room akin to a reception room and a huge ‘machine’ placed right in the center came into view.
Excluding the occasional releases of magically engineered tools which were pieces of over-technology1Korean slang for revolutionary technology that is far beyond its era., this was quite a bizarre sight, especially when considering that the world of Sera maintained a premodern level of technology.
When seeing just this scene alone, one would think that they were playing a sci-fi game instead of fantasy.
[I am Sephira, the AI in charge of the Hall of Flame. What can I assist you with today?]
“Equipment production.”
[Confirmed. Please input the materials in the slot and select the blueprint you desire.]
With those words, I shook out everything I brought into the hole on the side of the machine.
Ectoplasm. Starsteel. Adaptive Leather. Even the ‘Dragon Scales’ obtained from beating the shit out of a Sea Serpent recently.
They were all high-quality materials. With just one of them, you could swagger to any Chief Blacksmith and leave them to cook up the highest-quality products.
‘…Honestly, it’s not necessarily good to use all of these at once.’
Just like putting all kinds of ingredients into cooking didn’t guarantee delicious taste, stuffing a bunch of good materials in one place didn’t always ensure good results.
Rather, something might go wrong during the manufacturing process; It was possible that the ingredients wouldn’t match and worse results would come out, compared to just not including them in their entirety.
As such, Master Craftsmen would probably refuse to accept this as-is, saying they didn’t have the confidence to handle materials of this caliber.
‘But this thing is different.’
With such thoughts, I looked towards the machine in front of me.
There was a reason why I had brought these things all the way here instead of leaving it to Elfante’s workshop.
At the very least, when it came to ‘creating’ something, those bearing the Magic Tower brand were unrivaled, even if one scoured the entire continent.
In fact, the response I received was not some sort of reaction, but a mechanical hologram window.
Basically, it would never say that it was ‘impossible’. Even in the original game, this was a versatile production machine that spat out anything with ease, no matter what was stuffed in.
[All Materials Confirmed. Considering the quality and quantity, making a defensive gear is recommended. Making something that covers the whole body is the most efficient-]
“No.”
I certainly agreed with that statement.
After all, with this amount, it was truthfully not efficient to make just one weapon.
But still…
“No defensive gear. No weapons either.”
Considering the structure of Tatiana and Alan’s boss battle, this was a necessary condition.
If I made this demand to a Chief Blacksmith, most of them would kick me out on the spot. However, even this time, Sephira simply returned a calm response.
[In that case, please choose the category of equipment you desire.]
Starting with the major categories of equipment such as weapons or defensive gears, it led to subcategories like swords, spears, helmets, or shields.
It was a very modern design, like ordering food from a kiosk.
‘…They really do live in an entirely different world all by themselves.’
With such thoughts, I operated the hologram window.
Even when considering the original game, the Magic Tower was a group who always produced objects that seemed to be a different genre all by themselves.
Even when considering the standards of the Tribal Alliance, which was the most technologically advanced nation among the superpowers, they fell far short compared to the Magic Tower.
To prove this, the Tribal Alliance even brought an object from their place to handle their most important matter; ‘equipment’ production.
Just the immediate response alone indicated the overwhelming technological prowess as well.
[ Estimated Equipment Production Time: 30 Minutes. ]
“…”
Even if I entrusted this to Professor Vulcan in Elfante’s School of Crafting, it would probably take a week for this amount of work. But this thing would finish in just 30 minutes.
If it wasn’t because all the equipment made by the Magic Tower required the ‘Magic Tower-Made Battery,’ something that they sold at a ridiculously high price, the industrial revolution would have already happened a long time ago.
You see, they were quite a selfish group. They were willing to put their lives on the line to prevent others from taking their technology.
After all, they were scientists who were only interested in research, regardless of its purpose.
‘…I have to visit them some time later.’
That time wouldn’t be so far off. In fact, starting from the next immediate branching route of the Main Scenario, Chapter 4, there was a high likelihood that I would build a bond with the Magic Tower.
With such thoughts, I examined the signature of the ‘artist’ engraved on the front interface of Sephira.
[ Artist: Expunged Record. ]
[ Assistant: Faenol Lipek ]
“…”
There was a familiar name.
It was quite heterogeneous to have the name of a mage from the Heretic Inquisition engraved on Magic Tower equipment, but it was not that strange when considering her background.
And when taking into account that Faenol held the position of the final boss in Chapter 4, it was definitely a ‘clue’ that could never be overlooked.
[Production is complete.]
As I was lost in such thoughts, the front part of Sephira opened and the equipment I requested slid onto the conveyor belt.
Two pairs of ‘gauntlets’ interwoven with various materials throughout.
This was the equipment that straddled the boundary between weapons and defensive gear.
‘Noice.’
Since it seemed better than expected, I picked it up with a smile.
[ Infinity Gauntlet ]
Equipment: Unique
Description: Gauntlets with various effects from the usage of all kinds of high-quality materials.
[ ▶ Dragon Scales: Receives Endurance that never breaks or wears out in any situation. ]
[ ▶ Ectoplasm: Displays a very high fusion rate with various Special Powers. When enhancements or buff skills are casted on the equipment, the effect is doubled. ]
[ ▶ Starsteel: Highly resistant to various curses and reacts most sensitively to the divine. ]
[ ▶ Adaptive Leather: Automatically copies the target’s attributes when struck. On the second hit, automatically weakens the target’s attribute. ]
‘It’s perfect.’
This was why until now, I didn’t use all the materials I collected right away and waited for Sephira instead,
It was because the properties of all the materials I inputted were perfectly integrated.
No cap, this should easily match the ‘Holy Sword’ that Iliya would obtain in the .
Of course, it couldn’t compete with the Holy Sword’s full potential as it was the protagonist’s exclusive weapon, but it was definitely still an excessively good equipment for just one person to receive.
It would never break, could be enhanced more easily than your average equipment, had curse resistance and was sensitive to divine power.
And, most importantly…
The feature at the end that ‘weakens the target’s attribute’, was…
An ability that could practically snipe Tatiana.
The name was quite funny, though; It almost felt like I needed to place stones on the glove.
‘…Riru will probably be pleased if I bring this to her.’
The reason I made two pairs was because one of them had to be given to Riru.
If that person received such a fine piece of equipment, she would undoubtedly be deligh—
System Message
[ Special Interaction between the ‘Blue Devil’s’ Vessel ‘Riru Garda’ and the ‘¾̶̛͙̦͎͖͈̘̔͑͛͋́̊́̃̂̐̊͋̎̕Æ̷̬̩͓̹͈̗̕À̸͈̮̜̹̤̥͘Ì̴̛̫͌̽̀̊͑̕̕͘͝͝Ḁ̸̢̗͈͙̦͙̤̰̤̭̈̎͂̓̔̑́̍̊̃͑́̚͘͝Ü̶̳͖͂̽̂̇͌̃̓̈́͠’’s Vessel ‘Eleanor’ unfolds. ]
[ The frequency of contact between the two Vessels will increase! ]
“…”
Okay first, I could understand very well why Riru couldn’t be a lady.
Still, what was fortunate was that the nuance of the system window suggested it was not a particularly threatening situation.
If it was an event that posed a threat to my life, this bastard, considering its features, would have already warned me to go and stop it quickly.
‘…Well, a point of contact should have been formed.’
Not only did they clash on their own when I didn’t bridge any gap between them, but they also interacted several times even without my involvement.
However, considering Riru’s personality, she wouldn’t want to meet Eleanor for some time since she lost so overwhelmingly to her just a while ago. As such, it was a mystery to me why their frequency of contact would increase at all.
Why in the world would that happen?
“Ah, you are here.”
As I was lost in such thoughts, a very unpleasant voice resounded in my ear.
When I turned my head, I saw Tatiana.
As always, she had her machine-like smile on her face.
“…”
I didn’t know why, but this bitch, who had been silent until now, had suddenly revealed herself in front of me.
She probably wasn’t intending to have a battle right here and now in an effort to kill me. After all, she would think that her head would immediately fly off due to Eleanor the moment that she did.
Until some means to ‘suppress’ her were created, the possibility of any armed demonstration here was very low.
As I frowned slightly, Tatiana spoke in a light voice.
“The Chieftain will soon arrive at the Forge of Struggle. Everyone is preparing for the welcome ceremony.”
“…Is that so?”
I guess it was around that time.
After all, the news about that man visiting here had been circulating for a few days now.
“And…”
Tatiana smiled.
“He apparently wants to see you first, Dowd Campbell.”
In contrast, my expression crumpled even further.
‘…She’s already letting me make contact with Alan?’
No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand the reason for that.
That was a hidden card which was normal for this bitch stash away. She didn’t need to reveal it to me already and leak such information.
“Ah.”
However, Tatiana remained indifferent to my expression and just continued talking.
“On your way there, can you bring Riru Garda and Kasa Garda with you?”
“…”
“The Chieftain wishes to see those two as well.”
Truly, that sentence wasn’t pleasant to the ears.
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