Chapter 30: Pathways to Life

There is a first time for everything in life.

Jocel had begun practical training in the art of enchantment with a dagger.

In the first one, the flowing magic power was so strong that the blade shattered. The expensive dagger and jewelry had been trashed, but Gerhard, the master, was not the least bit angry.

On the contrary, he was pointing and laughing.

“That’s it, that’s the mistake. Everybody does it at first.”

Saying that, he threw the dagger and the jewel into the trash can. It seemed a little theatrical, but I guess it was part of his teacher’s lesson that an appended magician should not worry about the damage at every turn.

No matter how much the jewels cost, they are just garbage after the ritual is over.

The second dagger was too small in terms of the amount of magic power that flowed through it, resulting in a dagger that only glowed dimly with engraved letters.

Gerhard looked a little grumpy,

“Don’t be scared. If you shrink back in fear, you’ll only be that much of a charmer.”

He said sternly.

Now the third one was done and Gerhard was pressing the dagger against a piece of cloth.

Five, six, seven seconds. There was a small sound and the fire was lit.

“Oops…”

Gerhardt hurriedly waved the cloth to put out the fire. Then he turned a big smile on his face towards Jocel.

“You’ve done it, Jocel. The fire-attribute dagger is ready.”

“Yes, thank you very much, master! But it is not likely to be used in battle if it is so slow to catch fire. ……

“A tool that can easily set fire is convenient. There are many adventurers who want it. Fire is the best for versatility.”

“So that’s why you added the fire attribute?”

“I think the market price is about three gold coins.”

“Yes! ….What?

One gold coin for the purchase of the dagger. The cost of materials such as jewelry and mercury was two gold coins. It was a ton of money when it was done well, and no profit was made.

Gerhard, who guessed what he wanted to say from Jocel’s disappointing face, gave a hearty smile.

“Hahahaha. If you want to make money with enchantment, you need to use two or three tricks.”

“A trick, is it?”

“How to buy, how to deal with merchants. You don’t have to think about that now. First of all, make sure that you succeed in engraving a single letter on the dagger.”

“Yes, master.”

“Let’s leave it around here for today, you can go home. I have to welcome a guest after this. I didn’t invite him here, but…”

It is truly troublesome. Gerhard’s expression spoke eloquently of this.

“I’m sorry I keep barging in on you.”

“Exactly. I wish people wouldn’t bother me with anything other than profit.”

Borvis said it with a completely nonchalant look on his face, and Gerhard didn’t hesitate to retort.

I slurp down a beer with a bowl of hard dried meat as a snack. It was as if I had returned to my adventuring days.

“Even so, you gave up your mastership so easily.”

“…I was too persistent. I should have originally given it away earlier.”

If you become a master, you can do anything freely. That’s why I was aiming to become a master, but when I became a master, my only job was to protect that position.

In ten years, I had not grown at all. When my peers pointed this out to me and I admitted it to myself, I could no longer be a master.

This title was just a shackle for me.

“I handed over the workshop to my apprentice on the condition that he would be allowed to use one of the blacksmiths freely.”

“Well, it’s a troublesome story for my disciples.”

Gerhardt slurps his beer with a laugh. Borvis also sipped from his mug, but it wasn’t too low.

“So what kind of trouble are you going to ask me to do this time?”

When Gerhardt narrowed his eyes and asked, Borvis replied with a slightly troubled face.

“I would like you to introduce me to a man named Lutz.”

“Which Lutz, and why?”

Gerhard expressed caution.

Lutz is an absolutely necessary human resource to create the best weapons. It would be terrible to have him taken into custody by the blacksmith guild or to have him harmed.

“Wait, the trade union has nothing to do with it anymore. I just want to personally ask for teaching.”

“You think you can just barge in and expect him to teach you his skills?”

“Instead, I’ll teach him all the skills I have. I think he’ll be a little more interested in that.”

I don’t know how Lutz learned the technique of making swords, but I doubt that he received any formal training. If he could learn sword-making techniques in this country, there was a good chance he would bite.

“… I understand. It’s no good. Let’s just ask him to do it once.”

“I want to hear a little more courageous words.”

“Let me just tell you, Lutz is quite young. Can you bow your head to the young man now and ask him to teach you?”

“That’s just the way it is. We’ll be doing this all our lives.”

Both of them entered the world of craftsmanship when they were in their mid-20s. They endured their apprenticeship while being yelled at and beaten up by their seniors. That is their origin.

……. I would call them out to the back alley for a “talk” if the bullying was too severe.

“Well, if you’re ready for that, I won’t say anything anymore. I’ll go with you and ask him.”

“Thank you.”

For a while, the two continued drinking in silence. Before long, Gerhard suddenly thought of something and said.

“When this matter is settled, why don’t we go visit their graves?”

It took Borvis a few seconds to realize that he meant the friends he had let die forty years earlier.

“They don’t have graves, do they? Are they going to go to the deepest part of the labyrinth and offer flowers?”

“No way.”

It’s all too ridiculous. It has been forty years since I retired as an adventurer, and I am now in my mid-sixties. To invite him to a labyrinth infested with vicious demons with the ease of inviting him for lunch, I can only think that he must have lost his mind in the intense heat of the lingering summer heat.

It is an impossible story from a common sense point of view, but it was somewhat appealing to the current Borvis. He enjoys taking on all kinds of challenges.

“Better yet, I’ll go ahead and put a weapon of my own making in the treasure chest. It will be more appreciated than the bronze sword.”

“Don’t make something too good, or you’ll be sorry to let it go.”

The two of them looked at each other and laughed.

It was a fun night, like going back to that day.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter