Kays Translations

Chapter 84: Barrier Stone and Magic Iron

Day 177 of Life in Another World

The Day After the Hero Went to Town

"Natsuki, what do you think? My intuition is pretty amazing, right?"

"Intuition... It was just a coincidence, right?"

"No, it's different! My inner instinct was screaming at me to do it!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's amazing, wonderful."

Here is the middle-aged man who tries his best to claim victory against someone as young as his child. He's right here, right here.

It happened in the morning. Feeling apologetic about what happened yesterday, I went to the blacksmith's workshop without any self-control.

"Hey, everyone, sorry about yesterday."

"Oh, Village Chief, you came at the perfect time."

"What's wrong, Bears?"

"Could you appraise this for me?"

He handed me the barrier stone I accidentally broke yesterday.

"...It's fine, but is there something wrong?"

"This barrier stone, did it really break? The flickering just stopped, and the color is the same, and there are no cracks or anything."

"Now that you mention it, yeah, you're right."

"That's why I thought we should appraise it once to be sure."

"Alright, understood. Let's do it right away."

The "Ability Mimic" skill can only change skills once a day, but since I didn't have any other plans for the day, I copied the skill and appraised it as it is...

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"Barrier Jewel - Kekkai Houju"

Consumes magic essence inside to automatically deploy a simple barrier

※ A jewel in a stable state of magic essence due to a special manufacturing method of the barrier stone

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"What the... This thing didn't break at all! In fact, it transformed into something amazing."

"Is that so? Tell me quickly, Village Chief."

"Yes, the appraisal result is 'Barrier Jewel.' It seems to consume the internal magic essence and automatically deploys a simple barrier."

"What!? That's an incredible item!"

With the barrier stone turning into an unexpected treasure, I couldn't help but cheer up and tease Natsuki.

"So, Village Chief, what did you do at that time? That's the key. Please try to remember."

"Huh? Even if you ask me... Well, I think I just picked it up and rolled it around in my hands..."

"Hey, hey, it can't be just that. Maybe you infused it with magic power or used a skill or something!"

Even if they say that, at that time, I really just touched it without thinking. The note says "due to a special manufacturing method," but I have no clue.

"Maybe it was just a coincidence. Inner instinct? Screaming? Well, well, Village Chief, you're amazing. Hahaha."

"Damn it, don't tell everyone, Natsuki."

"Well? What are you talking about? I wonder what it could be. I'm looking forward to dinner tonight!"

"...I'm sorry, I got carried away. Let's put the jokes aside. As for me, I think it's because of the Village Chief's 'Territory Expansion' ability."

"And, what about it?"

"The Village Chief's Territory Expansion ability also simultaneously deploys a barrier. The material is called a barrier stone, and it's undoubtedly highly compatible. Probably, when the territory is fixed, it enters the same state as when the barrier stops flickering."

"I see... That's quite something. It's a very convincing explanation."

"If you explained it like that from the beginning... I would have been impressed."

There was nothing to say in response to that, so I didn't argue.

Next, Natsuki said, "Since we have two more barrier stones, let's try them out," and I imagined holding the stones and fixing the territory.

Surprisingly, both stones stopped flickering and the appraisal result changed to the same name, "Barrier Jewel."

"The process aside, we've discovered how to use the barrier stones."

"Yeah, although we haven't tested their effectiveness, judging from the description, they seem to be quite excellent."

"We should have the Dungeon Party, especially the melee fighters, test them in actual combat."

"True. We'll give them out as soon as they return."

The Dungeon Party, especially the melee fighters, often face enemy attacks. It's the perfect opportunity to test them.

"...Village Chief, let's try something else. Can you try various things with this as well?"

Thinking of something, Bears handed me various small and large magic stones, mentioning that they might react to them, just like the barrier stones did.

Taking the magic stones, I infused my own magic power into them for now. However, since I didn't know how to do it, I just imagined it randomly...

But then, to my surprise, as soon as I imagined infusing magic power, the color of the magic stones, which had been dark, changed. They turned a light green color and flickered slightly.

"This is..." I thought, and when I imagined fixing the territory, just as I expected, the flickering stopped, and the ordinary magic stones changed their name to "Magic Binding Stone."

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"Magic Binding Stone"

A magic stone with higher purity than regular magic stones

※ A state where the magic stones have been transformed by firmly incorporating the earth's magic essence

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"Oh, this... Village Chief, can I borrow this for a moment?"

"Bears, could you possibly use it in the magic furnace?"

"Yes, Beritoa, maybe with this..."

"There's a good chance. Let's try it right away!"

It seems they want to try heat treating the magic iron with this magic binding stone.

"Alright, here we go..."

"Okay."

When Bears put the magic binding stone into the fuel inlet, the magic furnace started up.

It looked the same to me as always, but according to them, the internal heat of the furnace was clearly different. Since there were no problems with its operation, they proceeded to put the magic iron into the furnace.

"Ohhh!"

"We did it!"

The inserted magic iron reacted to the heat inside the furnace and quickly turned a deep blue.

"Hey, isn't the color weird? With heat treatment, it should usually turn red or somewhat yellowish."

"Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is an unknown material. Naturally, there would be this kind of change."

"Is that so? I can't really tell as an amateur."

"Yes, more importantly, the important thing is that the magic iron has changed. Alright, Beritoa, let's start processing it!"

"Sure, let's finish one piece first!"

"Sorry, Village Chief, but can you produce more magic binding stones? We don't know how many we can operate with one, and it would be troublesome if it ran out midway."

"Y-Yeah, leave it to me."

They showed signs of progress in processing the magic iron, and Bears and Beritoa showed their enthusiasm. While Natsuki watched with great interest, I desperately worked on processing the magic stones.

Making them into magic binding stones was easy, and there was no sign of failure. So, I entered mass production mode.

In the end, small magic stones dropped by goblins only lasted about three minutes. With orc stones, it lasted around ten minutes. The fuel efficiency was quite poor, but since I couldn't stop the furnace halfway, I made them with unwavering determination.

◇◇◇

As the evening approached, with a considerable amount of magic binding stones consumed, a single sword was completed.

Even to an untrained eye, it was clearly a masterpiece. The blade emitted a faint green glow and exuded an atmosphere that suggested excellent sharpness.

"I don't mean to brag, but this is an amazing piece of work. Without a doubt, it's the best one I've ever made."

"I agree. It's hard to believe that such a thing could be finished in just half a day. It's not something you would normally think of."

Certainly, it would normally take much longer to finish a sword. It's probably thanks to our professions and skills, but Bears and Beritoa had excellent efficiency. It was truly a craftsmanship, and even watching them was captivating.

"Dungeon Party seems to have returned, so let's have a presentation for the barrier stones and also talk about the inner instinct thing."

"Yes, we should. It'll be fun!"

"Natsuki, that was a secret promise..."

Surely, she won't really mention it, right? I believed that as we headed to the dining hall together.

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