Italian Sculptor (1)

The process by which a lump of marble changes into sculpture perfectly matches the relationship between a Kung-Fuist’s training and the realm reached through it.
-Joseph Addison-

“I didn’t think I’d be putting this to use already.”

As is well known, the horn of the Unicorn Salamander can be used in various ways.

If you grind this horn into a fine powder, it becomes Python Horn Powder, famous as a golden remedy that treats wounds inflicted by Cold Yin Qi Arts, or restores the body’s Essence when it has tilted toward extreme Yin.

However, making Python Horn Powder is among the most basic of the many ways to make use of the Unicorn Salamander’s horn.

In recent times, as processing techniques have advanced, it has become common to use the horn’s high durability to make daggers and other projectiles, and even to carve an entire horn into the handle of a weapon.

If you wound a Kung-Fuist who handles Yin Qi with a projectile made from a Unicorn Salamander’s horn, you can trigger a Photon Allergy, and if used for a sword hilt, you can channel Extreme Yang Qi into the weapon without essence loss.

If an uneducated outsider, who knows nothing about Fantastic Beasts and has no knowledge of the treasures passed down across regions, encountered such a story, they might raise an eyebrow.

Antoine Lavoisier, the father of Kung-Fu Science who first distinguished and separated Kung-Fu chemistry from elixir arts, and a tax-farming contractor who displayed the very height of skill.
And Hermann Von Helmholtz, the last Renaissance Man who achieved outstanding research results across many fields, including Kung-Fu Physiology, Philosophical Boxing Studies, and Bio Kung-Fu Physiology.
All the more so for one who has studied the Qi Conservation Law, the great premise of Newton Qinetics proclaimed by the two masters above.

‘Even if you make a weapon from a Fantastic Beast’s horn, the internal energy contained within will soon be depleted, so is it not a dilettante’s luxury with no practicality to be found.’
‘Even if not, it will be nothing more than a one-time trick whose bottom is quickly revealed, that is, a shallow ploy.’

…They would prattle such things and flaunt their knowledge.

Of course, there is some basis to such claims.
In truth, the fact that making weapons from cheap Fantastic Beast byproducts does not yield much longevity has been proven time and again.

But just as a Kung-Fuist’s realm varies, Fantastic Beasts have ranks as well.

Weapons made from the materials of high-rank Fantastic Beasts, or rare Fantastic Beasts, which had formed an inner core by absorbing Natural Qi over long years, could use the Fantastic Beast’s power semi-permanently.

It might seem to ignore the Qi Conservation Law, but the fact that such a thing is possible was perfectly in keeping with reason.

Among the byproducts of powerful Fantastic Beasts, there are those that, even after being separated from the owner’s body, still commune with the Qi that circulates between heaven and earth.

For example, a horn located close to the upper elixir field.
Or hair and hide that were connected to the minor meridians across the whole body.

Such materials, even after the owner’s breath is cut off, draw in the ambient Primal Qi and store it as if still alive.

Of course, what made such miraculous things possible was advanced material-processing Kung-fu.

The Fantastic Beast material, or more precisely, so that the Intent dwelling within it cannot realize that it has been separated from the owner’s body, is cut swiftly and covertly.
Then, by treating the cut surface of the Essence Circuit with reagents, the separation of the material is completed.

A high-difficulty processing method that few believe until they see the process with their own eyes.

A skilled artisan uses tools even sharper than weapons made to cut people, displaying the craft honed over decades.

It is said that without their help, the new divine weapons of the Europe Murim cannot exist.

Therefore, it is only natural that artisans’ wages play a major role in why the market price of Fantastic Beast materials is sky-high.

The Unicorn Salamander’s horn in my hand as well is an expensive material that has passed through the hands of someone of formidable skill.

“I can’t believe no one has ever used this to make a pipe.”

No. Perhaps someone I do not know already tried.
Europe Murim is vast, a place overflowing with unknown mysteries and secrets.

Either way, one thing was certain, you could not easily find a pipe made from a Unicorn Salamander’s horn.

In truth, I could guess the reason to some extent.

Using it to make medicine or weapons would fetch far higher sums, so few would bother to make a pipe from the horn.

More than anything, even though the Salamander Horn appears to extend straight, the grain forming the horn is twisted in a spiral, making it difficult to process.

It is not that its durability is weak, but the tools artisans use must be sufficiently sharp.
The moment the grain is split wrongly even once, it is very common for the material to break in two.

This means that if one attempts to make an item that demands delicate processing skill, like a pipe, and fails, the damage is severe.

If the Salamander Horn is kept intact or properly processed, it can fetch a considerable price, but a horn broken in half loses value.

Because the size of the material shrinks, limiting what items can be made from it.

The moment a hand slips even once, the value is cut in half, so even a skilled artisan would not easily dare.

However, as for smoking goods other than pipes, I had seen items made using Salamander Horn several times.

As I said earlier, the Unicorn Salamander’s horn, that is, Salamander Horn, is a material that can be used in various ways.

It was only natural that collectors and the rich, following trends, would come to own expensive luxury goods that used it.

Of the Salamander Horn processed goods I had seen before, the most impressive was a match used to light a cigar.

As for how one processes a Unicorn Salamander’s horn into a match, there are mainly two methods.

One is the method of mixing horn powder into the chemicals when coating a sliver of wood, just like the matches we commonly use.

Naturally, this is something even the middle class can purchase if they spend some money, so there is no need to mention it in detail.

What I saw was an item where a small piece of Salamander Horn had been shaped into the exact form of a match, treated with chemicals, and then wrapped with cloth around the handle.

If you scrape the tip against a wall or table to create friction, the Yang Qi stored in the horn fragment reacts and generates intense heat, and if you bring it to a cigar, a cigarette, or the tobacco in a pipe, it ignites.

Of course, even if it could be used semi-permanently as long as you kept applying chemicals, I couldn’t understand people who spent enormous sums to buy a match that was no more than half the size of a finger.

I merely disliked that the prices of Fantastic Beast materials rose because of the nouveau riche who insisted it was a matter of sentiment, covered their eyes and ears, and poured in money.

“I can see why the original owner, who had this confiscated by Sir Harcourt, kept the horn stored with such careful handling.”

The owner of the Salamander Horn was running an illegal facility that held gambling on the results of the Debutante Ball’s duels, so he must have bought various expensive materials and stashed them in a safe in order to launder money.

Fantastic Beast materials preserve value like precious metals, and if needed, one can claim they were taken from a Fantastic Beast one hunted personally.

He likely bought a high-grade Salamander Horn that had only undergone simple chemical treatment to preserve its value as much as possible, and was waiting for a chance to sell it.

“With a Salamander Horn of this size, the act of processing it properly can itself be called a gamble, so it is indeed an item that would suit a gambling house owner by anyone’s eyes.”

The horn in my hand is an expensive material that boasts a length of at least about 1.5 feet.
It must have been cut from a Unicorn Salamander at least three hundred years old.

If you succeed in processing it into an item that preserves its size, you could fetch ten times the price, but if you fail, you cannot even recover the principal. A classic high-risk, high-return material..

If you do not choose the artisan properly, you will not complete a pipe, and will get nothing but matches.

“Who should I entrust it to…….”

Artisans who have handled material at this level would be rare.

Salamander Horn is a material far harder to carve than marble.
Among sculptors, only a very few masters could make a proper item.

Unless it was someone on the level of Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the three great Renaissance masters who could freely draw blade aura from a sculptor’s chisel and return marble to the form it should have, or France’s Auguste Rodin, whose stock is rising.

On top of that, there are rumors that in London Murim there is a shortage of Kung-Fuists who have trained artisan Kung-Fu, including sculpture.

They are mocked for ‘importing’ even famous masters of sound skills, including Handel, and even artworks like paintings and sculptures are all brought in from France or Italy.
Finding someone in London with the skill to handle Salamander Horn properly is no different from finding a long needle dropped on a sandy beach.

“I don’t need to make something properly splendid. It’s enough if it can simply perform the function of a pipe…….”

A sigh of lament escaped me, but only for a moment.

“No……there is one. An artisan with decent skill.”

The face of someone sleeping in a corner of my Mind Palace rose to mind.

A man with dark skin, resembling a monkey.
A skilled sculptor from southern Italy.

“His fiery temper and excessive greed for money are problems, but in skill alone, he has no equal.”

When I previously conducted a Sword Debate Chess match with Her Majesty Victoria, his name was engraved on the broken chessboard fragment.

“Beppo…….”

In my previous life, he was the culprit who, after coveting a treasure he should not covet, murdered a compatriot, but fortunately, there was still a long time before that incident happened in London Murim.

Even I, an incurable egoist who trampled John’s heart and took my own life, was granted a second chance.

Though I could not change Jefferson Hope’s fate, this time, had I not been granted enough time, fortunately?

Taking this as an opportunity, it might be possible to guide the Italian sculptor who, by stepping onto the path of evil, ended up wasting his outstanding talent.

“Is it because I have only grown accustomed to receiving others’ commissions? The feeling is strange.”

Perhaps, at times, it might not be bad to be in a position to commission someone.