Episode 99

“…We’re lucky that Magic Ore can still be used after being melted once, aren’t we?”

For example, in the old days they made swords by combining iron with other metals.

Therefore, if you melted down a finished sword and tried to remake it, you had to separate those two metals and then recombine them.

However, Magic Ore can be reused.

Even if you melt a sword that’s no longer needed and remake it, its quality doesn’t change.

That’s why many adventurers sell unwanted swords to shops and use the difference to buy a new one.

I’m planning to combine materials from a Horned Dragon this time too, but that can only happen after I can properly make a sword from Esrea Magic Ore.

Anyway, first I have to melt down Esrea Magic Ore and try working it.

I examined the single sword Bertie had left behind. It was made from Birea Magic Ore.

After confirming this was Bertie’s ideal length and weight, I picked up the Esrea Magic Ore.

…Once again, I confirmed how heavy it was.

At the same time, I grabbed some Eirea Magic Ore.

One piece of Esrea Magic Ore and about five of the Eirea Magic Ore. That should be enough in quantity.

I took a deep breath to calm my tense body.

Then I held the Magic Ore and infused it with mana.

First, to make a large plate, I put the Magic Ore into a container and began to melt it.

The Eirea Magic Ore… I was able to melt it without any real problem.

But of all of them, only the Esrea Magic Ore… wouldn’t behave.

Mana wouldn’t transmit properly. The power wouldn’t get through.

I’d never felt anything like it. Even if I increased the amount of mana, nothing changed.

What’s more, a violent headache struck me, and I had no choice but to stop.

“Ugh…”

I took another deep breath and then observed the Esrea Magic Ore again.

I fed mana into it from a different angle than before.

…This time, a little mana got through.

And then I understood.

Esrea Magic Ore seems to have channels that conduct mana.

It’s like a maze. While other Magic Ores have straight or thick channels, only the Esrea Magic Ore has extremely thin ones.

It’s like threading a needle. And those paths twist right and left, up and down, running everywhere.

Is it really this difficult…!?

I took repeated breaks and heated it while checking the channels in the Esrea Magic Ore.

After about an hour… I finally succeeded in melting the Esrea Magic Ore.

I barely had time to think “I did it…” before more problems arose.

…The Esrea Magic Ore wouldn’t properly mix with the Eirea Magic Ore.

With other Magic Ores, melting them together and stirring is enough for them to mix easily.

On closer inspection, only the Esrea Magic Ore clearly separated in the Eirea Magic Ore’s liquid.

It was exactly like water and oil.

It was caused by a poor way of melting the Esrea Magic Ore.

The mana information in the Esrea Magic Ore remained unnaturally.

I tried to melt it by forcing more mana into it, but that was difficult too.

Worse, because of the bad melting, the quality had fallen below that of the original Esrea Magic Ore.

…I needed to solidify it once and restore the Esrea Magic Ore’s quality.

I watched carefully, fed mana into it again, and somehow managed to alter the Esrea Magic Ore so it would mix with the Eirea Magic Ore.

…With this, the basic foundation of the sword was finally done.

Next, to make it into a plate, I poured it into the prepared mold.

I infused the plate mold with mana and lowered the temperature. That caused the liquid made from Esrea and Eirea Magic Ore to return to a solid state.

Then, as usual, I began pounding the plate with a small hammer.

I changed its shape while adding some heat, but even here the Esrea Magic Ore was troublesome.

Even though they were mixed, you could clearly see the separation between the Esrea and Eirea Magic Ore.

…Is this the correct way to process Esrea Magic Ore?

There was nothing to use as a reference, so I could only proceed while doubting myself.

Using Bertie’s sword as a reference, I adjusted the length and weight. I carefully performed magical forging as I had with previous swords, trying to raise its quality.

It was then. As I unfolded the mana information for the Enchantment, I was struck by a jolting, repelling pain.

It was probably the Esrea Magic Ore. I tried to force my way through it, but the sheer amount of information made me feel dizzy.

Only the Esrea Magic Ore… was completely different from the other Magic Ores.

I winced at that exceptional metal and continued the magical forging.

I hammered the sword, making tremendous adjustments as I went.

The process itself was the same as always. I poured in mana, heated the blade red, and shaped it with the small hammer.

I checked the mana information as needed and made corrections.

I took breaks here and there, ate, and threw myself into the forging.

Even though it was the same work as usual… Today it took an awful lot of time.

This was a task that used to finish in less than an hour, too.

Overcome by intense fatigue, I wiped the sweat from my jaw and faced the sword.

After taking a lunch break and continuing in the afternoon… I finally produced a sword almost indistinguishable from the one Bertie had given me.

I lifted the sword, still glowing red with heat.

Its weight and length were no different from the sword Bertie had handed me.

This should be fine for Bertie to use.

I had various thoughts, but I somehow brought the sword to completion.

I plunged the still-hot sword into the sphere of water that had produced it and cooled it rapidly.

Once the heat had subsided, I blew wind to shake off the water, then increased the strength of the Wind magic and formed the blade.

After endless sharpening, it was finished.

I held the finished sword and gave it a light swing.

I let out a long sigh.

The Enchantment… I put into it the maximum I could for this sword.

But, still!

“…This isn’t much different from one made with Birea Magic Ore, is it?”

This was the reason for my sigh and my dissatisfaction.

This is a dull blade.