Guided by King Dodol, we ventured underground. When he opened the thick metal door that is locked several times, we were greeted by a stone spiral staircase that leads far underground. The humidity was strong, and the walls and stairs were faintly glowing in some places. It is probably covered with moss, but the light, which resembled the light of fireflies, created a fantastic scenery.
“It’s a long way down huh.”
“Originally, this was a natural cave, and our ancestors modified it into a super big facility.”
“It seems that you guys are good at building things as well as blacksmithing. That’s really amazing.”
“Yeah, but I have to add that they were the dwarves from a long time ago. Now, the facility has completely turned into a treasure house. The national treasure hammer that you repaired is also up ahead.”
We walked down the stairs with practiced steps. It’s been a long way down, but where are we in the underground now? I think we went down 50 meters…… Just as I was starting to think about this, we arrived at the bottom floor.
“This is the treasury. Just in case, I want to remind you not to steal anything.”
“I know. Still, this treasure house is mind-boggling.”
The bottom floor is a wide passage that leads in a straight line. Along the brick walls, gold coins and jewels are placed haphazardly in boxes. In addition to that, there are various types of weapons, such as rugged weapons with no decorations or anything, and things that I don’t know what they are used for. The one that caught my attention the most was a light beige bra. It is placed on a pile of gold coins and is strangely eye-catching. I wonder if that was also something made by the dwarves.
“Oh no! I forgot!”
Dodol hurriedly tucks the bra into his bosom. I felt curious with his suspicious behavior.
“That…… it’s you know. This is where I’m meeting my Mistress……”
The girls stared at Dodol with cold eyes. As a man, I can understand his feelings, but the timing is pretty uncool. Dodol, sensing the atmosphere of the place, resumed guiding us in to break the awkwardness.
“Anyway, how far does this passage go? I think we already walked quite a bit.”
“This underground has a vertical hole of 115 meters and a horizontal hole of 1 kilometer, and the destination is at the far end of the road.”
“What is really in the back?”
“That’s something to look forward to when we get there.”
Dodol speaks mysteriously and grins. There must be some sort of a surprise waiting for us there. I’m quite curious and a little excited about it. After continuing to go down the long passage, we finally arrive at what seems to be the innermost place. There is a round and thick metal door in front. It’s like a bank vault. Dodol inserts the key from his pocket into the hole in the door and twists it. Then, after turning the round handle, the door slowly opened.
“This is where the wisdom of the dwarves rests.”
“This is….…”
We were greeted by a large circular room. The floor and ceiling are pure white, and the walls are lined with shelves that surround the area. Lined in the shelves are white books. Each title was written in gold letters on the spine so the contents could be understood at a glance. In the center of the room is a round white table and five chairs.
Dodol sat down in a chair and took a hip flask from his bosom.
“Kaaa! No matter when I drink, the alcohol tastes good!”
“So, what book should I read to make a great treasure?”
“For now, read the book from the beginning to the middle of the shelf. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
“……There are over twenty books there though?”
“Well, you can’t make a great treasure without any prior knowledge, right? You can’t just create a random weapon after all.”
It’s such a precise argument that I can’t reply back. As expected from the king of the dwarves, he has an extraordinary passion for blacksmithing. Mmm, I guess he was not just a guy who drank and flirted with his lover huh.
“I’ll read the book. Tanaka-kun, please get ready to start making the great treasure right away.”
“Is that okay, Rodman? It’s going to take a long time just to go through it.”
“Time doesn’t matter. I may never have an opportunity like this again you see.”
Rodman picked up the book with a fiery gaze. His will and ambition as a blacksmith seem to drive him up. Seeing this, Dodol grinned.
“Then I’ll wait until you’ve finished reading it.”
“Ah? Are you going to help me create it?”
“Well, a dwarf who is not interested in creating a great treasure is not really a dwarf you see.”
“This is always on my mind, what does blacksmithing really mean to dwarves?”
“It’s the purpose of our life and our pride as a race. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Saying that, he gulps down his drink. Then he placed the empty hip flask on the table.
“Ah-, sigh. I should have brought more booze.”
“Don’t worry, there will be enough.”
I took out ten barrels of dwarf killer from the bangle. Seeing it, Dodol hugged the barrel and cheered.
◇◇◇
Three days have passed since Rodman began reading the book. To this day, Dodol continues to drink like he is showering himself with alcohol. On the other hand, we spend our free time playing games to pass the time and taking a rest to relieve our daily fatigue.
“……I’m done.”
Rodman muttered as he closed his twenty-third book. His eyes are darkened, and he looks a little haggard. I gave him a cure mushroom to help him recover from fatigue.
“So, do you have a prospect for making the great treasure?”
“Yes, I got the knowledge I needed. Thanks to that, it made me realize something important.”
“Hmm…… What is something important?”
“The great treasure cannot be made with adamantite alone. In short, we don’t have enough materials.”
What!? It’s not enough!? We made it to this point, all of this should not be in vain!!
Hiding my agitation, I ask Rodman what material we are missing.
“It’s a metal I’ve never heard of. As for its name…… it is called orichalcum.”
Orichalcum…… I don’t think I’ve heard of it. In any case, it seems certain that without that metal, we can’t make a great treasure. When I look at Dodol, he is smirking for some reason.
“I have it. That Orichalcum.”
“Really? Please give it to us! Please!”
“I’ll give it for free. However, there’s one thing I need to tell you.”
“What?”
“The orichalcum I’m about to show you is the only one left in the world.”
Everyone, including me, couldn’t hide our agitation. It’s a given because he just said that such an ultra-rare metal will be given to us for free. No, even if I had to pay for it, I will still be troubled. It’s the only one left after all.
“I’ll show it to you, follow me.”
Dodol led us to a door at the back of the room. It’s a round, thick metal door like the entrance. There was no keyhole in it, so it didn’t seem to be locked. Slowly, the door opens and the scenery beyond is revealed. It is a large dome-shaped room that is about 200 meters from wall to wall. The floor was lined with grooves, depicting a huge magic square, and in the center of it sat two pedestals about one meter high. Surrounding it are six crystal pillars. I noticed that an anvil is placed near the pedestal.
“I didn’t expect this place…… Is it a forge?”
“You’re right. This is a special workshop built to make great treasure. The man-made skeletons were also built here. And there’s that—”
Dodol pointed to an object on one of the pedestals. It was a small square metal of scarlet color. I decided to get closer and hold the metal in my hands.
“…… Is this orichalcum? It looks ordinary.”
“Since you’re able to touch it, it means that you have been recognized as the owner. Now we can start making the great treasure.”
“What do you mean? Please explain it clearly.”
“You are aware that the great treasures choose its owner, right? The reason for that is because it’s been mixed with orichalcum. It’s a metal with a will. That’s it.”
“Metal with a will…… Then, the great treasures are alive?”
Dodol did not respond right away, but opens his refilled hip flask and takes a drink. He burped with the smell of alcohol before resuming the conversation.
“To put it simply, yes. But that being said, the existing great treasures don’t have emotion and they don’t have the ability to think or judge things on their own. This is because orichalcum was originally a single lump of metal. At that time, it was said that the ancestors were able to have a conversation with it, so to say, it’s amazing.”
“Then it was divided into six pieces to make the great treasures huh.”
“Ah—, no. It was divided into five parts. Only the Staff of the Wind God has nothing to do with orichalcum. Well, anyway, what you now hold is one of the five parts. Take good care of it.”
I understand the story, but there is a new mystery, the origin of orichalcum. A metal with a will huh. What kind of words did it speak to the progenitor dwarves? Why did it become a treasure? My interest on it is endless.
“First, we’ll start by removing impurities. Give me the adamantite.”
“Wait. For that one, I can do it alone. I want you two to do something about the orichalcum.”
“What are you sayi—”
I used my separation skill to extract the impurities in the adamantite. Incidentally, I also separated the object that Liz finds from Zazi’s scythe, shaped it into a cube with my metal manipulation skill, and hands the metal to Rodman. Stunned, he let his gaze rise and fall between the scum and the lump of metal.
“Oi-oi, you have the metal manipulation and separation skill that a blacksmith longs for?”
“Just a coincidence. But maybe because my level is not enough, my skill did not work on orichalcum.”
“You’ve already tried it huh. You’re really a guy who surprises me to no end.”
Rodman put his hand to his forehead in shock. When I think about it, I suddenly grin.
“With this, there’s enough. This time, I’ll also make new weapons for the other guys. I’m sure you will have a spectacular fight with the angels.”
“I’m grateful for that. I also thought Liz and Pero’s weapon won’t last long.”
Holding three lumps of adamantite, Rodman runs to Dodol.
“Rodman, you know what to do, right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll be in your care.”
Two men with sleeves rolled up put on their gloves and tightened their buns. The first step is to create a great treasure. Rodman placed the adamantite on one pedestal and the orichalcum on the other pedestal, Dodol then turned on the switch. Then, the two metals floated up and discharged. The magic square on the floor began to emit a pale light, and the light emitted from the six crystals that surrounded it connected to form a ring of light.
“Good, it’s starting to melt. The device the ancestors built is still working!”
“O-o-ooh! The adamantite, which has a high melting point, is melting so fast! It’s like watching a miracle!”
Dodol and Rodman seemed to be impressed by the adamantite that began to melt as it glowed pale on the pedestal. The molten metal changes its shape and changes into a sphere in the air. After only 20 minutes or so, the adamantite was completely melted. However, the orichalcum still maintains its shape, albeit now glowing with red heat.
“Actually, this device was built solely for the purpose of melting orichalcum.”
“Once again, I think it is an amazing piece of metal. This device too.”
“The melting point of adamantite is 3,000 degrees, but the melting point of orichalcum is 10,000 degrees. Without this device, we won’t be able to melt it. What’s more, it blocks the heat, so we can look at it like this.”
T-ten thousand degrees…… It’s higher than the surface temperature of the sun.
I was so frightened that I broke out in cold sweat.
◇◇◇
Ten hours have passed since then.
The two of them had kicked the rest of the group out of the room, they put on a spacesuit-like heat-retrenching suit, and they carefully mixed the two metals together in a metal bucket. This is because the heat emitted by the molten metal easily exceeds the temperature that humans can withstand. No matter how accustomed a dwarf is to blacksmithing, he will die without a heat suit.
By the way, I have a robe that keeps the temperature constant at all times, so there is no problem even if I stay here. Above all, I have a responsibility to see this work through.
“Not yet! Hold on!”
“Got it! Hit it quickly though. It’s so hot that I’m dying!”
By the time five hours had passed, they start to hammer a sword. The sound that reverberates rhythmically into the room sounds delightful and I feel hyped up not until I saw the resolute and serious look on the two of them.
I will wait for its completion while cheering in my mind.
◇◇◇
Three days passed. The two of them continued to sharpen the metal with a whetstone without sleeping and with only minimal food and hydration. I stared silently at one point as if possessed. A special whetstone made of adamantite is used to sharpen the great treasure. I guess it means that adamantite is the only thing that can cut down adamantite.
“Finally……done….…”
“Yeah…… I’m……beat….”
Two shirtless men fall asleep on the floor. I threw a blanket over them.
There are three completed weapons. The first one is a gauntlet carved with the figure of a wolf. On the steel-colored surface, the holographic pattern diffusely reflects light and shines dazzlingly. Pero tried it and as he clenches his fists, it was a snug fit.
The second one is a sword with a falcon-like bird carved on its scabbard. For this part, I asked the two of them to make it that way. This is because ninja girls still need a sword. Although it is merely an imitation of the shape, it seems safe to call it a sword since it is made with a metal that has the hardness and flexibility of adamantite. When Liz pulled it out of the sheath, the holographic pattern reflected dull light.
The third is a black sword with a golden jewel in its scepter. When I pull it out of its scabbard, the black hologram-patterned blade reflected my face like a mirror. Flawless and beautiful. It looks like a jewel in the shape of a sword.
In this way, my new sword was born as the sixth great treasure.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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