Chapter 50 - Episode 45: What Slumbers in the Ancient Ruins
“A room, no, a workshop?”
It’s about the size of a classroom. This place is as bright as the corridor, thanks to the mysterious ceiling lights.
“It looks like a workshop.”
There are no suspicious detections, so I approached the equipment, or whatever it is, visible at the back.
“This, perhaps…”
I Appraised it, and it read:
[Ancient Magic Furnace]
“A smelting furnace used in ancient times.”
The smelting furnace is here!
“Yes! Now if I can find ore, I can process metals!”
“Shou-kun, Appraise it after acquiring the skill.”
“Ah, that’s right! Thanks!”
The skill to acquire is decided: [Blacksmithing: Lv1]. This is it. It only needs 1 SP, so I have plenty.
I also acquired [Mining: Lv1] for 1 SP. Now, if only I can find a place with ore.
But first, let’s Appraise it once more.
[Ancient Magic Furnace]
*“A smelting furnace used in ancient times. Maintains high temperatures by infusing Mana instead of firewood.
Blacksmithing: Converts ore into ingots. The required MP varies depending on the type of ore.”*
After acquiring the Blacksmithing skill and Appraising it, I vaguely understood how to use it.
It seems I just need to put in the mined ore, infuse MP, and wait for a while.
“It runs on MP consumption, huh? Ah, but in town production facilities, they provide consumables if you pay money, right?”
“Yes. Blacksmithing is probably the same as Material Processing and Pottery.”
“So it’s like paying for the cost with MP. Well, it’s just for places without money, so it’s not particularly amazing, I guess.”
“Since MP recovers automatically, I think it’s amazing, you know?”
“You’re right…”
Money has to be earned, after all.
I wonder if people would envy me if this got out. Well, there’s no risk of being robbed, so I just shouldn’t worry about it.
“Woof.”
“Yeah, I need to check the others too.”
I moved aside a bit, and the next piece of equipment was a hearth. I quickly Appraised it.
[Ancient Magic Hearth]
*“A hearth used in ancient times. Maintains high temperatures by infusing Mana instead of charcoal or other fuels.
Blacksmithing: Can heat ingots.”*
“Just heating them?”
“When heated, they become soft, so it’s probably for hammering them into shape?”
“I see.”
And around it, there was an anvil, a hammer, and a toolbox containing several pairs of scissors and chisels.
“Water buckets and whetstones, and are these heat-resistant gloves and an apron? It’s fully equipped.”
“Um… wouldn’t you run out of oxygen doing Blacksmithing in there?”
Ah… no, no, they must have actually worked here, right? I looked up, and it seems to have been properly thought out?
There are ducts like an air conditioning system on the ceiling. It’s unclear if they’re operating. Perhaps they’re linked to the smelting furnace or the hearth.
“That’ll probably take care of it. Well, I’ll know once I try.”
“That’s true.”
“So, this room is basically a Blacksmithing workshop.”
Looking around, there’s nothing else but open space. It seems I can leave things there after making them. And,
“That door probably leads to the corridor we just passed.”
In a classroom, it would be like entering from the back entrance, but the door is where the teacher’s desk would be.
“Yes. I think it’s just about where the corridor turns left.”
“Alright, let’s open it.”
I gripped the handle, and,
[Access by Blessed Ones confirmed. Unlock?]
“Yes.”
Answering that, I opened the door, and it indeed led to the end of the corridor I had just been on.
Looking right, the path turned right further ahead, so it seemed correct.
“Alright, let’s go further.”
“Woofun.”
Even in an unsettling place, having Lupi with me is reassuring. It’s the peace of mind that she’s watching the direction I’m not.
“Thanks for being with me, Lupi.”
“Woof~”
“I’m here too, you know.”
“Yes…”
…
…
…
After walking straight for a considerable distance, I saw a descending staircase on the right side of the corridor. And directly ahead, a pair of double doors.
It’s the same kind of door as the entrance here, but…
“I can’t find a handle.”
“This means it probably can’t be opened from this side, right? I’ll try touching it first.”
No reaction. I tried pushing… it didn’t budge.
“Either it can only be opened from the other side, or there’s some other flag….”
“Then, is it the stairs?”
“Probably. Well, I’ll go as far as I can.”
The stairs were also bright, with no strange presences detected.
Carefully descending the stairs, watching my step, there was no Stone Pavement at the bottom, but an area like the cave hall before entering here.
“Eh? What’s this…”
Even without mysterious lighting devices, various rock surfaces glowed faintly green, creating a mystical atmosphere.
Looking closer, it seemed the moss itself was luminous.
“It’s so beautiful and mysterious.”
Listening to Mion’s voice, I Appraised the moss, and it simply displayed:
[Luminous Moss]
“Moss that glows by absorbing mana.”
No apparent connection to cooking or alchemy.
“Do you think this could be transplanted? Or divided? Into the goblin cave?”
“I think it’s possible. If you leave the entrance door open, it should be an environment similar to this one, shouldn’t it?”
I see. If light from the mysterious illumination streamed in, it would be exactly the same.
It would be even better if it could grow in the passage leading outside.
“The skill for this wouldn’t be Farming, would it…?”
“I feel like it’s a bit different. Horticulture, perhaps?”
“Ah, when you say horticulture, it clicks…”
Flowers, bonsai, houseplants, they’re generally categorized under horticulture. If I plan to build a house and maintain a garden in the future, maybe I should acquire that skill…
“Woof!”
“Ah, sorry. What’s wrong?”
Lupi, who had gone deeper inside, called me, and when I rushed over, there was a stone dimly reflecting the moss’s light, and a marker that reacted to the Mining skill!
“Ore!?”
“Eh?”
“The real thing would probably be more unassuming, but maybe it’s because it’s a game. Um, I guess I should mine it, but I can’t do it with my bare hands…”
I rummaged through my inventory for something I could use for Mining.
For now, this rusty knife and hammer will do.
“Lupi, fragments might fly, so stay back a bit.”
“Woofun.”
At my words, Lupi understood perfectly and hid behind me.
I placed the chipped blade tip against the mining point and hit the pommel with the hammer. I hammered and hammered and hammered… and a chunk rolled onto the ground at my feet.
Lupi was curious, sniffing it and nudging it with her paw, which was adorable.
[Iron Ore]
*“A stone that is the raw material for iron.
Blacksmithing: Can be processed into iron products after being made into ingots in a smelting furnace.”*
“Ooh, I finally dug one up. This is tough.”
“For mining ore, you’d use a pickaxe or something, right?”
“You’re right. So, the first thing I should make is probably a pickaxe.”
Once I make a pickaxe and it becomes easier to mine, I’d want to increase the amount I can carry, but…
“Woof?”
“Hm, let’s do the serious work another time.”
Ultimately, no monsters appeared, but was that just a coincidence?
If so, since there’s also a Safe Zone, I feel like moving my base to the plaza in front of the cave would make things much more efficient.
“Shou-kun, I just received a notification from official sources: the IRO producer will be live streaming an update explanation tonight at 8 PM.”
“Oh, I’m curious, so I’ll watch it.”
“Shall we all watch it in the club room?”
“Ah, yeah, that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll contact everyone.”
Club President Bell is off today, so she’ll probably come, but what about Yata-sensei? Or rather, I feel like she’s reaching that prime age… A sudden chill ran down my spine, so I’ll stop thinking about that…