kscans

Chapter 77 - A Chat While Camping (Part 2)

"...Hey... the appraisal result says ‘Magic Stone Tool’..."

As soon as Kudol took Yuri’s knife and used Appraisal, he looked up, startled by the contents. What in the world was a Magic Stone Tool? But Yuri was calm... up to this point.

"Yes. Things made with earth magic and the like are displayed that way, right?"

"No way... they’re not, right?"

Kudol denied it outright at first, but feeling uncertain about magic, which was not his field, he turned and asked Katra, the half-elf magician.

"No, they’re not... not normally."

"Huh?"

To be flatly contradicted by Katra, a veteran magician and an expert in magic, from Yuri's perspective, not to mention a half-elf, left Yuri speechless with confusion. But... Katra and the others were just as, if not more, confused.

"Tools made with earth magic are inherently lacking in durability, so you don’t use them for long periods of time... normally."

She stressed the word "not normally," but Yuri’s circumstances were indeed not normal. He had lived for five years in a village with almost no metal tools. Even with the cheat of magic, his life was partially that of the Stone Age. He should have known from the map left by the previous inhabitant that there was a village nearby, so why hadn't he tried to make contact? To put it simply, it was because Yuri was a perfectionist and, though he didn't realize it, had the disposition of a producer. Relying on others felt like admitting defeat. In any case, it was because of this stubbornness that Yuri had developed something like "Magic Stone Tools" and had become proficient in handling magic power, especially simultaneous casting. But he couldn't explain all those behind-the-scenes details here.

"...Because there were no other tools I could use..."

"Well... I guess there haven’t been cases like that before..."

"If that’s the only tool you have, you’d have to figure out how to make it last, huh..."

Looking back, the tools he made in the beginning had all broken without lasting long. He had managed to raise them to a practical level by experimenting with materials and construction methods.

"Come to think of it... I felt like they got a little tougher when I channeled magic through them... so I started using them with magic all the time after that..."

Wasn't it around that time that the appraisal result started showing "Magic Stone Tool"? Well, he was hiding the fact that he had Appraisal, so he couldn't reveal that. ...But then, the question of how he knew it was displayed as "Magic Stone Tool" was beyond Yuri’s consideration. As for the others, the shock of "Magic Stone Tool" was so great that the question didn’t occur to them either. Above all, Katra, the half-elf magician, latched onto the term "Magic Stone Tool" fiercely.

"Wait a minute!? You channeled magic through it...?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. It seems to make it sharper, too."

As if this was something that couldn’t be overlooked, Katra snatched the knife from Kudol and channeled a small amount of magic into it. She didn't seem to be bothered by the fact that she was taking and using Yuri’s knife without permission.

"...What is this... The way it accepts magic power is incredible..."

"Hmm? What do you mean, Katra? Is it a big deal?"

"Of course it is!! Even for me, a half-elf, compatibility with metal is poor and I struggle with it... Wow... and what’s with this sharpness..."

She had produced a scrap of monster hide from somewhere and was now slicing it to ribbons with Yuri's knife. The tank and treasurer, Orban, apologized with his eyes for his companion’s thoughtless behavior, but since the topic was interesting to Yuri himself, he returned the gaze to show he didn’t mind. As for the other members... they were all inching closer with great interest. The words "reserve" or "discretion" were nowhere to be found. Orban was alone, rubbing his temples.

"Katra, let me see that... Whoa! It’s so light! What is this!?"

"Amazing, isn't it? And it has this sharpness."

For some reason, Katra, puffing her chest out proudly, explained as she handed the scrap of hide to Fray, the beastman scout whose main weapon was a dagger, who then joined in the test cutting.

"Whoa... is this rhodon leather? It cut right through."

"It’s even sharper when you channel magic through it. I’ve never seen one in person, but I bet its sharpness rivals that of a knife made from dragon materials."

"Dragon...?"

"Alright, let me have a look."

In the end, after not only Adon but also Dona and the coachmen had a chance to handle it, the knife was finally returned to its owner, Yuri. However, everyone's eyes remained glued to it.

"Uh, um... I have a spare, if you’d like..."

"""""Yes, please!"""""