Cursed Villainess’ Obsession

This time, the weapon we need to create is for event clearing, so I need to be more careful about making it.

First, we decide on the final weapon to create.

The category, of course, is a sword.

Among those, I will craft a magic-enchanted weapon to cover Siegfried’s lack of skills.

“Then Raphne, while I engrave the symbols, please tell me the temperature-based runes for fire magic.”

“Okay! I’ll do my best!”

First, it’s a test creation of the magic-enchanted item.

If it’s just a simple magic effect, attaching a spirit stone would be enough.

But for the desired activation conditions, I need to design the magic activation through runes.

“Ah! I wrote it wrong!”

“D-Don’t worry! We still have more materials!”

Of course, there are failures in item crafting as well.

No matter how much you get skill support, the more complex the process, the more likely mistakes will happen.

[ System: You have successfully created a magic-enchanted item for the first time. Bonus experience points will be awarded. ]

“Wow… a warm breeze.”

The first item I’ve made is a magic item shaped like a hairdryer.

I embedded a fire spirit stone and a wind spirit stone to design the temperature control and wind strength through runes.

Due to my low skill proficiency, I couldn’t receive skill help for rune design.

But this place is reality, not a game.

So, I acquire the lacking knowledge through books directly.

As a result, I made an item that emits a warm breeze through mana output.

“Awesome, Ken! With this, anything will dry in no time!”

My girlfriend Raphne seems to really like the hairdryer.

Naturally, in this world, which is a simulation role-playing game, there’s no setup for such an item.

After all, it involves two spirit stones and rune design.

If such an item existed, one would simply dry their hair with magic.

Still, through this creation, I got a rough sense of magic enchanting.

I attempted various creations afterward.

However, even with Raphne’s help, I couldn’t infinitely acquire spirit stones, so I kept the creation of magic-enchanted items to a minimum.

‘Maybe I should use the one-eyed giant’s bones I got earlier.’

While making a practice piece, I also craft a weapon for myself.

After all, I’ll get better items later, so this will be a temporary weapon until then.

Using the giant’s bones for item crafting is straightforward.

I merely cut the bone into the shape of a sword and sharpen the blade.

A simple and crude sword made entirely of bone. But it’s not a bad sword for a starting weapon.

It’s not dragon bones, but giant bones have good durability.

Plus, since it’s a bone-type item, it has both slashing and striking attack properties, making it effective against monsters like golems, which are immune to slashing attacks.

[ System: Your proficiency in item crafting has reached its maximum. Your related skills level up. ]

[ Item Crafting – Dexterity LV 3, Weapon Creation LV 3 ]

Having crafted various types of weapons besides the sword, my dexterity and weapon crafting levels have risen.

‘This is about as far as I can go with repetitive crafting…’

From level 4 onwards, regular crafting won’t give enough experience. I’ll need more special creations for faster growth.

‘Now shall I attempt to make a magic-enchanted sword?’

I filled my proficiency.

Now, it’s time to dive into the main crafting.

Complex and high-rank magic requires higher grade spirit stones and intricate rune designs.

With my current dexterity level and magic tool crafting level, I would likely fail most of those processes.

So, the sword I make for Siegfried needs to maximize effects with minimal magic.

One thought comes to mind.

“Raphne, can you lend me some fire?”

“Y-Yes!”

The basic process is the same as when I made the dagger last time.

However, the materials are different.

In a game, if a weapon exceeds certain stats, it should clear an event issue, but here in reality, I have to provide the best work I can do.

So, I use black steel ingots as the materials instead of regular metals.

This metal has high strength and magic absorption, which I obtained by asking Raphne.

I would love to use higher-grade metals like mithril, but I lack the skills to handle those, and Raphne says they’re hard to find.

In that case, black steel is a great value for its quality.

Clang! Clang!

The black iron lump transforms into the shape of a sword through hammering.

The basic form is established, and the blade is sharpened.

I used ebony wood for the handle. It also has properties that amplify mana.

Then I set the jewels with the pommel. Although it’s unintentional, the jewel is also black.

“Now, please tell me the runes, one by one.”

“J-Just a moment!”

Raphne followed the page of the magic book I showed her.

Slowly.

Carefully and thoroughly.

With dedication, she engraves the symbols.

Even if I could speed the process up with skill help, I choose to work as carefully as possible.

Every time I carve a letter, sweat runs down my cheeks.

Minutes passed while I engraved the symbols.

“Phew, now please give me the powder.”

“Here!”

I mix the resin powder filled with mana into various alchemical ingredients and apply it over the engraved runes.

I carefully blow mana into the painting process.

As a result, the black steel rapidly absorbs my mana and spreads it across the entire blade.

Simultaneously, the coating over the runes reacts and glows.

Soon, the light faded, and the characters I inscribed also disappeared into the black steel.

[ System: You have created an independent item not within the item crafting category. Bonus experience points will be awarded. ]

[ System: ‘Black Blade’ has been created. ]

[ System: The crafting method for ‘Black Blade’ has been registered in the category. ]

Thus, the magic-enchanted black sword was completed.

[ System: Through repeated use of rare materials and complex crafting methods, you have gained a new skill. ]

[ Unique Skill: Item Crafting.

Proficiency

Dexterity LV 3
Weapon Creation LV 3
Potion Creation LV 1
Magic Tool Creation LV 2 – UP!
Repair LV 1 -NEW!
Material Identification LV 1 – NEW! ]

‘Repair and… Material Identification?’

Completing the weapon crafting raised my magic tool crafting level and granted me a new skill.

Material Identification…

‘Crafting-related skills are all new to me, so I’m a bit lost…’

Instead of dwelling on it, I decided to try it out.

‘…This is.’

As I focus, mana spreads through my entire body. Eventually, the mana flows from the tips of my fingers into the black blade I’m holding and then back to me.

And then, a blue window appears before my eyes.

[ Black Blade – B-Rank

Type: Sword

Materials Used: Black Steel, Ebony, Spirit Stone ]

‘I see, it’s a skill to identify the original materials of the equipment.’

I’m sure this will come in handy someday.

A skill that provides such information is precious.

This mini-event seems to yield quite a lot of benefits.

…。

“Is this the weapon you meant?”

“How do you like it? Does it suit your taste?”

The next day, I immediately headed to the rooftop garden.

“…Hmm.”

I showed the weapon I made the previous day to Siegfried, who was tending to the flowers there.

As I drew the blade from the sheath, the sleek black blade revealed itself.

After a brief examination of the blade, Siegfried put it back in the sheath and looked at me.

“It’s a good sword.”

“Wow!”

“But….”

Siegfried strapped the sword to his waist and continued speaking.

“The condition is first place in the tournament. Of course, it’s only if this sword helped you.”

“Yes! I understand.”

Being the upright person he is, he made sure to clarify the terms.

Of course, I didn’t think he would accept a request to be my mentor just because I made him a weapon.

That’s just who he is.

I’m sure even if he wins first place, if he deems he didn’t need the sword, he would refuse me outright.

But conversely, if he thinks it helped, he will undoubtedly keep his promise.

Siegfried is a man who sticks to his beliefs.

“Oh, and here’s this… as thanks for the weapon.”

Suddenly, he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to me.

“Pardon? The weapon was a request you agreed to….”

“The conditions you set are for the tournament’s first place. The weapon is something separate. I’m not shameless enough to just accept such an excellent sword.”

What he held out were two pieces of paper.

‘Of course, he wouldn’t let even one slip by him…’

He felt just like the character I sensed while playing the game.

He sticks to what he decides and hates going against his beliefs more than anything.

He’s the very image of an upright swordsman.

“Um… what is this?”

I asked as I took the two pieces of paper he handed over.

They were tickets with unique patterns drawn on them.

“They are tickets for the tournament I’m participating in. It may be insufficient as thanks for the sword, but I’ll repay you for the rest with something else.”

“Ah, I see… but why are there two tickets?”

If it’s just to watch the tournament’s results, one would be enough. Why two…?

At my puzzled question, Siegfried tilted his head as if it didn’t make sense.

“…Of course, you’re going together with a friend, right?”

“Ugh!”

His warm consideration made my heart ache.

‘…A person to go with.’

Of course, it wouldn’t matter if I went alone.

But still, it felt a bit wrong to just discard what he thoughtfully prepared.

The first person that came to my mind was, of course, Raphne.

‘But she can’t leave the tower…’

So, Raphne was out. Sorry, Raphne. I’ll take you somewhere nice next time.

In that case, since Ken’s social circle is limited, I didn’t have many options.

“…With that said, would you be interested?”

“H-Huh? To… go to the swordsmanship tournament together?”

Naturally, I first suggested it to Mary.

We had been getting closer lately, and considering how she helped me so much, she seemed perfect.

“I-I see… Is it on the weekend? Hmm~.”

Mary twirled her hair with her fingers, glancing at me.

Is she not interested? Is she happy about it?

It’s a difficult expression for me to read.

“Well, if you’re busy…”

“A! No! Not at all! …I’m completely free. It’s fine…”

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like she dislikes it, as she frantically waved her hands.

“Hehe.”

She smiled slightly as she accepted the ticket.

I caught myself staring at her face absentmindedly.

‘Lately, her expressions have become more varied.’

In the game, she always had a cold, detached, and sharp demeanor.

But in reality, she seemed more girlish and cute.

Of course, when she was a cowardly mess drenched in rain, she showed a teary and messy face.

I never thought she’d make such expressions in normal times.

Seeing her cheeks redden while looking at the ticket tenderly made my heart race a little.

Is this Ken’s reaction? Or … is it me?

“Um… Ken.”

Putting the ticket in her wallet, Mary hesitated and called out to me.

“…On that day.”

She briefly locked eyes with me, then averted her gaze.

“…Should I dress nicely?”

Then, once more, the icy demeanor she had turned into a soft blush as she cautiously looked at me.

‘…The atmosphere is strange.’

This was the first time I had seen such a side of her lately.

How should I respond…?

Feeling bashful, I ended up avoiding her gaze.

“Well, I think that would be nice?”

What kind of response would be the correct one? I’ve never seen this in any strategy guide.

But whether my answer was correct or not, Mary smiled.

“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it.”

“……”

That smile was also the first time I had seen it.

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