Crafting the Future

The next morning, Akira woke up and glanced at the items on his table. He went to wash himself and grabbed a quick breakfast. Returning to his room, he arranged four dull knives, two goblin cores from his recent hunt, a slime core, and a double-tailed rabbit core on the table.

"Alfred, how does the crafting skill work?" Akira asked.

"All the books we read didn't have any information on crafting skills," Alfred replied. "But since it's a skill and considering how you've used other skills, you should channel magic into your hand and imagine the edge getting sharper and the knife getting tougher."

Akira nodded and focused on one of the dull knives. As he channeled his magic, the dull knife began to transform, becoming a sharp and durable dagger. However, it became smaller than before.

Alfred speculated, "The size reduction was likely caused by the rearrangement of the iron molecules, filling the gaps and making the blade stronger but smaller."

Encouraged by this success, Akira picked up two knives and tried fusing them into a single dagger. It worked, but the new dagger was too heavy. Using his crafting skill, he broke a piece off and reshaped it, resulting in a perfectly weighted and sized dagger.

Akira concluded, "My crafting skill allows me to create things from raw or recycled materials, but I can't do it out of thin air. I need raw materials and magic."

Now left with a single knife and some monster cores, Akira asked Alfred how to use the monster cores to reinforce the weapon.

"Cores are typically melted and infused into the weapon during the hammering phase," Alfred instructed.

Akira decided to infuse the dull knife with a goblin core. Using his ability, he softened the core and transformed the knife into a dagger, adding the core into it. The new dagger was sharper than all the previous ones. Akira marveled at his skill's potential and decided to keep it a secret.

Packing his enhanced daggers, Akira headed to the weapon shop. He showed the daggers to the shopkeeper, who instantly noticed their quality, especially the dagger infused with the goblin core. After using his appraisal skill, the shopkeeper offered Akira 1 gold and 2 silver coins for the daggers. Akira negotiated for more and eventually settled for 1 gold and 5 silver coins.

Next, Akira visited the trapper shop to buy rope, monster bait, a net, and traps. Stepping out of the shop, he thought about the crowded area and decided he needed his own place for experiments, preferably on the outskirts of the city. He remembered seeing a house for sale there and decided to check it out.

After dropping his newly bought items in his room, Akira went to see the house. An old man greeted him at the door and quoted a price of 100 gold coins. Shocked but not deterred, Akira left the house and went to the guild for more quests, pondering how long it would take to gather that amount of money.

At the adventurers' guild, Akira scanned the quest board, considering his options. A quest to kill a giant caught his eye. Accepting the quest, he grabbed his rope and headed to the giant's last known location near a waterfall.

Following the giant's footprints, Akira found it eating from a stack of orcs. He carefully observed the environment and formulated a plan. Using his crafting skill, he reinforced his rope and added a goblin core to his sword. He tied the rope to a rock and several trees and placed big stones, sharpening them with his skill.

Next, Akira crafted a wooden spear from a tree trunk. With his plan in place, he shouted at the giant. As it turned, Akira infused his hands, back, and legs with magic and threw the spear with full force, hitting the giant's left eye. The giant screamed in pain and charged at him.

Akira ran towards the rope. The giant, unable to see it, got tangled and fell onto the sharp stones, damaging and disorienting it. Seizing the opportunity, Akira jumped and drove his newly sharpened sword into the giant's head, killing it.

Pleased with his victory, Akira retrieved the giant's core and found 8 orc cores among the bodies. He also collected the giant's canine teeth, used in construction, and discovered a core in the giant's chest. Alfred identified it as an enlargement core, which could make weapons larger when mana was added.

Akira's hands full of materials, he sold the giant's teeth at the shop and then returned to the adventurers' guild. He received 6 gold coins for the quest, saving them towards buying the house.

After returning to the tavern, Akira went for dinner. While eating, he pondered ways to earn money quickly. He had so many ideas about experimenting with his skills and wanted a private place, unlike the crowded and noisy tavern.

As he sat, deep in thought, he overheard some adventurers talking about abandoned mines taken over by ghouls. Intrigued, Akira decided to pay the mines a visit. Not only could he clear out the ghouls, but he might also find valuable ores.

The next morning, Akira mentally prepared himself for the day's adventure. He considered buying a pickaxe and some lanterns for the cave, but a practical concern arose: how would he carry so many items and any useful ores he found? Alfred, his AI companion, suggested crafting a spatial bag using a combination of light magic and his crafting abilities. Instantly, the knowledge of how to create it came to Akira's mind.

A spatial bag appeared to be a normal bag but possessed an internal dimension, allowing for seemingly unlimited storage space as long as items could fit through its mouth. Excited by the idea, Akira picked up his ordinary bag and, with one hand, imbued it with his crafting skill. With the other hand, he channeled light magic, focusing on expanding the bag's internal space. In a moment of brilliant energy, the bag transformed.

With his spatial issue resolved, Akira felt a surge of confidence. He had successfully created a bag that could hold anything that fit through its mouth, regardless of size. He then readied himself, visiting the local shop to purchase torches, lanterns, and a pickaxe. With his supplies in hand, he headed to the adventurers' guild to officially accept the quest to kill the ghouls.

Fully equipped and eager for the challenge, Akira began his journey to the mines, his mind racing with anticipation of the adventures and discoveries that lay ahead.

Approaching the entrance, Akira could see the faint, eerie glow of the ghouls' eyes in the darkness. He steeled himself, summoning his magic. One after another, he launched fireballs into the mine. The flames illuminated the cavern, revealing the decaying forms of the ghouls as they were incinerated. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning flesh and smoke.

The continuous casting took a toll on Akira's mana reserves. With each fireball, he felt his energy draining. Finally, after dispatching the last of the immediate threats, he staggered to a stop, breathing heavily. The exertion left him exhausted, and he knew he needed to rest and recover his strength before venturing deeper.

Finding a relatively clean spot against the cool stone wall, Akira sat down to catch his breath. The eerie silence of the mine was now punctuated only by the occasional drip of water and the faint crackling of residual flames. As he rested, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. Clearing out the ghouls was only the first step; the real adventure lay in exploring the mine's depths and uncovering its hidden treasures.

With his mana slowly regenerating and his strength returning, Akira allowed himself a moment of reflection. He considered the potential riches within the mine—precious ores, rare minerals, and perhaps even ancient artifacts long forgotten. The anticipation of discovery reignited his determination. He knew he had to pace himself, but the thrill of the unknown beckoned irresistibly.

After a brief rest, Akira stood up, feeling revitalized. He adjusted his gear, ensuring everything was in place, and prepared to delve deeper into the mine. The path ahead was shrouded in darkness, but with his lantern in hand and his newly crafted weapons at his side, he felt ready to face whatever challenges awaited him.