Chapter 23: The Wand and The Sword

After getting the approval from Sumizu-san, I cooled the Metal Lizard Metal with Water Magic…By the way, the shape of the metal did not change even if I cooled it rapidly.

As for the material, it seemed that even that armor plate would be ideal to make my weapons. I could not do anything about it, since I was an amateur. So I left it be.

I asked myself what to do with the extra Metal from the Metal Lizard. This type of material seemed very difficult to manage by myself, so I decided to sell it.

The people in the workshop explained to me that the excess magical power from the material was stored in a container that did not allow magical power to pass through.

It seemed that the structure of the equipment would be decided once the magical power was removed. Therefore, I wanted to find a different wand in the meantime.

…I decided to talk with Sumisa-chan, who was already awake, about my desired wand.

「Hello, Sumisa-san. I would like to order a wand.」

「You’re Kaede, am I right? I don’t remember, but it seems you have saved me. Thank you. So what type of wand do you want?」

「I want a wand that is about 20 cm long, strong, and capable of accelerating magic like an ordinary staff.」

「I can’t do it.  How can I produce a wand with an acceleration rate of a long staff without its length or head? Do you know the structure of a normal staff?」

She dismissed me straight away. How did ordinary people like me know about such a thing?

「I don’t know…Can you explain it to me?」

「I’ll explain it only once, so listen carefully. The structure of the staff is…」

Here is the summary of her explanation.

First, a staff was divided into four parts: a Magic Power Collecting part, an Accelerating part, a Releasing part, and an Outer Shell.

Just as the words implied, the Magic Power Collecting part was the area of the staff meant to collect magic power. The magical power goes through a thin copper stick through the material of the staff, for example, wood. Then, the collected magical power goes near the base of the wand, around the side of the Accelerating part.

It did not have to be copper, but copper was cheap.

The Accelerating part was the part meant to accelerate the magical power released from the Magic Power Collecting part.

This part was made by covering an iron rod with a diameter of about 1 cm with other metals such as copper and gold. The acceleration force of a staff changed to some extent depending on the material of the metal.

It seemed that if one stored magical power when manufacturing a staff, it would generate acceleration power. I did not know the reason why.

In addition, the magical power would not oscillate because of different metals unless it exceeded the allowable amount. If it exceeded the allowable amount, the movement speed would get much slower than acceleration, and there would be almost no effect on the magical power passing through the core.

Tools to process the Metal from the Metal Lizard were also made using this principle.

Even if I accumulated a lot of magical power, it would be meaningless because the acceleration power would only increase for a while (it could lead to the scattering of the surplus magical power). The difference in acceleration power depended on the coating as well since it played a crucial role in the difference of the stored amount of magical power.

There was almost no difference in the core depending on the material, but she said that the core was usually made of iron in order to avoid processing problems and strength problems.

The Releasing part was meant to push out the subsequent magical power coming from the Accelerating part and release it with momentum.

The Outer Shell was mainly made of wood, but this part was just a balance between strength and weight. It seemed that if you fight or walk for a certain length of time, holding a heavy object would slow down your speed or reduce your concentration due to fatigue. Unlike my short wand, a normal staff would be long and heavy to carry.

However, if you bent too much, the Accelerating part of the staff would not function properly, so if it was short, it would not generate enough.

In other words, it was difficult to create a short length staff that would generate strong magical power and speed. I could use a long staff, put it in the item box, and only use it for battles. Still, it would be inconvenient for me, because a long staff would be too sturdy while I fought with a sword.

In my case, it was an unusual request. I did not want to follow this principle in the first place. My MP and battle style were completely different from those of other wizards. I proposed the following.

「Okay, let’s make a wand that can be used as a sword, and at the same time, capable of accelerating magic as much as a long staff!」

「I don’t know what you’re talking about. 」

Of course, she said that. If I were to say the same thing in the same situation, I would wonder if this guy was crazy.

But, I was very serious. Damn serious.

「Let me explain. I have a lot of MP, so I can activate magic even when I fight with a sword. I think my idea is possible.」

「That’s not a proper explanation.」

Her response was too salty. It couldn’t be helped though. I described it very briefly.

「It can’t be helped. Let me explain from the beginning. First, the acceleration of magical power inside the wand increases as the amount of magical power on the core increases, right? Even if the magical power capacity of the metal on the covering side exceeds, the acceleration will increase during that time.」

「Well, I guess. A wand with magical power will increase the acceleration rate.」

Was the power related to the release of magical power from the core entering the acceleration part?

「In other words, the magical power put into the core side can be used for acceleration for a certain amount of time. And by using other metals outside the coating, you can slow down by dispersing the magical power.」

「Are you planning to use magic even after inserting in magical power? Even with a wand of about 80 cm, you use about half of the MP of a normal wizard when you insert magical power, do you know that? You can only fire 20 magic shots.」

Perhaps. If I were a normal wizard.

However, my MP was more than 500 times than that of a normal wizard even at the current level. My regeneration was around 500 times more, and with the potion, it was around 5000 times more.

「There’s no problem with my MP. Strength can be secured by using the metal outside the coating. If you use the Metal from the Metal Lizard, I will be able to use it as a sword.」

「Hmm…Let’s say that I believe that you can use both magic and a sword at the same time, how do you cover the wand with the Metal Lizard Metal? It won’t melt, will it?」

Ah…I wasn’t thinking about the processing. How did they make it here?

Speaking of which, I remembered something. There was a way to make a hollow needle by rolling a metal plate using a Japanese injection needle or some other manufacturing method.

I wondered if they made the same process in this word. Moreover, Metal from the Metal Lizard without magical power seemed to be soft enough to be forged.

「How about wrapping the metal plate around it?」

「Let me think about it for a moment.」

With that said, Sumisa-chan thought while writing and erasing something on the board. After about 10 minutes, she raised her face and spoke.

「It costs money and time, but there may be a way to do it. But I think there will be some problems if I use the previous method, so I have to come up with an amendment. Maybe we can do something about it.」

With that said, Sumisa-chan began the explanation while pointing to the board with her hand.

「First, if you make the Outer Shell with metal, the magic power will not reach the Magic Power Collecting part. This can be solved by dividing a part of the Metal Lizard from the Outer Shell into a Magic Power Collecting part. Then, we can wrap it if we want to give the Outer Shell a role to prevent the diffusion of magic power. If we fill the inside firmly by connecting the Magic Power Collecting part, we can secure the magic power. The Metal from the metal Lizard can be used as the outermost shell and magic collector at the same time. Also, the part that belongs to the sword will be made fully with the Metal in order to retain the strength and robustness of a proper sword. I think we have to make the blade part first to see if we can also make it into a wand or not. Since the tip of the sword should be the Releasing part, the core will also be made with the Metal to keep the strength intact. Even so, it is a difficult mixture procedure. The strength is lower than that of the plain metal from the Metal Lizard, so the tip of the sword should be made to an extent where it does not interfere with the release of magical power. It will be thinner than an ordinary sword, but it should be reasonably strong. Considering the above points, and the melting temperature, it is better to make the material of the core in first order, then the Magic Power Collecting part, the Outer Shell with the extracted metal, afterwards the coating with iron, and another Outer Shell with silver.」

「Oh…yeah. 」

I said “yeah”, but I could only understood about half of what she said. In short, did it mean, “I can make it, but it costs money”? I guess that was what she meant.

「By the way, how much does it cost? 」

「Well, I am going to use metal from the metal Lizard, iron, silver, plus the processing costs, in order to create just one piece of Metal Lizard armor. However, when you make something like this for the first time, mistakes are common, and the cost will increase. An accounting person will probably decide the price. An artisan can judge a price if it is a sword or something that is often made. However, I can’t do it right now because it’s something entirely different from what I work on. Besides, I will have to experiment, and some costs might be added to the price.」

In other words, generally speaking, it was very expensive. But, I did not have to pay right now. There should be no problem whatsoever.

It would be bad news if she failed endlessly and the cost went up.

「Okay, I’ll leave it in your hands. 」

「Wait a minute, I’ll call an accounting person. 」

According to the accounting person, if the processing cost went smoothly, it seemed that the most expensive would be the single armor plate processing.

I decided to pay the single armor plate processing in advance and have the Lizard Metal used for the weapon. I also decided to pay all the experimental costs and materials in advance. Sumisa-chan said that the production would begin tomorrow. Well, it would take a week to complete.

When everything settled down, Sumisa-chan asked me suddenly.

「You said that you have a lot of MP, but if you waste too much, it will disappear soon, am I not right? How powerful are you?」

「Hmm well, if you’re talking about ordinary wizards, then I amount to 500 people.」

In fact, I felt it was a little more.

「Don’t joke. Just tell me the truth.」

「I spoke the truth.」

「Seriously?」

「I defeated the Metal Lizard by crushing it with my magical power.」

I said that while showing her the armor of the Metal Lizard with the hole.

「…Ah. For you to make this hole on the Metal Lizard Metal with mere magic. I am convinced that your power is 500 times more than that of others. Why is that?」

「I wonder if there are hidden secrets.」

「Why do you say that? 」

「It seems like I’m being chased to strange places for no reason. I wonder if someone wants to use me as a lab rat*, or use me as a device that produces MP by being trapped in a machine such as a refrigerator.」

Mad scientists may also exist in this world.

「Refrigerator? I don’t know what that is, but I heard about lab rats*. Even if I don’t reveal your capabilities to others, it will be possible for others to notice your prowess eventually. So be careful.」

「I will do so. 」

I tried not to stand out unnecessarily.

Hmm? Would I stand out by being a magic swordsman? I did not know the answer to be honest.

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*Editor Note: the Original translation was “experimental Bodies”, I decided to change it to lab rat to make more sense in that context. Basically he is afraid of people doing experiments on his body 😉

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