A Certain Middle-Aged Man’s VRMMO Activity Log c19

Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki
Author: Shiina Howahowa

—

There’s still more to go about equipment enhancement …

Now that I’ve finished the arrowheads, it’s time to move on to [Blacksmithing] work part 2.

It will be equipment that will specifically enhance [Kick].

Furthermore, for [Kick] attacks that don’t use supporting weapons, the offensive power will definitely drop no matter what.
I’d like to address these two problems…

“If I can make some kind of weapon equipment that looks neat for my feet, wouldn’t that be great.”

I say that, but before we get into the aesthetics I need to try and make some fixtures so that I can actually attach the equipment to the Leather boots.

Now then, since it’s like that … as an example, Spike Shoes and Ski Boots seem to fall within my ideas.

Spikes are anti-slip metal fixtures that are largely durable.

For now, I’ll ignore the thought that it’s gruesome.

Ski boots are shoes that can soften impact. It will deliver only the intended striking damage, suppressing any reflected damage from a kick ….
I really need to think of how to attach shoes to shoes.

Also, attaching several blades to the sides of the shoes can give me a choice on whether to kick or slice, depending on the type of kick.

I practiced making cutting edges to death with the short sword and knife that I can’t use.
Afterwards it’s time to try and remodel it some.

And so I drew several blueprints.

Killing the mobility would be a fatal blunder for the fragile me.

While going, “good, good”, I’ve decided on the form.

If I add anything else, aside from having to figure out how to attach it, the weight it would add would push it into the “No way, no how, just give up” level, so I’ll leave it as is.
This time’s prototype will be for investigating for improvements based on ways to reinforce fighting in the recent battle.

I decided that the layout of the 7 spikes is 3 in the front, 1 in the middle, and 3 at the heel.
The spikes are for increasing [Kick]’s offensive power, but since they’ll work as anti-slip measures it’s better to have them placed evenly to ensure a steady balance.

For the blades that will go on the left and right side of my feet, I tried to use the kukri knife1 and janbiya1.2 dagger as references to the shape of the blade … but this…I’m struggling.

While drawing a pretty moderate curve on the side, I make it so it arcs in front of the foot;

I hear a blacksmith player crafter nearby say “That, how are you supposed to use it?”
It’s really too different after all.

Actually, when I finally finished making the shape of the two blades my usual logout time had pa.s.sed … I logged out in a hurry and forced myself to go to bed.
… I manage to avoid being late.

As such, after returning home from work, I finished eating and took a bath before logging back in.

There’s no way you can attach spikes or blades directly to shoes even in the game, so I’m making a kind of pseudo shoe that covers the outside of the shoe so that it can act as the attachment.

Taking the basic pattern from the Leather Boots, I made it a bit bigger.

After roughly taking the form, from here I’ll reduce it little by little.
I’ll keep at it until it’s a perfect fit.

… just the outline of the sh.e.l.l took 30 minutes.

Only the skill for excessively wielding the hammer is going up without effort.

It’s not too stout, nor did it add too much weight.

To determine the best balance between the thickness and durability of the outer sh.e.l.l, for the iron part I will use trial-and-error to figure out the thickness.
Adjustment by adjustment piled up, and pretty soon 1 hour has gone and vanished.

Finally the outer sh.e.l.l is complete, and it’s time to see how well it attaches.

Here the blades and spikes aren’t attached …
A little bit of training will probably be necessary to get used to it then.

At any rate, the endurance level is also cleared, so finally I can attach the blades and spikes.
The blades are set right and left, respectively, for each sh.e.l.l, from there a number of fixtures are set around them to attach them securely.

For the spikes I’ve made some inset holes in the sh.e.l.l for attachment.

I push and pull on them to check if they’re firm.
It’s necessary to confirm that carefully, since it’s a part that’s likely to be abused.

I put it on after celebrating the attachment’s completed form.

Though it might not be enough get the feeling just by going to break it in.

—

Leg Blade Prototype

Adds ATK+12       Adds DEF+2

Raises [Kick]’s offensive power when attached to Leather and Light Armor shoes.

Also, it is unable to be used if [Kick] has not yet reached LV15.

Quality 5      Reduces [Kick]’s reflected damage      Increased weight

—

Hee~h, so you can attach it to Light Armor shoes.

If I use it myself, there might be people who’ll see it and take interest, and maybe even come over to ask about it.

“Is that the finished piece?”

That’s a blacksmith player who raised his voice.

“For now, but you know … now I’ll have to test them out to find all the problems.”

That’s how I responded. There’s still a long way to go until I really complete them.
That said, it’s definitely an increase in combat capabilities … for me right now, it’s more than enough.

“A supporting weapon for [Kick], that’s another weird thing you’ve made.”

He said that while laughing, but you can tell it’s not the jeering sort of laugh.

“It’s more interesting this way, right? Just taking the first sword’s swing is different for everyone.
That this ‘weird weapon’ also exists somewhere is nice, isn’t it?”

That’s how I responded.

For people into [Blacksmithing], there are those who like making the rare, unusually good weapons, and there are also players who carefully craft their work, to each their own.

It’s a ‘since I’ve completed it in victory, please come take a look!’ kind of item.

The players in the forge have suddenly increased, and “Good work” and the likes were said.

In reality this type of footwear would be a danger to my surroundings, but this is a game.

It’s a weird trait, but it’s convenient.

At long last, the arrowhead and shoe combat improvements are done; the next day I’ll move onto the bow’s remodeling.
Heaving a large sigh, I log out.

SKILLS

[Bow]Lv30   [Kick]Lv27   [Farsight]Lv25   [Wind Magic]Lv18

[Cooking]Lv34   [Woodworking]Lv12   [Alchemy]Lv30   [Blacksmithing]Lv18
[Physical Ability Boost]Lv34

Reserved Skill(s)
[Stealth]Lv20

EXP  15

Now the shoes have violent looking blades and spikes.
If this wasn’t a game, it’d be an unjustifiable attachment (heh).

a) kukri knife – a curved blade from Nepal
b) Janbiya dagger – a curved middle-eastern blade. (jyanbiya was mispelled as shyanbiya, giving me kind of a run for my money. Dang katakana.) blood festival – a ma.s.sacre chuuni – short for “chuunibyou”, and refers to the near-delusional desire to be special/cool/an anime character.