A Certain Middle-Aged Man’s VRMMO Activity Log c39

Author: Shiina Howahowa
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A/N: After a long time it’s crafting action.

“Heave, ho! Heave, ho-!”

Right now I’m in the middle of mining the tunnel-mines in the area around the second town, Nexia.
My goals are the two, Steel and Light Metal; there’s a lot of prototypes I want to try making using these two ores.

“Heave, ho! Heave, ho!”

While raising my voice, I’m “heave-ho-ing” a pickaxe.

The people around me, all in the same trade, may all be using different yells to psyche themselves up, but they’re yelling while excavating.
While mining it’s easier to get the timing down while letting out your voice noda.

Within this particular mine, fire is particularly prohibited; why?
Gakin! With that welcome sound the ores that came out are a few Light Metals, a few Silvers, … and

“Nge!? Everyone watch out! I’ve struck Exploding Ore!”

It’s because of these Exploding Ores.

When hit with a certain amount of impact or applied heat, it lets off a huge explosion; a kind of natural bomb.

With a careless impact it will become a dangerous existence.

As for the pickaxe it’s doing its job in the ground; can’t let the worst case happen.

“Ok everyone, the explosive has been retrieved, sorry yo-”

I say. The surrounding tension slowly eases.

Since that explosive incident happened, if you hit Exploding Ore you absolutely have to report to everyone around.
It’s to get everyone around’s cooperation to avoid hitting it.

… At any rate, I’ve somehow or other got some Steel and Light Metal so I’ll withdraw from the excavations.

That there are people who use it despite that is an MMO characteristic; I’ve heard the rumor that they’re being called “Bomb Master”s.

When I returned from Nexia to Faust, I headed to the Forge.

Thief skill’s Danger Perception has been registering a single constant reaction.
Since it’s pretty suspicious, I set it to always be on caution.

“O, Boss1, good evening~”

I call out to the player who, for some reason, is always in Faust’s Forge; of course his player name is actually different, but just about everyone calls him “Boss” like that, to show him respect since he’s the Top Player among the blacksmiths.

That’s basically the Boss’ look.

“Oo, if it isn’t Earth. Did you come to make more weird things?”

To some degree, I’m more recognizable than Boss due to the occasions where I made weird weapons.

For the most part, blacksmith players choose Fire Fairies.

Furthermore, that trait is more than enough for the Fairies of players who made blacksmithing their occupation and have no interest in PvP. Rather than PvP, it’s way better to use your hammer to hit iron; there’s a lot of people who hold that popular thought.

“Weird things ‘te … that’s a mean way to say it.”

As I mutter that, Boss “Gahahahaha” laughs heartily.
That laugh really suits him well … it’s ‘cause he’s the Boss.

I took my leave from Boss, who was saying, “Maa, do your best,” and began my work.
What I’m making this time is a new arrowhead and a metal whip.

I wonder if you know about the thing called the twisted dagger.

The blade isn’t in a straight line; twisted like a screw, it’s a knife that easily gouges.

But are more like blades for stabbing.

Arrows are sent flying out, but when the opponent is stabbed with the arrow it’s about the same.

And so, since my Blacksmith level has risen and I’ve obtained Steel ores, I thought to try and challenge myself …after making the ore into ingots I prepare to make the arrowhead’s shape.

Over and over again, no matter how many I tried to beat into shape I failed repeatedly.
Thanks to that my skill rose, but man, I can’t be happy about it because of all the materials I wasted.

After a long time wrestling with it, I somehow made the thing.
It’s many times harder to make than a regular arrowhead … all that’s left is to attach it to the tip of a Wooden Arrow to finish it.

—
Twist Arrow

Atk+15,  Increased Penetration Ability,

With a modified arrowhead, an arrow that has taken up a twisted shape that pierces easily; it costs a large amount of labor to make.

Quality 5
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A Quality 5 is pretty harsh, and since the steel consumption is pretty steep it’d be tough to ma.s.s produce, but on the other hand the damage is huge, and the arrow itself has the ability to inflict a Bad Status.

Before the event’s over, I should spend a while tempering Woodworking and Blacksmithing, I guess.

Anyway, achieving the shape of the arrowhead is good enough for now.

Refined Light Metal is light-weight and bends like bamboo, but even with that it’s has the metal’s durability; it’s a weird metal that’s used for the connecting and joining parts of Light Armor and Heavy Armor, improving armor quality, and a metal that reduces weight.
That flexibility is the main reason to use it to tailor a whip.

First is making the whip’s base. In order to achieve the necessary length,

I have to take care to make it uniform; with my perseverance it stretches well.

In the end, what I’m making now has been stretched to the same length as a leather whip.

Since, up until now, it’s just a whip made of Light Metal, from hereon I’ll be adding onto it.

With these thin, triangular blades like fish scales, I attach them above and below to the Light Metal whip I just made.

When restraining a monster, it’s whip where these jagged blades are expected to bite in.

Just when my arm was beginning to hurt from hitting and hitting, it was finally completed.
I made it on a whim; didn’t think it would be something that took so much time and labor.

—
Triangle Blade・Whip

Atk +18
When restraining an opponent, there is additional ongoing damage.

A brutal whip with countless thin, fish-scale like triangular blades attached.
When restraining, those blades will inflict wounds when tightened around the poor victim.

Quality 6
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The Atk didn’t go up that much, naa. It has to be because it’s Light Metal.

It’s unavoidable; it’s pretty good if you just treat it like a sub-weapon.

… Even though I say it’s light, it’s still metal after all; it’s a bit heavy.

It’s just, maa, no matter how you look at it, you can’t shake the fact that it makes me look like a [Villainous Overseer].

All that’s left is to figure out the problematic parts when using it and improvement … speaking of improvement I haven’t tampered with Blade Shoes yet … the form they will take still needs to come to me.

Maa, it’s not something to do today.

In the end, that suspicious blip never disappeared from ’s range.
I guess it’s good that I can tell I’m being targetted…

SKILLS

[Kicking a.s.sault]Lv9

[Wind Magic]Lv46

[Blacksmithing]Lv30 ↑5UP

[Physical Ability Reinforcement]Lv14 ↑2UP

[Woodworking]Lv24 ↑2UP

Reserved Skills

[Cooking]Lv48
[Whip]Lv32

ExP　18

a/n: And so, a new arrow, a new whip, and a comrade have come into the story.
The whip is rather nasty…

oyakata – It’s usually translated as “master”, and in this case would insinuate “master of the forge”, but because most people would mistake “master” in this case with “sishou”, as if he was Earth’s teacher/master in blacksmithing, I translated it as “Boss” instead.