How does one make a dagger for a black magic ritual?
I genuinely have no idea.
I accepted the commission in a hurry, and now I’m worried about what comes next.
It’ll probably need some kind of occult power infused into it…
The problem was that I had absolutely no knowledge when it came to black magic.
└Metallurgist: I do know, but I’d rather not tell you.
└Python: Ah, why not?
└Metallurgist: Because I don’t want to shave away my grad student’s soul with my own hands.
The craftsmen of the gallery refused to help me this time.
Some because they were watching the Metallurgist’s mood, others because they themselves felt uneasy about it.
I figured my soul had already been shaved away, so I didn’t particularly care, but they were the ones making a fuss.
└BlackMageSobSob: Just make it however you want, darling. Take it easy, okay?
└Python: You don’t have a design you want?
└BlackMageSobSob: I’ll leave it to you.
Even the client, BlackMageSobSob, was acting irresponsibly.
They were leaving even the form and function of the dagger entirely up to me.
It was to the point where I wondered if they really needed a blade at all.
I also felt the urge to make something at random and toss it over, but if I wanted to prevent them from saying something different later, I’d have to make it properly.
In the end, I had no choice but to think hard about it.
If I used Ji Suyeon as a compass and worked on the nodes, maybe something would catch.
“Let’s settle on the shape first.”
For now, let’s start with what I can do for certain.
I needed to pick the steel I’d use and decide what kind of blade to make.
The first thing that came to mind was the straw cutter used by shamans… but it was too big, so pass.
‘Or maybe a phurba?’
It was a ritual implement used in Tibetan Buddhism.
Its design was ornate, and it was one of the things I’d wanted to try making someday.
I seriously considered it, but in the end I had to rule it out.
Giving a religious object to a black magician just felt way too uncomfortable.
“How about this?”
As I was thinking, Ji Suyeon held out a tablet to me.
On the screen was a blade shaped like a winding snake.
At a glance, it made me think of Zhang Fei’s Serpent Spear from Romance of the Three Kingdoms—
A kris.
A historic weapon of the Malay Archipelago that was said to bring luck, to be cursed and call for blood,
and even to make its wielder violent.
“That should work, shouldn’t it?”
Wouldn’t this be enough to make BlackMageSobSob clap in delight?
I immediately set up the steel I needed.
26C3, an ultra-high-purity carbon steel from Sweden, and 15N20, a nickel steel.
I planned to create an extreme contrast between the dark layers of carbon steel and the bright layers of nickel steel.
“Isn’t it inconvenient to mix several kinds together?”
Ji Suyeon tilted her head as she asked.
At the innocent question from the forge newbie, my eyes snapped open.
“You can kill the weaknesses of both sides, take only their strengths, and improve performance.”
“Like how soju and beer can be kind of bad on their own sometimes, but somaek is always right when you mix them?”
“Huh?”
“The older girls who left the orphanage told me.”
“Uh, yeah…”
What did I just hear?
Anyway, the main reason for mixing different steels was to supplement or enhance something.
But this time, performance came second.
‘Purely for the drip.’
It was to create the pamor pattern unique to kris blades. Of course, since they were good steels, the performance would be good too.
“Pamor?”
“It’s like putting in a pattern, the way you do with Damascus…”
In the broad sense, it was similar to the Damascus pattern from last time.
After all, it involved using iron with a high nickel ratio, like meteoric iron, to create an ornate pattern.
Last time, I made a raindrop pattern, so I should try a different method this time.
First, I stacked thin pieces of nickel steel and carbon steel up to twenty layers, then welded them together to make a billet.
“Let’s find the nodes first.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ji Suyeon opened her eyes wide and stared at the billet.
Mana slowly began to seep out from her.
It was my first time seeing another blacksmith use mana.
I also concentrated and watched Ji Suyeon’s mental image.
‘A tree?’
An illusion like a tree trunk stretched out from her back. It ran along her arm and crossed over the table.
The trunk encroached upon the billet like ivy.
So Ji Suyeon’s mental image was a tree.
Rather than delicate, it was rough. I could feel a fierce energy from it, like roots splitting rock.
No wonder she’d been able to hammer mana into a finished product.
“Did you learn how to extend branches on your own?”
“Somehow…”
“Can’t you put out smaller branches? Then you’d be able to handle mana in more detail.”
“Hold on… Ugh, it’s not working.”
Perhaps her concentration broke for a moment, because the trunk retreated.
“Keep doing what you were doing. I’ll join in too.”
“Okay.”
I extended my third arm and began touching the nodes.
“That’s gross.”
“You’re gross too.”
“A tree is part of nature. But split fingers are… Ugh.”
“What do you mean, ugh? Can you check this node for me? The spot I’m pointing at right now.”
“It doesn’t look particularly good. It feels less green?”
“What do you mean, green?”
“It just feels that way. That bomb you showed me last time felt black.”
A green feeling and a black feeling.
I couldn’t clearly grasp what the difference was.
Did I have to see it through a tree’s eyes?
Explosions damage trees, so if she said she sensed an ominous black energy from it, it didn’t sound all that strange.
Then what color should we be looking for?
“Let’s look for red. Since it’s… a blade.”
“Because it spills blood?”
“Right?”
“That’s really simple, isn’t it?”
“So what.”
“Wow, that’s so childish.”
In any case, we had a direction now.
If I made a reasonably sharp knife, it should at least be passable. In rituals like black magic, wasn’t blood usually important?
I split my fingers and selected several key nodes.
First, reduced healing.
Next, increased penetration and increased mana efficiency.
“How is it?”
“It’s iffy. This is way too pink.”
I touched more nodes.
What came back was Ji Suyeon shaking her head.
We continued choosing nodes at random for quite a while.
“Oh! Stop right there! That’s perfect!”
“It’s good?”
“It’s really crimson. You did touch some spots without light sources, but the color itself is really good.”
I stopped my third hand and examined the nodes.
Most of the nodes I’d initially set as the core axis had survived.
The problem was the other light sources.
There were many points I still didn’t understand.
“Suyeon, can you record this for now?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Draw out the places where you can’t see light sources too, carefully.”
I’d have to ask the craftsmen later.
What if they turned out to be nodes that did something like absorb souls?
I’m scared of what might come out.
It’d be troublesome if I suddenly made something like a demonic sword.
I’d have to proceed as carefully as possible.
“I’m done!”
“Good, thanks.”
I lit the furnace and heated the welded billet.
After heating it to roughly 1,200 degrees, I repeated pressing and forge-welding with the press.
The twenty-layer billet became forty layers, then passed through eighty to become one hundred sixty layers.
I fixed the billet, now made into a bar again, in a vise, grabbed it with a wrench, and twisted it about two turns.
“Why are you doing that?”
“It’s part of making the pattern.”
You could create the desired pattern on the blade by carving grooves into the steel plate, twisting the billet, or cutting and restacking it.
“You know how if you stretch, stack, and twist modeling clay, the colors mix in a flashy way?”
“Aha.”
Ji Suyeon showed more interest in forge work than I expected.
She didn’t stop at answering questions; she asked questions on her own.
‘What an excellent student.’
I heated the twisted billet again.
Now I had to form the wavy shape unique to a kris.
I took the lump of iron, drawn out to the desired length, over to the anvil.
I planned to place it against the rounded horn of the anvil and hammer in the curves.
There would be nine bends in total. It would be appropriately ornate without being excessive.
Clang, clang, clang—!
The sound of hammering rang out for a long time.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“I am.”
“Gasp!”
“But it’s fine. From now on, Suyeon will be the one doing it.”
“Gasp!”
It was only half a joke.
For the time being, I’d be in charge of making important weapons.
Suyeon would be focusing on producing rings.
Previously, she’d apparently forced mana into blank rings, but I had no intention of making her use such a high-defect-rate method.
I’d have Ji Suyeon hammer dark iron herself and make them.
“Still, rings are quick to make. Once you get used to it, it shouldn’t be hard.”
“Aha… Yes! I’ll learn diligently!”
“I’ll pay you well.”
“Yes!”
Suddenly, I wondered if this was really all right.
I was bringing in a minor, paying her wages, and making her work.
“Hmm.”
After thinking it over carefully, it seemed fine.
I’d been helping my dad hammer things since I was in elementary school too.
“Now we have to do the final heat treatment. Why don’t you come over and try controlling the temperature?”
The difficult work was almost over.
Now I just had to repeat the process of heating it and cooling it again.
“This is…?”
“We’ve hammered and twisted it like crazy so far. It must’ve gotten a lot of stress. We’re giving it some time to sit still and calm its heart.”
“Aha?”
“Just think of it as a process to prevent the blade from warping.”
Following my instructions, Ji Suyeon stood in front of the furnace and flowed mana into it.
She nearly singed her eyebrows like I had, but she quickly got the hang of it.
With Suyeon’s help, I finished the normalizing process without getting bored.
I quickly finished the quenching, polishing, and etching as well, completing the blade.
“Wow! We made this?”
“We…?”
“Hehe… I did help a little, though…”
She wasn’t wrong.
“But it’s not over yet. We still have to make the handle and sheath.”
I decided to use ebony for the handle and scabbard.
The luxurious black would give it a stylish atmosphere.
“We’ll catch nodes again this time. Tell me if you see a color similar to before.”
“Okay.”
Once again came the process of catching nodes and recording them.
Since we’d moved from metal to wood, the light sources changed too, but thanks to the direction we’d set, it didn’t take long.
I attached the asymmetrical, J-shaped handle to the tang.
It would have been nice if I could add design elements using things like metal rings, but I didn’t have that level of aesthetic sense, so I gave up.
“Even so, isn’t this pretty amazing?”
“I think so too.”
Once I carved the scabbard to match the shape of the blade, it was truly finished.
“Good work!”
“You worked hard too, Suyeon.”
I pressed the completion button that appeared before my eyes.
As always, time slowed, and soon a selection window would appear.
[The Blood-Calling Ritual Kris Dagger (Unique) +0 has been completed.]
[Using “The First Ability.”]
Oh! Unique!
It was a grade I’d never seen before at the production stage.
By the way, blood-calling?
The modifier had been set to something rather ominous.
Considering the dagger’s purpose, was that actually a good thing?
[Unique] Blood-Drinking Blade
- The blade absorbs blood. Mana efficiency improves in proportion to the amount of blood absorbed.
[Rare] Blood-Flavored Chex
- When attacking an enemy in a bleeding state, attack power increases by 15%.
[Unique] Because It Does Not Shine
- The user’s presence is reduced. The effect increases in darkness.
There were two Uniques.
They all seemed like fairly decent options.
If the purpose of this dagger had been combat, I probably would have agonized over it for quite a while.
‘Let’s go with the blood-drinking blade.’
It suited the name “blood-calling blade,” and the effect looked good too.
The purple card was absorbed into the blade.
Now for the next step.
[Would you like to enhance it?]
It had been a month since I enhanced something on the twentieth floor. To be exact, well over a month.
Quite a lot had happened in the meantime.
With that thought in mind, I opened the welcome enhancement window.
“Blood-Calling Ritual Kris Dagger (Unique) +1”
[Unique] Borrowing Karma in Advance (Success Rate 100%)
- Black magic-type mana efficiency is improved.
[Advanced] Old Wound (Success Rate 100%)
- The duration of the bleeding state inflicted by the user increases by 5%.
[Legendary] Let’s Live Virtuously (Success Rate 100%)
- Consecration
Legendary…!
But the effect was Consecration?
Without any lengthy explanation, only the single word “Consecration” was written there.
I had no way of guessing what kind of ability it was.
Did it deal 2 damage to all enemies for 3 cost?
No way.
All I could vaguely guess was that it was far removed from black magic.
‘If I think about it rationally, Unique is the right choice.’
Only I knew there had been a Legendary option.
As for BlackMageSobSob, all I had to do was send over the dagger and say it came with fairly decent options.
But I was so curious.
What on earth did Sanctification do? What kind of efficiency would it show when combined with a black mage?
They wouldn’t die while using it, right?
What if they complained that it wasn’t the dagger they wanted?
All sorts of thoughts crossed my mind.
My head was telling me Unique, but my heart was making me choose Legendary.
‘Ah, fuck it. I don’t know anymore.’
If it seemed weird, they’d know to hold back on their own.
I squeezed my eyes shut and chose Legendary.
Once again, the kris absorbed the golden energy.
Now time should have returned to its proper speed.
“…?”
Instead, a notification window appeared.
[You have achieved Enhancement D-rank.]
[You have acquired an Enhancement skill.]
Two Legendaries in a row really was huge.
I’d been quietly expecting it. I would’ve been disappointed if my rank hadn’t gone up.
This time, I quickly chose a skill.
[ “Sleep When You’re Dead” ]
[Enhancement cooldown is reduced by half.]
A month really was too long.
Jisuyeon greeted me after I finished all the enhancements.
By which I mean she was just standing there in front of me, exactly as before.
“Mm? The sword feels like something’s changed.”
“I enhanced it a little.”
“Wow…”
“Hey, you can do it too.”
Someday, Jisuyeon would take on her own customers and craft weapons as well.
If she wanted to, that is.
I sat down on the sofa and opened the Gallery while pretending to rest.
└Python: BlackMageSobSob, the ceremonial dagger you commissioned is finished.
└BlackMageSobSob: Already? You’re quick with your hands too, babe.
└Python: Well, the thing is, the options came out a little ambiguous, so I did my absolute best and tried to do something with it, you know? But this could also be taken ambiguously depending on personal taste, and since taste is subjective, you can’t satisfy everyone’s preferences. If you wanted the cilantro left out of your pho, you should’ve said so in advance, and since you didn’t, I don’t think this is my responsibility.
└Metallurgist: Speak properly.
└Python: Legendary came up again. The options are a bit iffy, though…
└Metallurgist: ????????????
└WatermelonRustler: Ah, seriously, stop fucking around!!!!
└BlackMageSobSob: Legendary? Anything you give me is okay with me, babe, but I didn’t expect you to prepare such a huge gift. I’ll take it gladly, babe.
After laying down plenty of padding, I immediately opened the trade window.
I tossed the kris dagger into the rising cluster of light.
It’s out of my hands now.
They’ll figure it out on their own.