“What do you need me to do?”
He seemed ready to work now.
I put him down on the floor.
We were in the enchantment room, one of the lower facilities of the workshop.
It was a place where finished equipment could be enchanted with various spells. The enchantment room used to be part of the Magic Hall, but after the facility was upgraded, it was integrated into this workshop.
“What I need you to do is simple.”
I placed Colada, Tizona, and the wolf-fur cloak on the ground.
On the floor, a large purple magic circle was drawn.
“Transfer the magic engravings from these twin swords to the cloak.”
“You want me to transfer the enchantment?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm, it’s not that hard, but...”
Katiio crawled over to the items.
“Let’s see, the formula is...”
Faint magical energy began radiating from Katiio’s hands.
But in less than ten seconds, his face turned pale.
“...What is this?”
He looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Where did you get this?”
“Just... picked it up.”
“This isn’t magic made by humans... The magical patterns... are all over the place...”
Katiio started muttering incomprehensibly.
“So, can you do it or not?”
“I can’t!”
“You don’t have to transfer all of it. Even half will be fine.”
“Even half? I can’t handle this! This is like trying to use alien magic! And there’s a security lock on it...”
“Don’t worry about that.”
I snapped my fingers.
Iselle twirled around in the air, spreading a shimmering dust.
[Commencing equipment synthesis!]
A familiar holographic window appeared.
I pulled up the menu and tapped the button in the center.
[You have selected ‘Item Synthesis’!]
[You can combine different types of items to create equipment with new properties. Item synthesis requires a skilled technician, and the outcome depends on the process. Be careful!]
[Tips/ You can enhance the success rate through a mini-game during manual synthesis.]
“What’s that?”
Katiio looked confused.
Right. Ordinary heroes can’t see this holographic window.
I shrugged.
“I can unlock the security. Does that work for you?”
As long as I solved the puzzle, the penalties could be mitigated.
“I’m not sure, but...”
“You’re not saying no. Even if you fail, I won’t blame you, so just try. I’ll owe you one.”
“...This is blackmail.”
Katiio grumbled but began scanning the items with his magical energy.
That meant he was willing to try.
I’d set two conditions for Katiio.
The first was that the enchantment process had to be discreet.
In other words, he’d have to come to this room every night to work.
The second condition was to leave the original items intact.
“Why do you keep adding these annoying conditions? It’s hard enough as it is...”
Katiio let out a deep sigh and extended his hands toward the swords.
‘I should give him something for his trouble.’
I had been working him pretty hard, after all.
Even medieval slaves didn’t have it this rough.
Anyway, the reward would come after the work was done.
I adjusted the synthesis window in front of me.
Switching to manual synthesis, I selected the puzzle difficulty.
‘Iselle will be busy for a while too.’
I’d have to manipulate the game log to avoid Anytng’s detection.
I cracked my knuckles. It had been a while since I’d done a puzzle, but the feel of it still lingered in my fingers.
Whew. I let out a light breath.
‘The Legacy of the Golden Incense?’
I scoffed internally.
If this item turns out to be useful, I’ll make the most of it. But I never said I’d go to Server 1.
Whether I stay on Earth or continue struggling here, the choice is mine. Even Cizel had acknowledged that.
‘Though I’m not sure if that’s really possible.’
After all, I hadn’t chosen to be dropped into this world in the first place.
So, this talk about choices didn’t resonate with me at all.
For now, I just had to do what I could.
[Puzzle ready!]
I raised my right hand.
***
“OneSlap, what a dumb name.”
A woman clicked her tongue lightly.
“The master’s name is so tacky. It makes me sick. How thoughtless do you have to be to come up with something like that? Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, sister. I agree.”
“Tell him to use the name-change option. Every time we kill someone, they have to see that name. It’s so disgusting I want «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to vomit.”
A dark room.
High-pitched laughter echoed through the space.
“What about Anytng...”
“Anytng’s no different. It sounds like it was made up on the spot. Even NoPlease is better. Right?”
“Yes, sister.”
The dark, spacious room.
In the center, a hologram projected a video.
In the video, a man clad in dark red lightning was fighting.
“Whew, impressive. To think he’s a One Star. Graduated top of his class from Niflheimr’s academy, won the Raid Festa, and cleared high-difficulty missions solo. A real super-elite.”
“That makes it all the more... worth it.”
“Yeah. It makes hunting him that much more rewarding.”
The woman tossed aside the object she had been holding.
It rolled across the floor and hit the wall.
It was the head of a man, his eyes still wide open.
“The biggest guild on Server 2. What was their name again?”
“Liberty, sister.”
“Ah, right. Them. They were incredibly boring. Once I cut off a few heads, the cocky ones started groveling. Such trash.”
Cackle.
The high-pitched laughter rang out again.
“Why did they interfere?”
The woman muttered in a chilling voice.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop, the voice devoid of all emotion.
“If it hadn’t been for those Liberty fools, El Cid’s head would’ve been ours.”
“If we’d had... more time to prepare... the interlopers... would’ve been annihilated...”
“They should’ve told us beforehand if they were going to hand over the book of Reversal. We had to leave in such a rush that I didn’t even have time to put on my makeup.”
“The reward... that thieving cat... stole it...”
The woman stood up from her seat.
The hologram continued to play the video in the dark room.
“How foolish must they be to expose their hero’s battle footage for the world to see.”
“Fools...”
“Stealing what belongs to others, like a sneaky little thief.”
“Idiots...”
“If that’s how they want to play...”
The woman walked toward the corner of the room, a sinister smile curling her lips.
“They’ll have to pay the price.”
She stomped on the severed head of the man.
Splat! The crushed fragments scattered in all directions.