Demon-Hunting Genius Mage

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]

Chapter 41

Our 4-person party stared blankly at the mountain of gold coins and artifacts piled up before our eyes.

“So this is….”

“...the money we earned in just 12 hours? Mr. First Place?”

“I didn't know making money would be this easy….”

Everyone was in awe.

Even I was in awe.

‘We really made an unbelievable amount of money.’

I expected that with four members, we would easily earn gold coins by completing requests.

But I didn't expect it to be to this extent.

My party members were more skilled than I thought, and thanks to that, we earned far more than I expected.

The gold coins piled up in front of us amounted to at least 2,000.

It was about four times more than the gold coins we stole from the raider's hideout.

Moreover.

‘If we add these, it will be much more.’

Artifacts that we received as a reward for the request, but are useless to us.

If we add the cost of reselling those, we would have even more gold coins.

‘Well, it's not that big of an amount if we divide it by four.’

In any case, we would be able to solve the urgent equipment problem for the time being.

I instructed the party members to collect the gold coins and approached Lena.

“...Uh? Ah? Ah, you came. Wait a minute. This request is….”

She was also exhausted, no less than us.

Indeed, it wouldn't have been easy to give out requests for 12 hours.

I held Lena's shoulder to clear up the misunderstanding and said.

“Lena, I think this is enough for the request.”

“...Hmm? Ah, is it finally over?”

“Yes, I'm satisfied with this much for today. You should rest now.”

“Today….”

Was that Good or bad?

Lena made a puzzled expression and then nodded.

“You're always welcome. Thanks to you, I feel like I'm actually working now.”

“Really?”

Fortunately, it seems to be the former.

Although her face was full of exhaustion, Lena smiled as if she was truly happy.

Well, I understood completely.

‘The skills of the existing members here... were not that good, were they?’

Having watched Lena so far, she had a desire to greatly expand this Artis Request Office.

However, since the skills of the regular members who came to the request office were not good, it was natural that Lena would have felt regretful about the results.

Perhaps the current situation was like rain in a drought for Lena.

If so.

“Then I have one favor to ask.”

Since things have turned out this way, I decided to give Lena one more task.

It was a process that I originally planned to omit in consideration of Lena's condition, but seeing her current state, it seemed possible.

“A favor?”

“Yes, could you also gather requests related to demons? Like collecting trophies or subjugation requests.”

“...Demons?”

Lena paused for a moment at the mention of demons.

However, she quickly regained her professional composure.

"Requests related to demons... If I focus on gathering them, it might be possible. There are many with a desire for revenge or strange collection habits. But why such requests?"

I thought for a moment and decided to just tell her.

After all, if we were going to work together, there was no way to hide it.

"We're planning to go hunt demons soon. Outside of Asternon."

"What?"

As expected, Lena was visibly flustered.

"Go outside? Did I hear that right?"

"You heard correctly."

"...Are you serious?"

"It probably won't be dangerous. You saw it too."

"...."

Lena shut her mouth tightly.

Surely by now, she must have felt that the skills of our 4-person party were overflowing.

Perhaps she was now weighing the gains and losses of joining this task.

Finally, as if she had made a decision, she asked.

"I'll look for them. How much time will you give me? And how many requests do you need?"

"Hmm, about twenty requests should be enough. And the deadline..."

Twenty requests.

This was not an amount that even Lena, with her excellent work efficiency, could easily obtain.

Especially with such specific requests.

It would definitely take quite a bit of time.

However.

Tick-tock-.

We didn't have the luxury of caring about such things.

I quietly shifted my gaze from the clock to Lena.

"By this time tomorrow."

24 hours from now.

Until then, Lena was going to experience a living hell of work.

***

Late at night.

After disposing of the artifacts, we each distributed the gold coins as needed and scattered from Dmitri Square.

The shopping time had finally arrived after finishing the hard work of being a Solver.

I was lost in thought as I scanned my whole body reflected in the window of a restaurant.

'What should I change first?'

Considering that I was going outside the sector, the only usable equipment I currently had was the [Pendant of the Holy Oil], which I received as a reward for the request from Lena.

And the [Holy Staff] that I luckily got for free.

That means I have to change everything else.

But I didn't feel bad.

This time, I had enough capital to equip myself with decent equipment, and above all....

'This is the real escape from the early stages, right?'

Replacing the equipment meant that I was entering the intermediate stages.

Feeling somewhat relieved, I raised the [Holy Staff] I was holding.

"Shall I take care of this first?"

It was one of the few remaining usable items, but in the end, it was also included in the list of things to be replaced.

This was because everyone had mastered the form transformation of light magic.

From now on, close combat using the [Sword of Light] would be the main focus, so a weapon in the form of a staff would only get in the way and be a hindrance.

However, it was a bit iffy to change it recklessly...

'The effect is too good.'

The effect that the [Holy Staff] gives is too overpowered.

The 1 Circle increase effect while equipped was good enough to not be inferior even when carried to the final specs.

"To get such a weapon for free..."

Just as I was feeling how lucky I was.

"Ah, there was that."

A method suitable for the current situation came to mind.

I immediately moved and stood in front of a store.

A roof that looked like an overturned helmet with horns and a signboard with two crossed hammers.

The exterior walls seemed roughly built, but upon closer inspection, they felt sturdy.

And the intense heat and the constant clanging of metal, which could be called the symbol of this place.

It was none other than a blacksmith's workshop.

And here, I would probably be able to obtain my new weapon.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As I passed through the wide-open gate, a large anvil came into view, and a female dwarf was diligently tempering there.

"Excuse me."

I greeted her as politely as possible, as I had a difficult request to make, but she didn't even look at me, completely immersed in her work.

Only the sound of the hammer continued.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After watching the tempering for a while.

Finally, she seemed to have finished her work and turned her gaze towards me.

"Customer?"

A blunt tone, unlike Barundel, despite being the same dwarf.

Since I had a difficult request to make today, I decided to lighten the mood first.

"The sword is very nice. The blade is sharp and gleaming; it's clearly a masterpiece. Did you make it yourself?"

"...So?"

She looked at me with strange eyes, as if asking what I was talking about.

But I pushed on.

They say praise makes even a whale dance.

"As expected, the tempering is art itself. It's my lucky day to have visited this place first."

Of course, the dwarf was not a whale.

"Get to the point."

"...."

Feeling the atmosphere somehow grow even heavier, I decided to give up on increasing her likeability and just stated my purpose.

"I came here to request an inheritance."

This is the reason why I came to a blacksmith's workshop instead of a weapon shop.

Although you can't directly purchase weapons here, you can have various reinforcement and inheritance work done.

And if my thinking was correct, I would be able to inherit the [Holy Staff] onto a new weapon here.

In other words, it meant using a new weapon while retaining the effects of the [Holy Staff].

Of course, it entirely depended on the blacksmith's ability.

As inheritance often failed even in the game, I didn't know how it would turn out today.

"Would this be possible?"

I carefully handed over the [Holy Staff], and she snatched it and scanned the staff up and down.

At the same time, she touched, tapped, and smelled the staff.

It seemed like she was assessing the strength, material, etc., to give an estimate...

'Can she figure it out by doing that?'

From my perspective as a complete layman in this field, it was just amazing.

'Well, a professional has a professional's eye.'

Soon, she seemed to have finished her assessment and spoke to me.

"What kind of weapon do you want to inherit it to?"

Fortunately, it was a positive question.

At least it didn't mean it was impossible.

Judging so, I told her what I had been thinking.

"Would it be possible to inherit it to an accessory like a ring or a bracelet? A belt is fine too."

"...I'm pretty sure you said weapon?"

"So it's not possible after all."

...Damn it, that's a shame.

I wondered if such technology might have emerged after 100 years.

If that's the case, I have no choice but to inherit it to something light, like a dagger...

At that moment.

"If you want portability... hmm, gloves might be possible."

The blacksmith dwarf, sensing my intention, made a suggestion first.

"Wait, gloves? Is that possible?"

"It would be impossible with other weapons, but with a staff, it's possible. If I grind it down and inherit it, the effect will be sufficiently maintained. But it would have to be good leather."

"Huh."

I was surprised.

Although gloves have the inconvenience of having to put them on and take them off, aren't they as portable as accessories?

It didn't seem like there would be any problem using magic in battle either.

Technology has certainly advanced a lot.

There were no such weapons in the game.

'A sword in one hand, magic in the other, is that the feeling?'

I carefully considered it, even running simulations, but it still wasn't a bad idea.

In the end, I couldn't help but readily make my decision.

"Alright. Then I'll request gloves, please."

"The cost of materials is upfront."

"Yes, I'll give it to you now. How much is it?"

"200 gold coins."

"..."

I was surprised. By the price.

"What kind of material is used to make it so expensive...?"

"I told you. It has to be good leather. It must have absorption properties, of course, and it must be durable enough to be used as a weapon. And aren't you a mage?"

"That's right."

"Then it has to be able to conduct mana, and that kind of leather can't be ordinary leather."

"...Sigh."

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth.

I thought I had brought enough, but a quarter of my entire fortune just for the cost of materials?

And this was just the cost of materials.

Surely after the crafting was finished, she would ask for a similar amount as an additional cost.

In other words, if things went on like this, it could be tight to buy other equipment.

'Why is it so hard to get some breathing room?'

I sighed deeply at the ridiculously inflated prices, but what could I do?

I had no choice but to hand over the gold coins to the blacksmith and bow deeply.

"Please take good care of it."

"Come back in six hours."

"Yes."

Thud, thud.

Unlike when I entered, I left the blacksmith's workshop with heavy footsteps.

My head was full of thoughts about money.

However,

Thump! Thump! Thump!

"This is crazy."

Even in the midst of all this, my heart was pounding.

Because of the thought of receiving my new weapon.

What kind of gloves would be waiting for me?

"...I've become a person of this world too."

Three months after entering this world.

It seems I've finally adapted.

[Translator - Prøks]

[Proofreader - Prøks]