Chapter 57: Once More, Crafting

I thought about not writing a chapter today, but in the end, I ended up writing one.

*Sometimes I overlook things when I write, and when a few people point that out in the comments, I feel compelled to fix it later on. The fix/change is that Hide harvested the Albino boar tusks. I’ll go back and fix this in the previous chapter later.*

***

I left the observatory while carrying the items I procured with me in open arms. Considering the sheer quantity and size of it all, it was a difficult struggle, but the urge to quickly leave this room propelled me forward.

Pushing my way through the doors, I left thee Observatory. Outside, across from the double door entrances, were the others. They sat, most of them cross legged, on the floor as they waited patiently. I noticed that they were also enjoying a midday snack consisting of last night’s grilled boar meat, once again demonstrating the increased hunger the system unwittingly brought.

The first to spot me was Cher, who looked up just as she was reaching for another piece of meat. Our eyes met right and she waved enthusiastically with flailing arms.

Through experience, once she saw what I was carrying, Cher immediately stood up, even before the others even had the time to react. She walked over towards me, outstretching her hands in the process. It was a clear sign of her desire to help. Prompted by my unresponsive stare, she further urged, nudging with her palms, while an unusually bright smile flashed across her face.

Eventually, I conceded, and together, with the loot split between us, we walked back over to the other two.

“Welcome back…” Cielle greeted.

“Ah, I’m back…” I returned the greeting almost on reflex.

“Did you bring back a telescope?” Hina asked, glancing over as she chewed through cooked tendon.

“Yeah, over there.” I motioned to Cher’s arms just as bent down to place the objects in my hand on the ground. “I also brought back a first aid kit, some the Cyclop’s plate armor, it’s gauntlets…” I began listing each item I brought, pointing towards it for better reference.

“Y-you… you even brought back the Cyclop’s eye…” Hina spoke, in a somewhat awed/shocked voice. My glance hovered towards the eye. Like before, it was still red, and the burn marks caused by Hina’s magic was still clearly visible.

I shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, it seemed useful. Who knows, maybe I can make something like a staff… or a wand out of it.”

Although I spoke such things nonchalantly, I had no idea even where to start when it came to crafting magical items.

“I see…” She gave the eye one last look before her eyes drifted towards the ivory white tusks I brought back. “And that?”

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“Ah- that’s…Those are the tusks from the boar corpse in the room.” I explained. “Truthfully, I thought about just leaving it there, but in the end, I went back for it. The corpse itself was from the Elite boar monster- something called an ‘Albino’. It seems pretty sturdy, so who knows, they might have a use…”

Hina’s brow frowned upon my words. “You said it came from the Elite boar? Isn’t that pretty bad? According to you, if the elite is dead, no more monsters of the same type will come out?”

Hina’s words hinted at a bigger problem; our food source. Cher, who had been listening in on our conversation, quickly realized what Hina implied, as her face turned hard. She had first hand experience with starving, so she knew just how bad of a situation we’d be in if our food supply suddenly ran out.

“Ah, no need to worry about that.” I comforted. “There’s more than 100 of those things wandering the halls right now. Since just one of them can provide food for close to a weak, we pretty have more than a year’s worth of food left. And by that time, we’ll be out of this damn school.- Anyways, I also stumbled on this…”

Quickly changing the subject, I took out the skill book in my hand, and passed it around to the girls. They each examined it with careful diligence, taking extra care to read the window panel that displayed above the book’s cover.

“That book…” Hina began.

“...It’s kind of…” Cher also spoke.

“... isn’t it perfect for Hide?” Cielle finished just as she gazed up at me. The others all nodded in unison as they looked at me.

“A-ah, really?” Caught of guard, I awkwardly looked away while heedlessly scratching my head.

“I’ve seen how you fight up until now, Hide.” Hina elaborated. “You prefer to strike fast, and aim at vitals.” Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“A ruthless person who doesn’t hesitate to fight dirty.” Cher followed up, her expression a bit careless while she continued flashing that pitifully contented smile of hers.

“Something like that- a movement skill like that suits Hide the best.” Hina finished up just as Cielle handed back the skill book over to me.

“...Well, if that’s what you guys really think….” In truth, I also wanted this skill, but at the time, I thought that I’d need to do some convincing before hand. “Actually… I also thought that this skill suited me… since you guys are in agreement then this makes it much easier…”

With a round of encouraging nods, I quickly learned the skill with little hesitation.

<Rushing Dash (Active)

Skill Type: Normal Skill Rank: Beginner

Skill Level: 1 Skill Experience: 0%

Effects

A movement skill, that allows for accelerated movement towards a singular direction. When the skill is active, changing trajectory is impossible. 1 second charge before skill activates.

Use consumes 10 stamina points. Cooldown of 60 seconds. Consumption and Cool down rate lowers as skill level increases.>

It was a simple skill that was truly derived from the boars’ simple movements. It had plenty of combat potential, but the cooldown as well as the 1 second charge time was a bit troublesome.

“Are we going to go back now?” Cher suddenly asked, looking around at the empty hallway before her.

“Hmm… no, not yet.” I said. “Look we’ve collected all this stuff, but at the current moment, they're all basically useless.... Actually, this is the perfect opportunity…”

As my words trailed off, the girls’ all simultaneously tilted their heads in confusion.

“Let’s go find the Woodshop classroom.”

****

After going back to upstairs to pick up the collected Cyclops clubs, we proceeded back down stairs to look for our current destination. Along the way, the atmosphere around us was noticeably more lax, and less cautious. Part of this was due to our reassurance that no more cyclops monsters existed within this dungeon. A small, small haven had been created within the East Building, and realizing this brought a sense of comfort.

Although it was completely possible that with the Cyclops all gone, the Boars might flood back into the 2nd and 1st floors.

Either way, we found the Woodshop room a while later, in an area close to the collapsed 1st floor skyway.

There, I proceeded inside, along with all the potential crafting material, while the girls chose to wait idly by in an adjacent classroom.

As I looked around the room, I confirmed my surroundings. With the scent of sawdust, the Wood Shop was filled to the bream with various machinery and traditional tools. Along side the walls, and in the corners, were collections of different types of wood, with plywood being the most common. While not as bountiful as the assorted planks, there was also a fair bit of metal lying around, which only further expanded my range of possibilities.

The machinery, as expected, were all nonfunctional. The lack of electricity played a big part in that. Thankfully though, the few traditional tools lying around was more than useable. Things like saws, welding torches, even a few screws and nails were just among the things within this room.

Even if I could not make anything, the various objects lying around more than sufficed for impromptu weapons.

I set the collected items down on a nearby table, as I prepared to get down to work.

The first thing I did was fix/ repair my Boken. In the short time, I’ve had it, it had already been used extensively. Bashing skulls, crushing kneecaps, violent things like that were well within this club’s experience. Fortunately though, due to the material’s innate durability and denseness, it hadn’t been damaged that extensively.

I used repair on the boken, bringing its durability back up to near maximum. Afterwards, I began sanding down the wooden stick with some sandpaper lying around. Shortly after, its uneven grooves and poorly constructed ridges smoothed out, only to be replaced by a semi-smooth and straight edge.

While not perfect, it was indeed a much better improvement to what it had been a few minutes ago. Hardly a visible groove in sight.

I quickly checked its status, wondering what type of changes my needless customization procured.

<Cyclops Club [Heavily Customized]

A traditional weapon used by Cyclops. Due to heavy customization by an amateur crafstman, the weapon has been modified for human use.

Damage: 80 - 90

+30(60) Strength + 5(60) Defense

Durability: 89/100

[Equip] Skill Bonus

+45 Strength +25 Agility

+ 15 Intelligence

(???)

Familiarity: 60

Level Requirement: 18 [Crafter Exempted] >

I noticed that its bonus towards strength increased slightly, while the equip bonus to speed also increased by an increment of 10. While these were great, the most eye catching change was of course the increase in familiarity. From 50 to 60, it was a useful change, although in the end, I don’t know whether that change was brought out by my “repair” of it or by the actual combat experience I went through with it. In the most likely case, it was a combination of both.

With nothing else to do with the Boken, I turned my eyes towards the collection of loot. The next thing I decided to do was work on some actual armor. Of course, as both the base, and frame of reference, I used the looted plate armor and gauntlets I acquired from the Cyclops.

I looked over the gauntlet carefully. It was massive, too large for my hand to feet properly, but at the very least, it looked similar to the ones normal sized humans would wear. Plates of unknown metal, as well as wood acted as the guard, while a simple brace and leather glove kept the material in place.

Basing my initial design plan off of its shape, I began working on human sized gauntlets.

As a replacement for the leather glove, I used a pair of welding gloves that happened to be lying around. It was on the small size, a pair especially purchased for the female students of the class. This suited me fine, considering the fact that there was a high chance the finished gauntlets would go to one of the girls.

The first thing I did was deconstruct the right glove, both as a means of pseudo-reverse engineering, and as a way to get material for my own gauntlet. In the process, I managed to add the [Dismantle] sub skill to All-Purpose Crafting.

The gauntlet itself was composed of mainly metal plates that covered the hand. A series of plates were loosely connected, staring at the back of the glove and going down to the arm. The way they were assembled - with a series of screws and bolts- allowed for wrist movement. The finger section themselves did not cover everything, only going so far as covering the thumb and a portion of the finger.

With plans to replicate such a design, I reused the material from the giant gauntlet. I used [dissect] in order to cut out each individual plate from the collection of dismantled metal. Unlike the original, these metal plates were smaller, more fit for human use.

It was difficult at first. My initial attempts resulted in quickly deteriorating durability (which caused me to use repair repeatedly on my daggers), and a bunch of failed products, but in the end I somehow managed.

The next part was fitting them all onto a glove.

Using the same pattern and method utilized in the original gauntlet, I mimicked its design. Thankfully, there was a battery powered drill lying around that still worked, so with its help, I was able to screw a couple of holes in the plates, which I used to secure the plates onto the glove. I carefully assembled each individual piece onto the glove, making sure secure it fixedly with either thin, durable rope, or with screws.

In the end, after I finished, I examined the lone “gauntlet” with a scrutinizing eye. It looked rough. Really rough. Awkwardly cut out metal, sometimes with mismatched sizes, as well as the thick leather welding glove at its foundation- it really wasn’t a pretty sight. I placed a hand inside, and tested its mobility. The wrist, as well as my fingers moved were able to properly move, albeit with a bit of resistance.

The welding glove’s original constitution made it difficult to do any complex or intricate hand movements, but in the end, its thickness was also a selling point. After all, that meant more defense.

I tried using [Identify] on the lone gauntlet, but in the end it was unsuccessful. From what the contents of its panel stated, I needed to create the matching pair before it would fully register as a weapon/armor.

After a certain span of time passed, I was able to create the matching pair. Its overall quality was a bit similar to my first gauntlet, if not a bit better.

I used [Identify], and just as quickly, a new window panel popped up before me.

<Welder’s Gauntlet

A prototype gauntlet designed by an amateur craftsmen. The materials used suggest it was created in a time of dire emergency.

+15 (50) defense +10 (50) strength

-20(50) dexterity

Durability: 30/30

Equip Bonus

+10 strength +5 defense

Familiarity: 50

Level Requirement: 10 [Crafter Exempted] >

Looking over its window panel caused a cramped smile to float to my face. Like always, the familiarity stat was giving me crazy high values for each item I hand crafted. Unfortunately, their initial values weren’t as wonderous. While the defense and strength stat were decent, a boost befitting a level 10 item, its demerits more than downplayed its advantage.

Although, ironically enough, the familiarity stat turned that -20 in dexterity into a +30, although that was a special case, a bonus only allotted to me. Other people who used this would certainly face trouble. Fortunately though, this was still useful for someone like Cher, who had no need for the dexterity stat.

It was a bit of a shame though, Cielle and Hina, who relied on some semblance of accuracy for their long ranged magic attacks couldn’t where this. If their dexterity stat lowers too greatly, then the effectiveness of their spells would decrease as well.

In the end, I crafted another set of “Welder’s Gauntlets,” this time, a personal pair for me. Although I did make it, in the end, I figured I wouldn’t be using it very often, mostly since the grip on the glove made it a bit difficult to swing a dagger around. A sword with a long enough handle or a shield would be a different matter, but something with as small a handle as a dagger was simply too difficult to properly utilize.

Next up, I decided to make some armor.

The original armor itself was a rather simple design, consisting merely of a chest piece and shoulder pads. It sort of resembled ancient chinese armor, with all the individual plates joined together. It was mostly wooden and each plate was strung up using a sort of leather rope.

Replicating this was simpler than with the gauntlet. I merely dismantled the armor, and using the rope, I created set of armor, this time making it smaller, and utilizing less plates. I did this for both the chest piece as well as the back piece. As for the giant shoulder pad, I ended up scraping it. After all, it was simply too big, and a bit cumbersome. Not to mention its size alone limited range of movement.

After the armor was done, I used identify on it.

<Cyclops Replica Torso Armor

An amateur replica of Gunther the Desecrator’s beloved armor. It has been modified for human usage.

+20 (50) Defense

Durability: 20/20

Equip Skill Bonus

+10 Defense

Familiarity: 50

Level Requirement: 16 [Crafter Exempted]>

It was a surprisingly decent piece of equipment with good stats. Although I expected something like a speed demerit or something to be present, nothing like that was visible on the window panel, though its level was a little on the high side.

Satisfied, I went back to work.

Using the remainder of the original armor’s plates and leather straps, I was able to create 1 more torso armor. I would have used the scrap metal lying around to create more, but it was a bit too thick for my [Dissect] skill to cut through. In addition, none of the wood available was ideal for the type of armor crafting I was doing.

I decided that the two torso armor I was able to produce would go to Cher and either one of the sisters. Cher was an ideal choice, seeing as how she was our designated tanker, while the sisters simply needed the defense. It was a bit unfortunate that I could not make three pieces of armor, but in the end, that was the limit to my current skill.

I turned my attention towards the remaining loot. A collection of clubs, a pair of tusks, and a red cyclops eyeball.

“...”

After carefully looking them over, I came to the conclusion that the eyeball would be worthless, at least for now. It definitely looked like something meant for a magic item, but in the end, I was clueless as to how to make a magic item. In the first place, could I even produce such a tool, what with my Equip demerit and all.

Just haphazardly gluing the orb onto a stick wouldn’t work, so for now, I set the eyeball aside for future use.

As for the tusks… they sort of resembled ivory (but a lot denser), so going off the little world knowledge I possessed on ivory made objects… they were mainly used as novelties. When looked at from a weaponry point of view, they were most often used as handles. It’s too bad that I didn’t particularly need weapon handles...

In the end, I was just a highschooler. Although I took them in the moment, I did not know what to do with the tusks. I wasn’t all mighty, what I did not know remained a mystery. Truthfully, there could have been a really simple solution to this, one I probably overlooked, due to my accumulated stress and fatigue from nonstop hunting and farming.

Whether that sort of simple solution existed, my fizzed out mind, could not think of one. Maybe later. Maybe when I've recollected myself and thought about it some more, but for now, those tusks remained unused. Thus, I moved on, a faint, bitter feeling of defeat welling up in my heart.

The clubs themselves… truthfully, there were many things I could do with them. Due to the wood’s special properties, things like blunt weaponry and other such things became easy to make. Also, if I had the necessary materials, I could probably make something like a bow, although that in itself might not be as effective as it first seems. While long distance weaponry was certainly an enchanting prospect, the trouble with ammunition was present.

The clubs themselves were not ideal for making arrows out of, and I could not think of anything suitable as a replacement.

What I ended up doing with the wooden clubs.... I used the majority of them to make various blunt weapons. While I had my own personal weapon, these ones were designed with the future in mind. More specifically, special equipment crafted for the cafeteria group.

Our chances of success would proportionately increase during the final boss fight if the others were properly equipped… with that sort of logic in mind, I made a variety of boken and bo staffs. In addition I also crafted a few more table shields out of the material in the Woodshop room.

As I busily worked, wasting no time, save to recover my stamina with a quick meal, in no time at all, the day had ended, and night had fallen.