Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 79
Chapter 79: First Weapon Enhancement
Afterwards, Sora and the others used all of their enhancement materials, ?Fall Ore?, and asked Kirie to enhance their weapon.
The new enhancement feature introduced today comes with a success rate.
The process involves stacking common materials to increase the enhancement rate.
According to Kirie, the higher the skill level of the profession, the higher the enhancement rate per material.
While the top blacksmiths in the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?, where blacksmiths gather, have a skill level of 15, Kirie’s skill level is 20.
With her skill, she could increase the success rate to 100% with fewer materials, allowing her to enhance the weapon from a non-enhanced state to +8 by using all the ?Fall Ore?.
Thus, the breakdown of the enhancements I selected were +4 Strength and +4 Weight. [1]
Increasing sharpness and critical rate also seemed interesting, but I decided that a stable focus on attack would be best.
Receiving the order, Kirie melted the enhancement materials in the forge and sprinkled the resulting liquid onto the silver sword.
The weapon emitted a faint light, and all that remained was the process of striking it with the ?Smith’s Hammer?.
With the same serious expression as before, Kirie struck the weapon with her hammer while explaining to us.
“…About the weapon creation earlier, if you don’t hit the true core properly, the quality will fluctuate. It can be done automatically, but then it will only be average, like with NPCs.”
Therefore, she always faces the core ingot and pours her soul into the hammer she grips, aiming for the true core.
The numerous prototypes hanging on the walls of this room are precious crystals born from Kirie’s dedication and time.
Creating good weapons and armor isn’t about satisfying her own curiosity.
It’s all about delivering the highest quality companion she can make for adventurers who risk their lives in battle.
As a blacksmith, Kirie stands facing the sword with unwavering focus, striking the hammer straight and true.
The rhythmic sound of metal being struck fills the room with a pleasing clang.
As Sora listened to her words, she found the sound comforting.
“The weapon is the one and only companion that supports your life. As long as we take on that responsibility, we must also put our ‘soul’ into it.”
That is Kirie’s philosophy as a blacksmith and the creed upheld by the clan she belongs to.
After hearing everything, Sora understood and accepted it on her own.
…Ah, no wonder it’s so popular.
Top players often use equipment and items from the production-oriented clan Kirie belongs to, ?Tenmoku Ichi-Ka?.
It’s clear that the quality and performance are high, though the prices are higher than for general items.
She had wondered why they insisted on using ?Tenmoku Ichi-Ka? items even for things that could be substituted with cheaper alternatives.
But now that she understood everything, she could see why they were so particular about ?Tenmoku Ichi-Ka? items and equipment.
While top players are dedicated to tackling the challenges of ?Astral Online?, Kirie and her clan are dedicated to providing equipment and items that will help players fight longer.
With a sudden question in mind, Sora decided to ask.
“Kirie, why did you choose to be a blacksmith?”
Kirie gave a wry smile and answered.
“I chose to be a blacksmith because I was influenced by a blacksmith girl from a manga I read when I was younger.”
“A manga, you say?”
“Yeah, it was a typical fantasy story where a blacksmith girl pours all her unfulfilled love and everything she has into reviving a legendary sword for a hero she loves. The scene where the hero is saved by the power of the sword’s imbued emotions is something that can’t be described without tears.”
“So, that girl from the manga is like a mentor to you, isn’t she?”
“Well, in a way. Though the swords I forge aren’t legendary ones.”
With that, she continued to swing her hammer.
After about 30 minutes of waiting once the conversation was over,
When the enhancement was complete with the final strike, Sora took the sword from Kirie and checked the grip of the hilt.
It had a heavy, solid feel.
The weapon concealed an attacking power that far surpassed the companion she had used until now, conveyed through the grip she held.
“…Yeah, it’s the best sword.”
“Then, how about trying it out right away?”
Kirie opened the menu screen and performed some operations, causing a straw dummy to appear on the floor from a distance, like the ones often seen on TV.
Its level was 40.
It had durability comparable to a mid-level enemy like the Flame Golem that appears in lava areas.
Alright, let’s give it a try.
Receiving the expectant gazes of the three, Sora took a deep breath.
She readied the unsheathed sword in a right-downward stance and activated the familiar attack skill, ?Sonic Sword IV?.
She concentrated power in her left leg and kicked the ground hard.
Closing the distance to the target with near-teleportation speed, she canceled the attack and transitioned into ?Dual Nail IV?.
With a swift horizontal double strike, she divided the straw dummy into three parts.
As the dummy’s durability reached zero, it dissipated into particles of light.
“Alright, that feels good.”
“‘Hmm’”
Noticing that the other three had sour expressions on their faces as she sheathed the sword into its scabbard with a smooth motion, Sora tilted her head.
“Is something wrong?”
She asked, walking over to them.
They then commented on her recent actions:
“Well, you’re still moving at an incredible level.”
“…Using a cancel move at that speed is like a bullet train making a sharp turn.”
“To my eyes, it looked like you disappeared from right in front of me and then the straw dummy was split into three.”
In other words, what they were saying was that Sora’s movements were anything but normal.
Having grown accustomed to being seen as an abnormality, Sora decided to ignore their comments and turned her attention back to the new companion she had sheathed at her waist.
The sword, imbued with silver and jade colors, felt perfect based on her initial use.
The newly added ?Weight? from the enhancement increased the sword’s weight in exchange for higher attack power.
For each +1 enhancement, the weight increases by 5, bringing the current weight of the ?Silver Magic Sword? to a total of 170.
With her current equipment, the total weight value of her armor is 80, thanks to the ?Equipment Weight Reduction? skill.
The sword’s weight is also reduced by the skill, making the combined total weight of the sword and armor 240.
With about 10 units of weight capacity remaining, it’s very satisfying to know that she can still add +2 to the weight through future enhancements.
Thinking about being able to enhance it 12 more times makes her heart race with excitement.
Once the work was completed, the three of us returned to the shop with her and headed straight for the exit.
As we were about to open the door and go outside, Sora looked at Kirie and bowed deeply.
“Kirie-san, thank you for showing us your workshop today. I now understand how much effort has gone into this companion, and it’s made me even more determined to work hard on the game.”
“Ah, I’m cheering for you all too. If you run into any trouble, don’t hesitate to come and ask.”
“Yes!”
“Well then, Kirie-san.”
“I’ll be back again.”
We waved goodbye to her, walked away, and headed towards the plaza with the teleportation gate.
Our next destination was the ?Hephaestus Kingdom?.
For now, we needed to find a way to proceed to the next country, which was sealed off by flames.
Just as we were thinking about this, an alarm sounded, and at the same time, an emergency quest notification appeared.
As I tried to open the menu screen, Sora’s support, ?Lucifel?, read out the content.
?Raid Quest Activated?
?Objective?: Repel the horde of evil dragons attacking the Hephaestus Kingdom.
?Participation Requirements?: None
?Victory Conditions?: Defeat all evil dragons.
?Failure Conditions?: Destruction of dragon crystals.
?Recommended Level?: 50
Upon seeing the details, Sora and the others hurried towards the plaza.
TL Note:
This is explained in chapter 73,
– ?Strength?: Increases durability.
– ?Sharpness?: Increases critical hit rate.
– ?Weight Increase?: Increases attack power and weight.
– ?Weight Reduction?: Decreases attack power and reduces weight.