Chapter 556

A Fresh Talk About Weapon Materials
The Geo Crystal will have to wait for another time.
That’s what I was told, and so I returned from Marquis Vardmoi’s mansion.

Yeah, I figured I should give up on it.
I was just thinking, maybe—just maybe—there’d be a chance.
But nope, there wasn’t.

The Trade Guild will keep collecting them, and once enough are gathered, I’ll have one made.

So today, to talk about new equipment materials, I headed over to Gleam of Molten Iron.
This shop also moved from near the Spider’s Cotton Cloud to a bigger place.
The main reason wasn’t to expand the storefront but to build a higher-output furnace.
Thanks to that, they can now handle materials that require high-temperature processing, which is a good thing.

Anyway, today’s about consulting on gear materials.

“See? I told you Geo Crystals are impossible.”

“Oh, come on. If we had those, even silver rank wouldn’t be a struggle.”

“Not just silver—even gold parties don’t all carry them. That’s how rare they are. You can make swords, shields, even staves out of the stuff.”

So even gold-rank parties use them…
Just to be sure, I asked Fanny from Dark Green Sprout, who had come along with me today.
Sure enough, even among gold rank, having one is rare.
They’re excellent weapons, but too hard to obtain, so most people pick something else.
That’s the kind of weapon they are.
But it’s exactly because of that, that I want to gift them to everyone in the Wildcat Claws.

“Well, for now, let it go. Once we’ve got Geo Crystals, I’ll make it for you.”

“Got it. When we get them, you absolutely have to make it, okay?”

“You and I go way back, I don’t lie. So, what kind of gear are you thinking this time?”

Hmm…
Sending them off without any kind of gift feels worrisome, so I’d like to prepare something decent.
Right, maybe Fanny and the others know of something good!

“… Let’s see. For bronze aiming for silver, fantasy metal is the safe bet. Durable, and easy to handle.”

“Ah—I recommend magic swords or magic weapons. If you can master them, you could even aim for gold rank!”

“I’m all for magitech weapons! I can make some great ones!”

Each had their own opinion.
The safe choice was fantasy metal.
Magic swords depended on compatibility.
As for magitech…

“Hey, Lana. If a magitech weapon breaks, can anyone besides you repair it?”

“Ugh!? Well, that’s…”

That settled that. Out of the question.

When I asked Fanny and Juna, they confirmed: sure, they’re powerful, but they need special energy sources, which have to be replaced often.
You can charge them with magic stones, but that takes time, and if you carry many, they get bulky.
Lana uses a magitech kinetic weapon, but since she also has a magitech-type contracted beast that can handle the charging, she doesn’t run into problems.
Yeah, no good.

So it comes down to either fantasy metal or a magic sword.
Now then, which would be better—or rather, which can I even get?

What do you think about this chapter?