50. Crafting Magical Artifacts

"Alright, next up—magical artifacts."

Three of them look tired, no—Shestia looks cheerful, while Shiro is all energy.

"What kind of magical artifact are we making?" Shestia asks, beaming.

"Ah, I’ve got a few things I want to test… I’m thinking of crafting some items to boost your combat strength," Shiro replies.

"For us? If Shiro’s giving it to us, anything’s welcome," Shestia says, grinning wider.

"Haha. Well, just watch."

And with that, Shiro gets to work.

What Shiro’s planning to make is the quickest way to boost power: an item that multiplies both experience gain and growth rate by tenfold.

First, he pulls out platinum from his inventory and uses 【Form】 to shape it into a square plate, about three centimeters per side and one millimeter thick. At one edge, he carves a pipe-like groove—two millimeters in diameter, five millimeters long—so chains or other attachments can pass through.

Then, he etches a magic circle, 2.5 centimeters in diameter, into the plate—about half a millimeter deep.

Into that groove, he pours Eclir, the enchanted gold infused with magical energy.

This process requires precision: formation, fusion, and machining.

——『【Precision Formation】Level 1 acquired』

——『【Precision Fusion】Level 1 acquired』

——『【Precision Machining】Level 1 acquired』

The magic circle inscribed on the plate reads: "While worn, grants the user a tenfold multiplier to experience gain and growth rate. Registers ownership upon first activation by the user."

"Installing magical circuit resonance," Shiro mutters. It's like activating a magic array as a circuit—installing the execution-type spirit required to run it. This time, since we need a spirit of at least upper-tier rank, we'll need to pour in extra mana during fixation. Naturally, Mitoka’s support as spirit queen is essential.

——『[Magic Circuit Stabilization] Level 3 acquired』

After a moment of Shiro’s concentration, the magic circle flared for an instant, then settled.

"Good, I think it's done," Shiro said, prompting Shestia to pass him the item and channel her magic through it.

When Shestia channeled her magic, the pendant flared with light once more. When it settled, Shiro performed a鉴定.

Name: Pendant Top of Rapid Growth

Feature: Experience gain x10, Growth rate x10

Spirit of Magic: Divine-Class Spirit

Owner: Shestia

Creator: Shiro Kamikawa

"Yeah. Upper-tier. 'Pendant: Experience Points ×10, Growth Rate ×10,' right?" Shiro says,

"Such a magic device can actually be made? I've never heard of an effect like that," Aria said, exasperated.

"Aria, Shiro's a bit off—special, so please don't mind him," Mitoka said.

“Hey, Mitoka, what were you about to say just now?” Shiro glared at Mitoka, but Mitoka simply tilted her head slightly, her face lit with a broad smile—fufufu—and Shiro, thrown off by her adorable expression, shut his mouth with a quiet click.

Afterward, Shiro crafted the same for Aria and Albert, then made a chain for a necklace, handing them all to the three of them.

"Good—now I can keep pushing the three of you to improve!" Shiro declared, smiling contentedly at the trio.

◇

"Alright, next up—weapons. Shestia, magic staff? Albert, sword? What about you, Aria?" Shiro asked the three.

“Ah, yeah, hehe, well, since we’re at it, I’ll take anything. Preferably both a staff and a sword,” Aria replies, waving a hand dismissively, as if to say, “Oh, whatever.”

“I want a short sword for self-defense too,” Shestia said.

"Can I just stick with this sword for now?" Albert said.

“What’s that sword made of?” Shiro asked.

"Yeah, should be steel and mithril alloy," Albert replies.

"Magic, though?"

"Magic? No, that's not it. This isn't a magical sword," Albert replied.

"Ah, I see..." Shiro replied.

"Then, first things first—walking stick," Shiro said, and got to work.

Shiro pulls out a chunk of mithril and uses the [Form] skill to shape it into a thin rod about one centimeter in diameter and roughly one meter long.

Next, extract the wood carved from the holy site. It's white and dense.

"Hey, is that a godwood?" Aria asks, sharp-eyed.

"Divine Tree? Well, it was just a tree near the sanctuary—had to cut down a few for firewood, so this is what was left," Shiro replies.

“…Let me see that,” Aria said, studying the tree closely. And then,

“Still a Sacred Tree, huh. You actually used a Sacred Tree for the ritual, didn’t you?” Aria said.

"No, there wasn't anything else around there—just that tree. I kept it because I needed it for cooking," Shiro said with a wry smile. Then, continuing,

"And thanks to that, there's a sacred tree here now."

"…Oh well," Aria said, with a resigned expression.

The sacred tree is a wood that absorbs mana and wraps itself in magical energy—excellent for the flow of magic. A rare timber, equivalent to mithril in metalwork.

Shiro shapes the sacred tree into a staff-like form, widening at the top, and drills a central hole to fit a mithril rod.

A layer of platinum, 0.5 millimeters thick, is applied over the mithril rod. Into this platinum layer, a rune matrix is inscribed and elcril is poured. The rune matrix encodes parameters for the user’s mana manifestation efficiency—20% increase—along with the spell for generating a mana blade at the staff’s tip via mana aura, and functions for mana absorption and release.

Then, thread the mithril rod through, plug the top hole, and insert a blue mana crystal.

Finally, Shiro chanted 【Magic Circuit Stabilization】, and the staff was complete. Shiro examined the finished staff.

Name: Staff of Divine Wood and Mithril

Feature: 20% increase in spell manifestation efficiency, reserve mana storage, precision surface mana coating enabling mana blades

Arcane Spirit: Upper-Grade Spirit

Creator: Shiro Kamikawa

Good, like this? What do you think, Shestia?

"Not heavier than I thought—fits right in my hand. Feels good channeling magic through it," Shestia said.

"Indeed, this is nice," Aria said, taking it in her hand and examining it.

"You can store magic energy in that crystal. And when your own magic runs low, you can draw from it."

"Wha— that's incredible," Aria exclaimed.

"Let's make two for now and test them later," Shiro said, already starting on the second one just the same.

"Next up, the sword."

Shiro pulled out mithril and steel, first shaping the core of the blade from the mithril. Then, he applied a layer of platinum, 0.5 millimeters thick, inscribed a rune array, and poured in elyrium. The spell described was one of blade generation through magical aura—when enchanted mana with an added attribute was channeled, the blade would manifest the properties of that attribute.

The blade's length was made nearly identical to the one Albert currently holds—about eighty centimeters. Standard size. A core of orichalcum was shaped into the blade's form, wrapped around and forged into the blade itself. A Western-style sword, roughly eighty centimeters long, pointed at the tip. The guard was also crafted from orichalcum.

"Hey, wait a second. What’s that metal?" Albert asked, unusually curious.

The metal Shiro used glowed with a rainbow hue, and Albert, unfamiliar with such a substance, showed interest.

"Hmm? This is orichalcum," Shiro said.

“Wha—? … Why do you even have that legendary metal?” Albert asked, his expression one of utter disbelief.

“…Legend? No, there was a mineral vein in the sanctuary,” Shiro said.

The three of them sighed, clearly unsure how to react.

“Shiro, orichalcum is a legendary metal. You don’t see it every day, and weapons made from it are national treasures,” Shestia explained.

"Uh, yeah, sure..." Shiro offered his uniquely Japanese, incomprehensible smile to the three of them, and kept working.

The hilt is crafted from sacred wood, shaped to fit the hand, then bonded with metal.

"Good, done," Shiro murmured, initiating the鉴定.

Sword of Orichalcum and Mithril

Function: Precision Surface Magic Coating with Magical Blade, Attribute Manifestation Capability

Arcane Spirit: High-Grade Spirit

Creator: Shiro Kamikawa

“How’s it feel, Albert?” Shiro asked Albert, but Albert said nothing, just stood there holding the sword. After a moment,

“…Yeah. Size and weight—perfect. And just holding it… feels like it’s giving me power…”

“Everyone, these are what we call enchanted blades. Shiro didn’t say it aloud, but an elite spirit is—residing within. Handle with care,” Mitoka explained.

““““Enchanted sword?!””””

For some reason, Shiro shouted it right along with them.

“Huh, Shiro. You actually understood what ‘elite spirit’ meant, didn’t you?” Mitoka gave Shiro a sharp look.

“Eh?! That’s not—” He started, then snapped to attention.

Elite spirits were the strongest among spirits. Sometimes they even had consciousness. They could wield high-tier magic. A tool infused with one was like comparing a washboard to a cutting-edge washing machine with a built-in microprocessor.

Incidentally, Shiro had no idea that, since Mitoka could use Shiro’s abilities, that meant he could use hers too. Unconsciously, he’d applied an elite spirit using his own power as a spirit king.

Later, the whole group tested out the finished swords and staves, and were utterly delighted. They decided to make five full sets—swords, short swords, staves for everyone except Albert—and equip themselves.

Truthfully, Mitoka didn’t need one, but Shiro and Mitoka agreed to keep a dummy version on hand, just in case.

They had no idea yet that, in time, this gear—the staff of sacred wood and the sword of orichalcum—would become their party’s symbol.

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