"A hammer, huh. That reminds me of old times, Henrik."
"Haha... It's not like that."
"All right, then that's good."
Dolores clenched her fist and lightly bumped it against her palm.
Tap.
"Take your time choosing, Lionel. Ruby and I will go to the book street."
"Okay."
"I need to buy her a magic book."
Honestly, it's more comfortable when Dolores isn't here.
Ruby was beside Dolores, eyes sparkling.
After chicken skewers and candy, it's books. Today is this little one's birthday.
"When you're done choosing, wait here. Henrik? Mia? Please look after Lionel."
"Yes."
"Don't worry~"
Dolores and Ruby went out.
Jingle.
The bell rang, and the shop grew quiet.
And on the display stand full of the smell of dust, countless unknown hammers hung densely.
From here on, it's my time.
'Let's choose.'
Henrik silently took hammers from the display.
I examined each one, one by one, as he took them out.
The first hammer was...
-----------------------------
[Bone Hammer][★★☆☆☆]
[Compatibility][-/40]
-----------------------------
[It is unknown whether it is the bone of some beast, or the bone of 'someone'.]
- A mage wandering the Canyon of Lamentation -
-----------------------------
What the fuck.
Why is it so scary from the start?
"...That hammer is a Bone Hammer. It is for forging, but it has a strong curse attribute."
Oh.
This mister has an eye for it.
He's seeing exactly the same thing I am.
"I see. You can speak casually to me."
"No. It's fine."
A firm refusal... I reconsidered the situation.
A child claiming a noble, and a Duke at that, is family, forcing him to speak casually...
Right, my request might actually be a nuisance.
"...Yes."
I just quietly looked at the hammers Henrik brought out.
But as it repeated, there was no hammer that particularly, particularly caught my interest.
Either the script was really ominous, or the stars were low.
I wanted to pick the most decent one, but...
It's true a craftsman doesn't blame his tools, but all the craftsmen who say that use good equipment.
Still, this mister Henrik's explanations are quite flavorful.
-----------------------------
[Ash Forge Hammer][----]
[Compatibility - /20]
-----------------------------
[The last heat left behind when the volcano died.]
- Unknown Author -
-----------------------------
"This is a hammer made by compressing volcanic ash. Its heat conductivity is good, so it's fine for metallurgy, but the handle is a bit weak."
"Ooh."
-----------------------------
[Mine Shaft Restoration Hammer][---]
[Compatibility - /20]
-----------------------------
[The walls this hammer struck did not collapse. Not once.]
- Third Mine Shaft Supervisor Lutz -
-----------------------------
"This one was used by mine workers when repairing shafts. It's sturdy, but for precision work it's a bit..."
"Ooooh..."
In the end, they were all meh.
Still, I was holding each one and pretending, when.
-----------------------------
[Basic Enchant Hammer][----]
[Compatibility][-/20]
-----------------------------
[Do not dare think Enchant is luck. It is effort.]
- Ogeron, the 4th Wise Craftsman -
-----------------------------
Enchant Hammer?
Just as I felt a slight question at the unusual word.
"Wise Craftsman?!"
In that moment, without realizing it, I blurted out at the writing below.
Why is Wise Craftsman here?
"Ah, this hammer... is actually not for forging."
Henrik's mouth twitches.
"Do you know Enchant?"
"Ah, n-no, I don't know it well."
With an expression that seemed to say 'I've got you now,' he twitched his mustache and opened his mouth.
"Equipment has grades. They are expressed by the number of stars."
"Yes."
"Enchant is the act of raising an item's rank separately from those stars."
Henrik picked up one of the hammers beside him and showed it.
"Let's assume this hammer is one-star equipment. If you Enchant it, while the performance of the one-star remains the same, new power is layered onto it, one layer at a time. And this is called Enhance."
"Um... like Enhance +1, Enhance +2?"
"Yes, exactly. An item's stars are decided at birth. Materials, the maker's ability, the process. They cannot be changed."
What is this, this incredibly familiar system?
It was a system that most men from the world I lived in would likely know.
The enhancement system of a very popular RPG game.
And then.
"However, what makes that possible is Enchant... Please wait a moment."
Henrik shut his eyes tightly, then suddenly headed to the counter.
And he lowered his head under the table.
Click, click.
What's that sound?
I tilted my head slightly and looked down.
What the.
He was turning the dial of a safe.
[8918, hehe.]
No, you shouldn't look at things like that, Yuna.
The safe opened, and Henrik took something out.
A small pouch wrapped in cloth.
He carefully untied the pouch and pinched up something inside with his fingers.
It was blue powder.
"This powder is the core of Enchant."
Henrik showed me his finger with the powder.
"You sprinkle the powder on the equipment and strike it with a hammer to make the energy seep in."
He carefully sprinkled powder on the Bone Hammer from earlier.
Shhh, shhh...
Blue particles settled on the hammer's surface.
For a moment, it looked as if stardust had been sprinkled.
Henrik picked up the Enchant Hammer.
Thunk.
He struck down.
The powder glowed faintly. I wondered if it was seeping in.
Thunk.
"......"
"......"
Thunk.
No change occurred.
It vanished.
The powder did not seep in; it scattered and flew away from the surface.
Henrik set down the hammer and smiled bitterly.
"Yes. If this had worked, I could have made a living from Enchant."
What, it didn't work?
"Most Enchanting in this era uses the Dwarf Company's Enchant Room. It reproduces the level of striking produced by the optimal craftsman, so Enchant succeeds with the best probability. It is difficult with the human body and senses."
"...I see."
It was quite interesting.
After all, I'm a Descendant of Fire, so I'm distant from Enchanter. Yeah yeah.
Still, maybe it was inertia from so far.
Since I had held every hammer once, this time too I naturally reached out my hand.
Swish.
The moment I grasped the Enchant Hammer.
-----------------------------
[Enchant Interface Activated]
-----------------------------
[Target Equipment: Unspecified]
[Powder Held: Not Detected]
[User Proficiency: None]
-----------------------------
[Attempt Enhance?]
-----------------------------
"Huh?"
What? Can I Enchant?
My body flinched for a moment.
Is my spring finally coming?
If I can Enchant this easily.
-Honey, just a moment~
Just then, the woman inside called Henrik.
"Ah, please wait a moment."
"Yes, go ahead."
If possible, please take your time.
Henrik disappeared inside.
I was alone.
Holding the Enchant Hammer, I looked around.
The Bone Hammer Henrik had failed to Enchant earlier lay there, and beside it the cloth pouch remained open, but.
Fortunately, perhaps powder still clung to the Bone Hammer.
-----------------------------
[Target Equipment: Bone Hammer]
[Residual Powder: 2g]
[User Proficiency: None]
-----------------------------
[Attempt Enhance?]
-----------------------------
Enhance seemed possible.
"Yes."
Just how would Enhance work?
It was a moment I had been waiting for.
[0: 00: 10]
"Huh?"
What is this?
Numbers floated in the air.
And then.
Above the Bone Hammer before me, a blue circle appeared. About the size of a 500-won coin.
But outside it, an even larger blue circle appeared.
The outer circle slowly shrank toward the inner circle.
Closer, closer.
The two circles drew near.
The outer circle shrank, and as the two circles nearly overlapped, it invaded the inside of the original circle. Then the circle soon vanished.
I just watched without knowing what it was.
[Uh, w-wait... this is]
Suddenly Yuna trembled.
What's wrong with her?
[0: 00: 09]
[0: 00: 08]
What? A countdown?
Immediately, a new circle appeared in a different spot.
Again, a shrinking outer circle followed.
A Korean trait: when given a time limit, you have to do something.
Without thinking, I struck the Bone Hammer with the hammer.
The second circle was shrinking. The moment they overlapped had already passed, and the outer circle had become smaller than the inner one, just before it disappeared.
Clang!
And then.
[Terrible]
Suddenly a blatant insult flew at me.
That's a bit harsh.
[0:00:05]
Time passed, and there was no particular change, so.
A fourth circle appeared. The outer circle shrank.
This time too, I struck down, but.
[Terrible]
At the insult flying at me again, I paused my hammering for a moment.
And then.
Clang!
This time I struck when the two circles completely overlapped.
Along with a rainbow light rising before my eyes.
[Amazing!]
Finally, praise appeared.
Wait, this feel...
[0:00:02]
[0:00:01]
[0:00:00]
-----------------------------
[Refinement Total]
[Amazing][1]
[Excellent] [0]
[Average] [0]
[Bad] [0]
[Terrible][2]
-----------------------------
[Final Success Rate 3%]
[Failure Rate 97%]
-----------------------------
[Attempting...]
-----------------------------
Mr. Terrible.
This is a bit annoying.
[Oppa, it says terrible, Oppa? Do we really have to do this?]
Along with Yuna's jeers, the result appeared.
[Enhance Failed]
The powder that had been faintly glowing until just now completely lost its light.
"......"
So then.
Did I just Enchant?
I replayed the scene in my mind.
First, a blue circle appears over the equipment. A larger circle shrinks from outside and approaches.
There was a moment when the two circles overlapped exactly. Then the circle grew smaller and vanished.
Wait, wait...
This is that.
Without realizing it, a smile began to rise on my lips.
[...Oppa.]
Yeah.
[It's not that.]
It is, though.
Yuna, I think differently.
That... seems right, though?
The moment the outer circle exactly overlaps the inner circle. If you hit it then, it gives a good score.
If you do it too early, too late, or miss entirely, it's a miss.
So both times, I struck long after the circles overlapped.
Therefore, Terrible.
"It's a rhythm game."
So it was Terrible.
When I momentarily saw the word 'Terrible' about twice just now.
I worried that I might not be able to Enchant because I had no talent.
But that worry vanished in an instant.
I don't have that kind of worry.
After all... I.
"Now I can do it legally, right?"
I had been absorbed only in rhythm games for 15 years.
Extreme.
Malignant.
I was a vicious user.
[Kyaaaaak! How did you quit that, bro!!!]
In other words.
I was a rhythm game addict, and.
A rhythm game demon.