It was a game I encountered during puberty.
There was no game I couldn't play, and naturally, this game had to be the same.
"Wow, hey, this would be hard to do. This is also a talent."
-----------------------------
[Result]
[Excellent] [12]
[Great] [65]
[Good] [135]
[Bad] [67]
[Miss] [56]
-----------------------------
But the result was not so.
The grade GOOD was, in other words, a judgment that was about half a beat off from the exact timing.
Even if told to do it, even if told to hit only that, it was something difficult to achieve.
At that time, I achieved this with pure talent.
"This bastard is fucking terrible..."
"What, this bastard?"
At that moment, my eyes rolled slightly.
I couldn't accept that a game had given me such a shitty report card.
The fact that I had no talent was one thing, but what made me angrier was.
I couldn't accept it. There was no way I couldn't play such a crude game.
I had a tendency for my passion to bounce in strange directions from the start.
Once I focused on one thing, I wouldn't leave the house until I saw the end.
There were even times I focused on something for almost a week without eating anything.
So, if I get hooked, I die.
And that was rhythm games.
The problem is, the more you dig, the more addictive it is.
Starting from middle school, through high school, undergraduate years, master's, and even doctoral course.
Even while writing papers, if I felt like shit, I would play.
Most of my life was like that.
Write papers in the lab, play rhythm games. Eat, play games, just one more round before sleep, and then it's 4 AM.
After graduating, while knocking on the door of the job market, Yuna and I once reached a conclusion.
[Isn't it a problem that you play too many games?]
Then I'll just die.
[I'm being serious, you know?]
In the end, the negotiation spiraled into disaster.
It was the first war between Yuna and me.
Yuna blocked all games on all my devices, I minimized Yuna's access rights, Yuna covered my monitor with a hologram, and I covered Yuna's hologram projector with a towel.
After a week-long war, I finally succeeded in quitting.
Well, but if quitting meant I'd get a job right away, I wouldn't have had to call her Yuna.
It wasn't because of rhythm games. The world just didn't need humans.
In the end, nothing changed.
When I was washing my face dry in the empty lab and hung my head.
I came to this world, and now.
[Kyaaaaaaah!!]
Yuna is complaining of PTSD.
We both had a hard time back then.
"…… You trust me, right?"
[I'd rather trust that old man I met today for the first time]
Don't worry, Yuna.
Earlier, it was because I couldn't think at all.
If I do it again, I'm confident.
No, that's not enough, to put it properly.
I'm not confident, I'm confident I can't do it.
No song came out, but just seeing it is enough to make it possible.
I immediately picked up the hammer and tried again, but….
"… Tsk, too bad."
First of all, there were too many restrictions.
This hammer isn't mine, and this powder isn't mine either.
Even to the point of putting it in a safe, it seemed precious to Mr. Henrik.
I managed to gather what was left and did it, but I'm not reckless enough to take out more of this.
That's when it happened.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Master Lionel."
"……."
Henrik came out from the back, looked closely at my face, and raised the corners of his mouth.
"… Haha, did you find a good hammer or something?"
"Huh? No, that's not it."
"Because you were smiling so brightly."
"……."
"I just thought that was the case."
Was that so, without me knowing.
At those words, I didn't bother to hold back the smile that leaked out.
"I guess that was the case."
I just smiled more.
***
A Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step.
Two choices existed before me.
-----------------------------
[Earthbone Hammer][★★☆☆☆]
[Compatibility -/40]
-----------------------------
[Forged only from things of the earth. No splendor, but no falsehood either.]
- Anonymous Craftsman -
-----------------------------
A two-star forging hammer.
By my standards, it was the best among the hammers I touched today.
According to Henrik's explanation, it's the most suitable hammer for beginners.
The weight distribution is even, the two faces of the head are asymmetrical, and the handle length is appropriate.
It's like a textbook example of the forging hammer I explained to Dolores yesterday.
Moreover, it's an Earthbone hammer made only from materials from the earth without alloys.
I'm also looking forward to the synergy with the Sun Dwarf.
It's safe. Being safe isn't bad.
However, the second option is too much to worry about.
-----------------------------
[Basic Enchant Hammer][★☆☆☆☆]
[Compatibility ─ /20]
-----------------------------
[Don't dare think enchant is luck.]
- 4th Wise Craftsman Ogeron -
-----------------------------
During a short break, I did some research on enchant.
Naturally, the source was the Inner Tower's community, and the keyword 'enchant' was the most popular keyword.
Title: [Why Dwarf Enchant is Rigged. txt]
-----------------------------
(17 Enhance success photo)
Thanks.
Mathematically, it doesn't make sense for everyone to be lucky. Because the more you enhance, the more you inevitably regress to the mean.
I was lucky today. You were unlucky your whole life.
My good luck, when combined with yours, becomes average.
In other words, thanks to you, I hit the jackpot.
I owe you a lot.
So I will bestow upon you the title of Guardian of Balance. You are truly my benefactors.
Please do well on the next enhancement too.
-----------------------------
-Anonymous: This fucking bastard, stop trolling.
-----------------------------
Well, there was various content, but.
The conclusion was simple. Enchant is in high demand.
Moreover, what I felt was that there are virtually no places that do enchant other than the place called Dwarf Company?
There were posts saying there are a few places, but for some reason, they were all accounts that got blocked for illegal advertising or something.
'It got blocked.'
It must have been because it was false advertising.
But if the only official enchant is Dwarf Company, and that's the common sense of this world.
If I start doing enchant, wouldn't that cause a big ripple?
Henrik said so too, that it's hard for a human.
So I'm looking forward to it.
While worrying like that, with my chin in both hands and a serious face unbecoming of a 13-year-old brat.
I felt Henrik keep glancing this way.
He seemed to want to say something, but I pretended not to notice.
Mr. Henrik, that's all good, but… he has a bit of a too-much-talker personality.
It's not bad, but now is the time to worry.
And then, at that time.
Ding.
Dolores returned.
"Lionel?"
As soon as she came in, Dolores suddenly called me softly.
She seemed to be in a better mood than usual.
"Yes."
I jumped down from the high chair and ran over to her.
Somehow it really feels like I've become Dolores's family. Even to the point of running over when called.
Ruby was hugging a thick book behind Dolores.
Her eyes are sparkling too.
Dolores held out a rather luxurious piece of clothing she was holding in one hand slightly in front of me.
"It will suit you well."
"…Thank you."
"Yeah, good. Lionel? It's that one."
Rub rub.
Dolores seemed satisfied with my answer and stroked my head.
"No need to refuse. Just say thank you."
"Okay…."
This feels like being domesticated.
Dolores put the clothes into subspace and headed to the counter.
Then suddenly.
Swoosh.
She lifted my body with one arm.
"So, did you choose a hammer?"
"Uh, uh, uh…."
Even though I'm thirty years old, I couldn't help but be flustered by this skinship.
Dolores gently placed the flustered me on the counter.
In an instant, my eye level became the same as Dolores's.
"These are two, huh?"
"Ah, no. I was deciding between the two."
"Deciding?"
Dolores glanced down below.
"Henrik, how much is it?"
"The total is 10,000 Gold."
"Hmm, I see."
She met my eyes, now at the same eye level.
She gently brushed up my bangs.
"Do you want both?"
"Ah, that… that is…."
Actually, I wanted them. Both.
But mentioning the amount of 10,000 Gold is a bit, apart from her wealth, I can't bring myself to ask her to buy it outright.
"…You don't seem to know the weight of what you've done for me yet."
Dolores looked at me and quietly muttered.
Only then, beyond Dolores's face.
The scenery outside the shop came into my view.
A carriage piled with a mountain of books.
The one book Ruby was holding wasn't the end.
Those things outside, they all seem to have been purchased today.
Slide.
Dolores took my hand and placed it on each of the two hammers.
"Now, Lionel. Try saying it."
"……."
"I want, to have it."
"I w-want to have it…."
"Good job."
Dolores smiled satisfied and nodded to Henrik.
"I'll take these two."
"Yes."
Henrik bowed his head.
"What is each hammer for?"
"This is a forging hammer. This one is… um, an enchant…."
"Enchant."
Dolores's eyes narrowed.
"Lionel himself?"
"Yes."
A slight bewilderment was mixed in Dolores's voice.
Equipment crafting is okay since he's a Descendant of Fire, but saying he'll suddenly do enchant is bound to be baffling.
"…I think I can do it."
I was confident.
Dolores looked at me.
When she stares at me like that, Dolores is usually discerning the truth of my words.
After a brief silence, she smiled brightly and nodded.
"Alright."
Dolores didn't ask further.
That means she believes me.
"Then you'll need powder too."
As expected of a famous concept, she seemed to know of the existence of Enchant Powder.
That's when it happened.
"…I'll give the powder as a service."
Henrik took out a cloth pouch from under the counter and held it out.
It was the same pouch he had taken out of the safe earlier.
Dolores tilted her head.
"If the user takes it, that would be… more than perfect."
Henrik smiled bitterly.
"You can think of it as a bundle product."
"I see."
Dolores let out a small laugh and paid the price.
Just as I was about to pick up the hammers with both hands, wondering if I had to carry them.
"Please wait a moment~"
The lady came out from the back.
She took the Earthbone Hammer and the Enchant Hammer respectively and placed them on the counter.
Then she took out a small brush from her apron pocket and began drawing something on the end of the handle.
Then.
I saw the lady's lower abdomen shining.
That means, this is magic. It means she's using mana.
Swish, swish.
Each time she moved the brush, a gray line was engraved on the hammer.
Soon.
-----------------------------
[Enchantment List]
[Weight Reduction][LV.2]
-----------------------------
The same interface as seen on Tojar's Thunder Hammer appeared.
"The base isn't heavy, so level 2 seems enough."
So the person who enchanted it was the lady.
They're quite a capable couple.
She handed me the hammer, and I lifted it lightly.
"…Wow."
It had changed to a weight that fit comfortably in my hand.
Both hammers.
"Duke, are you… returning to your territory?"
"Yes, don't you want to return to the territory together, Mia?"
"I appreciate the offer, but… hehehe."
While the payment was being made, I took the two hammers and approached Ruby.
Heh heh, I can't resist being a bit of a show-off.
There must be something that can't be felt with just books.
I waved the hammer in front of me and approached Ruby.
Swish, swish.
As I kept lingering in front like that, Ruby's forehead slightly furrowed.
"…What."
"Isn't it cool."
Swish, swish.
Just then.
"… Yeah."
"Yeah…?"
Ruby nodded.
Huh? What.
This isn't the reaction I expected.
When I stared at her.
"What."
Ruby suddenly pretended to look at the book and turned her head.
Her ears were slightly red.
I approached Ruby like that.
"… W-what."
"Wipe your mouth."
"… Eeeek!"
There was still chicken skewer sauce on Ruby's mouth.
Oh dear, how sloppy.