The New Gate

The scenery changed, and it was no longer Kern, but Est.

“Now, it’s time for Kagerou to take action again. I’ll leave it to you.”

When Shin, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, called out to him, Kagerou let out a cry and then started running.

The information brought by Hades was more than enough to shock Shin and the others, causing them to have all sorts of thoughts.

His mind and body wanted to rest. He wanted to be soothed in the hot springs as soon as possible. Shin thought about this as he gripped the reins.

Thanks to their high-speed travel using 【Teleportation】 and Kagerou’s speed, Shin and the others arrived at Kurikara in about two weeks.

From the direction Shin and the others were heading, they could see a city with a mountain in the background. The name of the mountain was Mount Kurikara, and it seemed that the name of the city came from that.

“Is Mount Kurikara by any chance an active volcano?”

“Yes. There was a small eruption about ten years ago.”

Schnee replied to Milt, who had said this while looking at Mount Kurikara.

Milt said that she had seen fire spirits scattered around the area. Shin couldn’t see them, but active volcanoes tend to attract fire spirits.

Schnee told him that, due to the influence of the spirits, the magic stones obtained from monsters often have fire attributes, and that they were used in blacksmithing and other aspects of daily life.

“Shin, did your forge also use magic stones?”

“In general, yes. My place takes the best of various types, so it’s difficult to say what type it is in a single word. The forge of the top blacksmiths was generally like that. Some metals and materials don’t melt just by raising the temperature. Even with weapons, in the game era, each blacksmith had a different way of doing things, which was pretty interesting. Even though there is only one answer, it feels like there are many routes to get there.”

When he was still a beginner at blacksmithing, he and other players were amazed at how well the program had been programmed, from the metal combination to the temperature of the forge and how the iron was forged – Shin reminisced about those days.

“But well, the fire from the magic stone is definitely the easiest to handle. As long as it’s not a really strange furnace, the temperature of the fire will be very stable. Tools like cooking stoves that can adjust the heat are usually of this type.”

The stove at the Moon Shrine was also of the type that used magic stones. It automatically stored the surrounding magic energy in the magic stones and used it as needed.

“Now that you mention it, the outdoor mini stove I use also uses magic stones.”

Milt was looking at her list of items, scrolling through the list to see if there were any others.

She didn’t use it while serving at the church because there were other members there.

“Still, there are more people in line than I expected. Is it because it’s a popular tourist spot?”

Schnee answered as Shin looked around.

“There are a lot of people who don’t look like merchants, so maybe there’s some kind of event going on.”

A line of carriages led to the entrance to the defensive wall surrounding Kurikara. There were obvious ones, like merchants and their guards, but there were also ordinary adventurer parties and groups of blacksmiths.

The ordinary people who weren’t merchants were probably just tourists, but the line seemed longer than any other city he had seen so far.

“This is going to take a while.”

“It looks like they’re checking each carriage carefully.”

In response to Shin’s muttering, Tiera checked the front of the line from the top of the carriage. It seemed that the luggage was being checked quite thoroughly.

“If they’re inspecting the luggage, does that mean there’s some kind of ceremony going on?”

“The Wrought Iron Battle Festival is going to be held.”

Surprisingly, the voice that answered Shin’s words was a man who wasn’t one of the party members.

Shin looked in the direction of the voice that had replied.

He knew someone was approaching, but he didn’t expect them to speak to him.

When he turned around, there was a young man with short hair standing there.

Judging from his appearance, he was either a human, dwarf, or lord. He was a head shorter than Shin but judging by the muscular arms that extended from his short-sleeved clothing, he guessed that he was no ordinary person.

“I’m sorry to bother you like this. You seemed confused, so… Oh, my name is Kluck.”

The man apologized for being nosy, to which Shin replied, “No problem.”

“I was just wondering what was going on. My name is Shin. So, what is the ‘Wrought Iron Battle Festival’? What kind of event is it?”

According to Kluck, the “Wrought Iron Battle Festival” was a joint event of the “Wrought Iron Festival,” a fair for blacksmiths to display their work, and the “Battle Festival,” which was a martial arts tournament open to all weapons and all statuses.

It was held once every four years, and participants come not only from all over Est, but even from Kern in some cases.

Hearing that the festival was held once every four years reminded Shin of the Olympics.

The Wrought Iron Festival was divided into two categories: the “Mass Production Division,” in which participants compare works made with the same materials and equipment, and the “Master Division,” in which participants were free to bring their own materials and tools and create the best piece of ironworking.

The winning masterpieces in the “Mass Production Division” were donated to the Kurikara Treasure Hall and were open to public viewing only during the “Wrought Iron Battle Festival” was held.

The winner of the “Battle Festival” would be decided in a tournament among the winners of the battle royal, excluding the seeded contestants. The winner would receive a prize of his/her choice from among the prize-winning entries in the “Master Division”. Incidentally, Kurikara would bear the cost of the prize and pay it to the creator.

The creator could not refuse the sale. The contract stated that if the “Master Division’s” work was selected, it would be sold.

In this way, the “Wrought Iron Battle Festival” was a combination of two major events, but the main focus was on the weapons made by the blacksmiths.

Battle festivals or martial arts tournaments, in which people compete for power, were held regularly for each country to find hidden talents and those with potential. Since the only place needed was an arena, many countries held such competitions.

However, a blacksmithing competition required much more time and effort than a battle festival, including the need for a blacksmith forge, procurement of materials, and fuel.

Because of that, events like this “Wrought Iron Battle Festival” – if you win you can get a high-quality weapon, and even if you don’t, you might be able to make connections with a skilled blacksmith – have a different kind of excitement to them than other events.

After hearing Kluck’s explanation, Shin blurted out his thoughts.

“I’m a little interested in the ‘Mass Production Division’.”

“Perhaps that thing on your waist is one of those too?”

“Yes, I forged it myself.”

Kluck’s eyes were fixed on the Rare-grade sword hanging from Shin’s waist. The sharpness of his gaze was a far cry from the calmness he had when he was talking.

Even while traveling, they were not immune to attacks from thieves and monsters.

But carrying Ancient or Mythology-grade weapons around town could lead to unnecessary trouble, so Shin and the others deliberately equipped themselves with lower-grade weapons.

“As you may have guessed, I am a blacksmith myself. To tell you the truth, I was interested in that sword, so I talked to you.”

At first, Kluck thought Shin was a blacksmith participating in the Wrought Iron Festival because of the aura he exuded. However, when Shin voiced his questions, he realized that Shin came here by chance, and then he called out to him.

Shin had also known from 【Analyze】 that Kluck was a blacksmith, so he went along with the conversation.

“So, if you don’t mind, why don’t we show each other our work? The uniformity of the magic power that surrounds your sword is amazing, even from the outside.”

Kluck’s serious eyes suddenly changed. His expression looked like that of a child who had found a toy.

Ah, this person is like Vulcan, whom I met in Erkunt, and Kanedzuka of Hinomoto… Shin realized. He had the aura of a craftsman who enjoyed making things and aimed to make the best possible product when it came to making them.

Although they had only just met, Shin wanted to see Kluck’s work and agreed to his proposal.

“Then, this one.”

Kluck, upon hearing his reply, quickly offered him the sword he carried at his waist as he was the one who first brought it up.

Taking it, Shin also held out the sword hanging from his waist, 『White Cloud』.

“…Beautiful.”

Staring at the sword with about a third of its blade out, Kluck muttered in a daze.

Ignoring him, Shin also turned his attention to the sword he had received.

The sheath was a simple structure, made of a wooden body coated with metal, with no decorations. Like Kluck, he pulled out about a third of the blade and a dull shine appeared.

(Judging from the skill, it wasn’t a weapon with a ‘name’ like those registered in the game. It was a simple long sword. The materials were a mixture of magic steel and… ordinary iron? And yet, the grade was Rare — close to Legend.)

Having continued blacksmithing since coming here, Shin had become able to appraise weapons that didn’t exist in the game without relying on skill.

Of course, it wasn’t something unfair like being able to tell the materials and effects just by looking at them. He could sense the grade and the general materials used.

However, such personal intuitions were difficult to explain and could be vague.

As such, Shin appraised the weapons sold in stores and stalls without relying on skill and confirmed that he had reached a level where he was certain that his intuition was correct. If he went around appraising items too blatantly, it would arouse suspicion, so he was thorough and hid himself using 【Hiding】.

And now, that intuition was whispering to him that the maker of this sword possessed top-class skills out of all the ones Shin had ever encountered.

“Sorry if I offended you, but are you perhaps born with this skill?”

Shin asked in a hushed voice so no one could hear, and Kluck answered in a low voice.

“People sometimes ask me that question, but no. I’m a blacksmith who belongs to the ‘Black Faction’. You can think of it as something like a dwarven guild.”

“The ‘Black Faction’… huh? I’ve heard rumors about it, but this is the first time I’ve met someone who belongs to it.”

Shin was a little shaken when he heard the name.

The Black Faction was one of the six major factions that worship the “Dark Blacksmith”. They were said to be focused on reviving lost techniques and developing new ones, and looking at the quality of the sword he held in his hand, it made sense. It was not a work of art that he was born with the skill, but a piece that he had created by honing his own technique, and it showed the effort that Kluck had put into it.

“I’m sorry to ask you this, but are you sure it was all right for you to reveal it to me?”

“Yes. It would be a shame to end our relationship here. If it were possible, I’d love to discuss blacksmithing here and now.”

This man, Kluck, must really love blacksmithing.

Normally, he would be thinking about recruiting Shin to the faction, but there was no sign of him trying to lead him into such a conversation.

Some blacksmiths make weapons for money or honor, but Kluck seemed to have no interest in such things.

“May I ask you something as well, Shin? Are you a Chosen One?”

Kluck knew the term Chosen One, which wasn’t a very common term.

As a member of the Black Faction, he must have known some Chosen Ones in that field.

An innately strong person with the ability to use skills and high stats. That was the definition of a Chosen One in this world.

Although Shin did not fall into that category, he was above average compared to ordinary Chosen Ones in terms of ability.

He only used the words ‘Chosen One’ as an excuse when he showed his strength.

However, he didn’t want people to think that his blacksmithing skills were innate, so he let it be known that he did it himself.

“Something like that. Well, my master is an excellent blacksmith.”

Kluck looked even more intrigued after hearing Shin’s answer.

“May I ask the name of this master?”

“Sorry. I’m forbidden to tell you his name. But he was the kind of person who would forge Mythology-grade weapons while humming.”

“…It’s hard to believe at first, but after seeing your sword, I have no choice but to believe it. I’d like to learn from him.”

To the blacksmiths of this world, even being able to forge Legend-grade weapons was enough to make the country value you. And anything above that was like being a monster to a blacksmith.

Shin said this knowing that Kluck wouldn’t believe him, but Kluck didn’t seem to doubt him at all.

The 『White Cloud』 Shin had shown him must have been that impressive.

There was no doubt that Kluck was disappointed, but there was no jealousy in that Shin had been blessed with a skilled master. Rather, there was interest and respect for his high level of skill.

Though they only spoke for a short time, Shin liked Kluck.

Shin had a theory that there were no bad people who were serious about blacksmithing. Of course, there were cases in this world where this was not the case. But Shin trusted his own instincts.

As Shin was thinking that maybe he should get his opinion on another prototype, he sensed someone approaching.

“Hey, Kluck. Did you ask to see someone else’s weapon again? I’m sorry about that guy over there. This guy did ‘this’ like an illness.”

A woman with short blue hair and blue slit eyes spoke to him. She looked almost human. The horns and tail extending to the back of her head, as well as the scales in various places, indicate that her race was Dragnil.

The light armor she wore and the short spear she held in her left hand are both from the same workmanship as the longsword she used earlier.

“Isn’t that an awful way of putting it?”

The way Kluck responded in a familiar manner, it seemed that the two knew each other.

“Do you know how many times you’ve tried to negotiate with a passing adventurer to see their weapon while I’m not looking? I told you to refrain from doing so this time, right?”

The woman approached Kluck with such force that you can almost hear the rumbling sound effect. She had a smiling face, but she wasn’t smiling.

“C-Can you just let me off the hook this time? It’s not something you’ll see easily.”

Sweat dripped from his forehead, but Kluck still refused to give in. To an outsider, it looked like a child throwing a tantrum and a mother scolding him. She’s probably Kluck’s guardian most of the time.

“Well, I got to see some good stuff too, so let’s say we’re even. Oh, I’m Shin.”

Shin calmed the woman down, telling her he was also a blacksmith.

“I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry. I’m Elamella. I’m his bodyguard and watchdog.”

“Th-that hurts.”

Elamella laughed as she kneaded Kluck’s head. Kluck didn’t seem to mind.

Their interaction made you feel how long they’d been together.

As Shin was watching the two of them, Schnee came out of the carriage.

“Shin. How’s the queue?”

“It looks like it’ll take another hour, no, two. They’re holding an event called the ‘Wrought Iron Battle Festival.’ That’s why it’s so crowded.”

“‘Wrought Iron Battle Festival’?”

It seemed that Schnee had never heard of this event.

When Shin asked, she shook her head.

“I already had a weapon given to me by Shin, and I wasn’t interested in the battle festival.”

Many famous blacksmiths also participated in the Wrought Iron Battle Festival.

However, there were hardly any blacksmiths who could forge Ancient-grade items without much failure even if they had the materials.

At best, they only got Legend-grade items, and occasionally Mythology-grade items, and even then, they were lower-level items.

To catch Schnee’s eye, one must be at the same level as Shin.

It was a hurdle that was too high for the inhabitants of this world.

“But then, it must be hard to find a place to stay tonight.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

It was obvious from just a quick glance that there were a lot of people. No matter how prosperous a tourist spot was, there was a limit to the number of inns. Looking to the side of the castle gate, instead of carriages, there were temporary housing like tents and yurts lined up. It seemed like they were doing business with the people in line.

Kluck, who had been listening to Schnee and Shin’s conversation, added an explanation.

“Right now we’re in the preliminaries before the main tournament, so I think we still have some time. Anyway, if you make it through the preliminaries for the Wrought Iron Battle Festival, the country will provide lodging for your party members and the group you belong to.”

“I see. I guess that’s what we’ll aim for.”

Shin didn’t really want to win, but he honestly wanted to see the skills of a famous blacksmith. He thought it would be okay to participate in the preliminaries at least.

“I’m also going to try out for the preliminary round, and maybe we can work next to each other.”

Saying this, Kluck grinned.

“Next to each other?”

“I mean that literally. In the ‘Mass Production Division,’ we work all together under the supervision of the country to make sure there is no cheating. So each of us has to show off our skills to the extent that we are willing to show them.”

Doesn’t that mean they can steal as many techniques as they want? Shin frowned.

His thoughts were probably showing on his face. Kluck added that since techniques that were too advanced could not be imitated even by watching, most blacksmiths who win top prizes do it seriously.

“It’s true that there are quite a few things that you can’t tell what they’re doing just by looking at them. But if you’re skilled, you can probably figure out how they do it just by looking at them, right?”

“Yes, to be honest, I thought the same. According to someone who participated last time, the top runners were so skilled that it seemed like they wanted others to try and imitate them if they could. They also said that they don’t have the time to steal techniques.”

If you have time to steal techniques, use that time to hammer the iron. If you didn’t do that, you wouldn’t be able to win in the Mass Production Division, Kluck continued.

“So you’re a real craftsman if you’re devoted to your own work?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

A laugh escaped from both of them.

The competition was so serious that there was no time to look away. The opponent was not another blacksmith, but yourself. It was a competition of how much you can concentrate on demonstrating your own skills.

The higher the quality of a weapon, the more ambiguous it became.

After hearing Kluck’s story, Shin thought that the top prize winners probably weren’t all that interested in the rankings given by the judges.

When Shin participated in similar events back in his gaming days, he had felt several times that “Is there really a need to rank these?”

There were other players like him, and even after the rankings were decided, they would continue to discuss blacksmithing, telling each other how you did it, or how this person should do it this way.

“I was suddenly very motivated. Thank you very much for the good information. I’ll see you again when I get a chance.”

“Let’s both do our best.”

As they were talking, the line had moved forward without them realizing, and it was Shin’s turn.

Kluck was right behind them, but with his blacksmithing tools and luggage, it looked like the inspection would take a long time.

It was time to say goodbye to them.

The guards only checked Shin and his group’s food ingredients and themselves. The tools needed for camping were on item cards, so it was easy to tell what they were by looking at the picture; being A-rank adventurers, it was no surprise that they had them, Shin confirmed beforehand.

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