I Have a Task Log

Chapter 325: Chapter 324: Crafting Equipment

Colin picked up his backpack and followed Langgrin to their small blacksmith workshop. Once inside, he reached into his bag and pulled out a hammer, tongs, a sewing kit, a whetstone, and a few other odds and ends.

These were what passed for a blacksmith’s tool kit and a mending kit.

"Tool kits" were something cobbled together by general stores that served Adventurers.

Specifically, they packaged and sold key tools related to a certain craft, making it convenient for Adventurers who had mastered the corresponding Skills to handle simple jobs in the wild.

After all, even an Adventurer who was originally a blacksmith couldn’t just whip up a forge in the middle of nowhere.

Getting back to the topic, after a month of training with Langgrin, Colin had learned a new Skill: [Magic Craftsman].

This was a Skill that could be upgraded by adding to its Skill Level. It could also grant a corresponding Specialty, but so far, Colin had no idea what kind of Specialty he could get.

At the same time, the rewards for his two previous tasks had come in.

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[Task: Investigate the House]

[Rating: 3]

[Reward: 150 Skill Level]

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[Task: Contact the Gang]

[Rating: 1]

[Reward: 50 Skill Level]

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The simplest task Colin had done so far was "Contact the Gang." After all, all he had to do was go over and say a few words. He wondered if there were any tasks with a difficulty rating of 0.

Since he was still a long way from the Skill Level required to gain a Specialty in his other Skills, Colin allocated all his new Skill Level points to the recently learned [Magic Craftsman].

Since Langgrin wasn’t watching him every second, he got away with the sudden increase in his Skill Level.

His other Skills had also seen some increase in their Skill Levels.

The Skill Levels for all his Skills were approximately: Casting 2191/4000, Armor Technique 1358/2000, Swordsmanship 1281/2000, Craftsman 353/500.

After Colin had laid out his tools, Langgrin crossed his arms and said, "Alright, I see you’re progressing pretty quickly. How about you try making a piece of Magic Equipment today?"

Colin paused, taken aback.

He said, "Huh? But I’ve only been learning for a month."

"Give it a try. An apprentice who never tries can never become a proper craftsman," Langgrin said, rummaging through the shelves with a CLATTER and a CLANG.

Colin had been quite nervous at first, but Langgrin ended up spending over half an hour searching through a mess of drawers, barrels, and shelves without finding what he was looking for. Colin got so tired of standing that he just found a pile of firewood and sat down.

After a while, a short, calloused hand snapped its fingers in front of Colin’s eyes.

"Found them. It’s these two."

Colin looked up. Langgrin handed him a thick, oil-stained book and two thin Crystal Plates, then said, "You guys were planning on going to the Undercity recently, right? In that case, making a pair of Night Vision Goggles would be the best choice for you right now."

After placing the two thin Crystal Plates in Colin’s hands, Langgrin licked his fingers, gave the thick book a haphazard flip with a RUSTLE of pages, and then held it out in front of Colin.

Looking closely, the pages were almost completely filled with Common Language text, along with many illustrations and formulas. It looked just like a Spellbook.

"First, you need to learn the Tier Two Magic, [Darkvision]. Then, just like how you sync with your Armor, you apply the Magic to the prepared raw materials. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?" Langgrin said.

Colin said quietly, "Putting a Giant Dragon in a cabinet is simple too."

"Hmm? How?"

"Open the cabinet, stuff the dragon inside, then close the cabinet."

"What kind of nonsense is that? Get started!" Langgrin rapped on Colin’s Chest Armor. "Follow the steps in this book. Ask me if there’s anything you don’t understand."

"Do I have to pay for the materials?"

"The first time is on the house. But if you mess it up, you’ll be paying. Our business can’t afford the waste."

Colin didn’t waste any more time on pointless banter with Langgrin, shifting his attention to the pages before him.

Making a pair of "Night Vision Goggles" was, in theory, quite simple. One just had to grind the two Crystal Plates until they roughly matched the magical model in the Caster’s mind, and then apply the Magic.

However, since the magical model in every Caster’s mind was slightly different, it was impossible to mass-produce these items.

Additionally, after the equipment was made, it had to be kept on the creator’s person. If separated from the creator for more than a day, the equipment might lose its magical effect.

After reading the last sentence, Colin nodded and said, "Alright, then teach me the Magic first."

"About that, you’ll have to buy the Scroll yourself." Langgrin shrugged. "All Dwarves have Darkvision. Only those Dwarf Blacksmiths who specifically serve humans would bother learning that Magic. At least, Donkexes and I wouldn’t."

"Alright," Colin sighed.

He looked at the money and gold nuggets he had recently saved up and headed toward the grand market in Thousand Masts City.

Because humans were the most numerous of the mortal races and made up a high percentage of Adventurers, the price of [Darkvision] Scrolls was driven down very low.

Colin managed to get a Scroll for a little over one hundred Gold Coins—which was practically at cost—and then spent another hundred Gold Coins on materials for transcribing the Scroll.

After returning to the Dwarves’ sewer, Colin, with practiced ease, began transcribing the Magic from the Scroll into his Spellbook.

The whole process took five hours.

As a result, Colin was still busy in the Dwarves’ small workshop until evening.

The endless CLANGING of Langgrin forging a sword blade filled the air. By the light of a Torch, Colin sat to the side, a whetstone on his thigh, gently grinding a Crystal Plate with both hands.

He stared intently at the Crystal Plate in his hands, not daring to relax for even a moment.

These two Crystal Plates were the lenses for the Night Vision Goggles. He had to grind them to the point where they matched the Magic model.

As for what degree of grinding constituted a "match"... Colin couldn’t quite describe the feeling.

The general principle was that any substance could interfere with the Magic Net to some extent, and Magic itself was the act of tying the Magic Net into knots.

Therefore, to create a simple piece of Enchanted equipment, one had to change the shape of the raw material to make the Magic Net around it conform as closely as possible to the state of Casting.

From the principle alone, it was clear that this task required a great deal of experience and was by no means something that could be accomplished overnight.

After a few more passes with the whetstone, Colin took out the polishing paste Langgrin had given him and applied it to the Crystal Plate for further grinding. This paste was a mixture of hard powder and grease, brought out when fine detail work was needed.

Once he was completely finished, he took out his carving knife and began to engrave an Array onto the Crystal Plate.

Thanks to his recent training and the Skill Level gained from the Task Log, Colin could just barely be considered a novice.

Guided by the muscles in his forearm and wrist, the carving knife moved steadily across the Crystal Plate’s surface, etching the desired pattern one small mark at a time.