That Time a Shut-in for 300 Years Continued to Make Antiques , but All of It Turned out to Be Cheat-Level Magic Tools - Chapter 1

As soon as it was decided, I knew haste was essential. I promptly asked Butan to prepare the food and water necessary for the journey.

During that time, I checked my appearance using a water mirror. Although it’s called a water mirror, it’s actually one of my magical tools that I’ve researched, officially known as the “Magical Water Mirror Aqua Mirror.”

Usually, it’s just a light and durable frame, but when touched, it reacts by emitting a mist of water from the frame. This mist cleverly forms within the frame, creating a water mirror that reflects my appearance very clearly.

Hmm, even after 300 years, I haven’t changed at all. Naturally, I have the long, pointed ears characteristic of elves, and the white hair and overly pale skin typical of High Elves. My eyes are odd—silver and gold, another feature of High Elves.

Well, that’s fine, but—indeed, my appearance still looks like that of a mere 12 or 13-year-old child. That really hasn’t changed at all.

Normally, elves grow until they reach 18 years old and do not age until they are 200. For High Elves, they do not age throughout their lifespan.

However, for some unknown reason, my growth halted completely at the age of 12.

This is my only troubling issue, and it’s indeed a serious situation, but even my research has not found a solution to this.

Well, I quickly gave up on that. I figured looking young isn’t too inconvenient.

However, when it comes to going down to human settlements, that might be something to worry about. Although worrying about it doesn’t change anything.

Now, about clothing—what kind of outfit would be appropriate? After all, it’s been 300 years.

Yes, a safe choice is best. Black trousers, a white open-collar shirt, and a red vest on top.

Posing in front of the mirror. Safe, safely boyish. It’s somewhat sad; I don’t look my age, which easily numbers in the triple digits.

Well, that’s fine. I continue rummaging through my room for necessary items.

First and foremost, the Infinite Storage Ring. This magical tool literally allows you to think of an item and store it in the bracelet.

You just need to envision the item, and it’s instantly stored within the bracelet, which is convenient. Moreover, if the item catches your eye, it can store multiple items simultaneously.

Additionally, this bracelet, if it contains named items, automatically creates a catalog for easier management. If I want to check the contents, I just need to think about it, and it appears in my mind.

I keep packing various magical tools into it. Although I had some stored already, if I’m heading towards human settlements, it’s better to have a variety to possibly earn some money.

After all, it’s been 300 years, and what I considered common knowledge might no longer apply, including currency. If my current wealth is unusable, I might need to sell some magical tools for money.

Though—after 300 years, my research might just be considered nothing more than outdated antiques.

But still, I want to believe in the possibilities. Isn’t that what a researcher is supposed to do?

That’s why, naturally, I also prepare plenty of spare clothes. You never know if you might encounter monsters along the way.

This vest, too, has magical effects like blocking physical attacks, absorbing magic, and even has an auto-repair function that fixes it if it gets damaged.

So, basically, wearing this should prevent any serious harm, but after 300 years, my magical theories might not hold up.

Depending on the situation, there might be no defensive effects to expect, so it’s better to pack more defensive magical tools.

Yes, I have now stored all the magical tools that seem useful. If anything else is needed, it’s tagged with a magic tag so it can be referred to and stored without any problems.

This magic tag, when attached, allows for the item to be summoned from the Infinite Storage Ring at any time. You might think there’s no need to specifically store items in the ring since summoning them takes just a bit longer than directly retrieving them from the ring. It’s just a few seconds difference, but it matters.

Now that preparations are complete, I head towards the garage.

“Master, the condition of the Magic Self-Propelled Carriage, MagiLoader, is impeccable.”

Upon arriving at the garage, Mei, dressed in a maid outfit, bows and informs me that the maintenance is perfectly done.

She is a self-sufficient Perfect Support Magical Doll Maid Golem I created. Since it’s quite a mouthful, we just call these types of tools AndMaid, derived from ‘assistant maid.’

The name Mei is unique. There are several AndMaids, so it’s convenient to have distinct names for each.

She is also the first unit I created, or Number One. Indeed, she looks indistinguishably human.

Her hair, as blue as the sky, just reaches her shoulders. Her proportions are well-balanced. She isn’t too tall or too short, and her narrow eyes occasionally show a chilling coldness but also possess the brilliance of stars.

In essence, she is beautiful. Really, even I who created her might be caught off guard by her looks. By the way, Buu, who was the butler at that time, designed her maid outfit.

Since I had gone into a 300-year reclusive life, this is actually the first time I’m seeing Mei in her completed maid outfit.

Hmm, the frilly brim on her head really does a good job of enhancing her maid-like appearance. However, looking at her maid dress again, isn’t the skirt a bit too short? Well, maybe it’s the flow of time affecting fashion. It’s been a long time since I asked for the design, but it must be it.

“Master, is there something you need?”

“Ah, no, I was just thinking how beautiful Mei always is.”

“Such words are the ultimate reward for a maid.”

She humbly bowed her head. Good, the emotional circuitry and interactive functionalities are working flawlessly. It’s reassuring that nothing has changed even after 300 years.

Though she’s the first unit, she has all the base functionalities. A self-cleaning feature utilizing water magic that works no matter how dirty she gets, human-like senses (though I’ve dulled her sense of pain considerably), and an automatic magical power replenishment and storage feature that allows her to function indefinitely without flaws.

It’s impressive that there’s absolutely no degradation even after 300 years. I really should praise myself for such fine work.

That aside, I turn my attention back to the MagiLoader I created.

At a time when carriages pulled by horses were mainstream, this invention, which is essentially a carriage that operates without horses, was revolutionary in this world.

However, the notion of a horseless carriage sounds odd. Why would it move on its own without horses? Simply put, it runs on magical power. It’s a magical tool, after all. The driving force is magical energy, which is necessary in this world to perform magic.

To put it precisely, magic energy is created by gathering myf particles floating in the air and converting them into energy. It’s somewhat like how oxygen is taken in to produce blood.

This MagiLoader, to simplify, looks just like a carriage but without the horses. Instead, it has a stylish covered body with wheels, and the front part protrudes where the Accumagic Crystal Battery, which collects and emits myf, is located, allowing the body to move on its own without horses.

The vehicle has a driver’s seat similar to a coachman’s seat in a horse-drawn carriage, complete with a starter for ignition, a steering wheel for control, gears to regulate the amount of magical power released, an accelerator to speed up, and brakes to stop. Most of these components are made from Magisilver, which is conducive to magic control, though the steering wheel is made of a different material.

Speaking of the steering wheel, in large cities, the type used to open gates is often circular and made of wood, but here, it’s made of the same material as the wheels.

Yes, that material is rubber. I named it myself; it is made from the sap of the Gumgum tree, which becomes a durable and elastic material when heated to a certain degree.

I could have called it Gum, but Rubber somehow sounds more durable, so I went with Rubber.

Both the steering wheel and the wheels of the magic carriage are made of rubber. However, creating these rubber wheels was not without its challenges.

Making the wheels from rubber was fine, but on their own, they tended to slip and wear out quickly when moving at high speeds.

Initially, I tried covering the rubber wheels with magical beast hides, but that hindered their movement. After much trial and error, I found that mixing the sap with ink from a Kraken would strengthen it. From there, I developed reinforced rubber wheels and also came up with the idea of covering the original iron wheels with rubber that had turned black due to charcoal.

Furthermore, combining ink and sap made the processing easier and allowed for grooves to be added to the wheels, overcoming their tendency to slip.

As for the wheels of the magic carriage, given their diamond-like hardness, I decided to play on the word “diamond” and call them Tires.

Hmm, when I think about it, it was quite a struggle to create this. It’s deeply moving.

“Let’s touch the starter, and yes, let’s start it up!”

The starter is also made of a combination of magic-friendly Magisilver and magic stones.

Magisilver is an ore that becomes imbued with myf particles, turning it into magical silver. Magic stones are concentrated magical power formed in regions where myf particles are especially abundant, often linked with spirits.

These two materials are indispensable in the creation of magical tools, and thanks to them, I have been able to create various magical devices.

When you touch the starter, a slab-like part lights up pale blue. This glowing indicates the remaining amount of magical power that powers the magic carriage.

Basically, as long as the magic carriage is in an area with myf particles, it will automatically accumulate magical energy, but this process is not particularly fast.

So, if it runs out of magical power, you either have to leave it to charge for a while or inject magic directly. Alternatively, you could swap out the Accumagic Crystal Battery with a fully charged one.

But, after 300 years, there might be more efficient methods established by now.

For example, one idea I had was a magic power station for quick and efficient recharging of magical energy.

Of course, refueling magic would incur some cost, and you could set up a business model around how much to charge per unit of power recharged—it’s quite possible that someone in the outside world has already thought of this.

Oh well, I digress. After all, it’s been 300 years. It’s just an old man’s musings. Younger minds probably have fresher ideas.

Well, anyway, the preparation for the magic practitioner is done. Now, I think I’ll say goodbye to the Dwarven tribe, particularly Benz, who has been quite helpful.