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 56

“Anyway, let’s start with the preparations.”

“Preparations?”

“That’s right.”

First, I filled the prepared bucket with water. Alecto curiously peeked over.

I mixed the powder I bought from Lort’s shop into the bucket filled with water. The powder, made from processed plants, is usually used for medicinal purposes, but today, it will serve a different purpose.

“What are you doing?”

“It’s nothing special. I just made a solution by mixing this powder with water.”

“A solution?”

“That’s right. Now that it’s done, I’ll add this powder to it.”

“More powder? What kind of powder is this?”

“This is a mixture of iron and magical silver powder that I got from Adamant’s place. Originally, I only wanted the magical silver powder, but there’s no way that guy would go to the trouble of separating them for me. So, we’re going to separate the iron powder from the magical silver powder using this method.”

“Wow, is that even possible?”

“Just watch.”

I added the metallic powder to the solution. After about ten seconds, the powder settled and separated into two distinct layers: one at the bottom and one floating on the surface.

“Wow! That’s amazing! They completely separated!”

“Yeah, and the one floating on top is the magical silver powder.”

“Wow, but why does this happen?”

“It’s because of the difference in specific gravity. Compared to iron, magical silver is lighter.”

“Wow, Edson-kun, you’re so knowledgeable even though you’re just a kid.”

“Stop patting my head!”

I angrily brushed Alecto’s hand away. Seriously, I keep telling her not to treat me like a child.

“But wouldn’t ordinary water work?”

“No, it wouldn’t. If you use ordinary water, the iron powder might react and generate heat, which could negatively affect the magical silver powder. With this solution, there’s no such risk.”

Plus, with just water, the separation wouldn’t be as clear. This solution is perfect for the task.

“Now, once they’re completely separated, you scoop up the magical silver powder with this cloth.”

This cloth allows only the solution to pass through, leaving the magical silver powder behind.

“Mei, could you dry this for me?”

“Understood.”

By the way, this solution dries quickly, so it should be dry in about 30 minutes.

“Did you get all that?”

“Yes! It was very educational!”

“Good. Then you can do the rest.”

“Me? Really?”

“Of course. You won’t learn unless you do it yourself.”

“You’re right. Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

So, I had Alecto handle the rest. Normally, this could be done more easily, but I felt it was necessary for Alecto to learn, so I opted for this slightly primitive method.

“Master, the first batch is dry.”

“Ah, thank you.”

“Mei-san! This batch is ready too!”

“Dry it yourself!”

“What?!”

Why is she so surprised? Honestly, it took her way too long just to do the separation the first time.

“I’m drying it now.”

“Then hurry up. Next up.”

“There’s more?”

“Of course. What do you think we’re doing all this for?”

Alecto muttered “Hmm?” as a question mark practically floated above her head. Honestly…

“The main task is processing the magic core.”

“Oh, that’s right! But then why are we doing all this?”

“Because it’s necessary. Anyway, just watch. Now, take the dried magical silver powder and mix it with silicone oil.”

“Wow, it’s getting all sticky.”

“That’s right. Keep mixing it until it turns into a paste. Got it? Now, try it yourself.”

I let Alecto continue. She seemed to enjoy it as the mixture gradually became stickier, exclaiming how fun it was.

Alecto is definitely more childish than I am…

“That’s enough for now.”

“Aww, but I wanted to do more. Hmm, but this feels kind of like gritty clay.”

“Yeah, and the more you rub it, the stronger its abrasive power gets. If you’re not careful, it could wear down your fingers.”

“Eek!”

Alecto immediately let go of the mixture she had been working on. Well, it’s not a problem if she only touched it a little.

“Alright, we’re all set. Now, let’s finally start processing the magic core.”

“Finally! So, let’s grab a hammer and—”

“We don’t need that! Why are you so eager to smash things?”

“Huh? But if we don’t smash it, we can’t break it open, right?”

“We’re not breaking it! Do you even understand what we’re doing here?”

I picked up a thin knife from the tools I had prepared and showed it to Alecto, who looked confused.

“What are you going to do with that?”

“What do you think? I’m going to cut the magic core with this.”

When I explained this, Alecto burst out laughing and shook her head in disbelief.

“Edson-kun, you’re such a child. There’s no way a magic core that can only be processed with a hammer can be cut with a little knife like that.”

She crossed her arms and put on a smug face. Ugh, this girl really has a talent for getting under my skin.

“What if I do manage to cut it?”

“I’ll do anything you want!”

“You said it.”

With Alecto confidently underestimating me, I took the magic core in hand and, with the knife she mocked, smoothly slid the blade through it.

“Huh? No way!”

“See? It’s cut. Now, go on and do anything I want.”

Alecto took the magic core from me, her eyes spinning in disbelief as she muttered, “No way…”

“Go on, anything.”

“Ugh, alright… But remember, you’re just a kid, so nothing pervy, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want anything like that from you.”

Alecto pretended to be shocked, as if she were deeply offended. Honestly, you’re quite the disappointment, aren’t you?

Well, even though she said “anything,” I’ll just have her memorize around a thousand spell formulas over the next three days. I’m being pretty lenient.

When I told her that, she looked like she was about to pass out. Come on, this isn’t that hard.

“But why could you cut it with just that knife?”

“Because it’s this knife, you fool. Listen up, this knife is made from magical silver. You can’t start making magic stones without at least this. And instead of smashing the core like you tried to, you need to cut it.”

“Wow, but you can really cut it with just this one knife?”

“Don’t just watch—try it yourself.”

“Huh?!”

“No more ‘huh.’ You need to be able to do this yourself.”

“Okay…,” Alecto replied hesitantly as she took the knife and pressed it against the magic core.

“Grrr… It’s not working! How did you do it? The blade won’t go through at all!”

“That’s not true. Mei, give it a try.”

“Understood.”

When Mei took the knife from Alecto and applied it to the magic core, she easily cut through it.

“How?!”

“Well, I figured this might happen. The thing is, you can’t just cut a magic core anywhere. The key is to cut along the maghek.”

“The maghek? I’ve never heard of that.”

Really? You’ve got to be kidding me…

“The maghek is like the flow of magical energy within the core. This force is called ‘myrology,’ but I suppose you wouldn’t know that either?”

“Nope, never heard of it.”

Looks like none of the old theories have been passed down.

Sigh “Anyway, if you cut along the maghek, the magic core will slice easily. You don’t even need much strength.”

“Wow… But I can’t tell where the maghek is.”

“If you’re really a mage, you should be able to sense it. Hold the magic core and slowly trace it with your finger. You should be able to feel the magic flowing along the maghek.”

Alecto took the magic core and, following my instructions, started tracing it with her finger. At first, she tilted her head in confusion.

“Oh! I got it, I got it! The magic flows from here!”

“That’s right. You did it.”

“Hehe.”

I thought it would take her longer, but she quickly got the hang of this intuitive task.

“Now, try cutting it.”

“Okay, like this…”

Alecto began cutting the magic core. Surprisingly, she wasn’t bad at it.

“Alright, that’s enough cutting.”

“Yay! I made a magic stone!”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Huh? But it looks like a pretty good magic stone, doesn’t it?”

Are you serious? The magic core she finished cutting was still an irregular, egg-shaped object, far from perfect.

“Don’t tell me you’ve been stopping at this point all along?”

“Yes! Of course, it looks too rough as it is, so I would usually encase it in crystal or something for a better finish.”

“Sigh… Well, that explains why so many magical devices these days are garbage.”

Alecto looked puzzled, but I was too exasperated to explain further.

“Actually, the real work on making a magic stone starts now. Pay close attention. This is where the stuff you mixed earlier comes into play.”

“Oh! The clay-like stuff!”

“To be precise, it’s an abrasive. You spread it on a cloth and then polish this irregular magic core like this.”

“Wow… Does that really change anything?”

“It does. Just watch.”

I continued polishing, and the rough edges gradually smoothed out, and the magic core became more refined. This way, the magic power can flow evenly throughout the stone. If left rough like this, the magic power would also flow unevenly.

“See? It’s done.”

“Wow, it’s so shiny!”

“Right? Right?”

A perfectly finished magic stone shines like a jewel. That’s proof that it’s filled with myrology.

“But it got much smaller.”

“That’s to be expected when you cut and polish it. The ones you’ve been making were too big.”

Now it’s just small enough to be held between two fingers.

“Alright, now that you’ve learned the process, try doing it all by yourself next time.”

“I-I’ll give it a shot!”

I stayed with Alecto until she mastered the process. It ended up taking almost until dawn, but she eventually got the hang of it.