Reincarnated into a World Filled with Dungeons, But My Blessing Turned Out to Be the Most Challenging Dungeon - Chapter 59

—Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!—

“Today was quite a successful day, wasn’t it?”

I brought the hammer down onto the heated Menos steel.

With each strike, I could feel the resistance and the gradual change in its shape.

“Still, it was exhausting with so many customers trying to chat with me.”

After a while, the metal began to cool and harden, so I tossed it back into the forge.

Inside, the burning charcoal softened the metal once again. As soon as it was ready, I pulled it out and resumed hammering.

“It was my first time talking to that many people. Some of them even tried to flirt with me…”

I focused solely on shaping the weapon, blocking out all distractions. I discarded any stray thoughts and concentrated entirely on the steel before me. If I didn’t pour all my skill into the craft, I wouldn’t be able to create something of high quality.

“…………………………..”

After several cycles of heating and hammering, I completed the final step.

“Alright! The short sword is done.”

Satisfied with my work, I lined up the finished weapons on a sheet. Since returning from the produce market, I had been forging non-stop, and the number of completed swords had exceeded twenty.

I had been so engrossed in the work that I had lost track of time.

This was because the Blacksmithing skill functioned as a proficiency-based ability. The more I swung the hammer, the better I became. With every strike, I learned the precise timing and placement needed to refine the craft.

Initially, I had planned to make just a few swords. However, the joy of improving my skills kept me going, and I lost sight of when to stop.

“Look at this, Eve. The difference between the first and last swords is huge.”

I turned to share my excitement with Eve—

“Hey, Kaiser, don’t you think melons taste best when eaten whole?”

She was in the Field, harvesting melons and feeding them to Kaiser. Did she not hear me?

“Queh! Queh!”

Kaiser happily munched on the melon. I knew he was omnivorous, but it seemed he also had a taste for fruit. Watching him flap his wings in delight was amusing.

As I observed them for a while—

“Hmph!”

Eve briefly made eye contact with me, only to turn away with a pout.

Her lips pursed as she made it clear: “I’m mad at you.”

It almost felt like an act, but that was likely due to her flawless beauty. No matter what expression she made, it was impossibly cute and picturesque.

“…Did I do something wrong, Eve?”

I didn’t want to leave things unresolved, so I decided to ask.

“You ignored me, Master. I was talking to you, and you didn’t even respond! That’s just cruel.”

“Ah… sorry. I got so caught up in what I was doing that I didn’t notice.”

Now that I thought about it, she had been speaking to me earlier. But I had been too absorbed in my blacksmithing to register her words. That was my fault.

“I don’t care about you anymore, Master.”

Lately, Eve had been showing more emotions—almost like she was going through a rebellious phase. It felt as if, alongside The World, her mind was maturing as well.

“…Thank you, Eve.”

Instead of apologizing, I chose to express my gratitude.

“Despite the forge burning, the temperature in this room has remained comfortable. Normally, the charcoal would make the air thick and suffocating, but it’s perfectly breathable. That’s because you’ve been quietly adjusting the environment for me, haven’t you? I really appreciate it.”

She must have been frustrated when I ignored her, yet she still took care of everything to ensure I could work in comfort. I owed her my thanks.

“…I-I was just doing my job! It’s my duty to make sure Master is comfortable… D-Don’t get the wrong idea!”

Flustered, she turned away, hiding her face. It seemed making Eve happy was quite the challenge.

“So, why were you making weapons out of Menos steel, Master?”

After a while, Eve returned to the conversation.

“Two reasons. First, I realized that working on blacksmithing raises my proficiency.”

The Blacksmithing skill improved the more I used it, so I wanted to level it up while I had the chance.

“Second, I wanted to try crafting weapons using low-grade metal.”

Even with low-quality materials, the weapons I made could cut through cheap metal shields. That was likely because my high-level bonuses were affecting the Blacksmithing skill.

If I used rare metals, the weapons would become too powerful.

Using a weapon forged with a Core Catalyst like the one I had the other day would attract way too much attention. That’s why I wanted to make ordinary weapons that wouldn’t stand out.

“I see… So, what are you going to do with all these?”

Eve pointed out the obvious—I had gotten carried away and made too many.

“Hmm… It would be a waste to just destroy them…”

Scrapping my own creations felt wrong, and melting them down back into ingots didn’t sit well with me either.

“Guess I’ll have to sell them.”

“I figured you’d say that.”

And so, Eve and I disguised ourselves and visited several weapon shops, where we ended up selling the short swords for a surprisingly high price—despite being made from Menos steel.

We left feeling rather pleased with ourselves.