Two weeks went by like a breeze since they arrived in the Danmachi world. Many things have happened in that duration of time.
First, the completion of the Familia base. For 100M Valis, the scale of the mansion isn't that big. But the facilities that Leo custom ordered are well worth it. He has two special facilities made just for him, a forge separated from the main building and a workshop underground.
Second would be Mittelt, Ravel and Tanya. Prior to diving dungeons, they already have strength equivalent to high end Level 2 Adventurer when factoring their Magic. Well, Leo discourages them from using Magic in the first place because their training in the dungeon is more focused on their physique. Magic is secondary. So, they were starting from scratch. But in the brief 2 weeks, they already achieved a feat of handling the Middle floor and reaching Rivira. Even the fastest growing Adventurer, the Sword Princess, Ais Wallenstein took a month. Yet, they broke the record for doing it in under a month.
Their party is quite well known amongst the adventurers because of how they look alike with their blond hair and blue eyes. They are almost like celebrities thanks to their beautiful appearance which is quite rare among adventurers.
But this does come with its fair share of negative effects because there is no lack of people with bad intentions coming for the three. However, anyone that dares will either be killed in a freak accident or disappear completely from Orario.
Thirdly would be the reaction of Loki Familia. The day their expedition returned, they brought back the news about an illusive adventure that soloed Balor. A very big matter that Loki immediately launched an investigation but came back empty-handed after more than a week of searching.
———
"I apologize, Loki-sama. But the information about the adventurer will remain classified unless the said adventurer allows his information to be shared." Rehmer sighed while dealing with the stubborn redhead Goddess of Mischief.
But the goddess refused to back down. She even tried to use her influence to pressure the Guild. But Rehmer was already used to dealing with this kind of matter or else, he wouldn't last long in his position.
"Unless, you are willing to share your Familia members' information to the public too. I hope you will understand the privacy policy we put in place." Rehmer said which silenced the goddess.
"Fine. Keep your secret." The fuming Loki said and turned away. "Let's go, Ais." She called for her escort who nodded and followed.
"I apologize. If only I can remember his appearance." Ais lowered her head apologetically. "This is my fault."
"No no no, it's not your fault, Aizu-tan. That guy definitely has some kind of development ability that makes his presence very faint to evade even Tiona sense." Loki turned around and cheered Ais up.
"Anyway, this leaves me with no choice." The goddess rubs his chin and in deep thoughts. "Let's return for now. It's useless to search any further because that guy definitely covers his trail very well to have literally zero information that Hermes can dig up."
———
At present.
Leo had been spending most of his time inside the forge and single-mindedly working on remaking his weapon he collected in Hunter's Dream. Especially Saw Cleaver. But he has little success in that regard.
"As expected, Adamantite alone will not be sufficient." Leo sighed and looked at the first prototype of Saw Cleaver made using Adamantite.
Most of the time he spent is on learning the forging technique of Orario since the blacksmith knowledge he has does not include handling methods for Adamantite. Once he read enough books to update his blacksmith knowledge, he attempted to forge the Saw Cleaver's blade and test it out on his actual Saw Cleaver.
The test is quite simple. He tries to break the blade with his Saw Cleaver. If it survives without a scratch, it would be better with all the enchantment he will place down later. But unfortunately it didn't. It instead cuts through although not easily. But the fact it didn't survive still stands.
Of course, Leo isn't discouraged. This is his first attempt. He only forged the blade using his blacksmith ability alone. He hadn't even applied Vulcan and Hephaestus authorities. This attempt is more like a warm up before the real deal.
*Knock* *Knock*
The door to his forge opened up and Pandora appeared. "Ugh… I can't get used to the heat here." She said before she walked in. The heat serves as nothing but discomfort to her since she is still a Goddess.
"Oh, mom. Is it dinner time already? I didn't realize time was passing that fast. " Leo put down the brutalized blade he was inspecting and saw Pandora nodded while curiously looking at the results of his work.
"Hmn. Curious about this?" Leo asks which earns a nod from his mother. "Well, this is a prototype. But unfortunately it's not even close to what I want to make." Leo sighed.
"You must have poured a lot of effort into it. But don't worry. Mama believes Leo can definitely succeed." Pandora tried to cheer him up and awkwardly tried to reach his head to give a headpat but couldn't reach it with their height difference even when Leo was seated. He lowered his head for her and enjoyed the cheering from his mother.
"Let's go, Mom. Ophis might get impatient if we delay this any longer." Leo chuckled while imagining Ophis devouring the food because she cannot wait any longer.
"Mhm. Let's go."
They left the forge and Leo went to wash up himself first to get rid of the soot and dirt on his body before entering the dining room.
———
After the dinner, they gathered in the living room. Each looking at their updated status.
"By the way, Tanya. You still haven't received a Development Ability?" Leo asked after he peeked at her status sheet she was holding.
"Hmn. I can't decide which one I want to work toward." She replied as she stared at the paper.
"Well, your fighting style are mixed to be like me and Ravel." Mittelt said.
Mittelt and Ravel respectively gained Spearman and Swordsman Development Ability because of their fighting style that revolved around their weapon.
Meanwhile Tanya's fighting style is quite mixed. She uses a rifle and a knife at the same time. She changes depending on her opponent.
"Rather than depending on your fighting style. Why not work toward Mage?" Leo suggested. "Your primary firepower does come from your Magic Rifle after all."
"I'll consider it." Tanya nods.
"Leo. Can you make me a new sword? Mine is not suitable for my strength anymore." Ravel suddenly changed the topic.
"Me too." Mittelt chimed in.
"Hmn. It's about time since all of you reached Level 2." Leo agrees and is thinking of upgrading their gear again.
The issue about their equipment. Too strong, it would impede their growth. Too weak, it will stunt their growth. So, their gear must constantly be changed to suit their strength whenever there is a big quantitative change in their stats.
The two aren't much of an issue. But Tanya… Her rifle is quite tricky.
The rifle's firepower is mainly dependent on how much mana placed in the ammunition she conjured. The higher, the stronger it will hit. For that, Leo needs to accurately measure her Mana input rate, maximum output, the explosive power of the ignition, etc. Everything needs to be perfect or he would produce a faulty rifle which would be disastrous for Tanya.
"I will get it done by tomorrow morning. But, Tanya. I will need you to come with me to the forge. Your rifle will be a little complicated." Leo said and immediately got to work as he bid everyone goodnight.
"Okay." Tanya nods but inside, she is a little excited and nervous.
'A private time with just him and me… This is my chance.' Tanya said resolutely in her mind as she followed behind him.
———
Outside the forge is an open ground which can be used for training and surrounded by a wall for privacy.
"Try using your rifle. I need to measure your Mana." Leo said and arranged a chestplate he bought for the reason of weapon testing.
"Okay." Tanya nods and ready her rifle. It's the very same rifle she brought from her world.
She went with the usual procedure of conjuring ammunition and loading them before shooting the piece of armor Leo set up. Compared to actual ammunition loaded with Mana, it's obviously weaker but the convenience makes up for it. She rather just has weaker firepower than spending a lot of time crafting ammunition from scratch.
Leo mentally noted the reading he got as ask her to shoot another time but with maximum power.
*Bang*
The bullet exploded on impact and obliterated the chestplate made from common metal.
The rifle was also significantly damaged with abnormal dent around the barrel. Still capable of being used. But obviously wouldn't last long and could become faulty at any moment.
"Hmn. Mithril should be good." Leo mutters as he is forming the design in his head while Tanya patiently waits.
It fascinates her just how many things Leo can do. A very well rounded person from blacksmithing to alchemy. She had once tried to get into them but she failed to grasp the knowledge. Mainly because of how it clashes with her Magic System that comes from another world. But the same applies to Leo yet he didn't seem to have problem adapting.
"Well, you can return for now. I will get it done by morning." Leo told her to go to sleep. But Tanya has another plan.
"Can I watch?" She asked.
Leo was surprised and dissuaded her. "Inside the forge will be very hot and uncomfortable though."
"I didn't mind. I just want to watch and learn." She said, not discouraged by his words.
"Alright." He shrugs and invites Tanya into his forge.
Leo immediately went to work and activated his special furnace which is different from others. Unlike a normal furnace, Leo's furnace uses a magic circle he specially inscribed which uses Magic Stone. He gets the idea when thinking what he should do with Balor's Magic Stone. The main feature of this furnace is Leo can adjust and maintain any temperature he wants it to be.
He then picks up a chunk of pure Mithril ingot he processed with tongs and heats it in the furnace. The heat inside the room instantly climbed up to 45°C when the furnace reached the optimal heat and the Mithril ingot immediately heated until it started to soften. He removes the heated Mithril ingot with tongs and quickly places it on the anvil to flatten it out into a rectangular sheet.
Sparks flying around with each hit with the hammer in Leo's hand. Tanya stood close to the door which was a little cooler and mesmerized as she watched Leo turn the rectangular sheet of Mithril into a barrel. The entire process took half an hour but felt like only a few minutes for the two.
Another hour later, Leo is already done with the metal components of the rifle and he starts enchanting and assembling the rifle.
"Isn't this a little too fast?" Tanya, shocked by the speed, Leo nearly completed the rifle.
"Well, compared to other blacksmiths. I cheated a 'little' with magic." Leo admits and hands over the rifle to Tanya.
The rifle is very bare without any decorations or finishing touches since it's not considered complete yet. But it can shoot.
Leo handed the rifle to Tanya because he wanted her to test it before he put the finishing touches in case there was need for modification.
They went out of the forge and tested the rifle out.
"Try inject mana into the magazine instead of conjuring ammunition." Leo requested.
Tanya remembers Leo inscribed something to the magazine and is eager to test it out. She holds the magazine with her left hand and injects her mana. She felt nothing different except she didn't need to manually load it from the ejection port.
"Now try to inject mana into the rear sight."
Tanya saw a light blue gem on the rear sight and injected mana into it. Immediately, it projects a sight that hover above it. Just a blue circle with a crosshair in the middle.
"That crosshair will automatically adjust to the target distance and be 100% accurate. Though, in case of multiple enemies overlapping. It might aim at another enemy that isn't the target." Leo excitedly explained the feature to Tanya before he apologized. "I will try to improve it in the future when I have the time."
"No, no. This is already incredible enough." Tanya said and didn't dampen his excitement by saying she has a magic that can assist aiming. "Still, you are amazing to come up with this in such a short moment."
"Anyway, let's test it."
Tanya aimed with the sight and then pulled the trigger.
*Tud*
"Huh?" Tanya is surprised that all she heard is the bullet hitting the target.
"It's silencing magic." Leo quickly explained. "It's just a simple noise isolating barrier at the end of the barrel. Even though it consumes mana to be maintained, the consumption is very low; it's basically negligible."
"That's neat." Tanya was surprised. She cannot imagine the amount of time the firing noise attracted a crowd of monsters. "I never thought of it." She said and realized how absurd this feature was.
Imagine a sniper rifle that makes zero noise. No one would even know where it came from when factor in the range a sniper rifle would have.
"Alright, now try your maximum power. If you are satisfied, I can put down the finishing touch." Leo remembered he didn't have much time left till morning and hurried Tanya.
Again, she took the shot with the maximum amount of mana she can inject into the ammunition. No noise at all except when it hit.
"There's no issue." She answered and handed the rifle back to Leo as they returned to the forge.
Ten minutes later, Leo is done with the rifle and hands it to Tanya before he gets to work on Ravel's sword and Mittelt's spear.
Tanya is a little disappointed that Leo is too absorbed with his job and didn't pay much attention to her. She was basically sweating buckets with the temperature of the forge and drenched with her clothes sticking close to her body, revealing her figure. But Leo didn't notice it at all. She remembers what Mittelt and Ravel said. He have a taste for younger girl.
"Hmn. He is too focused on his job." Tanya sighed and retreated for now. She would rather not disturb him any further with her presence.
"Did you say something?" Leo paused from hammering the metal slab.
"Nothing. I just wanted to thank you for your hard work."
"You're welcome." Leo responded and then returned to hammering the slab into a sword shape.
After Tanya left, Leo sighed and wiped his sweat.
[Bro. It's obvious she is interested in you.]
"I know." Leo mutters as he is able to literally see her thoughts.
[She is 26 physically and double that mentally. She's legal bro. Why are you hesitating?]
"Hesitating what? Fuck her?" Leo replied while continuing hammering the slab of metal. "There is proper procedure and I'm not skipping them just because I can read her thoughts and know what she wants."
[Then confess to her. Or don't tell me you are the reserved type that hopes the girl will initiate everything.]
"..." His hand paused for a moment.
[Seriously bro?]
'I see… I will keep that in mind.'
"Shut up both of you." Leo immediately silenced the buzzing noise in his head. "I need to focus right now. Bother me later." He chased them away with an annoyed tone and returned to work.
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