I looked around the room where Toki led me and felt like I was lost in a dream.
"... Did we get into a sci-fi spaceship without my knowledge?" I can't help but comment.
The walls were tall—more than five meters high, equivalent to almost two floors. To add to that, it was made of shiny metal, as if we were inside some sort of spaceship, though I hadn't ridden on one before. My gaze swept across the room and quickly locked on the tools and forge at the far end.
"This is...!"
I ran to the tools and checked them one by one. Some were familiar-looking tools, which I also have in the garage, gathering dust. However, the tools here were of a different standard. Comparing this to what I have is like comparing gold to dirt.
"This is my personal workshop, though it's untouched since it was built a month ago," Toki said as she approached, walking leisurely. "If you agree to forge weapons and armor for me regularly, I wouldn't mind lending this entire facility to you, you know?"
"...!"
What a tempting offer! Rather, doesn't that proposal have more benefits for me than for her? Heck, not only will I have access to top-class tools, but I can even handle top-class materials that she would let me use for crafting!
"Are you sure? There's no taking it back, alright?!" I quickly asked, afraid that her mind would change.
Toki smiled as if it were just as she expected. "Don't worry, I won't be a tyrant. Just do my order at least once every three days, and I will keep my word."
"Alright! Does that count as days or hours? I prefer hours, since if it's days, then my first day would be wasted if I used it now." I quickly clarified.
After all, there were a little less than six hours left for this day. If it was on a daily basis, then I'd be wasting a day's worth of usage of the workshop. Toki's eyes widened before she started laughing.
"Ahahaha! N-No, it's fine. Today's work isn't counted as your usage time, so the three days starting from tomorrow would be your designated usage time."
Toki is being generous! "Will it be raining spears tomorrow?" My mouth opened beyond my control.
I expected her to get angry at my remark, but she just stared at me, her eyes narrowed, before turning to the bench on the right side of the room.
"You probably don't realize this, but I get the most profit off of this deal. I'm not doing charity here." She explained with an evil grin, sending chills down my spine.
I tried thinking about her words, but by my standards, only I would profit from this. Rather, since the fuel and such would be handled by her too, she should be on the losing end instead. I wonder just what her "profit" in this trade is.
"Anyway, start working." Toki clapped her hands, hurrying me. "The materials are in the box to the left, while the blueprint of the wand is on the table over there."
Following her thin fingers as she pointed at the other side of the room, I saw the objects she was referring to. I reluctantly let go of the shiny tools and walked to the table, checking the blueprint of the weapon she wanted.
"... A blast wand? What's that?" I tilted my head as I read the title.
I wasn't too well versed with mage equipment since I was more of a blunt-weapon user. However, I still know quite a bit from reading through forums and such. The blast wand isn't included anywhere in my memory.
"It's an original design; I made it," Toki said, waving her hand lightly as if it were nothing. "To be exact, our research team did it upon my request."
"..."
I think I now know why she would profit from this deal. This girl is planning to make me create the prototypes! If it doesn't work, then it's fine; after all, my fee was almost next to nothing. But if the prototype succeeded...
"D*mn girl! You really plan to use me as a money-making machine?!" I sneered.
However, it wasn't like I was bothered. I myself have a lot to gain from this deal, like the experience of crafting, additional practical experience, and such. I guess we can say it's a win-win for us.
I read the blueprint, and although I wasn't an expert, I realized that it was pretty complex in design. After doing a once-over of the design, I turned to the chest and opened it, revealing the materials that were set aside for creating it.
I looked at the design and the materials, making sure that I knew everything there before finally heaving a deep sigh. "Alright, time to work!"
Wands aren't something that would require me to use the forge, so I just dragged a high chair from nearby and placed it against the table. Then, I spread the materials around, making sure that everything was within arm's reach.
The process of creating a wand was simple but delicate. I have read a little about it too, so I'm not really that clueless about it. It's just my first time actually creating one.
First, I picked up a branch taken from a treant-like monster. It was pretty long, about a meter, so if I can do this properly, I can probably make two or three more bases from just this one. I picked up the carving knife and slowly cut about a foot's length from it.
Next up, I turned to the tabletop lathe machine and placed the part of the branch there, securing it firmly between the clamps. After switching it on, I manually controlled the blade and slowly trimmed the branch into the desired shape. After it was done, I cleaned off the fine dust on its surface with a piece of cloth and inspected it closely for deformations or cracks.
"... Perfect!"
Now that the base wand was complete, it was time to make the handle.
For the magic, or, in other words, the nanomachines, to flow easily through the handle and to the wand, it was required to add specific materials as buffers in the middle. If I were to explain it roughly, it's like creating a burrito with layers laid down around the base wand.
I first laid a piece of leather on the table and set a thin strip of mysterious alloy over it. Then, over that alloy, I started layering powdered gems and such before adding a layer of epoxy, making sure that the distribution of materials was equal on all parts.
While waiting for the epoxy to dry, I picked up a cutting knife and started shaping the leather to fit around the alloy strip. Of course, I made it so that there's little to no material wasted, starting at the furthest corner of the processed hide.
After that, I turned to the base wand again and used a mixture of some mysterious, viscous, transparent liquid combined with powdered crystals to create a shiny finish for the wand. After that, looking at the two parts that were waiting to dry, I wiped the sweat off my forehead.
"Now then..."
After knowing the process roughly, I turned to make the second one. It was faster to do it now that I was familiar with the steps, so as soon as the epoxy dried up on the first batch, another set was already waiting to dry.
Returning to the first one, I picked up the handle part and placed the wand part on top, halfway into the entire length of the handle. For the remaining empty space that would ensue after placing the wand like that, I added something to the bottom, acting as a stopper and also a booster for the element of the wand. It was a piece of charcoal, but probably not an ordinary one. I could feel some tingling in my fingers just from holding it, so I made sure to wear a thick glove when I held it again.
Gently, I placed it alongside the other parts. This was the only part that was pre-processed, so it perfectly fit with the rest, just as the specifications went. After making sure that the wand and the charcoal were in contact, I dropped adhesive between the two to make sure they wouldn't suddenly separate.
Then, just like rolling a cigarette, I rolled the handle part slowly. After one revolution, there was only a little left over, so I just cut it off with a pair of clippers. The alloy was pretty special since, after it was bent, it stayed in that shape. I was wondering why there was nothing added to join the handle's two edges, only to get surprised like this.
After a few more adjustments, trimming, and filing, the first wand was done.
"Let me!"
Before I could even inspect it closer, Toki had already snatched it from my hand and started feeling the new weapon. "... This looks great! I wonder about its performance!"
The appearance was pretty simple, with the leather handle being plain, but the wand part was covered in a crystal-like finish, making it extremely beautiful and pleasing to the eyes.
Toki suddenly placed the wand in her pocket before raising her hand forward and shouting with a loud voice, "Fireball!"
"...!" This girl is insane! She's shooting magic inside a closed room?!
I prepared for the impact, but weirdly, I felt nothing. When I turned to the spot that Toki shot, I could see a faint, transparent cube that was undulating, as if absorbing the impact of the explosion.
"Yep, this is the normal strength... Now..." As if I didn't even exist beside her, Toki then drew the wand and aimed it forward before chanting the exact same spell. "Fireball...!"
However, this time, hell occurred. As soon as the fireball entered the transparent cube, exploding, the entire cube shook greatly. In just moments, the barrier broke, releasing the residual impact to sweep across the entire room.
"Ugh!" I quickly ducked over the table, dragging the still-unfinished wand and protecting it. After all, it was made with pretty expensive materials. It's a waste if it gets destroyed by friendly fire.
Soon, the shockwave faded. When I turned to look at the spot that she shot at, only a large hole remained. Toki saw the aftermath, smiled, and nodded her head. "Perfect!"