Toki was inspecting the wand in her hands as if infatuated with it. Her eyes narrowed in a mix of joy and excitement. Satisfied, she turned to praise me: "Another great job, Ruin! I mean, Mahiro!"
I looked at the disastrous scene around the room. All the tools fell to the ground, and some of the materials she had were damaged. Fortunately, the parts of the second wand that I safeguarded were safe. All I needed to do was connect it with the charcoal-like material, and another one would be complete.
Toki went quiet after seeing me working on the second wand, making it a lot easier for me to focus. As it was already my second attempt, the process finished faster than I thought. No, I guess it's because my crafting skill has been upgraded twice already.
[
You successfully created an Upgraded Blast Wand x1!
You earned 50,000 skill experience points!
Crafting was upgraded to Lv. 7!
]
I missed the previous announcement due to focusing too much, but I saw it pop up just now. My crafting skill actually went up by three levels! I was having trouble since it hadn't moved from level 4 since the last time, even when I was making traps all over the hunting ground. To think it would get a boost just from crafting two simple items.
"Here, that's the second one. It should be the same as the first." I quickly explained as I passed the wand to Toki.
She was looking at the wand with sparkling eyes, raring to test it too; however, I quickly raised my hand to stop her. "If you shoot that once more, then all your materials here would end up wasted."
Every single piece of material was already heavily damaged from the first blast. Another one, and it will surely end up destroying everything. I turned to the table, where I arranged the materials that looked like they could still be salvaged. However, they weren't enough to create another wand.
"... The materials you passed to me were in consideration of the failure of creating one sample, right?" I asked Toki to confirm.
After all, even in the Lost Age, requesting custom equipment would require you to present three sets of materials. The amount of materials that Toki prepared was definitely enough for three or four sets if I was using them sparingly.
"Yes, they are. Since you already made two, I guess I can give you the rest. I can't use it anyway." Toki shrugged, already more than satisfied with her gains for the day.
I scanned the materials that could still be salvaged and thought of a weapon that I could make with them. Before that, I turned to Toki and asked, "From the ones who helped you hunt the beetle boss, is there anyone else using a wand?"
"What, you want to make their weapons already?" She returned my question with another question before answering. "Unfortunately, there were none. Their weapons were revolvers, a spear, and a mace."
Hearing the composition, I scratched my head. I couldn't make any of those with the materials I have since they all require metal as a base. "Well, I'll just randomly create a wand then. You wouldn't mind, right?"
"Feel free, but show me the stats afterward." Toki smiled before returning to her seat.
She was still fidgeting with the two wands in her hands, making her look like she was addicted to them. I turned to the table and recalled all sorts of wands that I had read descriptions of, their makes, and their functions. Using those as a base, I created a vague figure of an original wand in my mind with the materials at hand. After a solid image was implanted in my consciousness, I started working.
---
Time flew by, and before I noticed it, the clock was already pointing to 3 a.m.
"That took quite a while." I stretched my stiff body as I stood up, carrying the wand in my hand. "Let's see..."
I am not a mage, so I can't use it at all, but I can at least check its status.
[
Name: Excellent Staff of Destruction
Type: Staff
Attack Power: 1
Magic Amplification: 1000%
Durability: 99/99
Ability: Has a 1% chance of destroying the target
Description: A miracle created by the hands of a fledgling crafter. It was a mystery how it was made.
]
"..."
I scrubbed my eyes and read the descriptions again. However, no matter how many times I did that, the details didn't change. "What the...? Did I create a cursed weapon?!"
"... Hmm? Oh, you're done...?" Toki moved slightly, waking up from her nap. "Let me see...?!"
Even before she got close, the sleepiness in her eyes quickly vanished. Using her full speed, she vanished from the bench and appeared beside me in an instant. Her pupils shivered as she read the status of the wand I made. I wonder why it became a staff, though. It was a bit longer than the blast wands, but it should still be a wand in the end.
"SELL THIS TO ME!" Toki shouted right at my ears, her hands grabbing the wand already. "I'LL MAKE SURE YOU WON'T LOSE OUT!"
"... What? Why?"
Toki was so excited that steam could basically be seen coming from her nostrils. The sparkles in her eyes were telling me that she wouldn't let go until I agreed, so I just randomly nodded my head.
"Alright, you can have it then," I said, letting go of the staff.
Toki's face stiffened, then she stared at the wand in her hands. Soon, a frown covered her face as she pouted cutely. "Are you making me out as a bully? I'll pay for it! Is a million dollars enough?"
"A... what?" I must be so tired and sleepy that I was hearing things.
"A million! What? Too little? Then Two million! Any more than that and I would need my father's permission, but I believe it's worth should be more than that!"
Did I... Create an amazing wand? A million dollars! Although weapons are pretty expensive, the D-class sword that I destroyed was more or less worth a thousand dollars. The prize I got from slaying the boss was merely fifty thousand, so even with that money, I couldn't afford the wand I made myself. Only S-class weapons reach a million in range!
"You... Don't realize the value of this wand? Staff?" Toki asked, reading the doubt in my expression. "You must've not checked the status of the blast wand, did you?"
Now that she mentioned it, I guess I didn't. She did grab the wand from my hands after I first made it, so the checking of stats slipped my mind completely. Toki took out one of the wands and popped up the status page.
[
Name: Upgraded Blast Wand
Type: Wand
Attack Power: 0
Magic Amplification: 400%
Durability: 30/30
Description: A wand that amplifies explosion-type spells, created by a fledgling crafter.
]
"You see? This wand is already amazing, as the average amplification of wands in the market is around 200% max," Toki explained. "The highest I know only have around 500% amplification, and that already fetches billions in worth."
"A billion for a mere five-times multiplier?!" I felt duped.
Toki, this woman, was about to buy the stuff from me for basically dirt cheap! If I follow the standard based on the multiplier, then this should be worth over 10 billion! My hands trembled as I realized the true value of the staff.
"Relax; I wasn't trying to rip you off." Toki waved her hand, playing the innocent card. "I told you that I can't move over two million dollars of my own volition, right? It's just a deposit, and I'll pay the rest after Father checks the actual article."
"In short... I'm rich!" What a windfall!
After that, since it was already so late, Toki guided me to a guest room to rest. The staff and wands were placed in her care, and she told me that the money had already been deposited under my name. I was wondering what she meant since I didn't have a bank account, but it seems like she took it upon herself to make one for me.
That night, I wasn't able to get a single wink of sleep. The morning sun rose, signifying the start of another day. As I was staring at the window, wondering what to do, the head of the dismantling facility came to bring me breakfast and a change of clothes. After the meal, I took a shower to refresh myself and wore the newly bought set of our school's uniform.
After all my preparations were done, a text message came to my phone. It was from Toki, saying that her Father approved of the payment but wanted to meet me after school today.
"... Why...?"
I can't help but feel threatened. The president of the largest business conglomerate wants to meet a nameless student like me. Yes, I did create an amazing weapon, but that's basically pure luck! My senses were telling me that this supposed "meeting" would be more than meets the eye.
After that, I went to school without much fanfare. After reaching my desk, however, a wave of sleepiness suddenly hit me. Ah, I'm falling asleep again, aren't I? I didn't fight against the urge and just laid down on my desk, rushing to the dream world that was beckoning me.