Chapter 21

The next day, Albert visited my room with a large number of swords.

There must be over a hundred.

The servant pulling the cart also looked very strained.

Albert approached me with his usual bright smile.

"Hey, good morning. As promised, I've brought the swords for the guards."

"Wow, this is amazing..."

"When I told everyone about yesterday, they brought so many swords this morning. Some even brought thirty swords each. They must really want you to cast Enchantment on them."

...Probably not.

They likely brought the swords as a way to earn points after Albert talked about me.

If the lord asks the knights to gather swords, they would collect ten or twenty swords.

I hadn't thought it through, but this is a pleasant surprise.

"Although I wanted to see Lloyd cast Enchantment, I have an economics class now. It's very disappointing, but I'll take my leave."

"Thank you, Brother Albert."

Albert winked at me and closed the door.

"Good for you, Master Lloyd. With this many, you can try out Enchantment as much as you want."

"You're right. Enchantment puts a significant strain on weapons, and the possibility of failure is high. Having more is better."

The magic marrow fluid used for Enchantment can contaminate the weapon if too powerful a spell is woven into it.

This erodes the metal's structure, causing it to break easily.

On the other hand, if the spell is too weak, the valuable magic marrow fluid won't have much effect.

Too strong or too weak, neither is good.

Judging the right balance is very difficult.

Moreover, even the same weapon can have different loads due to metal fatigue, so it's necessary to learn this through experience. Therefore, a lot of practice is essential for Enchantment.

"Well, let's get started."

I'll start with the cheaper weapons.

...But they're all of good quality.

Most are steel weapons made from high-quality iron, but there are also some very expensive-looking swords. ...Are these magic swords?

Since they're for Albert, they can't be cheap.

Well, I'll use them without hesitation.

First, I picked up the steel sword, which was the most numerous. I'll start with these.

I divided the magic marrow fluid for the steel swords and began weaving the spell.

I'll try a triple increase in strength plus an increase in elasticity.

It should have about the same volume as that iron dagger.

I applied the magic marrow fluid with the spell woven into it to the first steel sword and leaned it against the wall to dry.

"...Huh?"

After watching it for a while, a thin crack appeared in the middle of the sword.

A cracking sound echoed, and the sword broke in half.

"What the... Why did it break?"

Steel is supposed to be harder than iron, so why did it break with the same Enchantment?

As I tilted my head in confusion, Grimo spoke up.

"Maybe because the magic marrow fluid was new, it fully transmitted the effect of the Enchantment. Master Lloyd's magic power is extraordinary, so ordinary steel couldn't withstand it."

"Are you saying the magic marrow fluid was degraded? But how did you know that?"

"Well, I have some knowledge about blacksmithing. I'm Grimo, the blacksmith, and I'm somewhat well-known in the demon world. Hehe."

Grimo laughed proudly.

It seems he has considerable knowledge as a blacksmith.

This could be helpful for Enchantment.

"Thank you. I'm glad I made Grimo my familiar."

Ancient magic was old-fashioned and not very useful, but his knowledge as a blacksmith is helpful.

I'm not that knowledgeable about anything other than magic.

As I nodded, Grimo opened his mouth in surprise.

"Huh, is something wrong?"

"N-no! It's nothing, nothing at all..."

Grimo, who looked taken aback, started muttering to himself in a low voice.

"This guy is saying he's glad he made a demon like me his familiar? Ha, he'll be in for a rude awakening. ...But why? I don't feel bad about it...? Ah, damn, this is throwing me off!"

I don't understand, but his emotional instability is nothing new.

Let's get back to the Enchantment.

--- In the end, after trying various things, the limit for the steel swords was a double increase in strength.

The same applied to other weapons; it's difficult to apply multiple reinforcement spells to ordinary weapons.

Incidentally, about thirty percent of them broke. Hehe.

"Only this one is left..."

The last one was a short sword with a red blade.

The scabbard was beautifully decorated, and the blade had similar patterns etched into it.

Was a spell already woven into it?

"This is a magic sword."

"Yeah, probably from Brother Albert."

Thinking that practicing with only steel swords would get boring, he might have included this as a bonus for me.

A magic sword is different from an enchanted weapon; the spell is woven into the sword during the forging process.

While hammering the iron, the spell is woven, and it's bent and the spell is woven again.

This process is repeated many times, resulting in a spell far more complex than ordinary enchantments.

It's very expensive and time-consuming, and this is the first time I've seen one.

"To be able to casually offer such a thing for Enchantment, this country must be wealthy."

Indeed, it is.

I can play with magic so freely thanks to the country's wealth.

I'm grateful to my father, Charles.

"Let's try Enchantment on the magic sword."

Since a spell is already woven into the magic sword, adding an Enchantment is quite difficult.

If the Enchantment is incompatible, the spells can cancel each other out, destroying the sword.

I need to be careful.

I touched the magic sword and focused my mind.

I began to read the spell.

"Hmm, the spell woven into the sword is for amplifying magic."

There are two types of magic swords: one that contains magic itself, and one that amplifies magic. This is the latter.

Since Albert is a magician, there's no doubt about it.

"Since it's amplification, I'll try to double the amplification rate."

The amplification rate seems to be about twenty percent.

If I double it, the effect will be significantly improved.

However, rewriting even part of the spell carries considerable risk.

If I fail, it could shatter.

"In that case, I'll add a reinforcement spell."

It will increase the strength.

If I apply it, it should probably withstand the change. Probably.

Well, it's easier to do than to worry, so let's try it.

First, I'll rewrite the spell, changing the twenty percent amplification to a hundred percent.

As I finished rewriting, white smoke began to rise from the sword.

"L-Lloyd-sama! It's bad!"

I recognized the signs from breaking swords before.

I need to finish the reinforcement Enchantment quickly.

I calmed my breathing and applied the magic marrow fluid.

The smoke subsided. The spell seemed to have settled, and the sword stabilized.

"...Phew, that was close."

I almost broke the expensive magic sword.

There's a small crack, but it's just barely safe.

In any case, despite some sacrifices, the Enchantment was successfully completed.