Chapter 85

In "The Spirit Workshop," Aina and Wayne were competing as usual today.

The day's quota was to make 10 swords.

Wayne and Aina were working on their fifth sword.

(Alright. I can keep up with Aina's speed today. If I keep this up, I can do it.)

Wayne added the final strike to complete the sword.

However, the quality of the sword was a bit questionable, even for a C-class sword.

(A bit off? Is the durability enough? It should be, right? Alright, on to the next sword...)

“Wayne!”

Startled by Roland's call, Wayne jumped.

“What is it?”

“That sword is D-class. The durability is insufficient.”

“No way, that can't be. It must be a mistake.”

“There's no mistake. As the guild leader, I can't release such low-quality swords to the market. You'll have to redo it.”

“Damn...”

Wayne reluctantly prepared new iron.

(Crap, Roland's interruption cost me time.)

Wayne tried to catch up with Aina by increasing the speed of his hammer strikes.

However, the more he tried to keep up with Aina's speed, the less precise his strikes became.

“Wayne, your work is getting sloppy. You need to slow down and be more careful.”

“No, I'm being careful. It's fine. This will meet the requirements.”

However, Wayne couldn't even grip the hammer properly this time.

(What's wrong? I can't feel the strength in my fingertips...)

Wayne couldn't strike the hammer on target and ended up just shaving off the iron.

“Damn.”

【Wayne Merz's Status】

Strength: 20 (↓20) - 70

Durability: 40 - 70

(My strength is dropping. My status is still unstable.)

The iron Wayne was shaping became increasingly shabby.

Unable to bear it, Roland decided to speak up.

“Wayne, your strength is dropping. Because your durability is unstable, your status is more likely to drop, making your performance inconsistent. Until your durability stabilizes, let Rody assist you.”

“I'm fine. I can do this on my own. I perform better this way.”

(As expected, he's not the type to listen to advice.)

Rody looked at Wayne with a dispirited expression.

(Ah, what a waste. Roland gave him advice, but he rejected it. His performance is dropping, and he's falling behind in both speed and quality. This will only worsen his position. Does he understand that?)

Despite his efforts, Wayne ended up making an E-class sword.

Meanwhile, Aina finished her 10 C-class swords.

“Here, I'm done. Rody, can you clean this up?”

“Ah, sure.”

“I'm going to the break room.”

Aina handed her hammer to Rody and left the workshop.

“Damn.”

Wayne slammed his E-class sword on the workbench.

The sword broke and shattered on the workbench.

Rody grimaced.

“What are you doing, Wayne? That's dangerous.”

Despite Roland's warning, Wayne didn't respond and walked away, determined to start over.

“Wait.”

Roland grabbed Wayne's shoulder to stop him.

“What?”

Wayne glared at Roland, ready to snap.

“Why are you so anxious?”

“...”

“Could it have something to do with your resignation from ‘Dragon's Blaze’?”

“N-no, I'm not anxious. Let go!”

Wayne shook off Roland's hand.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“Don't follow me.”

Wayne left the workshop, gritting his teeth.

(Why? Why can't I beat that woman? Am I inferior to her in skills or status? No, that can't be. I'm just having a bad day. Tomorrow, I'll definitely...)

Roland and Rody cleaned up the messy workbench.

(Wayne is completely off track. If this continues, it will affect the entire workshop. We need to take action.)

“Roland, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Roland turned to the voice calling him.

Dylan stood at the entrance of the workshop, his expression not very pleasant.

“The shop won't buy our equipment? Why...”

“They seem to be concerned about maintenance.”

“Maintenance?”

“The weapon shops on this island not only earn income from the equipment but also from maintenance fees. Most weapon shops employ alchemists to handle the maintenance of worn-out equipment. However, this blue armor with ‘Exterior Reinforcement’...”

“Only Aina can maintain it...”

“That's right. To circulate the equipment in retail, it needs to be maintainable by alchemists with common skills, not unique skills.”

“I see.”

(I thought that by differentiating our products, they would sell easily, but the unique skill used to create the products has backfired.)

“Understood. I'll try to handle this. We'll hold off on expanding our retail sales for now. Dylan, please focus on sales to the adventurer's guild.”

“Understood.”

“Aina, Rody, can I have a word with you?”

Roland called out to the two who were about to start their afternoon work.

“Yes, what is it?”

“There's been an issue with expanding our retail sales. According to Dylan...”

Roland relayed what Dylan had told him.

“I see. Maintenance fees, huh?”

“That was a blind spot.”

“This will stall our retail expansion. I want to develop new equipment. I'll apply ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ but make it maintainable by ordinary alchemists. Aina, Rody, I want you to focus on this new equipment development for now.”

“Focus on it... But what about our regular duties?”

“Leave them to Wayne.”

“...Is that okay? Leaving it to him?”

Aina clearly showed her distrust.

“I know Wayne has issues, but I'll handle that. For now, I want you to focus on the new equipment development.”

“Understood.”

Aina immediately started working on the new equipment.

First, she applied ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ to various colors of paint.

(To develop new equipment, the blue ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ won't do. I need to find a new special effect besides ‘Reflection.’)

Aina took out some used armor from the warehouse, applied colorful paints, and cast enchantments on each piece.

Some had no special reactions, while others hardened or turned into a jelly-like substance.

(Alright. Some reacted. They must have special effects. I'll have Roland appraise them and pass them to Rody.)

Rody was drawing up designs.

(For the equipment to be maintainable by ordinary alchemists, I can't have the ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ on the outside. If the exterior gets worn down in battle, only Aina can fix it. But ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ is meant to protect the exterior. How can I protect the exterior without exposing the paint? Hmm, this is a contradiction.)

As Rody scratched his head and groaned, Roland and Aina entered.

“Rody, how's it going?”

“Ah, Roland. It's tough.”

“Hmm. Let me see. This design... You're trying to place the ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ inside?”

Rody's design showed the ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ sandwiched between the outer and inner layers of the armor.

“Yes. If I can't repair the ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ when it peels off, I'll place it inside. But that won't protect the exterior, which is counterproductive.”

“No, it's not a bad idea. Look at this.”

Roland showed Rody a used armor with a green film.

Rody touched the green film.

“This texture... rubber?”

“It's a new special effect of ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ called ‘Elasticity’ that Aina discovered.”

【Used Armor Status】

Power: 10

Durability: 30 (‘Exterior Reinforcement’ +20)

Special Effect: Elasticity

“‘Elasticity’ suggests flexibility. This special effect might allow the protective function of ‘Exterior Reinforcement’ to be effective even when the paint is sandwiched inside the armor.”

“I see. I'll try it right away.”

“Let's discuss it.”

Aina and Rody started exchanging ideas based on the design and the new special effect.

(Aina and Rody have a deeper understanding of their skills. This is a good trend. Not only has their manufacturing ability improved, but their development speed has also increased. Now that this is settled, I need to focus on Wayne.)

Roland began recruiting a new partner for Wayne.

(Wayne's performance is off because he's trying to match Aina's speed. His high competitiveness is backfiring. To channel his competitiveness positively, he needs a suitable rival at a similar level.)

A suitable candidate soon appeared.

The young man had a tough look with short black hair, a calm demeanor, a slim build, and a lean, agile physique.

【Aiz Garnier's Skills and Status】

Skills:

‘Metal Shaping’: C → B

Status:

Strength: 40 - 60

Durability: 40 - 60

(I found him. An alchemist with similar strength and durability to Wayne, who is currently off track. Moreover...)

【Aiz Garnier's Status】

Agility: 70 - 90

(His agility is very high. Even without a unique skill, he can be a versatile support staff.)

“I'm Aiz Garnier. The mountain collapse caused by the ‘Giant Fire Dragon’ destroyed the workshop of the guild I belonged to, and I lost my job. I'm confident in my speed and agility. In my previous workshop, I was a support staff because of these skills.”

“I see. Understood. Then, I'll have you work as a support staff here. However, if you don't mind, could you start as a main staff?”

“Main staff?”

“Yes. We currently have a temporary shortage of ‘Metal Shaping’ staff. We plan to fill the positions eventually, but for now, I'd like you to handle ‘Metal Shaping.’ Of course, we'll provide the appropriate compensation.”

“Sure, but my strength isn't that high. Can I handle ‘Metal Shaping’?”

“It's fine. We'll support you. We won't push you too hard.”

“Alright, I'll do it.”

Thus, Aiz joined “The Spirit Workshop” the next day.

When Wayne opened the door and entered the workshop, he noticed something different from the previous day.

(Huh? What's this? There's an extra workbench. And it's right next to mine...)

“Good morning, Wayne.”

“Roland, there's an extra workbench.”

“Yes, it's for the new recruit.”

“New recruit...?”

“Yes. Aina is focusing on developing new equipment, so we hired someone to replace her.”

“Hmm.”

(Damn. Aina is working on new equipment, and I'm still stuck with C-class equipment. Damn. I can't take this.)

“He should be here soon... Ah, there he is. Let me introduce you. This is Aiz.”

“Hi, I'm Aiz Garnier.”

“Hey.”

“Aiz, this is your workbench.”

Roland pointed to the workbench next to Wayne's.

“You'll be making C-class armor. Here's the design.”

“C-class, huh? I can probably manage that.”

Wayne looked at Aiz suspiciously.

(What's with this guy? Is he okay?)

“Aiz has previously worked as a support staff and is handling ‘Metal Shaping’ for the first time.”

Seeing Wayne's expression, Roland added.

“Oh, I see.”

“Let's get started, then.”

Roland set up a partition between Wayne and Aina to prevent them from being distracted by each other.

This allowed Wayne to focus on competing with Aiz.

As soon as the work began, Aiz started hammering the iron at an incredible speed.

(What? This guy is fast? Even faster than Aina. Damn. I can't afford to lose to him too.)

However, the armor Aiz shaped soon began to collapse.

In the end, Aiz's armor was E-class.

“What? Why isn't it working?”

Wayne felt a sense of relief.

(What a relief. He's fast, but the quality is terrible. He's just scaring me.)

“Damn. It's not working. ‘Metal Shaping’ is done like this.”

Wayne raised his hammer and struck the ore firmly.

The ore changed shape and solidified.

“Ah, I see. I need to put more force into it.”

“You're moving your hands too fast. Focus on each strike. Be more careful and take your time.”

“Got it.”

Wayne and Aiz slowed down and carefully hammered the iron.

The iron held its shape and formed the armor.

Roland watched them carefully.

(At least it's working for now.)

Saki brought tea.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Saki, thank you.”

“I see you have a new recruit.”

“Yes.”

“It's good to see the business is on track. Wayne seems to be in better form today. He was overworking himself until yesterday.”

“Yes, he was trying to match Aina's speed, which was affecting his performance. Now that his rival is Aiz, he seems to have found his rhythm.”

“Did you bring in a new recruit just for that?”

“Wayne is a competitive person