Chapter 122.
The Genius Magical Toolmaker Appears!
It had been a week since the monster wave came to an end.
Camellia had barely gotten any sleep as she threw herself into the aftermath. There were many people who had been killed or injured, and the rewards also had to be distributed.
As a result, she had to work while burdened with fatigue and all sorts of status-effect debuffs, but she didn’t find it tiring in the slightest.
Why?
Because she had obtained a Top-Grade Magic Stone.
And not just any one—it weighed a whopping 100 kilograms.
For whatever reason, the system had apparently made up its mind and presented it as the reward for completing the quest to defeat Tornasak, a Level 7 Named Monster.
According to the game’s lore, Top-Grade Magic Stones were extremely rare items that could only be obtained from monsters above Level 10.
Naturally, the entire territory—and even the outside world—was thrown into an uproar.
Through the Adventurer’s Guild’s communication devices, all sorts of people offered to buy even the smallest pieces of it.
Even the merchant guilds that had been debating whether to turn back because of the monster wave went so far as to send high-ranking representatives, begging for just one meeting.
Camellia was delighted, yet completely bewildered.
Once you reached the upper floors, Top-Grade Magic Stones would drop fairly often from ordinary monsters.
‘Well, even so, a 100-kilogram one really is impressive.’
She had no idea how the system had manipulated the quest reward, but since she had benefited from it, she wasn’t going to complain.
She hoped it would keep doing things like this in the future, but apparently that would be difficult.
Judging from the fact that the system couldn’t answer when she asked why, there seemed to be some kind of system restriction preventing it.
At this rate, she might actually become so frustrated that she’d accept obtaining soul fragments despite the danger.
“…So, we still haven’t been able to completely dismantle Hohok and Tornasak.”
Zehar’s report ended while Camellia was lost in thought.
In short, they had somehow managed to process the leather and internal organs, but the monsters’ bones were simply too hard to cut.
Every dismantler from the Adventurer’s Guild had tried, but all they had managed to do was leave a few scratches.
The Mage Corps—or rather, Zehar himself—had also attempted to process them using magic, but that created a different problem.
Apparently, the bones simply melted away like sugar the moment magic was applied.
‘The monster wave is connected to the Tower, so they must be more strongly affected by Zehar’s mana.’
Camellia lightly tapped the table with her fingertips.
The organs, flesh, and leather were important, but the most important part was the bones.
They could be used to make weapons and armor.
‘This really isn’t useful at all compared to the game.’
In the game, whenever you defeated a high-level monster, a dismantler or magical toolmaker would automatically show up saying, “I heard there’s a valuable monster here!”
She was just lamenting the situation when the door to her office suddenly flew open, and Netanel rushed inside.
“Employer, Horan did it! He brought that person!”
Camellia stopped Zehar from restraining Netanel and asked,
“Who do you mean by ‘that person’?”
Netanel grinned broadly.
“The weirdo from the Magic Tower you mentioned!”
Horan, who had arrived at the audience chamber ahead of time, clasped his hands in greeting toward Camellia.
Camellia gave him a brief nod before turning her gaze toward the woman standing beside him.
Strangely enough, she had magical tools hanging all over her body as though they were jewelry.
Apparently, she had put absolutely no thought into aesthetics and had focused solely on wearing as many magical tools as possible. Rather than looking pretty, the result was downright ridiculous.
Yet the woman seemed extremely proud of her appearance.
When Camellia stared at her, she stuck out her chest and struck a smug pose as if inviting her to admire her collection.
Horan rubbed his beard with an expression suggesting that he was desperately suppressing a sigh before speaking.
“Thank you for taking the time to see us despite your busy schedule, my lady. This is Lady Farzane Azari.”
“This lowly servant of the Magic Tower greets the Thousand-Year Duke, Master of All Forbidden Things in the World.”
Despite calling herself a lowly servant, Farzane spoke with remarkable confidence.
‘Yep. She’s exactly the eccentric I remember.’
Camellia chuckled and replied,
“Yes, Farzane. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well.”
Farzane Azari was a magical toolmaker known by the title Creation.
Like an NPC who appeared once the upper floors became accessible, her ability to create magical tools was truly exceptional.
Unfortunately, she was also an extreme eccentric.
Every quest she offered was completely absurd.
‘Still, she was one of the easier NPCs to deal with. All I had to do was get her the materials she wanted and pay off her debts.’
Farzane had gone bankrupt long ago after recklessly spending all sorts of expensive materials in her research into magical tools.
In the game, she came to Needstar partly to escape her creditors and partly to obtain rare materials so she could make a comeback.
And, for the record, she was still in debt at this point in time.
The bait Horan had used to persuade her to come was simply the promise that her debts would be paid.
Camellia had been certain Farzane would eventually come around the time the middle floors opened, even if she pretended she had been forced into it.
But she had arrived much earlier than expected.
‘That Top-Grade Magic Stone must really be something.’
As if to prove her thoughts correct, Farzane’s eyes sparkled as she asked,
“I heard that a Top-Grade Magic Stone was discovered in the territory. Do you intend to sell it? Or are you planning to use it to make something?”
“Lady Mage, I’ll handle the negotiations—”
“Leave either option to me. Oh, and if possible, could you show it to me right now?”
“Lady Mage!”
Horan tried desperately to stop her, but Farzane didn’t care.
“My lady, you need to trust me completely. Who else could possibly handle a Top-Grade Magic Stone? You know my title, don’t you? I’m Farzane of Creation! I’m the greatest magical toolmaker in the Magic Tower!”
Camellia rested her chin on her hand and looked at her.
“I am well aware of your reputation. As it happens, I was looking for a skilled magical toolmaker to handle the construction work in the territory.”
“Oh! Are you going to use the Top-Grade Magic Stone for the district construction!?”
“I intend to establish a workshop district and create devices capable of purifying the contamination left behind by various monster materials.”
“You’re using the Top-Grade Magic Stone!?”
“The city gates and marketplace also require magical reinforcement.”
“The Top-Grade Magic Stone…!”
“If you possess enough skill to complete all of that properly, I may entrust the work to you.”
Watching the lord calmly say exactly what she wanted to say even in front of such a lunatic, Horan felt slightly overwhelmed.
Farzane, however, broke into a delighted laugh.
“Ha-ha! Leave it to me! Designing a district is nothing to the great Farzane! Just get that Top-Grade Magic Stone ready for me to see!”
“…Wait a moment. You’re saying the district construction includes expanding the city walls?”
Farzane’s cheerful expression hardened when she went to meet the mayor, who was in charge of the construction.
This was such a massive project that even if they brought in dwarves, it would be questionable whether they could finish it within two or three years.
“The lord is looking toward next year.”
Farzane’s expression twisted.
“What kind of nonsense is that? It takes several months just to prepare the foundations for installing magical tools! Do you think constructing facilities to purify monster contamination is easy? It’s not like you people can just click a prayer and purify everything!”
Click a prayer?
The Inquisitor’s gaze turned fierce at this new form of blasphemy he had never heard before.
Farzane didn’t care in the slightest.
She declared that she, as the expert, would go and discuss the matter herself before returning to the castle.
This time, it wasn’t the lord who received her.
It was Zehar.
But Farzane remained just as confident.
“This isn’t something I need to discuss with the steward. Let me see the lord.”
Zehar smiled pleasantly.
“The lord is currently managing the Tower.”
“But I’m Farzane.”
“Is there any reason the lord should take that into consideration?”
In other words, So what?, though phrased as elegantly as possible.
With a graceful movement, he handed her an amber crystal.
“The lord said that if you complained about having too little work and being bored, I should give you this. She also said you could spend your free time processing it.”
“What are you talking about? I’m already pressed for time preparing for the construction. When would I have time for something like this—”
She suddenly froze.
“It’s a magical tool containing the soul of a Great Demon!?”
Farzane hugged the amber tightly to her chest as though someone might snatch it away.
“Ahem. I may be busy, but the lord has entrusted me with something this precious because she trusts me. I ought to repay that trust. Very well. Today I’ll just go and conduct some research… No, I’ll take my leave.”
She hurriedly left, saying that she would come back another time to see the lord.
Zehar continued smiling until the very end as he saw her off.
He wanted to complain about having to deal with a half-baked mage like that, but he held himself back.
Camellia really was extremely busy.
The time had finally come to squeeze every last bit of potential out of the alchemist she had patiently nurtured with good materials and experience points.
“From now on, let’s start making potions for our assault on the 20th floor.”
She firmly gripped Mina’s pale shoulder and said,
“For starters, let’s make one hundred bottles.”
