Chapter 99: The Sharpness That Makes a Difference
“Good morning, everyone.”
The next morning, we came to the Adventurer’s Guild’s dismantling area to continue the dismantling class.
“Today, following yesterday, we will continue dismantling the Green Dragon. And from today’s session, you will use the dismantling knives placed on the dismantling tables to dismantle the dragon materials.”
Everyone’s gaze was drawn to the knives placed on the dismantling tables near them.
“We’re using this? …Wait, it’s remarkably light.”
The dismantlers who picked up the knives raised voices of surprise at their lightness.
“It’s thin, too. Can we really dismantle a dragon with a knife like this?”
Suspiciously, the dismantlers picked up the knives and thrust them into the Green Dragon’s hide. And then…
“Woah!? What is this!? The knife went in with zero resistance!?”
“It’s not just piercing; it feels like sinking into a stew with how little resistance there is!?”
The dismantling area was wrapped in voices of confusion at the unexpected sharpness of the knives.
“This is the reason why the cut of the dragon hide you all dismantled yesterday was different from Ryune’s.”
“This is!?”
“Hey, hey, what exactly do you mean by that!? Are you trying to say the knife that young lady had was sharper than our dismantling knives?”
One dismantler pointed at Ryune, who was dismantling in another spot.
“Yes, that is correct. The difference in the cut of the dragon hide dismantled by Ryune and all of you was simply due to the difference in tools.”
“Eh? Seriously!?”
The dismantler looked surprised, seemingly not expecting the line he said jokingly to be the correct answer.
“Ryune, could you come here for a moment?”
“Eh? Ah, yes!”
I asked Ryune and a nearby dismantler to come over.
“Could I borrow the knives you two used to dismantle the dragon hide yesterday?”
“Eh? Y-yes.”
“O-ou.”
Receiving the knives used for dismantling from the two, I cut the Green Dragon hide placed on the table. And everyone watched the scene.
“This is…!”
“The cut made with the young lady’s knife is reasonably clean, but the cut made with Mock’s knife is ragged.”
“Is it really just the difference in weapons?”
Seeing the cut on the Green Dragon hide, the dismantlers looked at me in confusion.
“As you have seen, we have confirmed that Ryune’s knife is sharper. Since I cut casually without looking at the grain of the hide this time, the smoothness of the cut is purely due to the difference in the blades.”
“Seriously…”
The dismantlers looked at Ryune’s knife in a daze.
“But we are professional dismantlers, you know!? Even if the quality of the tool is somewhat better, would it make that much difference in the cut!?”
Yeah, indeed, if the tools weren’t that different, there wouldn’t be such a gap. Rather, the honed skills of the dismantlers would easily overcome the advantage of the tool. But…
“Compared to the dismantling knives you are using, Ryune’s knife is made with significantly superior materials and manufacturing techniques. It’s a difference akin to a stone knife versus a Mithril knife.”
“That much!?”
The dismantlers raised voices of surprise and looked at Ryune.
“U-um… it’s true that my knife is an heirloom passed down for generations and could be called a family treasure, but can you tell that just by looking?”
Ryune asked with a surprised face.
“Yes, I can tell immediately by looking at the blade. The blade of this knife is… no, that part is a personal secret, so it’s not something I should speak about freely. Anyway, it is a better item than everyone’s dismantling knives.”
Yeah, it’s not a particularly amazing material, but it would still be rude to blabber about someone else’s belongings.
“A-amazing, to understand that much just by looking, what an Appraisal Eye… as expected, you are… hah!?”
Just as Ryune was about to say something, she hurriedly shut her mouth.
“Is something wrong, Ryune?”
“N-no, nothing!”
“Now, returning to the topic, for that reason, I judged that the reason everyone couldn’t cut the Green Dragon’s hide cleanly lay simply in the tools themselves.”
I picked up the same knife I distributed to everyone.
“For tools, the materials used and the processing technology are important. Tools made with low-quality materials and poor techniques will only result in crude items. While skill can compensate for this, there is a limit to how much skill can compensate if the quality of the material is low. To use an analogy, it’s like how no matter how beautifully carved a wooden sword is, it cannot cut a block of iron.”
“But Big Bro, you look like you could cut it even with a wooden sword.”
“Yeah, I can cut it.”
“YOU CAN!?”
When I answered Jairo’s doubt, I received a retort from everyone.
“Well, that’s because I’m cutting using techniques; simply hitting it with a wooden sword wouldn’t cut it, is what I’m saying.”
“No, I’m more curious about the part where you can cut a block of iron with a wooden sword.”
“Me too.”
“Well, since that’s irrelevant to this course, let’s put it aside.”
“Putting it aside makes me curious in its own way!”
Setting those voices aside, now is the continuation of the course.
“Preparing appropriate tools is quite an important thing. This is a fairly serious topic, but among those who worship skill, not a few neglect the quality of their tools. This is because many unconditionally believe that if they master their skills, they can do a sufficient job even with low-quality tools.”
There are quite a lot of people like that, you know. Saying things like “convenient tools are a crutch.”
“But that is a big mistake. What is important is the balance between skill and the quality of the tool. If only the tool is superior, you will be swayed by the tool, and if only the skill is superior, the tool won’t be able to keep up with the skill and will break. If you excel in only one, you cannot demonstrate true value.”
In reality, there are parts where I can’t exert my full power because of that. Since the materials I can get my hands on are so-so, I worry about accidentally breaking them.
Well, if I apply a strengthening effect as an extension of Body Enhancement Magic, the durability increases significantly, so my current equipment is sufficient to fight something like a Golden Dragon. Ah right, since I got Golden Dragon materials, maybe I should make new equipment. Since I’m at it, I’ll make some for everyone too.
“Well, I understand what you’re getting at. As you become a higher-ranked adventurer, you naturally replace your equipment to fight stronger enemies.”
The adventurers participating in the dismantling course voiced their agreement.
“Yeah, we also have decent tools to cleanly dismantle the materials entrusted to us by customers.”
The Boss also agreed.
“Ah, thinking about it that way, dismantling a dragon is like attacking a dragon that doesn’t resist. And even if it doesn’t resist, since the opponent is a dragon, an attack with something like a club won’t even faze it.”
Oh, Jairo said something good.
“Yeah, exactly as Jairo says. The tools used for dismantling are weapons for dismantlers.”
“Yay! Big Bro praised me!”
“Yes, yes, good for you. So don’t jump around too much.”
Jairo, praised by me, frolicked happily, and Mina chided him.
“So, for that reason, this time, to allow you to cut Green Dragon scales and leather cleanly, I prepared dismantling knives using Black Dragon materials.”
Saying that, I cut a Green Dragon scale in two.
“I see, if it’s a knife made from materials of a Black Dragon, which is a higher ranking dragon than a Green Dragon, it’s not strange that it can cut Green Dragon hide cleanly.”
“Is that so, so that’s what it was. Indeed, that makes sense.”
“…”
“WAIT, A KNIFE USING BLACK DRAGON MATERIALS!?!?!?”
“Yes, the sharpness is decent, right?”
“No, ‘decent’ isn’t the word, it’s too good… wait, are you serious about using Black Dragon materials!?”
“Yes, I am using them.”
“No, using them… in the first place, we took this course to dismantle a Black Dragon… but to use that as material…”
Ah, so that’s why they were surprised.
“It’s fine. The Black Dragon for dismantling is properly saved. What I used for the knives prepared this time is a Black Dragon I newly hunted.”
“I see, then I’m relieved… wait, what!? Oi!? Seriously!?”
“Yes, I went for a quick hunt last night.”
“‘Quick hunt’… seriously…”
Seriously.
“Wait, wasn’t the Black Dragon a dangerous monster that could easily destroy a town?”
“Yeah, that should be the case…”
“Can you just go and hunt that ‘quickly’?”
“And you made this huge number of knives after that, right? How long did it take to make all these? Doesn’t just defeating a Black Dragon take a considerable amount of time?”
“Or rather, Black Dragons live at Dragon Peak, right? Even if you rode a horse after yesterday’s course ended, you wouldn’t make it back by this morning. What is going on!?”
When I said I hunted a Black Dragon, for some reason, the dismantlers started buzzing. Hmm, I just hunted a mere Black Dragon, though.
“That’s only natural!”
Just then, Jairo shouted loudly.
“What does that mean, kid!?”
“Hah, after all, Big Bro is an S-Rank adventurer!”
“S-Rank!? That S-Rank, the highest rank of adventurers!?”
Hearing that I was S-Rank, the dismantlers raised voices of surprise.
“Exactly! And because he’s an S-Rank Big Bro, he can defeat a Black Dragon instantly, return to town, and prepare knives for everyone!”
“I-I see. Speaking of S-Rank adventurers, they are skilled individuals who can fight evenly with S-Rank monsters. I’ve heard some possess powerful ancient magic items as trump cards.”
“Is that so, if it’s an S-Rank adventurer, maybe they can do it!”
No, I think even a non-S-Rank adventurer could defeat something like a Black Dragon, you know?
“Ah, S-Rank adventurers are victims of reputational damage again…”
“I wonder if this is also called reputational damage.”
Beside me, for some reason, Liliera was looking at the dismantlers with sad eyes. Mina, standing next to her, had an air of philosophical resignation.
“So that’s how it is, everyone. Please use the new knives to dismantle lots of Green Dragons. Once you get used to dismantling Green Dragons, you will be able to dismantle basic dragons without any problems.”
“OU!!!!”
The dismantlers returned to dismantling the Green Dragons in high spirits. Everyone was excited to have obtained tools sharper than the dismantling knives they had been using. Getting new equipment lifts your spirits, doesn’t it?
“H-hey… do you have a moment?”
Just then, the ones who spoke to me were the adventurers who paid 200 gold coins to participate in the dismantling course.
“Yes, is there something you don’t understand about dismantling?”
“No, not that… I have a request.”
“A request?”
“Yeah.”
The adventurers looked at me with serious faces.
“This knife you made… could you sell it to us?”
“Eh?”
“We also have weapons made from dragon scales, but this knife has sharpness incomparable to those.”
Saying that, the adventurer showed me the short sword at his waist.
“This is… a sword carved from a Green Dragon scale.”
“Yeah, a sword I had a famous blacksmith make over several months. But its sharpness is far inferior to the knife you made.”
That’s to be expected. The edge of this short sword is tattered. Even if it’s a sword just carved from a scale, they should have paid a bit more attention to the finish. It’s natural that the knife I made in my spare time is sharper than this. Is this really the work of a famous blacksmith? If they’re spending money on something like this, they should ask Goldof-san; he’d make a much better weapon from dragon materials.
“No, I understand. A knife of this quality, made by patiently processing Black Dragon materials. It’s not something easily parted with. But as adventurers, we are convinced that this knife can undoubtedly be used as a trump card. So…”
“Ah, it’s fine. I’ll give it to you.”
“I figured… but still… wait, eh?”
“I said I’ll give it to you. Not just to the adventurers, but to all the dismantlers as well.”
“…”
In that moment, sound disappeared from the dismantling area.
“EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?”
“Wait, are you serious!? It’s an item made from dragon materials, you know!?”
“Moreover, it’s an item made from materials of a Black Dragon that rarely leaves Dragon Peak! It’s the kind of thing where we don’t even know how much money we’d have to stack to get it!?”
Everyone asked with eyes wide in disbelief if that was really okay. But it’s just of a quality good enough to dismantle a Green Dragon. Honestly, it’s not something worth paying money for.
“The adventurers paid 200 gold coins, and the Adventurer’s Guild is paying for the dismantlers’ course fees. So, these knives are like things made with the expenses for the course. Therefore, I will give them to everyone.”
“W-wa-wa…”
The adventurers staggered back, showing expressions of shock.
“SERIOUSLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?”
“Man, I understand. I understand very well. It was the same for me,” Liliera said in a solemn tone.
“He casually offers outrageous things as if they were nothing, doesn’t he?”
No, really, they are nothing, you know?
