Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)
Volume 5 - Ch 1.21

Translator: DarkHeartedAlchemist Editor: Weasalopes

Oh no, I do not doubt the effectiveness of a regular, meticulous training regimen at all. In fact, that is exactly the thing that novice Master Smiths are expected to do right after they first obtain their Jobs, and they are supposed to keep on going at it until they improve their skills at creating and fusing items not only until they will become apprentice Master Smiths, but actually until the moment that they are going to be recognized as Veteran Master Smiths. Veteran Master Smiths are able to create as many Misangas as they want, so I know that this training will definitely help me become more proficient as a Master Smith myself, but I heard that such a morning-evening routine needs to be repeated for at least half a year to a full year after obtaining the Master Smith Job in order to become really effective, and if you force yourself with it then it will have an opposite effect to what you want to achieve.

Do you think that you will be able to grasp a better understanding of the Job and create better and more refined items before then? And also if you will be able to instinctively tell what the result of the fusion is going to be?

As long as I continue to make items and gain experience in smithing, then I am sure that I will be able to figure it out sooner or later. But like I said, it is one of those things that absolutely cannot be done in a hasty or halfhearted manner if you want the best possible result.

It would have been great if it was only a matter of Sherry not having enough MP, because that particular problem can always be remedied in a very simple, straightforward fashion: by increasing her level as a Master Smith. Currently, Sherry is a Master Smith Lv.14, so the maximum amount of MP that she possess when her Job is being switched into a Master Smith should definitely be greater than the amount of MP that she had when she was still a Master Smith Lv.1.

However, there is one thing that I cannot say that I fully understand. If we assume that all Master Smiths need to create simple items like Misangas or the like every morning and every evening for at least half a year or even an entire year after they obtain the Master Smith Job for the first time in order to increase their levels as Master Smiths, and the amount of the MP that they possess along with it so that they could fuse items with Skill Crystals together without the risk of running out of their MP reserves, then does that mean that once they increase their levels high enough, there would be no longer any need for them to be doing that kind of training in the morning and in the evening for an extended period of time?

I mean, that would be the most logical conclusion to be drawn here, but in that case, that would just end up creating another question, or perhaps a dilemma for Sherry and me as her master: since she can already fuse items, weapons and Skill Crystals together, then is there any need for her to be conducting those morning and evening Master Smithing exercises anymore? Well, the answer is most obviously yes, since the continued creation of even the simplest items like these Misangas is going to greatly contribute to the process of her growth as a Master Smith, which is going to have a direct impact on her level and the amount of MP she is going to have at her disposal, but I am currently the only one who is aware of that because I know how exactly the fusion mechanic works in this game and also that every Job in this game has a level, not just the Explorer that can be measured by the amount of space in your Item Box like everyone else seems to be believing, but like I said, I am the only one who is aware of all those facts, so for Sherry, who does not know any of it, it might be entirely possible to be questioning the legitimacy and the purpose of it all, so maybe I should ask her what she is thinking about all this?

How do you feel about this method of training, Sherry? Do you feel like it gradually helps you become better as a Master Smith, or is there something that you still have doubts about?

Now that you are asking about it, master, then I would have to say that. I am not really sure.

You are not really sure, Sherry?

That is right. I know that the more I will train and the more items and equipment I will create and fuse together, the better Master Smith I will become, because that is how I heard it worked for all the countless Dwarves before me who got enough talent in them to become Master Smiths at the earliest age possible, but as for all the other things. I am not so sure about them anymore. A part of me feels exactly like you said, master: that I will definitely become better and I will be able to serve you better as a Master Smith if I continue to train and improve myself even with the smallest of steps but at the same time some part of me thinks that if the that limit: one Misanga in the morning and one Misanga in the evening for half a year up to an entire year is the time that it takes all the other Dwarves to become acknowledged as Veteran Master Smiths, then is it going to be the same for me? Or perhaps it is going to be exactly the same story as with me obtaining the Job of Master Smith: getting my hands on it much later than the rest of my peers, and needing much more time to learn and grow as a Master Smith because I lack something that all the other Dwarves apparently already had?

Sherry

I know, master. I know what you are trying to say. You wanted to say that now that I have finally managed to become a Master Smith like I always wanted, there is no need for me to worry about it and just go at it at my own pace, right? Do not worry then, because that is exactly what I am going to do. Even if we do not manage to hunt down or buy ourselves a Green Caterpillar Crystal, I will continue to improve my skills as a Master Smith, and eventually I will become talented enough to create a Sacrificial Misanga for you! Or, at least that is what I would like to believe

Sherry began to worry again. She knows that she needs at least half a year to up to a full year of training in order to become a proper Master Smith just like the rest of her peers, but she also started doubting her own capabilities and senses. This is one of the bad habits that she has, and a one that we definitely need to work on fixing as fast as possible or else it might become quite problematic in the future if nothing is done about it.

If you do not feel like you can do it just yet, then there is no need to force yourself into trying to do it as soon as possible. In the meantime, try creating another ordinary Misanga without worrying about anything else.

Taking the Misanga that Sherry just finished from her, I placed it in my Item Box and passed her another two pieces of thread, and she accepted them without complaining.

Uhm. Y-Yes, definitely. I understand.

Sherry hesitated a little, but eventually she nodded at me and proceeded with yet another Item Fusion attempt. She placed the two pieces of the thread in each of her hands, just like she did before, clasped them together and the recited the Item Fusion chant once more, and just like before, both of her hands have been enveloped by a bright light that subsided after a short while. And once that light was completely gone and another Misanga has been successfully prepared by her, I cast Identify, fully expecting this attempt at fusing a Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot to go just like all the other attempts, however.

.. what I saw in Sherrys hands when Identify displayed the information of the newly formed item exceeded my expectations, shocked and surprised me, all at the same time. Because the Misanga that Sherry managed to create just now was not just like all the others that she made. It was different from them in one aspect, and that one aspect was:

Misanga, Accessory

Skill: Empty

Oh, you did it.

My voice was calm, but the one inside of my head was anything but. It was continuously screaming things like: Holy hell she finally did it! It is done! We gotem, guys and gals! About Goddamn time!and it had every right in the world to do so, because Sherry has finally did it! She managed to create a Misanga with an Empty Skill Slot!

There, I finished. Thank you for the materials, master.

Her words had a very different meaning than the ones that I just spoke. She thought that she made just another Misanga, but I knew that the one that she made just now was much, much better then all of the previous ones that she made combined. We finally have the item we needed, so now we are definitely going to win for sure!

Thank you, Sherry. This is definitely going to be enough.

Uhm, actually, I feel like I could still make some more.

Ooooh, is that not amazing?

Yes, but but I thought that I will start feeling like that no sooner than after at least half a year of regular fusion trainings.

Oh fuck.

Well. Maybe it is because you actually managed to fuse three items instead of two, and one of them with a Skill Crystal at that?

But that earlier fusion was not all that different from what I did just now except for utilizing a Skill Crystal in it. And yet, I rarely heard of people who could succeed with their Skill Crystal Fusion twice in a row shortly after they begun training, and yet I managed to do just that. Is my training method somehow different from the others?

Sherry tilted her neck. She is getting closer and closer to the heart of the matter.

Well, the important thing is that you are done, so do not worry about it.

Yes, but does that mean that the person who told me about that method of training for Master Smiths actually lied to me?

Well, how about it looking at it this way? Just think about it as a testament to how amazing you are, Sherry.

I am sorry, person who told that to Sherry, whoever you are. Normally, you would never become a Master Smith Lv.14 in less than half a year.

Am am I really that amazing?

Yes Sherry, yes you are. And this Misanga is going to be a proof of that.

I said while pointing at Misanga that has now been wrapped around my leg.

Eh? What do you.?

Can I let you in on a secret, Sherry? In fact, I know to some extent whether the fusion of equipment with Skill Crystals is going to be a successful one or not.

Eh, is that so?

Yeah, I have no doubts about that.

If she continued to fuse the Skill Crystals she would have found out about it eventually, so I see nothing wrong with revealing that information to her now.

But how is that?

I do not know why. But I know for sure that this is the ability that I have when I somehow knew that your fusion of those Waterproof Leather Mittens was going t be successful.

Is Is that so?

Yes, definitely so now, knowing how capable you are as a Master Smith, I cannot wait to see your future fusions, starting with the one to turn this Misanga into a Sacrificial Misanga.

I happily told that to Sherry, who looked slightly embarrassed.