Cheat Discovered

"Come to think of it, Ichika, you used a kitchen knife as your weapon, right?"

"I used daggers and spears too, and traps a fair bit, but yeah, my main weapon was a kitchen knife."

Kitchen knife, huh… Yeah, I can probably make one.

"Ichika. Go pick up a tree branch for me."

"Sure thing. But whatcha need a branch for?"

"I'm going to make you a weapon."

"… Out of a tree branch? I ain't gonna complain, but I'm not that good with wooden swords or clubs, y'know?"

"I'm just going to use the branch as part of it. Oh, it doesn't have to be a big one. It's just for the handle."

"'Kay, I'll grab one real quick."

While Ichika went to pick up a branch, I took an iron ingot out of [Storage].

Now then, time for [Create Golem], ladies and gentlemen. This time, I'll be making a kitchen knife blade golem from the iron ingot. And just like that, it's done.

Meanwhile, Ichika came back with a branch.

I cast life magic [Dry] on the branch to remove the moisture, kneaded it together, made a kitchen knife handle golem, and finally combined the two into a Golem Kitchen Knife. For the record, it's santoku-style.

Lastly, I gave it the Golem Blade treatment so it vibrates at ultra-high speed when you channel magic power into it… and done. A magic sword Golem Kitchen Knife.

If I do say so myself, this is excellent work. I could stare at it all day.

"Alright, how's this kitchen knife?"

"Eh, ah, yeah."

Ichika, who had been watching the process partway through, took the Golem Kitchen Knife with her mouth hanging open.

"Huh? Wait, what? What did ya just do?"

"Kukuku, this is my magic, [Maker]…! A magic that can process any material! Creating a simple kitchen knife like this is child's play!"

"Wha, I've never even heard of that…! A unique skill?!"

Whoops, I was just goofing around, but Ichika took it completely seriously. She's genuinely surprised.

Seeing that, I hurried to correct myself.

"Sorry, sorry. I was just showing off a bit. It's actually just an application of [Create Golem]."

"Huh?! Hold on a sec, there's no way [Create Golem] can do somethin' like this?! That's a spell for makin' golems!"

Strange, she got even more surprised after I corrected myself.

And it seems even Ichika had finally exceeded her capacity to understand. She'd finally pulled out the "there's no way it can do that."

In other words, what I'm doing is pretty far removed from common sense.

"Eh? But this is a golem, you know? It just happens to be shaped like a kitchen knife."

"L-look here, Goshujin-sama. A golem is humanoid… with arms and legs and a head and a torso… um… agh, I don't even know anymore… Ya said ya didn't know common sense, but to think it was this bad…!"

Do people normally not think to apply their skills like this? It seems like something you'd naturally consider.

"Some people do… but it's mostly about different ways of usin' 'em. Like shootin' [Fireball] at water to make hot water, that kinda thing. Applyin' a skill itself to turn it into somethin' completely different is somethin' only magic researchers, people who specialize in studyin' skills, can do. And even then, in the worst case they might spend their whole life just to create a single skill… Look, Goshujin-sama, I ain't sayin' it's a bad thing, but ya should call [Create Golem] [Maker] instead. That way ya can pass it off as some unique skill passed down in yer family or somethin'."

Hm? But wouldn't the incantation change if I did that?

Right now my incantation is roughly "O lump of earth, change your form, become my servant and obey me, [Create Golem]." Oh, the "lump of earth" part is for when the target is soil. I change it slightly depending on whether it's wood, stone, or iron.

If the materials are mixed it's a hassle, so I just say "lump" to cover it, but specifying the correct material reduces magic power consumption. Saying "tree branch" when the target is actually stone makes the consumption ridiculously high, though.

… Ah, I see. So since I can change it a little, that means I can change it however I want? Let me try.

"O tree branch, change your form, obey me, [Maker]."

Oh, looks like it works. I channeled magic power and changed its shape. I'll turn the bark into some cord so she can hang it from her waist.

And I successfully made a sheath (sheath golem) from the tree branch.

"Magic is pretty flexible, huh… Ah, but the [Create Golem] keyword uses less magic power in the end, so I'll stick with that for everyday use. Might just be a matter of familiarity, though."

"No no no, I told ya to call it [Maker], but I never said to change the incantation and keyword too?! How did ya even change 'em?! This incantation makes no sense!"

Hm?

"Makes no sense… you mean people normally can't understand what the incantations mean?"

"I-I've heard it's supposedly the language from the ancient magical civilization era, but nobody knows what any part of the incantation actually means."

Ah. Ohhh, I see. So that's how it is.

Apparently, even though I'm hearing it as normal speech, that's because Translation Function-san is working hard for me.

And when I chant something as an incantation, it properly translates it into a meaningful spell.

Holy crap. The "understanding language" ability I got from Kami-sama was a cheat all along.

… Couldn't I make a living off just this alone? No wait, I'm a Dungeon Master, so I can't afford to stand out. Rejected, rejected. I'll use this cheat just for myself.

"Oh, by the way, how's the knife? I can adjust things like how it fits in your hand."

"… I haven't done anythin', but the bumps on the handle fit my hand perfectly. What is this, master craftsmanship? This is amazin'…"

I'd just reproduced a kitchen knife from memory, but that handle with the "ergonomic" sales pitch turned out to be very comfortable to hold. (Apparently knives and swords in this world basically have round handles wrapped in leather for adjustment.)

"Oh, also, try channeling magic power and cutting this branch."

"Eh? Magic power… don't tell me this is a magic sword?!"

Ichika cried out in shock.

Uh, it's not though? It's a magic sword (self-proclaimed).

Ichika channeled magic power, and the Golem Kitchen Knife activated.

I held up a branch about two centimeters thick. Ichika brought the knife close, then swung through it in a smooth, unhurried motion.

"Whoa, I barely felt any resistance just now."

"Good, one more time. Three branches this time."

A single branch was easy to cut, but three branches… were like tofu before the magic-power-infused Golem Kitchen Knife.

"This is… definitely a magic sword, ain't it."

"Is it?"

"Weapons that gain special effects when ya channel magic power into 'em are called 'magic swords.' And among those effects, there's 'increased sharpness'… I've seen one before, but it was nowhere near this sharp."

Well what do you know, the magic sword Golem Blade was indeed a genuine magic sword. The "self-proclaimed" part can be dropped. Nice.

"Magic swords are surprisingly easy to make, huh…"

"Gaaaaah! As if! Normal magic swords come from dungeons! There are artificial magic swords too, but the effects are way weaker, and it takes skilled blacksmiths and magic researchers days to make one! There is absolutely no way ya just whip one up in yer spare time!?"

Wow, uh, sorry about that.

"Uuu, if I'd had this knife back when I was C-Rank, I could've made it to B-Rank… This would fetch a pretty penny if ya sold it, y'know? It's definitely worth more than me; we're talkin' several gold coins here."

That's good to know. Something I made for basically nothing could turn into serious money.

… I could also place it as dungeon treasure.

I could sell them myself too… ah, no. Bringing in multiple magic swords by myself would definitely attract attention.

By the way, when I checked the DP Catalog for regular magic swords, they started at 10,000 DP.

The effects seemed to vary quite a bit, but one comparable to the Golem Blade would be around 20,000 DP.

… It's not like it's particularly high-grade among the magic swords available through DP exchange, so releasing a decent number of them probably wouldn't cause too many issues, right?

Oh, besides Golem Blades, maybe a Golem Shield could work too. If it constantly vibrates, it would… um, probably deflect force well… I think…? I don't really get it. That probably won't work.

In any case, being able to prepare star attractions in-house is a pretty sweet deal.

If only I could add other functions too… like making them cast magic.

I should try experimenting sometime to see if I can make a golem cast magic. Yeah, sometime. Eventually. I'd like to do it before I forget.

… She said it was worth quite a bit, but I wonder how much it would actually go for. I'm still a bit worried there might be some flaw with the Golem Blade I haven't noticed yet, but I am curious.