Slave Harem in the Labyrinth of the Other World (LN)

Volume 4 - Ch 5.17

But at the same time, I need something that would be more than just a weapon for show, because a Wand cannot be used as a physical weapon during the times of emergency. That is why I also need to have a sword for myself, just in case I ever needed to protect myself when a monster would run into my melee range, where using magic would no longer be an option. Now, the question is: what kind of sword should I take? Should I go with an ordinary Copper Sword on the assumption that I will rarely use it? Or maybe something better than that, something that I would be using more often? Anyway, it is a good thing that I have Identifyand that it works on weapons and items as well as humans, because without it I would have probably choose something that does not have any Empty Skill Slots, rendering the potential fusions of these weapons with Skill Crystals completely useless.

Looking at all the swords in the stores offer, the thing right above the Copper Sword in terms of Quality was the Iron Sword. Getting something like that for myself should be reasonable enough, right? The Iron Sword also has variants that have either one or two Empty Skill Slots whereas the Copper Swords only have a single Empty Skill Slot, however, none of the weapons that are being put on display here seem to have actual Skills embedded into them. I briefly looked at the Scimitars as well, but they also had only a single Empty Skill Slot. This is a little letdown, but still well within what I was expecting. After all, it would be a dream come true if I could find a good weapon with Skills already in it in an ordinary Weapon Shop, and as we are all well aware, dreams do not often come true when we want them to. I just have to move on and keep searching for something that might end up being a good enough substitute for Durandal.

The type of Sword that is a tier above the Iron Sword is a Steel Sword. When it comes to them, they had up to three Empty Skill Slots, which was a pleasant surprise. There was also a thing called Damascus Steel Sword, but since it is being displayed on the wall behind the counter where the Shop owner is, so it is probably not for sale and is intended to only serve a purely decorative purpose. Maybe it is the finest piece of weaponry that the owner has available, and that is why he wanted to gloat to everyone about it?

Looking at it from a distance, I did not see any Empty Skill Slots in it at all, so I stopped carrying about it immediately, because I do not need anything that is both more expensive than anything else that the store has to offer and does not have Empty Skill Slots which would enable it to become even more stronger with the Skill Crystal Fusion.

Maybe I should just stick to buying myself an Iron Sword, which seemed like a good balance of price and the Skill Slots it offered? It is the type of weapon that is neither low or high tier, so if I end up infusing it with Skills, I should still be able to sell it for a good price without having too many regrets about it. I would also need to buy a spare sword to fuse and sell in case I ever end up finding another Skill Crystal as a Drop Item from the monsters roaming about in the Labyrinths

In the end, I ended up buying one Copper Sword and one Iron Sword for myself. Both of them have Empty Skill Slots, of course. The Iron Sword has two Empty Skill Slots in it while the Copper Sword has a regular one Skill Slot. Also, it occurred to me only after I finalized the purchase of these swords, but. . . . . . . . . . . but maybe I should have gone and buy two pieces of the same type of sword instead of two different ones, because buying two of the same swords would have allowed me to save up that much space in my Item Box. The way Item Box works, as long as you have multiple copies of the same item, you can place more than one copy of it into one item slot, but Copper Sword and Iron Sword are going to occupy two separate spaces since they are not the same. This is an oopsie on my part, but in hindsight it is not all that bad of an oopsie because a solution to the problem of taken space in the Item Box is quite simple here: if I am not going to be using the Copper Sword in favor of the Iron Sword, I can always leave the Copper Sword physically at home instead of keeping it in the Item Box.

Sherry, am I right in thinking that in terms of the material hierarchy, a sword made out of steel is a cut above a sword made out of iron?

It was hard for me to ask that of Sherry while we were still inside of the Weapons Shop because I did not want the owner to overhear us and think that I am a total amateur who does not know even the basic things like that, so I waited for it only after we left.

Yes, when we talk about the order of the weapons, or rather the strength of the materials that have been used to make them it would be copper = = = > iron = = = > steel.

Okay, I understand that. However, why is steel considered stronger than iron since steel is technically made from iron?

Eh?

Sherry stopped and looked at me as if I was some kind of braindead idiot.

Ehhh?

Oh my fuck, do not tell me that I have done it again! If that is indeed the case, then I sure as hell am glad that I did not mention any of that back in the Weapon Shop.

Uhm. . . . . let me confirm if I understand this correctly, master. You are asking if steel can be made from iron?

Well. . . . . yeah, that is basically what I wanted to ask. Is it not the case here?

. . . . . . . . . Generally speaking, not only steel and iron, but all metals and materials similar to them are made through the process of processing the items obtained from the monsters from the Labyrinths.

Is. . . . . . . . is that so?

I thought that Sherry was going to look at me with those cold eyes of hers again, but this time it did not happen, thank god for that. Right now, due to how short she was she was looking up at me with gentle eyes.

If I remember correctly, one of the great scholars of old wrote in some of his notes that he would attempt to create steel by the means of using iron instead of monster materials. However, just because he wrote that he was going to attempt it does not mean that he has actually succeeded, and even if he did, the equipment and methods he might have used to do so are now considered to be a lost technology.

In other words, you do not know how to do it?

No, master. I really do not know how to do it, and even if I knew, I am sure that a feat like that would be something way beyond my current abilities as a newbie Master Smith.

Even if it is lost now, if the technology allowing for the creation of steel by using iron exists out there somewhere, then it probably means that steel can be created by using iron. And that is good news. Very good indeed.

It is okay, Sherry, you do not have to beat yourself up over it. The most important thing for me right now is knowing that steel can possibly be made from iron, and at the current moment I do not need anything else. But since we are already on the subject, then I would also like to know a few more things: is Damascus Steel similar to normal steel, or is it better from it?

Supposedly, since it is harder and more flexible than ordinary steel while maintaining the sharpness to its edge.

Now, since it is better, then can Damascus Steel also be made by using iron as the base component for it?