My 【Repair】Skill Became an Almighty Cheat Skill, So I Thought I’d Open Up a Weapon Shop

On the workbench was a clean, unchipped katana together with a scarlet ore that glistened like a jewel.

My plan was to do what I did with the silver swords;【disassemble】the materials accordingly, and then 【synthesize】them together.

The problem was whether or not the finished product would satisfy Sakura.

「Alright, how much of the ore should I【synthesize】first? I was thinking of only using ten percent of the metal and adjusting it from there. 」

「Can’t you just make the katana using only the hihi’irokane?」

「Well, about that…」

To demonstrate the answer I was about to give, I grabbed a worn-out knife with no handle that hadn’t been repaired yet, and a basket of iron scraps.

「Even though my【Repair】skill evolved, the fundamentals behind it are still the same. The item being repaired requires a base material, and if the base material is lacking, then it’s impossible for me to restore the item to its original shape. Here, take a look. 」

I【disassembled】 into fine iron powder, and then sprinkled some of it on the mountain of iron scraps. I activated【Repair】on them.

The pieces of iron scrap that consumed the iron powder formed itself into a sheet of metal with a somewhat pointed edge.

「Mm, I see. Certainly, it is no longer in a usable shape.」

Sakura picked up the sheet of metal and stared at it intently.

In the end, the【Repair】skill only returns an item to its original shape.

The silver swords were not forged better or sharper in any means. In fact, by restoring them to their original shape, all the flaws that were present when they were forged were restored as well. 

「To put it roughly, the【Repair】skill restores the item by using the item’s memory: in other words, its『original form』. If the base material is too low, just the skill alone would be insufficient in completely restoring an item. 」

This was a characteristic of the【Repair】skill itself, and it had nothing to do with the fact that it had evolved.

There were other components, but I omitted the details since it wasn’t necessary to know them here.

In any case, the wielder of the skill would be unable to grasp the 『memory』of an item. Just like the process of 【disassemble】, the skill automatically retrieves the memory in order to complete the restoration.

「By the way, people with a low skill level would have a hard time even if ninety percent of the base remained. For me, I can still【repair】things that have at least half of its material remaining. Also, since I have other abilities within the skill, it seems like I could even strengthen the item.」

「But in that case, it would be impossible to have the blade be made out of pure hihi’irokane then…」

Sakura said dejectedly. However, I wasn’t done my explanation yet. It was too early to give up.

「No, it might be possible. It should be fine if you wait for the materials to establish itself into『the memory of the item’s shape』. 」

「In other words?」

「Once I【synthesize】some of the hihi’irokane into the katana, let the katana rest for some time. Then, I can【disassemble】the blade again. Since the hihi’ironkane would now be part of the katana’s memory, I can replace the other materials with the rest of the hihi’irokane. That should turn the katana blade into pure hihi’ironkane. 」

It was a bit complicated, but when done in order, the theory was quite simple.

First, I would【synthesize】some of the hihi’irokane together with the iron blade.

Second, let the katana rest until it registers the hihi’ironkane into『the memory of the blade’s shape』.

Third, I【disassemble】the katana again and separate the『memory』-infused hihi’ironkane.

Fianlly, I 【synthesize】the 『memory』-infused hihi’irokane with the rest of the ore, restoring the katana blade to its original shape using its『memory』.

(How should I put it? This is quite the operation, even if I say so myself.)

It wasn’t immediate, but the item’s『memory』also registers the fact that【Repair】has been used on it.

It knows how many times【Repair】was used on the item, and if the item ran out of its base material.

Sakura had been staring at me with a blank expression when I explained the progress, but once I finished, her shoulders began shaking in delight.

「I-is that true!? Then, it’s really possible to do it?!」

「I don’t have any proof that it’ll work though. I’m currently experimenting with some stuff in the storehouse to see how long I have to let an item rest.」

I thought of this method when I had ordered a large supply of items for the shop.

At first, I thought about making swords out of pure labyrinth wall, but as I did experiments, I quickly ran low on the material, so I decided to experiment using iron swords with a different common metal.

I still had no intentions of heading back to that dungeon, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about how I could develop better things out of the second-hand items. 

If I don’t return to my job as an adventurer, then it was necessary that I had something like this to make a living.

「In that case, please do it in the quickest, shortest way possible! Use half of the hihi’ironkane now, and once the katana has suitably rested, use the remaining half! 」

「A-are you sure? This method might work better if I used an alloy with it though?」

「There’s no meaning if you mix the blade with something else! Please try it!」

It seemed the commissioner Sakura had a bigger reason for wanting a 『pure hihi’irokkane katana』, and not simply because the material was better.

As a weapon shop owner, I could not refuse given how insistent she was being. Since I accepted her share of bounty money from the subjugation in exchange for taking her request, I had to do a good job.

「Alright, I’ll try it with the base material and half of the hihi’ironkane. Activate skill…begin 【synthesize】.」

My mana enveloped the materials, and the moment that the blade and ore began to fuse, part of base material of the blade suddenly shattered and were forced out.

Since the blade was now an alloy of plain metal and hihi’irokane, the shape stayed the same, but…

「–This is surprising.」

「Wow! It’s such a beautiful color!」

「How magnificent… it is now the color of cherry blossom flowers.」

The three of us gazed at the beauty of the hihi’irokane-mixed blade.

The pale light crimson blade had a completely different shine compared to the silver swords.

High-quality swords were said to be a work of art themselves, but with this katana, just the blade itself looked like a work of art.

「The scarlet color seems to be diluted because it was mixed with regular steel. Sakura, how does it look so far?」

「It’s wonderful… Luke-dono! May I give it a swing outside of your shop?」

「I don’t mind, but I’m going to be opening up soon, so try not to bother any of the customers.」

Silvia and I walked back towards the shop front, following Sakura as she ran outside with her eyes glistening in excitement.

Some of the adventurers who had been waiting for me to open up again looked at Sakura from afar.

「Any item that makes use of the hihi’ironkane are said to be able to handle heat very well. Some speculate that heat can even strengthen the item. If the katana exhibits such an ability, then I would say that this hihi’irokane katana is perfect.」

「I see, but how do you plan on testing that?」

「I will use my skill with it.」

Sakura suddenly put her arm forward, and then a small flame lit up from one of her fingers.

「Wah! There’s fire on your finger!」

「Is that the【Ignition】skill?」

「That’s right. The level of it is quite low though, so I cannot use it to attack.」

There are all sorts of skills that manipulate fire.

For example, among the【black magic】branch of skills, there are many fire-attributed spells that one could learn.

A representative skill among those would be the 【Fire Arts】skill. The skill itself was rare. Its wielder would be able to control flames like they were part of one’s body.

Compared to that, 【Ignition】was quite a common skill one could get, but performance-wise was not very good. Rather than an offensive spell, it was more of a simple, convenient spell used to light something on fire.

「First, I will swing the katana normally to see how it feels.」

Sakura took a stance with her light scarlet katana, and did a swing in a fluid movement.

It was completely different than how a knight handled a sword.

The strokes of the katana were quiet, and Sakura’s movements made it look like she was dancing.

Silvia and I, as well as the adventurers who happened to be present, were all captivated by Sakura’s sword dance.

「…Alright, let’s use the skill now…」

As Sakura continued her dance, she ran her finger across one side of her blade.

Sparks from the【Ignition】skill ran across the hihi’irokane. One could even see from afar how much heat and light the sword exhibited.

A shimmer of hot air ran parallel to the blade, and the dance began to look like an elegant illusion.

Before long, the heat on the blade faded. Sakura stopped her dance and looked in our direction.

「Luke-dono! Do you have anything I can cut?」

「Eh? You want something to cut? …Um, is this okay? Here!」

I tossed a block of wood the size of a fist towards her. It was leftover from when I had【repaired】the building.

Sakura used her skill on the katana again, and swung her sword at a speed nobody could follow with their eyes.

A blazing arc was formed. As soon as the wood block made contact with the katana, it burned up before it even hit the ground.

The attack did not stop there though. The 『flaming arc』that came off of her katana scorched a straight line into the earth, heat radiating off of it.

「…This is wonderful. Thank you very much, Luke-dono!」

Every person that was here, including Silvia and I, stared at Sakura in disbelief.

Sakura was the only one with a big smile.

If one were to use【Fire Arts】, they could probably replicate an attack that was similar to what Sakura did.

On the other hand, a few sparks from a low-ranking【Ignition】skill was enough to produce the power of a high-ranking skill.

If you were to compare the difference in mana consumption between【Fire Arts】and【Ignition】, clearly the latter was more efficient.

Not to mention, Sakura mentioned that her【Ignition】skill level was low.

If somebody used 【Fire Arts】or even a high level 【Ignition】with the sword, just how much power and heat would it produce?

「This hihi’irokane katana… Could it be that I have created something unbelievable?」

As I tried to bury the shock and confusion in my head, a different feeling began swelling in my chest.

It was a great feeling.

I felt that my own potential had expanded, and my heart shook with excitement.

「Luke-dono! Since there’s still some hihi’irokane left, please use it to make a wakizashi instead! I want to try using two swords!」

「Alright, leave it to me!」

My reply was brimming with much more confidence compared to when I first accepted Sakura’s commission.