I didn’t want to believe that I was the first insane person to bring a baby to a dungeon, but I might be. In any case, this was a pretty convenient way to exploit the system. Still, it was also a pretty nasty way to seal the future of a kid. It would be fine as long as it wasn’t a combat css, but perhaps it would be fine even if it was a combat css, as long as the kid wasn’t forced to use it.

  I made the choice for Alissandra. I imagined that having a high mana regeneration would give her some advantage in the future… even though I didn’t know if harpies used mana or not to fly.

  “With the linguist css, you might be able to learn to talk earlier… not like you would be able to activate the skill.”

  “Da-da-da!”

  I couldn’t say if she was happy with my choice or not, but I couldn’t see the css becoming a detriment to her. In any case, should we head further into the byrinth? It was getting te, so we might as well use this chance to get some materials. Still, I didn’t want to take any chances with Alissandra with me. The number of monsters would eventually increase and I would have to fight with a single hand, after all, and only using magic.

  “We can’t leave the carriage outside either, and I need to make some things. Hunt here and bring me some materials, Gcien.”

  “Awoo!”

  “Use my magic bag and don’t lose it.”

  “Grrr…”

  “Whatever.”

  Gcien hadn’t been fighting tely, so this would be a good chance and I would get a bit of experience. I decided to gain more by using Mystic Link on her. Gcien disappeared into the byrinth and then we returned to the wagon. It was time for Alissandra to have her meal as well.

  One can truly never say where life will take them… of all things that I had expected to happen in my new life. Looking after a baby never crossed my mind.

  Although it was weird, it was a bit satisfying to look after Alissandra. Still, whenever I caught myself thinking along those lines, I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts. I didn’t have time for this type of thing in my life and I couldn’t lose my edge either. Four nations were already looking for me, so I had to keep getting stronger.

  “Don’t bme me for it, but I really can’t look after you… I just hope that I can find the right people to look after you.”

  Before long, Alissandra fell asleep, and I put her in her basket and then began to work on my experiments. I had to make the hammer amulet with the skill Artisan’s Touch. With some luck, the hammer would also increase the quality of my creations instead of just repairing them.

  I finished making the blueprint of the hammer with the magic circle to turn the item into an amulet. It was necessary for the tool to be quite big. Like one meter tall… I tried to decrease its size, but that was what I could do given the necessary shape.

  “It isn’t the best size considering the use that I have in mind, but let’s see what it can do…”

  I attached a mana core to the hammer and then decided to repair the wheels of the wagon. It had suffered some damage while it was moving, and thanks to the camoufge effect as well, so soon it would make the trip get quite bumpy.

  I adjusted the connector between the mana core and the hammer and then touched the damaged parts. A bit of energy spread around during the impact and I saw the surface of the wheel turning more smooth. After a few strikes, it got even better than it was originally.

  “Not bad, not bad at all.”

  I began to turn the wheel and repairing the other parts, and adjusted the base of the mana core. I could make the process faster but less efficient by making the mana core get closer to the tool. At the same time, I confirmed that it only used energy during the impact. The tool would store the energy across its surface up to a certain limit and then repair a rge area of the target by unleashing all the energy accumuted.

  “The test was a success. Now I know how I can make simir tools, but I still need to decrease the size of the hammer.”

  To deal with the issue of size and practicality, I thought about remaking the tool so that the amulet itself would act as its base. By shaping it into a compact cylindrical form, the entire structure would become much smaller and easier to handle. This design would not only make the tool more easy to carry and use but also simplify the forging process. With fewer components to manage, crafting the tool would take less effort and resources, a clear advantage when time or materials are limited.

  The same principle crossed my mind regarding my other forging tools. Reducing their size and complexity could make them more practical. However, I quickly realized that simply making the tools smaller might compromise their functionality. A tool is only as useful as its ability to perform its task effectively, and reducing it to its most basic form might hinder that.

  Instead, I decided to lean on my skills to enhance the efficiency of the tools. With the right techniques and enhancements, I could refine the tools to reach a bance between compactness and optimal performance. By focusing on the synergy between design and functionality, I could create tools that were not only easier to forge but also superior in use, making sure they met my needs without compromise.

  “For now, I should make the right tools for my boratory… Let’s start by making some bottles for the potions.”

  I knew that to make gss that a single person makes, I would silica sand, soda ash, and lime. These are mixed and heated in a furnace, melting the mixture into a molten state. The molten gss can then be cooled slightly to become useful for shaping. Adding specific metallic oxides during the melting phase allows for colored gss, while ensuring the sand is pure results in clear gss. Once melted and prepared, the gss is ready for shaping using techniques like gssblowing.

  Gssblowing involves gathering molten gss on a hollow blowpipe, rolling it on a smooth surface to stabilize the shape, and blowing into the pipe to infte the gss into a bubble. The bubble is elongated and shaped into a bottle form by reheating and using tools like molds. To finish, the bottle’s neck and opening are refined, and it is pced in an annealing oven to cool slowly, preventing cracks.

  I probably could make all that, but I didn’t have all the materials, so I decided to use the ores instead and make some bottles made of iron. It was a lot less annoying, too.

  Stamina Potion (Uncommon)

  Restores 130 points of Stamina over ten seconds.

  “I guess it wasn’t as good as the ones that Ay made. Well, it is fine for a beginner. Still, I need to find a way to make mana and health potions too, but doing that while traveling around is difficult.”

  I made some bottles before morning could arrive and soon Gcien returned with a magic bag filled with ores and mana cores. She went too far considering that she still had to pull the vehicle when the sun rises, but it seemed that she took her time because she was full of energy.

  “I guess I can pull the whole thing while she rests inside… she can also drink some of the stamina liquid.”

  I figured that thanks to situations like this, it was better to start working on the new engine. I also had to work on the driving mechanism itself… I couldn’t dey that any longer.

  While I was working on that and waiting for the sun to rise, I wondered if I could use Mana Drain on the wagon. I had the mana cores for situations like this, but it still would be a good option if it could obtain mana from the surroundings. Still, that kind of effect only worked when causing damage.

  I could tell that I was starting to get quite greedy and skewed, but it couldn’t be helped. That is what it means to be human, to obtain the best results while doing the least amount of work possible.

  In the end, just as expected, morning came and Gcien was still sleeping… I still had a long time before finishing the new engine and the driving mechanism of the wagon, so I decided to pull it by myself for a while. I haven’t been doing much exercise, after all.

  ‘If even after this I don’t gain muscles, I guess it is what it is. Half vampires aren’t meant to be jacked, but slender like beanpoles.’

  I didn’t know why I was so eager to gain muscles. It wasn’t like I was that into exercise in my previous life. I could only guess that the reason was because muscles were always convenient to have. However, in a world like this, they didn’t make that much of a difference.

  Looking strong still has its benefits. People usually fear those bigger than them, after all. I decided to put those thoughts aside and then focus on what was important, which was the path ahead. While the carriage was camoufged, I still could be seen. I could use an amulet, but I decided to save it for when it was truly necessary since I no longer had spares.

  ‘I should split my time widely now… I can no longer just do whatever is necessary or whatever I feel like. This feels a bit weird given how much freedom I had until now, but for the sake of my freedom in the future, I need to make things even more efficient.’

  I haven’t had one of those since I left the mansion, but I decided to make a schedule for work. As it turned out, that made my life a lot easier, but soon I found some problems ahead…

  WritingMachineGun