Chapter 5: Day 4 Is It a Level Up?

Day 4

Woke up at 5 AM the next morning.

Collected the remains of monsters and beasts that had perished upon encountering my barriers.

Among the beasts were two wild cows and one forest wolf.

As for the monsters, there were two horned rabbits, four birds resembling enlarged chickens called "Big Chickens," and one large boar called "Big Boar."

For breakfast, I had boiled potatoes, komatsuna soup, and skewered horned rabbit.

Drank Japanese tea as my beverage.

After finishing the meal, just like yesterday, I performed "Magical Tool Creation."

However, today's options in the "Magical Tool Creation" function selection menu were different.

Magical Tool Creation Level 2

Which function would you like to use? (Up to 10 times per day)

Magical Tool Creation (2 times per day)

Transformation of Possessions into Magical Tools (3 times per day)

Addition or Removal of Functions in Magical Tools (3 times per day)

Expansion and Adjustment of Magical Tool Functions (2 times per day)

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The level of "Magical Tool Creation" had increased.

The available functions had also expanded.

The number of times I could use them in a day had increased as well.

I pondered about what I could achieve today.

First, I investigated what could be created using the "Magical Tool Creation" function.

Magical Tool Creation Level 2

Magical Tool Creation

Please select a shape.

Ring Bracelet Sword Cooking Device Box Bag

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There were even more specific shapes I could choose from.

For rings, I could specify for all fingers, left or right; bracelets for left or right; swords in various types such as long, short, one-handed, two-handed, single-edged, double-edged, curved, and more.

Cooking devices included options like range, food processor, and stove.

Boxes came in different sizes and shapes, and bags had various types and materials.

Just researching all this took quite a bit of time.

Before creating any new magical tools, I decided to look into the "Expansion and Adjustment of Magical Tool Functions."

I learned that it was possible to customize the functions of existing magical tools.

For instance, I could change the size of a basic earth wall created using earth magic or expand the range of a barrier.

I could level up simple appraisals to intermediate appraisals.

Upon investigating the "Addition or Removal of Functions in Magical Tools," I found that the available functions had also increased.

Since these improvements were remarkably useful, I couldn't check all of them.

Considering the time that had passed, I decided to start working.

First, I focused on creating weapons.

Pretend wooden swords and bamboo spears wouldn't be enough to get through this forest.

Gradually, I would have to engage in combat with beasts and monsters.

With this in mind, I designed a single-edged sword resembling a slightly elongated short sword.

It could have two functions.

I chose "Unbreakable Maintenance Not Required" and "Enhanced Cutting Edge."

It had a stored magic power of 20, consumed 3 magic power in 10 minutes, and recovered 1 magic power in the same time.

Materials like iron, chromium, and nickel were needed, but thanks to the collected rocks, shortages were not an issue.

What to create next?

I chose the "Simple All-Purpose Cooking Device."

But how could it be both all-purpose and simple?

When ingredients were added, it automatically prepared dishes.

There were 32 types of dishes available:

Ramen, udon, soba, pasta. Tempura bowl, meat bowl, oyakodon, Chinese-style bowl, katsudon. Hamburg steak, tempura, skewers, omelette, fry. Cutlet, Chikuzen stew, fried chicken, vegetable soup, gyoza. Plain rice, mixed rice, fried rice, doria, risotto. Shumai dumplings, curry, stew, miso soup, warm vegetable salad. Chinese buns, sandwiches.

Truly versatile, considering the variety in this menu.

With 30 types, could it still be called "simple"?

It wasn't without issues.

Ingredients needed to be secured, even a small amount.

It felt as though the tool duplicated ingredients and seasonings.

When something was lacking, it seemed to disassemble and synthesize other ingredients to make it.

I later realized that the dishes created depended on the ingredients used.

Furthermore, the same type of noodle dish might have different variations, like kitsune soba or tempura soba.

Even the meat in sandwiches was left to chance.

Well, no complaints, it was handy.

Using multiple magic stones and requiring a fair amount of metals, the device had a stored magic power of 500 and recovered 2 magic power per minute.

The usage of magic power ranged from 10 to 200 per dish.

The functions of this cooking device were "All-Purpose Cooking" and "Ingredient Acquisition."

"Expansion and Adjustment of Magical Tool Functions" could be performed twice.

First, I upgraded the "Simple Appraisal" on my left wristband to "Intermediate Appraisal."

This increased the information gained from appraisals, which was a great help.

The second adjustment involved selecting the "Internal Expansion Function Level Up 1" for Tent 1.

This resulted in the creation of two rooms of the same size, each with a bed, futon, and pillow.

Even the "Transformation of Possessions into Magical Tools" had changed. I could now assign two functions to one magical tool.

For instance, I transformed a jacket, pants, and hat into magical tools with the functions of "Enhanced Defense" and "Deterioration Prevention."

Now, onto "Addition or Removal of Functions in Magical Tools."

Again, two functions could be added in a single operation.

I added "Novice Water Magic" and "Novice Fire Magic" to a ring (worn on my left index finger).

"Novice Water Magic" included abilities like water supply, water ball, water bullet, water jet, and water barrier.

Using the magic required one unit of magic power per activation.

Water supply and water jet produced 10 liters of water per use, although it contained too many impurities to be drinkable.

Filtration and boiling were necessary to make it drinkable.

The distinction between water ball and water bullet was their shape; they propelled around 100 mL of water.

A water barrier could create a 3-meter wide, 3-meter high, and 10-centimeter thick barrier of water.

"Novice Fire Magic" encompassed fireball, fire bullet, and fire barrier.

Using the magic required one unit of magic power per activation.

Fireball and fire bullet could be launched at opponents, with the latter being hotter.

On the left wristband, I added "Novice Healing Magic" and "Novice Presence Detection."

"Novice Healing Magic" included abilities like basic diagnosis, novice healing, novice detoxification, novice status ailment recovery, novice physical recovery, and novice mental stabilization.

Using the magic required one unit of magic power per activation.

"Novice Presence Detection" could sense potential threats within a 200-meter radius.

Using one unit of magic power per hour.

An additional horned rabbit magic stone was required for the upgrade.

The magic stone was integrated into the wristband.

This increased the maximum stored magic power capacity to 50 and the recovery rate to 2 units per 5 minutes.

On the right wristband, I added "Storage" and "Novice Electric Magic."

"Storage" created a 50 cubic meter space for time suspension.

"Novice Electric Magic" included paralysis-inducing electric shocks for humans, animals, and monsters, as well as an instant-death electric shock for monsters like orcs.

Using the magic required one unit of magic power per activation.

Another horned rabbit magic stone was integrated into the wristband during the upgrade.

This increased the maximum stored magic power capacity to 70 and the recovery rate to 2 units per 5 minutes.

Engrossed in my work, I lost track of time, and it was past noon.

To prepare lunch, I placed various ingredients and dishes into the "Simple All-Purpose Cooking Device," along with spices, of course.

Since steamed buns were among the possible dishes, I selected them.

After about 3 minutes, two warm steamed buns appeared.

The meat was probably from a big chicken.

They were delicious, which put me at ease.

After that, I practiced and tested the sword.

First, a wooden branch.

10 cm in thickness... cut through without resistance.

A tree trunk, 20 cm in thickness... it felt like cutting tofu.

Another tree trunk, 20 cm in thickness... cut through effortlessly.

I retrieved the corpse of a Big Boar from storage and cut through its head.

It sliced through effortlessly.

Hmmm, as an experiment, I tried cutting a stone about 20 cm in diameter that seemed a bit harder.

It cut through cleanly.

The blade didn't dull at all.

But it's a bit dangerous.

It seems the sharpness deteriorates if I'm not conscious of putting it in the sheath or not using it.

I learned this from the appraisal.

Without realizing it, the sword had already acquired a "Limited to Owner" attribute.

It would be troublesome if it got stolen.

Upon re-evaluating all the magical tools I've created so far, whether created or transformed, they are all limited to me as the owner.

After training, I focused on collecting materials.

Vegetables like eggplants, pumpkins, soybeans, azuki beans, carrots, burdock, daikon radishes, turnips, komatsuna, perilla, tomatoes, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, green onions, and onions grew naturally.

Grains like wheat, soba, sweet potatoes, and potatoes could be harvested.

Wheat could be a substitute for wheat.

Apart from what I found on the first day, there were also oranges, bananas, and persimmons in the fruit category.

The herbs were familiar ones from Earth.

I acquired many medicinal herbs as well.

I collected numerous rocks too.

It seemed that gaining the ability to perform novice appraisal had been an added bonus.

For dinner, I had cutlets, warm vegetable salad, and vegetable soup.

The soup had a lot of potatoes, so it doubled as a main dish.

Though the tent had become more comfortable, I still desired a toilet and bath.