“And so, I think I’ll try making a new alloy.”
In Dian’s workshop, which was currently empty, I summoned one of my maids.
She was a girl with short-trimmed purple hair, dark skin, and round, lively eyes. Her name was Ren of the Poison Moth.
She had once belonged to the Assassin’s Guild, but after a series of events, she had become my maid.
“An alloy? How do you even make something like that? I’ll do whatever I can to help, though,” Ren replied, looking a bit puzzled.
I answered her question directly. “I’m going to use your ability.”
Ren’s ability allowed her to convert her own mana into toxins. To put it another way, she could manipulate invisible, infinitesimal particles to generate entirely new substances.
In short, if she mastered this power, she could create various materials, not just poisons. Under my tutelage, her range had already expanded significantly, and she was now capable of producing certain medicines and chemical agents.
By leveraging this talent, we should be able to synthesize a brand-new alloy.
“Ehhh... that sounds impossible. I’ve never done anything like that before.”
“Didn’t you say you’d do anything for me?”
“Urgh...! W-Well, I did, but...” Ren grimaced for a moment, then let out a resigned sigh. “...Fine. I get it. I’ll do it. But I can’t actually generate the metal myself, you know?”
“I’m not asking you to generate it. I want you to measure it. You usually lick or taste liquids to understand their composition, right? I want you to use that same principle to measure the hardness of these metals and quantify them for me.”
With that, I handed Ren several metal plates.
If I intended to create something more durable than the Katakont Alloy we were currently using, the first step was to quantify the properties of our current materials. My plan was to synthesize a vast number of alloy variations and have Ren measure every single one of them.
“And who’s going to actually make the alloys?” Ren asked.
“Me, of course.”
I brought the materials together in my hands. Sparks crackled and popped as they merged.
This was the Alchemy System Magic 'Material Synthesis'. It was a spell that allowed the caster to fuse solids together to create an entirely new substance. It consumed a violent amount of mana, making it impractical for most to use repeatedly, but with it, I could produce alloys at incredible speeds.
Well then, time to get to work. If I could produce a high-quality alloy, I was sure I could find plenty of other uses for it beyond the golem.
Picking up the countless materials lined up on the desk, I began the process.
“Hmm, mmm... nibble, nibble. Lick.”
Ren was currently rubbing, biting, and tasting the metal plates with a look of intense concentration. To gain a deep understanding of a substance, it was standard practice to analyze its flavor, texture, and scent. She used the same method when she was breaking down the chemical structure of liquids.
“Gwaaaaah! That’s thirty types, Boss!”
“Nunu... Big deal! I’ve done thirty-one!”
Nearby, I had Grimo and Jiriel assisting with the synthesis as well. Since the two of them were always looking for an excuse to outdo each other, they were working through the synthesis at a frantic pace. There were well over ten thousand possible combinations of materials, after all. If I tried to do it all by myself, it would take a considerable amount of time.
“...Whoa, wait a second. Isn't his synthesis speed way too high?! We’re huffing and puffing just to hit thirty, and he’s already cranked out over five hundred?!”
“His incantation speed is one thing, but his mana reserves are simply bottomless... ‘Material Synthesis’ has such high consumption that we have to take breaks after only a few activations, yet Master Lloyd hasn’t slowed down once. Truly, he is a terrifying individual...”
The two of them were muttering to themselves. Honestly, I wished they would focus more on their hands than their mouths.
About an hour passed. Finally, we finished synthesizing every planned combination.
“Phew. That took longer than I expected.”
It was tedious work that required manual concentration for every single piece. Much like magic, these technical breakthroughs were built on a foundation of steady, repetitive effort.
“I don’t think there was anything ‘steady’ about that, Boss... If anything, you just leapfrogged centuries of development in one go.”
“Indeed... I shudder to think how many ages of alchemical history we have just bypassed with this afternoon’s work...”
“Hahaha, you guys are exaggerating.”
Seriously, those two were being dramatic. I sorted through the completed alloys and picked out the ones that looked promising, but even then, there were still several hundred variations left. Measuring all of them would be a tall order for Ren.
“Are you doing okay, Ren?”
“I think so...”
Contrary to my concerns, Ren was deeply focused. It seemed she had discovered her own rhythm while I was busy synthesizing, and she was now moving through the metals one after another. Looking closely, I noticed the metal surfaces were slightly melting as she touched them.
“I see. That’s clever. You’re using your toxins to dissolve the metal and extract the components.”
“Yeah. I’m more used to dealing with liquids, after all. Taking a problem and bringing it into your own area of expertise is the basic rule for everything. Whether it’s exercise, studying, or even magic. You always tell me: increase what you can do, refine your specialties, and then play to your strengths... right, Lloyd?”
Ren flashed me a triumphant smile. I certainly had said that, but it was impressive that she could internalize the advice and apply it so effectively on her own. Understanding a concept and actually executing it were two very different things.
“You really used your head. Good girl, Ren.”
“Ehehe~”
When I praised her, Ren’s face lit up with a brilliant smile.
“In any case, this should make the process much more efficient.”
“Yeah, leave it to me!” Ren declared, puffing out her chest with pride.
Still, even with her help, it would take a while to finish the whole batch. I decided to lend a hand.
I lined up the metal plates around me and activated the Wind System Magic ‘Wind Cutter’, dialling the power down to its absolute minimum. Small, needle-sharp tornadoes touched the prepared metal plates, creating a continuous skree-skree-skree sound as they scraped against the surfaces.
“That’s an awfully weak spell, Boss. Not like you at all.”
“Hmm, it appears you are applying pressure incrementally. What is the purpose of this?”
“Strength testing. I’m increasing the pressure by one level every second. The moment the metal breaks is its limit.”
Doing them one by one would be a waste of time, so I produced three hundred wind blades to measure the entire batch simultaneously. After a short while, the more brittle metals began to snap and shatter.
“Right, that’s weeded out quite a few.”
In no time, the number of samples had dropped by more than half. Even as I watched, more and more plates continued to break. Eventually, even the Katakont Alloy specimen developed a crack. It seemed we had reached its structural limit.
While almost all the remaining experimental alloys shattered shortly thereafter, one single piece continued to hold firm.
“Oh, looks like we’ve got a survivor, Boss.”
“It shows no sign of yielding yet.”
“Yeah. We have a winner.”
Even after a full minute, the wind blade hadn't managed to pierce the metal. I deactivated ‘Wind Cutter’ and picked it up.
If I remembered correctly, this was the composition made from Golden Slime mucus, Graphite Copper, and Red Magic Powder. As I held the dull, reddish-brown metal, I found it to be surprisingly light yet incredibly sturdy.
“This should work. Ren, can you compare this one against the others?”
“Got it... Whoa! This is insanely hard! It’s on a completely different level than the others! I didn't find anything even close to this in the ones I checked!”
It seemed this one was superior even to the best results Ren had found. With this, the material should finally be able to withstand the output of the golem’s nucleus.
I’ll have to go show this to Zerof.
Thanks to everyone’s help, we finished much faster than I anticipated. The power of cooperation is truly a wonderful thing.
“Okay, I’ll just finish measuring the rest of... Wait, they’re all gone?! Lloyd, did you really finish testing all of those by yourself in a few seconds?! ...Haa, you really are amazing. I still have so much to learn before I can truly be of use.”
“He did several times the work that little girl did in the blink of an eye... What were we even here for? Seriously, Boss...”
“Umu... Our contribution didn't even amount to ten percent of Master Lloyd’s effort. In the end, he was perfectly capable of doing this alone, wasn't he?”
The three of them were grumbling about something, but I didn't pay it much mind. With the work finished, I made my way back to the main workshop.