Starting from zero: growing up with knowledge from another world

Chapter 4

The next morning, after finishing my routine and having breakfast, I went back to my room, saying that I was going to be playing with Kaede for a change of pace. After shutting the door and putting a barrier on it to prevent my mom from walking in and seeing what I was doing, I pulled out the materials and tools I had purchased yesterday and got to work.

The beginning parts were easy, I simply had to shave down the Rebound wood using my new carving knife enchanted with wind edge. I managed to learn enchantment magic after figuring out the knack for barrier magic and wondering if I could use a similar process to coat an object in magic. It turned out to be a bit more difficult than that, but I was able to figure it out after about a week of experimenting.

After trimming the wood into a rough ball shape, I used plant magic to fine-detail the shape slowly, using magic power. I then realized that to use it as a football, I would have to increase its weight. Thinking about it, I cut the ball in half using wind magic and hollowed out a spherical section in the center. I then created a rock using earth magic to fit the hollowed-out section perfectly and slowly expanded the hollow and rock until the weight felt right. I then put the ball back together, once again using plant magic to cleanly join the pieces together.

Next, I marked out the shape I needed to cut the Swamp Lizard leather into and cut it out the pieces using the mithril alloy scissors. The scissors were very sharp and durable. They made cutting the material quite easy, so I was looking forward to trying it on the Naga leather. I then had to set up a sound barrier to prevent any loud noises from leaking out and being heard by my mom. After setting up the barrier, I used a punch to make small holes in the leather before sewing them together around the ball with the cord I had purchased.

Looking at the final product, I was quite pleased with my work, glad that I had raised my dexterity stat by practicing other crafts and fighting techniques. The ball seemed to be about the right size and weight, but I realized that this world having a level system could make the game unfair among adults. It should still work for children and adults that don't have jobs that involve killing monsters since that is the only way that I know of to raise one's level. I then cleaned up, putting everything away, before pulling out a hardwood board and the chisel set.

Using the hammer and chisels, I slowly shaped the board into a square shape and engraved grooves on it, creating an 8 by 8 square board with a half-inch or so border around it. Getting into it, I used the smallest chisel to engrave a vine pattern around the entire border. Once again, I used plant magic to clean up any rough areas that I couldn't get with the tools I had available.

Kaede mentioned that it was about lunchtime, so realizing I had lost track of time, I quickly cleaned up and put away everything in my item box. Then erasing the barrier magic, I left my room just in time to see my mom coming to call me for lunch. After eating, I left the house to look around for enough rocks to make 32 figurines, 16 in a light shade and 16 in a dark shade. It took about an hour and a half to find enough rocks and make the figurines using magic, there was no way I was going to attempt chiseling them out by hand.

After finishing that project, I decided it was time to work on something that has been bothering me since my Earthly knowledge was unlocked. I told my mom that I was going to see if there were any new stalls in the market and was asked to check if they had any pepper since we were running low. My mom gave me a couple of coppers, and I set off to the market. I was able to get the pepper that my mom asked for and found a stand selling berries.

It took me a while to decide which berries to get, I ended up paying to try nearly two-thirds of them before deciding on a sweet grape-like berry. When I got home, I gave my mom the pepper she asked for, along with her change, before immediately heading back outside. Once I was outside, I made a bowl and two jars using earth magic, washed both of them out, and then used the bowl to wash the berries, removing any stems I found during the process.