Chapter 573 – Finishing Sickle and Testing Tools
Chen Shi returned to see Yue all over Aiko.
"Am I disturbing something?" His heart hurt, but he had to believe Yue was not interested in Aiko.
"Nothing." Yue was pretty much mounting Aiko from the scare she got, so she floated a bit away from her.
"Testing tools, but I still have one more to make." Moon Aiko struggled with the thin sickle, but she didn't know why it was so hard to make the blade thin.
"Here is the wood." Chen Shi brought out a whole log of the Earth Wood.
"So much?" Moon Aiko was startled.
"They don't sell smaller pieces." Chen Shi shrugged.
"Well, I will just create a few and see what I would like the most." Moon Aiko nodded, but first she would make that damned sickle!
...
Moon Aiko focused her attention on the Cauldron before using the Spiritual Water on it.
"Cracked again." Moon Aiko sighed. She didn't want to make the sickle too thick, since it might bother her during the cutting.
"Cooling slower?" Yue gestured to Aiko.
"It wouldn't harden..." Moon Aiko never really tested that. "Fine, let's see." She sighed gently.
Moon Aiko threw it back inside and got to work once again.
...
The Spiritual Water this time was more 'viscous', making the cooling process a lot slower.
"It's not hard." Moon Aiko frowned. She would have to adjust both the temperature and the cooling process!
Sighing gently. She just got to work.
...
A week later, Moon Aiko was finished.
Yue was worried that this ultra-thin sickle would shatter. "Are you sure it won't-"
*Swish**Clang*
"Hmmm, good, no damage." Moon Aiko smiled from ear to ear. Even with this thinness, the blade didn't suffer any chips or rolls.
"Aiko." Yue was 'standing' behind Aiko, clearly angry.
"B-but you already knew I'm testing it like this!" Moon Aiko defended herself.
Yue pinched her cheeks. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't give out warnings! What if it bounces and injures someone?!"
"I'm sorry..." Moon Aiko cried out gently.
Yue sighed. "Heads up. Every time. You do. Something. Crazy."
"Yes..." Moon Aiko obediently nodded her head.
"Good." Yue knew that Aiko would most likely not do it, but she was here for when that happened!
"So, are we finished?" Yue sighed.
"Not yet, the handles need to be done, the hammer too." Moon Aiko recounted what else she had to do.
"So much work." Yue was happy that she was not a craftsman!
"Should I help?" Danji stepped forward.
"Hm?" Moon Aiko was startled.
"I'm very skilled in shaping my blood, so wood or anything else is no different." Danji smiled gently.
"Do you have a tool for shaving the rubber?" Moon Aiko asked.
"I can use my blood...?" Danji tilted her head.
"That would taint the material. Just use the forged blades from me." Moon Aiko shook her head.
"En." Danji smiled before picking up the small blade and getting to shaving.
"Whoa, it's so sharp." Danji was slightly scared of this blade.
"We will be cutting metal." Moon Aiko said the obvious, but it was important to have a sharp blade to make precise cuts. "While the metal will be softened due to the heat, most of the work will still be done by the blade, so it's important to make it as sharp as possible so that you don't tire out too quickly." She explained her reasoning and why she made it like that.
"What about metals that harden when heated up?" Danji proposed a good question.
"..." Even Moon Aiko was startled. "I will have to make holes in it with needles? I don't really know. I have never encountered such metal?" She scratched her head, trying to think of a solution, but it was quite difficult.
"Let's start this." Danji quickly shaved the shape that she saw in Aiko's illusion in the beginning.
"You have a good memory." Moon Aiko was startled.
"But memory can't create miracles, you still have to try it out if you like it." Danji giggled.
"I will." Moon Aiko was curious about Danji's skill.
"The middle part is too thick, but the other parts are fine." Moon Aiko was surprised by how accurate she was!
"I will adjust it." Danji smiled, quickly shaving the middle part.
Moon Aiko was so surprised that she didn't work on her side. She also liked to watch others work on things, so it was only natural for her to pause everything and watch Danji's fingers~.
Danji finished the middle part and handed it to Aiko again.
"Perfect." Moon Aiko heated up the rubber so that it would not make it sticky and placed the thin handle on the smallest knife.
It fit perfectly, and she secured it with rivets. While she could do something else to secure it, this was the easiest way she could think of.
'Next time, I won't harden the handle on the blade.' Moon Aiko grimaced when she tried to make holes for the rivets.
"I'm done here, too." Danji prepared the other two handles for Aiko.
"Already?!" Moon Aiko was shocked at how quick Danji was.
'Isn't her dexterity lower? How is she faster?!' Moon Aiko was confused.
She was unaware that just stats wouldn't make her 'right'. You also needed experience and enough 'familiarity' with the given technique.
Even when it came to strength, if someone had good enough technique, he would be able to render Aiko powerless...
Moon Aiko attached the other two handles while also grumbling about hardening the handles.
The basic tools were finished, and all she had to do now was make the mallet.
It would help her to accurately guide the chisel~!
Moon Aiko carved the wood with her sickle. It was shockingly sharp, so the work was quickly done, and she had to move on to the chisel.
Without a hammer, she had to use a piece of wood to hammer it down. She didn't ask for a temporary hammer due to her excitement about how well her tools turned out.
...
"I should probably smooth it..." Moon Aiko finished, but the mallet was quite rough on some sides, which might prick her if she let her guard down.
"We have a grindstone?" Chen Shi never really cared about wooden parts, so he always used a grindstone to smoothen them.
"I can try." Moon Aiko nodded her head happily.
...
The grindstone was a bit rough, but it still allowed her to smooth out most of the mallet.
She didn't need to care much about the handle, since she would place the rubber there too.
Danji already created another handle for Aiko, startling her even more.
"Are you enjoying this?" Moon Aiko asked worriedly.
"En." Danji smiled. It was quite fun carving down things. It reminded her of cooking.
Moon Aiko nodded her head. "Alright, you can help me whenever you feel like it." She wouldn't pressure anyone in her team, since she believed they would help her when they had the time.
"Thank you~" Danji happily hugged Aiko, making quite the sensual spectacle to the observers.
...
Moon Aiko took the mallet and tested it properly.
"This works well." Moon Aiko was happy. Not only did the mallet work, but it also allowed her to guide the chisel very precisely and without any hiccups!
Moon Aiko was happy, so she pulled out another Treasure, this time with 5 metals.
She would work on it with her new tools and see if she needed to adjust something.
This Treasure was a large cylindrical ring. It was supposed to be a Spatial Band, but it got ruined in one of the fights, making it no longer usable.
Moon Aiko first took the smallest blade and separated the metals by the seams.
The blade was sharp, and she used less than 10% of her energy compared to the needles!
"So cool~" Moon Aiko hummed, healing her body slightly, while also enjoying the fruits of hard labour.
The Spatial Band quickly crumbled under Aiko's assault, and she was able to retrieve around 80% of the materials, since the other parts were either ruined or too corroded.
When Chen Shi saw that, he almost fainted.
Spatial materials were rare and precious, so if he could scrap the unusable Storage Rings, he would be able to create more Spatial Bands!
This was good news for everyone, since their storage would greatly increase. This would allow them to store more materials, which could be later used along the way, but the most important part was that with fewer Storage Rings, they would be less noticeable!
Quite a few Fiendish Cultivators attacked other Cultivators for their Storage Rings.
The more Storage Rings you had on you, the more likely you were to be ambushed by them and robbed!
...
Moon Aiko pulled the hardest Treasure she could. It contained a whopping 34 metals, making Chen Shi squint his eyes.
'Surely she can't go that far?' Chen Shi believed that the limit would be 10 metals, but over 30? No way!
Moon Aiko warmed it up, thanks to Grandpa Flame and took her sickle for this part.
It was quite a bulky armour, so she would just have to shave it down slowly, before taking it by the seams.
This would possibly save her a lot of time and energy, but only time could tell!
...
The shaving went on and on. Moon Aiko didn't shave off larger portions to avoid cutting off several metals and having to shave the loose pieces once more.
*sliiiide*
"Hm?" Moon Aiko noticed that thanks to the ultra-thin blade, she was able to glide across the seams, making separation much easier.
"I wonder..." Moon Aiko narrowed her eyes. "Is there a metal that can bend and return to its original shape?" She licked her lips. If this worked, it would make scrapping so much easier!
"There is, but it's too precious." Yue shook her head. "It's impossible for us to get in this place. You have to go to the mainland for it."
"Tsk." Moon Aiko clicked her tongue, but she was not discouraged!
She would definitely get her hands on that kind of metal, so that she would create a wire that would cut the seams gently, but efficiently!
Moon Aiko was fired up and scrapped 7 out of 34 metals in one day.
At this point, Chen Shi was concerned that Aiko would be able to finish this Treasure!
...
Over the next few days, Moon Aiko kept shaving the different metals and also melting them into small balls that were easy to join later.
This allowed her to store the already finished shavings without losing anything.
At some point, Moon Aiko switched to a chisel to gently break the seams to allow her to completely break the armour Treasure apart...!