Cursed Villainess’ Obsession

After finishing my meal, I decided to test my item crafting skill.

Luckily, I had some free time since the afternoon class was canceled.

“What are you making?”

As time passed after our meal, the real Raphne asked curiously.

I held up the iron ingot I brought while organizing the crafting tools.

“I’m trying to create a simple weapon first.”

I want to see how the item crafting skill works. In the game, crafting would be handled automatically by NPCs without even a mini-game.

But this time, it’s not a game.

Even if I activate the skill, there’s bound to be a process.

The equipment ready in Ken’s room is proof of that.

“Phew, this should be enough?”

“I’ll help you! Need anything?”

Raphne approached with her dark eyes sparkling. For someone like her, who only played with dolls back at the tower, this crafting would surely be a fun distraction.

And her assistance was actually a good thing. No, I came here with that in mind.

Even for simple iron dagger crafting, I would need to heat the iron and shape it.

However, Ken’s room may have the tools but lacks the firepower to do that.

“Then light that mini forge on fire for me. Compress the heat as much as you can.”

“Got it!”

On the contrary, Raphne was a top student always ranking high in the academy’s stats. Melting iron with flame magic was easy for her.

“Ignis.”

Raphne extended her hand towards the mini forge I had prepared. She closed her eyes and quietly recited the incantation as magical energy gathered in her hand, igniting a flame.

“Ignis Magna.”

As she spoke the incantation for advanced fire magic, the flame turned from orange to blue.

I could feel the heat even from a distance.

“Compresso.”

When I spoke the final incantation, the magical energy began to compress, shrinking the flames.

But I could feel it. Such intense heat!

From Ken’s memory, that last spell seems to be the command for magical compression.

‘This is completely different from the game.’

In the game, magic was a technique used simply by clicking a button during combat.

However, in reality, the words that were once just names for magic became incantations, forming spells when spoken aloud.

Watching the activation of magic so vividly felt refreshing.

I started to feel a little excited.

“It’s done! How is it? Is it good?”

“Yeah, I think it’s enough. Thanks.”

“…Hehe.”

Feeling proud for finally showcasing her skills, Raphne smiled bashfully.

With this much heat, the iron ingot would melt in no time.

Well, I’ve never melted iron before, though.

‘Then, how do I activate my skill…?’

Just like magic, the skills in the game were activated with a button click.

But considering that we’re in reality now…

“…Raphne, this might be a weird question, but how do you use skills?”

“Uh? Skills?”

“Yeah, for example, like your Neural Acceleration.”

“That, you just think about using it in your mind, right?”

Raphne seemed flustered by my odd question. To the people of this world, using skills must feel so natural that my inquiry seemed odd.

Regardless, having the will to use it is enough.

How convenient.

First, I closed my eyes and focused on using the skill.

Like how Raphne recited the incantation moments ago, I thought about the skill in my mind.

‘Item Crafting.’

As soon as I did, countless categories filled my mind.

From potion crafting to weapon crafting, even crafting magical scrolls.

But most of the content was entirely empty, making it useless.

There were a few weapon categories that actually had options.

I selected the item under sword.

‘Dagger Crafting.’

Immediately, the only method for making a dagger began to play back in my head.

‘So this is how it’s made.’

I had never made a weapon in my life, but with the skill activated, the method was inscribed in my mind as if I was a master artisan who had created weapons for decades.

Then I opened my eyes and picked up the crafting hammer.

Clank! Clank!

I placed the iron ingot into the flame Raphne conjured, applying heat and shaping it with the hammer.

It only took a few hammer strikes to change its form. It must be a skill effect.

Next, I placed the knife-shaped, hot iron chunk into some oil for heat treatment.

I would have to go through this process several times, but thanks to the skill, it was enough to do it just once.

I then sharpened the edge of the iron piece.

As I brought the dull blade to the rotating whetstone, sparks flew out, and the blade began to take shape.

Soon, I assembled the finished blade with the prepared handle and guard.

All of this didn’t take even an hour.

“Wow, you did great! Amazing, Ken!”

Raphne, who had been watching the whole process, clapped her hands quietly, seemingly delighted.

Looks like she enjoyed the crafting process.

By the way…

‘This skill is ridiculous for reality.’

What would have taken days in real life was finished in just one hour.

It’s an incredible gain, both in time and energy.

‘If a skill like this exists, no one would craft items without it.’

I understood why only NPCs with crafting skills could handle item crafting in the game.

[ System: You have crafted a ‘Simple Knife’. You are granted experience points for your first creation. ]

As soon as I held the completed knife, a system message popped up.

Following that, the system displayed the status window for the item crafting skill.

[ Unique Skill: Item Crafting.

Skill Level

Handicraft LV 2
Weapon Crafting LV 2 – UP!
Potion Crafting LV 1
Magical Tool Crafting LV 1 ]

In the status window, the weapon crafting skill, which was previously LV 1, had risen to LV 2.

‘Well, getting to level 2 is pretty easy.’

Achieving up to level 3 can be quickly obtained with a bit of grinding.

The problem lies beyond level 3.

From there, skill levels would gain less experience unless you performed repeated tasks for first-time achievements or completed quests.

With the weapon crafting skill hitting level 2, new categories began surfacing in my mind.

Swords and shields, armor and bows, etc.

And one item caught my eye.

Accessories.

But the content in the accessories category only showed a simple silver necklace.

‘To make the Goddess’ Pendant, how much should I level up…?’

To craft the Goddess’ Pendant, I needed not only materials but also the crafting method.

In the game, it was just a blueprint for a simple item, so I wasn’t aware of the crafting method itself.

Thus, I would need both skill proficiency and material gathering to acquire the blueprint.

Though I still had a long way to go, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

If I gradually acquire experience and items, I will reach my goal quickly.

‘…And I need to prioritize that first.’

I thought about the scattered materials and the knife in my hand.

。 。 。

The next day, I left the academy as it was the weekend and headed to a forest.

This was the city surrounding the academy.

The Forest of Droplets beyond that.

As it was the closest monster spawn area to the academy, the levels of beasts lurking around were low.

So what could I be doing in this area, filled only with low-level monsters?

“Hmm… This should be the area… but seeing it in person, it’s hard to recognize what’s what…”

I trudged through the forest with my hefty body.

The general scenery resembled what I’d seen while playing the game, evoking both nostalgia and mystery.

However, once I entered the forest, I struggled with direction and recognizing the terrain.

“Ah, I found it!”

After comparing the mental images in my mind while searching for the desired tree shape, I finally spotted my target.

It was a slightly larger, more vividly colored tree among the surrounding ones.

A tree with a big hole naturally formed in its center.

“…Where is it…”

Without hesitation, I reached my hand into the hole. As I searched deeper than I expected, I felt something touch my fingertips.

“What is this…?”

When I pulled it out, I held a smooth, fist-sized stone I had been hoping for.

Carved into the center of the stone were symbols resembling runes.

‘I found it properly!’

I placed the stone on the ground and immediately took the crafting hammer from my bag.

Clank! Clank!

“What the hell…! It won’t break!”

Swinging harder than when I created the knife yesterday, the stone didn’t budge an inch.

Even when I played the game, items that could not be broken if your strength level was below a certain point.

I doubted that Ken’s clumsy body could meet that level.

Yet this place was reality.

Just like how magic activation was now spoken incantations instead of button clicks.

If I keep smashing this stone, eventually, it’s bound to break.

Clank! Clank!

“Ugh… Ugh…”

So I struck it dozens of times.

By now my arms ached, and sweat poured down my body. But I didn’t stop.

Whether this stone shattered, my arm broke, or even if the hammer broke.

I wouldn’t stop unless one of those happened.

And finally.

Clank! …Crack!

“…YES! I did it!”

After much persistence, a small crack formed, shining brightly before splitting the stone in half.

The split stone dissolved into particles of light.

“That means there should be more around here…!”

I immediately jumped up and looked around.

Not far from where I stood, I saw a faint gleam of light.

I dashed toward it.

“Ugh, ugh…”

With my tired body, I arrived at a stone I hadn’t seen before.

A nameless stone marker, unmarked, casually set up.

But it was merely a thin rock that someone had randomly propped up nearby.

I immediately began to dig at the base.

Fortunately, what I was looking for wasn’t buried too deep. The item soon revealed itself as I dug a shallow hole.

“I found it…”

‘It’s really here. The item I saw in the game at that place…’

The item I found was the Unknown Traveler’s Pouch.

This was an item you could find by accepting a quest from an old NPC in the city district of the academy during gameplay.

Its true identity was the Subspace Pocket.

Commonly known for holding an infinite number of items.

“Now, let’s see…”

I quickly tossed my crafting hammer into the pouch.

The fist-sized pouch effortlessly swallowed the much larger hammer in one go.

“…Wow, it really works.”

Even shaking the pouch revealed no sensation of anything inside.

Soon, I reached into the pouch.

‘…Hammer, …Hammer.’

As I thought about what I wanted to find, it immediately appeared in my hand.

When I pulled it out, it was the crafting hammer I used earlier.

“Awesome!”

I had successfully obtained an item using my gaming knowledge for the first time.

This item wasn’t specifically for players.

It was solely for side quests. Initially, the main character, Emily, already owned the Subspace Pocket from the very beginning.

Thus, it was an unneeded item for Emily, but not for me.

Now, I wouldn’t need to struggle to move items as before, plus I could gather materials infinitely.

‘With this, I can make the Goddess’ Pendant a bit faster.’

The ability to gather materials infinitely holds tremendous significance.

For someone with item crafting abilities like me, it means infinite grinding is possible.

Of course, on the assumption that materials are sufficient.

“Phew, shall we head back?”

I tossed the things I had carried into the Subspace Pocket.

Relieved from the weight that had previously weighed down my shoulder, my body felt much lighter.

‘While I’m at it, maybe I should gather some more materials in the forest…’

Just as I decided to head back lightly,

“AHHHHHH!”

A woman’s scream echoed through the forest.

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