Cursed Villainess' Obsession

Chapter 6

After finishing my meal, I decided to test my item creation skill. Fortunately, the afternoon class had been canceled, leaving me with some free time.

“What are you going to make?”

Rafne, who had finally calmed down after the meal, looked at me with a curious expression. As I organized the equipment for crafting, I held up an iron ingot I had brought along.

“I’ll start by making a simple weapon.”

I wanted to see how the item creation skill worked. When I played the game, NPCs would create items for me without any mini-games or steps involved. But now, in reality, there would be a process, even with the skill activated. The equipment in Ken’s room was proof of that.

“Whew, this should do the trick.”

“Let me help! Do you need anything?”

Rafne’s eyes sparkled as she approached. Considering that her only form of entertainment up until now had been playing with dolls, assisting in crafting must have seemed like a fun diversion. Besides, having her help was ideal. In fact, I had anticipated it from the start.

Even to make a simple iron dagger, the process involved heating and shaping the iron. But despite Ken’s room being well-equipped, it lacked the necessary heat to melt the iron.

“Can you light that mini-furnace? Focus on generating a really high heat.”

“Got it!”

In contrast, Rafne was a top student at the academy, always ranked in the upper echelons of the class. For her, casting fire magic hot enough to melt iron was an easy feat.

“Ignis.”

Rafne extended her hand toward the mini-furnace I had set up. As she quietly spoke the incantation, magic gathered in her hand, producing flames.

“Ignis Magna.”

The orange flames soon turned blue as she recited the advanced fire spell. Even from a distance, I could feel the intense heat.

“Compressio.”

As she finished the incantation, the flames compressed, shrinking in size while maintaining their incredible heat.

From Ken’s memories, I recalled that this final spell was used for compressing magical energy.

‘This is completely different from the game.’

In the game, magic was mostly used in combat, with a simple press of a button activating the spell. But in reality, magic required a spoken incantation, making it feel far more tangible.

Watching the magic unfold before my eyes, I couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

“All done! How’s that? Is it okay?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect. Thanks.”

“...Hehe.”

Pleased with her efforts, Rafne smiled bashfully. With this level of heat, the iron ingot would melt quickly. Not that I had ever melted iron before.

‘Now, let’s see how to activate this skill.’

Just like magic, skills in the game were triggered with the press of a button. But here, in reality, I had to approach it differently.

“Rafne, this might sound like a weird question, but how do you activate a skill?”

“Huh? A skill?”

“Yeah, like your 'Nerve Acceleration' skill, for example.”

“Well, you just think about using it in your mind, and that’s it.”

Rafne seemed a bit flustered, finding my question odd. Of course, to her, it was second nature to use skills, so my inquiry likely seemed strange.

Still, it was good to know that simple intent was all that was needed. Convenient.

I closed my eyes and focused on activating the skill. Just as Rafne had chanted her incantation for magic, I envisioned the skill in my mind.

‘Item Creation.’

Suddenly, various categories filled my mind—potion crafting, weapon forging, and even magic scroll creation. However, most of them were empty, providing no usable options.

Among the few available was the weapon crafting category.

I selected the option for a dagger.

‘Dagger creation.’

A blueprint for crafting a simple dagger began playing out in my head.

‘I see, so that’s how it’s done.’@@@@

Even though I had never crafted a weapon before, the skill allowed the knowledge of an experienced craftsman to be imprinted in my mind.

Opening my eyes, I grabbed the crafting hammer.

Clang! Clang!

I placed the iron ingot into the furnace Rafne had prepared, heating it, then shaped it with the hammer.

Shaping it only took a few strikes, likely another effect of the skill.

Just as casting magic required incantations instead of button presses, breaking this stone required physical effort.

Clang! Clang!

“Ugh... huff... huff...”

After what felt like dozens of strikes, my arms were aching, and sweat dripped from my forehead. But I didn’t stop.

Either the stone would break, or my arm would. Or maybe the hammer would. But I wouldn’t quit until something gave.

Finally.

Clang! ...Crack.

“...It worked!”

A small crack appeared, and the stone began to glow before shattering completely.

The stone dissolved into particles of light.

“That means...!”

Wasting no time, I got to my feet and searched the area.

In the distance, a faint glimmer of light caught my eye.

I ran toward it immediately.

“Huff, huff.”

When I reached the source of the light, I found a small, unmarked stone monument that hadn’t been there before.

It looked crudely made, as if someone had just propped up a thin slab of rock.

I started digging at the base of the monument.

Fortunately, the item I was looking for wasn’t buried deep. It didn’t take long for it to emerge from the dirt.

“Found it...”

‘I can’t believe it’s really here, just like in the game...’

What I unearthed was a small pouch labeled “Wanderer’s Pouch.”

In the game, this item was tied to a side quest given by an old woman in the academy town.

Its true identity was an interdimensional storage pouch.

It was the kind of pouch that could hold an unlimited amount of items inside.

“Let’s see...”

I quickly tested the pouch by placing the crafting hammer inside.

Despite its small size, the pouch effortlessly absorbed the large hammer.

“...It really works.”

I shook the pouch, but there was no sign of anything inside. Then I reached in.

‘Hammer... hammer...’

As I thought about the item, my hand brushed against the hammer’s handle. I pulled it out easily.

“Nice!”

I had successfully obtained an interdimensional storage item using knowledge from the game.

This item was never meant for the player in the game. It was a quest item, and the protagonist, Emily, started the game with her own storage space.

But for me, it was invaluable.

Now I wouldn’t have to lug around heavy items, and I could collect as many materials as I wanted.

‘This will make crafting the Goddess’s Pendant much easier.’

Having unlimited storage was a huge advantage for someone with my crafting skill. It meant I could grind for materials without worrying about carrying capacity.

Of course, that assumed I had enough materials.

“Phew, time to head back.”

I stored all the supplies I had brought into the interdimensional pouch.

With the weight lifted off my shoulders, my body felt much lighter.

‘I should gather more materials from the forest while I’m here...’

Just as I was about to head back, feeling relieved—

“Kyahhhh!”

A woman’s scream echoed through the forest.