After lunch, the students enjoyed the view together. Their teacher then gathered them for a group photo before taking everyone back home.
This time, the engine had been properly fixed. With this autumn outing behind them, the week-long cold war between Daichi Yayahara and Dekisugi finally came to an end.
Now that they were home, Daichi turned his attention to the most pressing matter—the mana stone. Tomorrow was Saturday, and Dekisugi was still sulking about his missing lunchbox.
Inside his sea of consciousness, Daichi called out to the Soulstele. Before long, it responded by sending him a passage—an array of magical inscriptions meant for crafting onto a staff.
The passage explained that he simply needed to find a suitable medium to hold the mana stone, then engrave the inscriptions onto it.
These were magic sigils, specifically selected by the Soulstele as appropriate patterns for him.
Excited, Daichi pulled out the mana stone—but his expression suddenly shifted.
"Damn it! Why has the mana output dropped so much?!"
Earlier that afternoon, this stone had been top-tier among high-grade mana stones, but now it was barely at the threshold of high-grade—its power had dropped by almost half.
"No way… This thing had so much power before. What happened? Did that damn monkey drain it? No… using magic doesn't deplete the stone's core. Normally, the stone just draws from nature and refills. But this… this is decay. Wait…"
His eyes narrowed. "Could it be… the Performance Booster?"
He suddenly realized: if the stone had been enhanced by the Performance Booster, then its mana would have surged temporarily, reaching peak power. Now that an hour had passed and the effect wore off, it reverted to its original state—an early-stage high-grade mana stone.
Figuring it out, Daichi sighed. He couldn't really blame anyone. Without the booster, he wouldn't have gotten the stone in the first place. And even in this state, the mana stone was still exceptional.
The Soulstele recommended a few container materials—gold, silver…
While ideal, those were out of his price range. So… no thanks.
A slightly lesser option was the heartwood of certain trees—specifically, Pagoda Trees, over fifty years old.
The word "Pagoda" had historically symbolized the spiritual—associated with trees believed to be attuned to the arcane.
Among high-aged trees, Pagoda Tree heartwood rivaled precious metals in magical conduction.
Daichi found Dekisugi and asked, "Are there any Pagoda Trees on the back mountain?"
"Of course. They've been there for centuries," Dekisugi answered casually. "Why do you ask?"
Daichi replied with a deadpan face, "Why? To chop one down, obviously. I love centuries-old Pagoda Trees."
Dekisugi immediately regretted answering. "What?! Those trees are historical! You can't just chop them down!"
Daichi explained, "Remember that monkey who could use magic? I beat it and took its mana stone. That's the core for a magic staff. Now I just need a handle."
"No way! You're seriously thinking of cutting down a tree for that?"
Eventually, Dekisugi's relentless moral reasoning forced Daichi to compromise.
"Fine, fine. I won't fell the tree—just take a branch. Happy?"
Branches worked too. Slightly inferior to heartwood, but still usable.
The next morning, Nobita called Daichi, saying there was no homework today—his mom said Daichi didn't need to come tutor him.
Daichi was thrilled. He'd still get paid but now had free time.
He told Dekisugi he was heading to the back mountain.
Dekisugi didn't trust him, insisting on tagging along—probably worried Daichi would sneak in a full tree chop.
The forested mountain was as serene as ever.
After searching for a while, they reached the summit, where they found the giant Pagoda Trees.
These were truly ancient—neither of them could wrap their arms around even one trunk.
Daichi looked up at the thick, leafy branches. "These trees could probably live for a few more centuries."
He began selecting from among the branches using his sensory spell—feeding small pulses of mana into them one by one.
After scanning the entire tree, he narrowed it down to a few that conducted magic best.
Finally, he selected the most suitable: a newer branch near the treetop, just a few years old.
It was over two meters long and as thick as a grown man's arm.
"This is the one!" he declared.
With a wind blade spell, he sliced it clean off. Leaves fluttered as the branch hit the ground.
A sliver of sunlight pierced the canopy where the branch once grew.
Dekisugi walked up to inspect the cut. "So this is magic, huh… Still, I believe in science!"
Daichi jumped down from the five-meter-high tree. Dust kicked up around his feet.
Dekisugi winced. "Be careful! You'll get hurt!"
Unbothered, Daichi got to work shaping the staff on the spot. Hauling the entire branch back would draw attention—and potentially more lectures like Dekisugi's.
He pulled out a small knife, buffed himself with Might Strength, and channeled mana into the blade to keep it sharp and durable.
First, he cut the base into a squared-off handle, then shaped the top third into a bulbous sphere.
When Dekisugi saw the rough form, he burst out laughing. "That's not a staff—it's a hammer!"
Daichi glared. "If I mess up, I'll have to cut a new one. You want that?"
Dekisugi immediately shut up, looking pained.
Ignoring him, Daichi continued whittling.
He spent half an hour smoothing the lower part into a cylindrical shaft, then gripped it to test for comfort.
Satisfied, he moved on to the top section.
The gem was diamond-shaped, so the socket had to match. He carved a matching outline, leaving a thin buffer to avoid direct contact.
He then hollowed out the center, leaving four small connecting struts between the inner and outer diamonds—this would act as a mana flow stabilizer.
He tested the fit—it was slightly too small. Good. Better too small than too loose.
He carefully widened the socket until the gem fit snugly—still a bit loose, but that would be solved later.
In proper magic staves, mana inscriptions and enchantments would lock the stone in place. For floating-core staves, the mana tether was even stronger.
Though, those required rare magical alloys Daichi could only dream of.
With the socket complete, he put the gem aside and began inscribing the sigils.
He turned to Dekisugi. "This'll take a while. You can head back if you want."
Dekisugi shook his head and pulled out a book. "I'll wait."
Daichi etched slowly and carefully. Each sigil required intense focus—errors were unacceptable.
Every few lines, he paused to rest.
If he were a Tier 3 mage, he could probably carve the full set in one go.
But for now, it was mentally exhausting.
Time passed. The sun climbed high, filtering golden light through the trees.
It was nearly noon when Daichi finally carved the last sigil. He stood, stretched, and sighed.
"At last. Time to witness a miracle."
Dekisugi walked over, curious.
Daichi placed the mana stone into the socket.
Suddenly, the staff lit up.
The previously invisible inscriptions bloomed with color, starting from the core and rippling outward in brilliant hues—like a work of art.
The staff floated, glowing softly.
The twin diamond socket tightened, clamping around the gem. At its peak, the glow surged, then faded.
Daichi picked up the newly forged staff, channeled mana into it, and felt the flow.
Perfect.
"It's done," he declared.