"Welcome," said Katarina, "to the hideout of the most infamous blacksmith on the Continent of Salvation." She and Ruskus smiled.
'Most infamous?' I thought, asking myself if I hadn't heard it wrong by chance.
I didn't know how serious to take them. It was evident that Katarina liked to joke around, but I always found myself wondering if there wasn't a kernel of truth in her jokes, and just how deep it might be.
I considered for a moment if I should activate Stroke of Luck before meeting this mysterious blacksmith, but soon dismissed the idea. It wasn't worth spending Stroke of Luck on something like that; what if I found myself in a life-or-death situation in the next 24 hours? The best option was to trust my luck.
Katarina was the first to enter the house, not even bothering to knock on the wooden door before opening it. Ruskus then gestured for me to enter next, and I did.
When I entered, I barely had time to see anything before something went whizzing past the side of my face at high speed, the wind ruffling the loose strands of my hair. A dry sound followed immediately.
I looked to my left, and embedded in the wall, its hilt still trembling slightly from the impact, was a silver dagger. I gulped. A fucking dagger almost hit me when I had barely entered the place. Maybe I should have activated Stroke of Luck before entering after all.
"Oops!" a deep rusky voice from inside the cabin said.
Ruskus, who in the meantime had already entered the cabin, subtly positioned himself in front of me, between me and the figure who had thrown the knife.
"I don't know if I should worry more about your sight or your speed, old geezer," Katarina spoke and then walked to the wall where the dagger was embedded. "Oh, I think this is mine." She then proceeded to take it off the wall and analyze it. "At least your abilities in the blacksmithy remain the same, as it seems."
"And you think you're a young girl, huh?" the deep voice retorted.
I could finally take my time to peek a look at the man inside. I was kind of expecting to see a dwarf of some sort, but I was met with a large, muscular man with graying hair and reddish, slightly wrinkled skin. His eyes were as black as coal, and a grizzled white beard covered his face.
[Name: Gaston
Condition: Common
Age: 54 years
Species: Human
Level: Individual does not possess the concept of level.
Attributes:
Strength: 15
Agility: 11
Defense: 14
Endurance: 15
Intelligence: 25
Class: Blacksmith
Skills: Blacksmithy - Level 9; Ágedes Fire - Level 4 (Blocked).
Titles: Cursed by Ágedes; Blacksmithy Master]
It was my first time seeing someone with a higher intelligence than mine.
At first, when I discovered the cap for intelligence a common human could have was 50, and compared it with my measly 13 at the time, I was disheartened. But then while reading in the Temple I discovered that 50 was the amount the greatest mages had, and I felt better with myself. But now, while seeing Gaston's atributes, my complex was about to boot in again.
'54? I'd give him at least sixty something' I thought sourly. Even though I was being petty, it was true nonetheless.
But there was another part that caught my attention. 'Cursed by Ágedes?'
"I see you have a new face among you today" continued Gaston, fixing his eyes on me.
"And we almost lost her, thanks to you." Katarina replied.
"I'm sorry." He said to me, after a while. "I was hoping to give these bastards a scare, to see if it would fix their rotten behavior. I meant no harm to you."
I thought I could feel the sincerity in his words.
"It's okay, I would do the same if someone entered my house unannounced."I answered, even though I had yet to control my hands from shaking from the shock of having a dagger thrown in my direction — and my pettiness too, of course.
Katarina then turned her head to me.
"Hey! Is that any way to talk about the person who was defending you? Your big sis?"
I just stared blankly at her in response. I couldn't remember this so called time when she defended me. Actually, it was because of her that I was almost hit by the dagger in the first place. I expected them to have a more peaceful relationship, or at least one that was less... turbulent.
"I can see the young girl has some sense." Gaston said. "Unlike some others." He then turned his sullen face to Katarina.
"You make it sound like I was the one throwing knives at people at random," Katarina sighed.
"Is everything ready?" Ruskus cut in, before Katarina or Gaston could go on with their bickering again.
Gaston huffed.
"Do you really think making equipment and weapons is that easy? I already said it wouldn't be ready today; you're just wasting your time and mine by coming here." He waved his hand as if he were shooing us away like annoying flies. "The more you bother me, the longer it will take."
"We didn't just come for ourselves today," Ruskus said, nodding his head towards me before Katarina could offer some cheeky retort.
"Oh! Is that so? And what would the little girl like?"
I frowned.
Little girl? Weren't these people just going too far now?
Anyway, I chose to ignore it and proceeded to answer.
"I'd like a good knife, a pair of fingerless soft leather gauntlets, and a cape."
The blacksmith analyzed me for a moment before replying.
"It'll take some time. Two weeks, at least."
"Don't you have anything ready already?"
"Look around, do you see anything?"
Well, there really wasn't anything in the vicinity we were in at the moment, but I supposed he had his products in some other room. Then I reconsidered everything I had been told, how Katarina referred to this place as a hideout.
"You only work on commissions."
He smiled slightly.
"I work only on specific commissions for a very select number of people."
"And will you do it for me?"
"As long as you pay for it" he shrugged.
"I thought you only made works for a very select number of people."
He let out a rough, deep laugh.
"I believe I owe you amends, after the earlier little incident."
It was my turn to smile.
"Very well, and how much will it cost?"
"It'll vary depending of the quality you want it to be, but at least two silver coins, that's for sure."
I crossed my arms thoughtfully. Would I be able to get that amount by producing and selling healing potions in the village?
"Forget about the knife; just make her the cape and the gauntlets. Pick the materials with the best quality from the cheapest ones," Katarina said to Gaston, interrupting my mental calculations.
"What? Why not the knife?" I asked, having no clue about her reason for saying it.
"You already have a knife. Right here." She waved the dagger she had in her hands —the one that had almost hit me.
"Are you going to give it to me?" I asked, confused.
Katarina smiled.
"I'm not giving; I'm trading. For the potion." She then turned to the smith. "Where's the other one?"
He then fetched another dagger, identical to the first, and handed it to Katarina — this time, without throwing it.
"They're a pair. Don't you fight with two knives, just like me? So you need a pair, not just one."
I shot a suspicious look at Katarina. The pair of knives she was offering me was definitely worth much more than the one silver tiélviam still owed for the potion.
I was certain there was some catch. Even without using the See Beyond skill, I could see the quality of the daggers was very — very indeed — superior to anything I had seen at the Hero's Smithy.
"Just take it." It was Ruskus this time. "She's not playing this time."
Even though I was still suspicious, I accepted the daggers from Katarina and examined them more carefully.
The two daggers were practically identical. Both the hilt and the blade were a darkened silver; the hilt had some etchings that facilitated grip. The blade was simple, thinner and sharper on the edges and thicker and more resistant in the center. On both, for a few centimeters along the length of the blade, right after the hilt, there was an extension on the sides that wasn't sharpened but had the same width as the center. I imagined this feature had the same function as the unsharpened part of a knife: it helped block attacks, as Katarina had taught me during the brief morning training.
[Item name: Dual silver daggers.
Item classification: Uncommon.
Description: Dual daggers that work better together. Light, sharp and resistant. A masterpiece of its ranking.
Made by: Blacksmithy Master Gaston.
Grant bonus attributes:
+ 1 strength
+1 agility]
It was my first time touching an item that increased attributes. I coundn't really tell the difference just yet, but I could see it in my profile tab.
[Profile
Name: Lilia Costa
Condition: Player
Age: 25 years
Species: Human
Level: 1 Experience: 0/10
Attributes:
Strength: 12 (+1)
Agility: 13 (+1)
Defense: 9
Endurance: 11
Intelligence: 24
Luck: 6
Mana: 10
Class: (Unavailable)
Skills: See Beyond (Open skill description); Lucky Strike (Open skill description); Mental Fortitude - Level 3 (Open skill description); Mana Manipulation - Level 2 (Open skill description).
Achievements: "Recognized by the Temple of the Knowledge of Astar", "The One Fortune Smiles Upon", "Triumphant Underdog".]
There were eight item tiers as I had learned, which followed this ascending order of quality: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Epic, Legendary, Mythic, and Divine. However, there was yet another category, about which the system had given me no information, nor its position in comparison to the others: Arcana.
I had only seen the Arcana tier once: on the Infinite Inventory Bag item, which I wore around my waist. But considering what it was and what it did, I knew it was high tier. I supposed it was a rank similar to Mythic, at least, just like the Global Map.
Of the eight known tiers, it is from Rare onward that items usually offer bonus attributes. It was an unusual occasion for a weapon at the Uncommon tier to grant such a thing. So I was more than satisfied with the daggers I had in hands.
"So I can keep them, right?" I asked, still suspicious.
"Yes, yes. It's the other half of your payment" Katarina answered. "And I will get a new pair soon, isn't that right, old geezer?"
"As soon as you leave, I'll resume working on that" Gaston answered.
"The repair on these is already done, right?" Katarina said, indicating the daggers in my hands.
"Yes," he agreed. "Now just let me take your measurements for the cape and the gauntlets, little girl."
After Gaston took my measurements and Ruskus and Katarina checked the progress of their orders, we said our goodbyes. Before we each went our separate ways, however, the duo of mercenaries offered to accompany me to a level 1 beastial habitat the next morning before they departed, since it was on the way to where they were going.
Even though it meant spending another night in High Mine, it wasn't an opportunity I was willing to pass up. So, I accepted the offer and reorganized my plans. I would spend another night in the village and set out the next day as well, after going with Katarina and Ruskus to the beastial habitat.
Afterward, I went to the seamstress Neidi had recommended earlier and ordered two sets of clothes. She was extremely polite and professional and promised me the clothes would be ready within three or four days. However, I reassured her no hurry was needed since I would only return to High Mine after ten days, which was the estimate for when my orders with Gaston would be ready.
After everything was settled, I decided it was time to have a meal and finally rest. As I walked back to the inn, I began to wonder what my relationship with the mercenaries really was. Was it friendly? Amicable? How much were they truly letting their guard down around me?
Katarina joked a lot and called me "little sis" and Ruskus had even put his body between me and Gaston in a protective way after the blacksmith threw the dagger in my direction.
But were they really letting their guard down? In less than two days of knowing me? Unlikely. Especially since I myself hadn't completely lowered my guard towards them.
The fact that they thought I was much younger, that they believed they knew about my origin, thinking we were from the same country perhaps made our interactions easier; Katarina even gave the impression that she had me all figured out. And of course, they must have been aware that they could overpower me at any time.
But still, no matter how light the atmosphere was, I knew there was also a line of tension; the trust on neither side was complete.