“Do you.. need help?”
“Yeah… where’s the Guild healer?”
“I’ll lead you there. Co.”
Thankfully, I saw one of the Guild staff near the entrance.
Even though, over my stay in the city, I’ve witnessed both parties and groups of bloodied, battered adventurers returning to the Guild looking like they’ve been to a literal warzone, I still felt a bit self-conscious about roaming the halls like this myself.
“Right this way.”
The short brown-haired woman pointed towards the open door of a small building, which had an infirmary sign above its door. Coincidentally, it was also located near the northwestern gate into the walled training yard, and would’ve been easy to spot had I ever gone through there.
“May the sun bless you, child.”
“Greetings.”
As expected, there was a Sun Priest inside. Even two, it seed, although I could only see the back of the other gray-haired priestess, currently treating soone over in the corner.
“Hmm… seems like you’ve had a busy day, child. Sit over here.”
I sat on the nearby bench, which had just recently been cleaned, and leaned the broken glaive - which I'd been holding in my arm - against it, too.
“Raise your left arm.”
ntally prepared for what'd co next, I did as instructed. A mont later…
Crunch! Crunch!
“Ghh..”
I flinched as the man's skilled fingers swiftly re-aligned the bones of my left hand. The flaring pain was imnse, but no more so than using up my healing potion earlier.
“Oh, lady of light…”
Quickly reciting his incantation, the Priest pressed his hands - which were glimring with soft yellow light - against mine.
I could feel the pain rapidly rescinding.
“Now, show …”
Over the next 15 minutes, all of my external injuries were healed, with the priest becoming progressively more exhausted with each Miracle.
“Thank you.”
“I am… Huff… rely doing our lady's sacred bidding.”
It seed that the full extent of my injuries was near the limit of what the single priest could heal. However, I did feel much better.
“How much- I an, what is the customary tribute?”
Sun Priests would never ask for paynt for healing – at least, not directly. However, there was an unspoken understanding regarding paying ‘tributes’ after the fact.
Of course, one who didn't have much to offer would often simply show his gratitude to the Goddess directly – yet, if sobody with the ans decided to offer his ‘thanks’ rather than gold, word of it would quickly spread.
It's not like you'd get punished by law, but your reputation would take a nosedive, to the extent of getting ostracized.
Not that I really cared about it, to be honest, but, reputation still mattered to so extent. Besides, I didn’t want to be the freeloading asshole, regardless.
“Huff… Haaaa. You don’t seem like soone in the Silver rank, but, for so reason… Nevermind. Ignore the ramblings of this humble priest.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, he finally nad his price.
“The customary tribute for Iron ranked adventurers, with your injuries, would be 10 gold.”
“Alright, thank you.”
‘Haaaa…’
Sebastian’s exasperated sight was so tangible I could almost hear it in real life, as I took out 15 gold coins from my pouch.
“Thank you, young one.”
“No, this was probably less than you deserve. Thanks again!”
Waving my hand to the priest, I turned to leave the infirmary.
‘What a aningless waste.’
The eternal critic in my head was not pleased.
‘This was clearly harder for him than usual healing for soone my level.’
‘Irrelevant. If he wanted more gold, he should have asked for more gold.’
At this mont, I was grateful I couldn’t - or rather, wouldn’t - hear his voice back when I stumbled into that high-end restaurant, or bought the watch.
‘If there’s a goddess of luck, maybe there’s so karmic god. Perhaps my “aningless gesture” right now just saved us from future misfortune.’
‘If the gods are that perceptive, then your blasphemy against the Smiling Lady must have brought twice as much misfortune by now.’
Conveniently ignoring his last remark, I made my way to the smithy.
“Greetings… Hey, haven't I seen you here yesterday?”
“Yeah…”
It was the sa smith who sold the sword maintenance kit, along with the hand-written guide - so notes scribbled on a scroll - on how to properly use it.
He was also the one who…
“Blazes, kid! Is that the sa armor you brought three days ago?”
“Yeah…”
“How in the…”
Halting his words, the muscular man took a deep breath.
“Just so you know – since I've used the last of your spare links back then, the repair cost of this chainmail is going to be far higher. Actually, I might not be able to repair it any ti soon – not without mixing in a different alloy. The one it's made of is pretty rare around these parts.”
“Oh, actually, could you look at this first?”
I took out the bloodstained chainmail from my sack, almost causing the helt inside to fall out, as well.
“Hmm?..”
The smith instantly grew more interested.
“That’s so quality tal, kid. Actually, it should be slightly better than the one you're wearing.”
He gave an appraising look.
“Looking to sell either of them?”
“If the old one can't be repaired, at least not for cheap, I'd rather sell it. Along with…”
I presented all of Sweet Face's forr equipnt I could grab back then. With all due respect to the authorities, after leaving Zod's gear to the watch, I had no intention of ‘donating’ anything to the Ministry. Not if I could help it.
“Lets start with the leather armor. As it is, you might as well scrap the chestpiece and hand pads.”
“Acceptable. Actually, I'd like to sell the remainder of the set, too..”
It was ti to graduate from this hide heap, anyway.
“Then it'll be the standard fare. 6 gold.”
“What about those?”
“5 gold for the helt. The glaive… I need to check it. Depending on the material, we might be able to reforge it. I could give you an estimate after we finish up with the rest, but, if my assumptions are correct, it'd be anywhere between 120 gold to 240 gold. The latter assus it's indeed Kelvion Steel, and that whatever broke it didn't leave concealed fractures elsewhere in the shaft.”
“I’ll trust you with the glaive. However, this helt is basically pristine! Those go for 10 gold.”
“10 gold if you're willing to open a stand outside the guild. Which requires a permit, by the way.”
“If you insist on 5, I'd rather sell it on the market.”
“Fine… 7. Not a copper more.’
“Deal.”
‘For soone throwing his money away on useless tributes, you show an awful lot of vigor fighting for 2 gold.’
‘This is this, and that's that. Why would I let this guy rob blind?’
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
While I was ‘lost in thought’, the man had already departed with the glaive. A few minutes later, he returned.
“Hey!”
I took my eyes off the stand I was currently looking at, returning to the counter.
“You’re in luck. There is one serious fracture, going along the shaft, but it can be nded along the other repair procedures. I'll give you 180 gold. And not a coin more!”
His last words were especially stern.
“Fine. Now-”
“4 gold for both. Those arm shields are basically scrap.”
“Alright. And my old chainmail?”
“40 gold.”
“At least make it a round number!”
“40 is a round!.. Ah, damn you, 50 gold. And don't you dare!-”
“Deal.”
Before the man could get riled up even further, I decided to pour so cold water onto the flas. After all, I still had business here.
“Is there any other piece of gear you want to extort my remaining gold with?”
“Actually, I'd like to get one. And if anything…”
Rather than voicing my thoughts about who was doing the extorting here, I moved towards the stands - literal standing dummies - I was eyeing earlier.
“Can I ask you a few questions regarding those armor sets?”
“Of course!”
The reluctance was instantly banished from the man’s voice, replaced with newfound interest.
“I need sothing light, but durable. Not too constricting. Needs to have arm-shield slots, too.”
“Ha! If you weren’t a stingy battle maniac, I’d take you for a child of so minor noble.”
“A.. hey! I’m not a battle maniac.”
“You’re gonna say the sa thing when you bring your next shredded armor set, too?”
I simply shook my head, as the blacksmith burst out laughing.
“...why a noble, though?”
“Hehe… An Iron rank shopping for plate armor with those specs? By my forge, even if-”
The blacksmith suddenly halted his words, as a strange glimr appeared in his eyes.
“Hey. Are you perhaps… A hidden-”
“Oh, not this bullshit again…”
In response to my exasperated sigh, the blacksmith gave a knowing look.
“Yes, yes, of course.”
I had a feeling this could start becoming a common misunderstanding. Regardless, I really needed good armor.
“The best thing I could offer would be a half-plate made from a mithril-dominant alloy, with matching greaves and bracers. However…”
He threw an hesitant glance.
“Besides the fact it’d be a custom order, the price would be… significant.”
“How significant?”
I had a feeling as to what the answer would be, but, still, I had to make sure.
“5,000 gold, give or take.”
“Yeah, maybe… Sothing a bit cheaper. Around 1,000?..”
I didn’t know how big the bounties were, nor how much the rest of my loot was worth, but even if it sohow ca close to 5,000 (which I highly doubted), I wouldn’t want to spend all of my net worth just on my armor.
“That’s cutting it a little low… but, I actually have sothing.”
He suddenly turned around, the short, broad-shouldered man stord off to his backroom, before returning once more. This ti, a suit of armor rested in his hands, carried with relative ease.
“This here is a mix of mithril, hafnium and niobium, with the latter being dominant. Highly resistant to extre temperatures and oxidation, but not as heavy as usual niobium-based alloys.”
“This sounds… great.”
I picked up the breastplate with one hand. While I was still sowhat exhausted from my journey down into the Undercity, I still managed to raise the piece of armor, which had a dark-blue hue, slightly reminiscent of the armor worn by the MIS branch leader on the Day of Fallen Leaves, but far darker.
“However… Erm… It’s going to be a bit difficult to use in this state…”
The sides of the breastplate were charred, and had deep, wide claw marks engraved into them, stretching as far as the chest area. The sa, to a smaller extent, could be said about the full helt, its face guard slightly bent.
Moreover, near the abdon, there was a massive puncture hole, with the tal in its general area bending inwards.
“Of course I’m not selling it as is! Who do you take for?”
I tactfully kept my silence, earning an annoyed exhale.
“This armor belonged to a mber of the Redblaze Cots.”
He looked at , expecting so kind of reaction.
“Never heard of them.”
The man’s raised eyebrow was further highlighted by the wrinkles in his forehead, nearly reaching its shiny bold top.
“Seriously? I’d expect soone like you to recognize the na of the best monster hunter company this side of Valoria.”
“They’re… famous?”
The look of suspicion receded after the man shook his head in disbelief .
“The word ‘famous’ doesn’t begin to cover it. Apart from the trainees, every mber of their core squads is an Elevated Path-bearer.”
It was my ti to raise an eyebrow. This was indeed extrely impressive, given how powerful an organization with but a few such Path-bearers was considered in the city.
anwhile, the blacksmith continued, with the enthusiasm of a man who found an opportunity to educate a rookie.
“Their upper echelon has multiple Transcendents! They say the current leader may even break into the Legendary realm this decade!”
“If they’re all such bigshots, shouldn’t their equipnt… well, wouldn’t this armor be a bit cheap for their level?”
“No, it… It belonged to a man who went by the nickna Graywind. A nice guy. Started as an adventurer in this very city, believe it or not. Joined the Cots nearly a decade back, as a trainee. Managed to climb up to the 2nd realm a few years later.”
“What.. happened to him?”
Although the armor told a story of its own, it would be a bit strange for it to end up in a place like this.
“His squad was on a Redwing Drake extermination mission, a month or so back. Up north, closer Graygate. One of those bastards nearly took his life… this wasn’t his main set, by the way. While it matches your query, its main strength lies in its fire and frost resistance.”
“Wait, if they nearly took his life, then why did you-”
“Last week, I received word of his passing. Bloody fool wouldn’t stay put in his damned bed – had to join the next mission right away. Whatever they faced during that mission finally did him in.”
Despite his harsh words, there was a hint of sadness in his voice.
‘Well, given his age, he might have worked in the Guild for over a decade. More than a couple decades, even.’
Regardless…
“Shouldn’t it be returned, though?”
“That would usually be the case – however, he had no family, and left no will.”
“What about his organization?”
The blacksmith hesitated for a mont, before deciding to give a proper explanation.
“Since it was entrusted into my care, and no repair fee had been paid upfront, I’m within my right to conduct the repairs, then sell the equipnt. Of course, I will send them the sum stipulated by the law.”
After a mont of hesitation, I nodded. Business was business.
“Still, it sounds like this set is quite expensive.”
A breastplate, a helt, bracers, leggings with complex joints… All-in-all, I found it hard to believe all of this could go for 1,000 golds.
“You’re god damn right it’s expensive. However, under those circumstances, I’m willing to settle for 1,500 gold. And don’t even think about bargaining on this one!”
“Hmm…”
I scanned the armor set once more.
By the looks of it, and by the weight I felt earlier, it seed like this would also be a perfect fit for , providing excellent protection, while only marginally reducing my mobility. After all, as my Strength increased even farther, I was already significantly stronger than basically any human from Earth.
“Could it be fitted?”
“Of course! I’d never sell sothing of this caliber without providing the basic associated services.”
“For free?”
“...yes.”
Given the tone of the answer, it seed he had another idea, but decided against voicing it.
In truth, this offer was extrely tempting. Besides the pure physical attributes, its resistances had significance to .
Sure, I wasn’t planning on fighting any fire-breathing dragons - or similar monsters - but there was another fla-related threat I’d have to face – .
Given the destructiveness of even simple fire cantrips backfiring, I didn’t want to imagine what would almost certainly happen in the future, once I started practicing higher-tier fire spells.
‘The biggest threat this armor could end up protecting from might be myself.’
“Fine. However, most of my gold’s in the bank, and I still have to sell the rest of my loot.”
Even with everything I’ve sold so far, including the gold bar and the money in my bank account, I was still a few dozen coins short. Still, there were two bounties for to collect, and two utility belts full of loot for to sell.
“That’s alright. If you leave 300 gold upfront, minus what I owe you, I could start right now. I’d say it would be ready by nightfall, yet, with this armor’s properties, I’ll have to hire a High Wizard who knows his stuff when it cos to tal manipulation. I think tomorrow at noon would be a good estimate.”
“Alright, then. Here you go.”
While I didn’t need to touch my gold bar, my coin pouch dwindled down to 26 gold coins, with another 6 in the ‘change pouch’.
That was after I also sold my forearm shields for scrap at 1 gold each.
Bidding the blacksmith farewell, I went on to visit the other shops.
First was the tinkerer – as it turned out, the two communication spheres went for 100 gold each. It would’ve been higher had they been ‘clean’, rather than in need of a ‘reset’.
I also identified the concoctions on the first squad leader’s belt – 2 smoke bombs, which I already recognized, and a poison gas bomb. I sold the latter for 5 gold, before spending 30 gold on two more cheap Fla’s Kisses.
My 4 contraption casings were now filled, once again.
Next ca the potions. Between the two belts their contents could be summarized as:
A grade 2 healing potion (4/5), a regular darkvision potion (1/5), a superior darkvision potion (2/2), and a grade 3 healing potion (3/5).
Finally, there was also another potion…
‘So, he really had one of those…’
A grade 1 Strength potion, which would boost the Attribute by 1.
The effect would last around 5 minutes, which would be plenty when it ca to real battles.
‘It’s a good thing he didn’t use it back then… Well, I can sort of understand him. Who’d want to waste 200 gold on soone 1.5 minor realms below them?’
I also still had my Sunray-in-a-Bottle, which was a grade 2.5 potion.
‘Sun’s Tears was grade 3.5… a sha it’s not a direct replacent, but I can make it work.’
In the end, I sold the sealed superior darkvision potion for 150 gold.
The healing potions stayed, having no anti-synergy with each other, or with my oldest potion, for that matter.
The nearly-empty potion of darkvision could as well be tossed into the nearby trashcan, but, graciously, the halfling apprentice agreed to pay 2 gold for it, placing it onto the ‘bargain tray’ for 5 a few seconds later.
Needless to say, the potion of Strength, which would ordinarily go for 400 gold, remained in my care, occupying the reinforced vial casing of the now-discarded grade 3.5 healing potion.
By the ti I made a trip to the bank and returned to the smithy with the paynt, letting him take a few asurents of my body, it was already past noon.
My finances had now stabilized at around 90 gold on my person (88, after paying for lunch), and 150 gold in the bank.
‘Alright… I wanted to visit Slayer trainer John today, but I think my arms are going to fall off before I could do any more training.’
I would have to leave that for tomorrow.
‘I should probably ride through the ministry and onto the temple, then circle back to Central. I did tell Anne I’d co today.’
Besides, training magic was basically the only thing I had any energy left for.
‘But first…’
I had a different destination.
It was ti to return to the Silver Trout tavern.
And then, get so answers.
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