Battle Maiden

Book 2: Two Path

Chapter 2.5 SS: Ratbane and Priest of Blood

*****

It is known that Spoon had completed the quest to exterminate every single rat beneath the Salty Rose. What happened in between and after, was not. As such, the tale is about spoon during the period of time, outside of the dungeon.

*****

A figure climbed out of the chute in the kitchen of Salty Rose, a famous restaurant in Greyhold city. It was a figure of a man, cloaked in jet black fur. Without a word, he walked at a tired pace, heading outside through the back door.

The man’s name was Spoon. Blue-haired boy, hired to clear out an infestation of poisonous rats by the owner of the Salty Rose. He had a destination in mind, the local blacksmith, to tend to his worn down equipment.

Once outside, he changed his garments, except for his sword. He would not want to chase people away with their smell. He never really cared much for his starter outfit, but his sword, he treasured it very much. It was the sword that need repairing.

The city of Greyhold, was not really popular as a starting city, but still it was filled with people passing to and fro the capital. A pit stop in a way, business was booming, with great demands for adventuring supplies. The current lord did a very good job maintaining the city, from infrastructure to taxation.

The streets of cobblestone pavement was filled with people as usual. People moving about on their own business, making the market district lively. Spoon walked through the myriad of NPCs and adventurers, avoiding any contact, as he did not wish to waste time on his errand.

He soon arrived at the blacksmith, the same place his brother had brought him before. It was here that he obtained the shield, a gift from his brother. Inhaling a large amount of air, he looked at the two storied building from top to bottom and side to side. This time, he was here for business using his own money. Independence was a bittersweet thing.

There was no door at the ground floor, in fact, there were almost no walls at all. A smithy needed a good ventilation. After all, the heat and flame from the forge could be suffocating, in an enclosed space.

*Clang!*

*Crackle*

*Ting!*

Flames roared, metal clashed against metal, and water boiled, quenching red hot steel. It sounded almost melodious, a rough music that Spoon found to be quite catchy. He knew that he was in the right place.

He went inside, removed his sword, still in its scabbard and put it on the counter. A clerk, possibly a player character, was tending to the counter. Most likely new, as he wore the same cheap clothing as Spoon. Plus, menial tasks such as standing behind the counter was almost always handled by the newbie, while the more veteran player managed the forge.

“I want to get this repaired.”

“Certainly, please wait while I inspect the item. Item Info!”

Boring tasks had made the clerk almost machine-like. All his job entailed him to do was to inspect the item brought in for repair and assign it to a blacksmith of a corresponding level and skill. High-leveled items, rare items and expensive items would be assigned to a blacksmith of high skill level, and vice versa.

He was sure that the weapon he was presented with was a low leveled item, since the one bringing it in had the same shabby clothes as him. To his surprise, the weapon was exceptionally good, despite having some stats requirement. He began to check the list of available blacksmiths of medium to high skill. It’s not a sword to be handled by greenhorns.

The clerk shook his head.

Seeing the clerk’s reaction, Spoon asked him what was wrong. The clerk informed him that they currently did not have the manpower to repair the sword at that moment, and he had to wait for some time.

Spoon looked a bit distressed. He opened the quest status window, looking at his current progress in clearing his current quest.

‘65% and it can only get harder as time goes by. I can’t waste time here..’

“What about that guy there? He seems like he’s free,” Scott pointed towards another obviously new player who was holding a smith hammer.

“Oh, he’s new. Just got the repair skill, so the quality of the repair will not be that good. It would be fine for a normal beginner weapon, but your sword’s grade is quite high,” The clerk explained.

“He will do. Make it cheap then.”

“Are you sure sir?” The clerk had to ask. He could assign a higher-grade sword to a newbie if he had the owner’s consent.

“I don’t mind. Everyone has to start somewhere.”

“Very well. Please wait for a few moments,” The clerk took Spoon’s sword and handed it over to the newbie blacksmith.

Spoon leaned on the counter, watching the process from afar. He thought that he would maybe be able to learn how to repair by observing the blacksmith at work. Of course, things were not that simple.

Spoon nicknamed the beginner blacksmith Twig, simply because he had skinny arms.

Spoon moved closer to Twig to watch him work. While his intention was to get a grasp of the repairing process, he was now worried about his sword. Twig was reading a book, titled “How to repair things, for dummies.” His hand was clearly trembling. Maybe the pressure of having the first real job, and the fact that the client was watching was too much for him to handle.

A few awkward seconds later, he finally did the logical first step. Removing the sword from its scabbard, and inspect the degree of damage.

The sword’s blade was stained with dark crimson, dried blood. The strong stench and the smell of blood almost made Twig puke. But the bigger problem was not the stains of blood, it was the sword’s condition. There were cracks running down the blade, easily visible thanks to the dried blood running through it, highlighting the cracks.

“Durability 1/54??!”

Twig was genuinely surprised, one more swing and the sword may break.

Spoon started to think that this might be too much for Twig after all. Still, Twig followed the manual and removed the blade from the guard, hilt and pommel. The damage was beyond what simple hammering could repair. He had to heat the sword’s blade first, before trying to fix the cracks and dents on the sword.

Twig put the bloodied blade into the forge, watching it carefully until it reached the right colour. Somewhere between red and orange, the book was not that specific. He had to go with his gut, and pulled out the blade when it reached the right temperature (based on his assumptions), and quickly put it on an anvil. Twig hammered along the blade, doing his best to even out the blade’s surface. The process was repeated three more times, before he finally quenched the blade.

After reassembling the blade, Twig handed the sword to the clerk for final inspection. Spoon was there too, so he could see the results first hand.

“Durability 43/52. The maximum durability has reduced a bit, and it is not fully fixed. According to our store’s policy, we will give you a discount for sub par work. We apologise for our staff’s incompetence.”

“It’s alright, the rest of it seems fine.”

Spoon made the payment, which was quite cheap compared to normal. He headed back to the Salty Rose again to continue his quest. Going in alone made the quest take longer to complete, but he was gaining levels quite quickly. As he fought and fought in the dungeon alone, his sword’s durability wore down again and again.

*****

He made repeated trips to the blacksmith, requesting for Twig every single time to save on cost. Japtems from rats was not worth much.

The second time he went to the blacksmith, he went through the same process.

“Durability 45/50. Strength bonus had reduced by 1.”

The third time.

“Durability 39/46. Attack rating dropped slightly.”

Spoon had no choice, as he did not have much money. He had to rely on Twig’s cheap service. For three straight days he had fought endlessly, taking breaks only to repair his worn down sword. At the dawn of the fourth day, he finally completed the quest, but his prized sword was broken into three parts.

Not losing hope, he gathered every single piece of the broken sword and brought it to the blacksmith, hoping to get it reforged. This time, reaching the counter, the normal clerk was not there. In his place was a burly, middle-aged man with a balding head. Before Spoon could talk, the man behind the counter initiated the conversation.

“Why, if it isn’t our regular customer, the blue-haired boy. How can I help you?”

“I was wondering if I could get this sword reforged?” Spoon brought out the swords, all the parts of it.

“Is this not the sword you keep on bringing here to fix?” The man rubbed his chin as he inspected the swords.

“Yes. Three times this week, this will make the fourth I guess..”

“What?! In a week you had to bring it in for repair 3 times, and it’s now broken?!”

His loud voice startled all the workers in the place. It seemed like this man held high authority over the others. He opened a window showing the details of the week’s transaction, finding the records of the sword’s repair. His eyes widened as he studied the details written.

“What the hell is that good for nothing clerk of mine thinking? Assigning this grade of equipment to a total noob, three times!!” He roared.

Hearing him, relief came to the faces of the blacksmiths at the forge. They knew at least that they are not at fault. Spoon believed that this man might be the owner, to make all the workers shake in their boots.

“Firing him yesterday was the right choice after all! That lazy bum!”

‘Well, it seems like the usual clerk got fired. Save me the trouble of explaining that I’m the one requesting lil Twig to do the job. Too bad for him though..’

Spoon kept his thoughts to himself and remained quiet. This created a bit of an awkward atmosphere in the place.

“I’m sorry dear customer, I lost my temper a bit. The reputation of my establishment is at risk here.”

“Ah, no worries. I understand. I would too if I was in your place,” Spoon’s guess was spot on, this man is the owner.

“It’s not like I can leave this be either. I will personally reforge your sword, free of charge this time. With my skill level, your sword should be as good as new.”

The owner, who introduced himself as Luke Ainsworth, led Spoon towards his personal workplace. Few had the chance to see a master blacksmith at work personally, and Spoon was given that chance.

Disassembling came first, before putting the blade pieces together so he could make a cast. The cast was made from clay-like materials, pressed down on the blade pieces so the sword’s shape and size could be replicated. As the blade shape was embedded into the material, it was sent into the furnace for it to harden.

While waiting for the cast to harden in the flame, the blade pieces were melted. Strange fumes came out during this process. Spoon thought nothing of it, as this is not his field of expertise. However, Luke was bewildered. It was the first time he saw such fumes coming out during melting process.

Luke decide to maintain his cool, pretending nothing is wrong. He thought he had messed up somewhere, but wouldn’t admit it as he had his reputation to protect.

He proceed to pour the molten blade into the completed cast. It was left alone for the melted iron to set in and take the shape of the mold. Fumes continued to escape even when the the blade was left to sit, getting thicker and thicker in the air. Luke feigned ignorance, acting like this was a normal thing that happened all the time. He managed to convince Spoon at the very least, as he shown no suspicions towards the fume.

While waiting, Luke Ainsworth tried to find out why fumes were coming out. ‘It’s an iron blade, made of iron. Iron does not produce such fumes.’

After enough time passed, Luke hammered the mold, chipping away bit by bit, exposing the formed blade inside. The blade then underwent a few rounds of tempering; heating the metal and quenching it in ice cold water over and over, to improve strength. Every time the blade came out of the furnace, more fumes were released. Now, every person in the place noticed the fumes coming from Luke’s furnace.

Still, he decided to pay no heed. Sometimes pride can blind a person.

After tempering, he did a final round of smoothing out the rough edges and surfaces. At this point, the sword already looked like new.

Luke noticed his fingers getting a bit numb. But he still persisted on finishing up the sword. A blacksmith’s reputation lay in the quality of each of their works, even a simple iron sword like this.

Only sharpening and polishing was left. He took a deep breath as he skillfully sharpened the sword using a whetstone. He believed that using a whetstone instead of a grinding wheel for sharpening would put the blacksmith’s personal touch into the weapon. He took his time, as he sharpened the blade’s edge and tip to perfection.

By the time he was done sharpening the blade, he felt... lighter. Perhaps it was the relief that this job was soon to be completed. Polishing the blade and adding some final touches, he then reassembled the sword.

Luke Ainsworth was not a man who did things half heartedly. He put the sword back into its scabbard and gave it to Spoon.

As soon as Spoon received the sword, he unsheathed it and began inspecting the sword. It had the same design, and the exact shape and weight distribution as before. The blade, however, had a slightly different tinge, previously the sword was dull grey, but now it had a slight brownish coloration.

“Item Info”

A window appeared on top of the sword, showing its details. Spoon were surprised, the sword’s stats had changed.

The Iron Sword ‘Ratbane’StatsClass: Weapon, Sword (Unique)

Durability: 90/90

Damage: 19-26DescriptionA sword tempered repeatedly with the blood of poisonous rats. Reforged by a master blacksmith, it was given life anew as the Ratbane, a poisonous sword which is especially deadly against rodents.BonusOn Equip:

+15 Str

+15 Agi

Special:

+ Chance to inflict poison

+ Extra 33% damage against rodents

+Glows blue when an orc a rat is nearRequirementsMinimum Stats:

Level 30

STR 60

“This is not bad.. Not bad at all,” Spoon was amazed by the fact that the sword had improved so much.

“Heh. Of course. It’s me we’re talking about...” Luke’s reply was weak, unlike the first impression he gave Spoon.

Having heard the customer’s satisfaction, Luke Ainsworth collapsed. Panicked, Spoon could only run out to look for help, only to find more people lying down stationary in the store.

It turned out, they had all collapsed due to poisoning. The fumes emitted were highly toxic. The only reason Spoon was unaffected was because he was accustomed to the rat’s poison after having grinded a lot in the dungeon.

“Is this all my fault?”

The Blacksmith in Greyhold had to cease operation due to the death of all it’s workers caused by poisoning. The economy of the Fort City of Greyhold was greatly affected due to this.

*****

Sera reached the blacksmith.

The blacksmith doubled as a weapons and equipment store, as well as the blacksmith guild of Greyhold city, so it was usually crowded with people. Strangely, today it was quiet; devoid of the usual hustle and bustle of trades, not even the sound of clashing metal of a forge.

She walked into the establishment and immediately looked for an employee. There was no one behind the counter.

*****

One would describe the scene ahead of them as a bloody vortex of destruction had passed through, leaving behind a forest of broken trees. Amongst these were torn limbs, blood staining the dirt red and other things that could be only explained by someone studying the human anatomy. Luckily for those playing Royal Road, one had the option of setting a filter on gore but unfortunately for the two players who were curious of the outskirts of town at night, they were not prepared for this.

Among the corpses was a little girl who appeared to be of the priest class, hunched over a corpse.

“H-hey! Little girl, it’s dangerous out here, let’s go back to town together, okay?”

The curious pair, a male thief and a female mage called to the priest. With the belief that they could not be heard, the thief approached closer. Just when he was close enough,to call to hear, the moon was uncovered by the clouds. A strange slurping noise could be heard and then he noticed a red name above the head of the priest.

“Are you strong?” Did they send you to hunt me down too? I WONDER WHAT YOU’LL TASTE LIKE!!”

As the little priest stood up, the thief noticed in her left hand was a sword. It was rare but not impossible for priests to be able to use a sword but the problem was that the sword in her hand was meant to be used with two hands and towered over her and yet she was holding it with only one hand!

“Did they send you to hunt me down too? I WONDER WHAT YOU’LL TASTE LIKE~!!”

When she turned around he noticed blood all over her face and gown. She smiled to reveal sharp fangs. The thief quickly turned around to his partner.

“Quickly, run! Sh-”

Before he could end his sentence, the priest closed the gap between them and his head was sliced off with a swipe of the huge sword.

The mage ran without turning back, in fear of what she would see.

In the moonlight, a priest danced among the corpses collecting the gear left behind.

*****

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Wrote: Many thanks to my PR, a genderless entity who is kind and humble and wished not to be named.

Apologies to readers, for the lack of updates. But seeing the boom in fanfics recently, surely you guys is not short of reading materials.

The side stories is to explain a bit on why the blacksmith were empty. Also, I found that the way blacksmithing work in RR quite fascinating, therefore I wrote this and added some things of my own. With all the rat related gear Spoon have, who knows, he might be Ratman; the hero Versailles need, not the one they deserved.

Also a sneak peak of a character that will appear some time later, quite possibly much later. Credit to HikaruM for that part.

As always, thank you for reading. I plan to post another chapter later. Or two, depending on my super busy PR.

{rant} The coding of tables in the forum can be so buggy sometimes. Leaving imaginary spaces around.

PR note : Death is too much. Maybe disabled?

Author reply : People die when they are killed - Emiya Shirou {/rant}

EDIT 1 : Strikethrough bbcode is bugged here. Changed font colors instead.