“But why must I go? I’m busy. I have a lot of orders to fill. Find some other [Blacksmith] to help you. I ain’t getting nowhere near that woman again.”

Scarlet rolls her eyes as she stares at the dwarf hunkered over an unfinished sword.

“Garrus, you’re the only [Blacksmith] in the whole city and those orders can be filled much later after our little battle. We’ve gotten enough weapons and armor now to fully arm all of the [Guards]. Also, [Lady] Rose likes you. You have nothing to worry about.”

A shiver quickly comes down Garrus’ back as he turns his head, looking at the [Captain] of the guard. A tall woman with Scarlet red hair stares back at him, her eyes pleading towards the much shorter dwarf.

“The woman looked at me like she looks at a slice of cake.”

“She doesn’t mea-”

“She drugged the food Scarlet!” the dwarf yells, eyes wide. “I woke up in her bed, completely naked with literal chocolate sauce on my dick! I thought it was poop! I ain’t getting nowhere near that goddam woman. I’d rather take a dagger up the ass than be raped again.”

Scarlet quickly coughs into her hand, doing her best to hide her blush from the glaring and angry [Blacksmith]. Granted, Scarlet does know that Rose can be very… different in her ways of doing things, but out of every [Lady] or [Lord] that Scarlet had met, she is by far the most capable.

*Sigh*

“Garrus, Rose has convinced a [Trader] to give up enchanted items in exchange for a house. A weapon and an entire set of armor. All enchanted. You could buy several homes for what it's worth.”she exclaims pleadingly.

Garrus stares at her, frowning, but lifts an eyebrow, a clear show of interest.

“I need you to help me pick the weapons and armor. I need your eyes Garrus. Please…”

Garrus’ hands rub his face, moving up and down, ending with his soot-covered beard. “Lass, she better not get anywhere near me.”

A smile blooms on Scarlet’s face as she moves forward and hugs the bulky but short dwarf.

“Thank you!” she yells, squeezing tightly.

This causes the dwarf to shake his head and groan out loud. How she ends up manipulating him like so, he doesn’t know. He just has to make sure to not eat or drink anything at the castle.

Scarlet stops hugging and moves back.

“Thank you Garrus. I don't want to be conned out of good gear. Eir knows I deserve something for all my struggles.”

“Lass, you can talk about your struggles after you get your crotch covered in chocolate. In the meantime, I’m going to finish my work here. Come find me later when you need me,” he says before turning back around towards his table inside his smithy.

Scarlet bites her lip, “Um, about that. They’re waiting for me to choose right this moment.”

Garrus stops and turns around, a look of betrayal and horror on his face. He was not ready.

____________________________________________

Was it a mistake to accept an offer to give up an entire set of enchanted armor? Yes it was, a fact which Henrietta had berated Rathos for possibly a good hour. Enchanted gear, especially a set, is extremely costly to make. If the armor is made of leather, then it has to be leather from certain monsters, usually magic ones from dungeons. On top of that, to make the enchantment decently strong and indefinite, you need to mix in crystals from awakened dungeon monsters. The crystals have the natural ability to absorb mana, allowing enchantments to charge themselves.

The same thing applies to metal armor, except it requires even more crystal powder to be used, causing the price to increase further. Which is why Henrietta had polished all of the lower and cheaper armors, to make them look more expensive while the higher quality ones were made to look inferior, at least by sight alone.

Unfortunately, the [Captain] of the [Guard] had brought someone to help her choose, and to Rathos’ dismay, it was a dwarf. A [Blacksmith] dwarf to be exact. One high enough in level that he is using [Advanced Identify] on every single item that Rathos had arrayed for the [Captain] to choose.

“This one looks very nice. Sturdy too,” the [Captain] says, eyeing a particular piece of an elegant breastplate. A beautiful piece of art, something that a [Lord] would wear… a very low-level one.

The dwarf turns and moves to the breastplate. He taps it, listening to it, frowning before activating his skill.

“This is shit. Beautiful shit, but still utter shit. I’d barely even call this armor. Heck, I’d barely even call it steel. It has enough impurities removed to allow an enchantment, but instead of having an enchantment to increase its durability, it has an enchantment to decrease weight. Combined with the fact that this armor has very little metal and more embroidery, it was clearly made for a prancing [Noble] to impress others than to even block a blade.”

The dwarf shakes his head before turning around and looking through all of the armors and weapons. And there are a lot of them to go through. Rathos was quite rich. After all, a [General’s] salary tended to be very very large. Combine that with obtaining armor from defeated enemy soldiers and you can bet Rathos has a lot of items to sell.

Of course, certain items are significantly better than others, especially at the common grade level, where pretty much anything with an enchant is considered.

“This one,” the dwarf says, pointing at a rather scratched up breastplate with chainmail joints and a small logo of a hammer and stone at the bottom left, “Is probably the best piece of armor here.”

The [Captain] looks at the armor and frowns. The armor is covered in cuts, seemingly dirty and not very aesthetically pleasing. It also looks heavy, though it does seem to have amazing coverage in joint protection.

“This doesn't look all that good. It looks like it's damaged.”

The dwarf snorts before pointing at the logo, “That, lass, is a dwarven logo,” he taps the armor, smiling, “made by clan Rock Hammer, an old clan known for making very heavy defensive armor. And these scratches,” he traces the armor, “are proof that this armor is very good.”

The [Captain] looks at the armor. She then touches it, immediately finding that the armor weighs a significant amount.

“This is too heavy. I can-,” she stops as she finds the dwarf looking at her, a smile on his face.

“This armor has two enchants,” he says.

“The first enchant is [Light Metal], which decreases the weight of all armor worn. A good enchant, especially considering the other enchant which is [Minor Strength], increasing your strength by a small amount.”

He turns to Rathos, finding the man with a frown on his face, “Of course, this armor is only truly good in a set, otherwise, it would still be too heavy.”

Rathos sighs and shakes his head before moving and collecting the rest of the armor set. A set of armor he had obtained after killing an enemy [Captain] himself by striking through the bottom of the helmet.

“Here is the set,” Rathos says, placing the items on the table next to the chest plate.

The dwarf takes a quick look at the other pieces before nodding and turning to the [Captain].

“Alright Scarlet, before you put it on, take it to my smithy so I can work on those scratches,” the dwarf says.

“Your name is Scarlet?”

Scarlet was about to grab the armor and put it on a cart but stops as she looks up at Rathos, her eyes widening.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am [Captain] Scarlet, leader of the guard and under [Lady] Rose’s employ,” she says, immediately attempting a curtsy but looking awkward trying it.

“Is your father Alfonso? An [Innkeeper] at the Sundered Lands Inn?” Rathos asks, ignoring the woman's pathetic attempt of a curtsey.

Scarlet's eyes widen, she steps forward, “You know my father? Is he well? Is he okay?”

Rathos nods, a smile forming on his face. What are the chances that he would bump into the man's daughter of all things? A level 72 [Captain] as well.

“Yes, he is doing quite well. He even told me to tell you that he loves you and misses you.”

“Daddy,” she says, looking down, smiling now, a brilliant relieved smile. Apparently, she had been worried. Understandable considering how long she had not heard about or seen her father.

*Ahem*

Breaking the moment, all eyes turn to the dwarf.

“We still need to pick out a weapon.”

“What kind?” Rathos asks. He has several types, though not many that are ranked rare.

“Longsword,” she says quickly. Granted, she can use a short sword alongside a shield, but since she became a [Captain], she found herself wanting something longer and with a bit more impact to go alongside her now higher strength stat.

Rathos nods before moving towards the back of the room and picking up four sheathed weapons. He then places them on the table. Each blade has different designs, some slightly longer, others slightly shorter, but each seems to be different, seemingly a different personality.

The dwarf immediately takes each sword, unsheathing it and test swinging it, nodding after each time before resheathing. As he places the last one back on the table, he activates his skill, checking each swords’ enchantments out, he frowns.

Scarlet notices the frown.

“What’s wrong Garrus?”

Garrus shakes his head, ”They're all very good, none dwarven made, but all are extremely good and are clearly of rare quality. Rare to see so many weapons of this rank together,” the dwarf looks at Rathos, “especially here of all places.”

He looks back down at the blades, feeling each one.

“Which is where the problems comes in.”

He points towards the shortest blade, though a seemingly bulkier one.

“This one is called Edago, a shorter longsword but with increased weight. It is designed for indoor combat and to be wielded with both hands. Not a weapon I would recommend for you as you prefer to utilize a shield. Too heavy unless you end up becoming a [General] or something.”

Rathos silently nods at the dwarf's explanation. All tier two classes are huge leaps not only in skills but also in stats. Rathos himself had had his strength increase by a significant amount when he became a [General]. He went from a respectable 47 to a impressive 63. And that, of course, is not counting the increase of his other physical stats.

The dwarf points towards the other weapon, the longest weapon.

“This one is called Arrid and is probably the one I would least recommend for you. It is a very long thin blade with several enchants to lower the weight while increasing the sharpness of weapon. This is a specialist blade, made for [Swordmasters] or [Blademasters]. A very high skill weapon not at all good against armor unless you have the appropriate skill,” the dwarf looks up towards the [Captain], “skills in which a [Captain] is unable to obtain.”

Scarlet nods. She knows that as good and strong as she is, she can never be as good as someone of a similar level with a specialist class. But that is fine, her skills are made for mass fights, not one on one skirmishes.

The dwarf moves to the last two weapons, his hand brushing them, feeling them. One of them has a very light reddish yellow color while the other one has a completely wooden handle and sheath. Uncolored except for the blade which seems to be a calming sky blue.

“This one,” he points towards the colored sheath, “Is called Sand Viper, a sword made by [Smiths] from the Hepaltamine Desert. The [Smiths] from there tend to use this color for all of their sheaths as it is similar to the color of the sands.”

“All of them? Wouldn’t skilled [Smiths] want to make themselves unique? To differentiate themselves?”

The dwarf shrugs his shoulders, ”Not sure. I just know they favor that color.”

“Blood to blood. Sand to sand. Blood of my sands. Sands to my blood.”

Both Garrus and Scarlet look towards Rathos.

“It is a saying used by those who traverse the deserts. They believe that all life will feed the sands with their blood and the sands will, in turn, create life. It is a saying that symbolizes death and rebirth. Destruction and creation. Weapons kill, and from it, they dot the sand in blood. That is why they color their weapons in the color of sands. Killing to them is not merely taking life, but also giving it.”

As Rathos finishes his explanation, he is met with a smiling Scarlet and a thoughtful looking Garrus.

“That is good to know,” Garrus says, touching his beard, “I can respect that. I can even respect the impressive quality of the weapon. But I very much do not respect the enchant.”

The dwarf shakes his head, “Sand Veil. An ability that creates a cloud of sand after every swing, blinding your target. A very underhanded ability, something no dwarf weapon would ever be allowed to have.”

“But it is a good weapon?” asks Scarlet, eyeing the blade with interest. A weapon that blinds every swing. That is impressive and undoubtedly useful. Very fitting of the name.

“It is, but this next one might be better,” he says, pointing at the other sword.

“This one is known as Turbo Ventus, an elven made weapon.”

Scarlet quickly perks up. Though dwarven weapons have been known to be one of the best and most resilient weapons ever, elven weapons have been known to have the best and most powerful enchantments.

“The [Smith] did a fine job on the blade, but the [Enchanter] is the one who really makes it shine. Five enchants. [Minor Sharpened Edge], [Gliding Edge], [Gliding Current], [Minor Light Metal], and the [Converging Winds] ability.” he notes with a frown.

“What does it do?” Scarlet asks, leaning over the dwarf, her interest mounting quite a bit. Most weapons tend to have one to three enchants of various quality. Anything more and the enchants tend to be utter shit.

Unless it is made by the elves.

“Well, [Minor Sharpened Edge] increases the sharpness of the weapon while also removing the need for a grindstone. Weapons with this enchant tend to slowly sharpen themselves. [Minor Light Metal] merely makes the sword lighter, usually around thirty percent. Useful for weapons with already a lot of weight. As for the three other enchants, I have no fucking clue. The enchants are much too high level for me to understand anything more than that they manipulate wind.”

Scarlet puckers her lip before looking up towards Rathos who just stands there, slightly bored.

“I don't suppose you know what this sword can do?” she asks hopefully, bending lower to show off a bit of her breast.

Rathos rolls his eyes, “[Gliding Current] allows the sword to ignore wind resistance. [Gliding Edge] increases the blades sharpness based on how windy it is around the person. [Converging Wind] creates a current of air around the user, increasing in strength after each swing. The weapon becomes sharper and sharper with each swing.

Scarlet's eyes light up as she turns to the dwarf who only chuckles and nods.

Scarlet quickly grabs the weapon and unsheathes it before swinging it several times. Only after the eighth time does it become noticeable that a breeze had entered the room and a current of air becomes visible on the blade. Circling it, seemingly glowing.

“I’ll take it!” she yells, swinging the weapon several times. Scarlets own sword is enchanted, but it only has one enchant. A [Dense Metal] enchant which just makes the sword heavier and harder. Not visually pleasing.

As she continues to swing, Rathos turns to the dwarf. “Garrus. I have need of an [Smith] of your skill. I have many items that need to be fixed up or improved, some of which would require your secrecy. In exchange, I am willing to pay in gold.

Garrus looks at Rathos curiously. A frown on the dwarf’s face.

“Secrecy does not come cheap,” he says in a whisper.

Rathos nods. As a [General], he understands the price of silence. Trust is not something that comes cheap, and the dwarves are well known to be honorable in business. It is their way.

“What is the cost,” Rathos asks.

Garrus tilts his head, watching as Scarlet admires her new sword like a child admires a new toy.

“Give her a good shield and I swear on my beard that none of your secrets will spill out of my mouth.”

Rathos takes a moment, staring at the dwarf's eyes, finding only honesty.

Rathos turns and moves to a trunk, opening it and grabbing a certain item.

He takes it and plops the shield loudly on the table, quickly grabbing Scarlets attention.

The shield is circular with a blue crystal at the center of it. The crystal seems to shine and meld into the shield while what seems like a blue liquid extends outward, turning a lighter blue towards the edges of the shield.

Scarlet, confused, walks closer, the wind churning around her. As she gets close to the shield, the crystal seems to glow brighter, the wind starts to pick up, moving faster. Scarlet stops moving closer, her eyes on the shield.

Rathos smiles and taps the shield, seemingly ignoring the wind coming from it.

“This shield is called Storm Ventus, and is designed to be used alongside that sword. The shield is enchanted with the skill [Tempest Fortress], which guides the wind around the person, protecting them from both arrow and spell. Useless unless you are a [Wind Mage] or if you are wielding that sword.”

Rathos smiles and pushes the shield towards Scarlet who looks at it with wide eyes.

“You’re giving this to me? Just like that? No payment?”

Rathos shrugs.

“The shield was made alongside the sword. It would be useless in someone else's hands and an insult to its creator if they were separated.”

Scarlet carefully takes the shield, latching it on her arm. The air around her reacts immediately, twirling around her, spinning, compressing. It becomes slightly visible. A sheen of air. A seemingly noticeable barrier.

“Wow.”

One word, but it means so much, especially for those who do not have the gift for magic. Only able to see it, but never to control it.

But here, this moment, the mana is infused into the air, guiding it, directing it, all at Scarlet’s control.

“The longer you fight, the stronger the barrier becomes. It will react to your thoughts, strengthening towards danger. Arrows will miss you, blades will find it hard to strike accurately. Magic will weaken before impacting you, possibly even disperse before then if it is weaker.”

Scarlet takes a moment and nods at Rathos’ explanation. She then takes the sword and sheathes it into the scabbard, the wind quickly dispersing around her, the torrent of active mana losing its will.

Scarlet takes a moment, smiling before turning to Rathos. Her eyes look at him, blazing with respect.

“Thank you.”

****************************************