“Nope,” Linn said. She slammed her store’s front doors shut in a hurry. The mere sight of a certain team sent shivers down her spine. She couldn’t let them in. Not now. Not until recent events were nothing more than a memory. Linn felt bad about her actions, but she knew they were justified. She locked the doors. Large crates were used to barricade them. As an extra precaution, Linn pushed against the barrier with all her might to keep the intruders out. Would it be enough? She wasn’t sure, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
“Come on, Linn. Let us in,” Rex said with a calm voice. He knocked from the other side of the door. The Unnamed Team was standing out in the street like a couple of lost children. They weren’t expecting this reaction. Granted, most nearby shops were closing their doors, but they never could have predicted a close friend like Linn would do this. Rex twisted the doorknob and pushed with a bit of strength. A slight nudge was all he could muster. If the team worked together, they could probably break in easily, but that would only further ruin their local reputation.
“Absolutely not. I’m not letting you four waltz in here and destroy what I’ve got going.” Linn said. Images of a grand Blast Rock explosion flooded her mind. Her wonderful forge, one that she built with her own two hands, was destroyed in an instant. All because some novice thought he knew better than his teacher. In the end, everything worked itself out. Rex paid top dollar to have an even better forge built. The repair process was swift, but the memory lived on. Linn didn’t want to risk having her shiny new shop damaged beyond repair once again.
“I still can’t believe you blew up our blacksmith’s forge,” Nicholas said. If there was anyone in the world that The Unnamed Team shouldn’t make an enemy of, it was their blacksmith. Linn was responsible for creating, tuning, and enhancing all of the team’s equipment. Everything from Robyn’s [Enhanced Animal Hide Armor] to Rex’s [Crude Iron Rod] came from this forge. And yet, Rex made the crucial mistake of accidentally destroying it.
“I can’t believe you’re still harassing me about it,” Rex said with ire in his voice. It wasn’t as if the incident in question happened on purpose. It was an honest mistake. There was no way for him to know how much Blast Rock was too much. His teacher should have been the one to educate him, but she spent most of her time complaining that the substance was being used at all. Rex thought in silence for a moment. It dawned on him how crucial the moment was. The team needed new equipment before they dived into the demon-filled depths. Rex pounded on the door as he pleaded with his mentor, “Linn! We need you!”
“Your gear is fine! There’s nothing you need here. I’ll be sure to see you four leave and not a moment sooner!” Linn said. She steeled herself and pushed against the doors. She wasn’t trying to be mean, but her livelihood was at stake. The Unnamed Team’s equipment was the best she had ever made. Nothing better could be constructed with her skill level. It was one of the many reasons she didn't face the team. If other blacksmiths learned about this issue, they’d swoop in and steal her most valued customers. That couldn’t happen. Linn would lose all of her business if The Unnamed Team left. The past mishap with Rex’s pipe bomb was just a convenient excuse, although it did drive her as well.
“See? This is what happens when you’re an idiot.” Robyn said, scolding Rex in the way only a mother would. It was a degrading tactic, but it had to be done. The team couldn’t be allowed to run around causing destruction in their wake anymore. They were heroes. They were held on a high pedestal. Their reputation meant everything at this point. Sure, people would turn a blind eye to many things for those they idolized, but the four couldn’t excuse their actions with naivety again. They needed to prevent the next accusation and subsequent trial before it happened.
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“I don’t see you making anything cool,” Rex said. Unsurprisingly, the point Robyn was trying to make was lost on him. Past arguments and instances of being treated like a child had left him bitter. He felt the need to brag about his blacksmithing skill which was unique and versatile. Rex could theoretically create anything he wanted to if he had the right materials and a high enough level in his skill. As a result, it wasn’t hard to boast about how Rex was both physically strong and had a skill capable of creating great items. The only issue was that those two examples weren’t unique to him.
“We did make a gnarly poison,” Xander said with a smile. Everyone other than Rex had obtained the skill tree [Alchemy]. Those three were able to make all sorts of potions and poisons. The latter of which turned out to be so powerful that one bottle nearly killed most of the team. Strength also wasn’t exclusive to the team’s frontline. Rex may have held an advantage over the other members of his team, but it wasn’t by much. They were all at the same level and their stats were roughly the same when taking everything into account. For example, Robyn could be as strong as Rex if she used [Enhance Self].
A moment of silence felt like an eternity for the team as they thought of what to do next.
“Fine. I’ll do it all by myself then.” Rex said. He let out a heavy sigh. It wasn’t impossible to turn his words into actions, but it was extremely difficult. An extra set of experienced hands was always more than welcome when crafting weapons and armor.
“Can you make anything without the forge?” Robyn asked. Her worry was genuine. Poorly made equipment was often worse than no equipment at all. If Rex needed a forge, they could find him another. It wasn’t as if the other blacksmiths in town would turn the team away, especially since the team would finance any repairs.
“No, but I can make some enhancements. You guys still got the scales from Emperor Crach?” Rex asked. He turned to the others. Naturally, they didn’t keep everything on them at one time. Most of their extra items were left at home to avoid over encumbrance. Once they were back in their rooms, Rex would be able to enhance the team’s equipment with the scales they received from the emperor. This was potentially the team’s last mission. New weapons and armor might have been best, but Rex refused to use the product of someone else nor would he work with a blacksmith other than Linn. The two were close. That type of bond didn’t come often.
“If we do this, I want poison resistance,” Xander said with a smile. He rubbed his stomach as he referred to the recent potentially death-inducing meal. The resistance in question may not have helped much, but anything was better than consuming [Demon’s Poison] without a resistance skill. Dragon scales were valuable for that very reason. It allowed normal people to obtain resistances they would otherwise need to train for. Simply wearing the clothes was like having a second or third-level resistance skill.
“Since we need to test these scales to make sure they work, whoever gets poison resistance has to drink [Demon’s Poison].” Nicholas said. Evidently, The Unnamed Team made several more poisons before they finally arrived on the potion Rex desperately needed. It wasn’t wrong to test equipment, and poison happened to be the one thing the four had an excess of. Whoever wore those green scales would be a guinea pig for all sorts of experiments.
Linn peeked out of her store window and breathed a sigh of relief. All she could see now were the silhouettes of the world’s heroes as they walked down the street. Arguing could be heard over who was going to get what color, but the discussion soon ended as an agreement was reached.