Chapter Eighteen: Make Me Wanna Holler
Fourth Tower Year 4771, 10.3.4
The Holy Kingdom of Zah’paht Dur
City of Threshis
The morning after the party, Marc awoke at his usual time and jogged over to the smithy. Considering the amount of alcohol consumed the night before he was sure the shop would still be empty. He had a few half-finished pieces left to work on, so he decided to go in and finish them up quickly.
Marc was mentally wrapping things up and getting ready to leave Threshis. As much as he valued his time here, he knew it was time to move on. He had realized that there were many things that he had left unfinished in Clearwater. After losing his mentor and father figure, he had wanted some space and separation. In Threshis he had been able to stand on his own and achieve results largely through his own effort. His plan was now to return to his original starting point in this world and recalibrate his plans before deciding what to do next. There was one thing left in Threshis that he had no intention of missing, however.
In a few weeks, the New Year festival would be held. While the rotation and yearly cycle of this world was the same as his old one, the standard calendar here only had 360 days. There were ten months of thirty-six days each. Six weeks of six days each made for a simple and easy-to-follow calendar, but left nearly a week of extra days at the end of each year. Marc was surprised to learn that while there was no concept of a weekend, and holidays were not consistently observed, even within the same city, there was one annual tradition common across all the nations on the continent. That was the New Year Festival.
Those extra days were held in a special regard across every nation, race, or group across the world. During the holiday, work and business stopped as everyone took time to meet with friends and family. New births and marriages during the past year were celebrated, old colleagues reunited to reminisce and rivals met to reconcile. During the week before the festival, the Guild distributed food to anyone who visited a Guild Hall to ensure everyone could enjoy the celebrations. Artists and performers were given free access to stages, and families, friends, and couples would wander the streets sharing greetings and goodwill with everyone they encountered. While most businesses shut down completely, some vendors and merchants opened special shops and often did enough business during the festival to account for significant portions of their annual income.
This quickly became one of Marc’s favorite things in the new world. Since arriving in Threshis he had participated in Guild activities each year, helping to distribute food, setting up festival stages and platforms, and even volunteering for the massive clean-up operation after the festival ended. Both the city and the Guild would use this cleanup effort to perform maintenance of the city infrastructure, cleaning the canals as well as the sewer and mana tools used to keep the streets lit and clean. After enjoying the festivities, there were ample, high-reward contracts available and Marc was able to heavily supplement his income each year with the boost of extra Rel available.
This year however, Marc intended to leave at the end of the festival, when there would be a rush of merchants who had paused their movements during the festival and were ready to move on to the next city on their schedule. Escort hunters would be in high demand and he should be able to easily find a group heading in the direction of the Mevitra Republic that he could join. He wanted to make sure all his business in Threshis was completed early so he could enjoy the Festival before leaving.
Marc had been working at the forge for several hours when the first apprentices started to hobble into the smithy. Even on Earth, Marc had never been a drinker. He had only made it to 19 years old after all. There were few restrictions on drinking in this world, but it was never something that Marc had gained a taste for. The local physiology seemed to reduce much of the more detrimental long-term effects of drinking for the people of this world. Alcoholism was not common enough to even be recognized as a problem. Bodies with Mana Cores could process toxins faster, so even after drinking large quantities, the side effects rarely lasted more than an hour or so. For Marc, however, there were nearly no effects at all. He had discovered that he was all but invulnerable to any poisons, toxins, or disease. Alcohol was no different than bitter juice to him, although it was typically far more expensive.
It didn’t bother Marc that he never acquired a taste for alcohol, but it was a small thing that had impacted his social life. Looking back, he regretted always skipping the drinking parties that the apprentices would often organize. He also had come to realize that his ability to come in to work in perfect condition each morning after such a party hardly engendered comradery from his peers.
This morning was an exception, however. As they came in, his colleagues all rushed over to congratulate him again on his elevation to Expert and on the masterpiece work that he had presented the night before. Marc enjoyed the goodwill and friendly atmosphere, and even the usually strict Patah was smiling and chatting freely with his apprentices today. Everyone was in a good mood and the atmosphere in the smithy was relaxed and casual.
Marc finished the work he had planned for the morning and was cleaning up his area when Hee-ssu and Hee-deh approached him.
“As usual, no matter what happens, you show up to work the next day looking as fresh as spring grass,” Hee-deh said accusingly.
“And you look like you could still use a couple of days rest. Can’t your sister buff your stamina a bit?” Marc chided back playfully.
They were both grinning when Hee-deh jabbed her brother in the back.
“Ow!” He protested.
“Oh yeah, come join us for lunch. We have something we would like to discuss.”
“Your treat?”
“Of course! It’s the least we can do after you paid for the party.”
“The least I could do? Do you have any idea how much everyone drank last night? I’m ruined!” Marc complained good-naturedly.
“Well, leave it to me! We’ll treat you to the best in the city!” Hee-ssu boasted proudly.
Several minutes later they sat on a bench across from a noodle vendor across the street from the smithy.
Marc looked down at the bowl of noodles and fried vegetables in his hands.
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“When you said the best in the city…” Marc said sourly.
“Of course! No one in the city serves a better bowl of Bakra-meh. Right Areta?”
“Oh, you! Here!” the short blond Juujin who ran the noodle shop came over and dropped a couple more slices of fried potato into Hee-ssu’s bowl.
Marc just laughed and dug into his noodles. To be fair, this was one of his favorite dishes and his usual lunch stop. He had even learned how to use chopsticks at this very table. Marc had never learned the skill until arriving in Threshis and had been surprised that this was the most common form of cutlery in the Kingdom. It certainly made eating noodles easier once he got the hang of using them.
As the three of them enjoyed the simple and delicious lunch, Hee-deh again jabbed her brother.
“Oh, yeah. We have something for you.” Hee-ssu said after finishing off his lunch. He set down the empty bowl and reached into his bag, pulling out the bracer he had displayed the night before, and handed it to Marc.
“Here,” He said casually, but his smile was clearly visible under his beard.
Marc took the bracer and examined it. Looking at it closely, he could discern many of the runes that had been carved into the piece of armor. It truly was a masterful work.
He nodded his approval to Hee-deh, then reached out to hand it back.
“I have to admit, you did an amazing job. This is a true masterpiece.” He said, honestly praising the Dwarf’s skill.
Hee-ssu beamed at the praise but did not raise his hand to receive the bracer back.
Marc squinted back. As much as he might covet the impressive piece, he couldn’t possibly accept such a valuable item.
“Marc, I said we could not accept the Mithril. I was just borrowing it. Now I can return it. Thank you for letting me use it to complete my apprenticeship.”
“I can’t! This is too precious. This can be your family’s heirloom.” Marc protested strenuously. The value of the piece was easily worth more than the ore that he had given the Dwarf.
“This is merely my first work as an Expert. I will make many more. Better ones for sure. Besides, I made this for you. If it were not for you we might not have even made it out of the mine alive. Take it. It will never serve anyone else.” Hee-ssu was adamant.
Marc looked at the piece of armor in his hand. He knew he could not accept such a valuable gift. He prepared to convince his friend to back down. This was simply too grand to give away.
《Take it.》
“But…”
《This is another one of those bad habits of yours. Haven’t you learned yet that the bonds of this world are built on mutual aid and support? Everything you have now was the result of gifts given freely, not in exchange for something. Giving with sincerity, and receiving with grace is the foundation of the bonds that form social groups in this world.》
Marc still felt it was wrong, but as he sat there Hee-deh reached into her storage bag and pulled out a long, thin, bundle.
“I made this. Take it,” she grunted out.
Hee-ssu looked at her proudly.
“This was her Masterpiece. She was too shy to show it last night, but the Masters agreed that it is her best work yet. She also made this for you, using your Mythril, so don’t even think of refusing it. She has never made anything for anyone outside of the family before. My family’s honor is now at stake.”
Marc was shocked. She had never spoken a single word to him before. He was also incredibly curious about what was in the bundle.
Carefully he unwrapped the cloth wrapped around a thin and heavy object. As he pulled back the cover, he revealed a beautiful and ornate sword.
It was unlike any sword Marc had ever seen, even amongst the many exotic weapons he had seen hunters use in this world. For lack of a better description, however, it looked strange. The handle was longer than seemed practical. Judging from the scabbard, the blade was between a short and a long sword in length but had a wider than-normal blade. The hilt however seemed too long and heavy. The pommel was also larger than normal giving it an appearance more like that of a two-handed sword.
Carefully, Marc drew the blade from the scabbard and was shocked by what he saw. It was perhaps the most beautiful sword he had ever seen. The blade had a green tint that gave it an almost crystalline appearance. The shape of the single-edged blade was wider and thicker than a typical longsword. It had the appearance that reminded Marc of a long thin leaf of a plant. It didn’t look like forged metal, but more like something that had grown organically.
While it was beautiful, it did not look in any way practical. It reminded Marc of the hatchet that Hee-deh had used in the mines. The appearance was stunning, but he thought that the balance was wrong for a shorter sword, and the reach too short for a long sword. The hilt was too large. Still, looking at the pair of Dwarves in front of him, he understood that he must receive the gift graciously.
He was sliding the sword back into the scabbard and was about to thank Hee-deh for the gift when she slammed her hand down on top of his hand.
“No!”
Marc stopped, then looked up at Hee-ssu for some help.
“She hasn’t shown you how to use it yet.”
Confused, Marc set the sword back down on the table. Hee-deh took the blade out again, then handed the sword to Marc.
Taking the handle, he held the sword out in front of himself with just one hand. He was surprised that the balance was much better than he had expected. It felt as though the balance was actually shifting as he moved the blade. That said, it was heavier than it looked. So heavy that he quickly channeled some Mana to boost his strength just to hold the sword out without shaking.
As he did, he could feel the sword starting to absorb the Mana from his arm. He quickly pulled back his Mana. He stood up to gain more leverage, then held the sword in a standard grip. The balance was far better than he expected. The only problem he saw was that the weight was heavier than a normal sword. The extra weight would help in some situations but also tire his arm out faster.
“Point it up, Then Mana,” Hee-deh demanded.
Marc did as she instructed. He held the sword out, blade pointing straight up, then channeled some Mana through his hand into the hilt.
Immediately the sword changed shape. The handle stretched out until it was over half his height. The straight blade also developed a curve like a samurai sword.
Marc was so surprised he almost dropped the weapon. In an instant, the sword had transformed into a pole-arm, his weapon of choice. It was a glaive, more beautiful and well made than any he had ever held. The balance and length were optimal for his height. It was the perfect weapon for dealing with beasts, Marc had spent hundreds of hours practicing with similar weapons, but nothing he had ever held came close to the masterpiece he currently held.
“This is… amazing!” He uttered.
Again he imbued the weapon with his Mana and the glaive retracted back into a sword, instinctively understanding the transformation trigger. Now understanding the secret contained within, he felt the weight and balance could make this an effective close-reach weapon as well.
“Hee-deh! This is amazing! I’ve never seen such a spectacular piece!”
“I told you she is a genius. I can’t tell you how upset the family is that she is leaving.”
“Huh? Is she going somewhere?” Marc asked as Hee-deh once again slid back into her brother’s shadow.
“Oh? Didn’t Patah say anything? I thought he was going to say something.” Hee-ssu’s toothy grin seemed to indicate another big revelation.
“What?”
“We’re going with you to Clearwater after the festival.”
“What!?” Marc was caught completely off guard by this revelation.
“It is something Ba’eth arranged. Clearwater is short of healers, so Hee-deh has been offered a position with the Guild Hall. She wasn’t willing to go alone, so I’m tagging along with the family’s blessing.” Hee-ssu explained.
“Besides, I was hoping for a chance to see the world outside of the Kingdom someday. And this way, it should be easier to find an escort contract.”
Indeed, Marc had been a little worried about that. A single hunter wasn’t always able to find a good contract, and considering his appearance, he could expect that not every merchant and caravan would think he would be up to the job, even with the full backing of the Guild.
He suspected this might have been something arranged by Ba’eth to help him out yet again. Still, he felt relieved that he would have reliable partners while traveling back to Clearwater. He had already partied and worked with both Dwarves and could ask for no better-traveling companions.
He looked down at his new weapon and armor and back at the siblings awaiting his response.
“Thank you Hee-deh, Thank you Hee-ssu, I graciously accept your generous gifts and humbly request to join your party.” He spoke solemnly, then put his hand to his shoulder in the Guild salute.