“You’re telling me you’ve already advanced to Tier 2?”
Blacksmith Gerald eyed me over his smithing table as he pounded a giant hammer over a bent sword, attempting, and succeeding, at straightening the blade.
“I have cores,” I said, ignoring his question, “and hearts. Plenty, actually. Take all of it. All I want is a Tier 2 armor set and a Tier 2 weapon, preferably a spear if you have one.”
I threw the burlap sack full of my most recent loot in front of the smithing table. I’d been careful not to touch the cores that I had harvested with my bare skin, knowing my unique abilities would suck the essence straight out of them just by my touch. I’d even worn gloves on the hunt to avoid the problem. I had made sure to not absorb the cores’ essence just in case I needed to trade them for something. And, now that I’d advanced to Tier 2, it seemed that had been the right decision.
I could make do with Tier 1 equipment, but I was better off in a fight against Priest Kane, and any Nagari I’d come across, with equipment that correlated with my Tier.
Gerald wrinkled his nose, upset by my purposeful cryptic behavior, but he allowed himself a peek into the sack. He nodded his approval. It seemed he cared about the Priests’ new rule demanding all loot be brought to them just as much as I did. Meaning, he didn’t care at all. The Edronans did respect Lady Euridice, but many of them were struggling to have faith in this new rule–a rule that would keep them from attaining extra strength and aid for a war.
But, even after the evident satisfaction on his face as he surveyed the eight Nagari hearts and eight Nagari cores within the sack, he slowly returned curious eyes in my direction.
“This is more than enough for a set of Tier 2 armor. Are you sure you want to give it all to me?”
I gave a curt nod but subtly brushed a finger along the other small sack hidden at my hip. I’d almost given him everything I had. But the Tier 4 heart and core were not going to leave my side. Not yet.
Gerald sighed but didn’t hide his eagerness in the way he pulled the sack into his chest. “ So, Tier 2 already, huh? Drayek did tell me you were special. And 50 Soul Strength–that’s unheard of.”
I forced a smile. It was tempting to reveal that it was probably even higher, but I didn’t.
“So, who am I to judge if you need Tier 2 equipment? We’ll all be dead by morning anyway!” He laughed jovially, and I tried joining him, but the laughter tasted bitter in my mouth.
“Come. I think I have something you can use.”
Gerald ushered me to him with a large hand, then lifted my sack of loot from the ground and slung it over his shoulder.
I followed him through the smithy and past two other Blacksmiths and their apprentices working. The smell of hot steel and burning coals permeated the air, and the heat from the five forges we walked by singed the hairs on the back of my neck.
As Gerald led me into a back room blocked by a thick and scaly monster hide that acted as a door, he turned and frowned at me.
“I was really sorry to hear about Drayek, lad. He was the best of us.”
A tiredness crept over me as thoughts of Drayek returned, like my body wanted to stop moving, curl up in a corner, and give up. But I would have none of that.
I pushed away thoughts of sadness and allowed my anger toward Priest Kane and Sarina to overcome any other emotions.
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“He was the best,” I said.
Gerald nodded, then turned his head back to face forward. “Many of us thought he’d be the first to advance to Tier 4.”
He definitely would have been.
And I wished very much that it had been him. But, if I survived this day, I would get there. In his honor. And I would surpass Tier 4. If blessed with a longer life, I would dedicate the rest of it to honoring him, what he stood for, and what he had given me.
“Here we are.”
Gerald stopped us in front of a long chest made entirely from metal. He set the sack of loot down, then fished for a key out of his grimy black apron.
The lock at the front of the chest clicked open as he turned the key. Gerald then revealed piles of unused armor and weapons. They were dusty from lack of touch, but I could imagine the gleam each set and blade could emit after a good polish.
Gerald bent to his knees, then rummaged through the chest until he pulled a few things out from the bottom: a full armor set and a spear.
“This isn’t the best Tier 2 equipment I’ve ever forged, but I’ve already sold my good stuff in the last few days… because of the war and all.”
I nodded in understanding.
“But any Tier 2 equipment will serve you better than Tier 1 items.”
Gerald pushed his lips and cheeks out and blew the majority of the dust away from the equipment.
I bent to pick up the spear first. A sheer blue emanated from the iron shaft. The tip would need to be sharpened, but that could be remedied. The mild steel of the armor matched the weapon’s sheer blue but had no other design or unique qualities. But I didn’t care about that.
“So, the loot I brought can pay for all of this?”
Gerald chuckled. “As I said, it’s more than enough. But are you sure I can have it all?”
“We all need as much as we can get before this battle,” I said. “Take it if you think you can use it.”
Gerald opened the sack and scanned the contents once again. “You can never have too much essence. Who knows? Maybe I can break through into Tier 4.”
I smiled slowly. If only they knew how much essence the goddess was stealing from them.
“Maybe,” I said anyway.
I spun myself around the room and caught sight of various bracelets, rings, polished stones, and other magic items.
The Blacksmiths were chosen for their profession by the Skills they had–the ability to use essence to create a magic set of armor. And being Tier 3, Gerald could create any rank armor Tier 3 and below. But many of the Blacksmiths also had Skills similar to some of the Tradesman–they could transfer enhancements into specific items. Drayek once had a bracelet from one of the Blacksmiths that allowed him to keep his Weapons Flame Skill going for longer than the allotted 20 minutes his Skill typically allowed him to.
“Gerald, what else could I get in exchange for my Tier 1 equipment? An item, maybe?”
Gerald perked up and ran his eyes over the scaled armor I had strapped on this morning.
“That armor of yours, you bought it at the Markets, right? That set is the best Tier 1 armor I’ve made yet. I’d love to have it back. And if you throw in your Tier 1 spear and sword, I bet we could find you something decent in here.”
I liked the sound of that. “Show me what you have.”
***
I walked back out into the light of the suns. It was a hot day (as it usually was on this planet–at least during the day), but standing outside felt significantly cooler than it had standing in the smithy with its blazing forges.
I held my hand up to the suns’ rays and admired the sparkle that bounced off the black obsidian stone that resided in the ring on my pinky.
A “Skill Recharge Ring” is what Gerald had called it. The wearer’s cooldown time for using their spells would be cut in half. As soon as Gerald had explained its purpose to me, I made the deal then and there. The desire to look at any more items dissipated, and I’d put on the ring before Gerald had even lifted it off the table.
My Tier 2 Skill allowed me to read the essence used for any spell leveled Tier 3 or lower, duplicate it, then use it myself. Then, after 10 minutes, I could repeat the process. But with this ring, I could do the same thing every five minutes instead of 10.
I dropped my hand back to my side and adjusted my back sheath strapped over my new set of armor, making sure my new spear was secure and easy to grab at a moment’s notice.
War was coming, and I was ready. But I wasn’t thinking of the war against the Nagari. All I could picture was the tip of my spear running straight through Priest Kane.