Alaster chose a Blacksmith that was close to the Noble Wall and specialized in weapons, specifically swords.

If Alaster was being perfectly honest, which he very rarely was, he did not really like swords. When he was younger, he, like any other child, loved swords. He had thought they were the weapons or nobility. The perfect weapon used to protect the innocent. After all, all the stories and songs told of the hero using a sword.

However, after being trained by the Lord's personal Guard, as well as learning about the monsters of the world in more detail from Sir Colius, he learned that the sword was actually pretty useless. Not to say that it was useless, but there were so many better weapons to use against monsters.

Against most monsters, it was best to use a spear, as you could kill the threat from a distance. However, even then, a bow was better for that, but proved useless if the threat reached you. A dagger was better than a sword if it came to a brawl, as a sword was too unwieldy.

A noble's weapon was in fact a sword, but that was purely based on how pretty they could be. They were a good average weapon to use if you did not know what threat you would face. However, Alaster hated going into any situation without knowing all the threats, which is just one of the reasons he hated shopping with Isabella. There were simply too many variables.

Personally, Alaster preferred the dagger. But he understood that his opinion was biased. He had never fought any monster that was not too different from humans. He had only fought goblins, and that was before he had been employed by the Lord. And none of that took into account of magic.

A spear might be best against wolves or similar creatures, but what if the monster had armor, whether it be natural or not? Then a war pick would be best, a weapon used for piercing armor, but what if you were unable to pierce the armor even then? Then a heavy weapon would be best, such as a club or hammer. A sword proved useless if it could not slash or stab.

This is where magic came into play, as well as enchanting. Most mages could enchant. A Light Mage could enchant a ring to produce light. A Fire Mage could enchant an iron plate to produce heat to cook with. However, if a mage proved proficient enough, they could enchant weapons to have unique effects, or even armor.

The Lord's personal bodyguard, a giant of a man named Lukas, used a helmet that could produce a blinding light for a moment to blind his opponent. Another of the Lord's personal Guard used a sword that could generate enough heat at its blade to melt normal iron. Alaster still wondered at that, as he could not feel the heat at all. The blade had glowed red, but there was no other indicator that the enchantment was active.

However, enchanted weapons and armor were very expensive. Even basic Heat Plates to cook with were expensive enough for a normal commoner to spend a month's wages on. As such, unless they personally bought it, no standard guard would have anything enchanted.

None of that mattered to Alaster, at least not at this moment. Noble men all wore swords at their hips, whether they were a Warrior Type or not. While Noble woman all wore daggers. Most considered it as just another accessory.

Lord Siphas wished for Alaster to be thought of as a distant relative of the family. This would explain why he lived with them, as well as followed Isabella everywhere she went. As such, he needed a sword. But unlike the majority of nobility, his sword would be for actual use.

The store that Alaster had chosen did not stick out among all the others. In fact, the only reason Alaster knew and selected the store was because he had been taken here by one of the Guard training him. The guard had damaged his sword in training, and had decided to take Alaster with him to get him familiar with the process.

Isabella was not any less bubbly. The moment they entered the store, she rushed from one display to the next. The smell of smoke, iron, and oil filled the room. While Isabella was moving around, Alaster walked up to the attendant, who, by the looks of it, was an apprentice of the Smith.

"Hello, I need a new sword fitted to me." Alaster got right to business.

The young man looked over Alaster before silently nodding to himself. He turned around to enter the backroom, where Alaster could hear the constant banging of a hammer, and entered after making sure Isabella had not broken anything. He returned a moment later, carrying a fancy sword, and handed it to Alaster.

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Alaster grabbed it and examined it as he had been taught. Testing it balance, examining it edge, giving it a few test swings. It was ok, but not what Alaster was looking for.

"Sorry, but this one does not fit. I would also like a sword I can wear for formal occasions, but also use."

The man took the sword with no opinion and left again. Alaster turned around to watch Isabella run around until the man returned. The apprentice took a little longer to return, but once he did, he came with a much plainer sword. It was still elaborate, but it wasn't a work of art in itself. Alaster took it and went through the same movements as he had with the last sword.

"This is great, thank you. How much?"

The man held up his hand and held up four fingers.

"Four gold? How about Three gold and fifty silver?" Alaster attempted to haggle, after all, it was not his money to spend.

The man did not react and only continued to hold up four fingers. With a hint of irritation, Alaster took out the four gold and put them on the counter. The man nodded and took the coins, turning away from Alaster.

Rolling his eyes, Alaster called to Isabella as he put the sword on his hip. The girl bounced over and together, the two children left the shop and resumed home. When they entered the estate, one of Isabella's tutors dragged her away to her lesson. The elderly man was either deaf or completely ignored her whining.

Chuckling a little, Alaster went to the training grounds to get better used to his sword. Each weapon was just a little different, even if they were made by the same Blacksmith. Typically, these differences were so small as to be pointless to worry over. But those differences could prove the difference between living and dying. And Alaster had nothing else to do until the party.

Lady Siphas loved parties, as such, she had taken it upon herself to organize the entire thing. Luckily for Alaster, even among Nobility, Class Parties were typically small. Usually only among family or very close friends.

By this time, Alaster had spent more time in the training grounds than anywhere else in the city, perhaps only rivaled by the time he spent in a recovery bed. He did not particularly enjoy training. He only saw it as a means to an end, an end that he welcomed with a cruel grin.

The training grounds of the Siphas Estate were always busy. However, Alaster found a vacant space and drew his new sword. Isabella had taken his new clothes, saying she would have one of the servants drop it off. Alaster slowly went through the movements that had been drilled into him by those training him.

Felix had taught him how to use swords elegantly, switching from form to form to keep the opponent guessing. Otto had taught him to use his sword with overwhelming strength to crush anything that would dare stand against him. Alaster still thought a maul would be better suited for Otto, but he seemed strangely hostile against blunt weapons. Clara had taught him the spear and when to be fluid or when to be firm. Daphne had taught him the bow and how to hunt.

However, the man that typically trained Alaster and also the cause for most of his injuries, was Lukas himself. The man rarely spoke, but when he did, it was either quiet and to the point, or violently loud, usually with the threat of harm following.

In Alaster's eyes, Lukas was the definition of a gentle giant. Whenever the man interacted with Isabella, it was like he was handling a fragile glass doll, and he treated her like his niece. But in the end, he was still a giant, entirely capable of ripping a man in half if needed. And he drilled that same mindset into Alaster.

Unlike the others of the Lord's Guard, who treated their weapons as tools of their trade, and their jobs as just that. Lukas wielded his bastard sword and heater shield as part of him. When he sparred with the rest of the Guard, it became apparent that guarding was not something meant for him. He was meant to hunt. To rip and tear.

Whenever Alaster sparred with Lukas, with the man severely holding back using only a miniscule amount of his true strength, his sword could break the boy's arm, even if he perfectly deflected it. However, it was really Lukas' shield that Alaster came to fear.

Multiple times, while Alaster was distracted with his sword, the shield would come from a completely different direction and bash him. Even a light bash was enough to throw the boy several meters away. Lucky for Alaster, Lukas had never used the rim of his shield against him. Alaster had personally seen Lukas shatter solid stone with the rim of his shield, even when he didn't use an ability.

Once Alaster warmed up his body through the movements, he began to shadow spar against an imaginary opponent.

Winter was in full swing, but it was a nice day, not a cloud in sight with very little wind. Snow covered the ground, but gradually, Alaster began to overheat and sweat. Taking a short break, he took off his shirt, laying it on a nearby post, and rubbed some snow across the back of his neck.

The years of hard training had refined his body. Even as a child, his body had very little fat. His body was all muscle. He was not overly bulky, in fact, when he wore his shirt, he appeared merely fit. But he had conditioned his muscles to have a hidden strength, capable of holding heavy weights or responding with lightning fast blows.

However, even with his body, that made even the older female guards stare occasionally, he was still vastly weaker than anyone with even minimal training in their Warrior Type Class. That would change tonight, at least, Alaster hoped.