The Dragon's Hidden Scale

Category: ???

Description:

Must be carried in battle.

The dragon’s scale was roughly the size of his palm and it fairly glowed with a golden light. Willow reached out to touch it and felt the warmth against her skin.

“What is it?” she asked.

It took a moment for Jinyoung to realize the question was aimed at him.

“It’s called ‘the Dragon’s Hidden Scale’ and there’s nothing else besides that. The description says I have to carry it in battle. Have you ever seen anything like this, Hana?”

His sister shook her head. “No, but there’ll be someone at our destination who can give us more information. That’s why I need you to get supplies for our expedition while Jinyoung and I go see a forgemaster.”

A forgemaster?

“Wait, where exactly are we going, Hana?”

***

Seongsoo Market.

Before the Break, Seongsoo had been an unassuming market full of warehouses and workshops. Most of the city’s steel mills had been housed there along with welders, mechanics and a few blacksmiths. It wasn’t uncommon to see industrial workers hammering away through the night which went a long way towards explaining why there were so few homes built in the area.

Eventually, the bellows and workmen who spent their hours producing steel frames for cars or aluminum wires for fencing were working on armor to defend against monsters and swords for actual fencing.

Blacksmiths, craftsmen and armorers were stacked on-top of, underneath, and next to each other haphazardly in the tight streets of the market. There were a few concrete structures built in the 80’s, but the rest of the ramshackle additions had been built with brick and mortar while others structures were tin-roofed shacks that looked like they might fall over with a stiff breeze.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Have you ever been here?” Hana asked.

Jinyoung didn’t need to answer. The awe was written on his face. The Seongsoo Market was strictly off-limits to anyone under level 20. Partly because none of the wares here were suitable for inexperienced players, but mostly to cut down on the number of window shoppers. He’d only heard descriptions from his instructors, but they didn’t do it justice.

The street was populated with a mix of storefronts and smithies. The stores were well organized with polished gear while the smithies were more disorderly with weapons hung in layers. Some were still smoking after being freshly forged.

Jinyoung stopped at one smithy to browse their selection of axes. They glinted in the light, polished to a shine. He took a deep breath and then activated [scan+].

Notifications flooded his view as the skill sought to give him information on every item directly in front of him. Gradually, he was able to focus on one specific weapon and see its attributes.

Lesser Ax of Flames

Weapon is imbued with fire damage that activates periodically.

Attributes: Flamestrike (BROKEN)

Contrary to its status, the ax was marked to be in near-mint condition. Checking other wares resulted in similar falsehoods. All the weapons at these shops had been polished to a shine with signs and prices that advertised weapons as being of high-quality or having “epic” attributes when, in reality, many of the weapons were well-worn or had attributes that were firmly broken.

“Come on, we’re not here to explore.”

Hana led him from two-laned streets to narrow alleys through to walkways where Jinyoung had to squeeze past air-conditioner units and storage shelters.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll like this,” Hana replied with a smile. “It used to be that the outer shops were run by smithies and craftsmen, but that was before we got the resellers. At first, they were either clan reps selling used equipment in bulk or scavengers who were picking through bodies in the dungeons.”

Jinyoung nodded. There wasn’t a large market for second-hand equipment. In fact, it was usually only fresh graduates from the Academy who used second-hand gear. Everyone else either used tailored gear, direct from a craftsman or armorer. But something nagged at him.

“The market at the Seorak Outbreak… all of that was used gear, though.”

“Right,” Hana waved at the stores they’d just passed on the mainstreets. “Just like out there.”

The thought stunned Jinyoung. Everything he’d seen at the Seorak Outbreak and back in the Seongsoo Market was second-hand.

“There’s some new stuff here and there, but a lot of the industrial forges have been bought by corporations who funnel new gear to their own players.”

It was a sobering thought for Jinyoung. The idea that even amongst clans there existed a hierarchy with corporate-sponsored clans at the top.

“Then where are we going?”

Hana answered without looking back. “We’re going to a place where the corporations aren’t welcome.”