I turn and find a man behind me, looking quizzically at the conversation taking place. The man has long brown hair that's starting to gray at the tips, but despite that he still looks youthful and spry. He's tall and limber, but the well defined muscles in his slim arms speak to an underlying strength.

His garb is extraordinarily basic, a beat up tunic and trousers being his only apparel besides a pack slung across his shoulder. At his hip are two swords, one broad with its scarred black blade exposed to the world, the other sheathed but equally simple, if you looked past the fact the crossguard was tied to the sheath with metal wire.

"Nothing much, mate. Just sharing stories with the curious youth is all," The old man says cordially.

"Oh. Is that so?" He asks, looking at me.

"Yeah, I was curious about the stories they were talking about," I respond truthfully. There's something strange about the man, some kind of aura I can't quite identify.

"Ah, my apologies, it seems I read too much into the situation." He bows before heading to the server to order food.

"Sorry laddie, but that about marks the end of our free time as well," The old man says as he gets up and stretches.

I wave the two men goodbye before turning my attention back to the man who had interrupted us. I hadn't seen him in the room before, so he had likely stepped into the pub only to be greeted with the sight of that old man waving his arms at a seemingly impressionable young man. Regardless, the swords at his hip denote him as an adventurer, which meant that the stop here hadn't been a total waste. Not that it was to begin with, as those two had decent info.

After he settles down with a meal of his own I decide the time is right and walk up to the corner booth he situated himself in.

"Excuse me, would you happen to be an adventurer?" I ask. While I initially intended to keep up the inquisitive kid charade, something about the man's demeanor discourages me from the act. The best way I can describe it is that he has the look of someone who has traveled the world, yet he retains some intrinsic spark in his eye, like that you would see in the innocence of a child.

He looks at me with surprise, "I suppose you could say I'm something of the sort." He gives me a warm smile, "Still in search of stories, eh? Unfortunately, I don't have very many interesting tales of action and adventure. I'm more of an archeologist."

"So you search through old ruins?"

"Yep. Not very interesting, huh?"

"I think that would probably depend on the ruin. I've explored a dwarven undercity myself," I pull out my guild ID to show I'm not simply making stuff up.

He gives a whistle, "You're more than you appear, huh? Hm… A dwarven undercity, you say? What'd you think? Here, you may as well take a seat if we're to talk," He motions to the seat across the table.

Taking the seat, I respond, "It was certainly grand. It had a beauty to it that was only slightly diminished by the infestation of monsters."

The man gives a hearty laugh, "Yeah, they do tend to get in the way, don't they? By the way, I'm Isao."

"Stein. I noticed the blades at your hip, you're a swordsman?"

"I've never really been very good at using anything else, so I suppose you could say that."

"You know many styles?"

He chuckles, "Not a one."

For a second I think he must be joking, and wait for him to continue. When he takes the opportunity to eat some of the food on his plate I realize he's serious, "Really? Not a single one?"

"Nope," He says around a mouthful of food before swallowing, "I guess you could say I'm self taught, though really I don't have any form or technique when fighting. I told you, I'm primarily an archeologist."

"If that's the case then what're you doing here? I had you pegged for one of the countless treasure hunters."

"Mm. I didn't really intend to get caught up in this mess, truthfully. There's a dig site to the west that's drawn my attention, I felt like making a stop in Voset because it's on the way and I figured I'd be able to rent out a workshop to do some smithing. Earn myself some extra coin, you know? Too bad they're all backed up already and won't rent out their spaces."

"You know, my friend has the same problem. Does archeology not pay very well? I kind of figured it would be the opposite, what with there being hidden treasure to find." My own dungeon delving expedition had certainly been lucrative, but perhaps the lack of enthusiasm by the others at the time could also be attributed to the search of hidden treasure being generally unprofitable.

"I do find treasure from time to time, but I find that having too much wealth tends to be a nuisance. I get enough people bothering me as it is." He sighs, "More than anything though, I miss the heat of the forge, the clamor of metal on metal." His eyes take on a far away look.

"You make it sound like the forge was your first love," I say with a chuckle.

"First and forever, you could say."

At that moment someone new walks into the pub. Casting a cursory glance over them I'm surprised to find I recognise them. I wave to catch the dwarf's attention, motioning that he should join us.

"This is the friend I mentioned," I say to Isao.

"Makin' friends, Stein?" Bodelee asks as he walks over.

"Something like that," I say dismissively, "This is Isao, it seems you two are in a similar situation, what with none of the smithys being open for rent."

"Mm," Is the dwarf's only response as he casts an inquisitive eye over Isao, "I see."

Sensing some sort of reluctance in his attitude I ask, "What's wrong?"

"I get this all the time, it's fine," Isao says before taking a drink out of his mug.

"I think you'd be better off finding someone else to hang around. Nothing good can come from talking to fakers," Bodelee says, a deadpan tone to his voice.

I look between Isao and Bodelee, confused, "You wanna elaborate on that? I'd like to know what exactly it is he's faking and how you spotted it immediately."

"Gods, kid, ain't it obvious? I mean he looks pretty average on the whole but the blades are a dead giveaway. They look like they were put on a rush order with barely the funds to buy proper steel."

Bending over to look around the table I examine the blades hanging on the man's hip over the edge of the seat. Now that Bodelee mentions it, they do look like they lack the sheen of good steel, and their shape is so horribly basic I'd bet a competent smith could them it out in less than an hour. The tip of the broad blade is also jagged to a point, like it was broken off.

"I'll have you know it took forever to even get the basic shape of the damn things," Isao says irritably.

"Okay, so his swords look like they were thrown together by a one-armed monkey, I still don't see what you're getting at." I try to ignore the, "Hey!" from across the table

"Y-" Bodelee stops himself suddenly before taking a breath and letting out a long sigh, "Sorry, forgot about the whole memory thing again. You probably aren't familiar with many legends or stories, are you?"

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"Nope."

"Well you should know that the most popular ones these days aren't about tales of old, or the struggles of that horrible cataclysm, but rather stories about one man. A man who as far as I know still lives."

"Let me guess, he carries two swords. A broad black blade and a sword sealed in its sheath."

Bodelee nods, "The Sword God."

"Now that's a title I have heard before." I hadn't expected to get an ascendant's name dropped here. If I remember correctly, Albatos had said he was considered to potentially be the strongest person in existence.

"So what deeds is my new friend supposed to have done?" I ask Bodelee.

Bodelee blinks at my lack of reaction, "It's said he slew Velzar, draconic king of the ancestral mountains, with a single blow. He can cut through anything with his swords forged from a fallen star. He destroyed the castle of Kyltalia's capital in a rage against the king."

"Agh, please don't mention that last one. I told them over and over it was an accident, but they wouldn't believe me." Isao had his face buried in his hands.

"Well yeah," I say, "I can hardly imagine how many would be injured or killed in the collapse of a castle. I thought you said you didn't have any good stories of adventure, so what about the others? You kill a dragon in a single swing?"

"Urk, fair point," With a sigh he takes his head out of his hands, "Maybe? I dunno, I might remember some overgrown lizard getting in the way of a search for cool stuff. It's hardly a cool story if the main enemy dies in a single attack." He says the last bit with a shrug before going back to his food.

With a snort, Bodelee says, "Come on, Stein. There's no need to waste time on a fraud." He gives a side nod of his head, indicating we should leave.

"No thanks, I think I'll sit here and talk with my new friend a bit more."

Bodelee stares at me with a look of shock that quickly turns to frustration. Isao gives me a discerning eye but keeps his expression neutral.

"Why?" Bodelee asks with an annoyed look.

"Because I know fakers and frauds, and I don't believe him to be one. The entire time I've been around him he's tried to subvert my expectations, not lean into them. Conmen always give you a hook to draw you into their masquerade, but he seems more interested in being left alone. If he was a fraud, or even just an enthusiastic fan, why wouldn't he have tried to confirm or deny his identity by now?"

My words give Bodelee pause, and he scrunches his face as though he's putting a lot of thought into finding some rebuttal.

Isao sighs, "An impressive deduction. Honestly, after all these years I've grown tired of the 'is he real' debacle, so I'll just settle it." With a lazy motion he swishes the steak knife in his hand at Bodelee.

"What're you..!" Bodelee's words are cut short by a portion of his beard falling to the floor. He feels along the clean cut edge of his neatly maintained hair and mutters, "A cheap magic trick anybody could do."

"It wasn't magic," I say in a state of shock. I'm still not accustomed to keeping my reinforced senses going around the clock, but I had activated them when I met this man who gave off such a strange aura. So I could definitively tell that what he had done hadn't disrupted the surrounding mana whatsoever, meaning it wasn't magic. The only other possibility that came to mind was a domain, but I can't sense that either.

Bodelee seems to be in an even greater state of shock than I am, while Isao has simply gone back to his food.

Shaking himself out of it, Bodelee gruffly says, "My wife loved that beard."

Isao pauses as he's about to put another bite in his mouth, "Uh, sorry about that. I just get annoyed by that tireless debate. Is there any way I could make it up to you?" He bashfully scratches the back of his head.

Bodelee slowly takes a seat next to me while he still fidgets with his ruined beard, "I suppose. I'd like to take a closer look at those blades, if you don't mind." His earlier attitude of flippant disregard is gone, replaced by a hesitant uncertainty.

With a small smile, Isao reaches down to his belt loop and brings both of the swords at his hip up to the table. "Don't mess with the sheathed one too much," He says with a slightly troubled expression, "It has this annoying habit of eroding reality when it's out."

Bodelee gingerly picks up the scarred broadsword and begins examining it. Looking at the other blade I can't help but ask, "What do you mean it erodes reality? How could a sword do that, and why would you bother carrying such a dangerous thing?"

"It was made to have an incredibly high purity of oricite, so it's got more latent mana crammed in it than you'd believe."

"What purity is it at?" Bodelee asks without taking his eyes off the sword he's currently examining.

"Somewhere above 73 percent. Everyone I had examine it started falling ill before the measurement could be completed."

Bodelee took his eyes off the blade in his hands, "How could you possibly get it to such a purity?"

"You said it yourself, I forged them from the rubble of a fallen star. I have no idea what kind of metal it is, only that it's not of this world. It took everything I gave it and almost seemed to want more."

"Can you two slow down?" I interrupt the flow of the conversation to posit a question, "Can someone explain to a non-blacksmith what you're talking about? I still don't get how a sword can erode reality."

Isao gives a little smirk, "Alright, well oricite is a material that's packed full of mana. When it's raw it has a lot of impurities so it needs to be refined. Unfortunately the higher the purity the more unstable it becomes, so it's not a good idea to have a chunk above 50 percent laying about."

"It's also rather useless above 30 percent," Bodelee adds, once again examining the black blade.

"Why?"

"To incorporate it into usable items like weapons it's made into a composite material with steel usually. The problem is that if you go above around 30 percent purity it disintegrates the steel, making it a real pain to work with."

"That's… kind of terrifying."

"Even getting it to stabilize at 30 is a goddamn miracle," Bodelee says, "I haven't tried it in a while cause it's so expensive, but I think the best I was able to do while learning from my master was about 13."

"And you somehow got it above 70?" I look at Isao with a skeptical eye.

"I'd believe it," Bodelee says, finally putting the sword down, "Before he was known as the sword god he was the god of blacksmiths. A lesser known title, to be sure, but equally revered. Looking at this blade I'm fully convinced, you're the real deal. But why wouldn't any of the shop owners let you rent their space? Even with how lucrative the current situation is, any blacksmith worth his salt would be a damn fool to pass on the chance to see your technique."

"They all had the same reaction you did, and I don't care to spread rumors that much."

Taking the black broadblade from where it sits in front of Bodelee, I start to examine it myself. It would be the length of a standard longsword if not for the broken tip, but it has about two to three times the width. The center of the blade is flat then bevels out into the blade at the edges. To be honest I still think it looks like it's made from pig iron, but it passed Bodelee's analysis so who am I to judge.

At first, the thing that surprises me the most is the weight. A similar sword of steel would weigh close to six pounds and be extraordinarily imbalanced, but the black blade weighs two at most.

The second thing surprises me even more, "It's dull?"

"Yeah, that one was really just made to be sturdy. It's more of a, what would you call it?"

"And indestructible lump?" Bodelee says.

"Sure, we'll go with that. I wanted something that wouldn't break on me, no matter what I put it through. I also don't like cutting things I don't intend to, so having it dull gives it versatility in my eyes."

"How'd it get these marks?" I ask, fingering the deep scars along the blade.

"I was testing it, making sure it was as strong as I wanted." He laughs, "I put everything I had into those blows, and that was the most it did." The idea of that was a little scary coming from the guy who supposedly bisected a dragon with minimal effort.

Picking up the sheathed blade I immediately notice it has an aura, and realize the strange feeling Isao had been giving off actually came from the blade, not the man. The realization is honestly frightening, as it means he's able to do feats I can't possibly begin to explain while not having any sort of presence. I wonder if the aura is why Bodelee passed on examining this one.

Since I'd been warned about unsheathing the blade, I examine the sheath itself. It's made of the same metal as the broadblade, but it was clearly made in a far cruder manner, which is saying something because the braodblade already looks like it was thoughtlessly hammered out. It's like the basic shape was beaten out as quickly as possible with minimal thought to its aesthetic.

"Couldn't you have made this sheath, I don't know, a little prettier?"

"I told you the damn thing likes to break down everything around it, didn't I? It started doing that immediately after I finished it, and it ate everything else I put around it. So yeah, it was a bit of a rush job."

"Why keep a sword that's such a bother?"

"Just cause it's annoying as hell doesn't mean it's not useful."

"You know," Bodelee starts, still stroking his beard, "If you still want a place to work I think I could help with that."

"I thought you yourself wouldn't be able to find a place?" I'm slightly surprised this discussion had happened without hearing about it.

He taps his head, "Connections are everything."

Realization dawns on me, "You got Andora to swing something for you, didn't you?"

With a nod he says, "Apparently the royal smithy hasn't had many orders lately, so she gave me the go ahead to have the run of the place for a while." He turns his gaze to Isao, "It would be a great honor to learn from you, would you be interested in joining me?"

At the mention of being able to flex the metaphorical muscles of his craft, Isao perks up. With a grin he says, "All you had to do was ask."