Game of the Universe: Zenith

The dwarf looked up from his anvil, staring at the pouch of stones John was holding up before his face split into a grin.

"Good choice kid." He then set the hammer down and glanced at the pouch on Arthur’s waist with a sly look that said he’d been waiting for this, before ducking under the counter. He picked out a small leather pouch that looked identical to Arthur’s and tossed it to John with the same grin as before as he said,

"You know the price, kiddo. One thousand base stones. No haggling."

As expected, John didn’t hesitate. He unfastened the remaining three pouches from his waist and spilled everything on the counter as he counted out a thousand elemental stones before pushing them to the dwarf.

The grinning blacksmith swept them away before his laughter echoed through the empty shop,

"Hahaha! Not bad. It looks like you brats made quite the haul again!" Then, he pointed at the rack behind him and continued, "Isn’t it about time you bought some weapons and armor too?"

Arthur saw the dwarf rubbing his hands and he couldn’t help but shake his head while John blurted out in shock,

"Old man, are you trying to wring us dry?"

But the dwarf just grinned before picking up a piece of steel armor and placing it on the counter in front of them. Then, he said matter-of-factly,

"Aren’t you brats hunting in the foggy mountains right now? How long can you keep that up wearing just goblin drops? If you want to make it to the peak, you should definitely upgrade your gear. Otherwise, you’ll probably die the moment you spot a level 8 monster, let alone that giant pig! Alright, how about this? I’ll give you a discount! 300 base stones a piece and this is yours."

Arthur stared at the piece of gear the dwarf was trying to sell them with such fervor, before his right hand brushed against its cold, smooth surface. And the moment he did, a system notification flared into view,

[Item: Hammel’s Chestpiece]

[Rarity: Common+]

[Description: A plain suit of steel armor forged by the steady hands of a dwarven smith. Though its creator lacked the skill to produce a masterpiece, generations of tradition guided every hammer blow. The plates are well-fitted and the steel properly tempered, capable of protecting its user.]

[Attributes: Dwarven Craftsmanship: More durable than armor of similar quality, resisting dents and wear through disciplined forging techniques.]

Arthur froze for a moment as he stared at the system’s description. There were so many things he didn’t understand he actually found himself at a loss.

He looked up again at the plus sign next to the word ’Common’, before his eyes moved down to the ’Dwarven Craftsmanship’ attribute.

"Surprised, eh?" The dwarf’s laughter rolled out again.

Arthur nodded slowly, still looking at the floating text. "What is this? The attribute."

In reality, Arthur was just as curious about the ’Common+’ rarity.

Still, without a doubt, the most eye-catching thing was the ’Attributes’ section. Up to this day, neither his [Goblin’s Fang] nor any other drop Arthur had gotten from the monsters he and John had killed had an ’Attributes’ section like this.

So naturally, how could he not be curious?

The dwarf leaned his weight against the counter, clearly pleased to have been asked this question, and said proudly,

"Of course, that’s the difference between a normal item and a piece forged by a blacksmith! Monster drops are just that. Unrefined items! But items forged by a blacksmith can carry different attributes. Depending on the blacksmith’s experience, their skill, and the materials used, a piece of armor could be just average, or it could be a life-saving treasure."

Hammel tapped a thick finger against the armor and continued,

"The better the material and the hands, the better the result!"

Then his beard shifted with a grin.

"Of course, only a dwarf can give a piece the ’Dwarven Craftsmanship’ bit."

Arthur nodded in understanding. Beside him, John’s curiosity had already gotten the better of him as he stretched out a hand and touched the cold piece of steel, eager to see what the fuss was all about.

To the dwarf’s surprise however, Arthur shook his head a moment later and said calmly,

"I won’t be taking this."

Hammel was a bit taken aback when he saw how easily his creation was refused. Clearly, he hadn’t expected this answer. But of course, the dwarf had no idea that even if he lowered the price by another hundred stones, Arthur still wouldn’t buy it.

Buying the storage bag had already seriously depleted Arthur’s reserves, so spending another large sum on a piece of armor would really make things difficult. He had to first settle things with the restaurant before making any irresponsible purchases.

At the same time, John snapped out of his reverie when he heard Arthur’s response. After a moment, he turned to Hammel and said with a grin,

"You heard the boss, old man. We won’t be needing this."

"Suit yourselves. It’ll be here if you change your minds." Hammel said as he slid the chestpiece off the counter and set it back on the rack behind him. Then, he turned to the two humans and the look in his eyes suddenly changed as he continued,

"So. Do you brats have anything for me today?"

Arthur smiled when he heard that.

Then, he opened his storage bag.

Moments later, five ivory boar tusks, four fist-sized serpent scales, and a large spear with a band of blackened metal all appeared neatly next to each other on the counter, before Hammel stepped forward and rubbed his palms in excitement.

The dwarf looked over the items for a couple of minutes, testing everything with his fingers, before he said in satisfaction,

"Good. Very good. Just like before then, I’ll buy the boar tusks for sixty base stones each. The serpent scales, seventy-eight a piece. And the spear, for another fifty stones. Six hundred and sixty-two, all told."

Arthur did the math in his head for a second before nodding.

In the end, it came down to three hundred and thirty-one stones each for him and John, plus what they’d gotten from Zane and Brock earlier.

"Definitely not a bad haul!" Arthur thought to himself.

He was about to close his storage bag when he suddenly paused.

There was still one thing left inside.

After a moment of hesitation, Arthur pulled out the Alpha’s liver and placed it on the counter.

And the second he did, Hammel went still.

For a moment, the dwarf just stared at the glistening piece of meat, the easy merchant’s boredom draining out of his face in an instant. He leaned in closer, and with a look of disbelief, he just touched it with the edge of his finger, as if to verify what this thing was.

Then, he pulled back and turned to Arthur and John.

This was the first time Arthur had seen the smith act like this. Even when he and John brought out [Deadshot] yesterday, his reaction hadn’t been this dramatic.

He didn’t look as shocked as he was right now, completely devoid of words.

And indeed, Hammel seemed to hesitate for a bit, as if sorting out his thoughts, before he said in a low voice,

"Trust me kids... You don’t want to sell this."

Arthur’s brow rose. That was the last thing he’d expected to hear. No matter what, the dwarf was always eager to buy any items they brought to him. And now, faced with a Rare item, he was actually telling them not to sell it?

Beside him, John leaned an elbow on the counter. "Why not?"

But Hammel just shook his head without answering.

"Come on, old man. Why’re you being weird all of a sudden?" John frowned.

But the dwarf shook his head again and pushed the liver back across the counter. No matter how hard John pressed, he refused to say another word.

In the end, Arthur could only take the liver back into his storage bag. And as he saw John huff and puff around the old dwarf, one question in his mind seemed to have been answered, while another two popped up.

"At least this thing isn’t some useless piece of meat, it seems... But the problem is, I have no idea what it does."

In the end, John gave up with a click of his tongue, throwing the dwarf one last look before turning away in disappointment.

...

A few moments later, Arthur and John stepped out of the smithy, the ring of the hammer pickign back up behind them.

"That old man buys everything. Never seen him turn down a single thing, and now this?" John muttered in a low voice.

Still, Arthur could tell John wasn’t really keeping a grudge and was just disgruntled. After all, the old man had gone so far as to tell them that they shouldn’t sell their loot.

That... was enough.

Whatever this liver was, they’d find out tomorrow.

By the time they reached the end of the street, where it opened back toward the plaza, Arthur had already decided to let it go for today.

It was time to log out.