Chapter 102: Special Items
Tyler arrived at the marketplace and turned toward the shop at once, his pace picking up. A bell rang out overhead as he pushed through the door, and Kai came into view behind the counter.
"Sir, good morning." A smile spread across Kai's face.
"Morning, Kai."
"You look happy. Did the crafting go well?"
"It did." Tyler set both hands on his waist. "It went so well. I can't wait to show the both of you what we just made. Where's Hector?"
"He's in the back." Kai tipped his head toward the iron door, a few feet behind him.
"Is he not crafting?" Tyler rounded the counter as he asked.
"Um, no, not yet. He normally doesn't start so early."
"Oh." Tyler huffed a short laugh. "Guess I was so used to finding him crafting every time."
He pushed the iron door open with one hand. "Come in, I wanna show you." Kai's face brightened as he fell into step behind him, and the two of them crossed into the workshop together.
Inside, Hector stood feeding huge, chopped logs into the furnace, working the wood down deep to prepare it for melting iron. He straightened at the sound of them entering. "Tyler, you're here so early."
"Yeah, I decided I'm not going hunting today. I'm spending the rest of the day with you guys. Probably tomorrow too."
"Really?" Kai's smile stretched wider.
"Yeah." Tyler turned to look at him and nodded.
"Did you craft those items?" Hector circled around the iron table toward him.
"I did." Pride colored every word. "I crafted a lot of them."
"All right, go ahead and show us." Hector gestured toward the empty iron table behind him, and Tyler crossed toward it.
Tyler's hand hovered just above the table's surface, and three Gloomcoats materialized across it in a single breath.
"Woah." Kai's eyes lit as he took them in. Hector lifted one free and unfolded it, holding it up by the shoulders to study the full length.
"That looks amazing," Kai said.
"It does." Hector turned the coat slightly, catching the light along the fabric. Tyler only grinned, a quiet swell of pride sitting in his chest. "The material feels so clean." Hector pressed the shoulder fabric between two fingers, testing it. "The texture's not too soft or rough." He flipped the coat around and found the label stitched into the back, the one Tyler had made. The corners of his mouth pulled upward, just slightly. "It's a beautiful design," he muttered.
"Yeah." Tyler rubbed the back of his neck. "It looks pretty great. And I couldn't have done it without the both of you. So, thank you."
"I'm glad to help," Hector said.
"Yeah, I always help however I can," Kai added.
Kai stepped closer to Hector. "Can I touch it?"
"Sure, here." Hector held it out toward him.
Kai's fingers brushed over the fabric.
"You can put it on if you like." Tyler crossed his arms.
"Really? No—" Kai pulled back slightly. "This looks... expensive. I can't wear it."
"Don't worry, we're just testing it out." Tyler waved the concern off with one hand. Kai swallowed, hesitating a moment longer before sliding both arms into the sleeves, and the coat settled onto him smooth and easy. Surprise flickered across his face as his wrists brushed against the fur tucked inside the cuffs.
He glanced toward Tyler, eyes narrowing slightly, taking in the fit. The coat sat well on him, though it hung just a touch loose, cut for a frame slightly larger than his own.
"It's a little too big for me, isn't it?" Kai spread his arms out to either side, studying the extra fabric pooling at the sleeves. Tyler had to press his lips together against a laugh, sparing Kai the embarrassment.
"Yeah, it's a bit too big for your size, but it doesn't look too bad." Hector tilted his head, studying the fit. "How does it feel?"
Kai took two steps back, then two steps forward, testing the drape of it as he moved. "It feels great." He slid both hands into the pockets. "It feels perfect."
As Kai worked the coat back off, Tyler let the thought settle in the back of his mind. *If he were an assassin, he probably would've recognized there was a skill built into it, right?*
"Kai, what class are you?"
Kai went still for a beat, eyes flicking to Tyler's face, then over to Hector, who watched him back with mild curiosity written across his expression. "Oh." A nervous laugh slipped out of him as he folded the coat and set it down on the table. "I'm a mage."
"What?" Hector and Tyler said it together, the same beat of surprise landing on both of them at once.
"You're a mage?"
"What type?" Hector asked.
"A Hydromancer." Kai scratched at the back of his head.
"Wow, I had no idea." Tyler's eyebrows lifted.
"Yeah." Hector crossed his arms. "With your build, someone would think you're probably an assassin."
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Well, assassins are mostly known for having small builds." Hector kept his tone light, careful not to let it land as an insult. Kai understood exactly what he meant anyway. He'd always run leaner than most, long before he'd ever been hired here.
"So you have like water-based skills and stuff?" Curiosity sharpened in Tyler's voice.
"Well, no, not really. I mean, I only have one skill, and that's water ball."
"Water ball?" Tyler brow lifted slightly as he said it out loud, and something in the name caught at Tyler. *What kind of skill name is that? Sounds a bit... lame. It's just ball of water right.*
"I can't really do it right because of how low level I am. So the water's barely drinkable."
*Right, he's still an E-rank.* Disappointment settled low in Tyler's chest. *It would've been cool if he'd shown me some of those aerial attack skills James talked about.*
"Did you make the others?" Kai asked.
"Yes, of course." Tyler passed his hand over the table, and a row of leather shoes appeared beneath his palm, followed by seven iron helmets set just beside them, and behind that row, two silver spears laid out in a neat line.
"Wow, that's so many." Kai lifted one of the helmets, turning it over in his hands to study it. Hector picked up a second and did the same, both of them catching Tyler's crest worked into the lining.
"It feels pretty strong and comfortable." Hector lowered it onto his head, testing the fit. The helmet held snug against his skull, the thin layer of leather inside softening the pressure of the metal, the same soft lining tucked into the cheek guards easing what would've otherwise sat hard and cold against his jaw.
He lifted it off again. "This would actually sell for a lot." He turned it over once more in his hands. "You said your items grant skills?"
"Yeah." Tyler nodded. "But only four of these grant skills, not all of them. And none of the boots grant any, just a small effect that slightly increases the wearer's speed."
"That sounds amazing." Wonder colored every word out of Kai's mouth.
*They should be able to affect anyone, since these boots don't have a class attached to them,* Tyler thought.
Hector picked up one of the shoes, running his fingers along the underside, tracing out the grooves cut into the sole. He set it back down. "These are actually better than the shoes you had before." He reached over and lifted one of the spears instead, turning it once in the light. "Actually, every material here is a lot better than what you showed me before."
A smile spread across Tyler's face at that.
Hector set the spear back down. "You crafted a lot, didn't you?"
"There's more," Tyler said.
He put his hand over the table, and in the space directly beneath his palm, two offense shields were materialised there, resting one against the other on the tabletop. Sunlight through the workshop caught along their spiked, jagged spikes the instant they existed.
Hector's eyes went wide as he took them in. "Shields," he said, already reaching for one, his fingers finding careful purchase around the spikes at the front as he lifted it clear of the table. He turned it over once and closed his hand around the handle.
"That looks amazing. I didn't draw this, did you design this yourself?" Kai asked.
"Well, not really. It's just how it came out, and I decided I liked it this way."
Hector touched the tip of one of the spikes, testing the sharpness, then set the shield back down. "Do these have skills as well?" he asked.
"Yes," Tyler said, nodding. "I was actually surprised that those two fall into two categories, which are tank and knight. So, both of these classes should be able to use the skill."
"What do you mean?" Kai asked, a crease forming between his brows.
Tyler looked at Kai and said, "Unlike ordinary weapons, my weapons are categorized in classes and tiers. Basic weapons are weaker, and common weapons are stronger. At the same time, even though a knight can use an assassin's dagger, only an assassin will be able to use the skill on that dagger."
"Oh," Kai said, nodding. It still sounded very strange to him, though he understood what Tyler said. He didn't press him to explain further.
"What kind of skills do these have?" Hector asked.
"You remember the skill the Hexhorns have?" Tyler said. "Once they use this, both classes should be able to activate that skill."
"That's good, but... how do we sell them?" Kai asked. Both Hector and Tyler turned to look at him. He averted his gaze. "I'm... just saying that not a lot of people believe that items will just give them skills."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I already have an idea," Tyler said.
"You do?" Hector said.
"Yeah. We'll allow them to test it out."
"What do you mean test it out? You mean here? The skill?"
"Not exactly. What I mean to say is, so anytime someone holds this item, they'll immediately recognize the skill. It'll just be embedded into them, kind of like how someone knows they have a skill once they acquire it through leveling up."
"Alright, I get it now," Hector said. "So you want people to hold the material so they can witness it for themselves."
"Exactly," Tyler said. "When hunters come through that door, we should already be able to tell their classes from their badge. We'll tell them about the item, and if they don't believe us, we'll ask them to hold the item to confirm it for themselves. They'll believe us then."
"That's a great idea," Kai said.
"All right, can you tell which ones have the skills, so we can separate them?" Hector said.
"Okay," Tyler said. He crouched beside the row of items and started sorting them, calling out which ones carried a skill and which didn't as he set them into two loose piles. Hector stood across from him, and the two of them fell into a back-and-forth about pricing, while behind them Kai found the broom propped against the wall and started working it across the floor in slow, even strokes.
* * *
Rebecca stood in the office at the top floor, her arms crossed over her chest, studying the old man seated across the wide stretch of desk between them, her eyes moving over him the unhurried way they might size up an unfamiliar mark in the field.
His boots were black and polished enough to hold a faint gleam even in the dim office light, rising into black leggings and a black coat that sat close through the shoulders. His gray hair had been combed back with a neatness that left not one strand loose, and a white mustache sat trimmed close above his mouth. Beneath the fine cut of his clothes, his build carried a slight muscularity, though noticeably less than his reputation would have led her to expect.
The old man pressed a stamp into the wax on the letter in front of him, sealing it shut before he rose from his seat. His gray eyes lifted to meet Rebecca's silver gaze, and when he spoke, his voice came out softer than his face suggested it should.
"I was pretty surprised when I heard that Silver was here." He stepped out from behind the desk, circling around its edge with both hands clasped loosely behind his back. "Yet here you are, back so quickly. How'd you manage it in such a short amount of time?" A grin spread across his face as he said it.
Anger rose fast in Rebecca's chest, and she pressed it down before it could reach her voice. "It's almost been two months. You know I could've gotten it sooner if you hadn't raised the price twice in a row." The old man let out a low chuckle.
"What did you expect? A lot of people wanted that weapon." He dragged his fingers along the gray stubble lining his jaw. "I was actually thinking about running an auction on it."
"Don't you dare." Rebecca stepped forward, the words clipped and sharp.
"Relax." He held up a hand, palm out. "Goodness. You young people can't take a joke nowadays."
The old man turned toward the corner of the room, where a wide, double-doored dresser stood built entirely from metal, its bulk taking up most of the space against the wall. Rebecca's irritation only sharpened watching how at ease he seemed as he spoke to her, as if he had no idea how frustrated she'd been with him this entire time.
*Greedy old bastard.* The thought sat heavy behind her still expression. *This item was supposed to be mine to begin with. I'm the one who ordered it.*
The old man drew out a key, silver and gleaming, its shape cut strange and spiked, more rows of metal teeth lining its head than any key had a right to carry. Rebecca could tell at a glance that he'd forged the key himself, which meant he'd built the safe's lock the same way, by his own hand.
He slid the key into place and turned it, and the sound of gears grinding against each other rose from somewhere deep inside the metal, turning and catching in sequence.
The heavy iron doors swung open, and Rebecca's eyes widened just slightly at what waited inside.
Equipment hung along the interior in neat rows, every piece wrapped in thin white bandages. The old man reached for the item resting at the very top and lifted it free, a bow, bound the same way as everything else. He cradled it in both hands and turned back toward her.
"Here it is." A smile crossed his face. "The bow you wanted."
Rebecca reached both hands out slowly, finally close enough to have it in her grip, but the instant her fingers neared it, the old man pulled it back out of reach, a teasing glint in his eye.
Rebecca's frown deepened as she lifted her gaze to meet his expression. He huffed out a laugh and extended the bow toward her again, and this time
she snatched it straight from his hands, annoyance flaring at the pointless game. She'd already clocked exactly how much he enjoyed watching her irritation build.
The weight of the bow settled into her grip at once. She peeled the bandage away slowly, and underneath, silver metal caught the light, gleaming where it fused seamlessly with a darker, denser material running through its core.
"You can already tell it's made from a lot of Pherium." The old man clasped his hands behind his back again, watching her study it. "I had to bond it with steel and a few other metals besides. But you can already feel the Pherium just from holding it."
Rebecca turned the bow slowly in her hands. Her eyes narrowed on a small symbol carved into the part of the bow now exposed, a triangle with three slanting lines curving through its center like waves caught mid-motion.
"You know, while I was crafting it, I kept asking myself why you specifically wanted those types of runes when you already had the skills and the Pherium both." He rubbed at his jaw again. "It was also kind of a challenge to craft. I had to make it myself, since none of the others could manage it. But that item, I finally worked out how you're planning to use it. And it's absolutely absurd."
A small smile pulled at the corners of Rebecca's mouth, barely there.
The old man shook his head slightly, watching her. *If she activates the frost rune while the Pherium enhances her skills, and then triggers her own frost arrow skill on top of it, the effect would be devastating.*
He watched her wrap the exposed silver metal back into its bandage, folding it away with careful hands. *Just what is she planning?*