Dark Sister

The door's hinges creaked as Elizabeth gently pushed it open.

And just like love at first sight, Arthur was blown away by the beautiful swords hanging on the display wall like fancy trophies. They were all well polished to look brand new—and judging from the peculiar energy radiating from them, he could already tell they were magic swords forged using a special mineral.

Litherium was the strongest material in the realm currently and it was used in forging magic weapons for nobles because of Its high conductivity for magic which was believed to go as far as storing processed mana. And because it was very rare, buying it cost around one hundred thousand Zeni, and having it forged into a weapon would go as far as one million Zeni.

A good magic sword was the one that conduct magic and at least output seventy percent of the mana fed into it. Arthur needed a sword with high conductivity, a fairly high output that didn't need to hold magic for long since He could cast spells without incantations. There was always a small amount of time before a spell could be cast, and that time was dedicated to reciting incantations that helped focus magical energy. He didn't need that small amount of time because of his "special talent" and could cast spells instantly.

"Clariton. Are you here?" Elizabeth called out to the empty store. Then, out of nowhere, a door appeared on the opposite end of the store and a six-foot large man with bleached white skin in an gray apron walked out of it. The first thing his green piercing green eyes landed on was Arthur, mainly because of his weak presence.

He noticed the man's eyes anchoring on him and quickly averted away from the man's gaze and pretended to focus on the swords around them.

"Hmm…" he showed interest in him before turning to Elizabeth. "Lady Elizabeth, what brings you here to my shop on such a fine day?" he had a pleasant voice as he spoke to Elizabeth, showing how much respect he had for her as a noble.

"Me and my friend here are searching for a magic sword. We were hoping you could provide us with your best under one thousand zeni," she said.

The large man clicked his tongue over her mentioning the price range. "Really milady? Under one thousand? A sword that price can break so easily after using it after few fights."

"That's why we came here...he doesn't have that much mana. So I need you to give us a sword with high magical conductivity but pathetic hold."

He laughed, "A pathetic hold? You might as well just ask for a normal sword if that's the case."

"We could have, but of course you know that normal steel swords can't hold magic—let alone conduct any of it."

"Let me see what I can find." The man exhaled sharply before stomping past them to the swords hanging on the wall. He gazed at them with both eyes narrowed while he stroked his hairless chin to see which was the best sword for the price range the two had given him.

"What is he doing?" Arthur asked Elizabeth.

"Those born with the sword smith skill can see through a weapon's statistics. Right now, he's looking through the sword's conductivity and attack strength. He can also look at minerals and tell which is better for weapon forging. It's usually a dwarf skill. And it's rare in other races, especially in elves."

"Elves?"

Arthur stared at Clariton once again and noticed the pair of pointed ears protruding from his silver hair. He had never seen an elf before. But he wasn't surprised to see another humanoid creature. High demons also looked similar, but they usually had a pair of horns on their heads or a pair of wings attached to their backs. But that's what he heard from the stories from his past life. And the only real demon he had ever encountered in his whole life was the one that led to his death.

"Anha! Found one!" Clariton exclaimed, reaching for an unsheathed double-edged longsword that wasn't even on display like the other good-looking swords. Instead, it was in a wooden barrel surrounded by other cheaper magic swords.

Arthur set his eyes on it and felt a spiritual connection to the weapon like it was calling out for him.

'Huh?'

"I want it," he said with both eyes fixed on the sword.

Clariton was surprised, "What?! You want this piece of junk! Are you insane? This sword may have a high conductivity, but the metal used to make it is mitheral, the weakest mineral in the kingdom. No one has used a mitheral sword as a magical sword in hundred years, it shatters instantly after being fed powerful mana—that's why it's so cheap, despite looking so good."

"Hmm," Elizabeth gazed at the sword and nodded agreeably at the man's explanation. "Then get us another—"

"No. I'll pay for that one. Please give it a sheath." Arthur chose not to listen because every single impulse was telling him to choose that one.

"Give us a moment." she requested Clariton and pulled Arthur to the corner of the store for a short talk after his sudden decision.

"Mitheral? Really?" She snorted.

"What's wrong?"

"Mitheral is used to make normal swords. Are you ready to waste eight hundred zeni on a sword that normal…?"

"But he mentioned it has a high conductivity." He acted dumb. No one else could sense what was coming from the sword apart from him, this was similar to when he encountered the Rivian yesterday.

"It will break easily when pumped with excess magic. That's the weakness of mitheral." She warned.

Arthur nodded, " I see. But that's not changing my mind...I can't afford to lose my allowance on an expensive sword. I'm not a noble, remember?"

Sigh!

"Fine. It's your loss."

"Awesome."

They returned to Clariton, who was now behind a counter holding the sword Arthur had chosen—now sheathed perfectly by a brand-new leather scabbard just as requested.

"You're done with your lovers' quarrel?"

"We're not lovers." Elizabeth rushed to debunk his statement. She wasn't happy with Arthur's choice, but he had given a solid reason that she couldn't argue against.

"We'll take the sword," Arthur said, then placed a small brown pouch full of silver coins on the counter.

Clariton smiled on seeing the sack and the clicking sound of coins. Immediately, he peeked into the brown pouch and quickly counted through them to confirm if it was the eight hundred zeni he had asked for. He smiled even more after seeing that it was the exact amount.

He handed the sword to Arthur and said, "The sword is called dark sister. She was used in the first holy war, and no one has ever drawn her since. Take good care of her because no one makes mitheral swords anymore, especially using something complicated like rune smithing." He murmured the last words; so technically, no one heard what he said.

Arthur then unsheathed the sword, and its blade glistened once a small portion of his mana flowed into it, awakening its true potential.

'Strange. Why do I feel connected to you, dark sister?'