First purchases and first disappointments (4)

I didn't have to search for long - she was gazing with undisguised delight at the display in the neighboring room. It seemed like hearts were dancing in her eyes, and pink petals were falling from her ears. As expected, the display showcased amulets in the form of women's jewelry - rings, bracelets, earrings, brooches, and many other things that could enchant an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl.

"Oh my, Katrina, come back to reality!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" It seemed like the princess was a bit embarrassed. "Everything is fine. Have you bought what you wanted?"

"Yes, everything is fine. We can go now."

"What? Already?" Her sad expression clearly showed that she didn't want to part with those beauties.

"Do you want to buy something else?" I couldn't resist teasing her.

"Hmph, of course not! We need to save money."

"Well, as you wish. Wait for me outside then, I'll grab the goods and be right out."

"Uuuugh," Katrina lowered her gaze, but I still noticed her blushing and a hint of bewilderment in her eyes.

"Th-th-thank you, of course, but you shouldn't have spent money on me like this."

"Well, it's not a diamond necklace, but at least I had enough money for this. Besides, it suits your face very well," I said, ruining the romantic moment.

"Huh? But I have golden eyes and hair, and the bracelet is red."

"Oh no, no. I mean your face in general, just a moment ago it turned the same even burgundy color."

It seemed like anger made it hard for Katrina to breathe.

"What did you say?!" I could feel the hair on my head standing on end.

"Oh, right, one more thing. I bought it with your money, as I had twenty gold pieces left after purchasing the swords, so I decided to spend them on you."

Mmm, it looks like she's about to blow up.

"You idiot! Rot in hell, you cheapskate! You'll guard the guild at night, and if you run away, I'll turn you into a handful of ash!"

Well, well, who pulled me by the tongue? I could have even found an excuse to avoid the night watch.

My tongue - my nemesis. Becoming a pile of ashes wasn't in my plans for the near future, so I had to spend the night at the guild. Katrina's field had some use after all: it seemed that the local wildlife sensed the strong electricity and retreated to find a calmer place. Well, at least I didn't have to worry about that anymore. In the little room to the right of the entrance, I found an old cot hidden under a pile of garbage, but sleeping tonight wasn't meant to be. The wind outside picked up, and even though this shack had stood here for a hundred years, with every gust, it creaked and made me doubt its structural integrity. In any case, falling asleep was difficult, and I decided to see if there was anything to read in this hovel.

This house used to be used by other guilds, probably not very successful ones. They left behind a lot of junk scattered in various corners of the living room, or what used to be one. There were rusty magic wands, a dilapidated cauldron for potions, and a charred cook, hinting that the potions brewed in that cauldron posed a threat. In the piles, I could find many books of little value. Mostly guild diaries from those who nested in this hovel or books about the basics of magic and monster-fighting. I stumbled upon the most recent of the diaries, apparently from the last guild, dated 45 years ago. A bunch of heroes, battles with monsters, and on the last page, a bookmark - a library card of the guild master. The last book, taken from the library, was titled "How to Slay Dragons for Dummies", for some reason, the last page of the diary was smeared with blood, but that wasn't so important. The book about dragons lay nearby, slightly charred, but still readable. Inside, it looked more like a dragon reference guide: red dragons, blue dragons, white, black, yellow, and green wild dragons. Lots of information about dragon behavior, their weaknesses, and strengths, but all this information could be presented in a more understandable form, it was impossible to remember it all. This book clearly played a significant role in the demise of the last guild.

What a pity, but among all these piles of diaries, there wasn't a single one that ended with the words "And they lived happily ever after." Which, of course, was quite natural - what successful guild would start in such a hovel?

I had almost given up hope of finding something interesting when I stumbled upon an old book titled "Ice and Flame". The title sounded cool, maybe it was a novel or a story about heroic battles.

"Hello, my dear reader. This world is ruled by great forces, and magicians are their heralds. For many centuries, great magicians argued whether someone without a predisposition for magic could use it or whether it was necessary to have a connection with spirits for such purposes. And I have discovered the secrets of the universe. I am the only magician who managed to lock my power in stones and pass it on to another. If you want to know my secrets, read my diary and discover all the secrets of creating magical items."

...

...

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"WHAT THE HELL, WHY DID THEY NAME A SIMPLE FORGE CRAFT MANUAL LIKE THAT?!"

My last hope for an interesting evening collapsed. Out of everything here, there were only these two books to read. I decided to read "Ice and Flame", and besides, I wanted to check if there was anything about the material that wouldn't burn even in the hottest flames, the material from which the blades I acquired were made.

Despite the disappointing title, the book contained a lot of useful information about crafting weapons, armor, and items, about enchanting, and about catalyst stones capable of absorbing magical energy. In the middle of the book, I stumbled upon what I needed: materials for crafting magical items. The author discussed many well-known materials, not just metals but also certain stones and non-metals. He discovered that dragon bones were excellent at channeling the magic of the dragon's element. Among the metals, there were many options, not only suitable for channeling magic but also easy to engrave runes for enchantments. Iron, copper, steel, bronze, tin – the most common metals were, of course, the weakest. Gold and silver were noted as metals ideal for rare types of magic, though the specifics were not mentioned.

And here was a page about rare magical metals. Mithril - lightweight and durable, it conducted magic well but had a small storage capacity. No, swords would be too heavy for it. Adamantine - a reddish metal, heavy, and capable of storing a vast amount of mana, but its accumulation speed was much lower than mithril. It seemed close, but no, the swords were definitely not reddish in color.

The last one was the rarest of them all.

Meteorite steel / star metal / God's stone - there were definitely too many colorful epithets for a simple metal. It accumulated magic even faster than mithril, and the volume of spells it could hold was much greater. It was slightly lighter than adamantine and capable of cutting through even the scales of black dragons. A rare metal, which is why many didn't believe in its existence. It could only be found in three places: meteorite craters, the mouths of volcanoes, and by removing it from the scales of the black dragon-god Nihelim. Hey, now this was getting ridiculous! It's understandable why many don't believe in its existence. But how could such swords end up in a small shop? In any case, there was only one way to check. Here it was, a metal that only melted in the hottest flames: the heat of volcanic lava, the demonic fire of a lord of the underworld, and the fire of a black dragon lord. Well, it's simple; now I just needed to find someone with access to those flames and ask them to breathe fire on the swords. BUT WHERE WILL I FIND THEM?! It's pointless; even if I find someone from the above-mentioned sources, the chances of turning into a formless mass myself are minuscule! For now, I'll assume the swords are made of regular steel, and we'll see from there.

I got too engrossed in reading; it was already three in the morning, and if I didn't want to wake up the same way as yesterday, I needed to go to bed as soon as possible.