The Blazing Blacksmiths (2)

"How was it?" asked Margaret, standing outside the building.

"Good," I replied. At least now, I wouldn't need to face problems regarding not having an ID.

A lot of time was spent getting it. The afternoon had already arrived.

"What would you like to do now?" she asked.

"Can I go and face the challenge of the next floor whenever I want?" I asked.

"Of course! Although it is recommended that newbies spend some time gearing up before climbing the Tower," she informed me.

Although I was taking it easy since I had just entered the Tower, I needed to get stronger as fast as possible. It's the only way I'll ever see my parents.

But rushing my preparations would only quicken my demise.

Now that I think about it, the only weapons I had were the 'Claw of the Great Wolf' and 'Arcane dagger'. So it would be best to buy some weapons and armour first.

Although I could get gear from the 'store', it would be better to buy some of it from an actual store. That would help me know more about the Tower's trading system.

Plus, according to the administrator, the 'store' is accessible to everybody after reaching a certain level. That would mean that the most powerful weapons and armour couldn't be bought there, so it would be better to make some real-life connections.

"Can you show me to a weapon and armour shop?" I asked the waitress.

"Of course! Follow me!" She said excitedly as she started walking.

After a five-minute walk, we were standing in front of a two-story building. It displayed a banner which read: 'Blazing Blacksmiths!'

"This is the best store for newbies. It offers cheap and reliable weapons and armour," Margaret said enthusiastically as she opened the shop's door.

Inside was a fully wooden room; with a wooden floor and wooden walls. A reception desk could be seen at the other end of the room, with a sturdy-looking man behind it.

The man had a bulky physique with strong muscles. The man was bald, although he had a beard. He wore a shirt that was maybe once white, but due to time and dirt, it had now become a paler shade of yellow. On top of his shirt, he wore a brown welder's apron.

The right wall of the shop displayed weapons of all kinds; swords, maces, spears, staffs, daggers, clubs, and most other kinds of weapons that existed.

The left side wall displayed armour; shields, helmets, chainmail armour, full body armour, and some other armours whose names I didn't know.

Behind the reception desk was a door, which may have led to the smithy where all these items were produced.

"Welcome!" The man yelled. Why was everyone in the Tower so full of energy? Was I the weird one?

'Hey, Matt," Margaret casually said, waving her hand.

"Have you finally accepted my marriage proposal? Yayyyyyy!!" rejoiced Matt, rushing towards Margaret.

"Nope!" exclaimed Margaret as she took to the air and kneed the huge man in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"As you can see, I am here with a customer. He would like to purchase some items from your shop," calmly said the waitress as she gestured toward me.

"Ahh! You almost got my hopes up. Well anyway, I know you can't resist this charming man for too long," replied the man as he got up and pointed to himself. Poor guy... Although I haven't ever loved someone one-sidedly, I still feel bad for him.

"You just entered the Tower, didn't you? Although I'll give you a heavy discount since my fiance brought you, do you even have money to pay me?" he asked.

This was something I had been thinking about. I already converted my gold into points; can I convert points into gold too? Let's give it a try.

Convert one thousand points into gold!

[You have converted 1000 P into 100 GP!]

Instantaneously, I felt the pouch attached to my waist get heavier. It looks like the gold was automatically put into my pouch.

Removing the pouch, I handed it to Matt. Five hundred points in the 'store' could only get me an E-grade dagger. Most probably, that was the same case here, too.

Matt stared at the contents of the pouch, his eyes shining like the gold that was in it. Then, after a moment, he closed the pouch and returned it to me.

"Sir! What would you like to look at first? Armour or weapons?" The man suddenly asked, rubbing his hands together. What was this sudden change in attitude?

Money really makes the world go round, doesn't it?

"Armour," I replied. Unfortunately, although I had some weapons, I didn't have any armour, so looking at that first would be better.

"What kind of armour would you like? With the money you have, you can easily buy an E-grade armour with enough money to spare for an E-grade weapon," the man said. So armour and a weapon could both be bought for under a hundred gold?!

"Did you forget to apply the discount?" asked Margaret, who was playing around with a mace.

"Fine! E-grade armour and a D-grade weapon!" yelled the man. I guess his love was really blind.

But, an E-grade armour and a D-grade weapon for under a hundred gold were terrific. In the 'store', a D-grade weapon alone was sold for around a thousand and two hundred points.

I guess it was the right decision to come here after all.

"Would you like heavy or light armour?" the man asked.

"Light armour," I replied. Taking care of heavy armour would be very irritating.

The man took me to the wall where all the armour was displayed. Some of the armour was piled up on the floor. They were probably defective products.

"This is my best and cheapest light armour. Although it doesn't look like much, it can easily reduce the damage taken by fifteen per cent," said the man as he gestured towards a chainmail armour hung on the wall.

The chainmail armour didn't look like anything special. It had a white plate attached to its centre, probably so the wearer could embed an insignia into it.

**********

Simple Chainmail armour (E)

A simple light armour made by an intermediate-level blacksmith.

It protects the wearer against most stabs and slashes.

Damage reduction: 15%.

No additional enhancements can be applied to this.

**********

This seemed simple enough. It blocked simple attacks and even reduced a significant amount of damage.

However, my tracksuit became so good thanks to the enhancements by Margaret. So the fact that no additional enhancements could be applied to this armour concerned me a little.

"Is there any other?" I inquired.d

"Well, you could take a look at those," the man said as he pointed to the pile scattered on the ground, "although they aren't very good since they were made by my apprentices."

I scanned through the pile, trying to find something suitable. But most of the items were worse than the 'simple-light armour'.

But... at the corner of the pile lay a chest plate, which caught my attention.

It was a black-coloured light armour, which could easily be worn inside my tracksuit. But, why did it suck in my attention, despite the myriad high-grade armours lying around?

I walked towards it and picked it up. Instantaneously, I felt something pass through my body.

**********

Shadow Light-Armour (D)

A light armour made by a novice blacksmith who has incredible potential.

Damage reduction: +20%

While wearing it, the user has a higher chance of evading attacks.

While wearing it, the user's agility increases.

The user has a 2% chance to experience 400% of the attack damage received.

Additional enhancements cannot be applied to this.

The grade of this armour increases with the power of its user.

**********

This was fabulous! Not only my defence but also my agility would increase.

But, the only worrying thing about this armour was this line: 'The user has a 2% chance to experience 400% of the attack damage received.

This meant I could receive four times the damage if my luck was awful. Was it worth buying it?

"One of my apprentices made it; that's a defective piece," commented the huge man, who was now standing beside me.

His apprentice made it? One of the lines was very intriguing in this item's description. It was: 'A light armour made by a novice blacksmith with incredible potential'.

Incredible potential? Could the Tower even predict one's potential?

"Why is it defective?" I asked.

"Well, although it can increase the agility and defence of its wearer, it has a humongous flaw. This armour has a 2% chance to inflict quadruple damage to its wearer." Matt replied.

Well, it was all information that I already knew. But, something attracted me to this armour. It was like this armour was made especially for me.

But, if its flaw ever activated, it would be terrible. Should I just take the armour Matt had shown me?

No. For some reason, it doesn't feel right if I don't buy this.

Its flaw only had a two percent chance of getting activated. I shouldn't worry too much about it. Plus, its other abilities were too good.

"I'll buy it!" I confidently said. It was just my first step in climbing the Tower. Although thinking things through was good, I couldn't take so long for every single decision I made.

I need to believe in myself!