The Broken Blade

After a few hours of paperwork, it was finally time to eat.

I grabbed a quick bite at a small restaurant before embarking on a mission to buy a new rapier. Roughly retracing the route I'd taken with James, I found the shop after asking a few people for directions.

A sign outside the door read: "Be back in a few minutes." Sighing at my bad luck, I sat down on a nearby bench to wait. Just then, Mel interrupted me.

~Host?~

Puzzled, I replied to Mel while settling in. "What is it?"

~Since I feel like you've forgotten, I'll remind you: the daily missions you unlocked are now accessible.~

"Oh, that's right! With all the pressure of getting the skill after the second mission, I completely forgot about the daily quests. Thanks, Mel."

~No problem. If you want to see where your daily quests are, just think of them, and I'll display them for you.~

"Okay, let's see…" I thought "Daily Quests," and a black background interface appeared before me.

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Daily Quests

1. Practice your weapon of choice until you are exhausted. [Select].

2. Run to exhaustion. [Select].

3. Work on a non-combat skill for one hour. [Select].

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~If you want to start a quest, you must first select it with the [Select] button. But since I'm here, I'll do it for you.~

Listening to Mel, I had a few more questions.

"Until exhaustion… that's a bit vague, isn't it?"

~Not at all. The better you get, the longer you can run. A fixed distance would have been limiting.~

"That makes sense… For non-combat skills, can you give me some examples?"

~This is mainly about crafting: blacksmithing, sewing, alchemy, sculpting—skills like that.~

"Interesting… I'm thinking of starting with either blacksmithing or alchemy. Do you have any recommendations?"

~Both are good choices, but I'd prioritize blacksmithing to help you take care of your weapons.~

Thinking about where I could learn blacksmithing, I considered asking Gueulfor, finding a library, or even hiring a teacher.

Just then, Gueulfor returned. "Oh, Arthur! How have you been since I last saw you?"

"Could be better, but I think I've improved quite a bit."

"Perfect. I heard about your group—my condolences, kid," he said, patting me on the shoulder.

"Personally, I'm fine, but for the others, it's been hard…"

"I understand. It's true you didn't know Liam that well. He was a nice guy, no nonsense. It's sad to see him go like that, but when you're out there, you have to be ready for anything."

"I agree. Have you ever been out?"

"Me? Of course!" he replied, laughing heartily. "How do you think I got this Greek god build, huh?"

"I don't doubt it," I laughed. "How long have you been going outside?"

After a moment of thought, he replied, "I started out on expeditions like you for the first ten years, then moved on to conquests to reclaim territories."

"Oh, you did conquests? Can you tell me more about that?"

"It's a bit like expeditions, but we encounter far more monsters and whispers, so it's much more dangerous. On expeditions, we'd lose very few members over ten years, but on conquests, we'd lose that number every month if we were unlucky."

"I didn't realize the mortality rate was so high during conquests…"

"When you think about it, it makes sense. The participants are more skilled, but they're also faced with the unknown. Plus, conquests are like raids, with much larger groups, so the chances of casualties are higher."

"I understand. That's probably why most people prefer to stay at home nowadays, isn't it?"

"For the most part, yes. Even if the culture of reclaiming territory isn't as strong in our city, it's much more prevalent in the upper cities."

"Interesting…"

"Well, let's change the subject. What brings you here?" he asked as he unlocked the door.

"I'm planning to level up my skills, and I need a better sword. Ideally, one for training and one for the field."

Surprised by my request, he asked, "Are you sure? It's good to see such a motivated young man, but do you have the money?"

"Don't worry about money—I have more than enough. But let's keep that between us," I mumbled.

"Got it," he said, smiling. "Wait a few minutes; I'll get something for you."

As Gueulfor disappeared into the back room, I wandered around the shop. Strolling between displays of weapons, I stopped in front of the rapiers, which seemed unusually popular.

"I don't remember rapiers being this popular," I muttered, when suddenly, a woman's voice sounded behind me.

"It's just as effective against whispers, if not more so," she said.

Startled, I turned to face her and was surprised to see a woman about my age, with long, wavy black hair and green eyes. She was well-dressed and smiled at me warmly.

"Did I scare you? Sorry, bad habit," she giggled, waiting for me to respond. When I hesitated, she asked, "What's wrong?" tilting her head.

"You're Hylia, aren't you?" I asked.

Realizing why I'd frozen, she smiled brightly and said, "Yes! We can take a picture if you like."

She probably thought I was just a fan, so I decided to play along, laughing heartily to maintain the facade.

"Sure, let's take a picture," I said with a smile.

After we took the picture and exchanged a few words, she quickly left, seemingly busy with other commitments.

"Did she really come just to scare me and leave? Or did she know I recognized her and didn't want to stick around?" I wondered aloud.

Putting the interaction aside, I refocused on the rapiers. There were some good quality ones on display, and a few more in large drawers—probably unsold items that Gueulfor had bought back for a few credits.

As I examined the rapiers, which were mostly similar except for a few with more unique designs, I noticed one that was half-broken with a shattered hilt, and another with a blue sheen that was broken halfway down.

Deciding to rummage through the drawer, I suddenly felt a comforting warmth around my neck. I pulled the pendant out from under my shirt, and it glowed with a soft silver aura that fell on a sword in the drawer I'd just opened.

Curious, I grabbed the sword. It was wrapped in a black sheath with pale purple veins, resembling withered sap.

"Interesting," I thought, examining the hilt, which was formed of slender ivy-like branches with black metal leaves accented by pale purple highlights.

"If the reflections weren't so pale, this would be beautiful," I mused, when suddenly a notification appeared in front of my eyes.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION

Identification: Familiar weapon detected.

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