Chapter 54.2: Marinate cont.

Prytaneum

Marinate​

"Okay…so," Welf said slowly, lips pursed tightly. "There might be an organization of crazy people out to destroy the city and they might be behind the monster that attacked us? And they're the same guys responsible for…?"

He gestured vaguely in the direction of Ryuu and Wayland. I don't know why; it's not like they couldn't see.

"Pretty much," I replied.

"Those assholes," Welf growled. "So we're going to stop them before they do anything else?"

"That's the plan," I said. "If we can find anything, at least."

"Please forgive him," Wayland murmured to Ryuu, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall with her. "It was before his time."

"I do not mind," Ryuu answered. "I prefer they simply be forgotten. They do not deserve anything more."

"Mm," Wayland replied, closing his eyes. "True, true."

"I can hear you, you old geezer," Welf said, looking away from me.

"You were meant to, you goddamn whippersnapper," Wayland drawled before walking back over to the counter. Frankly, we were lucky that the prices of items in the Hephaestus' main store were stupid high; there wasn't anyone coming in during midday, at the very least. At a guess, only first-class adventurers could afford anything in this store and adventurers like that were few and far between. It made me wonder how much of this store was meant for actual business and how much was meant for intimidation, publicity, and simple showing off. Countless adventurers probably walked by this store every day, staring in awe of the items and price tags within, and remembered the Hephaestus Familia…it made a certain kind of sense. In fact, didn't Welf once say that the store was mainly for the office side of things?

Hm, but in that case, was Wayland a salesman or security guard? Wayland never seemed to be armed—but then, he was surrounded on all sides by some of the best weaponry in all of Orario. Something to keep in mind.

"So," He said, grunting slightly as he settled down behind the counter, putting his gloved hands on the surface. "What is it you want of me, boy?"

"Welf?" I asked and he grunted before shrugging off the bag he carried over one shoulder and tossing it towards Wayland, who dumped it onto the counter and frowned.

"His work," Welf said, jerking his head towards me.

"Oho?" Wayland replied, raising an eyebrow even as he took out the same tools he had when I first showed him Riptide. "Well aren't you full of surprises, boy? Hm…"

As Wayland focused himself on examining the three items we'd brought—the 'Nemean Pelt,' the 'Golden Fleece,' and the Sonic Arrows—he seemed to blot out the rest of us, dismissing us from his world. I saw Ryuu looking at the items as well, an expression of what I assumed was curiosity on her face.

"Is this why you wanted to speak to Wayland?" Welf asked under his breath. "About…?"

"I wanted some advice," I said, glancing his way. "Neither of us really know much about how to use it, right?"

"Mm," Welf said, bobbing his head in concession.

"I just need an idea of where to start," I said. "If I have some idea what we need, maybe I can think of something."

"Hephaestus told me to expect something special, but I didn't think it'd be anything like this, boy," Wayland interrupted, clicking his tongue as he raised the Nemean Pelt. "It's fine work. Mystery, is it?"

Welf grit his teeth, seeming annoyed with the smith—probably because Wayland wasn't normally that free with praise. I wondered how much of that was honest praise and how much was just to irritate Welf. Either way, I nodded to confirm his guess.

"Well, I can't say I'm not surprised—both that you have such a rare thing and that you could use it to make something like this." Wayland hummed, rubbing at his beard without taking his eyes off the Nemean Pelt. "The composition and structure doesn't seem to have changed, nor has the exterior—but it's plain to see that something has. The fabric resists my tools like no cloth I've ever seen…it almost reminds me of fairy cloth, of something that has divine protection, but even then I've never seen anything like this. But then, perhaps that's to be expected of Mystery, eh?"

"Wayland, can you tell me a bit more about Mystery?" I asked. "I don't really understand it. I think I've got a better idea now than I had before, but I'm still having trouble figuring it out."

Wayland laughed at that, leaning onto his elbows and grinning wide.

"Course you are, boy," He said. "Mystery is, perhaps inevitably, something of a mystery. If you're asking for something like an intended use, you're looking in the wrong place; as far as I know, there's nothing like that. You've probably heard that it's something that creates miracles—or magical items—but what's that mean?"

"I dunno," I said truthfully.

"Neither do I," Wayland said, scoffing. "It's a goddamn worthless description. But I've seen my fair share of magic and mystery in my day, son, and I'll tell you what it isn't—or what it isn't all the time. It's not something meant for making armor or weapons, it's not something meant for making potions, it's not meant for making equipment, and it's not meant for making Grimoires or anything like that."

"What…?" I trailed off, staring at him like he'd just said something absurd. "But I heard…what's it do then?"

"It does all those things," Wayland replied, looking amused. "Some of the time, anyway."

I stared at him silently, trying to make him give me the answer without giving him the satisfaction of dragging things out.

"It's not something that's meant to be used on its own," Ryuu answered for me from the side of the room, watching things quietly. "Is that it?"

"Exactly," He said, snapping his fingers. "You can use Mystery to make superb potions, if you also have Mixing. You can use it to create amazing weapons, if you also have Blacksmith. If you're a mastery of magic and have Mage, then you can push that a step further and create Grimoires, books that draw magic out of the souls of others. Mystery is something powerful and creative, but it isn't something that exists on its own. Rather, it takes form through its user or gives parts of the user form—and so how it can manifest, depends on the user as well. Ask yourself, where do your talents lie, boy? How does your magic express itself? Mystery will help give those things shape or broaden what you can already make."

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling exasperated. "That doesn't tell me anything."

"Imagine it like this," Wayland replied. "Mystery is the difference between casting spells and giving spells to others. It's the difference between creating a mask that hides the face and one that disguises a man as another person. It's the difference between making a sword fit for a king and one that can only be drawn by those fit for kingship, a sword fit for a master and one that wields itself, and suit of armor that can protect a man and one that acts on its own to protect an area. A small change in concept, but a great change in result. Do you see?"

A little bit, I thought. Except not really. The general idea made sense to me, in a weird way; if you want to make potions, you needed to use Mixing—made sense. If you wanted to make amazing armor or weapons, you needed Blacksmith; simple enough. I got that. But then, how the hell had I made any of these things? The Nemean Pelt, the Golden Fleece, Nectar, Greek Fire, even Undine Silk…I didn't have any abilities related to making stuff like that.

Did I? Besides Mystery, I had Hero and Hunter and maybe my skills and spells if stuff like that counted. My spells might, given what some of them did, but did Hunter or Hero? I didn't think either were skills meant for crafting things.

Although…I had had more luck when I began working with the drop items of monsters—or rather, with the drop items of monsters I'd killed. And the items I'd made, with the exception of Undine Silk, were all based on things I'd encountered as a demigod. Was that it? If I looked at it that way, I might have been able to draw a line to Hunter and Hero, maybe, but it wasn't anything I felt certain of.

But maybe I wasn't supposed to be. Like Wayland said, it was a Mystery.

…Personally, I'd rather just know. But I'd already accepted than no answers were forthcoming—and at least if I thought about it that way, I sort of had an idea of where to start, maybe.

"Seems you've got an idea, boy," Wayland said, seeming satisfied.

"I guess," I answered with a sigh.

"Buck up," He said, laughing. "Are you sad you don't have anyone to hold your hand? I can empathize—but in the end, I still prefer Lady Hephaestus' way. Let each man learn for themselves, make their own choices and mistakes, and build things their own way. Even if there are only a handful of people with Mystery in all of Orario, that's no excuse not to try and stand out! Make something to amaze everyone else, eh?"

That wasn't the most satisfying answer, but it was a familiar one. Figure it out, do it yourself, and make do—that was kind of how things had always gone, how I'd been trained. The Camp had always been pretty big on the sink or swim method of teaching, telling people to climb lava covered cliffs or tossing them into live combat.

And I was a pretty good swimmer.

"Fine, fine," I said, waving a hand. "I'll manage somehow."

"Attaboy," Wayland said, clapping the table with a mighty boom. "Anything else?"

"Just wanted to ask if there was anything you needed," I said with a sigh. "Since we're working together, I might as well take requests."

Wayland hummed slightly at that.

"Well, it's true that custom orders can bring out the best in a smith," Wayland said. "When you're making something that just anyone can pick up and enjoy, you can still do a good job—but when you have a specific goal in mind for a specific person for a specific reason, that's when you really shine. But something I need? That's a hard question for the same reason I had no advice to give you; it's hard to say what you can make and so it's hard to know what to ask for. I don't want to discourage by asking for the impossible and yet I don't want to insult your talent…hm. How about this, then? Instead of me, why don't you try satisfying the demands of that elf over there?"

"Ryuu?" I asked, looking at the quiet girl as she stood waiting, watching but not interrupting. "What do you mean?"

"Oi, boy," Wayland said, ignoring me and turning his gaze towards Welf. I wasn't sure if I had any room to speak when it came to English, but I really needed to speak to him about using descriptive adjectives and proper nouns. "It gains me, but so does looking at your work, so just this once I'll do you a favor. You're still gonna have to figure everything out on your own, but I'll be sure to critique you thoroughly, so you know each and every thing you did wrong, alright?"

"Oh, gee," Welf said drily. "Yay."