A Slow, Peaceful Life

"It's so hot…"

The weather looked nice. There were barely any cloud in it. The wind also feels nice, I can see the grasses swayed around and the air is so refreshing.

It is quite a rare day. In this place, good weather accompanied with fresh air is a moment to be remembered.

It reminds me of those days back in Derdun.

The weather was always blue without clouds, grasses and birds chirping around. Unlike this place, all I see is merchants and adventurer going back and forth minding their own business as usual.

The capital surely is different.

It took me quite a while to adapt to this foreign environment, but I managed. After all, I'm not alone.

Pops is here, opening a new blacksmith shop. It surely took all of our saving to open the shop, but in the end I think we all are satisfied.

Pops' skills are not to be underestimated. Within three months, pops already made quite a name for himself. Soon, the requests came flooding in, though pops refused most of them.

They were requests for weapons. Swords, spears, bows, shields, anything with the purpose of killing people were rejected by pops. The one who made those requests were mostly from the government officials. Well, not all of them.

Some underground mercenary made a personal request, too. The result was obvious.

It would surely make a good business, but pops couldn't careless. He has his own principles. He never made any weapons ever since I knew him, so it doesn't struck me as odd.

But there were some backlashes. Those who were rejected became resentful to us. They did try to pull the rug under our feet, but none of them worked so far.

They can't exactly chase us out. The people would not like it, and pushing out a talent is not really a wise choice.

That's just how impressed people are by pops' craftsmanship.

Well, not just pops I guess.

'He' also played quite a role.

"..."

Two years has passed since that incident.

Life has been peaceful.

"Sigh… "

I fanned myself with my own palm.

It's summer already. When I realized, time passed so quickly.

Pops makes farming tools and other similar equipment now. There are profits, sure, but we barely cover our expenses. We rarely eat meat, everyday is mostly porridge and fruits.

I miss my fish soup.

Sweats trickled down my chin. My shirt feels sticky and damp. I guess I won't be getting my flower shop anytime soon.

Despite the heat wave, there are so many people walking around the street. I feel fatigue just from watching them. I should be in the forest right now, but with this weather…

"Hm?"

A person opened the door and the bell rang.

His face were covered by red scarf, I can't tell who he is. His hands and also feet are covered by bandages.

Suspicious.

What kind of business does he have here?

With a ruffled voice, he spoke.

"I've heard there's a skilled blacksmith here. Is that true?"

"Um…"

I'm not sure what to say.

Pops is definitely skilled. But that's just me. I don't know what the others think about pops. Could it be… he's looking for the 'other' blacksmith?

"A customer, eh? What are you looking for?"

A giant figure passed by me from behind. Pops came from the backdoor and chimed in.

"Can you take a look at this?"

"Well, first of all, we don't-"

Before even pops get to finish his sentence, the scarfed man threw his sheathed scimitar which Pops caught it with a surprise.

"-make and repair weapons… hm?"

Pops had a sudden change of expression. Pulling the scimitar out of its sheath, pops examined it closely and said with a tone low enough to be considered a whisper.

"This might be useful…"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Hm, I guess... we could make a some exception..."

"Pops?"

This is the first time I ever saw pops being interested in repairing a weapon. Why? Is there something special about that scimitar?

"I thought you don't make or repair any weapons."

His words simply entered pops' left ear and went through his right.

"This scimitar contains Meltium. Mana can be channeled through the blade, and it doesn't need a gemstone embedded in it, thus reducing the weight making it more practical than your average magical weapon…"

Pops rambled on and on by himself.

"This scimitar is cleaned regularly, it is almost brand new in a glance. But I believe it's probably been used for years. The edge and the tip is sharp, however there are chips here and there… I believe you wish to repair it?"

"...Can you do it?"

"How about I let you be the judge of it?"

"How long?"

"Come back here 3 days later."

"How much will it be?"

"We can discuss the price later. It won't be unreasonable."

"Well then, I'll see you in 3 days from now on."

The scarfed man left just like that.

What was that about?

That was extremely suspicious. What kind of person just entrust their weapon like it was a scrap of paper?

"What's this? I thought you don't take requests like this?"

"That's right, I don't."

"Huh? Then, why…?"

"I won't do it. He will."

"Huuh?"

"This will be a good opportunity for him to experiment."

"..."

I don't really get it.

What sort of experiment will he conduct? He has been living with us for over 2 years, practiced and crafted all sort of items, his craftsmanship level should be quite high.

"Sigh, maybe you really should take these kind of requests more often after all."

"What are you on about. We are doing just fine."

"We are barely fine."

"..."

Pops sighed and sheathed the scimitar.

"It's already been two years, isn't it?"

"Time flew by a little bit too fast."

"Maybe it's time for you to get married…"

"Whaa? Did you say something?"

"Nothing. I gotta go to the workshop."

He left just like that…

Nevermind that. That scarfed man is suspicious. I have a bad feeling about him, maybe pops should have refused after all.

I wonder…

...Will these peaceful days last?

…

Within the past two years, this party of three went through quite the journey.

A lot happened, however nothing major that is life changing. Adapting to new environment, meeting new people, opening a new shop, difficulties of sustaining the business… everything was of ordinary life.

Nothing amazing worth telling happened, what was there left to say?

Len, inherited the knowledge from the Arcane Gem lived his life peacefully. The black-haired woman and Rollo… they never came.

Not a single news of them ever reached him. Instead, he was the one searched for information about them. There was nothing.

Len received a (Reward Token) after slaying the black-haired woman and went to a place so called a 'guild'.

The receptionist, a young girl with a double braids welcomed him with a smile and accepted the token. Len received 5 million gills and three 1 Million EXP-cards as rewards.

But that's not all.

Octo slayed Rollo which gave him a (Reward Token) too. Combined, they garnered almost 10 million gills and six 1 Million EXP-cards.

That's how they were able to buy a small house and opened their workshop.

5 Millions is a big sum of money. But they are in a capital and the price of a small land went through the roof long time ago. Len spent almost all of it for the blacksmithy business, and used the rest for equipments.

Within these two years, Len managed to use his free time in between his daily activities and experimented with his new found ability.

The Arcane knowledge.

The essence of Ether.

Magia Etherea.

Through trial and error, Len was able to uncover secrets and techniques that could be used to aid him.

Not only in fighting.

But also in crafting.

"Yo, Len!"

Octo came and passed the scimitar.

"This is…?"

Len pulled the scimitar from its sheath and touched the blade. Surprise filled his face, tapping the tip lightly Len asked.

"Meltium…?"

"That's right."

"Woah."

Len stared at the scimitar with eyes filled with sparkles.

Meltium a metal alloy that can be fused with other steel to create many kinds of things. Due to its nature of being a good mana conductor, it is mostly used as a material for weapon such as swords, spears, arrows, and many others.

It is not brittle and easy to shatter, instead meltium is flexible and absorbs shock making it extremely durable and a good material for swords and shields.

Unfortunately, it is rare and not many people have the skill to utilize the full potential of the metal. If handled poorly, the meltium might go to waste and not able to serve as a good conductor.

However, that is not enough. Even if the meltium can conduct the mana perfectly, it is nothing useful if it cannot be used. The mana will start to leak from the meltium and dissipate.

"A magical weapon… a Cross Gear, huh?"

[Red Fayfare +6]

Equip Requirements:

Level 82

75 STR

120 DEX

30 WIS

[???]

A scimitar that was crafted with the intent to protect those who are dear to the user and uphold justice. Carved with elegant strokes by the maker, it exudes an elegant aura that could intimidate one's enemy.

Fused with meltium, it is extremely durable and shock resistant.

Stats:

+45 DMG

+10 Thunder DMG

+120 SPD

+10 Charm

*A very small chance to intimidate hostile enemy when attacking

*A moderate chance to inflict critical hit with a slash

*Has active skill [Shockwave] Level 3

*When fueled with mana, further increase Thunder DMG

[Shockwave] Level 3

Convert the mana flowing through the meltium into of [Thunder] element, thus making the sword shines with a brilliant light that electrify one's enemy.

*Has moderate chance of inflicting [Stun]

*Consumes 300 MP

*Cooldown : 30 seconds

"Hm…"

'A good Cross Gear, I think. It is somewhat better than Novy's short sword. Maybe worse…'

Len still remember her short sword. It has low requirement, yet gives a lot of stats. Unlike this scimitar, it has a high requirement for a slightly better stats than Novy's.

'No, it's just the difference in craftsmanship skill.'

Through the time he spent together with Octo, Len learned that he is not your run-of-the-mill blacksmith. He's definitely someone with a skill. Perhaps 'skilled' is an understatement for him.

Octo granted him the [Blacksmith's Craftsmanship EX] to him after all. That skill helped him to the moment he stood before the furnace.

'Perhaps this might work.'

An experiment he wanted to try after all this time.

Not every blacksmith can forge a weapon with meltium. The level of the blacksmith's craftsmanship level must be at minimum of 5 and possess an enchanted hammer.

The enchanted hammer serves as a catalyst for the blacksmith, absorbing the mana one emits and along with it, the blacksmith's intent.

They can imbue the meltium each time the hammer landed on it, and a 'skill' will be attached to the weapon. Depending on the blacksmith's elemental affinity, the skill that were born will naturally inherit those elements.

In this case, the scimitar has a skill called [Shockwave]. From the name and description, it was plain obvious that the maker has affinity to thunder element while Novy's short sword was of light element.

Examining the physical appearance of the scimitar once again, Len affirmed the weapon he called Cross Gear. The blade has golden yellowish color on it and there were indeed smooth, delicate carvings on it. The handle was made of wood covered in red bandages.

'Will this be successful…?'

Cross Gear, a nickname given to a weapon that possess the capability to let the user uses a skill. Why was it called as such? Len himself doesn't know.

'Probably because it is a physical weapon that possess a magical abilities… so it's a 'cross' of two opposite things, so Cross Gear I guess.'

Len's [Blacksmith's Craftsmanship EX] passed level 10 and still kept growing. His potential in blacksmithing keeps on going and going, even Octo was baffled. Nobody could levelled their craftsmanship skill that fast. After all, blacksmithing requires real experience and patience.

People would take decades to reach where Len currently was, yet he accomplished it within 2 years of time.

Len actually didn't care for it that much. He learned that fame without backing is similar to having a death wish. If people know how skilled he is, many would try to obtain him. It would be great if they are seeking a win-win cooperation, but he doubt it will happen in this world.

He grew and became strong for the past years.

However that doesn't make him invincible to super-power organisations in the world.

He must learn to be resilient.

Living life peacefully is the best decision he could make compared to a life full of blood and war. Being thrown into this world gave him first-hand experience of how horrible experiencing such thing.

Thinking to himself, Len nodded.

"Finally, the moment of truth has come."

"Finally, eh?"

As previously said, using an enchanted hammer one can fuse it with one's mana and intent upon the meltium to generate a skill.

The skill can be something that the blacksmith already learned, knew or random.

The last one is not something that can be done intentionally. Random skill usually appeared on accident and beyond one's control.

Now, any ordinary blacksmith would naturally use their own mana, but Len has a different idea in mind.

Mana is not the only thing he possess.

'I will try ether to imbue the weapon. I wonder what will happen.'

It's been quite some time Len had this idea and wanted to try it, but alas they are barely surviving with their income. They could not afford such precious material like meltium.

Len put aside his idea and focused on his work. That is until the scarfed man came and asked them to repair it.

The opportunity has showed itself at last.

"You sure you want to do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if something happened? I don't think anyone ever tried this?"

"I'm sure it will be fine. What's the worse is gonna happen? The scimitar explode or something?"

"I'm telling you first hand if something happen, it's on you."

"..."

Octo waved his hand and left the workshop. Being left alone, Len stared at his own palm and thought to himself.

'Lots of things has happened. So far everything has been peaceful, but who knows what might happen, right? When that moment comes… I need to be prepared.'

Len took the scimitar to the furnace and stepped on the blower. He held the hammer on his right hand and thousands particle of light appeared. The particle of lights danced around the hammer and fused together into one. Pale blue light illuminated the workshop.

"Now, let us begin."