Free Weapons

The short smith led Sorath inside through the front door since he was coming from the back door, telling him not to touch anything. 

He explained how Sorath was a genius for discovering a new invention and that he was willing to trust the blueprint to an unknown blacksmith whose shop was hidden in the corner of the city.

He kept talking even when he went downstairs to grab the commission Sorath was requesting. His voice resounded through the small speaker on the reception table where he attended to his customers.

He sounded grumpy and kind at the same time, probably due to him being a replica. 

Different types of weapons, ranging from low-quality to middle-quality, were displayed on the wall behind the table and on the neatly arranged shelves in the room.

Sorath examined each weapon behind the table. After a while, his gaze stopped on a sword with a slightly curving blade and a round guard. Its black scabbard was decorated with an intricate design of gold.

'That sword seems to suit her.'

He searched and examined the other weapons while trying not to touch them. 

After a while, the short smith returned with something wrapped in high-quality cloth in his hand and put it on the table.

"Here," he said, looking at it. "Thanks to you, I was able to craft a masterpiece. But there's a little bit of a problem at its core. I can't make it unlimited, so it can only charge a few - five to seven shots."

"Don't worry, though! I've made its power stronger so it could penetrate even a dragon's scales in two shots!"

Sorath looked at the wrapped object. "I see."

The weapon, even though it was concealed, was a gun. A rifle, perhaps. However, the place where the ammunition slot was supposed to be was replaced by something else. It was round like a ball.

'I guess this is the best I can get from the fake.'

Satisfied, he looked at the shorty.

"How much gold is this?"

"That? It should be worth more than 1000, but since this is my first masterpiece and the idea was from you, I'll sell it for half the price for you," he puffed out his chest proudly.

"500? That much could buy me a small-sized house here. How about 400?" Sorath tried to negotiate.

The short smith frowned his eyes for a moment and suggested another price.

"450!"

Sorath, however, didn't want to back down even though his budget was only 50G.

"425."

"Fine..."

Finally, the smith sighed and agreed to sell it for 425G to Sorath.

Smiling, Sorath pointed at the katana-looking sword he had seen earlier.

"And how much is that sword?"

The smith followed Sorath's finger, finding a sword he thought was only for decoration due to its strange design.

"Oh, that's a sword I received from a dying traveler. At first, I thought it was something incredible. But after finding it had only one sharp edge, I deemed it impractical," he said. "Maybe it's a good weapon for him, but not for the people here who are used to using a double-edged sword."

Pausing for a while, the short smith continued.

"If you're interested in that sword, I'll give it to you for 25G. How about that?"

Finding another room to negotiate, Sorath asked for a lower price again. This time, the smith immediately agreed after Sorath was willing to buy it for 20G.

"Can I take a closer look at the sword?" Sorath said.

"Yeah, sure."

The smith took the sword from the display wall and put it on the table.

Taking it, Sorath unsheathed the sword. It was just as he thought it was. A katana sword. He carefully traced his finger on the blade, not wanting to injure himself like a fool.

The iron was cold and smooth, making his finger glide easily on the surface.

'He's maintaining it well.'

Sorath stared at the smith who was blabbering inaudible useless things.

'Shall I test its sharpness?'

"Can you bring me something to test the blade?"

Stopping his blabbering, the short smith glanced at Sorath.

"You need a dummy? There are some of them downstairs. Follow me."

As he was taking a step, he stopped immediately and turned around.

"That's where I work. So, don't touch anything except for the dummies you need there."

As Sorath nodded, the short smith spun and walked, leading Sorath downstairs.

Once they arrived on the base floor, the smith turned around. But this time, it wasn't only Sorath's figure that greeted him, but also a sword that had slashed the top of his head.

"What are you..."

Before the smith could finish his words and his hand could reach for his head to check the blood streaming down, Sorath pushed the sword downward, splitting the shorty in half.

Looking at the bloodied blade, Sorath smiled.

"Oh, it's sharper than I thought."

Just like that, he sheathed the sword and returned upstairs, taking the wrapped weapon, a bow and arrows, also a dagger. After that, he walked out of the building, leaving the dead replica of the smith alone in the cold basement.

What a cold-blooded man he was...

...

On his way to the inn where his group stayed, Sorath reflected on what had happened in the hidden blacksmith's basement.

'Huu... I'm glad there's no punishment for killing an NPC in this city.'

He massaged his right shoulder.

'Although... I could still return here if I was punished and disqualified,' he reassured himself. 'Thanks to the cloth I ripped back then, that assassin could know when to execute the plan B.'

After returning to the main road, he looked back at the alley he came from.

'I'll meet you later in the real world, master. After that, let's settle the matter for what you did to me in the past.'

Sorath walked through the main road, navigating his way to the inn. On the way, he spotted Julian's group, who was ready to embark on the sixth trial with six people - five were Julian's original group, and the new member was a stranger from the suspicious group.

Noticing the stranger in his group, Sorath could guess what Julian was going to do by bringing them with him.

'I see... so that's your plan to remove the poison.'