Catching up

Chapter 83: Catching up

/As I said before, there are many guilds, and one of the most commonly found ones would be the Blacksmith's Union. These fine folk are one of the very most widespread and influential guilds on all of Chronagen. Why, you may ask yourself?

Quite frankly, it is a service everyone needs. Some places are self-sufficient and trade little, others consider themselves pacifists, rarely hiring mercenaries or monster hunters. Rural villages don't often need a seeker to swing by and close an arch, but a blacksmith is always needed.

Carpenters need nails, farmers need blades for their ploughs, and while ferriers often adjust horseshoes on the fly, many blacksmiths offer a similar service. Cities cannot be built without them, tools cannot be maintained, and without a blacksmith, most daily tasks become exponentially harder. The handle of a bucket, the nails holding houses together, the knives in a kitchen, the armor and weapons of soldiers, the arrowtips of hunters. Blacksmiths are, have, and always will be a staple of any civilisation.

Now, that is enough to justify the craft of smithing to be widespread, yet, how would these magnificent masters of metallurgy attain any standing within society? Simple, pure, craftsmanship.

No novice can forge cold iron, or shape more exotic material, such as dragon's teeth. Masterful blacksmiths are those who have reached the zenith, the very top of the craft, able to shape any material, be they as magical, sturdy, or unwilling as they want, and make them into a weapon so fine many would spend their entire fortune and not catch a glimpse of even the pricetag.

These craftsmen are rare, and valuable. Their creations can shape history and turn whole countries upside down. No matter how fine a warrior, if they are holding a simple rod of iron, they will not be able to stand up to a novice with a sword of orichalcum alloy. Holding a weapon that serves not even as a barrier, and wearing armor that may as well be paper, the battle would not be nearly as one sided as it should.

All of this without even mentioning creations that go beyond what one might call a tool.

Thus, blacksmiths are needed everywhere, and the truly good ones the guild keeps close to their heart. Dwarven masters as old as the stone their cities were chiseled from, a demon, withdrawn into the hottest cracks, or a golem, working tirelessly on constructions that make stone look soft. Blacksmiths are a cornerstone of society, oftentimes as sturdy and reliable as the work they create.

Their guild has been around for sagas, and it will not be disappearing anytime soon. So, if there is any takeaway from this, take care to treat blackmsiths with respect. Their job is central to daily life, and their history needs not be tainted with disrespect./

"On the Blackmith's Union", by Gilbert Gildfried

- - - - - -

The goodbye from Yvette went by quicker than expected. There was now a settled score between her and Lucia, though it really seemed like Yvette was the only one thinking so. Lucia herself had fire in her eyes, wanting to pay the other woman back as soon as she possibly could. They had probably been passing favors back and forth like this for years now, neither wanting to lose out to the other.

Fucking maniacs.

Well, at least Iris was back safe and sound. Surprisingly enough, she didn't seem very shaken up. The reunion with Lucia had taken her quite a bit of time, but now that things seemed somewhat back in order, Iris just looked nervous. Maybe that was because of Zyl? There sure was something that caused everyone to step on eggshells around him, well, most people at least.

Not like Mercury cared that much about whatever the detail was. He just hoped Iris could get back to her usual, calm self soon enough. They chatted occasionally, usually while taking care of other things, and thanked him again for preventing a full-scale confrontation.

There certainly wasn't anyone she would have bet on in a fight. Yvette was strong, and fast, and had aura prepped, but the situation was far from ideal for Lucia, and Mercury himself wouldn't have been able to contribute much. Also, they had been significantly outnumbered. The fact that there was even just a small chance for them to win said more about the strength of Yvette's aura, more so than their enemies.

"Careful though. I think they might not give up on what you bet that quickly, Mercury," Iris said in between bites of food.

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Those people, the ones I used to... work with. They're always looking for more things to know. To understand. See, they can only morph into someone once they've learned every little secret they carry. Usually, they torture them out, but when it comes to more high-profile targets, they oftentimes simply lurk in the shadows, listening to anything someone says. After all, one sliver of knowledge might be followed with another, opening up a new realm of possibilities," she explained lengthily.

"So you're saying they might be stalking me?" Mercury asked back, pausing for a couple seconds.

"Not as long as you stay in good company," she replied. "If you have strong people around you, you'll be fine. Otherwise, you should start learning to expand your mana as soon as possible, that way you might be able to find them."

"Working on it already," Mercury said, resuming his meal with some apathy.

"Huh? You're already working on it?"

"Yeah, you've been gone for a while. I've not just been babysitting your bestie."

"I have decidedly not been babysat, mopaaw."

"I have decidedly been babysitting you, human. Seriously, can you like not call me by my species? Like, that's really rude," he said slowly, staring Lucia down, until she finally relented with a sigh.

"Fine, Mercury. I will try my best to communicate clearly. I get heated when patronized, so if you could, just talk to me with a little less derogation?" she said, leaning her head on her hand.

"Oh, I mean, yeah, of course. Is there anything else I'm doing that's bothering you?" he asked.

For a moment Lucia seemed a little taken aback, but quickly her face flattened out again to her normal, stiff expression. "Nothing else," she said. "Thank you, Mercury."

"Cool, glad we're on the same page. Ah, right, sorry Iris. Yeah, I'm already working on mana expansion. I got a guide for it from another quest, and with that, I've acquired the most basic form of the ability," he explained.

"With a guide? That's pretty rare," Zyl chimed in. He wasn't eating a lot, only a small bite every now and then, and usually listened in to their conversations more than he talked himself.

"Is it?"

"Yes, quite," Iris explained again. "If there is a reward, the system usually simply hands out the Skill. If you complete a quest, the rewards are handed out immediately after. Occasionally there is some sort of delay until you actually have time to look at them, but rewards mostly are immediate, with no extra effort required. If you get a guide-type, that usually means you're deemed suitable to develop the ability yourself, or have been detected to actually want to acquire it without much extra help, and even then they still appear more rarely than normal Skills."

"Then again, they are still more common than actual abilities, since these usually require far more comprehension and work on the user's side. Of course, some Skills also function similarly, but it is a more general trend for abilities," Lucia added.

"Interesting. So I was deemed smart enough to figure out the rest of mana expansion for myself?" Mercury asked, more just into the air than anyone in particular.

"Or the reward the system deemed suitable for your development was too far away compared to the achievements you made, so it decided to instead cheapen out and give you a still suitable guide-type," Zyl said. "Think about it like this, you either got the guide to the ability you want, which you are decently suitable for, or it could give you an entirely different Skill, which would be less suitable to you, and less of what you want."

"Hm, alright, I think I get it," Mercury said, swallowing down the last couple bites of food. "Well, I think I'll sleep over it for today. When are we leaving tomorrow."

"Morning," Lucia said again. "I wish to be back not too long from now."

"It's only a couple more days until we arrive," Zyl said. "But I suppose I will also go and rest for today. Sleep well, everyone."

Mercury and Zyl each had their own tent, while Lucia and Iris shared another. In his own tent, Mercury once more thought back to the last couple days they travelled together. Iris had been a bit more quiet and slightly less outgoing, but Lucia had been less hostile to him. Honestly, that was maybe what he felt most glad about. It felt like he was working out a better way to communicate with her, and it felt like maybe it was helping her anger issues.

Slowly but surely, he thought. Still, he hoped that Iris would be back to her old self as soon as possible. Stuff like this could be very traumatic, and if she wasn't in an environment that allowed her to gather herself, it might cause even more problems down the line. That was also one more reason why Mercury thought Lucia might need to be just a smidge more chill.

As for Zyl... ah, he had to admit it to himself. Mercury had a crush on him. Since the carriages they rode in were separate, the two of them had plenty of time to talk, and Mercury felt like he had a decent picture of the other man. He was funny, nice, and maybe sometimes a little distant, though Mercury kind of liked that air of mystery about him.

Of course, this wasn't his first crush, but he wasn't exactly expecting to be smitten anytime soon. He'd broken up with his last boyfriend like what, six years ago? Back then, work took so much time that his boyfriend felt neglected, and eventually, they decided it was better for his mental health to move on. It had taken Mercury a long time to get over it, especially since they had been together for a long time.

And now, here he was, completely infatuated with someone he barely knew. Well, maybe not completely infatuated. He didn't feel he'd die without Zyl, but there was a very clear draw towards him. He wanted to learn more, and spend more time with him, and he also felt a hint of butterflies whenever they talked.

Mercury sighed to himself again. Tomorrow he'd maybe shoot his shot. This wasn't exactly something he was very familiar with, but he was at least prepared to ask if Zyl was even into guys. He'd heard a no to that before, and he didn't want to assume. Or maybe he was just being awkward? Ugh, why were things like that so hard...

He needed something to distract himself. Wait, right, there was one thing. He still hadn't fully taken a look at the rewards for his recent bet yet. Sure, there had been a package, but he was taking a couple days off to rest his mind. He hadn't even dreamt anything again yet, maybe his astral body was in a coma?

Probably not. Well, no use worrying about it yet. For now, he might as well just check out what he got for it. System, pull out the rewards!

[Side Quest: "Bet" has been completed.]

[Level Up!]

[Acquired the Skill <Steady Heart> from a quest. Skill already acquired. Fusing Skills.]

[<Steady Heart> has levelled up! <Steady Heart lv. 3 -> 4>]

[The individual has acquired an additional Main Quest slot. Generating Quest.]

-

[Main quest: "Growth"

Condition: reach the next evolutionary tier.

Reward: 10 Ability points, 500 Skill points, <Meditation> mastery, "Repel" rune, 1500 Gold.]

-

Yo, okay, that was fucking cool. And also, this main quest was quite a bit more doable than the last one. Maybe he just had a little more realistic expectations this time? Whatever the case, it was certainly within reach. He was still hoping for something special by level 20 or 25, now that he was past 10.

Still, maybe it was time to give his status a check up?

Status:

Mercury Rainfall Starlight

Level: 18 -> 19

Species: Zetraspa

Titles: <Tenacious Genius>, <Forest Usurper>, <Tutorial Completer>

Alias: Beast (new!), Mittens

===

Hp: 260/260

Mp: 632/632

Sp: 220/220

===

Strength: 57 (+5)

Vitality: 57

Dexterity: 49 (+1)

Agility: 43 (+1)

Intelligence: 87

Wisdom: 60 (+2)

Willpower: 65 -> 69

Luck: 24 -> 25

===

Ability points: 3

World points: 8

Skill points: 360

===

Gold: 863

Beast familiars: 1/2

Yeah, alright, things were honestly starting to look better and better. He was definitely growing stronger, slowly but surely. Maybe for the next couple weeks, after getting better at expanding his mana, he might start practicing to understand his stamina a little more. Putting all his money on one chip didn't seem too smart.

His <Telekinesis> was also progressing more than nicely. It had already reached level 2 by now, and it was simply incredible. Opening doors, zippers, eating food, carrying firewood, fluffing up his pillow, or properly readying his blanket. The Skill was absolutely priceless. It perfectly replaced thumbs, and he was able to easily do one thing at a time.

To be fair, he still struggled a bit when he tried to do multiple things as the same time, almost like using both his hands. Like, carrying a bundle of sticks and picking up a new one, easy, no problem. Moving two sticks from different places at the same time while also holding the others? Hard. Very hard. And that was with his already improved mind. If he didn't spec so much into mana, it might be even harder to use than normal hands.

Luckily, with the way he was now, it was a perfect tool for everyday things, saving him time and dignity. Truly joyous.

And then, finally deciding to calm his thoughts, Mercury closed his eyes, meditated, and slowly drifted away to a soft night of sleep, one last time without visiting the strange plains of his mind.

- - -

Make sure to drink enough water while reading!