by Brent Tyman
I was impressed with how well the city had bounced back from yesterday’s disaster. Sure, there were fewer people out and about than usual, but I would still describe it as busy.
There were a lot of guards around, too, now that I thought about it. Juliana’s father hadn’t been kidding, when he mentioned how thin the garrison was spread, if so many were posted both here and in the Dungeon. It felt like there were soldiers watching my every move at times.
At least their armor wasn’t dyed.
“Here we are,” Juliana said, as she stopped in front of an unassuming armor smith’s shop. It was a fairly small building with just the single story, but it looked to be well maintained, with sturdy, stone walls.
“This armor smith also doubles as a blacksmith if memory serves me right. I don’t hear anyone pounding on metal, so he should be free. Come on Alex,” she said.
Juliana tugged me along and we entered the armor smith’s shop.
As I expected, it was very similar to the shop where I’d bought my leather armor, but I normally would have avoided a place like this. The reason being, the armor on display was very… exotic. Which is a polite way of saying very expensive.
Ornantium, Ketnotium, Nuntium. There were so many sets of armor made from such strange materials on display, neatly categorized, with expansive details listed on the parchment in front of them, that I knew I couldn’t have afforded any of it a few short weeks ago.
I wasn’t sure I could afford it now.
“Uhh, Juliana,” I said. “Are you sure this place is within my budget? What even is Tazkodium?”
I flicked the armor in question on the shelf next to me, its scaly material striking a metallic note from my fingernail flick.
“Don’t worry,” Juliana assured me. “I’m sure the owner will be able to find something suitable for you.”
We passed by the shelves filled with armor and headed straight to the counter, behind which sat a rugged old man, writing on some parchment.
“Hmm? What can I get ya folk?” he asked, not even looking up.
“Alex, place one of the horns on the desk,” Juliana instructed me.
“What happened to the ‘making them into a weapon’ plan?”
“Just one will do,” she said, motioning for me to do as she asked.
I shrugged and pulled out one of the horns. It turned out that the other Demon was named Hurakto. I thought it would be appealing to have a weapon made from the bigger Demon’s, Junatak’s, horn.
Even if he didn’t have any horns on his head when I killed him. He dropped horned loot… which still made little sense to me.
Regardless, I pulled out Hurakto’s horn and dropped it on the desk in front of the smith.
He immediately scooped it up and held it aloft in his hand, tossing the feathered quill he had been holding behind him.
“A genuine Demon horn? A feral Demon’s horn? Oh yes, I can make some powerful armor from this…” he muttered absently to himself.
“My companion, Alex, needs some of your finest armor. We are willing to trade that Demon horn for your best,” Juliana said.
“Of course, young lady, of course,” the armor smith said. “For the lad, huh? This horn is in excellent condition. I’ve been waiting all day for someone to bring me one.”
“Surely someone brought you a horn by now?” I asked curiously. “I saw a Demon get beat down by some guards when I came in yesterday.”
The man snapped his fingers. “And that’s the issue. The Garrison defeated most of the Demons and scurried off with all the loot. No doubt the city state council is pocketing all the spoils. Ain’t every day you get Demon horns to play with. Here, let me fetch you some of the best armor… stuff I keep behind the counter.”
The next hour passed with me trying on various sets of armor with Juliana providing her own critique. The list price on several of these pieces of armor, or at least on the lesser stuff I had seen on the shelves, was several gold coins. I could only imagine what the armor behind the counter went for.
I liked several options I’d tried on already, such as the armor made from Zandlisium, but Juliana insisted I try out every single one.
About halfway through, I became convinced she was really just interested in ogling me, as I undressed between each set of armor. I would have mentioned it, but the brunette beauty seemed to be enjoying this too much for me to spoil it for her.
Finally, or perhaps mercifully, I settled on a light, sturdy and practical set of armor made from Tifflanium. It was a set of scale mail made from a sleek, white metal that molded perfectly to my body, while still allowing for a full range of motion.
It hugged my arms a bit tighter than I liked, but Juliana assured me that was the most popular style. I didn’t know adventurers got armor for both protection and fashion.
While I was here, I asked the smith about fashioning the other Demon horn into a sword, but the armor smith quoted a three-day turnaround to produce one. That wouldn’t work, as I needed something better than my current sword before we departed for this Beastkin town.
Juliana convinced the man to throw in a Tifflanium made sword, which also had that sleek white color. It felt just as light as the armor, and after giving it a few practice swings, I knew it was a vast improvement over my current blade.
After exchanging my old leather armor, sword and its scabbard for a decorative scabbard that fit the Tifflanium sword, the armor smith handed me a measly six silver for the lot.
“What? Only six silver? I paid twelve silver for the leather armor, alone,” I protested.
“The scabbard you’re getting is being credited from the horn. As for the armor, it’s got a big ol’ gash in it, right here. Plus, this sword of yours ain’t worth much,” the armor smith said nonchalantly.
This aptly reminded me of RPG shops that would happily sell you items at full price but offered only a pittance to buy the same items back.
Jeez…
“Naturally, we still have credit for the horn, despite these purchases. Send the rest to the Tasberg estate, for we must get going,” Juliana finally said.
“The Tasberg estate?” the armor smith cried. “Of course, my Lady, I didn’t realize.”
Juliana had already walked out of the entrance and I narrowed my eyes once more at the measly six silver before pocketing it and following her.
“Other than the price for my leather armor being so low, I think this was pretty fruitful,” I said. “I really like this armor.”
“I’m glad,” Juliana smiled. “It’s looks really good on you. Quite… manly.”
“Taking a page out of Clarissa’s book, are you?” I laughed, and the woman blushed so hard her ears turned pink.
“We should head back, immediately,” she blurted out, grabbing my arm and all but dragging me away.
“By the way, just out of curiosity… how much do Demon horns normally go for?”
“Hmm? Oh, Demon horns range between ten to thirty gold coins. That armor smith mentioned it was in excellent condition, so it would most likely have been close to thirty gold.”
“Thirty?” I asked, not really believing what I was hearing.
“Of course, I’ll have a servant personally collect our credit and make sure it is available when we return.”
“How much did the armor cost?”
“Off hand, I believe a full Tifflanium set, with sword and scabbard, should be around twenty-two gold.”
My lips pressed into a thin line as I processed this information. I had just spent twenty-two gold on armor and a sword? I barely had two gold on my person to begin with!
Did that old smith offer refunds? I’d really wanted to buy something leagues cheaper.
Oh jeez…
At least on the bright side, that means I’d have nearly eight gold coins or so waiting for me when I returned. That was more than triple what I’d managed to earn to date.
To think that Juliana wanted to turn the other Demon horn into a weapon. Now, I was thinking old
Junatak would be better served being sold off.
“You know,” Juliana suddenly said, tapping a fingernail to her chin. “Perhaps we should take a moment to look for some magical accessories. I’m sure there will be a few useful ones available for a few gold coins.”
“Uhh… I’m sure we’ve spent enough for today, Juliana. Don’t want to keep the troops waiting, right?”
“Hmm, perhaps we could stop by…”
I wrapped an arm around Juliana’s hip and helped speed both of us along the streets. She blushed at the intimate gesture, but I did it mostly to get out of there as quickly as possible.
Clarissa was clearly into her shoes, but it seemed Juliana was one heck of a spender, too. After dropping so much on this armor, I really didn’t want to spend a coin more.
Jeez… Twenty-two gold…
This armor better be worth every bit of it…
19
“I think you look absolutely delicious, Alex,” Kesara assured me. “In fact, you have never looked slimmer.”
“Thanks?” I offered. “It does feel tight, but a good fit.”
“Hmm, I’m sure it does…”
We finally set off for the Beastkin town and it was definitely strange, having one hundred or so soldiers behind me, marching in unison. The soldiers’ red dyed armor shone in the sunlight, but the worst part about all this was the noise.
I felt like I was in some kind of parade, with the noise of marching feet and the occasional shout from the soldiers’ officers. I tried to think back to my first day on this world and how I had managed to get myself into this position.
All I wanted to do was grind in the Dungeon.
The view was pleasant at least. North of the city turned out to be rolling hills and sweeping grassland, with the occasional tree here and there. The scenery was far more appealing than anything I had seen in the Dungeon.
“How long will it take to reach this town?” I asked Juliana.
“Two days at the most, with regular breaks.”
“I’m surprised we don’t have more horses with us. Always wanted to learn how to ride one,” I admitted.
“Hmm,” Juliana said as she crossed her arms. “My father should have provided some extra steeds, but every single horse is packed with provisions. Sometimes he really is a copper-pincher.” She sighed.
“Fear not my fellows!” Daiver shouted. “This is the perfect opportunity to train our Speed stat!”
“Speed stat?” I questioned, and Daiver quickly nodded his head over and over.
“Of course. I must show our fellow soldiers how an heir trains.”
“Must you really?” Vencia protested. “I would much prefer if you kept your antics away from me and my Lady.”
“Wait a minute,” I said. “How does one develop their Speed stat, in the first place? I’ve not focused on that one, yet.”
“The Speed stat?” Juliana said. “It’s simple Alex, you run.”
“Run?”
“Run,” everyone confirmed at once.
“Uhh, right. What does the Speed stat even do?” I asked.
“Perhaps a demonstration is in order. It is only natural that you wouldn’t know, given your low value for it, I suppose,” Karl reasoned. “I would be perfectly willing to…”
“Let me show you, Alex,” Juliana interrupted, and I blinked as Juliana blurred from my side. The sight was so confusing that I momentarily stopped in my tracks, before picking up the pace when I realized I would end up having the soldiers bump into me from behind.
Juliana appeared a few seconds later, walking alongside me as if nothing had happened.
“Jeez, what the heck was that?” I asked. “You disappeared!”
“The Speed stat in action,” Karl explained. “It allows for incredible bursts of Speed, for a short time at least.”
I was kind of regretting locking my Growth stat back into Strength after that display. If I could move around like that, it would give me quite the edge in battle.
Juliana suddenly gasped out a breath before huffing and puffing as if she had just run a marathon. Her face became a bit pale, as well.
“I… uhh… believe I may have overdone it, just a bit,” she wheezed, wobbling a bit unsteadily.
I quickly held her up by her hips as she held her arms up over her head. She stabilized after a few minutes of walking and silence.
“Ahh, thank you Alex,” she said, blushing. “I was trying to show off and…”
“My Lady, that was quite reckless of you,” Vencia admonished.
“I don’t really get what happened,” I said.
Karl cleared his throat loud enough to get my attention, and I looked over at him as he straightened his glasses.
“The Speed stat allows for increased Speed, yes, but when I said short, I meant it quite authentically, as well. A few seconds of Speed is normally what one can expect, at most—the drawback being that if you do not fell your target in that time, you can expect to be weak for the next several minutes.”
“That drawback seems a bit harsh,” I said.
If this increased Speed made you this weak after using it, then it honestly didn’t seem to be worth it. I was hoping I’d be able to dodge multiple attacks in quick succession. That would have been cool.
“Indeed, hence why it isn’t valued by adventurers in the higher tiers. If I recall, only fledgling guilds make use of the Speed stat.” He shrugged. “Mostly for attracting potential recruits, I believe,” Karl explained.
“So, what does increasing one’s Speed stat actually do?” I questioned and Kesara, of all people, was the one who answered.
“It allows you to last longer, Alex, something Daiver could probably work on…” she quipped with a wink. “As well as shortening the recovery time.”
“Oi! As I gracefully implied, I will be working up my Speed stat on this journey of ours,” Daiver retorted.
“So, it’s more of an emergency stat, either to get out of a jam or land an important blow, huh?” I mused to myself.
Running to boost a stat didn’t really appeal to me right now. I mean, I usually got in plenty of exercise grinding in the Dungeon, so tacking on some sprints to my daily routine didn’t seem all that attractive. I likely didn’t need the stat at the moment, but once my Growth skill was off its cool-down, it was something to consider.
Gaining a burst of speed to escape a killing blow could mean the difference between life or death, after all.
Juliana inched closer to me and I realized that I still had my arm wrapped around her shapely hips as we walked.
“Oh… Juliana, do you still need my support?” I asked.
“Ahh, yes, it would be much appreciated,” she replied, smiling.
“Ugh, and she admonishes me for these types of antics,” Kesara complained.
“Clearly my Lady has a… special relationship with Alex,” Vencia said.
“And why not? His Strength is truly fascinating, and his Defense puts many others of our age group to shame,” Karl said. He pulled out a book with a blank piece of parchment on top and scribbled away absently with a quill.
He had an ink pot hanging off his side, which shouldn’t have surprised me, given how dedicated he was to his note taking.
“What about my Strength though Karl?” Daiver questioned. “I have a solid fifty-three for my Strength stat.”
“Compared to Alex’s sixty-eight, that is a rather paltry sum. You learned this with your own fist, did you not?” Karl replied, not even looking at the man.
“Ugh, this is no way to treat a Duke’s son,” Daiver complained. “Just you all wait, once we reach the Beastkin town, I will save all of you from lethal blows. Then you will appreciate my strength.”
“Would you like to sleep in my tent, Alex?” Juliana asked me, completely disregarding Daiver’s remarks.
“My Lady!” Vencia hissed. “Not so loud, the men behind you can hear.”
“And no way am I letting you have fun with Alex this soon,” Kesara said. �
�All of us ladies will be staying together.”
“I am the heir of the Sov…”
That was as far as Juliana got, before both Vencia and Kesara pulled her out of my grasp and dragged her to the rear of the marching column.
“On the one hand, I do envy you, Alex,” Karl said, still scribbling. “Courting the heir of the Sovereignty and the heir of the Federation would normally be an impossible achievement. On the other hand, I can only imagine the women in question are very… opposed to the idea of competition.”
“Haha,” I laughed. “Trust me, it was like that at the start, but they are starting to warm up to each other. There’s been a few missteps now and again, but I hope to be able to smooth it out.”
“Indeed? Well, all the more power to you. Open hostilities between the three nations have always been on the verge of breaking out, but it would certainly improve things if Juliana and Clarissa Vos Hoganna got along,” Karl said.
“I still can’t believe Juliana fell for him,” Daiver complained. “Alex doesn’t even have any land.”
“I need land?” I asked.
“Well, you know… I would think the heir to a nation would at least want a county to inherit,” he said.
Karl rubbed his temples and groaned.
“Daiver, think about it for one moment, if you please. What would Juliana Vos Tasberg, heir to the Tasberg Sovereignty, want with a county or a duchy?”
“You can never have too much land,” Daiver retorted.
“The arch duchy, the one the capital resides in, is already huge to begin with. She would most likely just give away any extra land that falls outside it to a favorable Clan,” Karl reasoned.
“Ugh, even so…” Daiver began, but faltered before going silent. He didn’t offer any more protests.
“Wait, do you guys all talk about me and Juliana in your spare time?” I asked, honestly curious.
“She put considerable time and effort into locating you after Daiver’s tragic fall in the Dungeon. There was little doubt of her intentions,” Karl replied.
“I never realized…”
“It wasn’t a fall! How was I supposed to know that Alex’s Strength exceeded my own?” Daiver argued.
