Double-Blind: A Modern LITRPG

Chapter 296

Kai and Erik had expanded since my last visit. Open forges created a billowing heat that flowed outward, jumping the temperature at least twenty degrees from the silo's room temp. Several apprentice smiths, enchanters, and artificers attended various projects behind the open counter. Kai was dressing one such artificer down, his high-pitched voice and colorful language barely audible over the din of metal and buzzing of magic.

Erik was leaning forward on the counter, burly arms crossed beneath him, crumpling his black apron. His gaze shifted between me and the crowd outside the glass windows with a mix of caution and curiosity. "Busy morning?" he asked gruffly.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Looks like you guys stepped it up a notch." I looked around in quiet approval. "Several, for that matter. Business that good?"

Erik kneaded his forehead tiredly. "Steady. Been up to our necks in commissions for a few weeks now, hence the extra help. Trying to get them out before the transposition." Suddenly, seeming to remember that I was a customer, he straightened up. "Yours are more or less ready to go."

"More or less?"

"Aye. But it being a prototype, new design and all, I'd like a few more days to tinker if I'm honest."

"And a few days from now, you'll want a few more." Kai called over as he approached the counter, his flowing, colorful robes clashing with his surly expression. He crossed his arms and looked at me, then seemed to finally notice the commotion outside. "Can I get that loaner back—what the fuck is happening? What are they all doing? Is that a shoe?"

Before anyone could respond, Kai was already around the counter and peeking his head out the door, looking up at where the rogue user was still hanging. After a moment he retreated, slowly closing the door and peering at Erik. "I've been bitching about aesthetic for weeks now, but now I really have to put my foot down. Why is there a human piñata decorating our shop?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Erik brush his fingers horizontally across his throat.

"What does this mean?" Kai repeated the same gesture back, unimpressed.

Annoyed, Erik thumped a fist onto the counter. "It means whatever happens outside the shop is none of our business."

"And if it's hanging above the shop?"

I blew out air. "The guy tried to stab me, I threw him off the third floor. Used the rope so he didn't make a mess." Casually, I glanced over my shoulder. The crowd had moved back some to make room as someone placed a ladder down, while someone else tested the stability of the bottom step, then began to climb.

"Oh." Kai tilted his head from side to side, then raised a hand and made a thrusting motion. "Why didn't you just stab him back?"

"Kai—" Erik hissed.

"Like I said, didn't want to make a mess." I pulled the out of my inventory and tossed it to Kai, who caught it, a brief squeak of surprise quickly silenced. "Assuming you've got a knife for me along with everything else, here's the loaner back."

"And how. You'd be shocked how many idiots miss the 'Cannot be sharpened by ordinary means' small print on the vorpal enchantment and try to hold on to these." Kai slid the blade out of the sheath, studying its waning edge with a frown. "Though I suppose it'd be hard to miss, given the state." He pressed his thumb against the edge, sliding it down slightly, incurring nothing but an indent. "This sort of wear usually takes longer. You really put it through its paces."

"Been busy." I watched the blade in Kai's hands, feeling a small pang. "The armor penetration paid dividends. Part of me is glad the enchantment isn't widely used—the arrogance full-plate gives certain targets can't be understated. I'd rather they keep strutting around like walking tanks, thinking they're invincible."

"Full-plate, really?" Kai stared at the blade uneasily. "Surprised it worked for that."

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"Most of the time it wasn't necessary. Generally better to aim for the weak points, gaps. But if the armor's high rarity, and there are no gaps?" I tapped my breastbone. "It did its job."

His mouth pulled down in a pout. "My desire to upsell is battling with my survival instinct."

I snorted. "Go ahead. I'm not gonna throw you off the side of something for trying to do business."

"There's a reason we only use that enchantment for commission loaners." Erik interjected cautiously, eliciting a sigh of irritation from Kai. "As you've seen, it will eventually lose its edge. Sharpening the blade and reapplying the enchantment doesn't take long, but that process requires both a talented enchanter and a smith capable of working with enchanted items. At the end of the day, most people prefer a good blade that will retain its sharpness indefinitely, rather than one that will eventually fail them."

Admittedly, I saw the wisdom in that. Were the dulling process more binary—sharp one second, blunt as soon as the magic faded—I'd probably agree. If you were inattentive, or inexperienced, it would probably still be a bad idea. But I'd been able to gauge the blade's waning effectiveness over repeated uses. And with the new artifact-class acquisition of I had one hell of a backup.

Kai grimaced. "I've—we've—put together an already excellent weapon for your commission. Beyond the immediate requests, metal processed through the new lunar forges is particularly receptive to mana. Naturally, I took advantage of that, and layered as many potentially useful effects as I could."

"At no additional charge," Erik hastily added.

"Why would you do that?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"New forges weren't a variable when you sought us out. Wouldn't be right."

"I'm happy to pay more for a better product."

"Trying to screw yourself out of a deal?" Erik glared at me for a moment, before averting his eyes again.

Kai cleared his throat. "What big-handsome-and-awkward's trying to say, is that recently we were mainly selling pre-mades. Then on his first day, the scariest motherfucker in the dome walked in and made a commission. Suddenly, everyone and their grandmother wants something bespoke. Experience from commissions is better, not to mention money, so we're sitting pretty. Well, I'm always sitting pretty, but you get my meaning." He switched back to business mode. "The dagger is mostly done, but the vorpal enchantment doesn't take much space. If you're willing to bring it back for discounted maintenance every few weeks, I can probably make it happen."

"I'm willing." Generous as all this appeared, I wasn't born yesterday. "Guessing you guys are still looking for a way out?"

They shared a look and nodded.

"It's not... urgent, exactly," Kai answered haltingly. "No one's strong-arming us the way they used to, but the vibes around here? Well..."

"The sooner the better," Erik murmured.

"Okay." I clapped my hands together. "Let's see what you've got. If it's good, I'll see what I can do."

"If it's good? Prepare to eat your heart out." Kai rolled his eyes, gesturing for me to follow.

Past the series of forges and several immersion tanks with various luminescent elements, the smith's storage area had been expanded. Approximately half of what was once a basic stockroom had been blown out through carved stone, the new half doubling as a testing area complete with mannequins, padded targets, striking posts, and the dangling ropes and pulleys of various tension mechanisms I could only assume measured flexibility and resilience. The room itself was sequestered from the open format of the rest of the smith, an armored door secured with a series of complex locks that were at least partially magical in nature.

"So," Erik's eyes flashed with anticipation. "Between the armor and weapons, where would you like to start?"

I raised an eyebrow. I'd placed the second order nearly two weeks after the original commission for the weapons. "I assumed the armor wouldn't be ready yet."

He grunted, a pep in his step as he placed a large box on a wide, sturdy table, and wheeled over a mannequin with a rolling base, covered in a sheet. "Frustrating as it is to admit, the armor you brought in for alterations was already solid. There wasn't much room for improvement beyond the modifications, though we did manage a few notable improvements. It didn't take long."

"The silhouette—"

"Was the biggest issue, we remember," Kai called over. He'd busied himself working on something out of view beneath a nearby shelf, hands glowing as he made adjustments to the box below. Possibly the knife. "Trust me, you'll be happy with the results."

"Enchanting aside, Kai's an artist with a needle," Erik agreed with the sort of easy confidence that was difficult to fake.

"I guess we should start with the original commission. The weapons." I mused. My original issue wasn't an easy one to solve. was an invaluable ambush skill in almost any combat encounter at close to medium range. The problem was, I generally preferred engaging at range, and typically did so. If whatever I was shooting at survived the initial volley and closed range, my ranged weapons often already needed to be reloaded, forcing me into melee. My initial, more economical idea was to sacrifice inventory space and simply buy cheap crossbows to rotate through. An idea the blacksmith had talked me out of. Now, I was curious to see what he'd come up with.

Erik grinned. And opened the box.