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The next day, I was looking through the blacksmith shop area on Babel's tower, or at least the exposed part of the tower.
When I entered Babel's giant gates, around me there were more than a hundred adventurers of various races entering and leaving the tower. Then some supports carrying huge backpacks reminded me of someone...
Laughter and conversation filled the air, but somehow everyone acted organized, as if they were being supervised. Probably they were, by the members of the Ouranos family.
After entering the tower, I headed toward my first destination.
The novice blacksmith shops where I proceeded to analyze all the well-crafted items that the blacksmiths left on the racks, pausing to drink mind potions I disguised to not attract attention.
Potions that only cost me a few hundred varis per vial since I learned how to make them myself with cola flavor...
I was slowly building a repertoire of knowledge of metallurgy, forge, and carpentry, as well as various techniques acquired from used items that were recovered from the dungeon.
Which, unfortunately, I would not be able to use now as they are mainly heavy and large weapons like axes and big swords. Since they are the ones that last longer from the stress of being used against monsters until their adventurers change to better ones or die.
Also, unfortunately, discovered that I suffer a little stress seeing the deaths of the adventurers who used them or those who died through them.
The adventures depositing many negative feelings when they died, that lasted longer than their techniques and normal thoughts, much like the 'resentment' said to exist in the world I was from.
A few hours later, I was eating my lunch while admiring my new purchases, a short sword made entirely of an unknown strong alloy that absorbs impact with less to no deformation. The sword contained a decent amount of knowledge about feints, dodges, and I also bought a blacksmith's kit that gave me some knowledge about magic sword forging.
I bought these items for having a low price of 15,000 for the sword and 8,000 for the kit and without a doubt decent quality for the price.
Leaving me with a healthy 130,000 varis, which were left by the body's mother in the guild bank before disappearing into the dungeon. She also left two pairs of leather armor, one of which I was now wearing, the other being unusable for having some protruding areas.
Rested now, I headed towards my next destination, the Hephaestus Familia store near the guild where I would make my registration in the Familia, whose exam to enter directly was to make a "fourth*" tier weapon suitable for adventurers at the top of level 1 or the beginning of level 2 with common materials in a single attempt, according to what was written in the forge book.
Inside the store, there were hundreds of weapons and dozens of armor although not having as many high levels as in the main store in the tower there were still some; I easily decided not to try to analyze these items without permission, as it would be awkward to use advanced knowledge of the family when creating a weapon in the exam to enter it, right?.
When I convinced one of the half-dwarf attendants that I really came to apply, although she warned me that to enter the family directly I would have to use a lot of strength for a pallum even if I wanted to make a small blade.
I convinced her that I had more strength than a normal person, lifting a battle-ax my size with some difficulty balancing it.
She told me to wait a moment while she went upstairs to the forges, and a few minutes later came back, trying to hide her nervousness along with a woman I recognized.
The captain of the Hephaestus family, Tsubaki Collbrande, a 5'7 tall half-dwarf, level 5 adventurer, and master blacksmith, a very hot woman watched me with her one exposed eye.
"So you and the cute half-pallum that Ria said wanted to take the family blacksmith test?" she said loudly as she crossed her arms, highlighting her feminine assets.
"Yes ma'am," I replied not correcting her as she walked around me watching me like a lioness while the attendant named Ria grew more desperate as if she was going to attack me.
"You don't have Falna; how do you plan on using a pallum's strength to make a weapon to kill monsters with common material?"
"Well, maybe I'm a little stronger than a common pallum," I said modestly.
"No doubt about it, but even with the strength, you shouldn't have the stamina to finish the whole process at once. Do you know that even if you use refined iron bars, you'll need to finish it in two hours counting the cable, right?"
"It's not a problem; I have confidence in my abilities."
"Alright pillow-cough pallum, I'm Tsubaki, and now your examiner what's your name?"
"Sinn Krieger, Tsubaki-san."
"Just call Tsubaki; now follow me, and you Ria get back to work," she said as she climbed the stairs.
(Relieved sigh) "She didn't suffocate you," Ria spoke softly.
"Why would she suffocate me; did I do something wrong?" I spoke as I followed behind Tsubaki, who laughed as we went up to the fourth floor where we could hear muffled sounds of hammering metal.
Entering one of the forge rooms, Tsubaki said, "you can use all base metals here; I will turn this hourglass twice, and if you don't get a full weapon by the end, you will have to pay me the price of using the time of a master blacksmith."
"Do you want something from me, Tsubaki? I'm sure your time is worth a lot," I said as I took off my green cape and leather armor, putting on an open shirt with the sleeves rolled up at the shoulders, a headband, and leather gloves.
As I blew air on the furnace after placing the steel bar according to the blacksmithing knowledge I had acquired, she said smiling, "surely there is a way for you to pay me."
(Sound of furnace being blown, iron being beaten, tempered, and sharpened) And an hour and a half later, I was polishing the reddish wooden handle of a smaller-than-normal bastard sword with an engraved blade decorated with reflective eyes in various shades of silver made using iron and bronze powder along with my telekinesis so that it seemed to look back at the viewer, my name Sinnskrieger carved on the blade and at the hilt, Veteran's Guidance I.
"Tada," I said as I showed the sword to Tsubaki who took it from my hands and admired it, and shook the sword for a few moments. Then she suddenly attacked a piece of handle hardwood 5-8 cutting almost the entire width before the wood broke by the thickness of the sword.
"How is it, Tsubaki?" I asked expectantly.
And then before I could react, I was trapped between an arm and two mountains unable to get my feet on the ground as she laughed and said something about a fluffy new pillow which I could only respond by trying to crush her back until a different voice said:
"Enough Tsubaki, let him breathe and come to the break room," which Tsubaki answered unintelligibly without letting go of me as we went to another room where she allowed me to breathe again.
I was analyzing the new ambient as we sat on a low sofa only to be trapped again less brutally while I coughed and gasped.
"So Hephaestus-sama, do we keep him?" she spoke to the red-haired, eye-patch woman on the opposite sofa.
The woman didn't care being stared at by Tsubaki across a low table since she was analyzing my handiwork in contemplation, pausing for a moment to look into my eyes then I realized I put weird monster eyes on a sword that should let me join the "goddess with one cursed eye" family.
Then I thought it shouldn't be a problem as it shouldn't be too much like whatever is on the eye patch and was relieved when she said next.
"Sinn Krieger," she spoke affirming my name.
"Yes, Hephaestus-sama," I replied with a tone of doubt.
"Have you entered the dungeon before?" asked with an amused tone.
'Not in body,' I thought.
"No, but that's how I imagine it to be," I said.
"And why is that?"
"Dungeon monsters, be they the begotten or the ones who turned on monsters after entering it, all keep an eye on you, lurking for prey, or at least that's how I learned from my mom and all the adventurers who cared to teach others before," I stated.
"Well," she smiled and asked, "why do you want to join my family, Sinn Krieger?"
"I want to create Weapons, Armor, Magic Weapons, and tools capable of creating and helping Adventurers, Heroes, and Legends. I don't want me or anyone else to have to feel desperate when they encounter an insurmountable obstacle, and also..." I watched her face getting more focused as if she was trying to see inside me.
"Also?" she asked absently.
"I want mates I can trust, a family," I replied trying to act mature as a half-dwarf crushed me again making girl noises of seeing something cute.
Then she stood up and said, "Are you sure you want to join my family, Sinn boy?" while she took off her eye patch.
I knew what was going to happen, but when I saw her cursed face, I felt pain, and in the reflection in her eye, I saw everything I disliked about people, but then I regained my mind and realized that actually, this eye is a great guide on how to be a better person.
"I do," I said firmly before she even put the eye patch on again.
"Welcome to the family, Sinn," she said after a brief surprise.
"YES! Take care of me, Tsubaki, goddess," I said bending as I freed myself from Tsubaki's embrace.
"Take off your clothes, Sinn," Tsubaki said.
"So am I going to receive my Falna now?" I asked.
"Yes, we want to see your status, Sinn," Hephaestus spoke.
"Yeah, let me see your magic, boy; it's been a while since we got someone with a gift," Tsubaki added.
'Gift? She saw me manipulating the metal? What a sharp eye!'
"Take off your shirt and lie down on the sofa," Hephaestus said and so did I.
I took off my shirt and lay down while she dripped a drop of blood down my back and installed the Falna.
"Interesting, you have one spell and three starting skills," she said as she covered my back with a sheet of parchment, then stood up and told me to look.
Status
• Strength: I 0
• Endurance: I 0
•Dexterity: I 0
• Agility: I 0
• Magic: I 0
Skill: [Psionic] (Trigger): Wonders of the mind, powers living in a machine beyond mortal comprehension???.
[Pallum Spirit]: Boosts the effects of magic and skills in the face of adversity.
[Clarius in Tenebris] (Passive/Trigger): Converts emotions into Mind and Power Boost in difficult situations. The worse the situation, and the greater the negative feelings (including evilness) from everyone around, the greater the power generated is, detects pain from those around passively allowing some form of empathy at the expense of stressing the mind. (In that moment I shall not fail, I will not fail due to a weak mind, thus my mind will be an [Ideal machine] fueled by emotions).
Magic:
[Bestow Curse]: A magic originated from extensive knowledge of the basics of hexxing, but no practice on it. Adds curses to the touched item, the power depending on the charging time, the level, and the curses chosen in up to three sentences of enchantment with each sentence doubling the mind needed to use. In addition, it can cross protections that prevent magic attacks, but its effects do not ignore physical or magical resistance, also has limited time and power by level.
"Wow, so I'm Talented?" I asked curiously, knowing the answer.
"You have talent, but you need to grow," Tsubaki spoke in her excited way.
"You're officially a member of my family, Sinn; you must now learn about the family's knowledge and register with the guild," she hesitated before continuing.
"You must be careful when using this spell, as curses are not well-regarded and the freedom of this spell is unusual, also don't reveal that you have two unknown activatable rare skills needlessly."
"Yes, Hephaestus-sama, I understand what you mean," I agreed.
"Now Tsubaki, since you robbed him of the regular exam, inform him about the residences and workshops he can choose from and about the use of the stores; you can leave."
After returning to the previous room and noticing that I was shirtless. Then I went to wear my gear only to have Tsubaki give me back the shirt she took when I was distracted.
After dressing back, I leave the Hephaistos shop, moving towards the nearby guild after confirming that I would come back to learn from her about how the Familia members work and test weapons in the dungeon.