"Hey, where were you guys?" Ken asked us as we walked back into the house. Everybody was finally awake, so we could discuss our plans to get stronger now.
"So, we upgraded Ipa's cloak so he'll be of more use in battle. We're going to tend to the things Ruby and Ken need now, so let's do Ken first since we know what he needs, and isn't an empty class. Does your Ether sword need work? How is your armor? Talk to me, what do you need to be stronger?" I asked Ken, sitting down on the couch briefly with a pencil and paper from my inventory.
"Well armor would always help, but I've had my eye on a specific Ether Sword that will work more efficiently at dispersing elements. You see, I'm not sure if you know how Ether works, but when the sword absorbs an element, it stores the element itself and it could create a pretty intense explosion if left unattended. It's a necessity to release the elements stored in the Ether sword, and that usually calls for a mandatory sit down with a blacksmith who can release them. With an Emerald Ether Sword, the element is stored in the gem and you can use it for longer. I want one of those blades, but the gem is pretty rare so it might be expensive. If you can get that for me, I won't even need armor, and I can do a better job of protecting you." Ken explained.
When he talked... he really talked a lot. It was kind of irritating, but at least he was saying things now.
"Alright, we'll look for the Emerald Ether Sword. And if you're good on armor... that's fine. Alright, let's go get it really fast. Ruby, Soul, do you two want to come with us?" I asked them.
"We can, but Ruby said she wanted to figure out her class while you guys were gone. Right, Ruby?" Soul asked her. Ruby nodded and admitted that she wanted to be something that could be useful to everybody in our group. I agreed to her terms and left with Ken.
"Right there, this blacksmith on the map should have the gem, and we can order it really quickly," Ken said. It was only about a block away. Talk about convienent.
We walked the block in total silence, and I found it funny how Tama was so awkward about the silence. Little did she know, without Ruby, the three of us were almost dead silent when we were together.
We unfortunately weren't really friends and only had a common goal. I first initiated with Ipa to take out Joro, and Ken only showed up so I could help his nation. Ruby was the only one who joined of her own will with no motive like our own.
"We're here," Ken said, opening the door and taking a deep breath as the blacksmith running the shop came out.
He sat behind an oak counter showing off all of his work, including blades, hilts, and guards. He put them all together on a strange machine hanging on the wall. He was a big man, who looked like the epitome of a lumberjack from my world, and he had a bright smile. His shop was almost completely illuminated by it.
"Welcome to Bard's Blacksmith! How can I help you lovely people out today?" He asked.
"I'm looking for the Emerald Ether Sword you guys might have? I have enough money if that's a concern." I told the man. He put his finger to his chin and scratched it, then he proceeded to ruffle through a chest underneath his counter to pull out a ton of gems in his possession. The light they illuminated almost blinded me.
"The Emerald Gem itself is a hundred gold, and I'll throw in the sword for free. You tell others about my shop, and I give you it all. Sound like a deal?" The man asked us.
I slammed my gold onto his counter with a willing smile.
"Now that is something I can do. Pleasure doing business with you." I told him. He laughed and went back to his sword design.
He put everything up onto the wall and when it all sat in his little machine, it compressed and eventually spat out a sword onto the counter. It looked almost identical to a longsword, but the only difference was that the handle was the Emerald. I was surprised to see how simplistic it looked compared to everything else.
"Alright, there you go Ken. Now, we just need to worry about Soul and Ruby... let's go back home." I said.
"Oh, hey! Boy, you said you know Soul?" The blacksmith asked me before we left.
"Yeah, she's a friend of mine. Why? Do you know her?" I asked the grizzly blacksmith. With a smile, he planted something on top of the counter that looked like a staff of some kind... but it was very obviously heavy.
"This is for her! Think you can carry it?" He asked me. I nodded, walking over to it and stuffing it in my inventory by placing my hand over it and closing it. The staff vanished and the man's jaw hit the floor as he looked over at me again.
"Oi! Just who are you?! I was ready to watch you struggle to pick that up!" He yelled out to me.
I turned back to him and threw him a health potion.
"You can have that if you keep your mouth shut about what you just saw," I told him. He looked confused at first, but I watched his face change as he slowly came to realize the high rank of the potion he was holding. He motioned his hand across his lips like he zipped his lips and turned back to examine it further.
"You say you have a reputation, yet you go and do that? You're a confusing man, Anima." Tama told me. I couldn't help but smile.