The magnificent…
" Duchess, with all due respect I doubt the value of those items which also makes me doubt the value of the items that we would find in the magic formations. Furthermore, the proof of bravery is related to the royal family…"
Leon stopped there, not wanting to say out loud that they were basically about to rob the king. As a reward, it honestly sounded like a joke. Leon wasn't that self-righteous, he wasn't against stealing in a video game but the value of stolen goods would drastically go down.
Something about this whole mission also seemed fishy to Leon. For some reason, the duchess, which was on good terms with the commoners that hated the king, possessed artifacts that worked inside of a royal trial.
She definitely had something more to gain than just the safety of the commoners.
" There is no need to worry, when the time comes to give you your reward the royal family will consent to give you the items. This is for the good of the kingdom after all. As for your doubts you are free to discuss them. That is why we are here, aren't we?"
This woman was clearly cunning however if her plan really did help the kingdom it would be for the best to take her side. From what little Leon saw in the city it was true that the population was unhappy.
" I won't ask for too much, I simply want some guarantee that I am not risking my life for rusty pieces of history. If the items in the magical formation aren't to my taste I wish to be paid in gold instead, I will leave the amount up to you.
As for the advance payment, I want a high-quality weapon in addition to the four artifacts, a sword would be preferable since it's easier to sell."
The duchess placed her now empty cup of tea back on its plate with a satisfied smile.
" I quite like your sharp mind. Those are more than acceptable terms however be careful, if you bring any type of weapon to the labyrinth you will have to leave it on the ground in front of the entrance. There is a barrier stopping weapons from entering so I hope you have someplace safe to store the sword until you can sell it. It shall be delivered to you once you leave. All that is left is to discuss the finer details."
She started speaking of where to find the labyrinth, what he would face going there along with other things like how to meet up with her again. She didn't think she needed this part but she still warned him to keep quiet about the matters of the royal family that they had just discussed.
Once the explanation was over Leon took the artifacts that the duchess didn't seem to value very much.
" It was a pleasure to be able to meet the esteemed duchess. The rumors truly underestimated your beauty and wit, I don't think words can do the honor of describing your grace."
Perhaps it was the medieval ambiance that got to Leon but he felt pretty confident at this moment. He grabbed her hand while bowing to give her a small kiss on the back of it. He gave her one last smile before turning around to do his work. The duchess kept quiet as she watched Leon leave.
A maid escorted him out of the manor. As he arrived at the gate Ghel was waiting for him with a weapon in hand. It was a pure white bone sword that was made out of a single gone. There was no joint on this smooth piece of work, it was hard to believe that it was made out of such a barbaric material.
" This is the gift of the duchess. I don't know what type of work she has given you but I can assure you this thing is worth it. This is the magnificent masterpiece of a grandmaster weaponsmith, the prized possession of the Lamfest family. It is called…"
Ghel made a dramatic pause as he showed the blade off which worked to make Leon hyped. The blade did look like a masterpiece so he was pretty curious about the name it was given.
" Bone S."
Leon kept waiting, thinking that the knight was making another dramatic pause but nothing else came out of his mouth.
" Bone S? Does it have a special meaning?"
Ghel shrugged then shook his head in fear when he realized that Leon looked a bit disappointed.
" It is unknown, some think it mean bone sword, some think it is a weapon made of an S-tier bone, the highest quality of bone to be found in our kingdom. The creator decided to leave its meaning up in the air."
While the name was a disappointment Leon was still happy about the sword's look so he picked it up to examine it.
[ Bone S ( masterwork weapon)
Requirement: none
Slashing damage: 2 to 12
Special effect: Ignore slashing resistance. Long reach. Can be used as a spell focus.]
There was some information on the basics of all the classes on the game's website and in there Leon had seen a basic longsword which only dealt 1 to 5 damage. It also required a class that was proficient with a sword and it had no special effect.
Leon was torn at this moment. It was a great time to sell special weapons since the game had just came out, there was no doubt that people would pay a few hundreds of dollars for it. On the other hand, it seemed so good that he had wanted to keep it for himself.
" Tell the duchess that I appreciate the gift."
He said goodbye to Ghel to go and try the sword. He was curious about the weapon's long reach. This time it only took him 15 minutes to reach the gate, now that he knew the general directions of things it was a lot easier to navigate around.
The guards gave him a small wave as he left, Leon returned the gesture before finding a place with no one around.
He started to swing the sword to test it and it felt incredible in his hand. It was clear that this weapon had no defect but there was nothing that qualified as long reach. As soon as he thought of that while swinging, the sword started to detach itself into smaller pieces linked by what looked like a red ligament.
It looked a bit like a whip for a moment but as soon as Leon ended his swing the sword immediately got back together. He had to take a moment to look at the blade again after the display. There was no apparent change but when he swung it again with the same intent it did the same thing.
' That wasn't what I was expecting. This thing is even more impressive than I thought.'
Yet the more incredible it was the harder the decision became. At the end of the day, Leon was a wizard so he didn't need a sword to do anything. What he did need, however, was money.
' I only have 70 HP. The moment that something come close to me I already lost… Let's put it in an auction and set the reserve price a bit high, if it doesn't sell I will keep it, and if it sells I just made some money.'
The reserve price would be the lowest amount of money that he would accept to sell the weapon. Most auctions started a bit low to attract attention but sometimes nobody would see the post so the reserve price was made as an assurance to the sellers.
It was hard to say that he would win with either result but beggars can't be choosers. He pulled up the official market website for Tales Eternal and placed the sword in there along with a picture of its information and a quick video of himself swinging the sword while it turned into a bladed whip.
He set the starting price at 200 dollars, a little afraid of asking too much.
' If I make enough I could buy myself a bed as comfortable as that couch. Let's make the reserve price 800… No, 700 dollars.'
He had no idea of how big the market for the game would be, it might have been smarter to wait a few days to look at the prices but by then there was no guarantee that his sword would still be considered special. He confirmed the information as he put the sword up for sale, making the auction only 24 hours long.
He closed the window in a hurry, not wanting to look at the results. He really believed that he asked too much for it to sell but in truth, he wanted to keep the sword.
[ You have placed an item from this tale into an auction. While it is there you cannot give up on this tale and if it is sold you will be unable to choose another tale until you finish this one.]