It was finally noon.
The hour that all three adventurers had anticipated for a while was finally here. Although they were at different locations before the time came, they all found themselves assembled at the front of the blacksmith's cave when the time came.
Genta stepped in first. There were no sounds of clanging metal, and the sound of burning coal dwindled. The inner part of the cave wasn't as bright as it used to be, mainly because the blacksmith wasn't at work and the fires weren't as active. The only fire that lit the cave came from a single fiery torch that was hammered to the wall.
Kazuya and Orihime followed right behind, looking around, wondering where the blacksmith was. Genta looked ahead of them and could faintly see a familiar silhouette lying on the ground, with his back resting slightly against the wall.
"Tano?" Genta called, hoping he wasn't the one, as the person looked like he wasn't okay. She went closer to be sure of who it was, while Kazuya and Orihime kept looking around like it was their first time being here. They looked around for a sign of their weapons but found none.
Genta kneeled when they came closer to the silhouette, and just from the stench of his sweat, she could tell he was the one. "Tano, are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
"I'm... I'm fine," he said slowly, getting up while Genta tried to support him, "no thanks to you and your friends." Their weapons and armor got me working all night. "If they weren't with you, I would have charged them double for this."
Genta laughed with a sweat drop on her brow, not knowing how to reply to that. By this time, Kazuya and Orihime had already stepped deep into the cave, still looking around for any sign of their equipment.
"Hey, Tano!" Orihime called out, "What about our equipment?" Please don't keep us waiting.
"You ungrateful bitch," Tano cursed in a whispering tone, while Genta placed a hand on his shoulder, quietly telling him to let it go.
Having no excuse to waste their time, he turned back and took hold of a veil right behind Genta. He drew it down to the ground, revealing the arsenal of upgraded equipment behind it.
Kazuya's eyes lit up when he saw his upgraded equipment. The last time he truly felt this way was when he saw the Crimson VR Machine back at TechCon and could not wait to check them out.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" asked Tano. "They are yours, aren't they?"
So without hesitation, Kazuya and Orihime ran forward like excited children who were ready to play with a new toy. They donned their armor, impressed by how flexible yet durable the pieces of equipment felt. Orihime was the most impressed by her upgraded armor, so impressed that she weirdly began to try out new postures and stances she couldn't do easily when in armor.
She then grabbed her sword, surprised by how light it was compared to before. After swinging it in multiple directions, she felt she could now fight for several hours before her muscles started giving up on her.
Genta took note of how the blacksmith, Tano, smiled as he saw Orihime and Kazuya being all excited as they tried on their new armor and weapons.
He was a man who barely smiled for anything. But seeing him like this, she understood the satisfaction he got from seeing them enjoy his work after a long and tiring night of endless hammering.
Kazuya then took on his sword, and the moment he did so, it suddenly glowed up in bright scarlet. He could almost feel his magic shine forth from within the blade.
"I knew it!" Tano said, stepping forward with widened eyes. "Magic is strong in you, young man," he said to Kazuya, who looked back at him without saying a word in reply.
He didn't have any inherent magic, so there was nothing to feel excited about. The magic he had in him was granted—neither earned nor cultivated. If he hadn't experienced that night of turmoil, he probably would have never used magic in his life.
But somehow, after that moment when he accepted the holographic offer, he was able to use magic just by thinking about it, and that was how he was easily able to take down those goblins back at the village that night.
A normal mage would have been flattered by what Tano had just said, but Kazuya felt nothing of the sort, as he knew the powers he had were by privilege and not by hard work.
Kazuya stepped away from the rest of them and began swinging his sword in all directions. The more he did, the more it became ablaze, until it made him look like a devil from hell.
Kazuya smiled as he held the sword up by the hand, giving the blacksmith an approving nod.
But in response, Tano bent down and picked up a large rock, about the size of a man's head. "Think fast!" he said as he suddenly threw it at Kazuya.
As Kazuya saw the large rock coming, he quickly cut it in half, causing the two halves to fall far behind him and explode about two seconds later. The explosion caused Genta and Orihime to shout out excitedly, having never seen anything like that before.
"The friction of your sword leaves magical fragments on whatever you cut that way, causing an explosive effect almost immediately afterwards." "But it only happens when you are putting all of your strength into it—that is why I had to startle you first by throwing a large rock at you," Tano said, "I apologise."
"It's alright," Kazuya said, breathing heavily, "but I hope it doesn't always cause an explosive effect every time, does it?"
"As I said, it is only triggered by a sudden outburst of magical energy," replied Tano, "You should be fine."
"If you are still bothered by it, you could give the attack a name," Genta suggested. "It works all the time."
"Great idea, Genta," approved Tano.
"How is giving the attack a name going to solve anything?" asked Kazuya.
"We mages do it sometimes when using an attack we aren't used to." Saying the technique out loud before doing it makes the magical energy dispense more intentionally on a mental level, thereby giving you more control over it. "So the more you practice saying it when you intentionally want to do it, the more you will be able to do it only at will," Genta explained to him.
"So, what are you going to name the attack?" asked the blacksmith.
Kazuya looked at the sword, and being unable to come up with anything remotely spectacular, he said the first two words that came to his mind:
"Explosive spectacle," he replied.
Tano shrugged. "Well, that could work—if it excites you," he replied.
"Yes, it does," Kazuya replied, "and I can use it."
"Lovely," Orihime said as she looked at the blacksmith, "not to sound like a douchebag or anything, but why does only the big man get to have a sword with explosive stuff?" "What about me?"
The blacksmith sighed as he looked down, wondering how naive the young woman was. However, he maintained his composure and answered calmly.
"If you give me all the required resources, I could make one for you." But it would cost much more than an arm and a leg to get them, let alone pay for the forging of the weapon.
But if you give me something to upgrade, the best I can do is make it better based on the physical limitations of the equipment. Your partner's sword was made of a rare and durable metal that could be magically refined and reinforced hundreds of times and never lose its integrity.
...Yours, however, is a whole different ballgame. It is weak compared to his, and I would have to be careful not to do too much to avoid messing up the final product. In other words, you would need to have high-ranking equipment for the extraordinary upgrade you are looking for...
But, come to think of it, I'm surprised your partner has such an expensive weapon with him while yours is made out of common materials. "Might I ask why that is the case?" asked Tano, now turning his gaze to Kazuya along with the rest of them.
Kazuya frowned, "Why are you all looking at me like that?" He asked, "Do I look like her babysitter to you?"
"Well, pardon me," Tano replied, "I must have gotten the wrong message from seeing you both together."
"Pay him no attention, Tano," Orihime said to him. "He acts all independent and strong in public, but at night, he gets all clingy and cuddly."
"Shut up, woman!" Kazuya snapped at her, and she burst out laughing, this time with Genta. While Orihime was still trying to get herself sobered up from laughing too hard, they heard a familiar voice from the entrance of the cave: "Are you children done laughing?" "When do you plan on leaving?"
They looked to see who it was, and as expected, it was the Master, Shizu, dressed in her mage robes and hat, with a short broomstick in one hand and a large book in the other.
"What are you brats waiting for?" "Let's get going!" she said to them.